Good Sailors Never Grow Old, They Just Get a Little Dinghy

Happy 72nd birthday to Donald Gordon "Don" Jarrell of Courtenay, British Columbia!

A man of many hats

Don was born 17 Jan 1947 in Kincardine, Ontario, Canada to Culbert descendant, Susan Lorena "Toots" Westell and her husband, John Mackinnon "Mac" Jarrell.

Don at 3 weeks old.

Don's a born sailor. It says so on TV so it must be true!...

His mother, Susan "Toots" Westell was a lighthouse keeper's daughter; his grandfather, Oran Westell was a lighthouse keeper and worked on Great Lakes schooners; and his uncle, John Russell "Jack" Westell was in the Navy. So it's not surprising that Don has the sea in his blood.

Don's retired now but he spent 17 years as a supervisor at the Coast Guard, Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centre at Comox, British Columbia.

Don, overseeing the safety of Canada’s waterways

That was just one of his five careers. Let's turn back the clock and see how it all began.

Don, age 20

After leaving high school, Don worked as an electron microscope technician at the Ontario Research Foundation. During this time, he was building flying hours and getting his Commercial Pilot License. This led to a job as a commercial pilot where he was bush flying out of Nakina, Ontario and Parry Sound. He also worked as a Flying Instructor at the St. Catharines Flying Club.

Next, Don worked as an Air Traffic Controller in North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto Island, Toronto, and Oshawa.

Don working in Air Traffic Control in Oshawa. Is that a typewriter?

Don took a position with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as an Air Traffic Controller and ATC Instructor in Saudi Arabia for four years in Riyadh and Taif.

He took a couple of years off to sail a 41-foot sailboat around the eastern Mediterranean, based out of Cyprus. When he ran out of money, he moved back to Canada and worked as a car salesman in Langley, BC for a couple of years. He was the #1 Salesman for Hyundai in BC for both years.

Then he  joined the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) for Vessel Traffic Management (kind of like air traffic control on the water), and stayed with the CCG for 17 years until he retired. 

Now that his time is his own, Don likes to spend it on the water or travelling with his wife, Linda. He spends most of his time sailing his 32-foot  sailboat around Vancouver Island, Alaska via the Inside Passage, Haida Gwaii, the North Coast of British Columbia, and other locations.

Happy birthday, Don! And thanks for all the help you've given me in researching the Eliza Culbert - Richard Dagg branch of our family.

Don Jarrell's Family Tree:
Ancestors: 
John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-great-great-grandparents)
Eliza Culbert & Richard Dagg (great-great-grandparents)
Susan Dagg & Omar Westell (great-grandparents)
Oran Westell & Jane Russell (grandparents)
Susan Lorena Westell & John Mackinnon Jarrell (parents)

Tanned and Topless!

Now that I've got your attention, please join me in wishing Ian Richard Culbert of London, Ontario a happy 71st birthday.

Tanned and topless Ian Culbert in his favourite place with his favourite beverage. Show us some leg, Ian! Photo courtesy of Nancy Culbert.

Ian Richard Culbert's Family Tree:
Ancestors:
John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-great-grandparents)
Richard Culbert & Jane Fairhall (great-grantparents)
Myron Culbert & Effie Taylor (grandparents)
Ivan Culbert & Elvira Hutchings (parents)

Don't Hibernate. Participate!

Winter weather got you down? Are you cooped up indoors? Don't hibernate. Participate! 

Mert Culbert shows us how it's done...

Merton Manford "Mert" Culbert (1926-1998) son of Myron Culbert & Effie Taylor, on his bicycle in the snow. Photo taken at Poplar Farm (the Culbert homestead) Lot 19, Concession 2 (The Coursey Line) Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario. No date but I'm guessing around 1940. Photo courtesy of Muriel Culbert.

Tongue Frozen Stuck

Sure, you've seen it in the movies...
 

Frozen tongue scene from A Christmas Story

 And if you're Canadian, I know you've tried it...

Okay, so maybe it was just me. 

But for the rest of you, did you know that your tongue really can get frozen stuck to metal?

Here's what happened to Reg Beavers, the little son of Councillor B.W.F. Beavers, a store owner in Exeter, a town north of the Culbert homestead near Lucan, Ontario...

Source: Exeter Times, 13 Jan 1916, page 14.

 Not convinced yet? Need scientific proof?
 

Click on the image to enlarge this chart

Don't try this at home, kids.

Calling All Descendants of Joseph Culbert & Eliza Dempster

Previously, you met John Culbert & Mary Ward’s son, JOSEPH CULBERT, his wife, Elizabeth “Eliza” Dempster, and their eight children. Click here if you missed it.

Joseph Culbert c1865

Over the years, I haven't had much luck finding Joseph Culbert’s living descendants nor finding out many details about those descendants who are no longer with us. In this post, I’m documenting the names of Joseph’s descendants in the hopes that someone will recognize their relative’s name and contact me with more details about their family. No living relatives are listed for privacy reasons.

If you’re not a descendant of Joseph Culbert & Eliza Dempster, this may not interest you. So now would be a good time to find something else to do, and make your excuses...

For those of you who wish to stick around, THE NAMES OF JOSEPH CULBERT & ELIZA DEMPSTER'S EIGHT CHILDREN ARE IN UPPER CASE LETTERS:

MARY LAURETTA “LOLLIE” CULBERT (daughter of Joseph Culbert)

Lauretta or “Lollie” married James Ardeau Isaac and they lived in St. Marys, Ontario, and had 3 children:

Irma Robena “Ruby” Culbert (1900-1908) (died age 8 of appendicitis).

Harvey James Culbert (1907-1940)

Edith Elizabeth Culbert (1912-2000)

Harvey James Isaac (son of  Mary Lauretta “Lollie” Culbert & James ARDEAU Isaac) married Gertrude Louella Alpaugh and had 2 children. I don’t know whether or not those children are still alive so I’m not listing their names.

Edith Elizabeth Culbert (daughter of Mary Lauretta “Lollie” Culbert & James ARDEAU Isaac) married William George Van Valkenburg and they lived in Lambton County, Ontario. Edith Culbert & George Van Valkenburg had two children: Craig Van Valkenburg (1936-2018) and a daughter who is living. I’ve been in touch with that Van Valkenburg daughter who married and now has a different surname.

Craig Van Valkenburg (1936-2018): great-grandson of Joseph Culbert & Eliza Dempster, and great-great-grandson of John Culbert & Mary Ward. Craig was the owner of Van Valkenburg & Son Jewellers Inc. for over 60 years (one of Forest, Ontario’s oldest businesses.) Craig was also a Fire Fighter with the Forest Fire Department for 49 years, and served as previous Chief.

ELIZABETH JANE "JENNIE" CULBERT (daughter of Joseph Culbert)

Jennie Culbert married Jordan McGillicuddy. They lived in Lambton County. Jennie Culbert & Jordan McGillicuddy had 3 children:

Orville Laverne McGillicuddy (1902-1991)

Franklin Eusebius “Frank” McGillicuddy (1904-1995) (Unmarried? Lived in California.)

Lloyd McGillicuddy (1907-1976)

Orville Laverne McGillicuddy (son of Jennie Culbert & Jordan McGillicuddy) married Ellice Catherine Chape and they lived in the USA. Orville McGillicuddy & Ellice Chape had a daughter (born in Detroit) who is still living. That daughter married Robert Hays Powless of Michigan and they had three children.

Lloyd McGillicuddy (son of Jennie Culbert & Jordan McGillicuddy) married Elizabeth Rouch and they made their home in Michigan. I don’t know if they had children.

CORA LETITIA CULBERT (daughter of Joseph Culbert) married John Casper “Cap” Howard. They lived in Lucan and didn’t have children. However, Cora & Cap deserve a post of their own on the Culbert Family History blog at some point in the future...

Cora Culbert (Joseph's daughter) is seated in the front of the vehicle with her husband, Cap Howard, standing.

SARAH FRANCES "FLORENCE" CULBERT (daughter of Joseph Culbert)

Florence Culbert (also called "Flossie") married James Walter Bryce and they lived in London, Ontario. Florence Culbert & James Bryce adopted a daughter, June Bryce (born 1920). If June had children, they would not be biological descendants of Joseph Culbert.

BERTHA JANE CULBERT (daughter of Joseph Culbert)

Bertha Culbert married John George Edmund Meyer and they had a son, Robert Meyer (born 1911). I don’t know if Robert Meyer married or if he had children.

EDNA MAY CULBERT (daughter of Joseph Culbert)

Edna Culbert married Ernest James Bannister and they lived in Inwood, Lambton County, Ontario. Edna Culbert & Ernest Bannister had 2 children:

Marion Florence Bannister (1914-2002)

Garnet Chester Bannister (1917-1996)

Marion Florence Bannister (daughter of Edna May Culbert & Ernest James Bannister) married Frederick Leslie Marchant. Florence & Fred lived in Aylmer, Ontario. Florence Bannister & Fred Marchant had two children who may still be living.

Garnet Chester Bannister (son of Edna May Culbert & Ernest James Bannister) married Muriel Beatrice Cox. Garnet & Muriel lived in Lambton County, Ontario. Garnet Bannister & Muriel Cox had a daughter who may still be living; and a son, James Bannister (1945-2001). I don’t know if James Bannister married or if he had children.

Headstone of G. Chester Bannister, his wife, Muriel Cox, and their son James F. Bannister in Beechwood Cemetery, Forest, Ontario.

JOHN CHESTER CULBERT (son of Joseph Culbert)

Ches Culbert married Marie McHugh and they lived in Calgary, Alberta. Ches Culbert & Marie McHugh had 2 children:

Maurice Culbert (1919-1998)

John Chester “Jack” Culbert (1924-2016)

Maurice Culbert (son of John Chester Culbert & Marie McHugh) married but I don’t know his wife’s name or the names of any children they may have had. Maurice lived in Calgary, Alberta but may have also lived in British Columbia because he died in Richmond, BC. The alternate spelling of his name may have been Morris Culbert.

John Chester “Jack” Culbert (son of John Chester Culbert & Marie McHugh) married Maxine Kathryn Myers. Jack was a taxation officer who lived in Calgary, Alberta. Jack & Maxine had two daughters who are still living. 

Jack Culbert (1924-2016)

WILLIE ANSON CULBERT was Joseph’s last child, born in 1893. Other than his birth certificate, no other records have yet been found.

Don’t let the Joseph Culbert – Eliza Dempster legacy die with them...

Joseph Culbert & Eliza Dempster's headstone at Beechwood Cemetery in Forest, Ontario. Photo by Blake Maxfield

If you see your relatives listed in this blog post, please contact me at this email address:

The more we can find out about Joseph & Eliza’s descendants, the more information we’ll have to leave for future descendants.

UPDATE: Click here for a group photo of Joseph Culbert and his daughters.

Joseph Culbert and Eliza Dempster

It’s said that the shock of JOSEPH CULBERT'S death sent Eliza (Dempster) Culbert to an early grave. She died just four days after her husband.

Photo courtesy of Blake Maxfield

Joseph Culbert, the son of John Culbert and Mary Ward, was born at Lot 19, Concession 2 on the Culbert homestead in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario. We know his birthday is October 14^th but sources vary as to his year of birth, ranging from 1848 to 1850. He was born after his older brother, Thomas Culbert and before his younger brother, Richard Culbert.

Aside from what I’ve found through official documents, I haven’t found any stories about Joseph’s life. This is the only photo I have of Joseph...

The photo above is taken from this group photo c1865 with his siblings, parents, and grandmother...

Joseph Culbert, back row, second from right.

If anyone has a better photo of Joseph or more details about his life, please contact me.  
UPDATE: Click here for a group photo of Joseph Culbert and his daughters.  

In 1876, Joseph married Elizabeth “Eliza” Dempster of Adelaide Township. Eliza was the daughter of Irish immigrants, Robert Dempster and Elizabeth “Eliza” Shields.

Six years earlier in 1870, Joseph’s brother Thomas Culbert married Eliza Dempter’s older sister, Letitia Dempster. Joseph Culbert and Eliza Dempster (not yet married) were the witnesses at Thomas and Letitia's wedding. So this is a case of two brothers who married two sisters.

Ten months after Joseph and Eliza’s wedding, the first of their eight children was born.

In the early years of their marriage, Joseph and Eliza lived on the Main Street of Awmik. You’d be forgiven for not recognizing that name even if you grew up in Biddulph Township. Awmik (an indigenous name for “beaver”) was once the name for the south end of the tiny village of Granton. Granton's a name you'll recognize. That's where Joseph's brother, Thomas Culbert owned and operated the Central Hotel that was frequented by the Donnellys.

By 1879, Joseph had moved back near the place of his birth, almost directly across from the Culbert homestead. His parents, John Culbert and Mary Ward lived at Lot 19, Concession 2, Biddulph Township, and Joseph purchased 100 acres at Lot 20, Concession 3.

In 1889, Joseph’s brother, Thomas Culbert sold the Central Hotel and moved to London. Joseph took a turn as proprietor of the hotel but I have no records of the dates he owned and operated the establishment.

For reasons I don’t know, Joseph sold his property in Biddulph in 1891 and moved with his family to Adelaide Township; the part of Middlesex County where his wife was born and raised.

The Joseph Culbert family lived on the east half of Lot 1, Concession 2, Adelaide Township until the late 1890s.

By 1901, they’d moved again. The 1901 census shows Joseph and family in Plympton Township, Lambton County at lot 20, concession 13. I don’t know what motivated Joseph to move but we know he had an uncle, Richard Culbert (John Culbert’s brother) who moved to Plympton Township many years earlier.

Plympton Township in Lambton County, at least 50 miles (80 km) away from the Culbert homestead near Lucan. If you set out in a straight line from London, Plympton Township would be directly west.

I know nothing about Joseph’s comings and goings after this until 1911 when the Census shows Joseph and Eliza still living in Plympton Township. By this time, all their children had grown and left home.

Again, I have no record of the next ten years until 1921. The Census shows Joseph and Eliza, both in their 70s living on Albert Street in the community of Forest in Lambton County.

On 4 January 1929, Joseph Culbert died of uremia (a kidney condition) and an enlarged prostate. His death certificate says he was 80 years old. Four days later on January 8^th his wife, Eliza died. No cause of death was given on her death certificate but family lore says she died from the shock of Joseph’s death.

Joseph and Eliza are buried in Beechwood Cemetery in Forest, Ontario.

I’ve had very little luck trying to find the living descendants of Joseph Culbert. I’d like to know more about Joseph so his story can be told more descriptively than just the basics I’ve documented in this blog post.

I’ve managed to find some details about some of Joseph’s (now deceased) descendants such as his children and grandchildren so I’ll be writing about them in future posts. 

In the meantime, here’s a brief summary about Joseph Culbert’s children:

Mary LAURETTA Culbert (also known as Lollie) married James ARDEAU Isaac and they had 3 children: Irma Robena “Ruby” Culbert, Harvey James Culbert, and Edith Elizabeth Culbert.

Elizabeth Jane “Jennie” Culbert married Jordan McGillicuddy and they lived in Lambton County. They had 3 children: Orville Laverne McGillicuddy, Franklin Eusebius “Frank” McGillicuddy, and Lloyd McGillicuddy.

Cora Letitia Culbert married John Casper “Cap” Howard. They lived in Lucan and didn’t have children.

Sarah Frances “Florence” Culbert married James Walter Bryce and they lived in London, Ontario. They had a daughter, June Bryce.

Bertha Jane Culbert married John George EDMUND Meyer and they had a son, Robert Meyer.

Edna May Culbert married Ernest James Bannister and they lived in Lambton County. They had 2 children: Marion FLORENCE Bannister and Garnet Chester Bannister.

John CHESTER Culbert married Marie McHugh and they lived in Calgary, Alberta. They had 2 children: Maurice Culbert and John Chester “Jack” Culbert.

Willie Anson Culbert was Joseph’s last child, born in 1893. Other than his birth certificate, no other records have yet been found.

If you’re a descendant of Joseph Culbert and Eliza Dempster, please contact me at this email address...

Joseph Culbert’s Family Tree

Ancestors:

John Culbert & Mary Ward (parents)

Descendants (Children):

Mary Lauretta (Culbert) Isaac

Elizabeth Jane “Jennie” (Culbert) McGillicuddy

Cora Letitia (Culbert) Howard

Sarah Frances “Florence” (Culbert) Bryce

Bertha Jane (Culbert) Meyer

Edna May (Culbert) Bannister

John Chester Culbert

Willie Anson Culbert