Catherine Keachie
ID # 6847, (1836-1920)
| Father | Hugh Keachie (1792-1862) |
| Mother | Mary Ann Hope McLaren (1796-1858) |
| Birth | Catherine Keachie was born in 1836. |
| Marriage | She married William Hespeler, son of Johann Georg Hespeler and Anna Barbara Wick, on 6 April 1887 at Port Arthur, Ontario. See notes for Catherine Keachie Hespeler. This sets out such problems as we have with Kate's records. |
| Death | She died on 9 June 1920 at Montreal, Quebec. |
| Burial | She was buried at St Johns Anglican Cathedral Cemetery, Winnipeg. |
| Note | She Information for Catherine Keachie presents us with problems. Essentially, we have two sources. The 1966 correspondence between Mrs. Joyce Hughes and Franklin Bailie Keachie of Waterloo, Ontario, which includes the family tree presented by Franklin that appears built on information provided by Mr. A. K. Murray in a family history done in the 1890s, the original of which has not been found. As mentioned in the brief history of Andrew Keachie, Franklin Keachie's handwritten tree was provided to me by Mr. Ron Field and for which I am grateful. The other source for Catherine is the biography of William Hespeler as is found on the website for Library & Archives Canada and which was assembled and written by Angelika Sauer. The biography tells us that Catherine Robertson nee Keachie married William Hespeler at Port Arthur on 6 April, 1887. Franklin Keachie's tree does not date the birth of Catherine Keachie, but Find-a-Grave shows a photograph of the William Hespeler stone in St. Johns Anglican Cathedral Cemetery in Winnipeg and this includes Catherine's name, which is shown as Catherine Robertson. This dates her birth to 1836 and her death to 9 June, 1920. The handwritten Keachie tree does mention 'Kate', without benefit of dates, and does state that she married William Hespeler after the death of her sister. The biography takes it a bit further, telling us the date and place of her marriage, and that she had apparently been married to someone by the name of Robertson. Find-a-Grave shows the photo of William and Catharine's gravestone and shows Catharine simply as Catharine Robertson. The problems: 1) Catharine, or Kate, Keachie has not been found in census information or in such church records as are available to us. If her year of birth is correct, 1836 as shown on her gravestone, then she was 16 at best as of the 1851 Canadian census, done in 1852. She does not appear with her parents in Galt. Where she was at the time has yet to be found. She has not been found in later census years. 2) A marriage for Kate Keachie to a Robertson has not been found. It may in fact be that she was never married prior to her marriage to William. Robertson may have been a second given name. Robertson as a name certainly had some currency with her brother William's family. The biography, however, tells us that she was married prior to her marriage to William Hespeler. Add to this, her marriage to William should be recorded in Port Arthur marriages in 1887 as presented by records at the Archives of Ontario that appear on microfilm and which are to be found on Ancestry and Familysearch. All the Port Arthur marriages for this era have been perused, but such a registration is not there. (One record has been found supporting the idea that Kate's middle name began with the letter R. The 1861 census in the city of London, shows Kate R. Keachie, age 27, in the household of Peter McRea. She is apparently visiting, for her regular abode is shown as being in Berlin, Canada West. The name Keachie in this census has been indexed as Keachis, but an examination of the handwriting shows her name to be Keachie. Kate has not been found later, with the exception of her gravestone in Winnipeg. It is likely, however, that this is Kate who was the 3rd wife of William Hespeler.) 3) A death registration for Catherine has yet to be found. Manitoba vital statistics has a search page and her passing does not appear to be recorded. (Recently found: The Winnipeg Tribune edition of 25 June, 1920, page 5, in an article telling that William Hespeler is moving west to live with his son, mentions that Mrs. Hespeler has recently died in Montreal and is buried in St. John's Cemetery, which is of course in Winnipeg where William was buried the following year.) For the moment, we follow such information as we have in the handwritten Keachie tree, the biography as found on the LAC website, and information shown on the gravestone. There is obviously more to her story. |
| Last Edited | 11 May 2020 |