John Clement was born in Upper Canada [1] on 4 March 1816. His father, Belais Clement, was born in Quebec, and his mother, Betsey Baldwin, was born in Connecticut. [2] John was probably born in Upper Canada, where many Americans settled after the revolution. John married Almira Barrett, the daugher of Ebenezer Barrett and Sally Thayer, probably around 1836, based on the age of their eldest child. Almira was born in Upper Canada [3] in May 1816. [4]
In 1852 John and Almira, with their six children, were living in a log home in Cramahe township, in Northumberland County, Canada West. John was a laborer, and the family was listed as having no religion. [5] They were probably living in the community of Castleton, one of several in Cramahe township, as their son Dexter's death certificate gave Castleton as his 1843 place of birth. [6] Their son Dexter described their neighborhood as very rural. There was no school, and Dexter never learned his letters well enough to read a newspaper. He also recalled his father coming home from the woods and placing several red fruits on the mantel. He warned his children, "These are love apples and they are deadly poison. Never touch them!" Many years later his children came to grow and enjoy "love apples" under the name of "tomatoes." [7] By 1861 the family had acquired a religion, professing the Methodist Episcopal faith. The family was still living in their log home, and John continued to work as a laborer. Neither he nor his wife could read or write. Also living with the family was Harriet Clement, b c. 1829 in Upper Canada, a single woman listed as idiotic. She may have been John's younger sister. [8] John and Almira continued to reside in Cramahe in 1871. John was described as a laborer, of French descent, and Almira origins were listed as Scotch. Once again, they claimed no religion. Their youngest son, Leonard, was attending school. [9] By 1880 most of the family had emigrated to the United States, taking up residence in Montgomery village, in Muskegon County, Michigan. John continued to work as a laborer, as did Russell and Leonard, the only children still living at home. [10] Although the 1900 census record for Almira indicates that she came to the United States in 1864, this is unlikely given her presence in Canada for the 1871 census. [11]
John Clement died on 20 December 1899 in Casnovia, Muskegon Co. MI and was buried in Seamon Cemetery. His death was due to an enlarged prostate with cystitis due to the abscess of a faulty catheter. He also suffered from a valvular lesion on his heart. [12] After his death, Almira moved in with her daughter Sarah and her family, where she appeared in the 1900 census. [13] She died in Casnovia on 27 February 1901. [14]
John Clement and Almira Barrett had the following children:
| i. | Clarissa (Clara) Clement was born in April 1837 [15] in Upper Canada. [16] She does not appear with the family in 1861, [17] but later turned up in Michigan, where her parents later settled. A search of the Michigan mariage index at Family Search turned up the 1907 record for Clarissa Clement Remington's second marriage, [18] leading to the discovery of Clara in the 1870 census in Ashland, Newaygo County, Michigan, with her husband, George Remington. Ashland is just north of Casnovia township in Muskegon County. The couple had married within the year. Their circumstances were extremely modest; George was working as a farm laborer, and the couple had personal property worth $100. George was described as illiterate. [19] According to George's death record, he was born in New York on 27 December 1829. [20] By 1880 they had moved to Casnovia where George farmed. No children were listed with the couple. [21] On 13 December 1890 in Casnovia George died of heart failure at the age of sixty. [22] He is buried in the Seaman cemetery in Casnovia. [23] In 1900 Clara was boarding with the Wilson family in Casnovia. 1872 was given as the year of emigration, although a few years earlier is more likely, given her presence in the 1870 census. [24] Clara remarried, at the late age of 70, to Norman Cleveland, of Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, on 20 July 1907 in Bailey, in Muskegon County. Norman was born c. 1839 in Pennsylvania, the son of Benjamin Cleveland and Susan Lamphear. He had been married three times before. [25] The 1910 census shows Clara listed as still married, but living without Norman in the home of Martin Kosten. Although listed as a boarder, Clara's relationship to the Kosten family was closer than that term would suggest. [26] Martin Kosten married his wife Cecil Fuller in 1907. The marriage record indicated that she had been married before, and that her father was Harmon Rose and her mother's maiden name was Rogers. [27] Curiously, A 1901 Michigan marriage record lists Milo Fuller as the groom in a wedding with a Cecil Remington. Her parents are given as George Remington and Clara Clements. [28] Are the two Cecils the same woman? Undoubtedly, for Martin Kosten's household in 1910 contains not only Clara Clement Remington Cleveland, the mother of the first Cecil, but Harmon Rose, described as his father-in-law, and named as his wife's father in the marriage record. [29] How then, did Cecil acquire two sets of parents? The 1880 census, as previously noted, showed the Remingtons, residing in Casnovia in dwelling number 307, to be childless after many years of marriage. [30] Harmon Rose, with his wife Annie and two young children, also lived in Casnovia, in dwelling number 276. [31] In 1900 Harmon Rose was a widower, working in a lumber camp in distant Wexford County and boarding with a family. [32] It is likely that Harmon Rose lost his wife Annie when Cecil was still small, and the childless Remingtons took the little girl in both to provide her a home and fill a place in their own hearts. Cecil's father, however, did not disappear from her life, and in 1910 she and her husband had welcomed in to their home both her biological father and her foster mother, a tangible sign of the affection she maintained for both of these family ties. In 1920 Clara was still living with her foster daughter's family. [33] She died in 1926 at about the age of 89, and is buried with her first husband in the Seaman Cemetery in Casnovia. [34] | ||
| ii. | Sarah J. Clement was born in February 1841 [35] in Cramahe, Northumberland County, Upper Canada. [36] On Christmas Day in 1859, at the age of she married John T. Brisbin, aged 23. They married in Cramahe, where they both resided. [37] John was born in August 1836 in Upper Canada. [38] In 1861 they were living in a log house in the township of Haldimand, Northumberland County with their year-old son. John was described as a laborer and their religion designated with the vague appellation "Christian." [39] The 1900, 1910, and 1920 census records for John Brisbin consistently report that he immigrated to the United States in 1864. [40] This is consistent with the birth places for his children. His second child, Anna, was born in Canada in May 1863; [41] his third, Franklin, was born in New York in June of 1866. [42] Russell Clement recalled that his grandfather Dexter Clement told of working with a friend on the boats that carried ore from Ontario to New York for processing. The two friends decided to jump ship in New York and settle there. The friend was probably brother-in-law John Brisbin, as the two lived in Webster, Monroe County, NY at the same time. [43] John apparently intended to remain in New York, for in December of 1868 he purchased from Luther W. McDowell 5 acres of land in Webster, Monroe County, New York for $500. [44] The 1870 census shows John Brisbin residing in Webster with the occupation of cooper and the owner of $500 worth of real estate. He had already acquired American citizenship. [45] The Brisbins were apparently unable to hold on to the land, however. In 1869 John had taken out a mortgage on the property from Luther W. McDowell; there is no indication in the index that the mortgage was ever paid off. [46] The grantor indices for Monroe County similarly contain no reference to a land sale by John Brisbin. [47] In February of 1871 Dexter Clement purchased three acres of that same lot from Mr. McDowell. [48] It is likely that John was unable to keep up the mortgage, the land reverted to the possession of Luther McDowell, and a portion of it was resold to John's brother-in-law. Dexter Clement's son Russell recalled how John Brisbin had helped his father clear his land for farming; [49] in fact, it was probably John's land at the time, and Dexter may have been helping his brother-in-law. The Brisbins were still living in New York in November of 1872, when their youngest son, William, was born, [50] but by 1880 they had resettled in Michigan, where Clara Clement Remington was already residing. In 1880 they were living in Montgomery in Muskegon County, where John was farming. [51] In 1900 they were living in Casnovia, and the widowed Almira Barrett Clement was residing with them. John as described as a farmer and owned his own land, with a mortgage. Both John and Sarah could read and write. [52] In 1910 John and Sarah were living with their son, Franklin, in Casnovia. John was still farming, but was no longer described as a land owner, but was instead employed by another. [53] John and Sarah were living on their own again in 1920, despite their advanced years, and John owned property but carried a mortgage on it. At age 83, he was no longer working. [54] | ||
| iii. | Dexter Ebenezer Clement was born in Castleton, Northumberland County, Canada West on 29 September 1843. [55] | ||
| iv. | Charlotte Jane Clement was born c. 1845 in Canada West. [56] | ||
| v. | Erastus Clement was born in Canada West c. 1846. [57] | ||
| vi. | An unidentified child, born c. 1847, died in 1860 at the age of three of "water on the brain," according to the 1861 census. [58] | ||
| vii. | DeWitt Clement was born in Canada West in 1851. [59] In 1871 he was working as a laborer in Cramahe. [60] | ||
| viii. | Russell Clement was born c. 1855 in Canada West. [61] | ||
| ix. | Leonard Clement was born in Canada West c. 1861. [62] | ||
| x, xi. | Two unidentified children. The 1900 census indicates that Almira was the mother of eleven children, but only nine have been identified. These may have been infants that died young, possibly in the 1850s, when there are significant time between known births. [63] |