Acton

(submitted by Lorne Acton)

William Joseph Acton (1791–1847) and his wife, the former Mary Carshore (1797–1872), along with eight of their ten children (some already married), emigrated to Canada in 1843. William was a shoemaker by trade. The family departed from Westport, Ireland, on the 24th of May and arrived in Montreal on the 3rd of July, which was a very fast crossing for the times. From Montreal they travelled to Toronto via stagecoach, a trip of about fourteen days. They resided in Toronto until William died of typhus on the 4th of October, 1847.

Mary then packed up all the family except for the eldest son, Joseph, who remained in Toronto, and they travelled to Warwick Twp. Accompanying Mary were: Mary Ann (1815–1892) who married Rochford Dillon Coristine in Ireland; Jane (1819–1892) who married Francis Parker; Frances (1821–1873) who married Thomas Duncan; John (1826–1900) who married Sarah Ellis; Richard (1828– 1917) who married Sarah Saunders; Eliza (1831–1917) who married Andrew Lucas; William (1834–1932) who married Naomi Reid; and James (1837–1925) who married Ellen Watson and lived on a farm in Warwick Township.

Mary Acton bought 50 acres of uncleared land from a Mrs. Burns on the Warwick-Brooke Townline (Lot 9, Con. 6 SER). When Mrs. Acton discovered that most of her neighbours were Protestant, she moved to the Second Line of Warwick where there was a Roman Catholic settlement.

6th Line Group threshing gang: Top: Saunders Lucas, Tom Leach. Middle: Jim Henry Higgins, Sam Janes, Willie John Henderson, Walter Kelly, Jim Creasey, “Curly” Jim Moffatt, Tom Sisson, John Leach, Jim Summerville, Jack Owens. Front: William Leach, George Creasey, John Acton, Charlie Janes, Robert Creasey. Courtesy L Acton.

William Acton, the son of Mary and William Joseph, was born in County Mayo, in southern Ireland. He was only nine or ten years old when he came to Canada at the time of “the great scourge” (typhus fever). William had five brothers and five sisters. According to family stories, their mother brought them to Warwick Twp. when it was all bush land, with wolves howling at night. There was no Watford or Alvinston yet. They had to clear the land, not only cut down the trees but also remove the stumps, before they could grow anything. They lived in a log house covered with clapboard.

William's brother Richard farmed in Warwick Twp., Lambton County all his life. Richard and Sarah had five children. They were Joseph, William J., Mary, Martha and Thomas. After Sarah's death, Richard married Mrs. Eliza Knowles, in 1869. There were no children of this union.

Richard and Sarah's son Thomas (1867–) was educated in Warwick Twp. He remained at home until 1882, when he bought a farm in Enniskillen Twp.

The original Acton homestead, Lot 9, Con. 6 SER, bought by Mary is no longer in the Acton family. But the descendants of James and Ellen Acton, the youngest son  of  Mary  and  William  J. —  grandson John Acton (1863–1954), great grandson Clayton Acton (1899–1987) and great-great-grandson Douglas Acton (1927–) — still farm on the Warwick side of the Townline, on a farm that James' older brother John Acton hacked out of a raw one hundred acre plot.

Doug Acton's brother Lorne (1932–) married Arlette Comeau in 1959. They have three children: Desiree, Maureen and Lorne Jr., who have all moved out of the area. Lorne is very active in the Watford Legion. He was stationed in France after World War II. He started as an aircraft technician at Camp Borden, then became an instrument electrical technician and went overseas to Grostenquin in 1954. He worked as a flight simulator technician in Chatham, New Brunswick and later Camp Borden, until he retired in 1972.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Acton Family

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