| Notes |
- Leonard Tait was born in England. His gravestone records that he was born in Northumberland. A promising, but unconfirmed, birth has been found for Leonard in Cornhill-on-Tweed, Northumberland, England, as the son of John Tait and Martha, which is a partial onomasitc match and is only 2 km from Eccles, Berwickshire, Scotland, where Leonard's future bride, Jane Ord, was born. They met and married prior to emigration. Cornhill-on-Tweed is also where Leonard's future brother-in-law, John Black, was born, suggesting the possibility that Leonard Tait and John Black may have been childhood friends who married two sisters.
The 1841 census shows a promising match for a Leonard Tate, blacksmith, living in All Saints Parish, Byker, Northumberland, but says he was born outside the county. Either the census is wrong or Leonard was merely "from" Northumberland, not born "in" Northumberland. At present it is preferred that the census is more likely to be in error than his gravestone.
Leonard's son, John W Tait, does not appear with his father in the 1841 census which would suggest that John was likely born shortly after the census. However, there is a 4 year old John Tait in 1841 residing in Botchergate, St Cuthbert, Cumberland, England, living only with his mother, Bridget Tait, born 1821 in Ireland, suggesting the possibility that John's father, Leonard, may have been previously married.
Leonard and Jane followed the traditional Scottish naming pattern for all their children (if one takes into account that David and Leonard Jr are twins, and thus Leonard Jr should be considered the third son.) This would suggest that Leonard's mother should have the name Elizabeth, which either means the current birth for Leonard is incorrect or his mother could be Elizabeth Martha.
Sometime between 1841-1844 Leonard immigrated to Canada. He is shown working as a blacksmith and residing in Beauharnois Canal, Châteauguay Valley, Huntingdon County, Quebec, Canada in 1844 at the time of his daughter Mary's birth.
According to the Puslinch Historical Society Web site, the Tait and Ord farms were originally situated adjacent to each other, so Leonard Tait and Jane Ord lived next door to Jane's father, Robert Ord. It's likely that they were actually two households on the same property. However, Duff's Church session records indicate that Jane Tait, believed to be their first Canadian born child, was born in Beverly Township, Wentworth County. There are also records of another Tait family in the same area who are believed to have come from Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland, right across the river from Norham, Northumberland, England, where it is suspected that Leonard may have come from. Thus it is possible that Leonard may have been related to the Beverly Taits.
Leonard Tait and a Robert Ord (presumably Jane's brother, not her father) both served together in the #2 Company, 2nd Battalion, Wellington Militia in 1857.
The 1857 Directory for Morriston Village, Puslinch Township, Wellington County lists Leonard Tait as a blacksmith.
In 1861, Leonard Tait was residing in Puslinch, Wellington, Ontario, Canada with his wife and children. He was employed as a blacksmith, residing next door to the Ord family. Three farms away was a cluster of three farms owned by one extended family surnamed Bieber. As popstar Justin Bieber recently purchased a massive mansion in Puslinch, there may be a connection.
Leonard Tait and Robert Ord Sr. were both blacksmiths. By their age difference it seems reasonable to suggest that Leonard may have apprenticed with his father-in-law. If so, it is most likely that, although he was born in England, he had moved to Berwickshire, Scotland.
There appears to have been insufficient work for blacksmiths in Puslinch, as Robert Ord worked his whole life there as a farmer, not at his trade of smithing. Sometime between 1861-1868, Leonard Tait moved his family to Hamilton where Leonard found work as a blacksmith working for the Great West Railroad.
In 1868, Leonard Tait was residing in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada, employed as a blacksmith for the Great Western Railroad, as listed in Sutherland and Company's Hamilton City Directory. (Also listed were John Tait, a carpenter, and his son George, who worked in a wood market. Later directories show a Robert Tait, carpenter, presumably a son of John. A Robert Tait later ends up on Victoria, British Columbia, Canada as a carpenter at the same time as Leonard's twin sons David and Leonard Jr.)
In 1870, Leonard Tait was residing at 60 Locke Street North in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada, employed as a blacksmith, as listed in Sutherland and Company's Hamilton City Directory. (This address is currently a vacant lot across from Victoria Park.)
Leonard Tait died in 1871 followed a year later by his wife, Jane Ord. Their younger children were still teenagers at the time so Robert, David, and Margaret moved in with their sister and brother-in-law, Hugh and Mary (Tait) Stewart.
It's interesting to note that the children of Leonard and Jane considered themselves to be of Scottish ethnicity even though Leonard was born in England and their first child was born in England.
So far the ancestry of Leonard Tait is a dead end. There are no matching birth or marriage records. However the name, Leonard Tait, shows up in records as far back as the 1500s but only in the Northumberland, Yorkshire, and Berwickshire areas. It is probably safe to assume that Leonard came from a family of Taits that had been in the Borderlands for many generations.
(Leonard's full name MAY have been John Leonard Tait. There is no matching birth record in the IGI for the birth of John W Tait, however there are two close matches for children born in Norham during the correct date range with parents John and Jane Tait. And there may have been an uncle James Tait from Berwick who also came to Canada and settled in Hamilton. These are future leads to follow. There was a John Tait and Robert Tait who were in Hamilton at the same time and ended up in Victoria, BC, at the same time as Leonard's children. They may also have detoured via Tacoma, Washington about the same time. They would be the right ages to be brothers of Leonard. These are future leads to follow.)
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Abt 1821 - 1871 (49 years)
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