William Markle

MS248 reel 17, Vol. 79, page 68
Wellington County Marriage Register

Extracted from a list of marriages solemnized by ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the Garafraxa Circuit for the year ending 31st December, 1861.

William Martell, 24, born Canada, residing Garafraxa. Parents Gilbert and Matilda.
Mary Ellis, 16, born Canada, residing Garafraxa. Parents John and Jane.
Witnesses John and James Ellis, both of Garafraxa.
On November 7, 1861.

We are of safe ground saying that the groom was William Markle. He appears as such, age 15, in the 1851 census with his parents Gilbert and Matilda. They reside in Garafraxa Township. A clear record of the family has not been found in the 1861 census.

Mary Ellis has been found in the 1861 census in Garafraxa. The witnesses, John and James Ellis, are evidently her brothers.

The couple, with children, are in West Garafraxa as of the 1871 census. William's mother, Matilda, a widow, is with them. They have an infant son named Gilbert.

That the groom's name is shown as Martell instead of Markle we must believe to be a handwriting problem, probably on the part of clergy.

The marriage registration for the Methodist Episcopals of the Garafraxa circuit was signed by, apparently, W. Wilts. He is described as a minister, but he is returning the registration on behalf of clergy who attended the circuit in the year 1861. We do not actually know who married the couple, though considering that the married late in the year it may be that Wilts was the officiating minister.