SPALLIN, MOREHOUSE and CHAMBERLIN
January 30, 2003:
Dear Al,
Just found your website, "Bytown or Bust" and I want to say you guys are
doing a great job. Three of my direct family lines are from the Gatineau area.
SPALLIN: My great-grandfather was John SPALLIN brother of Joseph SPALLIN.
They came from Burnquarter, County Antrim, Ireland. John married Hannah MOREHOUSE
of Low, Quebec and moved several days later to Pope County, Minnesota. In 1900
John and Hannah moved to Strathcona, Alberta (then called Northwest Territories).
Joseph married Catherine STANLEY and they raised their family close to Wakefield,
Quebec.
MOREHOUSE (Moorhouse, Moorehouse): Hannah Morehouse's parents were Rudolphus
MOREHOUSE and Julia CHAMBERLIN. Rudolphus was a carpenter, farmer and general
merchant in Low, Quebec. He is listed on census records as being born in Ontario
and of US nationality, however I have not been able to locate any information
about his parents, etc.
CHAMBERLIN: Julia's father was one of four brothers who came to Hull about 1819
to work for Philemon Wright. The brothers were John (my ancestor), Josiah, Thomas
and Leonard. Thomas and Leonard moved back to the United States, but John and
Josiah settled in (old) Chelsea, Quebec. John was married to Mary BLOSS
(of Plainfield, NH) and had five children prior to his drowning death in 1837.
The children were: John Charles, Mary (EVANS), Julia (MOREHOUSE), Hannah (BROOKS)
and Sophia (CHURCH). Josiah married Sophia Frost and raised a large family in the
area.
My database can be found on RootsWeb WorldConnect site (debbyw) and my e mail
address is debbywas@shaw.ca
Yours truly,
Debby (Spallin) Was
March 12, 2007:
Dear Debbie (Spallin)
My name is Lynn (McCarthy). I was born and raised in Kelowna B.C. My maternal grandmother's
maiden name was Martha Spallin. Her mother was a Morehouse. My maternal grandmother
married Thomas Brinkman. My grandmother came from a family of 16 kids and lived in Edmonton
Alberta until she married Thomas Brinkman and they moved to Winfield B.C. I am also told
the Spallin's come to Alberta through Minnesota, USA. As I recall my grandmother (with whom I was
very close) said she was born in Minnesota. She would rattle off all her bothers and sisters
names from the eldest to the youngest and I used to love to listen to her talk about her childhood.
I think a couple of the names were "Emmy, Lizzy and I think Perry. I must ask my oldest
sister for some more information. My reason for E-mailing you is because I was looking up the
names Brinkman and Spallin on the internet and found your name. Of course I am wondering
if my lineage is linked to yours.
Thanks,
Lynn Darlene Bateman (McCarthy)
Please feel free to E-mail me at barry.lynn@shaw.ca
October 29, 2007:
Hi Everyone;
Here is the 1851 Census, County Antrim, for James Spallin and Nancy Gordon,
I happen to come across while searching for other information:
Census 1851: Parish: Ballymoney, Townland: Garryduff, County Antrim, Ireland
Date of Census: 11 April 1851
Family No. 41:
James SPALLIN, Age: 46, Head, Married 1824, Occ: Linning / Linen Weaver, Born: Co.
Derry, Read
Nancy SPALLIN, Age: 41, Wife, Married 1824, Occ: None, Born: County Derry, Read
Joseph SPALLIN, Age: 20, Son, Unmarried, Occ: Linning Weaver, Born: Co.
Antrim, Read/Write
Mary SPALLIN, Age: 16, Daughter, Unmarried, Occ: Linning Weaver, Born: County
Antrim, Read
Jane SPALLIN, Age: 13, Daughter, Unmarried, Occ: None, Born: Coounty Antrim,
Read
James SPALLIN, Age: 9, Son, Unmarried, Occ: At School, Born: County Antrim,
Read
John SPALLIN, Age: 9, Son, Unmarried, Occ: At School, Born: County Antrim, Read
Isabella SPALLIN, Age: 4, Daughter, Unmarried, Occ: At School, Born: County Antrim
... Ken Armstrong
March 11, 2010:
A Josiah Chamberlain / Chamberlin married Annie Mulvihill.
And, thanks to Sue for the following information as to the origins of the four Chamberlin brothers in the USA:
From the excellent site, www.ourroots.ca which is full of great old Canadian books to peruse online,
I found the following on the Chamberlain brothers. The book is "Pioneers of the Upper Ottawa and the humors of the valley"
written in 1906 by Anson Albert Gard. The website can be joined for free and is easy to locate Canadian ancestors
if they are mentioned in any of the old books. From pages 368 and 369 of the book:
__________________
The Chamberlain family was one of the very early ones of the Hull settlement. As soon as Philemon started in
to build up the Colony he found that one of the first requisites was to have mills to grind the grain and to
saw the timber, so he brought over from the Lowell, Massachussetts country a number of millwrights, chief
among whom were four brothers Chamberlain: John, Josiah, Thomas and Leonard. They must have come between 1801 and 1803.
___________________
As the entry is rather long on this family and their descendants, marriages, etc, it would probably be best
for anyone interested to log into the Our Roots site given above and locate and read the book's pages 368 and 369.
Hope this helps,
Sue
April 28, 2010:
Hello All,
Just wanted to write an update on these four Chamberlin brothers. Their parentage continues to confuse us (myself & other
Chamberlin researchers) but I want to clear up misinformation from Anson Gard's book Pioneers of the Upper Ottawa & Humors
of the Valley "That they must have come between 1801-1803." This cannot be possible - if that was the case, John would
have been between about 10, Josiah would have been about 7, Thomas about 3 and Leonard a babe in arms. I've established
their ages using census records, etc. The first mention (that I've found) of them in Quebec records is Sep 12, 1820 in
"Engagements of Men 1816-1837" among Philemon Wright & Sons Papers (National Archives of Canada microfilm M-235). Several
years ago, I wrote a story about my Chamberlin research. It was published in "Relatively Speaking" - The Alberta Genealogical
Society Journal, Vol. 31 #3 (pages 18-22) and summarizes the sources I've used to find out about these four brothers and
what happened to them.
Debby Was
June 25, 2010:
In answer to Mary's post (Bytown or Bust) dated Nov 26, 2005. Today I
came into possession of a photograph from A. de Champlain Photographer
of 89 1/2 Duke Street, (LeBreton Flats), Ottawa. It is undated and might be of Rudolphus
& Julia (Chamberlin) Morehouse / Moorehouse of Low, Quebec. Can anyone verify?
Debby Was
E-mail Debby Was, Lynn McCarthy, Ken Armstrong and Al Lewis
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