John Warnock
ID # 6979, (1797-1871)
| Birth | John Warnock was born in 1797 at Lanarkshire, Scotland. |
| Marriage | He married Annie Hunter. |
| Death | He died on 12 September 1871 at Beverly Township, Wentworth Co.. |
| Burial | He was buried at Sec. 4., Mountview Cemetery, Galt, Waterloo Co.. |
| Note | Just when the family of John Warnock and Annie Hunter came to the Galt area of the Gore District in Upper Canada is unknown to your researcher, but they were certainly present when son John Warnock Jr., so far as we know the first born of the family in Canada, was baptized in First Church at Galt on 21st July, 1833. We are informed that they were living in Galt, as opposed to the surrounding rural area, by James Young is his 1879 work the History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries. For this, see chapter 9 on pages 93 and 94. This describes the outbreak of the cholera epidemic in the spring of 1834. It tells that Galt was a village of about 250 inhabitants and then provides a list of some of the people resident at the time, one being John Warnock, miller. Perhaps John Warnock was a miller. Perhaps he indeed owned a mill in Galt with the whole paraphernalia and sold it off to purchase property just outside of Galt, in Beverly Township. At a guess, however, he came to Galt with a trade. He was probably rather more in the way of a millwright, able to keep a mill functioning mechanically. This was a trade much in demand. Galt's miller was, after all, Absalom Shade, the founder of Galt, which was originally known as Shade's Mills. We can't be absolutely sure that the whole family survived the cholera epidemic, but there are no grave markings to be found to indicate otherwise. Moving to the isolation of a farm outside of the village on the heels of this vicious epidemic, said to have killed a third of the inhabitants, may have been the equivalent to 'getting out of Dodge'. The cholera would have been a true horror. At first, James Strang, the minister at First Church was hard at work digging graves in the First Church Cemetery at High Park (now understood to be Centennial Park) overlooking downtown Cambridge/Galt. The deaths became overwhelming, however, and brave crews tended the sick and then carried the dead for quick burial in unmarked graves in what is now Soper Park, probably under where Dundas Street crosses the park as a sort of causeway. As mentioned above, the Warnock's moved to Beverly Township. A transaction has been found which was a straightforward purchase for what was apparently 50 acres. This appears on an Abstract Index for lot 3 on the 8th concession of Beverly. For 81 pounds 10 shillings the Warnocks purchased 50 acres from John Sypes. This is described as: the north half of the south 100 acres (this description of the lot as shown on the AI isn't typical, but 50 acres is apparently correct). The original Crown Grant for lot 3 was to a Jacob Sypes in 1802. The vendor of the part lot in 1835 was John Sypes, evidently Jacob's son. Which brings us to what is an initially misleading story as to lot 2 on the 8th concession, the full 200 acres thereof, and when it came into the Warnock's possession. An Abstract Index is to be found (see onland.ca, the Ontario Land Registry Access website and which will undoubtedly repeat on one of a GSU series of microfilm reels at the Archives of Ontario) which tells that John Warnock received Letters Patent for all 200 acres of lot 2 on the 8th concession on 27th February of 1856. Although the Abstract Indexes were not written up until 1867 in a response to a law of the day - it must have been one magnificent make-work project - still, at some level this may be technically correct. Indeed, it probably is. Finding out just what or why would take some effort and if anyone really felt moved to do so, an examination of the Township Papers for Beverly, which appear on MS658, reel 37, at the Archives of Ontario, would be a place to start. What follows is based to some extent on a guess that past history for such a lot could be that of a Clergy Reserve, but, also, that 1856 seemed a rather late date for the lot's disposal as such. Other information has been found in my own files the possession of which is based entirely on dumb luck. Your researcher was looking for other individuals and just happened to pick up documentation relating to John Warnock's story. First, see MS400 reel 8, Schedule of Land Rolls, Beverly Township, volume 18, page 103. This indeed identifies lot 2 on the 8th concession of Beverly as a Clergy Reserve. (Clergy Reserves were intended for the benefit of the Anglican church. They were a source of irritation for local township lot owners who had to maintain roads and pay taxes. The Reserves did produce funds for the church in that they might be leased, mainly for purposes of logging. Such records as your researcher has seen seem to indicate that funds went to support King's College (Anglican) in York, later Toronto. Eventually, political pressures were such that the reserves were sold off.) Having established the lot's bona fides as a Clergy Reserve, we then find that John Warnock petitioned to purchase this lot. The record of this appears in the Upper Canada Land Books which are accessible via Canadiana.ca. The microfilm is C107, image 24. This appears under the heading: Applicants to Purchase Clergy Reserves at Private Sales. This shows John Warnock applying for this lot in Beverly and his name appears with numerous others applying for other lots. The entry is dated 5 August, 1840, though this does not tell us the date of the original application. The 1851 agricultural census for Beverly shows John with a total of 250 acres, although the acreage that he owned on either lot isn't specified. McGill University's reproduction of maps from 1870s gazetteers makes it clear that he held all 200 acres of lot 2 and a fraction thereof on lot 3. The entry for all names listed in the land book entry with John is simply marked 'recommended'. Which brings us to a file entitled Clergy Reserve Sales. This appears on MS693 reel 190. This identifies John Warnock as gaining lot 2 on July 10, 1939. (Yes, this is a disconnect with the information that appears as mentioned above on microfilm reel C107.) And why it took some 16 years for the Abstract Index to show his gaining the Letters Patent remains unknown. What is apparent is that as of 1840, John Warnock had the funds to purchase this lot - the amount is not recorded, but it probably wasn't a pittance. He either had family money behind him or a trusting supporter. Since the 1851 every-person census for Beverly is lost to us, we now refer to the 1861 census. This shows John Warnock and 'Mrs. J.' as 64 and 61 respectively, both born in Scotland and members of the United Presbyterian (church) of North America. With them are children John 26, William 25, and Mary Ann 22. Also present is Annie Hunter, age 10. That she will be a connection of Annie Hunter Warnock we may not doubt, but the exact relationship is not shown. The makeup of the household as of the 1871 census is essentially the same, the only difference being that Annie Hunter's name is shown as Anna Warnock. She has not been found in later records. John Warnock Sr. died later that year. Death reg. Beverly Twp., Wentworth Co. John Warnock died September 12th, 1871, at age 74. Farmer, born Scotland, Presbyterian. Physician Dr. Lundy. Informant John Warnock (Jr), Beverly. The records of deaths for First Church communicants were not well or regularly kept, but John Warnock's death is recorded therein as being on September 12th, which agrees with his death registration. His date of burial is not mentioned. His name is inscribed on the family's gravestone in Mountview Cemetery, though at the time of his death it was not called Mountview, but simply the Galt Cemetery. The cemetery had been established in July of 1868. Prior to that, as a First Church congregant, John would have been buried in the First Church Cemetery at present day Centennial Park. Years later, in the 1880s, this cemetery had fallen into disrepair and there was a 'dig'. Remains and some stones were moved to Mountview. Sometimes new stones were erected, but no names are found of Warnock family members who died prior to 1868 and so, probably, the immediate Warnock family suffered no early losses. Certainly, the baptism records of First Church, which seem well kept, record the children known to have been born in Canada. By the time of the 1851 census, James and Adam Warnock are away from the family farm in Beverly and living in Galt. Adam is married. How may we know that Adam and James are sons of John and Annie? In 1993, via the auspices of the Waterloo branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, OGS publication 15210, Shawn D. McKnight published A Genealogical Index of Wills and Estate Documents / 19th Century Land Registry Office Records / County of Waterloo / General Register Series / 1798 - ca., 1918. This includes some Beverly Township wills. This includes index references to the will of John Warnock dated 30 March, 1871 and this shows the names of individuals specifically mentioned as children: Adam, James, John, William, and Mary Ann. These are the five children listed in this tree. The index also appears to show a will written in 1884 and probated in November of 1887 for John's wife Annie Hunter Warnock. This remembers a grandchild Annie Warnock, probably James Warnock's daughter. As said above, the will information is in the form of an index. The full wills should be available at the Archives of Ontario. With time, the evidence is that sons James and Adam moved to Galt and set up in their respective businesses. Son John Jr. remained on the farm and for many years his brother William and sister Mary Ann remained with him. |
Children of John Warnock and Annie Hunter |
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| Last Edited | 7 Apr 2019 |