Jane McLaren
ID # 3202, (1826-1863)
| Birth | Jane McLaren was born in 1826 at Perthshire, Scotland. |
| Marriage | She married Thomas Fawcett on 12 August 1847 at Gore District. See The Marriage Registers of Upper Canada/Canada West, Vol. 13: Gore District, 1842-1856 Compiled by Dan Walker & Fawne Stratford-Devai Global Heritage Press, 2000, page 78 Marriages of Rev'd Roxley Heyland, (Wesleyan Methodist) Minister, p. 86 & 87. Thomas Fawcitt, to Jane McLarren, both of Brantford. 12 Aug. 1847, by Licence. Rev. Heyland. Wit. Richard Rawling and Christophere Armstrong. The place of marriage is unstated, but was likely in Brantford. Examining the image of the page, as provided by Ancestry, shows that the month of marriage is badly smeared and that the transcription, August, failing any other source is probably a guess. The day the 12th and the year, 1847, are shown clearly enough. |
| Death | She died on 27 September 1863. |
| Burial | She was buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Brantford, Brant Co., Ontario. |
| Note | See Donald A. McKenzie's Vol. 4, Obituaries From Ontario's Christian Guardian, 1861 to 1870, Global Heritage Press, 2008, page 110: Fawcett, Mrs. Jane, daughter of John McLaren, was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1826, came to Canada with her parents when 'quite a child', and married Rev. Thomas Fawcett in 1848. She died of consumption, Sept. 27, 1863; predeceased in 1859 by her husband, and by one of her children soon after that. - Oct. 28, 1863, p. 174, O., sent from Brantford. The Gore District Marriage Register makes it clear enough that Thomas and Jane were married in 1847. Jane's date of death as shown in her obituary agrees with the date of death as shown on her gravestone in Greenwood Cemetery. Jane left a will and it is to be found on microfilm GS1 reel 275. It makes mention of an action against the Great West Railway, no doubt to do with the death of her husband Thomas. One of her executors is her brother-in-law, Michael Fawcett. Jane makes division of her goods to all her children, and makes no distinction between those of her own and those of her husband's first marriage. Quite reasonably, she makes special provision for her minor children. It should be noted that while Jane gives direction for the care of her younger children, by the time of the 1871 census, her three youngest but one, David age 22, James age 19, and Jeffers, age 16, are all together with their half-sister Sophie. She is married to Matthew Carr. They are living at the town of Paris and Matthew is described as postmaster, though this may have referred to Paris Station, Ontario. An observation here. It's risky making subjective statments about people long gone. People who would have known the Fawcetts are also long gone and we have no one to fall back on for commentary. With what we have, however, it seems fair to say that they were a fully functional family and supportive of each other in times of adversity. From what we know of Sophie, she seems especially impressive. We may perhaps take some special note of this, for an examination of the 1861 census page that shows the family in Brantford makes it quite clear that they were hardly living in an affluent neighbourhood. The 1861 census at Brantford shows Jane's sons as David, James, Michael, and John. Her will mentions sons David, James, and Michael. John, who was born approximately 1856 per the 1861 census, does not appear in her will. The 1871 census shows sons David, James, and Jeffers with Sophie. That Jeffers was the son of Thomas Fawcett and Jane McLaren is made clear by his marriage registration in 1882 in Brockville. That his full name was Michael Jeffers Fawcett is made clear by his daughter Ethel's marriage registration which shows his name in full. What became of John who appeared in the 1861 census at Brantford is unknown. No record of a stone has been found for him in Greenwood Cemetery, Brantford, though a stone from this era may not have survived. (The Brantford Library shows an index for a death notice for the passing of a John Fawcett. The paper noted is the Brantford Weekly Expositor edition of April 3, 1863. This is likely Jane's son John and probably would probably date his death to late March of the year. |
Children of Jane McLaren and Thomas Fawcett |
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| Last Edited | 10 Nov 2018 |