THE SONS OF JIM AND MARY
A HISTORY OF
THE DESCENDANTS OF PATRICK JAMES MOUNTAIN AND MARY SOPHIA BEAIRSTO OF PRINCE
EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA
ORIGIN OF THE
SURNAME MOUNTAIN
This
ancient surname is of French origins, and it has 'invaded' the British Isles at
least twice. It is the modern spelling form of the Norman 'de la Montagne', and
as such is believed to have been born by several of the followers of William
the Conqueror in 1066. It later came a second time, if considerably more
peaceably, being born by 17th century Huguenot refugees after the revocation of
the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The Irish connection came in 1170 when the name
travelled to there in the army of Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke when he
'assisted' the King of Leinster in his attempt to secure a united Ireland.
These early Irish 'settlers' were given lands in County Waterford where even
today the name remains fairly prominent in the area. What is fairly certain is
that all the 'de la Montagne' nameholders and the later 'de Montaigne' seem to
have changed their spelling to Munton, Menton, Manton or Mountain. Examples of
the surname recordings include William de Muntain in the 1273 Hundred Rolls of
Oxford and Matilda Montem in the same roll. Later recordings include those of
Margarete Mountayn of St Giles Cripplegate, London on June 24th, 1568, and
Richard Mountain, at St Nicholas, Liverpool, on May 11th, 1788. Amongst the
early settlers to the new American Colonies was Joseph Mountain aged 20 years,
who embarked at Gravesend, Kent, on April 3rd, 1635 in the ship 'Paul of
London'.The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugh de Muntein, which was dated 1273, the Hundred Rolls of the county of Salop (Shropshire), during the reign of King Edward 1, known as 'The hammer of the Scots', 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England, this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
ORIGIN
OF THE SURNAME BEAIRSTO
The
Beairsto coat of arms dates back to the days of King John of France, the late
1100's. King John rode a white horse to the Crusades when he went with King
Richard of England, GB. The fleur de lys, of course, proved the shield to be
royal as do the acanthus leaves. Three sons of King John rode with him, the
heir to the throne, a younger brother and a half-brother. The half-brother, our
forebearer, saved the life of the heir apparent in a deed of great valour and
was knighted by the King and given large holdings in Normandy. The crescents
are Turkish (in the band across the shield) and depict the three brothers as
victorious over the Turks. Later our forebear's descendants fled from France to
England, GB as Huguenots, and there a family crest was made from the coat of arms
with the rope beneath which denoted their Huguenot connections. The motto on
the coat of arms and on the shield, "Juxta Heredum Benedictum Asto"
means "I stand by the blessed Heir".In a letter to Harold King Beairsto, Irene Barstow wrote: "Some years later, descendants of our forebears fled France as Huguenots and settled in Yorkshire, England, GB, and here they were given a family crest which depicts the French eagle over the three crescents with the rope beneath depicting the Huguenots." - The Aitkens of Kings County Prince Edward Island by Alice Fraser
If you are a Mountain descendant you have probably heard the word
of mouth information passed down through the years about our original Prince
Edward Island ancestors.
PATRICK
JAMESName: seen as James Patrick, Patrick James, James, Patrick. Appears he went by James according to 1798 Census and as is practice on PEI I am assuming he was called Jim.
Birthdate: Assuming he was 16 yrs old when taken into English Navy
Marriage date: Assuming average marriage age to be 24 yrs old for males
Occupation: In Ireland-a Silkweaver, English Navy, Farmer on PEI
Religion: Roman Catholic
Origin: County Waterford,, Ireland
Burial: Believed to be buried in the Old Roman Catholic Cemetery, established 1812 abandoned 1842. Restored in 1973 and a tombstone was discovered belonging to a Mountain. per a Journal-Pioneer Staff Writer (date unknown to me) Erskine Ashley. Location of Cemetery, Indian River, in the middle of a potato field belonging to Peter MacLellans' farm.
Children: 3 died in infancy - 12 altogether - all born in Princetown Royalty
1798 Census shows him listed as James living in Princetown which is Malpeque with 3 sons under 16 years of age.
Occupation : Silk Weaver
Joan Ferguson: Left Waterford 1770-1780s
Settled in Princetown, Lot 18, Prince Edward Island (PEI only joined Confederation in 1873 so at the time James arrived was still a part of the British colonial empire. The population at Confederation date was only 87,000)
Note: (Joan Ferguson) PJ was a fence repairman. He would go around the roads and check to see if any fences were broken, and also if any animals had escaped. He put back the animals and repaired the fence.
Another story is that he was with the British Merchant Marine and jumped ship on PEI and was taken in by the Beairsto's. If so he rewarded them by marrying their daughter.
I have been unable to verify birth or death dates as records of that time are scanty at best however based on the timeline of the cemetery his death would have been between 1812 and 1842. If he left Waterford between 1770-1780 his birth date was probably between 1750-1760.
MARY SOPHIA
According to a relative, Helen Hamill, the first ancestor of record on this side is James Beairsto, who married a lady who was a daughter (illegitimate) of a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of England. Possibly the Lady Sara Lenox, daughter of the Duke of Richmond, for she was the great love in the life of George III, though for reasons of state, he had to marry a German princess (Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz). This girl (the daughter above) came to P.E.I. when she was 16 years old, under the escort of the Governor-General. She first married a Mr. Wall, bore him 2 sons. Mr. Wall died. She then married James Bearisto and bore him many children including Mary Beairsto who married James Mountain.
The Darnley History indicates Mary Sophia's mother was said to have been the illegitimate daughter of one of Queen Victoria's uncles. She was sent to Malpeque, PEI and later married a Bearisto and had several children one of whom was Mary Sophia who married Patrick James.
Again I have been unable to verify birth and death dates or any of the foregoing information. I assume she was born somewhere between 1760-1770 and died in the early 1800s. As yet I have not found her name or James Beairsto in any of the Beairsto histories.
EDWARD MOUNTAIN
Edward appears to be the oldest son
who survived early childhood. He was
born at Malpeque, PEI in 1797 and died at Hills River, PEI in 1884, buried in
Old Dock Cemetery, Alberton, PEI. He
would have been one of the 3 sons listed in the 1798 census and the other 2
must have died in early childhood.
Some family histories show Edward as having a son Michael born in
County Cork, Ireland about 1831. I
cannot find evidence of this, find it unlikely and have not included the name
as Edward's offspring. The son George was found as a result of
an inquiry from one of his descendants in the USA and based on the information
provided it appears correct. I could find no evidence that Edward was
married twice as suggested in some histories. The Summerside Journal
death notice dated April 17, 1884, shows his age as 76 years which would make him
born in 1808 instead of 1797 however his gravestone, though not entirely clear,
seems to show his age as 84. The 1881 census has him living with
his son James and shows his age as 84 which would make him around 87 when he
died so it appears a birth date of 1797 is correct.
Edward’s
oldest son was 1) James, known as Big Jim, he married in 1880, at age 52,
to a 22-year-old Scottish girl born in Isle of Skye, Scotland, Flora MacDonald. He was a farmer on Western Road, Lot 6 near
Alberton, PEI. They had 6 children and Flora
died in her late 20’s or early 30’s when the oldest child was under 10 years
old and the youngest just a baby. Date
of death could not be verified by tombstone or death records however according
to census records she was alive in 1891 but not in 1901. The tragedy didn’t end with her death as daughter Sarah died at 8 years of age, Edward age
7 and Lottie presumably in infancy. The
1901 census shows just 3 children at home Edward (appears he died later that
year), Lillian and Phoebe and 2 boarders, William S and Elizabeth Thompson, who
I presume helped look after the children.
Benjamin moved to New Hampshire in 1899, lived with his Uncle Murdoch
MacDonald and family and worked as a labourer in a pulp mill. Sadly
he died of meningitis in 1902 in a Maine hospital.
While some histories show
that James died in 1902 there is family anecdotal information that suggests he
is the man described in the following death notice appearing in a Nova Scotia
paper:
Mountain
|
Mr.
|
Summerside Journal
|
16 January 1907, page 5, col. 2
|
The Oxford, N.S.
Journal says: - An elderly man by the name of Mr. Mountain, a native of Prince Edward Island, was found
dead in the woods Saturday at Milvale. As near as can be ascertained, he had
been living with a family in that place and became melancholy and wandered
off to the woods. On being missed, a searching party was organized and the
old man was found dead from exposure. Coroner P.M. Johnson of Oxford was
called, a jury was sworn, a verdict was in accordance with the above
statements. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Mr. Davis.
|
His daughter Phoebe was living in that area and he may have been living with her.
Now there were only two of a family of eight left, Lillian and Phoebe. I believe they would have moved to Springhill, NS where their Uncle William resided. Lillian emigrated to the USA in 1905 and the 1910 census has her working as a hosiery cutter in Lowell City, Massachusetts.
In 1913 she married in, Malden, Massachusetts, Arvid Frederick Christenson of Monson, Maine. They lived in New York City for a time and later moved to California. They had 2 daughters and 1 son.
Phoebe married Charles Wellington Garland, born in New Brunswick, in Springhill, Nova Scotia May 1903. She was 14 years old and he was 23. He worked as a butcher in NB and they emigrated to Malden, Massachusetts where he worked as an Ice Wagon Driver in 1918 -1920 and 1930 census shows him working as a window cleaner. They had 15 children.
- The Garland family are represented in several different states of USA and I have been in Facebook and email contact with a number of descendants in New York State, Arizona and Washington State.
Edward’s second son was 2) William who married Olive Lavinia Taylor from New Brunswick. They lived in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and had 4 sons and 4 daughters who settled in various parts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the USA.
Edward’s oldest daughter was 3) Charlotte who married David Johnson from Long River, PEI and they settled in Port Elgin, New Brunswick where they operated a grist mill and raised 5 daughters and 3 sons. Most of the children settled in New Brunswick except for Minnie who moved to Boston.
A descendant of David and Charlotte said “ She could carry sacks of flour in their grist mill equal to any man. “
Edward’s next daughter was 4) Margaret Ann who married Andrew Johnson a brother of David named above and they settled in Nova Scotia. They had 3 sons and 1 daughter and I have not traced their ultimate whereabouts.
Edward’s 3rd son was 5) George who married Margaret Baldwin in New Brunswick and later emigrated to Greenville, Maine. They had 5 sons and 5 daughters who I believe settled in Maine and adjoining states.
Edward’s 4th son was 6) Thomas
who did not marry, stayed in the area he was born and I believe lived with his
father. It appears he died at approx.
age 33, three years before his father’s death.
JOHNSON MOUNTAIN
Johnson or Johnston, as it sometimes appears, was the second son of Jim and Mary and as near as we can determine he was born in 1798 at Malpeque, PEI. At some time in the early to mid-1800's he and his younger brother Benjamin moved to New Brunswick. Johnson married Jerusha Mooers from Blissfield, New Brunswick in June 1835 and Benjamin married her sister Sarah Mooers in August 1835. Jerusha was 19 years younger then Johnson and they lived in Blissfield where their 6 children were born. Johnson's life after the children were born is a bit of a mystery. He does not show up in census records, death records or cemetery records. Different histories indicate he and Jerusha divorced but there is a possibility he simply died in New Brunswick between 1850/51 and 1857 leaving her free to remarry.
Jerusha moved to Maine and is listed in the August 1, 1850 census as living in Calais, Maine with 5 children. The last child Stephen was born in 1851 and he bore the Mountain name and other researchers say the Sebec, Maine records show his father as Jonathan Mountain which is probably a misinterpretation of Johnson. Jerusha married a widower Asa Burnham Angove in 1857 and had at least 2 more children but we will comment only on the Mountain descendants. If ever you think life is rough try to imagine her arriving in a new country with 5 children, pregnant with the 6th child, no husband, and no job.
The oldest son 1) Thomas married Annie Elizabeth "Anna" Brown in 1861 and next appears in the 1870 Census as a farm labourer with 2 children and in 1880 he worked in a quarry and had 4 children. Tragedy struck in 1882 as described in his obituary:
More descendants of Thomas are listed in the family tree of Johnson Mountain.
The next child of Johnson and Jerusha was 2) James and it does not appear he lived beyond the age of 10.
The third child was 3) Mary who married Jeremiah Boynton in 1870 and they had three sons. He died in 1903 and she married Horace Brown, brother of her sister in law Anna, and they had one daughter. They lived in Bradley, Maine.
The fourth child was 4) Charles Nathaniel who married Henrietta Pratt and had 7 children who mostly settled in Michigan.
The fifth child was 5) Susan Rebecca who married Melvin Ellis lived in Bangor, Maine and had one daughter.
The sixth child was 6) Stephen who never married moved to Washington, Minnesota, worked as a lumberman and died there at age 49.
So the foregoing are some of the highlights of the descendants and more details are contained in the family tree of Johnson Mountain which is available to any relative who provides me with their email address.
WILLIAM MOUNTAIN
William was the third son of Jim and Mary born about 1799 in Malpeque, PEI. He was a farmer in the Alberton, PEI area, married Mary Anne Warren, also born in PEI, and they had 6 children. The 1851 Census has the family living in Chatham, New Brunswick and we have not been able to trace them from there and since we have not found their gravestones or death notices it is difficult to conclude whether or not they stayed in New Brunswick or moved back to PEI, as some histories suggest. The children were born in PEI before the move to New Brunswick.
1)James the oldest in the family married Jane McLenaghan from New Brunswick, they lived in Alberton/Montrose area and had 5 children. James died in his mid 40's and Jane Married Hector McDougall. Margaret the oldest child was raised by her relatives in North Dakota married their son, her father's first cousin Samuel Mountain and they settled first in North Dakota and then moved to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. They had 9 children who settled mainly in Manitoba. Mary Jane married Elijah Costain, they lived in Miminegash, PEI and raised 11 children. George sailed to Boston at age 19, worked in a spool factory, met and married Alma McWilliams. They moved to North Dakota where he initially worked for his brother-in-law Samuel and later bought his own farm. They had 3 sons. Robert Fulton married Katherine Landers from Quebec, they settled in Twin Mountain, Coos County, New Hampshire and had 10 children most of whom settled in the New England States. James Proctor married a New Brunswick girl Margaret Chambers, they settled in St. John, New Brunswick along with their 3 children. There were 2 half brothers and 3 stepbrothers from Jane's second marriage.
2) Ann
3) Rebecca married Edwin Proctor and they lived in Margate or Kensington, had 2 children who died very young. Edwin was the inventor of the well known(in 1915) Proctor Potato Digger.
4) Mary married Joseph Haines from Richibucto, NB and it appears they lived all their life there and raised 11 children. The census indicates her name was Sarah so I am assuming she was Sarah Mary or vice versa.
5) William married Anne Graves (born in England). They had a farm in the Alberton, PEI area and had 2 children Elizabeth Jane who married a widowed cousin Johnson, no children as she was 63 when they married and William Henry who married Jennie Warren from New Brunswick, they farmed in Alberton and had no children. So it appears all the William's in this lineage died at relatively young ages.
6) Elijah married Margaret Langin from Chipman, NB and they had 2 children in NB and moved to Wisconsin where they are buried.
In this tree, I believe the only descendants who may still remain on PEI would be from the Costain family (Mary Ann and Elijah).
So the foregoing are some of the highlights of the descendants and more details are contained in the family tree of William Mountain which is available to any relative who provides me with their email address.
JAMES MOUNTAIN
James (1800-1888)was the fourth son of Jim and Mary born 1800 in Malpeque, PEI. The family moved to Montrose in 1852 where he farmed and ran a country store with brother Thomas. He married Ann Love Donald(1801-1872) of Sea View, PEI and they had 13 children. At the time of the move to Montrose, the land was not cleared. This article gives a picture of what it was like in those early days:
25 Feb 1869 Summerside Journal A Trip Westward On Friday morning last we undertook a journey to the Western part of the Island. We had heard the roads were not good, but we were fully convinced of it ourselves before we got very far. We think many of our Commissioners either neglect their work or allow the road overseers to neglect their duty. It would be far better if the overseer would compel the inhabitants of each road district to break the track and keep it broken on the main road and not allow it to run in and out of almost every second field, much to the annoyance of the traveler after night. It is also the duty of the overseer to see that the pitches are filled up. This is, so far as the Western Road is concerned, altogether neglected. We heard of a settlement near Kildare Bridge where the inhabitants agreed among themselves that each man should keep the portion of the road broke opposite his own farm. The plan works well and gives general satisfaction. Why do not other settlements do likewise? We could not help thinking how much better it would be to spend a little more money in improving our roads and repairing some of our rotten bridges over which we passed than to construct a railroad on a route where it would be of little use to one-tenth of our farmers.
The North Dakota and westward connection came mainly from this family as three of James' sons William, John and Robert and possibly a fourth son Albert moved to Backoo, Pembina, North Dakota. There was a Canadian connection to this area dating back to the early 1800s as traders set up outposts in the area and then in 1863 Lincoln passed the Homestead Act which essentially gave 160 acres to settlers provided they built homes and farmed the land.
1)William(1822-1897) the oldest son married a Scottish woman Mary Jane Campbell(1826-1904). They had 14 children, all born in PEI, and initially farmed in western PEI but migrated to North Dakota. Apparently, John, Robert, and Albert were already settled there. Note:" The Mountain family came to Dakota Territory in 1881. They came by boat from PEI to Boston, Massachusetts. They travelled by train to Pembina where relatives met them with oxen. On the train, grandchild, Little Bertha (Samuel's daughter)took Diptheria. During the summer her family camped in the rain and Bertha contracted Pneumonia and died" - Ruth Hicks. Not all of their family accompanied them as some of the older ones were already married and settled. The oldest daughter Annie was married to Joseph Hicks and they lived in the Sackville, NB area, Johnson was married to Grace Collicut and lived in New Brunswick, after her death he married a cousin Elizabeth Jane Mountain and they lived in Alberton, PEI. William's oldest son Samuel married his cousin Margaret Mountain and they lived for a time in North Dakota before migrating back to Canada and settling in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba where they had a large number of descendants from their 7 surviving children. Ellen married John McLean McLeod McArthur and they lived in North Dakota and raised 9 children. Yates married Essie Cook and he went looking for gold in California (unsuccessfully I take it) farmed in North Dakota and eventually moved to Sackville, NB. Elizabeth Jane married Robert McCausland, had 3 children and lived in Massachusetts. Wilhelmina married James Buchanan (born in Scotland) and they settled in Washington State with their 5 children. They are the ancestors of my Facebook friends Ron Buchanan and Linda Johnson plus her brother Gary Paul who I have met. Edith married John Hillis and they lived in North Dakota with their 3 children. Elizabeth Mary "Eliza"(don't know if the name is correct as there was already a daughter Elizabeth) married George Muir and they lived in Morden, Manitoba with their 5 children. Margaret married John Reid (born in Ireland) lived in North Dakota and had 2 children. Robert Lee married Elsie Henderson (born in Ontario) and they and their 5 children lived in North Dakota. Lettie married Samuel Tuson (born in Ontario) had 3 children and eventually ended up in Kamloops, BC. Lemuel married Clara Henrickson and they settled in Eston, Saskatchewan with 1 child. There is no information on the youngest child Joseph, born in 1879 when Mary Jane was 53, which is correct according to the 1885 census for Dakota Territory.
2) George(1824-1882) was the first postmaster for Alma, PEI and never married.
3) John(1826-1901) apparently never married and lead an adventurous life as described in his obituary follows:
We clip the following from a North Dakota exchange: The death occurred on Monday, June 10th, at the Grand Forks Hospital, of Mr. John Mountain, aged 73 years and 4 months. The deceased was born in Malpeque, P.E.Island, Canada, where the early part of his life was spent. In 1859 he left home in a sailing vessel for California, rounded Cape Horn and landed safely at San Francisco. Here he remained for several years, amassed quite a fortune, the larger part of which he lost by the failure of a bank. He continued his wanderings, taking in New Zealand, Australia, and Sitka, Alaska. He subsequently returned back to P.E.Island and engaged in farming and merchandising.
Finally, disposing of his interests in Canada, he came west and located a homestead, in the spring of 1877, four miles north of Cavalier village, where he resided until his death. He had been in ill health for the past two years and in company with Dr. Jones of this city went to Grand Forks Hospital last Friday to undergo an operation. He survived the operation safely on Saturday but died from heart failure Monday. He leaves the following brothers and sisters: Albert Mountain of this county; Elijah, James, Charles, and Mrs. Barbour of P.E.Island; Mrs. Tuplin and Mrs. Hamel of Farmington, Mass.
4) James S(1828-1910) married Mary Margaret Wallace(1836-1915) they lived in Alma had 3 daughters and their descendants include the numerous Squarebriggs and Bowness families as well as the Donald family.
5) Mary(1831-1910) married David Barbour(1821-1888) they lived and died in the Montrose, PEI area and had 6 children.
6) Ellen(1834- ) married Harry Graves(1836-1887) and they lived in North Dakota with 4 children. Harry was buried in North Dakota but some records show Ellen as being buried in New London, PEI but I have not been able to confirm.
7)Elijah(1836-1920) married Barbara Ann Donald(1838-1908) and they farmed in Montrose. This was said about Elijah in one of the histories:
Elijah Mountain was reared under the paternal roof, secured his education in the primitive schools of his boyhood, and has followed farming practically during all his active years. He is now the owner of 105 acres in lot 3 of this tract he has cleared 70 acres all of which he keeps in a high state of cultivation. Conveniences which we enjoy today were scarce at that time Mr. Mountain first located here as in evidence it might be stated that he was compelled to use flint and spunk in securing fire.
He has been an active participant in the wonderful process and improvement which has characterized PEI and is himself entitled to no small part of the credit for the same
He has at all times taken an active interest in the welfare of the community and enjoys the sincere respect of all who know him. In politics, he has always supported the Liberal party though he never ran for public office while his religious affiliation is with the Presbyterian Church.
In 1871 Mr. Mountain married Miss Barbara Donald, a daughter of John & Jennie Ramsay of Sea View, farming folks and early settlers of this province they had 3 sons. Albert, John, William".
8)Charles McNutt(1839-1927) married Sarah Jane Donald(1849-1920) and lived in Montrose/Alma, PEI they had 6 daughters and one son. Their daughters Selina Jane married Hammond Crockett and they lived in the Alberton, PEI area with 9 children, Millicent married James "Alvie" Mountain (a cousin) they lived in Alma with 8 children, Barbara Ann married Leslie Wood and they lived in Colorado, the USA with 2 children, Elizabeth married Benjamin Franklin Simpson from Bayview, PEI (a distant relative of the writer on the maternal side) and they lived in Hamilton, PEI with 3 children, Margaret "Maggie" married James Stewart and they lived in Elmsdale, PEI with 5 children, Harriet "Hattie" married Burton Cunningham, they lived in Newton, Massachusetts with 3 children. Their son John Edward married Miriam Janetta Horne, lived in Montrose/Alma are with 5 daughters.
9)Margaret(1840-1875) married Robert Hockin(1837-1915), lived in Montrose, PEI with 6 children, descendants include the surnames of Pridham, Lowther and Corbett.
10)Rebecca(1842-1909) married Jabez Tuplin(1838-1909) had 2 children and lived on PEI.
11)Selina Jane(1846-1915) married Joseph Hamill(1838-1904)(born in Ireland). They lived in the New England States and had 6 children.
12)Albert(1839- )never married, lived for a time in North Dakota but returned to PEI and farmed.
13)Robert no information on him except he was one of the first of the family to go to North Dakota and we expect he lived and died there.
So the foregoing are some of the highlights of the descendants and more details are contained in the family tree of James Mountain which is available to any relative who provides me with their email address.
GEORGE MOUNTAIN
George(1802-1889) the fifth son married Helen or Ellen Donald(1800-1881) from Seaview, PEI and I believe lived in the Darnley/Malpeque area as they were both buried at Malpeque Peoples Cemetery.. They had 5 children: 1) Mary (1827-1879) married Charles Barnard(1821- )and they moved first to NB and then to Massachusetts. Mary Ann is buried in Watertown, Massachusetts however no info on Charles. They had 3 daughters.
2) Margaret Murray(about 1829-1891) believed to be unmarried and lived in Alberton, PEI area. 3) Benjamin F(1839-1925) married Margaret Ann Taylor(1862-1941) from Stanley Bridge, PEI and they lived in Groton, Massachusetts and had one son. This name is not included in most histories but from my research, I believe he belonged to this family.
4) James E(1842-1862) buried Peoples Cemetery, Malpeque, PEI unlikely he was ever married. 5) Elizabeth( - about 1863) married February 5, 1850, to Henry B. Tuplin(about1824-1872) born in England. They had one son and probably lived in Margate, PEI where father and son graves were located.
5) Ann(about 1831- )married Malcolm Ellison from PEI and they had 5 children. Malcolm ended up in Boston but we have been unable to trace Ann's history. One of the sons, James, was in the care of his aunt when he died at 15 years old in 1880 which points to the possibility his mother may already have died before his death or parents were separated.
Note I have not been able to conclusively determine if all the above are offspring of George and Helen, particularly Benjamin and Ann whose records show they were born in PEI and parents names were George and Ellen and I could find no other records of an Ellen so concluded this was just a misinterpretation of the name Helen.
So the foregoing are some of the highlights of the descendants and few more details are contained in the family tree of George Mountain which is available to any relative who provides me with their email address.
DAVID MOUNTAIN
David(1805-1872) the writer's great great grandfather, the sixth son married Martha Beairsto(about 1812-1895). I have not found her place in the Beairsto tree. The Prince Town Grammar School record for 1826/27 shows that David Mountain 21 yrs. old was enrolled in arithmetic so this confirms David's approximate birthdate although the date of his death is not confirmed. Martha was living with their son James B after David's death so it is possible they were buried in Alberton, PEI area where James B was living at the time.
The History of Darnley shows David Mountain as a landowner in 1880 with a 70-acre farm which in later years was owned by Mrs. Colin Donald. The description places this property across from Grandpa John B. Mountain's old house on the Mountain Road. The Donald property was later purchased by Ralph Cole. Great Great Grandfather David would have been about 75 in 1880 and this was likely his farm. Legal Title was not always transferred quickly in those days and the farm could have already passed to one of his sons.
The 1861 Census records David as having 3 sons and 5 daughters and there is no record of him in subsequent census records. He was still living at the time of his daughter Isabel's marriage on September 5, 1872. The eight children: 1) Mary(1834-1917) married William M. Champion(1835-1899). William was buried in Foxley River, PEI while Mary was buried in Malpeque, PEI likely because she lived with her nephew Colin Mountain after William's death. They had 4 children. 2) Margaret(about1835-1881) unmarried and lived with brother James B. in 1881 in Alma, PEI. 3) Ann(1838-1899) married William Henry Wood(no details) they lived in the Alberton area and had one son who lived to only 10 years old. 4) Sarah(1840-1899) also unmarried and lived with brother James B. in 1881 in Alma, PEI.
5) Thomas (1843-1909) the writer's great grandfather, married March 31, 1870, to Rebecca Woodside (1850-1884) the daughter of Benjamin Woodside and Martha Beairsto (so you can see how the Beairsto genes are firmly embedded in our family). they had 8 children:
JOHNSON MOUNTAIN
Johnson or Johnston, as it sometimes appears, was the second son of Jim and Mary and as near as we can determine he was born in 1798 at Malpeque, PEI. At some time in the early to mid-1800's he and his younger brother Benjamin moved to New Brunswick. Johnson married Jerusha Mooers from Blissfield, New Brunswick in June 1835 and Benjamin married her sister Sarah Mooers in August 1835. Jerusha was 19 years younger then Johnson and they lived in Blissfield where their 6 children were born. Johnson's life after the children were born is a bit of a mystery. He does not show up in census records, death records or cemetery records. Different histories indicate he and Jerusha divorced but there is a possibility he simply died in New Brunswick between 1850/51 and 1857 leaving her free to remarry.
Notes from a descendant: I think I read somewhere that there was a fire and records were lost. Johnston is a huge mystery. I don't think he was ever in Maine with his wife and kids. He may have died in NB. I have a book that explains the economy in NB at that time and why so many left. William R. Mackinnon, Jr., Over the Portage, Early History of the Upper Miramichi Revised Edition, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Provincial Artisans, 2000. There was a huge forest fire that burned farms and ruined the lumber industry. Farms were being lost by foreclosure. Johnston's father in law, Nathaniel Mooers died in debtor's jail. Entire families of several generations left for Maine. Some years ago I went through old N.B. newspapers on microfilm from the University of Maine. Nothing on Johnston. I did find that Johnston petitioned for 100 acres of land in Blackville in 1844, but no record that he got the land. [Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Land Petition of Johnston Mountain (1844)-RS108, F4229, Northumberland County]
Jerusha moved to Maine and is listed in the August 1, 1850 census as living in Calais, Maine with 5 children. The last child Stephen was born in 1851 and he bore the Mountain name and other researchers say the Sebec, Maine records show his father as Jonathan Mountain which is probably a misinterpretation of Johnson. Jerusha married a widower Asa Burnham Angove in 1857 and had at least 2 more children but we will comment only on the Mountain descendants. If ever you think life is rough try to imagine her arriving in a new country with 5 children, pregnant with the 6th child, no husband, and no job.
The oldest son 1) Thomas married Annie Elizabeth "Anna" Brown in 1861 and next appears in the 1870 Census as a farm labourer with 2 children and in 1880 he worked in a quarry and had 4 children. Tragedy struck in 1882 as described in his obituary:
Obituary: Piscataquis Observer, Dec 21, 1882.
Another Man Killed in the Monson Slate Quarry
Mr. Thomas Mountain was killed while at work in the pit of Hebron Pond Slate Quarry, Monday afternoon. They were hoisting a rock which when swinging crushed Mr. Mountain against the side of the pit. He lived about two hours after the injury. He leaves a wife and four children who have the sympathy of all.
Just 5 months later tragedy struck again with the death of his widow from pneumonia so the children were then totally parentless. Thomas's oldest son Frank was 19 years old and no doubt out on his own at that time. He married Fannie Doore in 1888 and they had one son Rodney. The 1910 census has Frank working as a truckman. Rodney's son Clifton Rodney known as Tom Worked at Central Maine Power Co. as a meter analyst for 30 years. He was a well-known medium, valued and admired for his spiritual gifts and was head of the Piscataquis Spiritualist Church for many years.
The second oldest of Thomas's children Bertha Clara was already married to Anders Wilhelm Carlberg, born in Sweden when her mother passed away. She was 16 years old when she married and had 7 children most of whom lived and died in the Monson, Maine area. They are direct ancestors of my Facebook friend and relative Kyla Sandberg.
The second oldest son of Thomas was Eugene Wilder is believed to have lived with his grandmother Jerusha after his mother's death. He worked as a labourer in the Slate Quarry (likely the same place his grandfather was killed) and married Clara Goodwin in 1895. They had 10 children with one dying at childbirth or shortly thereafter.
Lewis "Lewie" Youngest son of Eugene Wilder, moved to Greenville, Maine to be a steamboat captain on Moosehead Lake and later sold ice. He was married but no children listed.Just 5 months later tragedy struck again with the death of his widow from pneumonia so the children were then totally parentless. Thomas's oldest son Frank was 19 years old and no doubt out on his own at that time. He married Fannie Doore in 1888 and they had one son Rodney. The 1910 census has Frank working as a truckman. Rodney's son Clifton Rodney known as Tom Worked at Central Maine Power Co. as a meter analyst for 30 years. He was a well-known medium, valued and admired for his spiritual gifts and was head of the Piscataquis Spiritualist Church for many years.
The second oldest of Thomas's children Bertha Clara was already married to Anders Wilhelm Carlberg, born in Sweden when her mother passed away. She was 16 years old when she married and had 7 children most of whom lived and died in the Monson, Maine area. They are direct ancestors of my Facebook friend and relative Kyla Sandberg.
The second oldest son of Thomas was Eugene Wilder is believed to have lived with his grandmother Jerusha after his mother's death. He worked as a labourer in the Slate Quarry (likely the same place his grandfather was killed) and married Clara Goodwin in 1895. They had 10 children with one dying at childbirth or shortly thereafter.
Obituary Excerpts:
He was born in Milo and lived here nearly all his life. Except for a time in Monson and was a veteran teamster for the American Thread Company.
He had been a real father to nine motherless children as his wife died when the younger children were in infancy.
He is survived by three sons and six daughters, Thomas Mountain, Mrs. Nina MacKey and Mrs. Kate MacKey, all of Monson; Mrs. Hattie Cooley of Corinna; Mrs. Addie Stanchfield of Bristol, Conn.; Mrs. Ella Perkiins and Mrs. Wilelmina Richardson, Charles and Lewis Mountain with whom thair father lived, all of Milo. There are 23 grandchildren. A brother Lewis Mountain lives in Greenville.
Eugene's oldest son Thomas Hamilton Mountain (who never married) followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather working at the Slate Quarry. Thomas served in the U.S. Army in World War I.
Another son Charles Stinson Mountain was the father of the late Reginald and grandfather to Dennis, John, Todd and Shelly, Facebook friends and relatives I have connected with during the past few years. With one or two exceptions the Eugene Wilder family lived and died in the Monson, Maine area.
. More descendants of Thomas are listed in the family tree of Johnson Mountain.
The next child of Johnson and Jerusha was 2) James and it does not appear he lived beyond the age of 10.
The third child was 3) Mary who married Jeremiah Boynton in 1870 and they had three sons. He died in 1903 and she married Horace Brown, brother of her sister in law Anna, and they had one daughter. They lived in Bradley, Maine.
The fourth child was 4) Charles Nathaniel who married Henrietta Pratt and had 7 children who mostly settled in Michigan.
Notes for Charles Nathaniel by Kyla Sandberg
1850 Census, Calais, Maine, listed as Nathaniel
1900 US Census, Stilwater, Washington, Minnesota,
1905 Minnesota State Census, Stilwater, Ward 2, Washington, Minnesota, resident 12 years
Occupation Blacksmith
Listed as Charles N Mountain in the American Civil War Research Database, enlisted as a Private on Oct. 10, 1862, at age 20 into E. Company, 22nd Maine Infantry, His residence was Dextor, Maine. He Mustered out Aug. 14, 1863.
His company assignments included the Miltary District of Washington, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1880 US Census, Midland, Michigan
1900 US Census Stillwater, Ward 2, Washington, Minnesota. (wife & son living in Providence, Rhode Island)
1905 Stillwater ward 2, Minnesota State Census, listed as Chas Mountain, born Rhode Island.
1910 US Census, Opportunity, Spokane, Washington, USA, listed as Chas W. living with son H.F. (Harry) Mountain.
May 21, 1911, admitted to State Soldiers Home, Orting, Washington
Burial: State Soldiers Home, Orting Washington, Grave 2-K-5
The fifth child was 5) Susan Rebecca who married Melvin Ellis lived in Bangor, Maine and had one daughter.
The sixth child was 6) Stephen who never married moved to Washington, Minnesota, worked as a lumberman and died there at age 49.
So the foregoing are some of the highlights of the descendants and more details are contained in the family tree of Johnson Mountain which is available to any relative who provides me with their email address.
WILLIAM MOUNTAIN
William was the third son of Jim and Mary born about 1799 in Malpeque, PEI. He was a farmer in the Alberton, PEI area, married Mary Anne Warren, also born in PEI, and they had 6 children. The 1851 Census has the family living in Chatham, New Brunswick and we have not been able to trace them from there and since we have not found their gravestones or death notices it is difficult to conclude whether or not they stayed in New Brunswick or moved back to PEI, as some histories suggest. The children were born in PEI before the move to New Brunswick.
1)James the oldest in the family married Jane McLenaghan from New Brunswick, they lived in Alberton/Montrose area and had 5 children. James died in his mid 40's and Jane Married Hector McDougall. Margaret the oldest child was raised by her relatives in North Dakota married their son, her father's first cousin Samuel Mountain and they settled first in North Dakota and then moved to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. They had 9 children who settled mainly in Manitoba. Mary Jane married Elijah Costain, they lived in Miminegash, PEI and raised 11 children. George sailed to Boston at age 19, worked in a spool factory, met and married Alma McWilliams. They moved to North Dakota where he initially worked for his brother-in-law Samuel and later bought his own farm. They had 3 sons. Robert Fulton married Katherine Landers from Quebec, they settled in Twin Mountain, Coos County, New Hampshire and had 10 children most of whom settled in the New England States. James Proctor married a New Brunswick girl Margaret Chambers, they settled in St. John, New Brunswick along with their 3 children. There were 2 half brothers and 3 stepbrothers from Jane's second marriage.
2) Ann
3) Rebecca married Edwin Proctor and they lived in Margate or Kensington, had 2 children who died very young. Edwin was the inventor of the well known(in 1915) Proctor Potato Digger.
4) Mary married Joseph Haines from Richibucto, NB and it appears they lived all their life there and raised 11 children. The census indicates her name was Sarah so I am assuming she was Sarah Mary or vice versa.
5) William married Anne Graves (born in England). They had a farm in the Alberton, PEI area and had 2 children Elizabeth Jane who married a widowed cousin Johnson, no children as she was 63 when they married and William Henry who married Jennie Warren from New Brunswick, they farmed in Alberton and had no children. So it appears all the William's in this lineage died at relatively young ages.
6) Elijah married Margaret Langin from Chipman, NB and they had 2 children in NB and moved to Wisconsin where they are buried.
In this tree, I believe the only descendants who may still remain on PEI would be from the Costain family (Mary Ann and Elijah).
So the foregoing are some of the highlights of the descendants and more details are contained in the family tree of William Mountain which is available to any relative who provides me with their email address.
JAMES MOUNTAIN
James (1800-1888)was the fourth son of Jim and Mary born 1800 in Malpeque, PEI. The family moved to Montrose in 1852 where he farmed and ran a country store with brother Thomas. He married Ann Love Donald(1801-1872) of Sea View, PEI and they had 13 children. At the time of the move to Montrose, the land was not cleared. This article gives a picture of what it was like in those early days:
25 Feb 1869 Summerside Journal A Trip Westward On Friday morning last we undertook a journey to the Western part of the Island. We had heard the roads were not good, but we were fully convinced of it ourselves before we got very far. We think many of our Commissioners either neglect their work or allow the road overseers to neglect their duty. It would be far better if the overseer would compel the inhabitants of each road district to break the track and keep it broken on the main road and not allow it to run in and out of almost every second field, much to the annoyance of the traveler after night. It is also the duty of the overseer to see that the pitches are filled up. This is, so far as the Western Road is concerned, altogether neglected. We heard of a settlement near Kildare Bridge where the inhabitants agreed among themselves that each man should keep the portion of the road broke opposite his own farm. The plan works well and gives general satisfaction. Why do not other settlements do likewise? We could not help thinking how much better it would be to spend a little more money in improving our roads and repairing some of our rotten bridges over which we passed than to construct a railroad on a route where it would be of little use to one-tenth of our farmers.
Along the Western Road, we noticed that preparations were being made to run the telegraph to Alberton. Many heaps of cedar posts, intended for this purpose, lay along the side of the road. We hear that the Government has already granted the money for that purpose. The line of road on which it will be run is, we learn, as far as Bloomfield, and thence through Hill’s River Road to Alberton. This same road will, no doubt, before long, be the mail route from Summerside to Alberton, with branch couriers to the West Cape, Campbelton, and all the other way offices. We believe it was the intention of the late Postmaster General, when the present contract for the Mails Westward expired, to have made this change.
In passing along we were really astonished to see the number of houses that have been erected during the past year. Where but a year or two ago a dense woods stood may now be seen a large clearance and a house. The woodman’s axe has certainly done great work along this road. Many valuable farms are to be found in Bloomfield among the Canadian settlers. We fear that too much of our fine forests are being cut down or destroyed by fire. In a few years, hardwood will be scarce if something is not done to prevent the wholesale destruction which often occurs from fires. The crops in that section of the country were very good last fall; the wheat crop especially. In every settlement through which we passed, we were glad to hear that there was plenty of fodder this winter. Very different from this time last year when hay was selling for seven and eight shillings per cwt.
We passed through Alberton, the rival village of Summerside. It appeared to be pretty quiet and dull, very much like our own town at present. Still, it is quite a stirring little place. But a few years ago it could only boast of one or two small stores; now it possesses three or four large mercantile establishments that would do credit to large towns. Success to their enterprising owners. This thriving little place can also boast of sending three representatives to Parliament: - Messrs. Howlan, Bell and Reid. The day on which we were at Alberton, Saturday last, we were told that Cascumpec Harbor was partly open and that there was very little appearance of ice outside.
From Alberton, we passed through Montrose. A new road has been partly opened up, near the house of R. Gordon, Esq., leading out to the Western Road. It is, we believe, to be completed early in the spring. From Kildare Bridge, we saw, on the ice, quite a number of mud diggers at work. Many hundreds of loads of this fertilizing matter have been taken up there this winter. All along the road near the bridge were many mud mountains. The farmers in that locality, and even those living at a distance of ten or twelve miles from it, seem determined to avail themselves of that which Nature has for so many years been laying up for them. The mud in that place is of very superior quality. It is believed that a dredging machine in that river would very soon make a channel where the water is now shallow so that vessels would be able to load at the bridge at all times. We almost forgot to mention that Messrs. Montgomery has a nice little store near the bridge and is doing a good business. One of them recently “accepted the situation,” and joined the union.
But we must pass on. On the road to Tignish, we were surprised to find such a workshop as that owned by Mr. J. Hamil. In this establishment is made furniture, wagons, carving, &c. Some carving and painting we saw, executed by Mr. Hamil, was really beautiful. Persons who would wish a life-size painting of themselves or family can have it done at the above place. We had not much time to spend at Tignish, but as we hope to visit it again soon we will endeavour to call on some of our friends.
From Tignish, we steered our course around through Miminigash. As far as we could see the gulf, nothing but open water meet the eye. We saw no ice but a little along the shore. We wonder that some enterprising fellows do not try to catch codfish along there in winter. We believe it might be done with profit and ease. Through this part of the country, we did not notice much improvement. The inhabitants are anxious to get a wharf built. The site mentioned is somewhere near Mr. Matheson’s fishing station. They certainly have strong claims on the Government, deprived as they are at present of any shipping place at which a vessel can load, other than carrying the produce out in boats. We would advise the inhabitants to call a public meeting and ascertain how much they could raise by subscription, and then make an application to the Government. The temperance cause in that quarter is going ahead. Several very interesting lectures have already been delivered on that subject before large audiences. This speaks well for the intelligence of its inhabitants.
After partaking of the hospitalities of our friend, Mr. R. Costan, we wended our way home, fearing the storm of Tuesday. We hope in a few days to visit Campbellton, the West Cape, and other places that we were not able to reach this time.
Although the most beautiful scenery of this Island is in winter exceedingly dull, nature appearing in her mantle of whiteness and most forbidding aspect, yet the watchful traveler need not find the road long, as in most places it is neither tiresome or uninteresting, especially to a stranger. There are many things to engage one’s attention. The appearance of the country, the houses, and in some places huts; the many strange faces; the lots of little children near the schoolhouses, standing in rows to make their bow to the stranger – all afford material for observation and comment. In many places, large and beautiful houses have taken the place of the log house or hut. Many fine barns are to be seen and in the barnyards some very fine cattle. The schoolhouses, too, are more comfortable than formerly, and the people, if left to themselves, would live on the best of terms with each other and be well satisfied with the present system of education. But designing politicians and others must endeavor to kindle the spark which it has taken so many years to extinguish. They will find it a hard task we fear. The people even in the most remote parts of the Island fully understand all about these matters.
1)William(1822-1897) the oldest son married a Scottish woman Mary Jane Campbell(1826-1904). They had 14 children, all born in PEI, and initially farmed in western PEI but migrated to North Dakota. Apparently, John, Robert, and Albert were already settled there. Note:" The Mountain family came to Dakota Territory in 1881. They came by boat from PEI to Boston, Massachusetts. They travelled by train to Pembina where relatives met them with oxen. On the train, grandchild, Little Bertha (Samuel's daughter)took Diptheria. During the summer her family camped in the rain and Bertha contracted Pneumonia and died" - Ruth Hicks. Not all of their family accompanied them as some of the older ones were already married and settled. The oldest daughter Annie was married to Joseph Hicks and they lived in the Sackville, NB area, Johnson was married to Grace Collicut and lived in New Brunswick, after her death he married a cousin Elizabeth Jane Mountain and they lived in Alberton, PEI. William's oldest son Samuel married his cousin Margaret Mountain and they lived for a time in North Dakota before migrating back to Canada and settling in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba where they had a large number of descendants from their 7 surviving children. Ellen married John McLean McLeod McArthur and they lived in North Dakota and raised 9 children. Yates married Essie Cook and he went looking for gold in California (unsuccessfully I take it) farmed in North Dakota and eventually moved to Sackville, NB. Elizabeth Jane married Robert McCausland, had 3 children and lived in Massachusetts. Wilhelmina married James Buchanan (born in Scotland) and they settled in Washington State with their 5 children. They are the ancestors of my Facebook friends Ron Buchanan and Linda Johnson plus her brother Gary Paul who I have met. Edith married John Hillis and they lived in North Dakota with their 3 children. Elizabeth Mary "Eliza"(don't know if the name is correct as there was already a daughter Elizabeth) married George Muir and they lived in Morden, Manitoba with their 5 children. Margaret married John Reid (born in Ireland) lived in North Dakota and had 2 children. Robert Lee married Elsie Henderson (born in Ontario) and they and their 5 children lived in North Dakota. Lettie married Samuel Tuson (born in Ontario) had 3 children and eventually ended up in Kamloops, BC. Lemuel married Clara Henrickson and they settled in Eston, Saskatchewan with 1 child. There is no information on the youngest child Joseph, born in 1879 when Mary Jane was 53, which is correct according to the 1885 census for Dakota Territory.
2) George(1824-1882) was the first postmaster for Alma, PEI and never married.
3) John(1826-1901) apparently never married and lead an adventurous life as described in his obituary follows:
We clip the following from a North Dakota exchange: The death occurred on Monday, June 10th, at the Grand Forks Hospital, of Mr. John Mountain, aged 73 years and 4 months. The deceased was born in Malpeque, P.E.Island, Canada, where the early part of his life was spent. In 1859 he left home in a sailing vessel for California, rounded Cape Horn and landed safely at San Francisco. Here he remained for several years, amassed quite a fortune, the larger part of which he lost by the failure of a bank. He continued his wanderings, taking in New Zealand, Australia, and Sitka, Alaska. He subsequently returned back to P.E.Island and engaged in farming and merchandising.
Finally, disposing of his interests in Canada, he came west and located a homestead, in the spring of 1877, four miles north of Cavalier village, where he resided until his death. He had been in ill health for the past two years and in company with Dr. Jones of this city went to Grand Forks Hospital last Friday to undergo an operation. He survived the operation safely on Saturday but died from heart failure Monday. He leaves the following brothers and sisters: Albert Mountain of this county; Elijah, James, Charles, and Mrs. Barbour of P.E.Island; Mrs. Tuplin and Mrs. Hamel of Farmington, Mass.
4) James S(1828-1910) married Mary Margaret Wallace(1836-1915) they lived in Alma had 3 daughters and their descendants include the numerous Squarebriggs and Bowness families as well as the Donald family.
5) Mary(1831-1910) married David Barbour(1821-1888) they lived and died in the Montrose, PEI area and had 6 children.
6) Ellen(1834- ) married Harry Graves(1836-1887) and they lived in North Dakota with 4 children. Harry was buried in North Dakota but some records show Ellen as being buried in New London, PEI but I have not been able to confirm.
7)Elijah(1836-1920) married Barbara Ann Donald(1838-1908) and they farmed in Montrose. This was said about Elijah in one of the histories:
Elijah Mountain was reared under the paternal roof, secured his education in the primitive schools of his boyhood, and has followed farming practically during all his active years. He is now the owner of 105 acres in lot 3 of this tract he has cleared 70 acres all of which he keeps in a high state of cultivation. Conveniences which we enjoy today were scarce at that time Mr. Mountain first located here as in evidence it might be stated that he was compelled to use flint and spunk in securing fire.
He has been an active participant in the wonderful process and improvement which has characterized PEI and is himself entitled to no small part of the credit for the same
He has at all times taken an active interest in the welfare of the community and enjoys the sincere respect of all who know him. In politics, he has always supported the Liberal party though he never ran for public office while his religious affiliation is with the Presbyterian Church.
In 1871 Mr. Mountain married Miss Barbara Donald, a daughter of John & Jennie Ramsay of Sea View, farming folks and early settlers of this province they had 3 sons. Albert, John, William".
8)Charles McNutt(1839-1927) married Sarah Jane Donald(1849-1920) and lived in Montrose/Alma, PEI they had 6 daughters and one son. Their daughters Selina Jane married Hammond Crockett and they lived in the Alberton, PEI area with 9 children, Millicent married James "Alvie" Mountain (a cousin) they lived in Alma with 8 children, Barbara Ann married Leslie Wood and they lived in Colorado, the USA with 2 children, Elizabeth married Benjamin Franklin Simpson from Bayview, PEI (a distant relative of the writer on the maternal side) and they lived in Hamilton, PEI with 3 children, Margaret "Maggie" married James Stewart and they lived in Elmsdale, PEI with 5 children, Harriet "Hattie" married Burton Cunningham, they lived in Newton, Massachusetts with 3 children. Their son John Edward married Miriam Janetta Horne, lived in Montrose/Alma are with 5 daughters.
9)Margaret(1840-1875) married Robert Hockin(1837-1915), lived in Montrose, PEI with 6 children, descendants include the surnames of Pridham, Lowther and Corbett.
10)Rebecca(1842-1909) married Jabez Tuplin(1838-1909) had 2 children and lived on PEI.
11)Selina Jane(1846-1915) married Joseph Hamill(1838-1904)(born in Ireland). They lived in the New England States and had 6 children.
12)Albert(1839- )never married, lived for a time in North Dakota but returned to PEI and farmed.
13)Robert no information on him except he was one of the first of the family to go to North Dakota and we expect he lived and died there.
So the foregoing are some of the highlights of the descendants and more details are contained in the family tree of James Mountain which is available to any relative who provides me with their email address.
GEORGE MOUNTAIN
George(1802-1889) the fifth son married Helen or Ellen Donald(1800-1881) from Seaview, PEI and I believe lived in the Darnley/Malpeque area as they were both buried at Malpeque Peoples Cemetery.. They had 5 children: 1) Mary (1827-1879) married Charles Barnard(1821- )and they moved first to NB and then to Massachusetts. Mary Ann is buried in Watertown, Massachusetts however no info on Charles. They had 3 daughters.
2) Margaret Murray(about 1829-1891) believed to be unmarried and lived in Alberton, PEI area. 3) Benjamin F(1839-1925) married Margaret Ann Taylor(1862-1941) from Stanley Bridge, PEI and they lived in Groton, Massachusetts and had one son. This name is not included in most histories but from my research, I believe he belonged to this family.
4) James E(1842-1862) buried Peoples Cemetery, Malpeque, PEI unlikely he was ever married. 5) Elizabeth( - about 1863) married February 5, 1850, to Henry B. Tuplin(about1824-1872) born in England. They had one son and probably lived in Margate, PEI where father and son graves were located.
5) Ann(about 1831- )married Malcolm Ellison from PEI and they had 5 children. Malcolm ended up in Boston but we have been unable to trace Ann's history. One of the sons, James, was in the care of his aunt when he died at 15 years old in 1880 which points to the possibility his mother may already have died before his death or parents were separated.
Note I have not been able to conclusively determine if all the above are offspring of George and Helen, particularly Benjamin and Ann whose records show they were born in PEI and parents names were George and Ellen and I could find no other records of an Ellen so concluded this was just a misinterpretation of the name Helen.
So the foregoing are some of the highlights of the descendants and few more details are contained in the family tree of George Mountain which is available to any relative who provides me with their email address.
DAVID MOUNTAIN
David(1805-1872) the writer's great great grandfather, the sixth son married Martha Beairsto(about 1812-1895). I have not found her place in the Beairsto tree. The Prince Town Grammar School record for 1826/27 shows that David Mountain 21 yrs. old was enrolled in arithmetic so this confirms David's approximate birthdate although the date of his death is not confirmed. Martha was living with their son James B after David's death so it is possible they were buried in Alberton, PEI area where James B was living at the time.
The History of Darnley shows David Mountain as a landowner in 1880 with a 70-acre farm which in later years was owned by Mrs. Colin Donald. The description places this property across from Grandpa John B. Mountain's old house on the Mountain Road. The Donald property was later purchased by Ralph Cole. Great Great Grandfather David would have been about 75 in 1880 and this was likely his farm. Legal Title was not always transferred quickly in those days and the farm could have already passed to one of his sons.
The 1861 Census records David as having 3 sons and 5 daughters and there is no record of him in subsequent census records. He was still living at the time of his daughter Isabel's marriage on September 5, 1872. The eight children: 1) Mary(1834-1917) married William M. Champion(1835-1899). William was buried in Foxley River, PEI while Mary was buried in Malpeque, PEI likely because she lived with her nephew Colin Mountain after William's death. They had 4 children. 2) Margaret(about1835-1881) unmarried and lived with brother James B. in 1881 in Alma, PEI. 3) Ann(1838-1899) married William Henry Wood(no details) they lived in the Alberton area and had one son who lived to only 10 years old. 4) Sarah(1840-1899) also unmarried and lived with brother James B. in 1881 in Alma, PEI.
5) Thomas (1843-1909) the writer's great grandfather, married March 31, 1870, to Rebecca Woodside (1850-1884) the daughter of Benjamin Woodside and Martha Beairsto (so you can see how the Beairsto genes are firmly embedded in our family). they had 8 children:
1) David (1866-1936) married Hannah Belle Champion(1870-1916). David was a fisherman, farmer and lobster packer who lived in Malpeque. David was born before marriage and may not have been brought up by his parents. They had 4 children: Minnie married William MacGougan, was widowed with 7 children at age 31, had 3 sons who served in World War II and one was lost at sea. Fanny Belle married Fred Beairsto(brother of Jimmie) and they had 2 daughters. Cora married James MacKinnon, lived in Malpeque with 5 children, Cora's daughters Betty and Janet married brothers Charles and Vernon Watson, Audrey married Wallace Mountain, Frances married Earl Woodside and son Jimmie married Phyllis MacGregor. Son Elwin was unmarried and worked at Prince County Hospital.
2) James(1872-1946) married Elizabeth Jones(1874-1948) from Wales in Liverpool, England. James left PEI as a Seaman on a British square Rigger, then joined the old White Star passenger line sailing from Europe and the USA. In 1913 a schooner he owned was shipwrecked entering the Miramichi River, NB. He moved to NY from Liverpool in Sept. 1903 and then to PEI in May 1905 living in Darnley and Malpeque from 1905 to1927 when he moved his family to Boston, Massachusetts. He worked with Eastern Steamship Line sailing from Boston to New York until his retirement in 1943. They had 14 children 5 of which were born in Liverpool, England, 1 in New York and the remainder in Darnley, PEI. Son Thomas was Captain of the Imperial Oil Tanker, Calgarolite for 24 years. On May 9, 1942, during a voyage from Norfolk, Virginia to Cartagena, Venezuela the Calgaorlite was torpedoed and sank by a German submarine(thought to be the U135 under the command of Kaptan Folker, sunk by a U.S. destroyer off Nfld in 1943). Captain Mountain and his 44 man crew took to 2 open lifeboats. After using sails and oars for 4 days Captain Mountain's lifeboat arrived at Nueva Gerona, Isle of Pines, Cuba. The other lifeboat made land in Mexico the next day. He was 79 when his first wife died(History of Darnley indicates 6 children). They lived in Halifax, NS, Norfolk, Virginia moved to Victoria, BC in 1981 after his first wife died. Son Walter enlisted n the Air Force at the age of 15 during World War I and then joined the Highland Cameroons, wore a kilt. He was wounded with shrapnel in his arm and suffered from shell shock. Son Ernest was a Captain in the Merchant Marine. Son Everett(Evan) worked on an oil tanker and was killed at age 27 when the tanker exploded in a port in Mexico. Son Albert was a World War II 1941-1945 veteran and worked as a seaman on oil tankers. He died after falling from a window at the US Public Health Hospital, Brighton, Massachusetts. Daughter Gladys was the best known to our family. She was one of two surviving triplets along with brother Andrew and married at 17 to a widower, 28 years older with 2 children and they went on to have 8 more children. Gladys later moved to Massachusetts but never forgot her Darnley roots and every significant holiday she would arrange to provide cards to every student in Darnley School. She moved back to Darnley for her last years and lived near her son in a little house on Reuben's Lane.
3) Martha (about1875- ) died young.
4) Benjamin(1876-1959) married Mary Ethel Brander(1883-1937) they were married in Boston moved to Worchester, Massachusetts and raised 2 sons.
5) John(1878-1967) the writer's grandfather married Annie Laurie Duggan(1868-1950)from Irishtown, PEI. Grandma Annie had a daughter, Lucy, out of wedlock when she was 19 years old. Lucy was raised by her grandparents and at 24 years old she moved to Washington State and later married Gerald Skinner and had 2 sons. Grandma Annie later married a widower, William Coughlin, who was 19 years older and already had 3 children(one of whom was Elizabeth the grandmother of Edwin Simmons). They had 2 more children Harold and Willetta before his death somewhere between 1898 and Dec. 1903. Harold lived in Cornwall, Ontario area and Willetta (the mother of Jean Burt) married Milton Woodside and died when Jean was only 2 months old. Jean was brought up by John and Annie. So the widowed Grandma married my grandfather, who was 10 years younger, and they had 5 children. My grandfather was a carpenter and there are still a number of barns and houses in the Darnley, Sea View, Malpeque and Park Corner that were built by him. He did a lot of walking to job sites and my late cousin Forbes Thompson told me he saw him numerous times walking along the shore to work at MacGougan's near Malpeque Cove with his hammer and saw. He was a quiet fellow and always had an old tomcat which he called Tom. He had a bushy mustache and used to put nails in his mouth when he was working. We kids said he had nails growing out of his mustache. He never owned a car or horse and walked to job sites miles away carrying his tools and back home at night.
Grandpa's mother died when he was 6 years old and, like his younger siblings went to live with relatives in the Darnley/Malpeque area. The 1891 census has him living with Sarah(Clark) Beairsto widow of William Beairsto and 1901 Census has him living and working for John T. McKay.
Their son Harry died of meningitis when he was 14. My father, Leslie, married Gertrude Anderson and they had 11 children. Nellie married Walter Garlick and they lived in Lynnfield, Massachusetts with 2 daughters(deceased). Amy married a widower with 4 children, Bert MacKay, from Clinton. There were no children from the marriage. Reg married Lois Blakeney, they lived in Oshawa, Ontario for many years and moved back to PEI on retirement. They had 3 children(all deceased). Both my father and Uncle Reg were carpenters.
6) Mary Eliza(1879-1956) married George Samuel Simmons (1882- ). George was from Newfoundland and they married in Malden, Massachusetts (later divorced) they had 2 children. Mary lived with her grandparents Benjamin and Martha Woodside, after her mother's death and emigrated to Massachusetts in 1900/01.
7) George(1882-1937) married Ethel Jane Woodside(1882-1974) they lived in Malpeque and had 2 children, Chester who died in infancy and Annie Rebecca (Ruby) who married Robert Craig.
8) Katherine(1884-1979) Kate was only 2 months old when her mother died and she was brought up by a maiden aunt. She moved to Massachusetts at the age of 18 to live with her sister Mary who was 5 years older. She married Albert McLain(1879-1956), lived in Maine and raised 10 children the last of whom died in 2019 one month short of her 97th birthday.
6) George(1845-1941) married Emelinda(Emily) Donald (1847-1922). They lived in Darnley and raised 9 children. The names most familiar to our family would be Howard, Eliza and Colin. Howard was married 3 times first to Ida Crozier she died 5 years later, they had 2 sons Ernest Lee and Harry, second to Mary Elizabeth MacGoughan
5) John(1878-1967) the writer's grandfather married Annie Laurie Duggan(1868-1950)from Irishtown, PEI. Grandma Annie had a daughter, Lucy, out of wedlock when she was 19 years old. Lucy was raised by her grandparents and at 24 years old she moved to Washington State and later married Gerald Skinner and had 2 sons. Grandma Annie later married a widower, William Coughlin, who was 19 years older and already had 3 children(one of whom was Elizabeth the grandmother of Edwin Simmons). They had 2 more children Harold and Willetta before his death somewhere between 1898 and Dec. 1903. Harold lived in Cornwall, Ontario area and Willetta (the mother of Jean Burt) married Milton Woodside and died when Jean was only 2 months old. Jean was brought up by John and Annie. So the widowed Grandma married my grandfather, who was 10 years younger, and they had 5 children. My grandfather was a carpenter and there are still a number of barns and houses in the Darnley, Sea View, Malpeque and Park Corner that were built by him. He did a lot of walking to job sites and my late cousin Forbes Thompson told me he saw him numerous times walking along the shore to work at MacGougan's near Malpeque Cove with his hammer and saw. He was a quiet fellow and always had an old tomcat which he called Tom. He had a bushy mustache and used to put nails in his mouth when he was working. We kids said he had nails growing out of his mustache. He never owned a car or horse and walked to job sites miles away carrying his tools and back home at night.
Grandpa's mother died when he was 6 years old and, like his younger siblings went to live with relatives in the Darnley/Malpeque area. The 1891 census has him living with Sarah(Clark) Beairsto widow of William Beairsto and 1901 Census has him living and working for John T. McKay.
Their son Harry died of meningitis when he was 14. My father, Leslie, married Gertrude Anderson and they had 11 children. Nellie married Walter Garlick and they lived in Lynnfield, Massachusetts with 2 daughters(deceased). Amy married a widower with 4 children, Bert MacKay, from Clinton. There were no children from the marriage. Reg married Lois Blakeney, they lived in Oshawa, Ontario for many years and moved back to PEI on retirement. They had 3 children(all deceased). Both my father and Uncle Reg were carpenters.
6) Mary Eliza(1879-1956) married George Samuel Simmons (1882- ). George was from Newfoundland and they married in Malden, Massachusetts (later divorced) they had 2 children. Mary lived with her grandparents Benjamin and Martha Woodside, after her mother's death and emigrated to Massachusetts in 1900/01.
7) George(1882-1937) married Ethel Jane Woodside(1882-1974) they lived in Malpeque and had 2 children, Chester who died in infancy and Annie Rebecca (Ruby) who married Robert Craig.
8) Katherine(1884-1979) Kate was only 2 months old when her mother died and she was brought up by a maiden aunt. She moved to Massachusetts at the age of 18 to live with her sister Mary who was 5 years older. She married Albert McLain(1879-1956), lived in Maine and raised 10 children the last of whom died in 2019 one month short of her 97th birthday.
6) George(1845-1941) married Emelinda(Emily) Donald (1847-1922). They lived in Darnley and raised 9 children. The names most familiar to our family would be Howard, Eliza and Colin. Howard was married 3 times first to Ida Crozier she died 5 years later, they had 2 sons Ernest Lee and Harry, second to Mary Elizabeth MacGoughan
