Samuel James Acheson

Samuel James ACHESON; born 1856 in Ireland and died 1926 in Ontario. Samuel married Ellen Kent, and they raised five children in southern Ontario.

Family reference: 114

	Born	9 Aug 18531	Lower Langfield, County Tyrone, Ireland
	Died	Dec 19262	Milverton, Perth co., Ontario
	Buried		Milverton, Perth co., Ontario2
	Married	18852	Ellen Elizabeth Kent in Ontario

Parents:

• Father: Joseph Acheson; b. 1815; d. 1901
• Mother: Isabella McKennit; b. about 1821; d. 1887

Children:

1. Samuel George Acheson; b. 1884; d. 1966
2. Norman Alexander Acheson; b. 1888; d. 1959
3. William Joseph Acheson; b. 1890
4. Weir Acheson; b. 1895
5. Winnie Acheson; b. 1897

The Parents of Samuel

Samuel's parents, Joseph and Isabella Acheson, were transatlantic travellers embarking from Ireland to New York in the 1840's, then returning to Ireland to raise the family. They eventually departed the old country by 1863 for a new life in the rurals of Canada West. Samuel's father finally settled down to be a farmer in Perth, Ontario.

Samuel’s Early Years

We assume Samuel's second given name was James, based on the 1901 census information1.

Samuel Acheson was born back on the old Acheson Irish homestead at Lower Langfield in County Tyrone. His parents had already been overseas in New York where his two older brothers Alexander and Weir were born.

Samuel was the fourth child born into the family followed by his two younger sisters, Elizabeth and Arabella. What an adventure awaited our youthful ancestor- at only ten years of age he crosses the great Atlantic to North America and into the heart of Ontario in 1863. Canada was not yet an independent country from Britain and Ontario was yet called Upper Canada.

For the first winter in Canada the Acheson family lived with their Irish neighbours and friends the Buchanans, who had come to Ontario some 16 years earlier. At first Samuel's father rented land in the Donegal area of Elma township, then bought one hundred acres. Samuel stayed on the family farm all his life, buying out his brother's share when Weir headed south to California2.

Samuel and Ellen

Ellen Kent was born in 1864 in the United States, a daughter of English-born parents2.

The Final Years for Samuel

Samuel and Ellen are buried together at the Greenwood cemetery in Milverton, Perth county in Ontario2.

Footnotes

Notes on the Children 2

• Samuel George Acheson
• Norman Alexander Acheson
• William Joseph Acheson
• Weir Howard Acheson; b. 31 May 1895 in Elma twp, Perth, Ontario; m. Christine Seiling
• Winnie Acheson; b. 26 May 1897 in Elma twp; m. John Hoffman

Canada Census of 1871 1

Name	Status	Gender	Ethnic Origin	Age	Occupation	Religion
ACHESON Joseph	married	male	Irish	55	Farmer	C. Presbyterian
Isabella	married	female	Irish	50		C. Presbyterian
Alexander	single	male	Irish	22		C. Presbyterian
Weir	single	male	Irish	20		C. Presbyterian
Samuel	single	male	Irish	14		C. Presbyterian
Anabelle	single	female	Irish	13		C. Presbyterian

- Canada 1871 Census for Elma, County Perth North, Ontario, District 030, Subdistrict e; microfilm #C-9941.

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Canada Census of 1881 1

Name	Status	Gender	Ethnic Origin	Age	Birthplace	Occupation	Religion
ACHESON Joseph	married	male	Irish	60	Ireland	farmer	C. Presbyterian
Isabella	married	female	Irish	55	Ireland		C. Presbyterian
Samuel	single	male	Irish	22	Ireland	farmer	C. Presbyterian
Isabella	single	female	Irish	21	Ireland		C. Presbyterian

- Canada 1881 Census for Elma, County Perth North, Ontario, District 172, Subdistrict E, Division 2, LDS Family History Library film #1375907.

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Canada Census of 1891 1

Name	Gender	Age	Status	Relation	Born	Fathers Birth	Mothers Birth	Religion	Occupation
ACHESON Samuel	male	34	married	head	Ire	Ire	Ire	Pres	farmer
Ellen E.	female	27	married	wife	US	Eng	Eng	Pres
Samuel G.	male	6	single	son	Ont	Ire	US	Pres
Lucy A.	female		single	daughter	Ont	Ire	US	Pres
Wm. J.	male	11 m	single	son	Ont	Ire	US	Pres
Joseph	male	70	widowed	father	Ire	Ire	Ire	Pres

- Canada 1891 Census for Elma, County Perth North, Ontario, District 107, Subdistrict b, Division 2, microfilm T-6362, LDS Family History Library film #1465787.

Noted: in the next household lived John (26) and Sarah (22) Acheson, likely a grandson of the elder Joseph Acheson.

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Canada Census of 1901 1

Name	Gender	Age	Status	Relation	Born	Birthdate	Naturalized	Religion	Occupation
ATCHESON James	male	45	married	head	Ire	9 Aug 1853	1860	Pres	farmer
Ellen E.	female	38	married	wife	US	21 May 1862	1882	Pres
George	male	16	single	son	US	11 July 1884		Pres	farmer's son
Norman	male	12	single	son	US	16 Apr 1888		Pres
Joseph	male	10	single	son	US	16 Jan 1890		Pres
Weir	male	5	single	son	US	31 May 1895		Pres
Winnie	female	3	single	daughter	US	26 May 1897		Pres
Joseph	male	85	widowed	father	Ire	10 Nov 1815	1860	Pres

- Canada 1901 Census for Elma, County Perth North, Ontario, District 104, Subdistrict b, microfilm T-6490, LDS Family History Library film #1843572.

Noted: The census uses the 'Atcheson' surname spelling. Also, the head of the household is 'James' and not 'Samuel'. Since the other family names and the dates are a reasonable match, this is the correct family.

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Sources

1. The Ontario GenWeb Project; for the 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 Ontario census records; with access to original images
2. "Who's That Sitting in our Family Tree?", by Gert [Webber] Lawrie; private publication 1988; history and stories of Canadian families of Webber, Acheson, Miller and Henry

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Family Outline

Descendancy Chart for SamuelAcheson1853

0 SamuelAcheson1853

1 GeorgeAcheson1884

2 JosephAcheson1890

3 NormanAcheson1888

-- JimBenedict - 29 Nov 2006
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