February 10, 2004:

I am searching for anyone who may be a descendent of Robert, b. 1757, Nathaniel , 
b. 1798, or Rebecca Conley 1808, immigrated from Wexford to Carleton County, March twp.
Rebecca married John Ray in 1827. I am trying to establish where in Ireland they lived, 
as I suppose Wexford may have been a point of embarkation. The name on the 1841 census is 
sometimes spelled Conaly, with numerous variations over the years, but the signatures 
were Conley. They were farmers and landowners. 
Thank you. 
D. Conley Dean  
rdcdean@yahoo.com
February 27, 2004:
Hi Al, I've tried to make some order out of my sketchy knowledge so that you may post it. 
Please bear with me..I'll get better as time goes by. Please edit as you see fit. 
Noble Carruthers of Bracky, Co Fermanagh, Ireland   
http:/freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~johncarruthers/pafg 111.htm posted : 
Hugh Conley: b.about 1781 in...Ireland    d. about 1841 in...Ireland m. Rebecca 
Conley about 1806   Rebecca:  b. about 1786 in...Ireland. d. about1846 inIreland 
Children: Fi  Rebecca Conley b.1808 in Co. Wexford. Ireland. d. 31 March 1879, 
March twp, Carleton Co. 
Rebecca married in 1827 John "The 1st RAY"  b.1805, Liverpool d. Dec.1881 in March Twp 
Children: M i John "The 2nd RAY"  b. 10 Aug.1834 in March Twp. d.Jan 1908 
married Sarah Kennedy. 
They had five children: Sharlotte, Robert , Flornce, Elonzo, Ephrim, Martha 
Robert "Bert" Ray married Florence Mat Navin 
I  am trying to make the connection with this family ( HUGH and Rebecca) to my 
great great grandfather, Nathaniel Conley b. 1798, Ireland d. 1875 m. Mary Ann Burke, 
b. 1818 Ireland d. 1907. They had 12  children: Hugh, Rebecca, Mary, Eliza Jane, 
Nathaniel, William J. Catherine, John, Patherck, Albert ,Michael, many of whom 
migrated West to Melfort, Saskatchewan when the province opened up. 
Rebecca married  Wm.Davis. d. in 1919,  Children, Nathaniel,Marion, Ida Callison, Theresa,John 

Many members of these families are buried in the St. John's Cemetary in Anglican 
Cemetary  or in the Wesleyan Methodist area if there is such. 

I am also searching the Gainford family. (this sometimes appears as Gainforth in 
the same headstone) Michael Conley( my great grandfather) married Dorothy Gainford, 
daughter of Henry Gainford and Mary Collins. They are also buried in St John's. 
Michael and Dorothy went to Melfort and are buried there.
February 29, 2004:
Thanks to Ken Armstrong for the following:

Darlene and Al;
 
Here is your William Davis, who married Rebecca Conley:
 
Census Place: Nepean, Carleton, Ontario, Canada
 Source: FHL Film 1375867  NAC C-13231  Dist 108  SubDist A  Div 4  Page 31  Family 127
 Sex Marr Age Origin Birthplace
William DAVIS M M 46 Irish Ontario, Occ: Farmer Religion: Church of England 
Rebecca DAVIS F M 40 Irish Ontario, Religion: Church of England 
Robert Edward DAVIS M  20 Irish Ontario, Occ: Farmer Religion: Church of England 
William Henry DAVIS M  18 Irish Ontario, Occ: Farmer Religion: Church of England 
Mary Ann DAVIS F  16 Irish Ontario, Religion: Church of England 
Nathaniel DAVIS M  14 Irish Ontario, Religion: Church of England 
Hugh Sprole / Sproule DAVIS M  12 Irish Ontario, Religion: Church of England 
Rebecca Jane DAVIS F  10 Irish Ontario, Religion: Church of England 
John Albert DAVIS M  8 Irish Ontario, Religion: Church of England 
Teressa Maria DAVIS F  6 Irish Ontario, Religion: Church of England 
Ida Selena Mary DAVIS F  4 Irish Ontario, Religion: Church of England
 
I also have a Sarah Conley, b. abt 1850, married Charles Smith b. 1848, d. abt 
1927, 9 Nov 1879 Christ Church, Ottawa, Ontario, her parents were listed as 
Nathaniel and Mary Ann Unknown, any idea if she belongs to Nathaniel Conley 
and Mary Ann Burke. Charles Smith's parents were James Smith, b. abt 1794, 
d. 6 Feb 1875, Buried in Bell's Corners, and Mary Morphy, b. abt 1809 married: 
2 Jan 1826, Mary's parents were Edmond Morphy and Barbara Miller.
 
Ken Armstrong
August 5, 2004:
Hi Al. 
Again I'm seeking help to crawl over an Irish stone wall.  
I'm at a stand still on my born in Ireland gr.gr. grandmother, Mary anne Burke, 
born in Ireland in1818 and married Nathaniel Conley, born in Ireland in 1798. 
Both emigrated to Ontario, Nathaniel we think in about 1824 with parents 
Hugh and Rebecca( Hugh drowned in Lake Chaudiere in 1826) All are buried 
in St. John's Anglican Cemetery in South March. Mary Anne died 2/3/1907 Holland Ave., 
Hintonburg. (buried in St. John's) I thought that if I could get a copy of her 
obituary I might get some information. Her grandson, William Davis MD of Ottawa- 
or his mother (Rebecca Conley Davis) may have written a lengthy obit.  
How do I access the 1904 Ottawa Citizen obit. archives? I've tried everything 
I can think of. I've got so much information and so many leads off Bytown or Bust, 
I can't begin to thank you enough. Sincerely Darlene Conley Dean
_______________________
Darlene:

Try sending an e-mail to the Ottawa Citizen. Their web site is at ottawacitizen.com
Hopefully, they'll do a quick look up for the obituary (for free). It shouldn't
be difficult since you already have a date.
Failing that, the National Archives here in Ottawa has the Ottawa Citizen on 
microfilm. Again,January 12, 2005:
one of their staff should do a lookup for free.
... Al
January 12, 2005: 
Hi Al,

After receiving a mail from Debbie Prince and checking my notes I think 
I would like to correct my posting of Jan 2005 see notes below in bold - 


Thanks
Lori
_________________________

 September 8, 2006:

This posting replaces a previous posting dated January 12, 2005:

My name is Lori Ray and I am a descendant of John Ray and Rebecca Conley, 
though their son, Nathaniel. I am also interested in the history of either 
family prior to coming to March township. 
 
I have some info on the Ray's:
 
John the 1st married Rebecca Conley in Ireland - my date is 1820
they had 13 children
Rebecca - who married William Henry Holbrook and had 7 children
Hugh - my records indicate born in Toronto May 1823 - not married
Nathaniel (the 1st) - who married Ellen Jane Armstrong and had 13 children 
(my great, great grandfather)
Catherine
John (the 2nd) - married to Sarah Kennedy and had nine children
Maria - married Edward Holbrook and had 8 children
Sarah -married William Henderson and had 3 children
William - married Mary Ann McTiernan and had 9 children
Robert - *married Frances Scharf*  (married Anne Carruthers and had 7 
children is not correct)
Marriane 
Elizabeth
Francis
Mary Ann - married George Mellean (see posting dated May 20, 2005), 
*married a second time to Robert Scharf*
 
Not sure if any of this helps you.
 
... Lori
_______________________

and thanks to Ken Armstrong for the following:

Hi Lori and Everyone else on the list;
 
From my records, the son of John Ray and Sarah Kennedy, Robert Ray was b. 1870 
and married Anna Mary Carruthers about 1896, she was  b. 1869 (Anna Mary Carruthers 
was the daughter of Robert Carruthers and Sarah Ann Humphries). Therefore the 
Robert Ray (son of John Ray and Rebecca Conley) you show in your E-Mail as marrying 
Anne Carruthers could be wrong, unless there was another Anne Carruthers born in the 
1830s, which is a possibility. The tombstone for Robert and Anna Mary is in St. 
James Anglican Cemetery, Carp, Ontario as follows:
St. James Anglican Church Cemetery, Carp, Ontario
Cemetery Stone Inscription:
RAY
Robert  1870-1947
His Wife
Anna Mary Carruthers
1870-1945
Martha Emmaline
Wife of
Wallace T. Leslie
1900-1948
 
Also in the St. John's Church Cemetery, South March, Ontario, I found the 
following Holbrook Stones:
St. John's Church Cemetery, South March, Carleton County, Ontario
Cemetery Stone Inscription:
HOLBROOK
William Henry  1844-1928
His Wife
Rebecca Ray  1830-1914
William  1866-1932
John  1870-1937
Frank  1873-1941
 
There are also cemetery stones for the following Holbrooks:
James A, Holbrook 1870-1944 his wife Emily Burns 1868-1949;
Robert S. Holbrook 1873-1955  his wife Clara May Thomas 1883-1959; and
Charity E. Brown D: Jan 14, 1912 Aged: 31  wife of David Holbrook D: Feb 9, 1949, Aged 69
Their son:
Corp. Robert L. Holbrook
Co. K, 26 INF. 1st Div. U.S.A.
Killed in France Aug 17, 1918, Aged 17 Yrs.
 
... Ken Armstrong
______________
Lori and Everyone:
 
I forgot to include the following Tombstone for Daughters of John and Rebecca Ray as follows:
 
St. John's Anglican Church Cemetery South March, Carleton County, Ontario:
Cemetery Stone Inscription:
RAY
Mary Ann
Died: Aug 8, 185? (hard to read the exact year)
Aged 9 Months
Elizabeth
Died: ????? (cannot make out the year)
Aged 3 Years
Children of
John & Rebecca Ray
 
... Ken Armstrong
January 13, 2005:
Hi!  Just to let anyone interested I too am a descendent of John Ray and 
Rebecca Conley.  I have been doing genealogical research on this family 
since the 1970's . I can not get back to England or Ireland on this family 
as of now.  Have information from all Canadian Censuses, many birth marriages 
and deaths plus some information in regard to the township records of 
March (Kanata). If anyone is interested please e-mail me.  
... Barb Hadden

May 20, 2005:

Hello
 
My name is George Edward Mellean. I was doing a "Google" search and came across 
your site. 
My Great-Grandfather was also George L. Mellean (see Lori's posting above, January 12, 2005), 
married to Sarah ("Sadie") Kyle. They are both interred at Maple Grove Cemetary in Kanata. 
His father, George Mellean was married to Mary Ann Ray. They only had the 1 
child, George L. Mellean. 
Mary Ann (Ray) became a young widow and married a second time to a Scharf, 
and I was told (by my Grandparents) that she is interred in the old Scharf Cemetery 
at Hazeldean (Kanata). She also had another child with Mr. Scharf. I believe that 
those descendants are now in British Columbia.
 
I always wondered about my family tree, as my father, was an only child. 
(I have 2 other brothers and 2 sisters).
 
My Grandfather, Herman Gorley Mellean was married to Sarah Ethel Sparks, of South March. 
Her brothers, William Morgan Edward Sparks, and Fleming Potter Sparks were both well 
known well drillers.
 
I guess I better wait for a reply instead of babbling on. 
Hope to hear from one of you soon.
 
George Edward Mellean
E-mail: georgemellean@videotron.ca
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