Gordon Coleman

      Gordon Coleman was born on 8 June 1883 in Troy, Beverly Twp, Wentworth County, Ontario.² He was the son of Charles Coleman and Florence Nancy Mulholland.¹ He married Margaret Ann Babcock on 5 March 1906 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.³ He died on 14 February 1958 in Pomona, Los Angeles County, California, at age 74.¹ He was buried in Troy Cemetery, Beverly Twp, Wentworth County, Ontario.¹

Information for Gordon Coleman and Margaret Ann Babcock and their family comes from family members.

Gordon's obituary reads as follows: "Gordon Coleman of 313 King Street West, Dundas, died last week in Pomona, California. Born at Troy 74 years ago, he had removed to Saskatchewan in 1909, served overseas in the First World War, and moved to Hamilton in 1926. For 20 years he had barbered in Hamilton., also in Dundas where he moved about 10 years ago. He was a member of the Dundas Baptist Church, and of the Over 60 Club. He is survived by his wife, the former Margaret Ann Babcock, three sons, Jesse and Marvin of Hamilton, and Earl of Pomona, California; two daughters, Mrs. Gordon Doyle (Laural) of Strathroy, and Mrs. Clarence Brenzil (Gertrude) of Dunnville. The body will be at the Cattel Funeral Home, 53 Main St., Dundas, from Wednesday morning. The funeral will be held on Thursday at 2 p.m. Burial will be in Troy Cemetery."

On Gordon's attestation papers dated January 3, 1916, filled out when he joined the Canadian Army, Gordon states that he lives at Outlook, Saskatchewan, that he is a farmer, and that his wife is Margaret Ann Coleman.

Gordon's son Early wrote a letter to a family member telling something of his dad: "Gordon, my dad left home at age 14 and travelled all over the country from Ontario to Seattle, Washington and even went over to England once or twice on a cattle boat. He told me that when he first applied for a job on a cattle boat that the mate looked at him and said he was just looking for someone like him to take over the wheel and watch. Dad was so pleased to land such an important sounding job. Until he learned that he was required to clean up behind the cattle, wheel it to the side, and watch it sink.
He worked as a carpenter, a sheepherder, in lumber camps as a teamster, a piano mover, as a farmer. He even worked on the farm of the Montana State Prison. He said it was as a paid laborer. We can only take his word for that. I believe him. I have a beautiful necklace made from horse hair that was done by a convict there. He was living in Winnipeg when he met a boardinghouse maid named Margaret Babcock and look what happened after that. Population explosion. After that marriage they continued to travel all over the west until mother became pregnant and they went back to Grandma's [Nancy] who had moved to Galt and was running a boarding house. They then went west on a homesteaders excursion to Outlook where Harry and his wife were already settled. My mother said that all she could remember of the homestead days was drudgery from before daylight until after dark. I don't believe that the homestead was ever proved up. As they didn't have the money to live on, Dad had to find work at other things. He finally got a job running the ferry across the Saskatchewan river and was employed by the provincial government.
Four kids were born in Sask. and then in 1926 dad decided we kids should have a better chance in life if we lived in the east. Then the depression hit."¹