Almonte, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
History and Genealogy
originally called Shipman's Mills
also the HALPENNY / HALPENNY and SHIPMAN families in the 1800's

Painting by Ruth McMillan in 1976
Shows the Head of the Rideau Canal Locks in Ottawa, Canada in 1893
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January 13, 2021:
This text and photograph is from Lanark Legacy: Nineteenth Century Glimpses of an Ontario County,
by Howard Morton Brown and Glenn J. Lockwood, 1984, , page 136, 137, ISBN 0-9690289-2-X
Keywords: Watercolour by Philip Boyce, frozen Mississippi River, Victorian Homes, St. Paul's Church of England.
January 2, 2021:
This photograph is from the book Lanark Legacy: Nineteenth Century Glimpses of an Ontario County,
by Howard Morton Brown and Glenn J. Lockwood, 1984, ISBN 0-9690289-2-X, page 139.
Keywords: Lieutenant Alexander Rosamond
The combination of a large number of Scottish weavers and textile workers who migrated to Lanark County starting about 1820 helped to make the
Canadian Textile industry become centered in the towns of Lanark County - Almonte, Carleton Place, Perth and Smiths Falls.
December 23, 2020:
Source for this photograph is Lanark Legacy: Nineteenth Century Glimpses of an Ontario County,
by Howard Morton Brown and Glenn J. Lockwood, 1984, ISBN 0-9690289-2-X, page 131.
October 8, 2020:
Source for this image is Pioneer Sketches in the District of Bathurst, by Andrew Haydon, 1925, page 124

Source for this image is Pioneer Sketches in the District of Bathurst, by Andrew Haydon, 1925, page 127
April 15, 2005:
The Town of Almonte (now called Mississippi Mills) was originally called
Shipman's Mills when 500 Peter Robinson settlers arrived there in 1823.
Beginning in 1820, Scottish immigrants settled in the immediate area. These
Scots came mostly from the lowlands around Paisley and Glasgow. Many were
weavers who organized Emigrant Societies, chartered ships and came to this area.
An old Mill on the Mississippi River at Almonte
A thriving textile industry developed along the Mississippi River, combining
the skills of the Scottish immigrants with the natural local water power. Some
of these newly-arrived folks from Scotland built the Auld Kirk.
See photo of another old mill at Carleton Place. (dated April 23, 2005).
Mr. Michael Dunn has a great web site where you can take a virtual walking tour
of the town. He's preserving the town's history in digital photographs.
Before him, his Father and Grandfather were both historians in the
Almonte area and produced (among other works) an important history
of the settlers who attended St. Michael's Church in Corkery.
You can reach Mr. Dunn by e-mail from his web site.
August 14, 2001:
I have found your site very interesting and useful for my research into my
Loyalist Shipman ancestors who founded Almonte and my Irish Halpenny
ancestors from County Wicklow who moved to Bowesville. Do you know of anyone
else who is researching these families?
Sharlene Shipman Baker,
Irvine, California
==================
Sharlene:
Thanks for your e-mail. I've posted it to my web site.
Do you have a (brief) write-up on the Shipman family who founded Almonte?
Also, do you know the names of the original Halpenny pioneers in Gloucester?
I have listing of some early Halpennys who were on the Methodist circuit in Bowesville,
but no ages are given.
It's possible that one of my CHRISTOPHER (surname) ancestors married into the Halpenny
family of Bowesville:
1. RICHARD HALPENNY He married ESTHER MITCHELL.
Notes for RICHARD HALPENNY:
resident of Ottawa (LDS record for daughter's marriage to Jerome Christopher)
Child of RICHARD HALPENNY and ESTHER MITCHELL is:
i. MARY HALPENNY, b. 1878; m. JEROME JOSEPH CHRISTOPHER; b. October 1878.
He was the son of Patrick CHRISTOPHER and CATHERINE McGEE
Notes for JEROME JOSEPH CHRISTOPHER:
sponsor at St. Mary's for confirmation in 1892 was Robert FINAN.
witnesses at marriage were William Little and Ellen Little, both of Ottawa.
Sponsor for baptism were Dennis McGee and Alice HUGHES (grandparents).
Is this Mary Halpenny one of your family?
If so, there are some interesting stories. She married into a "colourful" family.
Do you have a record of any CHRISTOPHERs?
... Al
August 19, 2001
Yes, Mary Halpenny Christopher was a cousin of my Halpenny ancestors. Here is
what I have for her family:
William Halpenny d. 1815 Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland
m. M. Esther Giltrap b. 1880 d. 1841 Boyds Settlement, Ontario
William 1805 m. Eleanor Lewis
John m. Mrs. Henry
Richard m. Ann McGill
Jacob 1812 -1876 m. Mary Jackson d. 1890
Mary m. Thomas Watchorn
Margaret m. Mr. Minions, rem. William Reilly
Jacob Halpenny b.1812 County Wicklow d. 1876 Mount Forest, Ontario
m. Mary Jackson b. County Wicklow d. 1890 Mount Forest, Ontario
(see below, dated March 12, 2003)
Jane m. Thomas Stephenson
Jacob b. 1842 d. 1925 m. Lizzie Loughton
Richard d. 1925 m. Esther Mitchell
Susan m. Richard Parslow
Mary m. Thomas Plester
Richard Halpenny d. 1925
m. Esther Mitchell of Smiths Falls
Jacob m. Emma Roosevelt
Armanella m. W.J. Church of York, North Dakota, USA
Mary m. Mr. Christopher, rem. Mr. DeGroot of York, North Dakota
Jennie m. W.J. Wakefield
Ethel m. Arthur Buriss of York, North Dakota
Mary Halpenny m. Christopher
George
Margaret
Johanna
The families of three Halpenny cousins came from County Wicklow to Gloucester
Township in the 1830's. The cousins were William married to M. Esther
Gilltrap, Joseph married to Catherine Styles and David married to Eleanor
Dickson ( my ancestor ). William and Joseph had already died in Ireland but
their widows came with their children. Joseph was killed in the 1798
Rebellion where he fought with the British army.
My branch of the Halpennys settled at Bowesville where the Ottawa airport is
now. I have the original deeds to their property from the 1830's. My great
grandmother was Elicia Halpenny who married Montague Alexander Buckingham
Shipman of the Almonte Shipmans. His parents were Sylvanus Keeler Shipman and
Amelia Smythe of Smiths Falls. Elicia's parents were John Halpenny and Martha
Carter. Her sister Sarah married John Shipman of Almonte. Their brother
Joseph Halpenny was one of the 1862 Overlanders to the Cariboo gold rush. I
have a dozen letters that he wrote from the trail and from the gold rush.
Along with him were his cousins William, John and Joseph Giltrap Halpenny,
who were great grandchildren of William and Esther Giltrap Halpenny, and so
were second cousins of Mary Halpenny Christopher.
I would be interested in the information you have on the Christopher family.
Sharlene Shipman Baker
September 3, 2001
Al- When we exchanged emails a few weeks ago you asked me to send a brief
history of my Shipman ancestors who founded Almonte. They were descendants of
Edward Shipman/Shipton one of the earliest settlers at Saybrook, Connecticut,
who sailed from England as the orphan child of religious refugees in about
1639. His great grandson Daniel Shipman was a Loyalist in the Revolutionary
War and was one of the early settlers at Elizabethtown, Ontario. Daniel's
grandson, named Daniel Harvey Shipman 1791-1853, was the founder of Almonte.
The original settler at what is now Almonte was David Shepard, also a
Loyalist, who built a mill there and operated it until it was destroyed by
fire. At that time it was called Shepard's Falls. The concession then passed
to Jehoida Boyce, the father-in-law of Daniel Harvey Shipman, who was married
to Prudence Boyce 1793-1842. Daniel Shipman rebuilt the saw mill in 1821 and
added a grist mill in 1822. In 1823 he moved his family there, where he also
built and ran a licensed inn. The settlement was renamed Shipman's Mills, and
grew into a town which was later called Ramsayville and Waterford, and then
was named Almonte in 1855 after Juan Almonte, a famous Mexican general and
diplomat.
Daniel Shipman and Prudence Boyce had 15 children, most of whom lived and
worked in Almonte, Sarah, Eliza 1812, Stephen Boyce 1814-1852, Sylvanus
Keeler 1817, Millicent Boyce 1819-1854, Daniel Harvey 1821, Catherine
1823-1897, Norman 1826-1863, Debora 1827, Samuel McLean 1828-1875, Rachel
Alvina 1831-1901, Olive 1833, Unknown son 1834, Jehoida Boyce 1836 and Birdie
1840. Sylvanus Keeler Shipman, my great great grandfather, ran the saw mill,
the lumber yard and a distillery in Almonte. He and his father Daniel were
also principal shareholders in the Ramsay Woollen Cloth Manufacturing
Company. Norman Shipman ran the flour mill and was constable of Almonte in
1861. Catherine Shipman, who was married to Henry Ryan Rose, turned the
family home into the Almonte Hotel. Jehoida Boyce Shipman managed the Almonte
Hotel and worked in the grist mill and the flour mill before moving to St.
Joseph's Island, Algoma, where he had a farm and a saw mill. Samuel McLean
Shipman was a farmer in Almonte. Stephen Boyce Shipman was a merchant in
Kingston and married the grandaughter of Benedict Arnold, Charlotte Montague
Arnold.
My great grandfather Montague Alexander Buckingham Shipman was the son of
Sylvanus Keeler Shipman and Amelia Smythe, the great granddaughter of George
Montague Smythe, who was a surgeon for the Loyal Rangers and a spy for the
British in the Revolutionary War, and the granddaughter of Thomas Smythe, who
founded Smith's Falls. Montague married Elicia Halpenny 1842-1920 from
Bowesville, Gloucester Township. Her family were Irish Protestants from
County Wicklow, Ireland. Montague and Elicia had four sons, Ernest George
Montague Shipman 1871-1931, who was a theatrical and silent film producer and
was married to silent movie actress, writer and producer Nell Shipman,
Frederic John Waverley Shipman 1873-1963, who was a theatrical producer for
opera stars, Joseph William Carter Shipman 1875-1947, who developed a process
to print huge photographs to be used as backgrounds in silent movies, and
Montague Arthur Shipman 1879-1969, my grandfather, who was a Methodist
minister and patriotic speaker.
Our branch of the Shipman family moved out to California from 1900 to 1917. I
knew nothing about any of my ancestors in Canada or Connecticut until I began
to do genealogical research about a year and a half ago. I have lots more
information on all generations going back to Edward Shipman of Saybrook if
anyone is interested.
Sharlene Shipman Baker
January 9, 2002
The sister of my greatgrandmother Elicia Halpenny Shipman, Martha May Halpenny Gabie
moved from Gloucester township to Kazabazua. I have her obituary which says she married
William Gabie of Kazabazua and was buried there in the Methodist graveyard. She died
April 24, but there is no year. It was after 1870 and before 1920. I had wondered what
she was doing in Quebec.
Sharlene Shipman Baker
Note: The lands around Maniwaki and Kazabazua were opened up for settlement later than
the Gloucester area. Some second-generation people from Gloucester, both Catholic
and Protestant, moved there because land was available.
Also, when people made a major move to a new area, they often had friends or relatives
who were already established in the new area. ... Al
See, for example Maniwaki and Kazabazua.
April 3, 2002:
Subject: Mary Halpenny / Thomas Plester
You mention this marriage in a note dated August 19, 2001, which I found on the Internet.
I am particularly interested in Thomas as he is my G Grandfather. Mary Halpenny was his
first wife. I have two questions I hope you can help me with. First, do you know when
and where Mary died?
Secondly, do you have any information on Thomas as he seems to have vanished from any
records. I am trying to find when and where he died, but have had no luck at all finding
this information.
Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated.
Regards
Dennis Lawrence
lawrend@shaw.ca
July 24, 2002:
hello! i am absolutley amazed! i was surfing the internet and decided to find somthing
about my grandmother ethel Halpenny Burns. I ran into your web site. mary was my aunt!
I just came back from rugby n.d. a few days ago. my uncle Cecil (86) and i were talking
about ancestors. He was telling me about aunt marys first husband, john. Apparently he was
a rogue!!! Now to find out the whole story youd have to contact him. Also marys sons son
is visiting him right now. george christopher? From Spokane. you are talking about my
relatives!!! also one of the amazing things is... sharlene baker from irving california..
my name is charlene baker cameron. My eyes popped out for the second time hahah.
please contact me and i'll dig out the genealogy my cousin kathy has dug up so much.
In fact this has gotten the whole family in a tizzy! i just got off the phone with kathy
in north carolina. also i called relatives in north dakota! we are excited! Now kathy wants
you to e-mail her ...kjbgh@aol.com she is in contact with a man in texas who is a Halpenny.
so, my e-mail is.. char26118@yahoo.com. So, is Sharlene Baker a distant cousin of mine ?
And im charlene Baker from the Bakers in Cando, n.dak.Who came from Chicago!!
please contact us ! thank-you char
September 11, 2002:
I came across the posting regarding George Keyes and Elizabeth Rose which questioned
whether there might be a connection with Catherine Shipman Rose of Almonte.
Catherine Shipman married Henry Ryan Rose whose ancestors were Loyalists (UEL) from New York.
I doubt that his family was related to Elizabeth Rose's family from Kilkenny, Ireland.
Henry Ryan Rose's sister Charlotte was the second wife of Catherine's father,
Daniel Shipman, the founded of Almonte ( Shipman's Mills ). I have a lot of information
on this Rose family if you are interested. I am curious about which Shipmans were
located on Lot 10, Concession 8 of Ramsay township, as they probably were related
to the Almonte Shipmans.
Sharlene Shipman Baker
October 25, 2002:
My mother, who does not have e-mail, has been researching the Shipman family for 40 years.
She is a Shipman whose family (way back) were UEL and settled in the Ottawa / Kemptville area.
I think she says that the Dan Shipman who helped to found Almonte was a great-great-uncle.
If you are interested in corresponding with her, you could send me your address and I will
give it to her.
Janice Kennett
March 12, 2003:
Thomas Jackson and Margaret Tomlinson
Greetings:
My ggg grandparents were Thomas Jackson and Margaret Tomlinson who came to
Canada from County Wicklow Ireland at an unestablished date (after 1813 ?).
Their children, according to the 1907 Wellington County Atlas, were:
John (my gg grandfather) b: abt 1813 in Ireland who married his cousin
Margaret Jane Tomlinson
William who married Eliza Appleby
Jane b: abt 1804 who married Samuel Wellwood
Mary who married Jacob Halpenny
Ann who married Reuben Giles
Eliza who married William Giles
I'm trying to verify that the information above on Mary/Jacob Halpenny is in
fact my family line. Do your records give Mary's parents' names which could be
compared to above Thomas Jackson and Margaret Tomlinson?
(see posting dated July 24, 2005 by Margaret Hall ... Al)
Look forward to your reply
Gloria Poissant
March 21, 2003:
I have Shipman's in our family line, One married William Henderson of Brockville,
Ontario, canada. One married Michael Row, Lydia Shipman daughter of daniel shipman
of Elizabethtown, Ontario, canada. in the 1700's. Abby shipman who married wm. Henderson,
I think she's buried at Read's cemetery. I need a cementery list from there can you help?
... Carl Bradshaw
My other e-mail address: cjbrad1@yahoo.com
April 9, 2003:
Hello:
This group address is all I have left now that my data is transferred to a new computer.
I'm actually trying to contact a Sharleen Baker who lives in California, and is a Shipman
descendant. I have a problem with John Shipman (s/o of Samuel McLean Shipman), and about
Montague Arthur Shipman (s/o of M.A.B. Shipman). Where can I get in touch with Sharleen?
Thanks.
Max Sutherland
(researching WHITTEN and related families of Almonte area)
E-mail MaxandMarilynSutherland@rogers.com
June 1, 2004:
Surnames: ELLIOTT, ROSE, FULFORD, HARRIS, SHIPMAN, CLUTE, QUACKENBUSH
Particularly to Sharlene Shipman Baker --
My husband's ancestor, Catherine Elliott married a Shipman - Interested in all
related genealogy and would like to hear from anyone receiving this e-mail.
This is your line -----
Especially would like to find info on Jacob Elliott married Mary, Rebecca German;
Luther (1) married Mary Jackson; and Luther (2) married Roseanna Duffy - have many
surnames, including ROSE, FULFORD, HARRIS, SHIPMAN, CLUTE, QUACKENBUSH and more.
- Will share information - Eager to communicate with any receiving this message. THANK YOU!
grasriv9@twcny.rr.com - address follows:
NANCY ELLIOTT
NY, USA
July 24, 2005:
To Gloria Poissant: (in reply to above posting dated March 12, 2003)
My grt grt grandparents were Thomas Jackson and Margaret Tomlinson. I am at odds
with everybody else researching them because I have a baptismal date and have viewed
the Bishops transcripts of Margaret Tomlinson's baptism in England and have a
record of their marriage in England in 1794. The article in the Wellington County
Atlas says (Thomas Jackson married Margaret Tomlinson) and came to Canada in 1795.
The children could not have been born in Ireland if he came to Canada in 1795.
Most of my info originally came from Eileen Jackson and she had decided that the
Mary Jackson that married Jacob Halpenny was our family because she had settled
who the other Mary Jackson had married.
Dr. Bob Jackson happened to mention that our Thomas Jackson family went to Quebec first.
I have been doing some research in Quebec, a John Jackson petitioned land there in 1795.
I have always felt that Thomas father was a John.
Nobody ever shows any proof of them coming from Ireland.
My line is from Reuben Giles and Ann Jackson.
... Margaret (Giles) Hall
August 1, 2007:
Hello,
Has anyone documented proof that any member of the Shipman family was a
United Empire Loyalist? Was Daniel Shipman born 1732 in Connecticut, USA,
died 1809 Leeds, Ontario, Canada a United Empire Loyalist? I have seen him
referred to as UEL but have also seen that According to the Directory of
Loyalists on the UELAC website, Daniel Shipman was suspended. What this
means is that he was removed from the early Loyalist lists, usually by an
Order in Council, but with some doubts and a clear opportunity to be
reinstated. Does anyone have information regarding this?
With thanks in advance,
Nancy Whyte
May 23, 2009:
Linda Hanly Reid has written a short biography of her Great Grandfather, Dr. John Frederick HANLY,
who was an early physician and surgeon in Almonte.
Doctor John Frederick HANLY of Almonte

November 15, 2009:
Roman Catholic Church in Almonte, Ontario
Picture Source: Lanark Legacy, by Howard Morton Brown, page 49

February 22, 2010:
Rosamond Textile Mill in Almonte in 1863
Source: Walling's Maps of Lanark County

Names of Peter Robinson Settlers in 1823 in the Almonte area:
Click here for Surnames from A to G
Click here for Surnames from H to N
Click here for Surnames from O to Z
February 27, 2010:
In 1942, a horrific train crash near Almonte claimed the lives of 33 persons. It was a head-on crash
involving a troop train from the army base at Petawawa, Otario and a passenger train.
Read the complete articles in the Ottawa Citizen, December 28, 1942
Source: Google Digital Archives
July 7, 2011:
The village of Rosebank, now Blakeney, was settled primarily by Lowland Scots in the early 1820's.
April 27, 2012:
Martha Gordon, Born in 1874, came to Canada in 1885 on the SS Sarmatian. I believe she was brought here by Maria Rye,
and was a British Homechild. Martha lived in Almonte Ontario.
She married my grandfather in Saskatchewan In 1904, had 8 children and died in 1942.
There is a Martha Gordon shown in the 1901 Census for Almonte as living as a boarder with the William Anderson family.
... Elinor Hinds
January 30, 2014:
Almonte was the centre of the Canadian textile industry in the 19th century. Many of the Scottish immigrants before
1850 had been weavers in Scotland and they brought their looms with them to the Ottawa Valley. The Mississippi Valley
was ideal for the development of the textile industry -- skilled artisans, fast flowing rivers to run the mills,
and a topography suitable to raising sheep. Many of these weavers came to Canada following the end of the
Napoleonic Wars when the British market for soldiers' uniforms slowed down.
Visit the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte. It is a museum which punches well above its weight. They have also
digitized the copies of the newspaper the Almonte Gazette starting about 1860. Visit their web site
(above) and click on "Collections". The records are searchable online.
January 23, 2019
Many of the towns and villages just outside of the city of Ottawa were located on rivers and could easily develop water-powered
mills, such as this one in Almonte on the Mississippi River.
The picture shows the Victoria Woolen Mills, c. 1860. These mills employed many of the Scottish weavers who came
to Lanark County in 1he 1820's.
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March 20, 2019:
Rosamond Wollen Mill at Almonte, Ontario, Canada (c. 1900)
Photo Source: Lanark Legacy, page 139
May 1, 2019:
Source for the following text block and picture of "Old Burnside" is
National Capital Heritage, page 4-5.
Keywords: Old Burnside, Almonte, Mississippi River, John Wylie, Scot.

E-mail Allan Lewis