Frederick


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frederick, son of Robert Parr and Hannah Charity was born 15 October 1833 at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, England.  Frederick's parents brought Frederick and his siblings to Ontario, Canada sometime during 1834.  They settled near Wardsville, Ontario by the 1842 census.

Jane, daughter of John Whiting and _________ (mother)  was born 11 March 1835 at _____________, England. The 1901 Census had 1834 as the year of her birth.

They married 29 November 1854 at ___________ (church?) by Rev. H. Wilkinson. The Christian Guardian mentioned that Fred was from Mosa (Township), and that Jane was from London Township.

A recollection from grandson Dr. Raymond Parr, was his grandmother sharpening her butcher knife on one of the bricks by the back door of her house. Unfortunately when I went to check out the back door brick story, I only found a hole in the ground, the house was demolished and removed. Frederick Parr and Jane Whiting had 13 children; Robert, Mariah Jane, Henry, Rachel, Elizabeth Ann, William George, David Frederick, Joe (Josiah in the 1871 census), Emma May, Ida Mary, Bertha, Charles, and Lavinie.

Frederick was a religious man with entrepreneurial spirit. The idea of him being an entrepreneur comes from his buying and selling land packages. He had submitted a plan for "Centreville". It was to be located between Wardsville and Newbury, and it was a town plot consisting of two streets and 4 sections of 4 half acre lots. There was a planned street with 8 lots on either side named "Parr Street". It was registered in March of 1855 and it was the North Half of Lot 17 in the Second Range.

However. Checking the history of what was going on in the area may explain why it never happened. The early 1850's started a land boom because of the railroad showing up in Mosa Township. "Centreville" never came to reality because the land bust began in 1855, after the railroad went away from this location.

In the 1861 census for Mosa Township, Fred was neighbours to his mother and step-father. Three children were born by this time, Robert, Mariah Jane, and Henry. They were living in a brick one storey house.

The Middlesex Gazetteer and Directory 1864-1866 found Fred and family living in Mosa Township, Concession 2, Lot 17; the same area as his brother-in-law, Robert Beveridge. The 1861 census confirms that location for Fred Parr.

In the 1871 census, children Rachel, Eliza, David, William, Joe, (though the census says Josiah), and Emma were part of the family.

Published in the Middlesex County Atlas of 1878, Fred Parr was listed on page 50 as a farmer, on the 2 Range, NLR 17 with the date of settlement of 1842, nativity of England and post office of Wardsville.

In the 1891 census, daughter Emma was a next door neighbour and son Henry's family were living with Fred and Jane.

Recognition was made of Fred being "among the old settlers of Mosa", as he was listed with others in the History of the County of Middlesex, Canada.

Alta (Colborne) McEwen was a child and recalled an elderly Fred, carrying a fine tooth comb with him. His hair was shoulder length at that stage of his life, and sometimes a grandchild would be combing his hair with that fine tooth comb. This was when Fred would be sitting at his daughter Mariah Jane's verandah overlooking the trees in the yard, the railway tracks and the Presbyterian Church.

It was Alta's recollections that indicated that Frederick was a religious man. For the family bible links: parents and siblings birth dates and Frederick's marriage date and his children's birth dates. In his Christian caring, he went out of his way to care for a woman with tuberculosis, and he caught the disease and died from it. Indeed, 5 great grandchildren were ministers and four family bibles were found tracing various parts of Fred’s family. One was found that listed his parents and siblings’ birth dates, with the added bonus of Fred’s marriage date and his children's’ birth dates. A genealogical treasure.

Fred died 29 January 1900 and was buried at Bear Creek Cemetery near Brigden, Ontario.

For the 1901 census, Jane was living with son David and daughter Vina in a 4 room house at Moore Township.

When Alta was about 9 years old, she visited her grandmother Jane when Jane was living in downtown Brigden. It was a shadow of a memory but Alta recalled Jane getting a cup and saucer for the two of them for tea.

Jane died from _________ (cause) on 8 April 1909 and was buried next to Fred.

If you have information on Frederick Parr, or his descendants, please contact me at parrresearch@sympatico.ca
or my mailing address is:
Jack Parr, Box 609 Mount Albert, ON, LOG 1MO, Canada

I thank you for your interest in the family of Robert and Hannah Parr.

This web site is for your personal enjoyment only. No commercial intent or use is permitted. If you wish to acquire an image for your own personal use, please email me your request.
 

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Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007 by Parr Research
All rights reserved. Revised: 29 Jul 2007 17:03:38 -0600.