Maria Matilda Dagg and Johnston Smith

I'm seeking the descendants of Maria Matilda Dagg and her husband, Johnston Smith. Documents show various spellings of Johnston's surname: Smith, Smyth, and Smythe. The spelling on their son Richard Elvin's headstone shows Smith. 

Johnston Smith & Maria Matilda Dagg - wedding photo. Courtesy of Melissa (Anderson) McGill.

If you can contribute information about Maria and/or her descendants, please contact me. Here's as much as I know...

Maria Matilda Dagg (also known as Molly) was the granddaughter of John Culbert and Mary Ward. Maria's parents were Elizabeth "Eliza" Culbert and Richard Dagg.

I haven't yet found a birth certificate to prove Maria's year of birth. I estimate that she was born between 1858 and 1866 in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario, Canada.The 1901 Census gives her birth year as 1858, the 1881 Census says she was born in 1863, and the 1916 Census says she was born in 1866. The book, Toil, Tears & Triumph: A History of Kincardine Township, lists Matilda's date of birth as 1863. So I'm going with 1863, for now.

The year of Maria & Johnston's marriage is also uncertain. On page 198 of the book, Toil, Tears & Triumph: A History of Kincardine Township, their marriage date is written as 1890. However, Maria & Johnston had three children by 1890 so I'm suggesting they must have married around 1885 before the birth of their first child, c1886. 

Maria Matilda (Dagg) Smith

At some point, Maria and Johnston moved from Ontario to Manitoba. Their first child, Emma Jane Smith was born in Ontario circa 1886. However, their second child, Lilly (or Lillie) Smith was born 11 March 1889 in the Rural Municipality of Turtle Mountain, Manitoba. Therefore, Maria and Johnston must have moved to Manitoba sometime between 1886 and early 1889. 

The 1891 Census shows the family, spelled Smyth, still in Manitoba.

By 1903 it seems they've moved back to Bruce County in Ontario. Their son, Richard Elvin Smith's birth certificate clearly shows that he was born in Ontario that year.

Sometime between 1903 and 1911 they moved back to Manitoba. The 1911 Census shows the family in Manitoba. 

Sometime between 1911 and 1916, they packed up and moved to Saskatchewan. The 1916 Census shows them living in the electoral district of Last Mountain, Saskatchewan, and their name is spelled Smythe. 

This seems like a lot of moving around for one family but the documents prove they went from Ontario to Manitoba, back to Ontario, back to Manitoba, and finally to Saskatchewan.

Maria and Johnston had 8 children: 
Emma Jane Smith (c1886-1928)
Lilly Smith (1889-?)
James Wesley Smith (1890-1973?)
Clara Smith (1893-1979)
Ethel Mae "Wilda" Smith (1894-1968)
Laura Smith (1896-1945)
Verna Smith (1898-1982)
Richard Elvin Smith (1903-1970)

Here's what little I know about each of Maria & Johnston's eight children:

EMMA JANE SMITH married Gilbert Harris. Did they have children? Where did they live?

UPDATE: Emma Jane Smith and Gilbert Harris lived in Saskatchewan and had four children: May Emma Harris (1906-?), Verna Leona (Harris) Lakeland (1909-?), Annie Matilda (Harris) Keller (1911-1977), and Elsie Wilda (Harris) Riley (1919-2014).

LILLY SMITH or LILLIE SMITH was born in the Rural Municipality of Turtle Mountain in Manitoba but aside from that, I have no information.

UPDATE: Lilly Smith married Kenneth Mathison/Mathieson (spelling unconfirmed).

JAMES WESLEY SMITH or WESLEY JAMES SMITH signed up for military service in 1916 when he was living in Saskatchewan, and he served overseas during World War One. Wesley's occupation is listed as mason. Did he marry? Did he have children? UPDATE: Wesley Smith did not marry or have children. Family history notes say he died in 1973 but this is unconfirmed.

James Wesley Smith in WWI uniform. Photo courtesy of Ian Westell.

CLARA SMITH. Did she marry? Did she have children? Where did she live?
UPDATE: In 1917 in Winnipeg, Clara Smith married a locomotive engineer named Morley Benson Dempsey (1878-1941). In 1921, they were living in Saskatchewan. Clara and Morley had three children: Glen Dempsey (1919-2004), Alma (Dempsey) Setchell (1921-1984), and another daughter. Clara (Smith) Dempsey died in 1979.

Clara Smith (centre) with her 1st cousins, Catherine Mary "Mayme" Dagg on left, and Lillie Mae/May Westell on right. Photo courtesy of Ian Westell.

ETHEL MAE "WILDA" SMITH married Webber Joshua Balkwill. They're buried in Saint Andrews and Saint James Cemetery in Orillia, Ontario. Did they have children?
UPDATE: Wilda and Webber had a son. Ethel May "Wilda" Smith died in 1968.

LAURA SMITH married Ernest Zachariah Howlett Norman. I wrote about Laura and Ernest, here. Since publishing that blog post, I'm now in touch with the descendants of their only daughter, Eileen (Norman) McEachern.

VERNA SMITH married George Earl McDonald. They lived in Saskatchewan and had 12 children. I have some details about the families of two of those 12 children but I welcome more information.

RICHARD ELVIN SMITH. Did he marry? Did he have children? Where did he live? He is buried in Hanna Cemetery in Hanna, Alberta. Some family trees list him as Alvin Smith but his headstone clearly says Richard Elvin Smith.
UPDATE: Richard Elvin Smith (nicknamed Curly) didn't marry or have children.

If you're a descendant of any of these people or if you can contribute information about them, please contact me at this email address...

Maria Matilda (Dagg) Smith's Family Tree:
Ancestors:
John Culbert & Mary Ward (grandparents)
Elizabeth "Eliza" Culbert & Richard Dagg (parents)
Descendants (Children):
Emma Jane Smith
Lilly Smith 
James Wesley Smith
Clara Smith
Ethel Mae "Wilda" Smith
Laura Smith
Verna Smith
Richard Elvin Smith