Ancestral Line of
William Robenile Crawford
born August 9,1897, died February 1978
Prepared by : John Crawford
Date : December 1997
It is hoped that this study, over time, will be passed down to all the descendants of William Robenile
Crawford, so that the "Crawford" family name can be traced to its origin.
d:\grampa.
Ancestral Line of
William Robenile Crawford
born August 9,1897, died February 1978
The purpose of this study is to trace the Ancestral Line of William Robenile Crawford (WRC) (born August 9,1897, died
February 1978).
This study was prepared by myself, William Ernest John Crawford, (born October 9, 1951). I am the Grandson of
WRC's. I began this study in July 1997, because the information on my Ancestral Line was unclear.
At the time of this study, the wife of WRC, Ethel May Sibthorpe, (born March 31, 1898), was age 99 years and still
living. She is the best living source of information. Over the years, she has provided information to her two children,
William Duncan Crawford and Viola Crawford (married name, Reynolds). EMS's information was obtained from the
Mother of WRC, (Mary Ann Buchanan, born May 19, 1878).
According to Ethel May Sibthorpe (EMS), that Mary Ann Buchanan (MAB) was always vague and evasive when asked
about the Father of WRC. EMS was not very fond of MAB. EMS claimed that MAB was married 3 times. She also claims
that MAB murdered (by poison) her 2nd husband, Lewis Lawrence. EMS claims that there was a murder investigation,
however, no charges were laid due to a lack of evidence. Still , to this day, EMS claims that MAB killed Mr. Lewis
Lawrence.
EMS recalled one instance when she asked MAB to tell her more information about the Father of WRC. MAB
responded with "all you need to know is that he was a gentleman". From this harsh response, we can assume that
MAB was defensive about the subject matter.
In his living years, WRC was also vague and evasive about his birth father. We believe that he too knew very little
about his birth father, simply because the subject matter was so sensitive.
Abbreviations
Throughout this report I frequently refer to the following people, an for simplicity sake I will refer to them by these
abbreviations.
WRC = William Robenile Crawford (the subject person)
MAB = Mary Ann Buchanan (mother of WRC)
EMS = Ethel May Sibthorpe (wife of WRC)
According to EMS, based on information provided to her from MAB and WRC, the following information is believed to
be accurate.
* MAB Parents (Grandparents) moved from the area of Bowmanville Ontario, to the area near Tara, probably after
1881
* MAB worked as a maid for the Crawford family on a farm near Tara, Ontario, in the year 1896 (approximately).
The Buchanan home was near the Crawford farm.
* MAB married one of the sons, William Crawford. Later MAB became pregnant with his baby. The baby would
later be born as WRC.
* The Grandfather & Father of WRC were also named William.
* William Crawford (the Father of WRC) died in a Rock Slide accident before the birth of WRC.
* After the death of William Crawford (the Father of WRC), MAB returned home to live with her Parents, Duncan
Buchanan and Martha Angel. She lived there when the baby WRC was born.
* MAB would later marry Mr. Lewis Lawrence, they would leave the baby, WRC, with MAB's parents for a few years
while they went to the USA to work.
* WRC would live with his Grandparents (Buchanan) near Tara. Later his Mother (MAB) and his Stepfather would
bring WRC to Toronto to live.
* WRC was not aware that his registered family name was Crawford until he went to enlist in the Armed Services.
Apparently, he told the Armed Services that his name was William R. Lawrence. They told him that they had no such
birth registration. WRC approached his mother (MAB), who then told him, for the first time ever, that he had been
registered as CRAWFORD. He then joined the Armed Service as WRC and served in France during World War 1.
In July 1997, I visited the Ontario Archives and discovered the following.
Birth Registration
- Mary Ann Buchanan, (MAB, mother of WRB)
- May 19, 1878, Grey County, Township of Sullivan, Lot 17, Con.1
- Father, Duncan Buchanan, Farmer
- Mother, Martha Angel
- Reporting person, Duncan Buchanan
Birth Registration
- William Robenile Crawford (WRB)
- August 9, 1897 , Grey County, Township of Derby
- Father, Illegitimate
- Mother, Mary Ann Buchanan, MAB
- Attending Physician, None
- Reporting person, Duncan Buchanan
1881 Census
Research on various families with the name Crawford are contained in the attached schedule. The following family is
believed to include the Birth Father of WRB.
Census Legend - H=head,W=wife,S=son,D=daughter,F=father,M=mother
(relative to the head of the household)
1881 Census, 177 Bruce County, Arran Township
Page 14, line 17
age Birth place
Crawford Wm H 54 Scotland
Mary W 51 "
Mary D 18 Ontario
Wm S 13 " (Father of WRC ?)
Robert S 11 "
Laurie David ? 76 Scotland (Widow)
N.B. I was not able to locate the family of Duncan Buchanan. It is possible that they did not move into the area until
later (after 1881).
This Crawford family has the Head of the household listed as Wm., (age 54) and also a 13 year son also named
Wm. This 13 year Wm. is the same person we believe would be the father of WRC, 16 years later.
Census reports were taken in 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901. This Census report is significant because it is the last
Census report that will show WRC's Grandfather Crawford (shown here as the 54 year old head of the household).
WRC's Grandfather Crawford was not listed on the 1891 Census. We presume he died between 1881 & 1891.
A person named David Laurie, age 76 is also listed in the household. We do not know if he is a relation.
Census Legend - H=head,W=wife,S=son,D=daughter,F=father,M=mother
(relative to the head of the household)
1891 Census
65 North Grey County, Derby Township, page 5, line 16
Birthdate Birth place Age
YYYY,MM,DD
Buchanan Duncan H 1852,07,18 Ontario 40
Martha W 1855,11,14 England 35
Mary A D 1878,05,19 Ontario 12 **<<
Georgina D Ontario 10
Martha,J D 1885,12,28 Ontario 5
George F S 1891,03,22 Ontario 0
1891 Census, Bruce County, Arran Township
Page 26,
Crawford Mary H 61 Scotland
Mary D 25 Ontario
Robert S 21 "
Wm. S 23 "
Murray Jamie D 41 "
Arther GC 14 "
Rob " 11 "
Sadie " 6 "
Loyd " 3 "
Geo " 7/12 "
N.B. Mary A Buchanan, age 12, is the eventual Mother of WRC.
Mary Crawford's husband William is not listed, we presume he died between 1881 & 1891. Mary Crawford's
daughter, Jamie Murray, has moved in with her 5 kids. Jamie Murray's husband is not listed here. We do not know why.
This Census report is 6 years before the birth of WRC. The Buchanan family includes MAB (Mary Ann) at age 12).
The Crawford family includes the father of WRC, now age 23.
The Crawford family are listed under Grey County, whereas the Buchanan family is listed Bruce County. We believe
that both families lived South and East of the village of Tara. Although they lived within walking distance of each other,
a County Line also separated the two farms. The Grey - Bruce County line runs just East of the village of Tara. Within
the County of Grey, the Township border between Derby Township (birth place WRB) and Sullivan Township
(birthplace of MAB), is just South and East of the Village of Tara.
Census Legend - H=head,W=wife,S=son,D=daughter,F=father,M=mother
(relative to the head of the household)
1901 Census
65 North Grey County, Derby Township
Birthdate Birth place Age
YYYY,MM,DD
Buchanan Duncan H 1852,07,18 Ontario 50
Martha W 1855,11,14 England 45
Martha,J D 1885,12,28 Ontario 14
George S 1891,03,22 Ontario 10
Laurence William Gson 1897,08,09 Ontario 3
N.B. - note that WRC is listed here as William Laurence. Laurence is spelled wrong, which was a typical enumerators
error. WRC is also listed as age 3, which is also an error, because WRC would have been at least age 4 when the
Census was taken. Enumerators would write information down that was given, without verifying spelling or birthdate.
MAB is not listed because she is living else where with Mr. A Lawrence. WRC is now age 4 is already listed using his
step fathers surname Laurence (Lawrence), which he will continue to use until he attempts to enlist in the Armed
Services, some 14 years later.
1901 Census, 177 Bruce County, Arran Township
Birthdate Birth place Age
YYYY,MM,DD
Crawford Robert H 1869,12,31 Ontario 32
? W
David S 1899,03,06 Ontario 2
N.B. note that Robert Crawford, (brother of William Crawford) is listed on the 1901 Census. Their Mother, Mary
Crawford is not listed, we presume she died. Wm. Crawford (Mary Crawford's son) is not listed. He could of moved out
of the area. He may have died, however, no record of his death exists anywhere is Ontario. If he did die, as the "story"
is told, it would have to have been out of the province of Ontario.
Let us now review the claims made by EMS and consider what aspects have been verified by my research.
* MAB's Parents (or Grandparents) moved from the area of Bowmanville Ontario, to the area near Tara, probably
after 1881
- Duncan Buchanan and family are listed on the 1891 Census as living in Grey County, Derby Township. This
area is near Tara, Ontario.
* MAB worked as a maid for the Crawford family (William & Mary) on a farm near Tara, Ontario, in the year 1896
(approximately). The Buchanan home was near the Crawford farm.
- I have not been able to locate the specific homes for either family. Census reports do not give addresses for
farms. It is reasonable that two farms were close by. Without automobiles, people tended to live their lives in a small
area.
- there is no way to determine whether MAB worked as a Maid for the Crawford Family.
* MAB married one of the sons, William Crawford. Later MAB became pregnant with his baby. The baby would
later be born as WRC.
- despite exhaustive research, no Marriage between MAB and Wm. Crawford could be found in Ontario
records. Also WRC Birth Registration lists the Father as "Illegitimate".
- Duncan Buchanan registered the birth of his daughter's baby (WRC). He deliberately named the baby
"William" and "Crawford", despite also reporting that the baby was "Illegitimate". I can only presume that he would do
this to embarrass the real Father, or to enable WRC to be eligible to receive funds later in life from the rich Crawford
family estate.
* The Grandfather & Father of WRC were also named William.
- our research of the 1881 Census revealed a family living near Tara (Arran Township) with a father and son
both with the name William Crawford.
* William Crawford (the Father of WRC), died in a Rock Slide accident before the birth of WRC.
- despite exhaustive research of Ontario records , no death record of William Crawford (DOB 1868) was found
for any time near 1897 (or within the next 10 years after 1897). I expect that death story was made up to hide the
shame of the Illegitimate birth.
* MAB later returned home to live with her Parents, Duncan Buchanan and Martha Angel. MAB lived there when
the baby, WRC, was born.
- WRC's birth record confirms Grey County as his Birth Place. The Crawford family lived across the County line, in
Bruce County.
* MAB would later marry Mr. Lewis Lawrence, they would leave the baby (WRC) with MAB's parents for a few years
while they went to the USA to work.
- no marriage record for MAB and Lewis Lawrence could be found in the Ontario records. However, EMS
confirms that she visited their home, and it was a marriage like arrangement. According to Viola Crawford (daughter of
WRC), MAB & Lewis Lawrence were married in USA.
* WRC would live with his Grandparents (Buchanan) near Tara. Later his Mother (MAB) and his Stepfather would
bring WRC to Toronto to live.
- this was confirmed by EMS, and WRC in his living years.
* WRC was not aware that his registered family name was Crawford until he went to enlist in the Armed Services.
Apparently, he told the Armed Services that his name was William R. Lawrence. They told him that they had no such
birth registration. WRC approached his mother (MAB), who then told him, for the first time ever, that he had been
registered as CRAWFORD. He then joined the Armed Service as WRC and served in France during World War 1.
- again this was confirmed by EMS
Conclusion
The birth record of WRC did not indicate the Father's name. However, it is reasonable to conclude that the Father of
WRC was William Crawford DOB 1868 (as known from the 1881 Census, page 14, of Bruce County, Arran Township).
MAB claimed that the Father of WRC was named William Crawford and the Grandfather was also named William
Crawford. The 1881 Census confirms the Father & Son combination, both named William Crawford, as living near the
described area.
At the time of birth of WRC, MAB was age 19. Wm Crawford (the proposed father of WRC) was age 29. A reasonable
age difference for lovers.
It is reasonable to expect that MAB fabricated the story of the death of the father of WRC, and her marriage to the to
WRC's father, to hide the shame of the illegitimate birth. The fabricated story of the "Rock Slide" death was easy to
defend because she left the area of Tara shortly after the birth of WRC.
With this assumption,
- the Grandfather of WRC is William Crawford, born 1827 in Scotland.
- the Grandmother of WRC is Mary Crawford nee ????, born 1830 in Scotland
Already known is;
- the other Grandfather of WRC is Duncan Buchanan, born 1852 in Ontario. Duncan's father was born in Scotland.
- the other Grandmother of WRC is Martha Buchanan nee Angel, born 1855 in England
Other Facts
Mary Crawford is buried in the Cemetery in Tara.
The Angel family still have a Business in Tara.
The name William Crawford is at least 5 generations. It is not yet known whether the name William Crawford extends
further back into prior years in Scotland.
As a result of this research, my 1st born son, Paul Alexander Crawford (DOB June 19, 1976), legally changed his
name in September 1997, to include the name William. With this, the name William Crawford now exists for at least 6
generations, with the potential of being extend beyond that. Also, it is possible that the name William Crawford might
have extended to prior generations in Scotland.
Many thanks to EMS, my Mom & Dad (William & Bernice), Viola Reynolds (nee Crawford) and Matthew Crawford
Ladner for their help with this report.
I was not able to determine why WRC's middle name was "Robenile".
EMS died on December 9, 1997, just before completion of this report.
MAB had 2 children with Lewis Lawrence, Albert born Jan.30, 1904 and Edgar born 1905. Edgar and Lawrence were
step brothers to WRC.
After the death of Lewis Lawrence, MAB was married to William Ernest Bone.
VILLAGE OF TARA
COMMUNITY PROFILE
LOCATION
The Village of Tara is situated in the central portion of Bruce County, approximately eight kilometres south of the
junction of Provincial Highway #21 and Bruce County Road #10. Tara functions primarily as a rural/agricultural service
centre and is within a 1/2 hour of Owen Sound, the largest urban centre in the Bruce Grey region.
Highway Distances from Tara
to Major Centres
(in kilometres)
Windsor/Detroit.........375
Sarnia/Port Huron.......260
London..................210
Fort Erie/Buffalo.......295
Toronto.................200
Tara is approximately 1 1/2 hours north of Highway 401, the Province's main controlled access thoroughfare and link
between major centres in Canada and the United States. The Wiarton Keppel District Airport and the Owen Sound
Airport are a short drive on excellent roads from the Village. The Town of Port Elgin also offers a municipal airstrip
within 25 km of the Village.
Owen Sound also offers a Great Lakes port and shipping facilities.
GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY
The bedrock geology of the lands in the immediate vicinity of Tara is primarily of the Guelph Formation. This formation
comprises tan to brown, evenly textured, fine and medium crystalline dolomite.
The soils of lands adjacent to the Village of Tara consist largely of loam, clay and silt materials with some areas of
stones present. The topography of the region ranges from smooth and very gently sloping with poor drainage to
moderately sloping and consisting of good drainage.
The Canada Land Inventory for Agriculture rates much of the lands in the vicinity as Class 1, indicating virtually no
limitations for crop production. There are also some areas of Class 5 lands with its limitations being primarily stoniness.
HISTORY
Tara was settled in the early 1850s, which coincided with the beginning of a period of significant agricultural
development in Southern Ontario. The settlement was situated on the shore of the Sauble River, in the heart of Arran
Township, and Tara quickly developed into an important agricultural service centre and mill site for the surrounding
farm community.
As the agricultural period progressed, Tara's importance as an agricultural and rural service centre continued to grow.
The mill function of the community was enhanced by the village's central location on good agricultural lands. Tara
developed a vast array of industrial and commercial services associated with the agricultural economy of the period.
The latter 1800s represented peak development for most of Southern Ontario. The period between 1900 and 1950
was one in which the economic trends moved away from the rural/agricultural base to urban/industrial. Revolutionary
improvement in transportation in the form of the automobile and increased mechanization of the farm combined to
bring about the decline of the rural village as a dominant aspect of Southern Ontario. As economic activity began to
centralize in urban centres and road systems improved, many businesses in previously vital small towns and villages
faded, and, as a direct result, many people moved away from the rural areas.
In Tara, many businesses either closed down or moved to more centralized locations and the population declined
significantly.
Recent years have seen the resurgence of the rural community with regard to population. Trends in urbanization and
centralization have reversed to some degree and many small towns and villages have experienced increases in
population. The urban communities of Bruce County have experienced these trends to some degree. The decrease in
farm population in conjunction with increasing numbers of retiring farmers moving to urban communities continues to
slowly erode the rural population and many urban communities, such as Tara, are assuming specialized residential
and retirement roles as
opposed to their historical functions as broadly based service locales.
Today, Tara offers a number of retail and financial services as well as several small industrial establishments. The
picturesque setting and friendly people, in addition to Tara's proximity to Lake Huron and the larger communities of the
interior region, offers an ideal environment for families to grow.