John Lees Alma
ID # 6910, (1801-1890)
| Birth | John Lees Alma was born in 1801 at Ireland. |
| Marriage | He married Elizabeth Kissock on 17 August 1848 at Niagara Town, Canada West. See Ontario Marriage Notices, Thomas B. Wilson, Hunterdon House, Lambertville, N.J., 1982, page 201. The following marriage is extracted from 'The Church', which was a publication of the Church of England. The entry for this marriage states that the notice appeared in the Thursday, 23 August, 1848, edition. A minor point, but this date was a Wednesday. It tells that on the previous Thursday, which was August 17th, 1848, the marriage was held at Niagara for John L. Alma & Elizabeth, daughter of the late Alexander Kissock, of Nyack, U.S. The marriage was performed by Rev. Thomas Creen. This is slightly vague, but since the 1851 and 1861 censuses taken at Niagara Town show Elizabeth as being born in the United States, it would appear that she was born in Nyack, New York. This is confirmed by her death registration, which shows her birth as being in Nyack, New York. |
| Marriage | He married Emily Rankin. A marriage record for Emily Rankin and John Lees Alma has not been found. They are both from Ireland and their daughter Mary Catherine Alma was born in Ireland. |
| Death | He died on 21 September 1890 at Niagara Town. |
| Burial | He was buried at St. Mark's Anglican Cemetery, Niagara Town. |
| Note | The earliest record found so far for the family of John Lees Alma and Emily Rankin is a passenger list as found on Ancestry for the Brittania which arrived in New York City from Liverpool on June 14, 1832. This is turn is from the National Archives Microfilm Publications. This provides little background information for the famly other than to say that John is a merchant and that the family is destined Canada. It does show a list of names, however. These are: John Lees Alma, 31, Merchant Emily ' , 29 Mary ' , 6 Emily J. ' , 4 John P. ' , 2 Wm Edwd ' , 1 Edwd Rankin, 15 We must believe Edward Rankin to be Emily's brother. He has yet to be found in later census listings. The above list does not begin to show the family's travels. The 1851 census at Niagara Town shows daughter Emily, age 23 at the time, as being born in Valparaiso. This information also appears inscribed on the family's gravestone in St. Mark's Anglican Church in Niagara Town (now Niagara-on-the-Lake). This tells us that Emily Joanna, the second daughter, was born in Valparaiso, Chile, on 24 February, 1828, and that she died at Niagara on 15 February, 1856. Son John Alma, age 2 in the above passenger list, is not found in the 1851 census, but does appear at Oakville in the 1861 census. There, he is shown as age 31, a barrister, born in South America. He is buried in Maple Leaf Cemetery in Chatham. Information for the date and place of death of John Lees Alma is taken from the inscription on his gravestone in St. Mark's Anglican Cemetery at Niagara Town. A return of his death was not made to the town registrar, or at least has not been indexed and is not found. The registrations for the era have been searched. John Lees Alma prospered in Niagara Town. Janet Carnochan, in her History of Niagara, 1914, page 110, notes that John Alma in 1832 had a wine store at the corner of Queen and Regent Streets. The Canada Directory for 1857-58, John Lovell, Montreal, page 472, also describes him as a wine merchant at Niagara. |
Children of John Lees Alma and Emily Rankin |
|
|
| Last Edited | 14 Mar 2019 |