Abigail Jeffery

     Abigail Jeffery was born on August 6, 1898, baptized on September 11, 1898.  She died on October 3, 1911 probably of pneumonia or meningitis - she was buried the following day at Holy Trinity Alma cemetery.
     Abilgail was the daughter of Spurgeon Jeffery and Dorcas Collicutt.  There is little known about Abigail, other than she was a child living with her parents, a brother and two sisters - they lived at the corner of Centerline Road and Klondike Road (today known as MacLellan Road) in Lauretta.  Amoung the papers found in her family's home, following the death of her sister Eva in 1982, was the hand-written short story below, likely a class assignment at Lauretta School.  The story was possibly told to her about her grandfather Stephen E. Jeffery who was a blacksmith down the Centerline Road less than a mile away in Alma - Stephen died two months after Abigail.  Abigail's uncle Albert was a blacksmith at Alma Corner and her uncle Robert was blacksmith in Elmsdale.

     Abigail was likely named after her grand aunt Abigail (Jeffery) Burns, sister of her grandfather Stephen E. Jeffery of Alma.  Aunt Abigail (1826-1913) lived in Sherbrooke, PEI.

     Spurgeon and Dorcas lost three children at a young age – Elizabeth died at 7 days old on June 9 1887 (first to be buried at Holy Trinity Alma Cemetery); and a daughter Hannah died at the age of 7 years old on May 1898.

The Kinch and Dunn Family

     Thanks to Stephen Dunn for sending me along more photos from their family collection!  These are amazing and value photos!

     Above: Honora, John Kinch and second wife Elizabeth on their 60th Wedding Anniversary taken on April 6, 1935 in either Saskatchewan or Alberta. (photo originally came from the Willie Dunbar Collection). The others in the photo are not known.

     The following information about John and Elizabeth comes from the PEI Register (http://www.islandregister.com/kinch.html) and posted by Lawrence Kinch, Tom O'Connor and Leonard Praught.

     JOHN³ KINCH  was born August 27, 1853 in Cascumpec, Lot #5, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and died March 07, 1943 in Coderre, Saskatchewan, Canada. He married (1) CATHERINE AHEARN Bef. 1875 in Alberton, Prince Edward Island, Canada, daughter of PETER AHEARN and SARAH MCINTYRE. She was born August 13, 1851 in Tignish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and died Aft. July 29, 1875 in Tignish, Prince Edward Island, Canada. He married (2) ELIZABETH O'BRIEN April 06, 1875 in St Simon & St Jude Church Tignish, Prince Edward Island, Canada. She was born Abt. 1853 in Tignish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and died June 20, 1942 in Coderre, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Child of JOHN KINCH and CATHERINE AHEARN is:

i.MARTIN⁴ KINCH, b. July 27, 1875, Tignish, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Children of JOHN KINCH and ELIZABETH O'BRIEN are:

ii. MARTIN⁴ KINCH, b. July 24, 1876, Alma Lot #3, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. September 21, 1931; m. (2) THERESA WALSH, 1915; d. 1947.

iii. MARY ANN KINCH, b. December 04, 1876, Kildare, Lot #3, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. June 02, 1880, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

iv. LAWRENCE KINCH, b. February 23, 1879, Alma Lot #3, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. June 09, 1880, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

v. MARY ANN KINCH, b. February 14, 1881, Kildare, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. January 1958, Alberton, Prince Edward Island, Canada; m. AMBROSE M. CORCORAN, November 27, 1900, Sacred Heart Church, Alberton, Prince Edward Island, Canada; b. February 21, 1876, Portland, Maine, U.S.A.; d. December 26, 1951, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

vi. GEORGE KINCH, b. March 03, 1883, Alma Lot #3, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. January 23, 1958, Cochrane, Alberta, Canada; m. UNKNOWN DURHAM; d. Abt. 1954, Cochrane, Alberta, Canada.

vii. JOHN HERMAN KINCH, b. June 26, 1885, Alma Lot #3, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. April 10, 1972, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; m. EULALIA B. CORCORAN, June 21, 1910, Bloomfield, Prince Edward Island, Canada; b. July 12, 1892, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. March 09, 1914, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

viii. WILLIAM BENNETT KINCH, b. August 23, 1887, Alma Lot #3, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. July 02, 1971, Cochrane, Alberta, Canada; m. JOSEPHINE M. SCULLY, January 14, 1913, Prince Edward Island; b. 1888; d. 1949, Cochrane, Alberta, Canada.

ix. JAMES LEO KINCH, b. October 12, 1889, Alma Lot #3, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. November 28, 1973, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.; m. JENNIFER CLARK; b. May 20, 1893, Strathroy, Ontario, Canada.

x. MARY HANORA KINCH, b. August 23, 1892, Alma Lot #3, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. September 14, 1982, St Joseph's Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; m. (1) HERBERT WILLIAM WALTER, January 14, 1913, Alberton, Prince Edward Island., Canada; b. May 14, 1889, Walter Falls, Ontario, Canada; d. June 13, 1952, At Home, Sundre, Alberta, Canada; m. (2) WALTER MELVIN SMALLEY, December 1974.

Above: Wilfred Dunn and Edna Kinch on their wedding day October 28th,1942.

Above: Edna ( Kinch ) Dunn.

Above: In the backyard of the Kinch-Dunn Farmstead in Alma.  Edna with her children Cecil and Velda.

Above: Stephen Kinch in WWII in Germany in 1944 or 1945.

Above: Stephen Kinch.

     Wilbert Jeffery tells the story of when they use to walk out to Alma Corner, from Lauretta, they would cut back across the fields by Frank Kinchs and come out by Wilfred and Edna's place.  They'd often go in to visit.  He recalls two large oval photographs in the house - he said Edna's mother, Tessy (wife of Martin), would always tell them, "that is brother Amos and that is brother Camilas".

Mrs. James (Hattie Ellis) Dunbar

     I recently read this book, Highlights of our Baptist Work: in Springfield West, O'Leary, Alma Churches 1852-1977.  Therein was the mention of only one person from Alma - that of Mrs. James *Jim* Dunbar of the Centerline Road where today Kent and Lloydia Smallman live in a new house.
     Below is the cover of the book.

 Below: inside the front cover - the churches of the congregations.

 Below:  The history of Hattie (Ellis) Dunbar.

     Below: the Jim and Hattie Dunbar homestead not long before it was demolished for the new, present home on the property.  It was located on the north side of the Centerline Road across the road from Spurgeon Jeffery's homestead.

cf. Ellis Smallman Collection

Rennie's Store, Alma Corner

     Alma Corner was always a busy place for the goings on of the community.  At the corner there were once stores, blacksmith shops, the post office, the school, a cooper, etc. - today there's nothing there at all except for homes.
     The location of Rennie's Store, on the southeast corner, was originally the home of Albert Jeffery (1857-1905) of the Centerline Road, son of blacksmith Stephen E. Jeffery.  Albert married Roannah Riley (1862-1929) - they had one adopted daughter, Pearl.

Below:  Blanche (Rennie) Crockett home, former Albert Jeffery home.

Below:  Blanche (Rennie) Crockett.  Photo taken in the summer of 2002.

 Below: The 2nd Rennie's Store, southeast view.

 Below: Rennie's Store, northeast corner.  Demolished in the summer of 2007.

     Below: the northeast corner at Alma Corner - the Mountain homestead where Alvie Mountain operated a blacksmith shop.

      Below: an old barn that the Mountains traded land for with Ellis Smallman - this old barn came out from the Centerline Rd. in Lauretta.  It was demolished in the summer of 2007.

      Below:  the Mountain Homestead - the home of Alvie and Millie Mountain.  Alvie was a blacksmith.   Their three children: Leslie, Margaret and Frank always lived here - they never married.  The house had been abandoned and was demolished in the summer of 2007 when Route 2 highway and the intersection was rebuilt.

      Below:  a page from the book, Alberton & Area: A Pictorial Experience Through Time showing the first Rennie's Store which burned in 1921.

Below:  cf. page 104 of the Alberton & Area book showing Fred Rennie's Egg Waggon.

     The new books about the History of Elmsdale tells much about the history of the Rennie's and the origins of the family with their forefather Luigi Riani (anglicised to Louis Rennie) coming from Tuscany, Italy with his a friend Mr. Platts around the turn of the nineteenth century.  Louis' son Fred built and operated stores at Elmsdale and Alma corners.

Alma Churches used by Montrose United following fire

     On Sunday past Donald Hardy told me that in 1944 when the Montrose United Church burned the Alma Baptist Church and Holy Trinity Alma Anglican Church offered their churches to the Montrose congregation until they were able to rebuild.  The churches were used alternately.   Donald said he had fond memories of coming to Alma and the generosity of the congregations of both these churches.

Below:  Montrose United Church. cf. the Millennium book,

Alberton and Area: A Pictorial Experience Through Time

Below:  Holy Trinity Alma Anglican Church. Photo Oct. 2007

 Below: Alma Baptist Church.  Photo c. 1950s

Mrs. Graham, died at 111-years-old c. 1885

"A Mrs. Graham, who died in Alma, Prince Edward Island about the year 1885, reported just prior to her death at one hundred and eleven years of age, that when she was a small girl living with her parents in a log cabin some little distance outside of Charlottetown, she saw this tall, good-looking, blond blue-eyed man and his beautiful young wife as they travelled from the boat landing past her mother’s cabin. With their dog-team they headed through the portage in the general direction of New London Bay. (A portage on P.E.I. is a narrow road or path through a thick wood and was used by the Indians to portage their canoe from one body of water to another. The portage here referred to may have been only an Indian trail.) At any rate Mrs. Graham said she knew the family in after years, and that his name was Simpson, his first name she could not be sure of and that his wife’s name was Helen Winchester.

cf.  Chapter 5, THE FOUNDING OF CAVENDISH, 1790

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/cavendish.htm

This account is taken from the book "Cavendish - Its History, Its People, Its Founding Families - Simpsons McNeills Clarks and their Kin" by Harold H. Simpson. I have taken the liberty of taking Chapters 5 and 6 from this book to enable me to show something of settlement life on Prince Edward Island. We have now added the complete book in pdf format to the foot of this page.

A Cabin in the Woods on the Centerline Road

     I came across the following note that Eva Jeffery had written-out to a cousin on July 12,
1977 to tell her family's history about coming to Alma.
     "My grandfather's name was Stephen Jeffery - his family came from England many years ago.  He set out from Bedeque for the western part of the Island, so i am told, and landed in Alma (1860) and built a little log cabin in the wilderness.  It was nothing but a forest at that time.  They must have endured great hardship to make a living for himself and his family in the wilderness with no cleared land.  I would liked to have written a History of the Jeffery family but did not think of it when my father and mother were alive as they had alot about the family - they are both dead now..."

Image cf. http://tonguekissesandtyranny.blogspot.ca/2010/09/little-about-me.html

     Settlement in the Alma area began early in the mid 1800's with settlers along the Western Road where they had easy access to the road - there was little settlement in the backwoods.  Older residents of the Centerline Road recall their forefathers saying that the Stephen Jeffery home was the oldest on the road.  

      Above: Stephen Emmanuel Jeffery (1830-1911) and his third wife Jane Collicutt (1842-1814) - they were married in 1868.  Stephen had 5 children by his first marriage to Maria Fields; no children from his second wife Mary Ann Lewis and 8 children with his third wife Jane Collicutt.  In total there were 12 children raised in this home - 10 sons: William, Albert, Spurgeon, George, Abram, Richard, Stephen, David, Joseph, Robert and 2 daughters: Elizabeth, Jane and Rebeccah who died at birth.

     Above: sketch by Carter Jeffery depicting the Jeffery homestead around 1890.  The house was built in the late 1860's.  See it today in image below - Jeffery homestead.