The Children of Rebecca Ann Culbert and William Whiteford

In the previous post, we met Rebecca Ann Culbert (1845-1940), the daughter of John Culbert and Mary Ward.

Rebecca Culbert and her husband, William Whiteford had 10 children, six of whom lived to adulthood.

Rebecca Ann (Culbert) Whiteford (third from left) and her children. This photo was probably taken in the late 1930s when Rebecca was in her 90s. Photo courtesy of Rebecca's great-granddaughter, Anne (Routly) Willcox.
Left to right:  
Susan Lauretta "Ettie" "Etta" (Whiteford) King
John Silas Whiteford   
Rebecca Ann (Culbert) Whiteford (1845-1940)
Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Whiteford) McFalls
William "Will" Henry Whiteford 
 Mary Emily (Whiteford) McFalls
Rebecca Ann "Annie" (Whiteford) Horne

If you’re a descendant of Rebecca Culbert and William Whiteford, and would like to write a more detailed account of any of their descendants, please contact me.

The following are brief descriptions of Rebecca and William's six adult children.

MARY EMILY WHITEFORD

Mary Emily Whiteford was born 25 May 1868 in Centralia, Ontario. 

On 4 August 1896 she married James “Jim” McFalls (c1869-1931). Jim McFalls was the son of Alexander McFalls (1833-1914) and Eliza Brown who farmed at Lot 7, Concession 2 on the same concession as the Culbert homestead in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario. 

Mary and Jim farmed for some years in the Dashwood area, then moved to Exeter where Jim was employed at the salt works.[1]

Mary and Jim had two children:

Mary LEILA McFalls (1898-1972).

Silas William McFalls (1900-1993). 

The 1921 Census shows the McFalls family living on Andrew Street in Exeter, Ontario.

Mary Emily (Whiteford) McFalls died 23 August 1954, age 86.

WILLIAM HENRY WHITEFORD

 

William Henry “Will” Whiteford was born 29 May 1870 in Huron County, Ontario. 

At age 21, Will moved to the United States. The 1895 US Census shows him working as a telegraph operator at Northwestern Railroad Station in Sioux City, Iowa. His future bride's father, Theodore Hout operated the Northwestern Depot Hotel at that time. 

Will married Mary Jane Hout (1876-1935) in Sioux City, Iowa on 28 May 1896. Over the next 40 years, Will and Mary Jane lived in various towns in Iowa. Will became a grocer, and owned his own grocery store.

Will and Mary Jane had three children:

Miles IRVING Whiteford (1896-1947).

Elveretta “Elva” Whiteford (1897-1969).

Ruth Maxine “Ruthie” Whiteford (1916-1995).

Will Whiteford died 11 June 1960, age 90 and is buried in Graceland Cemetery in Webster City, Iowa.

SARAH ELIZABETH "LIZZIE" WHITEFORD

Sarah Elizabeth “Lizzie” Whiteford was born November 1874 in Ontario.

On 26 February 1896, six months before her sister, Mary married Jim McFalls, Lizzie married Jim’s brother, Alexander McFalls (1863-1930). The wedding took place at the home of the bride's parents, Rebecca Culbert and William Whiteford.

Lizzie and Alexander farmed at Lot 13, Concession 2, Usborne Township, a mile east of Exeter for about 35 years before Al's death in 1930, age 67. Lizzie then moved into a house on Albert Street in Exeter.

Lizzie and Alexander had 3 children:

Elmer McFalls (1897-1917). (click here for more about Elmer.)

Garnet Clifford McFalls (1900-1973).

Percy Alexander McFalls (1906-1995).

Headstone of Elizabeth "Lizzie" Whiteford and her husband, Alexander McFalls in Exeter Cemetery. Photo by Mary Jane Culbert.

 

Lizzie (Whiteford) McFalls died in 1955, age 80 and is buried in Exeter Cemetery.

REBECCA ANN "ANNIE" WHITEFORD

Rebecca Ann “Annie” Whiteford was born 9 June 1876 in Usborne Township, Ontario. 

On 26 December 1900, Annie married George Weston “Wes” Horne (1878-1951). Wes was the son of Samuel Richard Horne and Charlotte Ann Willey, farmers at Lot A, Concession 8, Usborne Township. 

Annie & Wes farmed at Lot A, Concession 8 in Usborne Township until about 1911 when they moved with their two children to Elimville where Wes was working as a self-employed carpenter.[2]

Annie & Wes had two children:

Elva Lauretta Horne (1901-1993)

Lyda Eileen Horne (1906-1920).

Headstone of Rebecca "Annie" Whiteford and her husband, George Weston Horne in Zion Cemetery in Huron Township. Photo by Mary Jane Culbert.

Annie (Whiteford) Horne died 6 May 1955, a month short of her 79th birthday. She is buried at Zion Cemetery in what was formerly known as Usborne Township near Exeter. Zion Cemetery originally was part of the Horne farm at Lot A, Concession 8. Zion Cemetery is located near the intersection of Park Road and the Hern Line. The official address of the cemetery is ​41587 Park Road, Centralia.

JOHN SILAS WHITEFORD  

John Silas Whiteford was born 13 August 1880 in Morris Township, Huron County, Ontario. He was named after his brother who predeceased him a year before he was born.

John’s first wife was Sarah Maud Parkinson whom he wed on 14 February 1906. Sarah was the daughter of John Thomas Parkinson & Eliza Ann Gunning of Blanshard Township in Perth County.

John Silas Whiteford's wedding announcement. Source: The Exeter Advocate, 15 February 1906, page 1.

John and Sarah farmed near Woodham in Blanshard Township.

John & Sarah had five children:

Florence LILLIAN Whiteford (1907-1998)

William LAVERNE Whiteford (1908-2006)

Sheldon STANLEY Whiteford (1910-2004)

John HILSON Whiteford (1914-1981)

Delmar George Whiteford (1921-1981)

John’s first wife, Sarah died of breast cancer on 27 April 1938, age 55. He married his second wife, a widow named Georgina (Harris) Lidster on 29 July 1939. John and Georgina didn’t have any children. After they married, John and Georgina moved to St. Mary's, Ontario. John ran a rural mail route until they moved to London, Ontario where he worked at the Globe Casket Factory until retirement.[3]

John Silas Whiteford's headstone in Zion Cemetery. Photo by Mary Jane Culbert.

 

John Silas Whiteford died 22 October 1963, age 83, and is buried with his first wife, Sarah in Zion Cemetery.

SUSAN LAURETTA WHITEFORD

Susan Lauretta Whiteford, the youngest child of Rebecca Culbert and William Whiteford also went by the names Etta and Ettie. She was born 22 June 1886 in Morris Township, Huron County, Ontario.

Ettie married Wilbert James King, a farmer from Lambton County on 17 February 1915. (Sometimes his name is written as Wilbur.) Wilbert (1885-1954) was the son of James King & Mary Ann Ward who were living in McGillivray Township at the time of Wilbert’s birth.

For about 10 years, they lived in Hamiota, Manitoba. They returned in 1925, and lived in Exeter, Ontario.

Ettie and Wilbert had three children:

Elvretta King (1916-1999)

William James King (1919-1963)

Myrta Eileen King (1923-2001).

Susan Lauretta (Whiteford) King died 1 June 1980, age 93.  

Note: If you’re a descendant of Rebecca Culbert and William Whiteford, and would like to write a more detailed account of any of their descendants, please contact me at this address:

Footnotes:

[1] "A History of the John Culbert-Mary Ward Family and Their Descendants 1828-1995, Volume 1, Branches 5-6-7-8-9" by Grant W. Taylor, page 18.

[2] Ibid., 36.

[3] Ibid., 42.

Rebecca Ann (Culbert) Whiteford (1845-1940)

On this day 174 years ago, Rebecca Ann Culbert was born.

This is the only photo I have of Rebecca Culbert. She was probably in her 90s when this photo was taken.

UPDATE (posted 15 July 2025): This new photo of Rebecca (below) is from the personal collection of Rebecca's great-granddaughter, Anne (Routly) Willcox of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Thanks to Anne's son, Scott Willcox for sending this photo to me.

Rebecca Ann (Culbert) Whiteford (1845-1940)

 

Not to be confused with the many other Rebecca Culberts, Rebecca Ann Culbert was the seventh child of John Culbert and Mary Ward. She was born 15 July 1845 in a log cabin on the Culbert homestead at Lot 19, Concession 2 (the Coursey Line) in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario, Canada.

Although we don't have a birth certificate for Rebecca Ann Culbert, her death certificate shows her birth date as July 15, 1845.

This entry from Rebecca's death certificate shows that her parents were John Culbert & Mary Ward.

Rebecca was named after her deceased older sister. Rebecca's mother, Mary (Ward) Culbert had given birth 10 years earlier to another daughter with the same name (Rebecca Culbert) in 1835. That child died age six in 1841. That daughter's name, Rebecca was given to the next female child born into the family. It was the custom at the time to name your next-born child of the same sex after the deceased child. I wrote about this in a previous post.

On 6 June 1865, 19-year-old Rebecca married William Whiteford, a local blacksmith/farmer.

William’s parents, James Whiteford and Sarah Aitken (or Aitkin) lived a little northwest of the Culbert property at Lot 13, Concession 1, Biddulph Township.

For the first 5 years of their marriage, Rebecca and William lived in Centralia, and this is where their first three of their 10 children were born.

Centralia is located north of Lucan and south of Exeter.

After 5 years of married life in Centralia, they moved briefly to Goderich, Ontario where William continued to work as a blacksmith. 

Around 1871, they moved to Morris Township in Huron County, Ontario. (Morris Township is now known as the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry.) They lived at Concession 2, Lot 30, north ½ at Jamestown, right on the Grey Township border.

Section of an 1879 map of Morris Township. You can see William Whiteford's property at the far right under the word "Jamestown."

Jamestown is north of Brussels and is situated at the crossing of the middle of the Maitland River. 
 

Jamestown, Ontario - an early postcard

Today, all that remains of Jamestown is a commemorative stone marking the spot where the general store once stood.

It’s likely that the Whitefords knew Walt Disney’s father and grandparents. Elias Disney (Walt’s father) was born and raised close by in Bluevale, Ontario.

After farming in Morris Township for about 20 years, the Whitefords moved to a farm on Concession 6 in Usborne Township (east of Exeter) in 1891. Here, they farmed for about 15 years.

In 1907, Rebecca & William (now in their sixties and retired) moved to a small house on a large lot on the south edge of Exeter at Lot 20, Concession 1, Stephen Township.

Tragedy struck the Whiteford family in 1919.

On Friday, October 24^th, William Whiteford was returning home from a visit to his daughter Lizzie and her husband, Alex McFalls of Usborne Township. Suddenly, William’s horse came to a stop. A team of horses driven by Milton Jacobs of Stephen Township came along at a brisk pace and collided with William’s rig. William was thrown from the wagon, rendering him unconscious.

The shock caused a paralytic stroke from which he died, age 78 on Tuesday, 28 October 1919. William’s death certificate gives cause of death as a cerebral hemorrhage and arteriosclerosis.

Source: The Brussels Post, 6 November 1919

In the 1930s, Rebecca Ann (Culbert) Whiteford moved to Elimville, Ontario in Usborne Township to live with her daughter Annie and Annie's husband, Wes Horne.

The late Grant W. Taylor recalls visiting his great-aunt Rebecca in Exeter. Grant's father, Hector Taylor had a dairy in Exeter.

"I remember delivering milk to her. She was very hard of hearing and had an ear trumpet that she would hold up to her ear. Often when I went in, she would be sitting in a rocking chair reading her Bible. She dressed in black with a high neck to her dress or blouse and wore high buttoned boots. And often she would be wearing an apron. She kept a garden and I remember her as a kind, gentle old lady." 

Rebecca Ann (Culbert) Whiteford died 23 May 1940, age 94 from chronic myocardial degeneration and arteriosclerosis. The funeral was held in the living room of the home of her daughter, Rebecca Ann "Annie" (Whiteford) Horne of Elimville.

Rebecca Culbert and William Whiteford are buried in Exeter Cemetery located at 39650 Dashwood Road, Exeter.

 

Rebecca Culbert & William Whiteford's headstone in Exeter Cemetery. Their grandson, Percy McFalls and Percy's wife, Margaret Johns are buried in the same plot. Photo by Mary Jane Culbert.

Rebecca Ann Culbert and William Whiteford had 10 children, six of whom survived to adulthood.

Rebecca Ann (Culbert) Whiteford (third from left) and her children. This photo was probably taken in the late 1930s when Rebecca was in her 90s. Photo courtesy of Rebecca's great-granddaughter, Anne (Routly) Willcox.
Left to right:  
Susan Lauretta "Ettie" "Etta" (Whiteford) King
John Silas Whiteford   
Rebecca Ann (Culbert) Whiteford (1845-1940)
Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Whiteford) McFalls
William "Will" Henry Whiteford 
 Mary Emily (Whiteford) McFalls
Rebecca Ann "Annie" (Whiteford) Horne

REBECCA ANN (CULBERT) WHITEFORD’S FAMILY TREE:

Ancestors:

John Culbert and Mary Ward (parents)

Descendants (Children):

James Albert Whiteford (1866-1866).

Mary Emily Whiteford (1868-1954) married James McFalls.

William Henry Whiteford (1870-1960) married Mary Jane Hout.

Sarah Elizabeth “Lizzie” Whiteford (1873-1955) married Alexander McFalls (brother of James McFalls).

Harriet Whiteford (1875-1875).

Rebecca Ann “Annie” Whiteford (1876-1955) married George Weston Horne.

John Silas Whiteford 1^st (1878-1879).

John Silas Whiteford 2^nd (1880-1963) married Sarah Maud Parkinson.

Thomas William Whiteford (1883-1883).

Susan Lauretta Whiteford (1886-1980) married Wilbert James King.

Update: Click here to read about Rebecca (Culbert) Whiteford's children.