180th Anniversary of the Purchase of the Culbert Homestead near Lucan, Ontario

On this Thanksgiving weekend, I give thanks for this bill of sale...

Are you a descendant of John Culbert and his wife, Mary Ward? If so, you wouldn't have been born if not for that bill of sale. Or are you a descendant of John's brother, Richard Culbert and his wife, Ann Jane Harlton? Read on...

180 years ago today on 10 October 1840, our ancestor, John Culbert purchased Lot 19 on Concession 2 in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario on what is known today as The Coursey Line. The image above is a copy of the Memorandum of Sale for those 100 acres, purchased from the Canada Company for the sum of 12 pounds, ten shillings. The man I believe to be John's brother, Richard Culbert purchased the property next door (Lot 18), three days after John purchased Lot 19.

John Culbert, his wife Mary Ward and their family made the voyage from Ireland to Canada in 1840, settling in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario. None of us would be here today were it not for that voyage, and for that purchase of land.

The John Culbert-Mary Ward family, c1865. For more info about this photo, click here.

This being Thanksgiving weekend (here in Canada) let's raise our glasses in thanks of our ancestors making a new life in Canada. We're here today because of them.

If you're new to the Culbert Family History blog and want to learn more about our family, consider reading any of the following blog posts:

We don't know why the Culberts left Ireland but for my thoughts on the possible reasons, click here.

To read about the Culbert family's voyage from Ireland to Canada, click here.

For a biography of John Culbert, click here.

For a biography of John Culbert's wife, Mary Ward, click here. 

For a biography of Richard Culbert (the man I believe is John Culbert's brother,) click here.

To read about the Culbert homestead near Lucan, later known as Poplar Farm, click here. 

The Culbert homestead (Poplar Farm) as it looked in 2013.

Culberts and Colberts: From Ireland to Canada and Beyond

I've been studying our DNA links to other Culbert and Colbert families who left Ireland in the 1800s. 

What have I learned?

I've established that our ancestor, John Culbert (husband of Mary Ward) is related to several Culbert and Colbert families who left Ireland in the 1800s. Aside from his brother, Richard, I haven't yet discovered John Culbert's exact relationship to these families. Nonetheless, here are the families I've found, so far, who share DNA with us:

Richard Culbert & Ann Jane Harlton.
Richard Culbert, born c1813 in Ireland was John Culbert's brother. Richard purchased the property next to John in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario in 1840. Later, Richard and his family moved to Lambton Township, Ontario. I've written about Richard previously in this post. 

James Culbert & Rebecca Hodgins. 
James Culbert was born c1822 in Ireland and married Rebecca Hodgins born c1827 in Tipperary. We don't know the names of James Culbert's parents. I wrote about James & Rebecca's son, Richard Culbert of Centralia, here.
Now, here's where figuring out the DNA connections gets tricky: James Culbert's wife, Rebecca Hodgins was the daughter of Sarah Colbert (related to us) and Henry Hodgins of London Township. So the descendants of James Culbert & Rebecca Hodgins are related to us on their father's side and on their mother's side.

James Culbert & Rebecca Portis.
James Culbert was born c1817 in Ireland. James Culbert and Rebecca Portis married in Modreeny, Tipperary and came to Canada around 1864. They lived in Lucan, Ontario and later moved west to British Columbia. I've written about James Culbert & Rebecca Portis previously in this post.

William Culbert & Margaret Emily Lewis.
William Culbert was born c1807 in Birr, Ireland. Birr is in County Offaly but at that time, it was known as Kings County. Kings County is where our ancestor John Culbert is believed to have been born, and it borders County Tipperary. William died before 1843, leaving Margaret a widow with four children. Margaret Emily (Lewis) Culbert and her children immigrated to Canada, settling in Clandeboye, Ontario near Lucan. Margaret remarried to Robert Hodgins, Jr. 

Rebecca Culbert & Freeman Blackwell.
Rebecca Culbert (born in Ireland about 1807) married Freeman Blackwell (born about 1791) and immigrated to Canada in the 1800s. They settled in Biddulph Township and appear to have lived in Lucan and in Ailsa Craig, Ontario.

The Culbert families of Eau Claire, Wisconsin whose ancestors are from Tipperary.

John Colbert and his descendants of Goulbourn Township and Huntley Township near Ottawa. John Colbert was from Ballingarry, Tipperary, and left Ireland as part of the Talbot Settlement group of 1818.

The Colbert families of Gatineau, Quebec. These Colberts from Ballingarry, Tipperary are related to the Colberts (above) and were members of the Talbot Settlement Group of 1818 from Ireland. Some of their descendants settled in Clarendon, Pontiac County, Quebec.

The Colbert families of London Township, Ontario. One family of London Township Colberts is said to have come over from Ireland with the Talbot Settlers in 1818. We know there was a Colbert family who settled in London Township in 1830. The patriarch of this Colbert family (first name unconfirmed) was from Cloughjordan, Tipperary. He had several children with whom we share DNA, including Rebecca Colbert (c1794-1868) who married John "Stoney" Shoebottom; Thomas Colbert (1804-1861) who married Catherine "Kitty" Mooney; and Sarah Colbert (1807-1893) who married Henry Hodgins. 

And more!

I've discovered DNA links to even more Culbert/Colbert families but I'm still trying to confirm these connections.

Your DNA made these discoveries possible. Thank you. And to the rest of you, please consider taking the Ancestry DNA test.

John Culbert’s BROTHER, Richard Culbert

Our ancestors, John Culbert and his wife, Mary Ward need no introduction...

And in a previous post, we met the Richard Culbert-Ann Jane Harlton family. Richard & Ann purchased the property beside our ancestors, John Culbert & Mary Ward in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario. Richard & John purchased the land at the same time: October, 1840.

We assumed that Richard & John must have been brothers since they purchased land side-by-side at the same time. However, with no documentation to prove they were brothers, for all we know Richard & John could have been cousins, or even an uncle and his nephew.

ENTER DNA TESTING.

Through Ancestry DNA testing, I’ve found a few descendants of Richard Culbert & Ann Jane Harlton who are my DNA “matches.” (DNA matches are people who’ve taken the DNA test and who are related to you by blood, whether close relations or distant relations.) Each of these matches shares various levels of DNA with me which indicate more or less how closely related we are. 

It’s more complicated than that and uses a unit of DNA measurement called centiMorgans but I’m not going to explain the science behind it at this point. I’m not a scientist nor do I play one on TV.

Now, back to these descendants of Richard Culbert & Ann Jane Harlton who took the DNA test and are my matches. Although these matches are definitely related to me (DNA proves that), their levels of DNA weren’t high enough to determine if Richard & John had been brothers or cousins.

But wait, don’t give up hope!

I’ve just found another DNA match who is a descendant of Richard Culbert & Ann Jane Harlton. His DNA levels with mine are high enough to indicate that Richard & John were probably brothers, not cousins. His DNA levels with my sister proved even more revealing; their shared DNA level was definitely high enough to indicate that Richard & John were brothers. There’s only a very slim chance I could be wrong.

So at last the mystery is solved! Thanks to my sister taking the DNA test, we have determined with a high level of accuracy and without official documents that Richard Culbert & John Culbert were brothers!

Now all we have to do is find out who Richard & John’s father was! We still don’t know the names of Richard & John Culbert’s parents nor the names of any other siblings they might have had. If and when we do find these names, it may lead to finding out much more information about the Culberts in Ireland.

Once again, I ask you to please consider taking the Ancestry DNA test. The story I’ve told you today is a prime example of how our family mysteries can be solved through the use of DNA testing.

John Culbert's Kinfolk

As well as the usual fare here on the Culbert Family History blog, I plan to occasionally write about other Culbert families who are somehow connected to our forefather, John Culbert, and therefore connected to us, as well.

John Culbert. Born circa 1806 in Ireland. He purchased property in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario, Canada in 1840 with his wife, Mary Ward. Who was his father? Who were his siblings? How are all the other Culbert families in Middlesex County and beyond connected to him?

For years, I've wondered if various Culbert families in Middlesex County and beyond were related to our John Culbert. Thanks to DNA testing, I've confirmed that yes, they are.

I haven't yet determined just how they're connected to our family. Are they John's brothers? Are they John's cousins? More research is required. It would help if everyone reading this could take the Ancestry DNA test. Please give it your consideration. 

The posts concerning John Culbert's kinfolk may be heavy on text and lacking photographs, and so may appeal only to the most zealous family history buffs. For those of you who aren't genealogy enthusiasts, your eyes might glaze over. You might even nod off.

I hope that by documenting these other Culbert families, someone who knows more about them might contact me and tell me how their ancestor is related to our ancestor, John Culbert. If we're lucky, they might even know John's father's name, and where exactly he lived in Ireland. A gal can dream, can't she?

The John Culbert - Mary Ward Family: Earliest Known Photo

In recent posts, I've hinted about a group photo I've been meaning to show you and tell you about. Here it is...

John Culbert-Mary Ward family c1865. Earliest known photo of this family.

Back row, left to right: Henry Culbert; William Culbert; Thomas Culbert; Joseph Culbert; and Richard Culbert. (These are John and Mary's sons.)
The people in the front row are not all identified but I assume they are, from left to right: Susanna Ward (Mary Ward's mother); Mary (Ward) Culbert; John Culbert; Mary Ann Culbert (youngest child of John & Mary); and the two women at the end could be daughters of John & Mary (Eliza or Susan or Rebecca) or they could be wives of two of John and Mary's sons.

This may be the entire John Culbert - Mary Ward family except one missing daughter!

There is no date on this photo. I'm going to assume that since that's probably Susanna Ward on the far left, and because Susanna died in late December, 1865, that the photo was taken the year she died: 1865.

Another reason I think the year was 1865 is because the photo was taken by Alfred Smart who had photography studios in London and Lucan. He opened his Lucan studio in 1865. 

The original photo was quite small, fragile, and very faded. I was able to clarify the image and enlarge it so that the photo is still a little blurry but it's a big improvement over the original.

Thanks to Margaret (Culbert) Hankala for this photograph. Margaret grew up in Lucan, Ontario and now lives in the mountains of North Carolina, USA. I asked if she could have a look around for old family photos and this is what she found: a photo of our Lucan-Biddulph, Ontario ancestors, found over a thousand kilometres away in North Carolina. This just goes to show that you never know what treasures may be lurking in the back of your closet or your attic. So please look around and share your finds with us.