Elizabeth Simon

1843 - 1935  (92 years)

• Name	Elizabeth Simon
  Born	2 Jan 1843	Nassagaweya Township, Halton County, Ontario
  Gender	Female
  Name	Eliza Sammons
  Residence	1901	Manitoba, Canada   [1]
  Died	24 Apr 1935	Arden, Regional Municipality of Lansdowne, Manitoba
  Person ID	I14325	Brown Genealogy
  Last Modified	19 Sep 2024

  
  

  Father	Israel Sammons,   b. Between 1814 and 1818, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1892, Mount Forest, Egremont, Grey, Ontario, Canada  (Age ~ 78 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Hannah Gordon,   b. 1801, Quebec, Canada ,   d. 1888, Mount Forest, Egremont, Grey, Ontario, Canada  (Age 87 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	Abt 1832
  Family ID	F3785	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Hugh Stewart,   b. 8 Jul 1837, Puslinch, Wellington, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 24 Sep 1913, Arden, Regional Municipality of Lansdowne, Manitoba, Canada  (Age 76 years)
  Married	6 May 1874	Guelph, Wellington, Ontario, Canada
  Children	1. Euphemia Ellen Stewart,   b. 19 Dec 1874, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 14 Jan 1958, Kelwood, Neepawa, Manitoba  (Age 83 years)  [natural]   2. Robert Richard Stewart,   b. 18 Jul 1876, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 25 Sep 1965, Arden, Lansdowne, MacDonald District, Manitoba, Canada  (Age 89 years)  [natural]   3. Sarah Stewart,   b. 18 Jul 1878, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 4 Apr 1969, Possibly Arden, Manitoba  (Age 90 years)  [natural]   4. Georgina Stewart,   b. 12 Jun 1880, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1913, Possibly Arden, Manitoba  (Age 32 years)  [natural]   5. Rachel Stewart,   b. 23 Apr 1883, Arden, Lansdowne, MacDonald District, Manitoba, Canada ,   d. Aft 1901, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada  (Age > 19 years)  [natural]   6. Roseanne Stewart,   b. 4 May 1885, Arden, Lansdowne, MacDonald District, Manitoba, Canada ,   d. 3 Aug 1947  (Age 62 years)  [natural]   7. Janet May Stewart,   b. 29 Dec 1889, Arden, Lansdowne, MacDonald District, Manitoba, Canada ,   d. May 1974, Manitoba, Canada  (Age 84 years)  [natural]   8. William Gordon Stewart,   b. Jun 1890, Arden, Lansdowne, MacDonald District, Manitoba, Canada ,   d. 14 Dec 1902, Arden, Lansdowne, MacDonald District, Manitoba, Canada  (Age ~ 12 years)  [natural]   9. John Stewart,   b. 1891, Arden, Lansdowne, MacDonald District, Manitoba, Canada ,   d. 1902, Manitoba, Canada  (Age 11 years)  [natural]
  Last Modified	19 Sep 2024
  Family ID	F4311	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  This Elizabeth Simon/Simmons/Sammons presents a big confound. Stewart family records indicate Elizabeth's name as Elizabeth Simmons. Her marriage record shows her as Elizabeth Simon, where she is shown as the daughter of Israel Simon and Hannah Gordon -- no such couple can be found, however there is an Israel Sammons and Hannah Gordon. However, you will shortly see why that becomes problematic. A family legend, recorded by Alice Fluegge, records the following about this marriage: "After Hugh Stewart's first wife died "Hugh Stewart began working for Sir John Simmons down in the corner of Lower Canada, along the St. Lawrence near the corner of Upper Canada. Hugh fell in love with one of John Simmons' daughters, Elizabeth, who was born January 2, 1843. They had come from two different worlds; he was an orphan working his way up and she was the daughter of an important landowner. She was educated by a governess and could sing in both French and English. She also had learned the fine art of doing needlepoint. Her father refused to give Hugh and Elizabeth permission to marry, so they eloped about 1872. This caused a permanent rift between the two families and they never had any contact again." Thus ends the family legend, and begins the confound. No such person as "Sir John Simmons" has been identified. And the marriage record of the "elopement" exists and shows that Hugh Stewart married in 1874 to the daughter of Isaac Simmons (not Israel Sammons, but close) and Hannah Gordon of Nassagaweya Township. Nassagaweya is just a few miles east of Puslinch and nowhere near the St. Lawrence. However the Sammons family did come from Cobourg in easter Ontario, which would fit with the legend. And Hannah Gordon was Québecois, which would explain the comment that Elizabeth could "sing in French and English." However, Sammons family records indicate that the Elizabeth Simmons who married Hugh Stewart could not possibly be the daughter of Israel and Hannah, as their real daughter, Elizabeth, married John Allen Evans and had children at the same time as Hugh Stewart and Elizabeth Simmons, so Elizabeth Simmons and Elizabeth Sammons cannot be the same person. Elizabeth's sister, Euphemia Ellen Sammons married Robert Dunn in Puslinch and had children only between 1865-1870. Hugh and Elizabeth weren't married until 1874 and their first daughter was Euphemia Ellen Stewart. I had previously wondered if perhaps "Elizabeth Simmons" was really Euphemia Ellen Sammons and that she used her sister's name when she married to hide her real identity as she was already married to Robert Dunn. This would explain why her father might forbid the marriage. However, it has now been discovered that Euphemia Ellan Sammons did, in fact, remain with Robert Dunn and died in Illinois, thus she could not be Elizabeth Simmons. In fact, Elizabeth Simmons birth date makes it virtually impossible for her to be a child of Israel and Hannah Sammons, as her birth is only 7 months after one of their other children. So who is this mystery woman? I am now starting to wonder if she might be the NIECE of Israel and Hannah, and that perhaps her real parents had died, thus making Israel and Hannah her guardians, not her parents. Furthermore it now appears that the Sammons family came from Schoharie, New York, where they were involved with the estate of Sir John Johnson (!). Perhaps Sir John Johnson has become confused as the person of "Sir John Simmons". However, as I am not a descendant of this family, I will have to leave it to those who are to sort out the mystery of who Elizabeth Simmons/Sammons really is. Birth registration records for Hugh and Elizabeth's Manitoba-born children show their parents' marital status as "unmarried", however their marriage record is found in Guelph. Very confusing!

  
  

• Sources

  [S19] 1901 Census of Canada, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;).