9_8 Albert & Harriet Hedley
Chapter 9, 8
(Generation iv) Albert
Edwin Hedley (1884-1941)
and
Harriet A. Chadbourn (1886-1972)
1 - Albert Edwin Hedley (Ab)
was born October 7, 1884 in Kinloss Township, the eighth, and second
youngest, of the children of John Henry Hedley and Margaret Florence
Johnston. Albert was one year old when his family moved to Greenock
Township, two and a half years old when his mother Margaret Florence
died, and barely three when his father John Henry married Ann (Young)
Alexander.
Albert started school at McDonald
Public School (S.S.# 4
Greenock). It was a frame building on the south-east corner
of
Lot 31, Concession 7, built diagonally across from the original log
school. Attendance at this school was 45-50 pupils. A school
photograph captioned S.S.# 4
McDonald 1888 in the book Greenock
Township History 1856-1981 includes Albert, who at the time
would have been four, and sisters and brother Maggie, Lil and
Wes. John Henry Hedley, their father, also appears in the photo.
It is not known whether John Henry was included in the photo as
assistant teacher, as school board member, or in some other capacity.
There was much controversy in the community about the location of the
school, and in 1905 land on which to relocate the school was purchased
from John Henry Hedley on the north-west corner of Lot 32, Concession
6. The school was moved 3/4 kilometres to its new location, and two
years later it was bricked. By then Albert and his sisters and
brothers had left school, but Albert’s four children and later a
grandchild attended the brick school, as did his brother Wes’s four
children and two grandchildren.
The schoolroom these children attended in the 1940's differed little
from the one Albert attended as a child. It was heated by a
wood-burning box stove. Water was carried in a pail from a nearby farm
and placed at the back of the room with a common dipper. Separate
outdoor toilets for girls and boys were located behind the school.
Double desks replaced the original benches that had been located around
three sides of the classroom. Some of these double desks were
still in use in the 1940's. Slates were used rather than exercise
books until the late 1920's, when students had to learn how to master
straight pens that were dipped into clay inkwells situated in each
desk. The school was run by an elected three-man school board.
Teachers usually boarded in the community. The home of Albert and
Hattie Hedley hosted a succession of S.S. #4 teachers.
|
Marriage, St.
Matthew’s Anglican Church
Kingarf, Greenock Township - May 30, 1906
Harriet Agnes Chadbourn
age 20, farmer's daughter
res. Kincardine
Twp.
Church of England
Parents: Dennis Cadbourn
and Susanna Lano |
Albert Edwin Hedley
age 22, farmer
res. Greenock Twp.
Church of England
John Henry Hedley
and Margaret Johnston
|
Anglican
Parish Registers,
Huron College, London
|
On May 30, 1906 Albert
married Harriet (Hattie) Chadbourn,
who was employed as a milliner in Kincardine. Albert was 21 years old
and Hattie 20, born April 14, 1886, the youngest, along with her twin
sister May, of the seven children of Susannah Lano and Dennis
Chadbourn, both natives of England (See Chapter 9,8 -
Part 2 ) Albert and Harriet bought farmland adjoining
that of
Albert’s father, John Henry, who owned Lot
32 on Concession 6 of Greenock Township. Albert
purchased Lot 32 on Concession 7 from Henry Alexander, presumably
a brother-in-law of Ann Alexander, Albert’s stepmother. Henry had taken
up the Crown Deed for the property. John Alexander, Henry’s
brother, owned the adjoining farm, which he sold in 1907 to Joseph
Henry Young. The Youngs and the Hedleys remained close neighbours for
many years. In 1910 Albert’s father John Henry and stepmother Ann
retired to Kincardine and, Albert’s elder brother Wes took over the
home farm.
Meanwhile Albert and Hattie moved into temporary buildings on
their property while their
Queen Anne style house of white brick was being constructed with
the aid of the Alexander brothers. It was not completed until 1910, the
year Ab and Hattie’s third child, Jack, was born.
1911 Census for Canada; Ontario; Bruce County South; Greenock
Township
Hedley Albert, Head, age 26, married, b. Oct. 1884
Harriet, Wife, age 25, married, b. April 1886
Orval, son, age 4, single, b. Feb. 1907
Mabel, daughter, age 2, b. Nov. 1909
Eldon, son, age 8 months, b. Oct. 1910
Chadburn, Susanan, Lodger, age 62, widow, b. Sept.
1848
Susanna (Lano) Chadbourn, Harriet’s mother, was living with the family
temporarily. Her husband Dennis Chadbourne had died ten years earlier, on March
25, 1900. The twins, Harriet and May, age15, Elizabeth, 20 and Harry, 23 (who
took over managing the farm) were living with Susanna in their Kincardine Twp.
home in 1901, the year following their father’s death.
In addition to his
family and farm activities Albert was a member of the Greenock Township
Council and took part in municipal and community affairs, as well
as being an active member in the Kingarf Anglican church.
In 1930 Albert and Hattie’s eldest son Orville was married and
settled on a nearby farm. Jack was absent from the home, attending
school and working at various jobs. He married in 1932. Mabel and
Bert were living at home when their father Albert died at age 56 on May
11, 1941. He is remembered by his family as a hard working, kindly and
fair-minded man. Hattie continued to manage the farm with the help of
her family until it was purchased by her grandson Albert (Al) Hedley,
Jack’s son, about 1958. Hattie and Bert continued to live on the farm
with Al and his wife Margaret (Johnson) and their young family for
several years. As Hattie’s health deteriorated, she went to live
with her daughter and son-in-law Mabel and Elmer Scott near
Teeswater. Hattie died in Wingham Hospital Dec. 14, 1972 at age 86. The
graves of Albert and Harriet (Chadbourn) Hedley are in Kincardine
cemetery. They had four
children:
(1)
Orville Wilber Hedley,
born January 23, 1907, was the eldest of the four children of
Albert and Harriet Hedley. He was married in 1930 to Olive Myrtle Eskrick who was born
January 23, 1906, the eldest of the five children of Mary Ellen
(Siddon) and Thomas Eskrick of Kincardine Township. Olive’s brothers
and sisters were Melvin who lived in Alberta; Myrtle, m. Eldon Russel
of Greenock Twp.; George, m. Pearl Woods, Kincardine Twp.; and
Oda Grace, m. Harry Wilson. George and Pearl Eskrick had one son Thomas
who married Anne Mitchell of Kincardine. Tom and Anne had three boys,
Gerald, Robert and Rodney (1965-8). Thomas gave up farming and
went to work in the Hamilton area. George and Pearl moved to Chesley
where George died in 1981.
Orville and Olive Hedley lived for a time on Concession 6, across from
Orville’s parents’ farm on land later owned by the Kerslake family, but
they eventually moved to a house that Jack had renovated on property at
the edge of the Greenock Swamp. Around 1955 Orville lost an eye
as the result of a farm accident. In the 1960's Olive and
Orville moved to Concession 10 of Culross Township (R.R.1 Formosa) near
the farm of their daughter and son-in-law, June and Barry Hill and
their children. Olive died at age 61 in a tragic accident March 25,
1967 when her clothing caught fire while she was lighting their wood
stove. Orville died March 14, 1974 at age 67. The graves of
Orville and Olive Hedley are in Kincardine
Cemetery. They had one daughter:
[1] Orlene June Hedley, born June
15, 1935, attended S.S. #4 Greenock Public School, the same school her
father and grandfather had attended. In her Grade 8 year June
achieved some local fame when she won the Junior Girls’ Trophy for
athletic achievement at the inter-school sports day. In her teen years
June played on a girls’ softball team. June trained as a telephone
operator and worked, until her retirement in the 1990's, for the Bell
Telephone Co., Hanover.
|
Marriage, St.
Matthew’s Anglican Church
Kingarf, Greenock Township - July 3, 1954
Orlene June Hedley
age 19, telephone
operator
res.
Walkerton
Church of England
Parents:
Orville &
Olive Hedley |
Barry Leonard Hill
age 19, factory worker
res. Walkerton
United Church
Alfred Roy Hill & Alice Condy
|
Witnesses: Goldie and Jackie
Emerson
Anglican Parish Registers,
Huron College, London
|
June and Barry farmed and raised their three sons at R.R.1 Formosa.
They later separated and June took up residence in Hanover.
{1} Paul Hill, b.1959, worked
as
a radio host in Wingham. Paul now works at FM 98
The Beach in Port Elgin. On air Paul is known to his
listeners as “Dusty Hill.”
Paul married Ann Reid in 1978. Two children:
1- Cory Hill b.1977 works at Honda; m.
Courtney (--?--) One child (gen. ix):
<1> Ashlyn Marie Hill b. April 2005
2- Lindsay Hill b. 1979
{2} Wayne Hill b. 1961 works in
real estate in Kitchener.
Wayne married June Corcoran in 1987. Two children:
1- Samantha June Hill b. 1989
2- Mark Hill b. 1992
{3} Steven John Hill b.
1964,
works as an electronics technician for
Westinghouse. He married Dianne Lynn Benson in 1989 in
Mount Forest.
One child:
1- Tyson Steven Hill b. 1994
(2)
Mabel Eileen Hedley b. Nov. 3, 1908;
Mabel was the second child and only
daughter of Albert and Harriet
Hedley. As a young woman Mabel suffered a period of poor health as a
result of a tuberculous infection. After her recovery at home and the
death of her father in 1941, she helped her mother and brother with the
operation of their farm home. She later moved to Teeswater where
she worked in a retail dress shop.
|
Marriage, St.
John’s Anglican Church Rectory,
Bervie Ontario - June 3, 1950
Mabel Eileen Hedley, age
40
Greenock Twp.
Religion: - Anglican
Parents: Albert & Harriet Hedley
|
Robert John Elmer Scott,
age 36
farmer, Culross Twp.
Presbyterian
David G. Scott and
Maggie McAllister
|
Anglican Parish Registers,
Huron College, London
|
m.
Elmer Scott in 1950. Elmer was born
March 10, 1914, the son of David and Maggie Scott of Culross Twp.
Mabel and Elmer also farmed in Culross Twp. Con. 6, Lot 33. Elmer
died July 24, 1993 at age 79. Mabel died March 31, 1998 at age 89 after
several years in the Braeman Nursing Home in Wingham. The graves of
Mabel and Elmer are in Langside Cemetery, Kinloss Twp. They had two
sons:
[1] Donald Elmer Scott b. 1952 in
Culross Twp., when his mother was 43 years old, was the elder of the
two sons of Mabel and Elmer Scott.
m. Joke Johanna Visser
in 1980 in Knox Presbyterian Church, Teeswater. Joke, b. 1954, the
daughter of Mr and Mrs. Tom Visser, was a seamstress. The Visser family
had moved to Teeswater from Holland in the 1970's. Donald and Joke
settled on the farm that was formerly owned by Donald’s
grandparents, David and Maggie Scott, and after them, Donald’s parents,
Mabel and Elmer Scott, six miles west of Teeswater. Mabel and Elmer
moved to another farm a couple of miles further east, on Concession 7,
Lot 25 of Culross. Twp.
Donald and Joke had four children:
{1} Andrew David Scott b. 1981
{2} Clayton Gregory Scott b.
1983
{3} Mitchell Donavan Scott b.
1986
{4} Cedric John Scott b. 1990
[2] Kenneth Alan Scott b. 1954, when
his mother was 46 years old, was the second son of Mabel and Elmer
Scott. Ken worked for UCO Petroleum in Ilderton while his wife, Debby,
attended Fanshawe College. Ken later farmed at R.R 1 Teeswater in
Culross Twp.
m1 Deborah Anne Peterbaugh
in 1976 in St. Andrew’s United Church, Ripley. Debbie, the daughter of
Ruby and Don Peterbaugh of Ripley, was born in 1976. Ken and
Debbie had four children. They later divorced.
{1} Amy Ann Scott, b.1980 is majoring in music at
the University
of Western Ontario, London.
{2} Shaun Curtis Scott, b.
1982, m. Leanne Massena in
Jan. 2006.
The wedding took place in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
{3} Blair Scott b. 1985
{4} Alicia Dawn Scott, b. 1988
m2 Ruth Ann Readman in 1994.
Ken and Ruth Ann operate River Lodge Farm in Culross Twp. Con.7, Lot
27, a few miles west of Teeswater. Ruth Ann also has a
drapery/upholstery business which she operates from their farm location.
(3)
Eldon John Hedley (Jack) b. Oct. 23, 1910, was the second son of
Albert and Harriet Hedley. After graduating from Kincardine High
School, Jack attended the Ontario Institute of Art in Toronto where he
was introduced to the work of the Canadian Group of Seven. After
leaving college, Jack worked as a sign painter for the CPR railway in
the French River district. Returning to Greenock Township, he purchased
a portable sawmill, and worked, with help from his family and hired
men, at sawing into lumber logs harvested from the back of his
father’s farm as well as filling orders from neighbouring farmers.
On Sept. 7, 1932 Jack married Muriel
Aileen Hodgins, b. July 17, 1910, daughter of Lorne Hodgins and
Ethel Smith of Kinloss village (Black Horse). Aileen had completed two
years of nurse’s training in Hanover Hospital before having to give up
her plans for a nursing career because of eczema caused by harsh
chemicals used in the hospital. Another factor influencing her
decision to postpone her nurse’s training was her mother’s need for
assistance at home after the birth of her sister Lorna, twenty years
younger than Aileen.
Jack and Aileen’s first home was on the edge of the Greenock Swamp, on
property owned by Jack’s parents, a kilometre east of their residence.
Before their marriage Jack renovated the house, replacing the
damaged floors with pine flooring and adding a large glassed-in sun
porch, but there was no electricity, telephone or running water. Their
first two children were born there in 1934 and 1935.
In 1935 Jack decided to use some unsold lumber to construct a
service station in the village of Kinloss. Jack and Aileen operated
their white service station while living in rented quarters across the
road. Money was scarce during depression years and retail businesses
suffered. Eventually they sold the service station which, with the
improvement in the economy, began to thrive and continued to serve the
Kinloss community for many years.
Jack and Aileen purchased a home and farmland situated between
Silver Lake and Clam Lake. The property was owned by Aileen’s
Aunt Clara McNiece, who had inherited it from her parents. It had been
rented to tenants for several years and was in need of much repair when
Jack and Aileen and their two young children moved in. During their
twenty-year residency in this home, two more children were born, in
1941 and 1951. Jack, like most farmers in the area, worked at mixed
farming, but found the sandy and stony soil of the moraine area between
the lakes relatively poor agriculturally. In the 1930's and 40's he
supplemented the family income by trapping and later by getting local
painting and wall papering assignments. When he could find free
time he indulged his love for fishing and hunting and for painting in
oils and water colours.
In addition to her work as a farm wife, Aileen supplemented the
family income by providing accommodation and meals for fishermen and
hunters from the city and occasionally for their families as well. She
was always prepared to use her nursing skills to help family or
neighbours with medical needs. On one occasion, during a trip to
Northern Ontario, she assisted a teenager and her father in the
delivery of a baby in an adjoining motel room.
In 1955 Jack and Aileen traded their farm for a general store in the
village of Shedden. By that time only their two youngest children, ages
3 and 13, were living at home. Following two or three years of
store keeping, they traded the general store for a lovely Florida-style
home in St. Marys, where Jack worked full-time as a decorator. Aileen
continued to add to the family income with a home-based catering
service. They both entered enthusiastically into the community life of
St. Marys. Jack painted wall murals and oil paintings of local
scenes for homes and businesses and won prizes for his outdoor
Christmas decorations. Aileen became an expert on African
violets, propagating and caring for over 400 violets under
lights. She also won prizes at the fall fair for her baking and
preserves. One of the prizes was a quart jar full of silver dollars
(when they were still made of pure silver) awarded by the Bernardin
Bottle Cap Co. for being the Canada-wide winner with the most awards
for preserves.
Jack and Aileen were both enthusiastic members of the
Horticultural Society, frequently in demand for their slide shows and
lectures on Canadian wild flowers as well as African violets.
Jack died suddenly at his St. Marys home of a heart attack on
November 23, 1970, the evening of the season’s first severe snow storm.
He was 60 years old. His two daughters, on hearing of their father’s
death, had an anxious taxi ride from London through the blizzard on
snow filled roads.
Aileen continued to live in her St. Marys home for ten more years,
providing home nursing for bed-ridden patients, care for families while
parents were away and a neighbourhood catering service. In addition she
took an active part in St. Marys United Church, Sunday School and
U.C.W. and the St. Marys Friendship Centre for seniors, working on many
quilts and organizing day trips for the Friendship Centre. She had a
keen interest in reading, cooking, gardening, travelling and her
family. In the spring of 1981 she moved to Cherryhill apartments in
London where she made many friends and took an active part in the
activities of Empress United Church and the U.C.W. In December
1993 while getting her mail in her Cherryhill apartment building,
Aileen was knocked down by a speeding motorized wheelchair and suffered
a broken hip. After six months of medical difficulties and intermittent
hospital care, Aileen died of a heart attack on June 13, 1993 at
University Hospital. She was 83 years old. The graves of Aileen and
Jack Hedley are in Greenhills Cemetery, Lucknow. Four children
(generation 6):
[1] Jacqueleen Ann Hedley b. March
2, 1934 in Kinloss, attended S.S.#1 Kinloss and Greenock Elementary
School and Lucknow District High School to which she and her brother
were transported daily via school bus. At the end of Grade 12, Jackie
took advantage of a new program of the Ontario Dept.of Education to
increase the number of elementary school teachers needed to accommodate
the approaching “baby boom". Prospective teachers were given an
intensive summer course in teaching for two consecutive summers,
qualifying them to teach for two years, at which time they were
required to attend a Teacher’s College for one year. Jackie’s first two
years’ teaching experiences were in a one-room rural school, S.S #7
Kincardine Twp. and grades one to four at Cameron Falls P.S. in
Northern Ontario.
m. Goldwin James Emerson at
the home of Jackie’s parents on the South Line, Kinloss Twp. on Dec.
20, 1952. Goldie b. Aug. 2, 1931 was the third son of Samuel Emerson
and Pearl Hunter of the Bervie area. Their farm was located on the
boundary road (between Kincardine and Huron Townships). His brothers
were Glen (presently of Georgetown) and Raymond (presently of
Sydney, Vancouver Island). Goldie has a younger sister, Hilda
Emerson (presently of Stratford). Goldie was an elementary school
teacher at Riversdale and Kinlough.
The first residence of Goldie and Jackie was in Kinlough, their second
residence in Cameron Falls. In 1953 they moved to Beaconsfield Avenue
in London with a view to Jackie’s completing her required year at
Teacher’s College. Subsequently they both taught in Delaware Twp.
elementary schools, Jackie in a one-room rural school and Goldie
serving as vice-principal and then principal of Delaware Central
School. In 1957-9 they both received positions in London Township
schools, Goldie at Riverside Public School and Jackie at Hutton Public
School. They bought a two-bedroom ranch-style house on Boler Road in
Byron which eventually proved too small after the arrival of
their three children in 1960, ‘61 and ‘62. In 1962 they had a
two-storey, four-bedroom brick house built around the corner, on Wayne
Rd. in Byron, where they have resided for over forty years.
While Jackie was at home with the children, she worked at
furthering her education and in 1975 graduated from the University of
Western Ontario with a Bachelor of
Arts (B.A). degree majoring in Sociology. Goldie continued his
education while employed as vice principal in Oak Park and later St.
George’s Public Schools in London and as a master at London Teachers’
College. He received his Master of
Education (M.Ed.) degree from the University of Toronto in 1966
and his Doctorate in Philosophy
(D.Ph.) in 1975 from the University of Ottawa, where the family
lived for a year while Goldie completed his doctorate work. Previous to
that, the family spent their summers living in the Toronto
vicinity and at an Ottawa-area campground while Goldie took summer
courses. From 1967 to 1985 Goldie taught at London Teacher’s
College/Althouse College, at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) in
London.
Jackie worked at home as a report grader for the UWO School of Business
Administration from 1973 to 1982. She also worked as a tutor in the
Adult Basic Education Program from 1972 until her retirement in 1994,
at first as a volunteer tutor, but from 1987 as a salaried
employee coordinating a tutoring program for physically disabled adults
at Hutton House. Goldie retired in 1986, but continues to participate
in educational programs on a part-time basis. Since retirement
Jackie volunteers at Operation Bookmark at the Child Parent Resource
Institute (CPRI) in Byron and with the USC Quilters.
Goldie and Jackie enjoy philosophy,
photography, scrabble, bridge and travelling. They have had many
interesting trips to different parts of the world. Three children
(gen.7):
{1} Kevin Samuel Emerson b.
1960 in London; attended Byron
Southwood Elementary
School in London; Confederation High
School, Ottawa; St. John’s
Cathedral School in Selkirk, Manitoba;
and
Saunders High School, London;
Kevin drowned in 1978 in Komoka; funeral at CPRI Chapel in Byron;
ashes buried in Greenhill Cemetery, Lucknow (grandparents’ plot).
{2} Blake Hedley Emerson b.1961 in
London; attended Byron Southwood
Elementary School in London; Sir Winston Churchill Elementary School in
Ottawa; Saunders High School and Fanshawe College, London where he
graduated as an electronics technician. Blake has been employed for the
past ten years as a locomotive tester for GM Diesel in London.
m. Monika Otte in1982 at the
CPRI Chapel in Byron. Monika was born in
London in 1963, the daughter of Hans Wilhelm Otte (d. abt.1985), who
was the son of Wilhelm and Elsa Otte of Witzenhausen, Germany. Monika’s
mother is Brigitte Erika (Schafer) Otte of Port Bruce, who was
the daughter
of Karl and Emilie Schafer, Germany. Monika’s parents and
two older
brothers emigrated from Germany to Canada in the early 1960's. Monika’s
father, Hans Otte, was a cabinet maker in Germany
and worked in
carpentry after settling in London. He built a home for
the family in Komoka.
After graduating from Strathroy High School Monika worked as a
secretary
at the former PRI ( Photo-Chemical Research Institute) in London until
the
arrival of their children.
Blake and Monika are the parents of two daughters (gen. 8):
1- Kristine Jacqualeen Emerson b.
1988
2- Julie Aileen Emerson b. 1991
{3} Heather
Aileen Emerson b.1962 in London; attended Byron
Southwood
Elementary School in London; Sir Winston Churchill Elementary School in
Ottawa; Saunders High School, London; and the University of Western
Ontario.
She graduated in1985 with a Bachelor
of Science (B.Sc.) degree in
Occupational Therapy. After working for several years in the
field, Heather
returned to UWO and in 1996 earned a Master of Science degree (M.Sc.)
in Occupational Therapy.
Heather has worked in psychiatric units in several London and St.
Thomas
hospitals and group homes as well as
teaching in the Occupational Therapy
faculty at UWO.
m. Michael
Shane Hart in April, 1988 at the home of
Heather’s parents in
Byron. Michael was born in Aug.1959, the son of
Leonard Hart (d. 2002) and
Evelyn Feast of London. Michael is the grandson of William Feast (b. in
Lancaster, Eng.; d. in London in 2002) and Kirsteen Feast (b. in
Scotland) and
also Leonard Hart of London and Bertha Rae Howe of Stratford. Michael
is an
electronics technician at Rogers Cable in London. Heather
and Michael and
their two children live in St. Thomas:
1- Kendra Emerson Hart b. 2000
2- Ethan Hedley Hart b. 2002
[2] Albert Lorne Hedley b.Aug.13,
1935 in Kinloss, was the second child of Jack and Aileen (Hodgins)
Hedley. He attended S.S. #1 Kinloss & Greenock Public School and
Lucknow District High School. All has always had a keen interest in
mechanics.
m. Margaret Aldine Johnson in
1959 in Bervie United Church. Margaret was born in 1937, the daughter
of Willard Johnson and Frances Brown of Kincardine Twp. Margaret is a
graduate of Kincardine High School and the Stratford General Hospital
School of Nursing. Al and Marg bought Lot 32, Concession 7,
Greenock Twp. from Al’s grandmother, Harriet (Chadbourn) Hedley, with
the understanding that she and her son Bert would continue to live
there as long as they so chose. Al worked on the farm, improving
and modernizing the buildings and equipment. He developed a proto-type
for a heavy-duty snow blower that was more efficient than commercially
available machines for removing the ice-packed banks created by highway
plows. This durable model received wide acceptance locally as well as
by the Ont. Dept. of Highways. Al’s services are in constant
demand during winter storms.
Al has considerably updated the farm he bought from his grandmother 45
years ago. In addition to the construction of many substantial farm
buildings, he has installed such modern farm conveniences as
automatic cattle feeders, a manure disposal system and drive-on weigh
scales. Al has also invested in a combine and other modern farm
machinery with which he does custom work on neighbouring farms as well
as harvesting his own crops. Al’s main livestock activity is buying
yearling cattle in the fall from Western farmers, over-wintering them
and selling them, hopefully at a profit in the spring. In addition he
does machinery repairs and welding for surrounding farmers and also
runs a successful business marketing seed corn, for which he has
received many awards and free trips.
After their three children were in school, Margaret returned to her
nursing career, at first working at Kincardine Hospital and later
working as the on-site medical person for the nearby Bruce
Nuclear Power Plant. Margaret achieved some local fame when, on one
occasion, she climbed to the top of a building crane to offer medical
assistance to a stricken worker. Margaret, an active farm wife, also
participates in many community activities and is well liked by family
and friends for her pleasant personality and helpful and caring ways.
Al and Margaret had three children (generation 7):
{1} Dennis John Hedley
b.1960, attended Holyrood District Elementary School,
Kincardine District Secondary School and Fanshawe College in London
where
he received training in computers and heavy equipment
technology. He owns a
home in Willow Beach on Lake Simcoe, north of
Toronto, but Dennis’s contract
work takes him to many different locations in North
America.
{2} Susan Elizabeth Hedley
b.1961, attended Holyrood District Elementary School;
Kincardine District Secondary School; and Sheridan College of Applied
Arts and
Technology in Toronto, where she graduated with a Diploma in Illustration and
also won the Thomas Nelson Award for
Outstanding Academic Achievement.
In the 1980's Susan worked as Book Designer for McGraw-Hill Ryerson and
as
Art Director for Longman Publishers.
In 1987-89 she attended Camberwell College of Art in London, England
where
she won the Rotary International
Scholarship for Independent Study.
In the 1990's Susan taught part-time at Sheridan College in Oakville
and at
Humber College in Toronto while also doing Freelance Graphic Design.
In 1994 she graduated “with
distinction” from the University of Toronto with a
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
degree and the Lapetriello Art
History Scholarship
for study in Siena, Italy
The following year Susan returned to Italy to study at the Institute of
Art and
Restoration in Florence, where she was awarded, in addition to her
Certificate,
an Italian Cultural
Institute Scholarship.
In 1998 she furthered her Fine Arts studies at the International School of Art in
Umbria, Italy.
In 2000 Susan earned a Master
of Arts Degree (M.A) cum laude at Syracuse
University, New York.
In addition to her academic awards, Susan has received many professional
awards and honours. She has recently given professional
lectures at Metro
Convention Centre in Toronto and the Maryland Institute College of Art
in
Baltimore.
Susan presently lives in downtown Toronto, where she has her own visual
communications studio. Her firm has a solid track record of
delivering award-
winning design solutions for clients ranging from not-for-profit
agencies to
publishing houses and blue-chip corporations. She also
continues to travel and
work on her fine art and holds frequent art shows.
One daughter:
1- Simone Francesca Muriel Hedley b. 2006
{3} Bruce Willard Hedley b. 1962
attended Holyrood District Elementary School,
Lucknow District Elementary School, Kincardine High School and
Fanshawe
College in London where he graduated in electronic technology.
m. Janis Wrightson in 1986 in
Kincardine United Church (now divorced).
Janis, born in 1962, was the daughter of a Eileen and Earl
Wrightson, a
former Kincardine police officer (deceased). Bruce is
employed as an
operator at the Bruce Nuclear Plant. Janis manages the
Ontario Motor
Vehicles Bureau in Kincardine. Bruce and Janis purchased a home
in
Bervie which they renovated and modernized. After their separation Bruce
bought a home in Kincardine which he also renovated and
modernized,
adding hardwood flooring throughout. He has recently purchased
another
Kincardine property on which he is presently making improvements.
Bruce and Janis had two daughters:
1- Melissa Lynne Hedley b. 1989
2- Rachel Nichole Hedley b. 1991
[3] David Dennis Hedley b.
1941, Lot 22, Kinloss Twp. on the “South Line” was the third
child and second son of Jack and Aileen Hedley. He attended S.S. #1
Kinloss & Greenock Public School, Shedden Elementary School, St.
Thomas Vocational High School, graduated from Beal Tech, London,
in Architectural Drafting and completed fifth form at St. Marys
Collegiate. David worked as a draftsman in Mitchell before taking a
position in the Dept. of Works at the University of Waterloo. On
weekends David liked to get out of the city and into the countryside.
He took flying lessons and visited many parts of Canada and the United
States by plane. In the 1960's he bought property on a trout stream in
Huron County, near Belgrave. Originally he bought a small cabin which
he moved onto the site. Some time later he purchased a log house which
he disassembled, carefully numbered each log and rebuilt on his
property, using the original cabin as a kitchen and excavating a cellar
below it. Beside his log cabin David excavated a pond which he
stocked with trout. Eventually he gave up his city job, moved full time
into his log house and gave full attention to developing a trout farm
which became such an attraction for week-end fishermen that David
excavated a second, larger pond and developed access driveways and
parking areas. He also delivered fresh trout to restaurants in the
area.
In addition to his trout farm, David started a small company as a
building contractor, doing work that included renovations, carpentry,
roofing and building pole barns.
Among David’s many interests are genealogy, country and western
music, photography and computers. He is webmaster for several computer
sites including this site and his
trout farm. David has had three
marriages:
m1 Mary Fern Nethery in 1964 in
St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Wingham. Fern was the daughter Mr. and Mrs.
Abner E. Nethery of Wingham. Fern died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in
1966. Her grave is in Belgrave Cemetery.
m2 Verna (Robertson) Garniss in
1977 (divorced 1984) Verna brought her two young children into the
marriage, Jim and Heather Garniss.
m3 Gloria Wanda (Wilton) Bell
in June,1986 at an outdoor wedding on the grounds of David’s log house.
Gloria was born in 1942 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. She had three
grown children from a previous marriage: {1} Terrence Bell, b. 1960 in
Saskatchewan, lives in Alberta with his wife Tami and their two
children Kory (b.1991) and Tara Bell (b.1993); {2} Leslie Bell was born
in Stratford, where he still resides; {3} Michael Bell b.1963 in
Stratford resides in Edmonton with his wife Randy and son Kavan Bell
(b. 1999).
[4] Marjorie Elizabeth Hedley, the
youngest child of Jack and Aileen, was born in 1951 in Kincardine
Hospital two days after her sister’s seventeenth birthday. At the time
her parents were still living on their farm on the South Line in
Kinloss Township. Margie attended Elementary School and High
School in St. Marys. She graduated from St. Joseph’s Regional School of
Nursing in London in 1971, received a Bachelor
of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Western
Ontario in 1974 and worked as a public health nurse in the Middlesex
London District Health Unit and the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Health
Unit until the arrival of her children. After her children were in
school Margie has worked as Dental Office Manager in her
husband’s dental office in Guelph..
(4)
Albert Henry Hedley (Bert) b. April 20, 1913 in Greenock Twp.,
was the fourth and youngest of the four children of Albert Hedley and
Harriet Chadbourn. Bert was injured as a toddler when a hay fork, used
to lift bundles of hay into the mow, accidently became unhooked and
fell on
him. By the time he reached school age he had recovered enough to
attend S.S.# 4 Greenock Public School. Bert farmed on the home place
for most of his life. His farming technique was unique for his gentle
treatment of farm animals and their responding cooperative behaviour.
At milking time in the summer the family’s dog would be sent to quietly
round up the cows in the neighbouring field and bring them to the farm
yard, where they would stand peacefully while Bert and his mother
set their milk stools down beside them and proceeded to fill their tin
milk pails.
Bert remained on the farm, even after it was purchased by his nephew Al
Hedley. He never married, but was a very popular uncle with two
generations of nieces and nephews. In 1971 Bert suddenly lost his
eyesight as a result of glaucoma. However, he continued to give comfort
and support to the niece and nephews with whom he lived. It was
Uncle Bert who was always there when they returned from school, even
when their parents were away at work. One of them speaks for all of
Bert’s nieces and nephews with the following touching
testimonial: “He imparted values of honesty, caring, love,
commitment and unwavering loyalty, qualities the ‘clan’ strives to
achieve. His gentle nature was a beacon to follow. Truly, how can one
possess so little and yet give so much, and without expectations? I am
grateful for the lessons he left so many years ago.”
Eventually, after the children had left home, Bert found the days long
and lonely and decided to move to Brucelea Haven Retirement Home in
Walkerton, where he lived happily for many years. He died there on Oct.
27, 1990 at age 77. His grave is in Kincardine
Cemetery.