Jen's Genealogy Pages

Amy Johnson Crow, on her blog No Story Too Small, has challenged her fellow bloggers to post 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. This is week eighteen.

My great-great-great grandfather James St. John was born on February 25, 1812 in Rathkeale, County Limerick, Ireland. His parents were Philip and Nancy Ann (Baker) St. John. James was the eldest of eleven children.

The family emigrated to Canada, via New York, in 1817. My understanding is that his parents went on ahead and James came along with extended family later.

James married Jane Lloyd on April 17, 1833 in Brock Township, Ontario.

By the 1851 census, the family had grown. Living in a one-and-a-half story stone house, James (39) and Jane (38) were at home with Philip (18), John (17), Margaret Ann (15), James (13), Maria (11), Eliza (9), Rebecca (7), Mary (5), Catherine (3), and William (1). Also in the home was a 16-year-old Eliza Graham but I am not sure how she was connected to the family.

The 1861 census shows the family living in a two-story stone house in Brock Township. James (49) and Jane (48) are there with John (26), James (21), Mariah (19), Eliza (17), Mary (13), Catherine (11), William (9), Wesley (6), and Rebecca (4). Philip and Margaret Ann have likely married and moved out. The elder Rebecca passed away just before the younger Rebecca was born.

Jane herself passed away on April 19, 1864.

The 1871 census shows James (58) at home with Eliza (26), Mary (23), Catherine (21), William (19), Joseph (16), and Rebecca (13). Also with the family is a George St. John (37) and a Michael McCarthy (14). I am not sure precisely how they are connected, although George is somehow related.

The 1881 census, shows James (68) at home with Eliza (36) and Wesley (26).

On both the 1891 and 1901 censuses, James is living with his second youngest son William and William’s family.

James passed away from peritonitis on April 9, 1904, at 92 years of age.