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.

Pennies From Heaven - Wyoming Cemetery

If you've read this post, you'll know we believe that John Culbert's brother was Richard Culbert who immigrated to Canada from Ireland in 1840 with his wife, Ann Jane Harlton. More about Richard Culbert and Ann Jane Harlton here.

Estimated birth years

Thanks to Richard and Ann's great-great-grandson, Wayne Alexander McLeod, we've learned the location of Richard & Ann's final resting place. 

Entrance to Wyoming Cemetery

Richard Culbert (c1813-1894) and his wife, Ann Jane Harlton (c1816-1888) are buried in Wyoming Cemetery in the County of Lambton, Ontario, Canada.

Headstone of Richard Culbert & Ann Jane Harlton in Wyoming Cemetery. Photo courtesy of Wayne Alexander McLeod.

Richard & Ann's daughter Catherine Culbert and her husband, Alexander Morden of Wyoming, Ontario are buried in Wyoming Cemetery, too along with their son, George Alfred Morden (1874-1908).

Headstone of Catherine Culbert, her husband Alexander Morden, and their son George Morden. Photo courtesy of Wayne Alexander McLeod.

Wayne recalls a story about Catherine Culbert and Alexander Morden's headstone...

“When I was a young boy, my Aunt Maizie Walton took myself and her daughter Linda to Wyoming Cemetery. We had been visiting my Great-Uncle Lavern Morden in Wyoming that day and before leaving for home, Sarnia, she decided to take us to visit the grave site of her grandparents (our great-grandparents,) Alexander Morden and Catherine Culbert and their son, George. George had passed away at the young age of 33. Aunt Maizie made us promise to come back to the cemetery when we were 33 years old to retrieve a lucky penny she had buried on either side of the tombstone. My penny was on the left, and my cousin’s penny was on the right. Being young, we thought this was magical and mystical. As time would tell, my cousin admitted she had gone back without me to confiscate those pennies. As the fates would have it, Luck never followed her through life.”

Another descendant of Richard Culbert & Ann Jane Harlton buried in Wyoming Cemetery is Alexander Laverne Morden (1891-1974). "Vern" was the son of Alexander Morden & Catherine Culbert, and he lived in Wyoming, Ontario. 

Vern Morden (1891-1974) with his great-nephew, Wayne Alexander McLeod in Wyoming, c1954. Photo courtesy of Wayne Alexander McLeod.

Headstone of Alexander Laverne "Vern" Morden (1891-1974) and his wife, Norella Winrow in Wyoming Cemetery. Photo added to Find-A-Grave by Ron Spurr.

If you're going:

Wyoming Cemetery is located at the south end of the town of Wyoming (also known as Plympton-Wyoming.) Wyoming is east of Sarnia and north of Petrolia. The location is 450 Isabella Street, Wyoming, Ontario.

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.