John Oakley
ID # 9471, (1792-)
| Birth | John Oakley was born in 1792 at England. |
| Marriage | He married Mary Henry, daughter of Dominic Henry and Mary Madden, on 4 June 1815 at St. Mark's Anglican Church, Niagara Town. For this see page 153, Vital Records of Upper Canada/Canada West, Volume 1, Part 2, Niagara District, 1792-1849, compiled by Dan Walker & Fawne Stratford-Devai, Global Heritage Press, Milton (now of Ottawa), 2013: Weddings Niagara 1815 John Oakley, clerk in the field train, to Mary Henry. 4 June 1815. |
| Marriage | He married Helen Donaldson. |
| Note | The 1851 census (begun 12 January, 1852) shows John Oakley in Trafalgar Township of Halton County. He is shown as age 60 as of his next birthday (if the question was asked and answered correctly). He is shown as a Baptist, but his work is described as 'L.S.C. Schools'. Certainly the County Marriage Register for Halton County (See MS248 reel 17/Familysearch's reel 1030057) show marriages by John Oakley as of 1858. He was probably performing marriages at an earlier date, though that's a matter for further research. The point here being that, per census information below, he was at some level a Baptist clergyman. The 1861 census, still in Trafalgar Township, shows him as a Baptist Minister, age 67. The 1871 census, again in Trafalgar Township, shows him as age 78, and as a 'super a' minister. Given his age, this almost certainly means that he was 'superannuated' (i.e. retired.) Here again, he is shown as a Baptist. We should note that in these censuses his wife is shown as Helen. The 1851 census shows Helen as age 44. Also in this is a Margaret Donaldson, age 50. Apparently, she was Helen's sister. (See notes for Helen.) A marriage registration for John and Helen has not been found. The 1851 census shows John and Helen with their oldest child, Louisa, being 20. Their next oldest child is Pamelia, age 7. It may now be said that Helen Donaldson was the second wife of John Oakley, his first wife being Mary Henry and that Louisa was Mary's daughter. By the time of the 1881 census, John is not present. His wife Helen appears as a widow. A death registration or place of burial for John Oakley has not been found. Note that Niagara records show baptisms for children of a John and Mary Oakley in early years, well prior to the marriage John Oakley and Mary Henry. These records are such that, given what we know of John Oakley, the husband of Mary Henry, namely that he was born in 1792, or thereabouts, he would have been a child at the time these baptisms occurred. The one baptism that might be arguable, but probably isn't, is that of John Henry Oakley who was baptized at St. Mark's in 1816, a year after John and Mary were married. It is reasonable to locate John and Mary in Niagara at the time and, given that his middle name is shown as Henry, he is almost certainly their son. There are almost certainly other children born to to John and Mary prior to the birth of their daughter Louisa in 1832. It does appear that the Oakleys jumped ship with the Anglicans and then joined the Baptists. Unquestionably, in later years, John was at some level a Baptist minister. With this consideration, there was another child of John and Mary's that we might record and that is Susan Augusta Oakley. Our only record for this child is that of her burial in the Negro Burial Ground at Niagara-on-the-Lake. This cemetery was recorded in 1982 by Mabel and Carl St. Angelo on behalf of the Niagara Peninsula branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. At the time of recording only three gravestones, along with a plaque, had survived. Susan's gravestone is recorded as: In Memory Of Susan Augusta Oakley Daughter of John and Mary Oakley Who died 24th Feb 1832 Aged 21 yrs, 2 m & 12 d Not lost but gone forever. It may be that the stone has not survived. We do not know its condition at the time of recording. Susan's age, if correctly shown, would place her birth well prior to the marriage of John and Mary. Indeed, both would have been children at the time. Another possibility is that there were children orphaned during the War of 1812 and John and Mary might well have adopted Susan. The short answer is that the stone was probably not entirely readable at the time of recording. What may be said is that the church that was associated with this cemetery was originally formed as a Baptist congregation. As mentioned above, John's wife Helen is recorded as a widow as of the 1881 census. The Christian Messenger, a Baptist periodical, dated August 13th, 1874, tells of the passing of Miss Sarah Elizabeth Oakley at the residence in Bronte of her father, Rev. John Oakley. It is reasonable to say that John was still living as late as the passing of his daughter in 1874. One other point, and this relates to the burial of John and Mary's daughter, Susan Augusta Oakley, in the Negro Burial Ground at Niagara Town in 1832: The Niagara Historical Society's No. 11, Reminiscences of Niagara, tells of the Baptist church established at Niagara Town by John and which was eventually a church for black people. This information was taken from John Oakley's journal. The journal was in the hands of Mrs. Dorland of Toronto, John's daughter, but was quoted by the Oakley's niece, Miss Quade, so identified. Some of these entries are fairly extensive. |
Children of John Oakley and Mary Henry |
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Children of John Oakley and Helen Donaldson |
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| Last Edited | 21 Mar 2023 |