The Culberts Next Door - Richard Culbert and Ann Jane Harlton

Next door to John Culbert and Mary Ward near Lucan, Ontario lived another Culbert family: Richard Culbert and his wife, Ann Jane (Harlton) Culbert.

Thanks to Ancestry DNA testing, we know that Richard is definitely related to our ancestor, John Culbert.

Was he John Culbert’s brother? His cousin? And why did Richard and Ann later move away to Wyoming, Ontario? No one in my family could answer that question so I set out to see what I could discover.

Why oh why, Wyoming?

This Richard Culbert (not to be confused with John and Mary’s son of the same name) was born circa 1813 in Ireland.

Our ancestor, John Culbert and his mystery relation next door, Richard Culbert are listed in the Ontario Archive Land Record Index; showing land deeds for each man dated October 1840. John purchased Lot 19, Concession 2 in Biddulph Township while Richard purchased Lot 18, the property just north of John. 

Skipping ahead a couple of years to 1842, the Assessment List and Population Return for the Township of Biddulph shows John Culbert with 100 acres on Lot 19 and Richard Culbert on Lot 18 with 100 acres. 

These records prove that John and Richard purchased land at the same time (October 1840) next to each other.

So there they are, living side by side. But how were they related? We don’t know. John was born c1806 so he was about seven years older than Richard. However, there’s no mention in any of the documents as to their family relationship.

A decade goes by. The 1851 Census (taken in 1852) gives us more information about the family. At this point, Richard and Ann have five children; John who was born in Ireland; and Elizabeth, Helen, Sally Ann, and Catherine who were born in Canada. (Sally may have been a nickname for Sarah.) (Note for family historians: In 1851, Ontario was known as Canada West, and Biddulph Township was at the time part of Huron County, not Middlesex County.)

Fast forward to 1861. The Richard Culbert family have left Biddulph Township. They’re living in a log house in the village of Wyoming in Plympton Township, Lambton County, Ontario. 

Modern map showing position of Lucan in relation to Wyoming. I'm guessing it's well over 50 miles or over 80 km. (Math wizards, feel free to tell me.) Back in the 1800s, even a distance of 20 miles took a long time to cover by horse and buggy so it's doubtful these families did much visiting after Richard and his family moved away.

The 1861 Census shows a couple of changes to the Richard Culbert-Ann Harlton family. A new member of the family is listed: a daughter, Rebecca Culbert. Daughter Helen’s name has been crossed out and I haven’t seen any reference to her since that time so Helen must have died.

Richard Culbert's family's names on the 1861 Census of Canada. His daughter Helen's name is crossed out so she may have died.

So somewhere between 1852 and 1861, Richard Culbert and his family moved away from Biddulph Township to the Village of Wyoming in Plympton Township, Lambton County. Can we narrow down the date they moved? Yes, we can. Their daughter, Rebecca was born 31 May 1854 in Plympton Townhip so this means the Richard Culbert family moved to Plympton Township in 1854 or earlier.

 

Why did they move away from Biddulph? We don’t know. Lambton County was experiencing rapid growth and prosperity so it’s possible Richard thought he could do better there.

In any case, the Richard Culbert-Ann Jane Harlton family was never again mentioned in any talk I ever heard from my family members. It’s as if they never existed. Yet there they are on the Census form, and the Ontario Archive Land Record Index, and the Assessment List, showing they lived one property north of the John Culbert-Mary Ward family. It may just be because it was so very long ago that memory of them was diminished through time. Or perhaps they lived so far away that the two families lost touch.

Richard and Ann’s last child, William Culbert was born in 1863 in the Village of Wyoming.

A couple of decades later, the 1881 Census shows Richard and Ann, now in their 60s, still living in Wyoming. Most of their children had moved out except William and Catherine. Also in the household was Catherine’s husband, Alexander Morden and their son, George Morden.

Richard’s wife, Ann Jane (Harlton) Culbert (born c1816 in Ireland) died 18 February 1888 at the home of her son-in-law, Alexander Morden.

Ann (Harlton) Culbert's obituary in the March 9th 1888 edition of the Sarnia Observer. Note the misspelling of her last name. If your last name is Culbert, no doubt you've suffered this indignity.

Ann's obituary says that “her aged partner still survives her, although he has been scarcely able to move around for the past year or two. They spent over fifty years of married life together, and are among the oldest residents of the village."

At some point, the widowed Richard went to live with his daughter, Catherine Morden and her family who also lived in Wyoming. He died on 10 March 1894, age 82 of bronchial pneumonia.

Richard Culbert's death document shows that he was a laborer, born in Ireland, who died on March 10th, 1894 at the age of 82 of bronchial pneumonia.

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that John and Richard are probably brothers. However, as yet, there's no documentation to prove it. Through DNA testing, I've established that Richard Culbert and his descendants are definitely related to John Culbert and his descendants. Eventually, I hope to have a breakthrough and find more details. Please consider taking the Ancestry DNA test. Your DNA may unlock the secrets of these two Culbert men.

Richard Culbert’s Family Tree:

Ancestors:

Unknown. Richard’s brother is probably John Culbert who married Mary Ward but there's no documentation yet to prove this.

Descendants (Children):

John Culbert (c1840-1874)

Elizabeth Culbert (aka Ettie and Eliza) (1842-1914)

Helen Culbert (c1844 - ?)

Sally Ann or Sarah Culbert (c1845 - ?)

Catherine Culbert (1850-1923)

Rebeccca Culbert (1854-1927)

William Culbert (1863-1935)

Note: The next post will discuss the descendants of Richard Culbert & Ann Jane Harlton. 

UPDATE: Since publishing this post, I've discovered that Richard Culbert & John Culbert are probably brothers. See blog post here.

UPDATE: Richard Culbert and Ann Jane Harlton are buried in Wyoming Cemetery in Wyoming, Ontario. See this post.