“Crafty Culberts” Presents Elizabeth (Revington) Durance

 In the previous post, I introduced you to Adare: the pen name of the poet, William Wakefield Revington also known as The Bard of Biddulph. Now it’s time to meet Adare’s 2x-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Anne (Revington) Durance.

Elizabeth is a retired public health inspector who lives with her husband, Randy Durance in Essex, Ontario, Canada.

Although Elizabeth isn’t a Culbert descendant, I’ve bestowed “Honourary Culbert” status upon her. Elizabeth’s pioneer family settled just up the road from our Culbert ancestors in Biddulph Township on the Coursey Line near Lucan, Ontario.

This house on the Coursey Line replaced the Revington's log cabin. The Revington family settled at Lot 15, Concession 2 in 1836 before the Culberts arrived in 1840 at Lot 19, Concession 2, just south of the Revingtons.

Elizabeth was raised just up the road from me on Lucan’s Main Street. I’m happy to call her my friend. It’s likely that we have a blood connection back in the mists of time in Ireland although as yet, I have no proof of this.

Elizabeth Revington in her 20s.

Elizabeth Anne Revington was born 3 June 1954 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario to parents, Donald Wesley Revington (1926-2017) and Elizabeth Margaret “Betty” Jarvie (1922-2019).

Elizabeth's parents: Don Revington and Betty Jarvie.

Elizabeth’s mother, Betty taught French and English at Lucan High School until it closed its doors in 1949. That same year, Medway High School opened in Arva, Ontario and Betty taught French and English there. Later, Betty taught ESL (English as a Second Language) to adult students at London’s Fanshawe College.

Elizabeth’s father, Don Revington started out working in the family business: Revington’s Meat Market. He then became a beef farmer who also raised and raced Standardbred horses.

Revington's Meat Market.This family business was owned by Elizabeth's grandfather, Wes Revington, and was a fixture for many years on Lucan's Main Street. Today, the building is the home of Lucan Drug Mart at 180 Main Street.

Speaking of Revington’s Meat Market, here is Elizabeth’s unfinished painting of that building…

Elizabeth's grandfather, Wes Revington built a big, red brick house on Lucan’s Main Street in 1922 when he married Alma Mae Simpson. It was here that Wes and Alma raised their large family, including Elizabeth's father, Don Revington...

135 Main Street, Lucan is the former home of the Wes Revington family. (Photo taken in 2018.) Elizabeth's father, Don Revington was raised in this house.

On the far right is the Wes Revington family house which you saw in the previous image. On the far left is the home of Wes's son, Don Revington. Click on photo to enlarge it.

The photo above is a 2018 screenshot from Google Street View, showing the west side of Lucan’s Main Street just north of Elm Street. The red brick house on the far right was built in 1922 by William Wesley “Wes” Revington (father of Don, and grandfather of Elizabeth). This is where Wes Revington and his first wife, Alma Mae Simpson raised their large family.

The yellow brick house at the corner of Main and Elm (far left) was the home of the young, married couple, Don and Betty Revington (Elizabeth’s parents).

The house in the middle (between Don's house and Wes's house) was owned by Harvey Langford and his wife, Emma Park. Harvey, owner of Lucan’s Langford Lumber also served at various times as Reeve of Lucan, and Warden of Middlesex County. Harvey was also known as “Mr. Hockey” for his involvement in the Lucan Irish Six Hockey Club.

129 Main Street, Lucan: home of the Don Revington family until 1964. This house is located on the northwest corner of Main Street and Elm Street. (Photo taken in 2018.)

The house on the corner of Main and Elm (above) is where Elizabeth Revington lived until about 1964 when she was 10 years old. That was the year her grandfather, Wes Revington died. After his first wife's death, Wes married Bernice Gollings. Wes sold the big, red brick house and moved into a “nearly new” house further south at 82 Main Street (the address has since changed to 33372 Richmond Street North although the physical location of the house has not changed.) Elizabeth Revington moved into the house at 82 Main Street with her two brothers and her parents.

Elizabeth, her brothers, and their parents, Don and Betty Revington moved into this house at 82 Main Street, Lucan in 1964. The house had previously been owned by Elizabeth's grandfather, Wes Revington who died that same year.

Just as Elizabeth’s ancestors lived just up the road from my ancestors on the Coursey Line, that “just up the road” pattern carried on. Elizabeth, at 82 Main Street lived just up the road from my house at 65 Main Street.

Elizabeth's father’s farm was a little south of their house on the outskirts of Lucan at the south end of the village. The farm was close to my house, and I spent a lot of time on that beautiful farm when I was growing up. Unfortunately, Don had to sell the farm in the 1980s, and under new ownership, the buildings and the property no longer reflected the hard work he put into maintaining them.

Elizabeth started dancing at age nine and she hasn’t stopped. She attended the Dorothy Scruton Academy of Dance in London for several years until completing high school, then carried on with the Deanne Shorten School of Dance in London, the Janice Brode School of Dance and the Nancy Pattison’s Dance World in Windsor, and the Rivertown Dance Academy in Amherstburg where she dances today. She also attended the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

Elizabeth’s love of dance is reflected in her paintings…

I asked Elizabeth what sparked her interest in painting and this is what she said…

It started when I went to one of those “wine and paint” events. I got hooked on painting that night. I found that as someone who suffers from anxiety, painting seemed to take my mind off my worries as I focused on the actual work itself. It became rather addicting. The paintings that I do are copies of anything that I see that catches my eye. It is usually impressionistic in form. Soft edges and some vivid colours are my go-to. Since I can't draw and I can't really paint, I call my type of painting “modern impressionism.” I made that term up! I have no form nor any style to my painting. I sit on my couch in front of my TV with a picture in hand to copy. My paints sit nearby, usually on a TV table along with my paint brushes and water. It's a pretty primitive way of creating!

The following images are some of Elizabeth’s paintings...

Elizabeth's barn.

Thank you, Elizabeth!

Elizabeth Anne (Revington) Durance’s Family Tree:

Ancestors:

Joseph Revington & Lydia Atkinson (3xgreat-grandparents)

William Wakefield Revington aka Adare aka The Bard of Biddulph & Maria Carroll (2xgreat-grandparents)

Wilbert William Revington & Jennie Adeline Hobbs (great-grandparents)

William Wesley Revington & Alma Mae Simpson (grandparents)

Donald Wesley Revington & Elizabeth Margaret Jarvie (parents)

Elizabeth Anne (Revington) Durance

Descendants (Children):

Emily Elizabeth (Durance) Briscoe

Laura Margaret (Durance) Alexander

One of Elizabeth’s 4xgreat-grandfathers is Colonel James "Big Jim" Hodgins; connected to Elizabeth through her ancestor, Alma Mae (Simpson) Revington. Big Jim was one of the first settlers of Biddulph Township. As a land agent for the Canada Company, he was responsible for bringing many Tipperary Irish to the Lucan-Biddulph area in the 1830s and 1840s. 

Elizabeth (Revington) Durance in her 30s.

The Revingtons Up the Road

 In the previous post, you read the poem, Mother by Adare.

Adare was the pen name of William Wakefield Revington (1843-1920), a farmer, salesman, nurseryman and poet who lived on the Coursey Line in Biddulph Township, just up the road from the Culbert homestead (Poplar Farm) near Lucan, Ontario, Canada.

During his lifetime, Adare’s popular verses appeared regularly in the local newspapers. A book of his poetry, The Bard of Biddulph: William Wakefield Revington, 1843-1920 was published in 1992...

Adare’s mother, Lydia Atkinson (1804-1879) and her husband Joseph Revington (1800-1868) emigrated from Tipperary, Ireland in 1836 as pioneers to Biddulph Township. The Revingtons settled on Lot 15, Concession 2 (the Coursey Line near Lucan) a few years before the Culberts arrived on that same road.

John Culbert and his wife, Mary Ward arrived in Biddulph Township in 1840, settling at Lot 19, Concession 2. The John Culbert family were probably welcomed by the Joseph Revington family. As was the neighbourly custom of the time, it's likely that the Revingtons pitched in to help clear the Culbert land and/or build their log cabin.

 

Joseph Revington & Lydia Atkinson: Biddulph Township pioneers and parents of William Wakefield Revington aka Adare aka The Bard of Biddulph.

Joseph Revington and Lydia Atkinson raised six children: Joseph Revington Jr., Charlotte Revington, Sarah Revington, William Wakefield Revington “Adare”, Lydia Revington, and David Revington. Joseph and Lydia's first child, Ella died on the voyage to Canada.

Probably the best-known of Joseph and Lydia’s children was William Wakefield Revington “Adare.” 

However, I should also mention Joseph and Lydia’s daughter, Lydia Anne Revington (1846-1910). It’s because of Lydia Anne Revington’s marriage to Francis George Abbott that the Revingtons are on the Culbert family tree. (There are other Culbert connections, too.) One of Lydia Anne Revington and Francis Abbott’s sons, Thomas Joseph Ernest Abbott married Clara Fairhall (1887-1972.) Clara Fairhall was the niece of Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert. Jane was the wife of John Culbert and Mary Ward’s son, Richard Culbert. (As you've learned by now, almost everyone in Lucan-Biddulph is connected either by blood or by marriage.)

Husband and wife, Ernest Abbott & Clara Fairhall in 1922. Ernest was the son of Joseph Revington's daughter, Lydia Anne (Revington) Abbott. Clara was the niece of Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert, the wife of Richard Culbert.

Let’s return to William Wakefield Revington aka Adare aka The Bard of Biddulph…

William Wakefield Revington aka Adare aka The Bard of Biddulph.

William Wakefield Revington “Adare” married Maria Carroll. William and Maria continued to live on the Revington homestead, just up the road from the Culbert family on the Coursey Line.  

William Wakefield Revington “Adare” and Maria Carroll had 10 children, seven of whom lived to adulthood. Their children were Lydia Levina Revington, Wilbert William Revington, Sarah Ella Revington, Benjamin Albert Revington, Minnie Melinda Revington, David Revington (infant death), Frederick Revington (infant death), Daniel Derwin Revington, Ethel May Revington (infant death), and Rennie Alberta Revington.

William Wakefield Revington “Adare” died 27 July 1920 and is buried at Nursery Cemetery, north of Lucan. His pioneer parents, Joseph and Lydia are also buried in Nursery Cemetery, as are their neighbours, Richard Culbert (son of John Culbert and Mary Ward) and Richard’s wife, Jane Eleanor Fairhall. 

 

Headstone at Nursery Cemetery for William Wakefield Revington and his wife, Maria Carroll.

Nursery Cemetery. Final resting place of William Wakefield Revington "Adare" and his pioneer parents, Joseph Culbert & Lydia Atkinson. Nursery Cemetery is located at 35051 Richmond Street (Highway 4) north of Lucan, Ontario. Photo by Mary Jane Culbert.

Adare’s descendants are all worthy of mention but there are too many to discuss in just one blog post. 

One of Adare’s descendants of particular note is Muriel Phyllis Revington (1923-1978). Muriel was the daughter of William Wakefield Revington “Adare” and Maria Carroll's son, Daniel Derwin Revington and his wife, Edna Elva Haskett. Muriel Phyllis Revington was the first woman ordained in the London Conference of the United Church of Canada.

Source: Ottawa Citizen, 4 June 1948, page 14.

Let's focus now on a son of William Wakefield Revington "Adare" and Maria Carroll: Wilbert William Revington (1871-1956), his wife Jennie Hobbs, and their descendants. 

 

Wilbert William Revington (1871-1956) also known as Wib Revington was the third generation of Revingtons to live at Lot 15, Concession 2, just up the road from the Culbert family.

Wilbert William Revington built a brick house in 1899 to replace the family’s log cabin. This was at the same time that Richard Culbert (son of John Culbert & Mary Ward) replaced the Culbert log cabin with a brick house at Poplar Farm. Both the Revington and the Culbert log cabins would have been bursting at the seams, what with all those people living under one roof. The spacious, new, brick houses would have been a welcome change from their previous living conditions.

 

The Revington house was located on the Coursey Line, just up the road from the Culbert family’s Poplar Farm.

Wilbert William Revington and Jennie Hobbs raised eight children at Lot 15, Concession 2. Their children were William Wesley Revington (another W.W. Revington!), Marie Revington, Gailey Evelyn Revington, George Dailey Revington (died age 7), Sheridan Wilbert Revington, Ella Jean Revington, Eva Mildred Revington, and Kathleen Lauretta “Kay” Revington. (Kay Revington married Jack Lankin whose father, Harry Lankin was the 2^nd cousin of Effie Pearl Taylor, the wife of Myron Manford Culbert. For several generations, the Lankins operated Lankins’ Variety and gas station on Lucan’s Main Street.) As usual, I digress.

Let’s turn now to Wilbert William Revington and Jennie Hobbs’ son, William Wesley Revington (1900-1964).

“Wes” Revington, as he was known, married Alma Mae Simpson. Alma Mae Simpson was the 2xgreat-granddaughter of Colonel James "Big Jim" Hodgins, one of the original settlers of Biddulph Township who was responsible for encouraging many Tipperary Irish to immigrate to the Lucan-Biddulph area.

 

Wes Revington and Alma Simpson. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth (Revington) Durance.

Wes Revington and Alma Simpson had nine children whom they raised in Lucan. Their children were Audrey Mae Revington, Alma Norene Revington, Donald Wesley Revington, William Harvey Revington, Frederick Sheridan Revington, Leroy Francis Revington, Robert Glen Revington, Rose Marie Revington, and Carol Anne Revington. When Wes’s wife Alma died, he remarried to Sara Bernice Gollings and they had a son, Ron Revington.

Wes Revington owned and operated Revington's Meat Market; a thriving family business located on Lucan's Main Street. Three of Wes and Alma's sons worked there: Don Revington, Fred Revington, and Leroy Revington. Today, the building is the home of Lucan Drug Mart at 180 Main Street.

All six of Wes and Alma’s sons (Don Revington, Harvey Revington, Fred Revington, Leroy Revington, Glen Revington, and Ron Revington) were well-known for raising Standardbred horses and harness racing. 

Three of Wes and Alma’s sons, (Fred Revington, Leroy Revington and Glen Revington) were members of Lucan’s renowned Lucan Irish Six hockey team.

Members of the Lucan Irish Six Hockey Club with Montreal Canadiens player, Maurice "Rocket" Richard. Left to right: Norm Hardy, Glenn Revington, Rocket Richard, Leroy Revington and Fred Revington (Captain of the Irish Six). On 15 December 1952, The Montreal Canadiens played against the Irish Six at the Lucan Arena.

Three Revington brothers who played with the Lucan Irish Six Hockey Club in Lucan, pictured here with their father and grandfather. Left to right: Glen Revington, Wes Revington (father), Leroy Revington, Wilbert Revington (grandfather), and Fred Revington (Captain of the Irish Six).

In subsequent years, another generation of Revingtons played hockey with the Lucan Irish, as they were renamed. In 2018, Lucan was crowned Kraft Hockeyville which I wrote about here.

Wes and Alma’s son, Dr. Harvey Revington (1928-2004) was a dentist in London. It was worth the drive from Lucan to London to visit Harvey in order to avoid the alternative: Lucan’s dentist, Doc Watson who didn't believe that anesthetic was necessary to pull teeth.

The 10 children of William Wesley Revington. Back row, left to right: Ron Revington, Norene (Revington) McNaughton, Rose (Revington) Lawrence, Anne (Revington) Wilson, Audrey (Revington) Hepburn, and Leroy Revington. Front row, left to right: Don Revington, Glen Revington, Harvey Revington, and Fred Revington.

As I mentioned earlier, Adare’s descendants are all worthy of mention but there are too many to discuss in just one blog post. The Revingtons were outstanding members of their communities. They were well-liked and speaking from experience, they were great neighbours.