Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Carolan Family History

Welcome to the Carolan family history blog.  

John Carolan and Jane Rossiter are my great great great grandparents.  Their daughter Mary Ann Carolan (1858-1886) married James Lenehan in 1877.  They are my great great grandparents.  Their daughter Catherine Mary Lenehan (1880-1938) married George Stephen Shipman in 1901.  Their daughter Kathleen Shipman (1906-1982) was my grandmother.

1. John CAROLAN (c1818-1826-1876) married Jane ROSSITER (c1840-1906) in the
Catholic Basilica, St. John's Newfoundland on July 11, 1852.  The marriage record indicates that John was from Oristown Parish, County Meath, Ireland.  


When John Carolan arrived in Newfoundland and how long he stayed is a mystery to me.  Jane was from St. John's, Newfoundland and was the third daughter of John Rossiter. Witnesses to their wedding in 1852 were Edward Walsh and Mary Skinner. John Carolan and Jane Rossiter left for Toronto sometime after 1853 when their first child was born and baptized in the Catholic Basilica in St. John's Newfoundland.

I am not certain when they arrived in Toronto. The earliest mention that I can find for John Carolan and his family is in 1855 when John Carolan Jr. died at the age of two and half years and was buried at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Cemetery on September 15, 1855.  John Carolan appears for the first time in the Toronto City directory of 1856 living on Palace Street (present day Front Street) just east of Parliament Street. The "vacant land" in this location also has the name William Connelly associated with it.  Did both John and William farm this land as a market garden?  On the Boulton Atlas of 1856 there appears a small wooden house in this location close to the street with vacant land around it. Just to the south is the "New Gas Works". It would have been a short walk north to St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church on Power Street. They were in Toronto until at least December of 1858 as their son William was baptized in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Bathurst Street.  This suggests that they must have moved further to the west at some point as why go out of your way to baptize your child at St. Mary's when St. Paul's was closer?

Some time after that it then appears that they may have moved back to St. John's Newfoundland for Doria (Dora) Carolan is born there on December 6, 1860.  Why they made this move is not known but it explains why I cannot find them in the 1861 census, nor in the Toronto city directories from 1860.  


They were back by early 1864 as their son Thomas was baptized at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Bathurst Street in February of that year.  In 1866 John Carolan appears in the Mitchell and Co.'s General Directory for the City of Toronto and Gazetteer for the counties of York and Peel.  A John "Carlton", gardener is listed as living on Lot 27, Concession 2, York township. This would have been between present day Bloor Street West on the south and St. Clair Avenue West on the north and a bit west of Bathurst Street - in the vicinity of today's Seaton Village area. 

In the 1871 census John and Jane are living in the western half of York Township. John's occupation is listed as a gardener. At that time their children include: James, Mary Anne, William, Dora, Fanny, Marcella and Elizabeth. 

They appear to have moved back into Toronto by 1874 as they appear in the city directory as living at 78 Muter Street (present day Palmerston Avenue).

In the 1881 census William, Thomas and John are living with their mother Jane ROSSITER in Toronto. William and Thomas listed their occupations as teamsters, and John listed his as varnisher. 

In the 1891 Census William, Thomas, John, Marcella and Lizzie (Elizabeth) are living with their mother Jane. Jane's sister Annie ROSSITER is also living with them. William is listed as a carpenter. Thomas is listed as a clerk, flour and feed. John is listed as a piano maker. 

In the 1901 census Elizabeth, Thomas and William and living with their mother Jane. William is listed a contractor and Thomas is listed as a clerk. 

In the 1911 Census, Elizabeth, William and Thomas are living together at 328 Bathurst Street, Toronto. Thomas indicates that he was working in a store with a yearly salary of $650 and William indicates that he had a salary of $750 a year (though did not indicate what his occupation was). According to Goad's Fire Insurance Plan for Toronto 1890 (revised 1899), Plate 23, their house was a wooden one located on the west side of Bathurst Street just north of St. Patrick Street (present day Dundas Street West).  However due to the current bend in present day Dundas Street West the house - had it still been standing - would have been located just south of Dundas as Dundas Street is further north west of Bathurst Street than east.  Just down the street on the east side was the large estate of Colonel Gzowski (most of the land seems to have been incorporated into Alexandra Park).  

By 1920 they were living a bit further north at 352 Bathurst Street.  According to his death registration John Carolan, storekeeper, died on August 13, 1876 from "ulceration of stomach".  
His obituary in the August 14, 1876 edition of the Globe states that he died at his residence at the corner of Bathurst and Robinson Streets so he must have moved there sometime after 1874.  His death registration indicates that the cause of death was "ulceration of stomach".  His age on his death registration is given as 58 suggesting that he was born in 1818.  This is at odds with the information he gave in the 1871 census.

According to Jane Rossiter's death registration she died on October 27. 1906 from bronchitis and "debilatation of heart".

They had the following known children:

• John Joseph (1853-September 14, 1855) James was born in St. John's Newfoundland and baptized in the Roman Catholic Basilica on April 20, 1853. He died in Toronto on September 14, 1855 of "disentry" and was buried in St. Paul's Roman Catholic Cemetery on Power Street.

• 
James (1856-?) m. Ann CURRAN (1860-?) on May 3, 1880 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Toronto. The witnesses were Peter AHERN and Dora CAROLAN, his sister.

• Mary Ann (c1856-1886) m. James Joseph
LENEHAN (LENIHAN), aged 24, labourer, on November 22, 1877 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Toronto. The witnesses were Jos. LYNCH, Polly KENNA, James and Deborah (Dora?) CAROLAN, all of Toronto.

• William C. (December 2, 1858 - April 27, 1940).  Born in Toronto he never married.  According to his obituary he died at the home of his sister Elizabeth Moloney in Highland Creek, Scarborough.  He is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.

• Doria (Dora) (December 6, 1860-1882) was born in St John's Newfoundland and baptized in the Roman Catholic Basilica there on December 23, 1860. Dora married John Peter AHERN (O’HEARNE), son of Nicholas and Margaret, 26, tinsmith of Toronto on May 24, 1880 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Bathurst Street. The witnesses were Thomas O'Connor and Mary Sandford - also my relatives! Dora is listed as being born in Newfoundland.


• Thomas (February 8, 1864 -1924) - never married. According to his death registration, Thomas was a truck driver and died at St. Michael's Hospital from a cerebral haemorrhage on December 18, 1924 and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.

• John (December 15, 1865-?) m. Margaret Gleeson (1869 - September 20, 1934) on April 19, 1899 in Toronto.  According to their marriage registration John was a piano polisher and Margaret was the daughter of Owen Gleeson and Norah Hogan.  Witnesses were John Mack and Mary Ward.  According to her death registration, Margaret Gleeson died at St. Joseph's Hospital on September 20, 1934 from fractures sustained when she fell out of a window at her home at 138 Dowling Avenue, Toronto.  She is buried in the Gleeson family plot in Mount Hope Cemetery.

• Marcella (March 25, 1868- Aug 24, 1914) m. Joseph Dennis Lenehan of Buffalo at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Bathurst Street, Toronto on June 12, 1899 - according to an article in the June 26, 1899 edition of the Evening Telegram, St. John's Newfoundland.  The article indicates that Marcella and her new husband were to reside in Buffalo.  It also indicated that she was the niece of the late Thomas Rossiter of St. John's Newfoundland.  They both appear in the 1900 and 1910 US census in Buffalo living at
446 Front Avenue (present day south west corner of Busti and Pennsylvania Streets). 


J.D. Lenehan Residence 446 Front Avenue, Buffalo
excerpt from 1894 Buffalo Fire Insurance Plan, Plate 30

J Lenehan is listed as "Joseph" born in April 1858 in Ireland and emigrating to the US in 1867.  His occupation is listed as "keeper Erie Co Pen".  Marcella is listed as born in Canada in April 1872 and 1899 is listed as her year of emigration to the US.  They were renting their home.    Their home was about 1 block away from the Erie County Penitentiary where he worked.  In the 1910 census he is listed as "Dennis J" Lenehan and they are listed as living in the same house.  Mysteriously Joseph/Dennis J is listed as being born in New York and Marcella in Massachusetts!  Dennis J. has the same occupation.  No children are listed in either census.  They moved to Los Angeles in 1911 and Marcella died there of tuberculosis on August 24, 1914.  She was sent back to Toronto and was buried in the Carolan family plot in St. Michael's Cemetery, Toronto. 

• Elizabeth (1869 - August 20, 1956) m John (William) MOLONEY.  They were married at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Toronto on June 15, 1916.  John was son of John Moloney, Railroader and Bridget Linton (?).  John listed his occupation as a "shipper in newspaper office".  He was 54 and she was 45.  My aunt remembers visiting them on a farm near the hamlet of Highland Creek in Scarborough Township, York County.  Perhaps this belonged to his family?  According to her obituary he was living at 59 Olive Avenue at the time of her death, though she died in Our Lady of Mercy Hospital.  She is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.


The Carolans had a large family plot in St. Michael's Cemetery. Those buried there include: John in 1876, Mary Ann Lenehan in 1886, Anne Rossiter, Jane's sister in 1905, Jane in 1906 and Marcella Lenehan in 1914. Anne Rossiter's obituary in the August 21, 1905 Globe confirmed that she was "of St. Johns Nfld".  The family also had large family plots in Mount Hope Cemetery as well.


Carolan Family Plot - Children of John Carolan and Jane Rossiter - Thomas, William and Elizabeth plus granddaughter Mary Frances Carolan and her husband W. Herbert Johnston.
Mount Hope Cemetery
© Michael Harrison 2010

2. James (1853 - December 11, 1946) m. Ann CURRAN (1860 -June 16, 1932), daughter of James Curran and Elizabeth Bryne, on May 3, 1880 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Toronto. The witnesses were Peter AHERN and Dora CAROLAN.

In the 1881 census James and his wife Annie are living next door to his mother Jane and his brothers William, Thomas and John. The census records indicate that James was born in Newfoundland. In the 1901 census James and his family were living at 623 Queen Street West, Toronto. James was a flour and feed dealer from this location. On June 11, 1906 there was a fire at his business. The Globe reported that "Fire wrought damage early this morning to the extent of about $1,000 to the rear of the premises of J. Carolan, flour and feed dealer at 623 Queen street west and the Beaver printing works adjoining. Mr. Carolan loses two horses and some vehicles by the fire. The blaze originated in the printing office, and was discovered by Constable Acton. The loss is only partially covered by insurance. The occupants of the buildings cannot account for the fire." The December 27, 1907 Globe reported that James Carolan was elected by acclamation as a Separate School Trustee for Ward Five.

I think that James did very well for himself investing the proceeds from his flour and feed business into real estate.  In the 1884 Goad's Fire Insurance Plan for Toronto, James owns a large piece of land on the north east corner of Bloor Street West and present day Shaw Street (then called Caralan [Carolan] Road) north up almost to Davenport Road and east to Montrose Avenue.  This was just west (Lot 28) of the same lot that his father was living on in the 1871 census (Lot 27, Concession 2, York township).  The southern portion of the land below the railway line seems to have been subdivided for housing by 1899.  James was a member of the Toronto Board of Trade from at least the 1890s.  Annie Curran died at her home 59 Olive Street, Toronto on June 16, 1932 from stomach cancer.  James Carolan died in 1946.  According to his obituary in the Toronto Star James also died at 59 Olive Street, Toronto and was due to celebrate his 90th birthday on December 23rd.  The obituary indicated that he came to Toronto as a boy from Newfoundland and was active for 50 years in the wholesale and retail flour, feed and grain business, and had retired 13 years ago in 1933.  It mentions that he was survived by two daughters Sister M. Annetta and Mrs. W.H. Johnston and sons John J. of Winnipeg and James F. of Toronto, and a sister Mrs. John Moloney, Toronto. 




Closeup of the tombstone of James Carolan and Annie Curran. Their daughters Nellie and Frances (though her death date is not correct) are also buried with them Mount Hope Cemetery

© Michael Harrison 2010

They had the following known children:

1. John Joseph (Aug 24, 1881 - Dec 26, 1967) m. Mary Rose NEALON (? - 1953), daughter of William NEALON and Rose FITZPATRICK on August 3, 1908 in Toronto. The marriage record indicates that John was born in Rochester, NY? In the 1901 census, he is living with his parents, and listed his occupation as book keeper with an annual salary of $400.  In the 1911 census he was living at 542 Wiley Street, Thunder Bay with his wife Rose and daughters Dorothy (b. May 1909) and Mary (b. Jan 1911).  His occupation is listed as a book keeper with a Grain Broker with an annual salary of $960.  He moved to Winnipeg in 1914.  I found an article in the April 4, 1918 edition of the Toronto Globe that indicated John Carolan had a partnership with Lieut.-Col. E. R. Wayland, the E. R. Wayland Company.  The article indicates that the company was "inundated with applications for the fibre flax seed, which is being distributed by the the British Government.  Mr. Carolan states that the application already far outrun the supply of seed, and they have no hope of being able to increase the quantity."   According to John Joseph Carolan's obituary in the Winnipeg Free Press of Dec 28th, 1967 he lived at 972 Grosvenor Avenue in the Crescentwood neighbourhood, when he died on December 26 at the age of 86 years old. His wife died in 1953 and is named Rosemary in the obituary, and he was survived by two sons (James and Paul) and four daughters (Dorothea, Patricia, Mary and Annetta). He was buried in the family plot at St. Mary's Cemetery. It is indicated that he was born in Toronto and worked for the Winnipeg Grain Exchange. They had the following children: 
o John Joseph Jr.  m. Ruth Mary Bradley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Aloysius Bradley at St. Anthony's Catholic Church Toronto on September 25, 1944.  The article in the Toronto Globe mentions that James J. Carolan, the brother of the bridegroom was a Sub-Lieut. in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve.
o Dorothea (b. Toronto, May 26, 1909 - January 21, 2004) m. Kenneth Kirkaldy on August 19, 1939 Winnipeg. Buried in Assumption Cemetery, Winnipeg.  They had three children.
o Mary (b. Thunder Bay, Ontario, January 4, 1911 - ?) - lived in Montreal 
o James - was a Sub-Lieut. in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve during WWII 
o Paul (1916 - June 8, 2003) m. Audrey Hrivnak, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. August J. Hrivnak of Riverside, Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune of March 25, 1951.  Audrey was a graduate of Northwestern University and was pursuing a career in Ajo, Arizona. She was the first women to be a member of the Ajo Country Club Board of Directors and ran as a candidate for representative to the state legislature.  They were married on April 7, 1951.  According to his obituary, Paul Joseph Carolan, 86, died June 8, 2003, in Mesa, Arizona. He was born July 6, 1916, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He moved to Tucson and then to Ajo in the 1940s and worked in personnel for Phelps Dodge for over 35 years. After his retirement, he and his wife Audrey moved to Green Valley. He was preceded in death by his wife and one son. He is survived by his sons and other family members. Services were held in Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Green Valley on June 12.
o Patricia - lived in Montreal in the late 1930s - married to Lieut. Gordon Alfred Nicholas, of the Royal Canadian Engineers on April 14, 1941 in St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church, Winnipeg.   After the marriage they lived in Winnipeg.  They had five children.
o Theresa (Annetta) (1925 - 1926) - died at 4 months of age in Winnipeg.

2. Mary Frances (Jan 2, 1883 - Nov 17, 1951) m. William Hurbert JOHNSTON (? - May 6, 1937) of Montreal on March 1, 1905 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Toronto. W. Hurbert died in May 1937. According to her obituary in the Globe and Mail, Frances died suddenly in her home at 154 Heath Street East, Toronto. They are both buried in the family plot at Mount Hope Cemetery. They had two children.

3. Dorothea (1885- Nov 20,1966) - entered Sisters of St. Joseph in 1909 (Sister Mary Annetta).  She is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery near Toronto.

4. Helen Elizabeth (Ellen/Nellie) (1886 -1920). According to her death registration she died on November 15, 1920 at St. Michael's Hospital from peritonitis.  Helen is buried in the family plot at Mount Hope Cemetery.

5.  James Frederick (1889 - Sept 27, 1972) m. Theresa Margaret RYAN (? - Aug 2, 1944) on May 14, 1913 at St. Francis' Church, Toronto.


Teresa Margaret Ryan was the daughter of Thomas Ryan and Teresa Doyle of 131 Beatrice Street, Toronto.  James went to work for Underwood, a company that manufactured typewriters, adding and accounting machines and office supplies. The company prospered in the mid to late 20th century as their equipment was essential to any business. He worked his way up through the company ranks. In 1948 he was appointed as Assistant General Manager. In 1959 he was made General Manager. The family devoted many hours to charity and philanthropic works as chronicled in Toronto newspapers. Their names also appeared frequently in newspaper social columns as well. In 1921 they were living at 6 Constance Street. Later they lived on Montclair Avenue. John's wife died in 1944.  According to her obituary, Theresa Ryan died at St. Michael's Hospital. The funeral was held at 16 Wells Hill Avenue to the family plot in Mount Hope Cemetery.  James F. died at Providence Villa in Scarborough on September 27, 1972 and is buried in the family plot in Mount Hope Cemetery.  They had the following children:

o Bernadette ( d.1996) m. Dr. William APTED (d. 1979) on December 10, 1938 at the Church of the Holy Rosary, Toronto. Dr. Apted was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur E. Apted. The wedding was mentioned in the society column of the Globe and Mail on December 10, 1938. After their marriage they lived in the Village Manor apartment on Eglinton Avenue for a time and them lived in New York for a bit before returning to Toronto in late 1942 living at 16 Wells Hill Avenue. By 1957 they were living on Ava Road in Forest Hill, Toronto. They had a summer house on Lake Simcoe called "Artrude". Dr. Apted worked at St. Michael's Hospital as an obstetrician. Dr. Apted died and was buried in Florida on December 20, 1979. Bernadette died at home in Toronto in 1996. They had 4 children.

o Mary (?-1986) m. Capt. Frederick Harold HOWARD at Holy Rosary Church, Toronto on October 28, 1943. Mary died in Halifax on March 16, 1986 and buried in Mount Hope Cemetery Toronto. They had 3 children.
o Margaret m. Robert Emmett SPENO at Holy Rosary Church, Toronto on April 11, 1942. Robert was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank SPENO of Ithaca, New York. They lived in Ithaca after their marriage. She later moved back to Toronto.  Later she married Eugene Henry and moved to Ottawa.
o James (Jim) D'Arcy Jr. (?- Dec 10, 1988) m. Barbara Ann MCKAY in November 1953 at
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Toronto. Barbara was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Ernest MCKAY. James went to work with his father at Underwood in 1949. He worked his way up to be the Director of National Accounts Division by 1966.

He died in 1988 in Toronto and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery. He had one child.
o Catherine (Kathleen) (1919 - Aug 17, 1925). According to her obituary she was the youngest daughter of James and Theresa.  Her death registration indicates that she was 6 years, 1 month and 17 days of age at the time of her death and died of septicemia.  The funeral was held from her parents home at 6 Constance Street.



Tombstone of John F. Carolan, wife Theresa Margaret Ryan and children Catherine, Mary Annetta Howard, James D'Arcy and Bernadette Apted
Mount Hope Cemetery
© Michael Harrison 2010 

I would be interested in hearing from anyone researching my family. Please contact me at kikoamoki at yahoo.ca


All information and photographs on this site are copyrighted and may not be used without my permission. No use for commercial purposes is permitted.
© Copyright Michael Harrison 2009.  All rights reserved.

Family of John Rossiter and Mary Doyle

According to the parish records of the Catholic Basilica in St. John's Newfoundland I have the following information:

John Rossiter (1789 - 1873) of the Parish of St. James, Co. Wexford, Ireland m. Mary Doyle of St. John's Newfoundland on June 8, 1824 in the Catholic Basilica in St. John's Newfoundland.

John Rossiter was born circa 1789 in the Parish of St. James, Co. Wexford, Ireland.  His obituary appears in the July 22, 1873 edition of The Newfoundlander - John Rossiter (Tailor), native of Wexford, Died age 84. Here 63 years resident, Carter’s Hill (Boston Papers please copy). According to his obituary John Rossiter would have emigrated to St. John's Newfoundland circa 1810. John Rossiter was part of the great emigration from south east Ireland between 1750 and 1830. According to the History of the Basilica: From Cornerstone to Consecration exhibition on virtualmuseum.ca "never before in human history had such a large group of people migrated from such a local area in the Old World (within 60 miles of Waterford) to such a local area in the New World (within 100 miles of St. John's) over such a long period of time."



St John's Newfoundland in 1831
courtesy Toronto Public Library

There is a John Rossiter that appears in the 1833 list of jurors for St. John's. There is also a John Rossiter, tailor in the 1864 Hutchinson's Directory for St. John's. 

They had the following children:

• Dorothy, baptized October 3, 1824 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were Wm Headon? and Margaret Murphy.  Died by 1846. 

• Jane, baptized September 29, 1828 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were Pam? (Pat?) Kelly and ? Murphy.   She married John Carolan in the Catholic Basilica, St. John's Newfoundland on July 11, 1852 and moved to Toronto a few years later.

• Anne (1830-1905), baptized April 19, 1830 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were Peter Kehoe and Killy Kelly.  By 1891 Anne had moved to Toronto to live with her widowed sister.  It does not appear that she was ever married.  She is buried in the Carolan family plot in St. Michael's Cemetery, Toronto with her sister Jane.

• William, baptized October 28, 1831 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were John Kelly and Margaret Kelly.

• James (1833-1888) was baptized on June 12, 1833 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were William Kelly and Mary Ryan.  Captain James Rossiter of the schooner William J. Parsons died at sea on George's Bank in early 1888.  His obituary in the February 25, 1888 edition of the Harbor Grace Standard and Conception Bay Advertiser indicated that he was the son of John and Mary Rossiter, and brother of Thomas Rossiter at Bowring Bros.  "He leaves a wife and 2 children to mourn the loss of a kind father and affectionate husband."

• John, baptized April 27, 1835 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were Michael Doyle and Mary Wilese?  I think John became a tailor like his father.  In the 1870-1871 McAlpine's Maritime Provinces Directory there is a John Rossiter, Tailor, living on Limekiln Hill.

• Catherine, baptized May 21, 1837 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were John Walsh and Catherine Doyle.

• Thomas, baptized August 25, 1839 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were Michael Boge? and Johanna Walsh.  Died by 1844.

• Thomas (1844-1895) was baptized February 6, 1844 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were Richard Ryan and Mary Carney.  I think he is the Thomas Rossiter, Porter, listed in the 1870-1871 McAlpine's Maritime Province Directory boarding on Carter's Hill (perhaps still living with his mother?).  According to his brother James' obituary in 1888 he worked at Bowring Brothers in St. John's, Newfoundland. 


Bowring Brothers Shop, Water Street, St. John's, circa 1892
courtesy Memorial University

In the 1894 Directory for St. John's there is a Thomas Rossiter listed as a grocer living at 37 Wickford Street (formerly Courting Lane, present day Livingston Street).  This was very close to his father's home on Carter's Hill.  Thomas died on May 6, 1895, at the age of 50 years, of consumption and was buried in the Belvedere Roman Catholic Cemetery in St. John's.  His will was probated later that year.  It mentions his wife Ann and sons John and William (a daughter May had died aged 10 years on November 16, 1894 and is also buried in Belevdere Roman Catholic Cemetery).  The listing of property includes the house at 37 Wickford Street plus the homes at 33 and 35 Wickford Street.  

Thomas Rossiter Properties - Wickford Street - Goad's Fire Insurance Plan of St. John's Newfoundland, 1893 (revised 1911)
courtesy Library and Archives Canada

The 1898 Directory for St. John's lists Anne, widow, Thomas Rossiter living at 37 Wickford Street.  He is mentioned as the "late Thomas Rossiter of this city" in an article on the wedding of Marcella Carolan and Mr. J.D. Lenehan from the June 26, 1899 edition of the St. John's Newfoundland Evening Telegram.  There is a will of an Ann Rossiter, widow, St. John's Newfoundland probated in 1927.  It mentions a grandson Gerald, a son John J. Rossiter, and Thomas, son of John J. Rossiter.  Other mentions include Catherine Carroll and Mary Ellen Chafe.  This appears to be the widow of Thomas Rossiter.  The 1904 McAlpine's Directory of St. John's shows a John Rossiter as a clerk at R. Callahan but does not list his address.  There are also two listings of a William Rossiter (John's brother) at 37 Wickford Street.  It shows one as the apparent owner (tailor at Jackman) and one as a boarder (carpenter).   I am guessing that the owner is the father and the boarder is his son. The McAlpine 1913 City Directory lists John J. Rossiter, Manager of Rossiter & Co Ltd. (Commission Agents, Incorporated 1910) at 5 Waldegrave Street, as living on Kenmouth Road, and William Rossiter, employee of the Newfoundland Clothing Co. Ltd., living at 35 Wickford Street.  Ann their mother continued to live at 37 Wickford Street.  In the 1921 census John J. Rossiter b. December 1881 is living at 150 Patrick Street, St. John's with wife Margaret (McGrath) b November 1881 with the following children:  Thomas b. Oct 1907, Mary b. September 1908, Austin b. April 1910, Jack b. Oct 1912, Madeline b. January 1916, Stan b. August 1917, Vincent b. April 1918, and Kevin b. January 1921; along with a servant Julia Yetman, aged 21.  They are in the same location in the 1935 census but Thomas, Austin (he appears to have died in 1934 and is buried at Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Cemetery) and Jack (could he be Kevin?) are missing.  There are two new children - Kevin with a birth year of 1912 (suggesting that it is actually Jack and so not a new child) and Francis who was born in 1925 and is 10 years old.  In the 1945 census I think they are still living at 150 Patrick Street but only Kevin (Jack?), aged 22 is living at home with his parents.  John J. Rossiter appears to have died about 1949 as his will was probated that year. I don't have a copy however. He is buried in Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Cemetery in St. John's.

• Dorothy, baptized May 11, 1846 in the Catholic Basilica.  Sponsors were Denis OLeary and Catherine Doly.