When Duane visited Aunt Audrey in October 2013, he received some pictures of the Stewart family. The picture that follows contains
four generations. From left to right the adults are Etta Stewart, Abigail Watson and Florence
Harrison nee Stewart. The young boy is Florence's son George.
Hi Duane!
In response to your question, "Abigail Watson" was her maiden name, she was actually married to Aseph Elias Guinn. I suspect that
she was always referred to as "Abigail Watson" because there was this apocryphal tale circulating in the family that she was a first
cousin of renowned Canadian painter Homer Watson, although in researching the issue, we were never able to establish a clear link.
In an interesting twist, there was also a rumour in the family that Abigail's mother, Harriet Eisenhower, was related to Dwight D.
Eisenhower, former US president. Ironically, that's the link that we were able to positively establish! So if anybody asks, you can
say you're distantly related to the 34th president of the United States of America.
I'm not sure how much Guinn family history you have at your disposal, so I will pass on what I know.The records go back to William Gwynne, resident of Ireland, whose son, Richard Guinn, (born 1794, died 1871) emigrated to Canada. You'll notice that the spelling of the name changed at that point, so we assume that Richard was illiterate and the bureaucrat filling out the form at Grosse Isle just tried to spell the name phonetically.
Richard Guinn married Maria Stephens (1810-1897) and they had seven daughters:
Now this is where the story gets interesting! Jane, as a teenager, was impregnated up by Richard Todd, the husband of her sister Maryann. The baby born of that indiscretion was Aseph Elias Guinn, who was raised by his grandfather, Richard Guinn, as his own son, presumably. Since records show Jane was born in 1839 and Aseph Elias was born in 1855, the oldest she could possibly have been at the time of his birth would have been 16. (In other words, Richard Todd's dalliance bordered on pedophilia!) I should mention that we were always told that Aseph Elias was born out of wedlock because his mother had been raped by some unidentified stranger. It wasn't until we got a copy of the Guinn family history that we learned the identity of the "rapist." (Jane later married Bill Grainger and had seven more children. I've got their names, if you'd like to know them.)
Aseph Elias Guinn married Abigail Watson and they had eight children:
The family lived on an Indian reservation and at least two of the sons, John and Ted, became fluent in the Cree language. So much so that they were in the habit of frustrating their parents by using it around the house when they didn't want their Mom and Dad to know what they were discussing. I've asked my mother if her own mother (Etta) became fluent in the language, but my mother didn't think so since she'd never heard her mother speak it, although Granny did have a lot of aboriginal friends, apparently. Of course, given the prejudices of the day, the ability of someone of European origin to speak a native language might not be something one would necessarily want shouted from the rooftops. Since Granny grew up in a native environment I can't imagine she wouldn't have known the language--at least at some rudimentary level.
We also have a certain amount of information on the history of Aseph's wife, Abigail Watson. The records go back to William Watson, who had four children:
Graham Watson, of "Watson Wooling Mills," married Harriett Eisenhower, the daughter of Marilla Knickerbocker and Michael Eisenhower.
They had four children:
Michael Eisenhower had a common ancestor with Dwight D., although it's back rather far. It's interesting to note that the original German
spelling was "Eisenhauer," which was anglicized to "Eisenhower" prior to the family lines diverging. On an interesting side note, "Knickerbocker"
was the result of a name change, since the family's actual name was "Ruiter." Both families were the product of the German immigrants who settled
in Pennsylvania. (Where they were known as "Pennsylvania Dutch," although they were, of course, of German origin.)
I don't know if my mother ever mentioned it to you, but any mention of Aseph Elias in her home was absolutely verboten. Etta hated the man with
an absolute passion, which has caused some to speculate that maybe he he had molested his own daughters. That's really the only way my mother
could explain the hatred her own mother felt towards the man. (Of course, this is all rumour and innuendo and should be treated as such--I don't
have any hard facts and I'm not trying to besmirch anyone's name.) Aseph Elias was something of a legend in Melfort, and a huge birthday celebration
was organized for his 80th. My mother was told by her own mother (Etta) that she was not--under any circumstances--to attend that party! She was not
to go near Aseph Elias!! Of course, my mother defied her mother's orders and went by, just to get a glimpse of the man. He was, after all, her
grandfather, and she had never actually met him. So, she was able to see him and watched as he entertained the throngs by playing various musical
instruments. He appeared larger than life, apparently. Anyway, she didn't actually speak to him, but just seeing the man satisfied her curiosity.
I think that covers most of the info that I have on the family. I hope that clears up any confusion. I'll pass along any new material I manage to come across!
Cheers,
Andrew
The following is a picture of the 5 girls
Front Row: Ethel Pat Etta
Back Row: Molly Jane
This is a picture of Etta and her father.
How many ways did they spell his name? Depending on the document or who sends you information his name could be Aeseph, Asaph, Aseph, Ace or just A. E. Guinn.
Asaph Elias Guinn (Etta’s Father) homesteaded the north east quarter south side of highway 3, 1 mile east of highway six. Click this link to see a map showing the location near Melfort (NE quarter section 32 township 44 range 18 west of 2nd meridian).(Click this link to see the homestead papers). He burnt lime along the creek to plaster houses of those days. He then had a boarding house in Melfort. According to the 1906 census, the family is living north of Resource on SE quarter of section 10 township 44 range 18 west of 2nd merdian. Click this link to see a map showing the location near Resource. The members of the family living there are: Asaph (52), Abigail (46), John (22), Lormer (19), Molly (16), Ethel (14), Jane (11) and Patricia (4). He became the Indian Agent after he separated from Abigail Guinn which would have taken place between 1906 and 1911. In 1911, Ethel and Abigail are living with Geordie Stewart in Melfort. In 1916, Ethel and Jane are living with the Stewart's and Abigail is boarding with Thomas and Jane Granger in Melfort.(click to see the 1916 document) and Asaph (Ace) is living with his daughter Patricia at SE quarter section 27 township 43 range 18 west of 2nd meridian (click to see the 1916 document). In 1926 A. E. Guinn is living by himself on the SE quarter section 27 township 43 range 18 west of 2nd meridian (click to see the 1926 document). (click to see a map showing it was in Resource, SK southeast of Melfort).The Post Office in Resource was where he was supposed to have had a still. He is buried in the Silver Park Cemetery.
This is a picture of the bronze plaque that Uncle Bill Stewart and Aunt Audrey Braid purchased to mark the grave.
The following article was published in the Melfort Journal when Abigail Watson passed away.
Mrs. Abigail Guinn, a pioneer resident of the Melfort district, to where she came some sixty years ago to homestead with her husband in the Vaughn district.
Born in Berlin [now Kitchener], Ontario in 1858, she passed away at North Vancouver, B.C., where she spent the last six years of her life with her daughter Ethel (Mrs. J.B. Wilson).
Active up until the last few months of her life, Mrs. Guinn enjoyed listening to the radio and reading the newspapers. She was a keen follower of politics and exercised her right to vote in the Federal election three years ago at the age of 95.
Surviving are seven children: Ted of Calgary; Min of Ghost River, Mer of Vancouver; Etta (Mrs. George L. Stewart), Melfort; Mollie (Mrs. H. C. Moorehead), Vanguard, Sask.; Ethel (Mrs. J.B. Wilson), North Vancouver; Jean (Mrs. W.J. Irwin), Calgary; Pat (Mrs. Wm. Crosswell), Westlock, Alta.
Leaving Melfort in 1928 she first moved to Calgary to be with her son Ted at Calgary and later moved to North Vancouver. The old-timers of Melfort will remember the Guinn family, who played such a prominent role in the development of this district. Their home was always open to the travelers and the headquarters for social life in the Vaughn district.
Her husband predeceased her in 1935.
The following is a picture of Abigail's grave marker in Queen's Park Cemetery and Mausoleum in Calgary, Alberta
