William Brown
ID # 5549, (1879-1887)
Father | David Brown (1849-1933) |
Mother | Sarah Ann Densham (1857-1916) |
Birth | William Brown was born in 1879. |
Death | He died on 20 November 1887 at North Dorchester Twp., Middlesex County. |
Burial | He was buried at Dorchester Union Cemetery. |
Note | He A birth registration for William has not been found. The year we show for William's birth is approximate. He appears with his parents and his sister Annie at the time of the 1881 census at North Oxford Township in Oxford County and is shown as age 2. A death registration has been found as well as a transcription of Dorchester Union Cemetery and, between the two, confusion reigns. Death reg. 010057-87 North Dorchester Twp., Middlesex County William Brown died 20 November, 1887. Age 9 years. Child. Born Ontario. Presbyterian. Cause of death diptheria nine days. Physician Dr. H. Graham. Informant Wm. Densham, farmer, North Dorchester. Date of registration 20 November 1887. The London Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society provides a transcription of Dorchester Union Cemetery and, in this, we find: Section 2, row 7, stone 7 (a quite separate stone from the family's stone) Willie Brown date of death 20 January 1887, son of David and Sarah Brown, age 9 yrs. Other information illegible. CanGenWeb has an extensive range of photographs for Dorchester Union Cemetery. This does not include Willie's stone, which was probably worn, or not visible. This web page does show a number of unreadable stones, but they are just that. The original OGS transcription was done in 1984 with updates in 1997 and 2011. The recording of Willie's gravestone probably dates to the first effort. Unquestionably, the informant in Willie's death for the registration was William Densham, Willie's maternal grandfather, who died in 1907. Was the death registration as filed by William Densham a late filing and an error made at the time or is the transcription of Willie's gravestone in error due to wearing at the time of transcription? Since the stone is apparently no longer extant, we are left to guess, however it seems reasonable that the death registration is correct if for no other reason than that exactly ten days previous Elizabeth E. Little, Willie's first cousin, died of diptheria in North Dorchester Township. Indeed, her death is listed immediately prior to Willie's on the registration page. A range of other North Dorchester deaths have been examined, but there does not appear to have been an 'epidemic'. Only Willie and his cousin Elizabeth's deaths are the result of diptheria. William appears to be the first of his nuclear family to die and he is buried separately from the rest of the family in Dorchester Union Cemetery with his own (now unreadable) stone. Beyond, this, it is obvious from the gravestone photos on CanGenWeb that Willie's parents, David and Sarah as well as his sister Myrtle, are buried in the Densham family plot. |
Last Edited | 30 Jul 2017 |