I mentioned in my last post that Granddad Jerry (James Herbert Jerry) had one sister. He also had four older brothers and two younger ones. One brother, Justin was four years old when he died in 1881 in Essex County of mortification (gangrene or necrosis). This was before Granddad Jerry was born. Edward, who had meningitis when he was ten, died in Scarborough Township in 1884 when Granddad was two years old.
“There was only one girl in the family so all the boys learned to knit. Grandma [Sarah Harriet] would start the stocking and the boys knit to the heel. Grandma always rounded off the heels and toes. One time the boys knit a two foot long leg for a joke and she had to rip it back before she could turn the heel. The boys whittled her a rolling pin out of wood so she could make them apple pie.”
Robert Jerry, father, Albert, Sarah Harriet, mother,  back row Edward and possibly William




















William or Bill Jerry ca 1904 at the homestead

William Barnet Jerry The oldest son of Robert and Harriet Smith was William Barnet Jerry, born on June 9, 1870 in Keppel Township, Grey County, Ontario. He spent most of his life with his father farming in Grey County then moved to Crozier in the early 1900's with the family. By 1921 he was back Grey County working as a hired hand on his Aunt Pheobe Belshaw's farm (his mother's sister). On July 12, 1923 at the age of 53 he married the 24 year old Isabella Currie and fathered two sons, Edward William (1924) and Archie (1926). He  moved to Collingwood in Simcoe County sometime between 1924 and 1926. There is also a death for a Donald Jerry in 1931 born to William Jerry and Bella Currie. That would mean William fathered a child at the age of 61 or not. I'll check the original on Wednesday and let you know. William died of tuberculosis on September 14, 1935 at age 65 at the Muskoka Hospital for Consumptives. His death certificate states he was born in 1864, aging him by 6 years. We know from his government birth registration he was born in 1870. Perhaps he looked older than he was. I was unable to find more information on Isabella, whether she remarried or when she died.

  
 Robert Jerry Robert was born August 24, 1879 in St. Vincent, Grey County, Ontario. When he was a baby his family moved to Essex County and as a toddler he was probably in Scarborough, Ontario where his brother Edward died. By 1891 his family moved back to Grey County where it looks like he lived the rest of his life. He married Grace Deleor (or Deleree) on March 23 1904 in Walters Falls, Grey County, Ontario. There were four children listed in the 1921 census; Pansy Lenora born February 14, 1909; Grace Helene born August 8, 1917; Robert Ivan born June 11, 1919; and Lulu Audrey born May 14, 1921. There is a large gap between the first and second child so there may have been children who died prior to 1921. All of the kids were born in Grey County. Robert died in 1954 and Grace died in 1970. Someone put a family tree on ancestry.com where it says Pansy married Benjamin White. She died in 1983 in Owen Sound, Ontario. According his parents tombstone Robert Ivan (Ivan) died in 2006. I was unable to find any other information on their children.


 
Tombstone of Robert Jerry , Grace Deleree, and Ivan Jerry at the Markdale Cemetery, Grey Highlands; Grey, Ontario.
















Albert Jerry, Herb Jerry, and Edward Jerry ca 1904
Abel Edward Jerry Just over a year after Edward died, Abel Edward was born, May 1, 1885, in Grey County, Ontario. In the 1891 census he is called Abel but by the 1901 census they started to call him Edward. In 1911 he was living with his parents in Crozier, Ontario. He married Verna Stewart on August 18, 1919. They had one daughter, Mary Harriet Glenna, born September 23, 1922 in Fort Frances, Ontario. Glenna married Herbert Rowland. She died in 2010 in Fort Frances. Gramma Miller was a contemporary of Glenna and often spoke of her. The Military Service Act of 1917 required that men register for military service so Edward registered but was probably not called up. According to his obituary he served as a councilor in Alberton municipality. Edward died November 9, 1951 at his home in Crozier. Verna, his wife, died 13 years later on August 6, 1964. They are buried in Riverview Cemetery, Fort Frances, Ontario.




 Albert Jerry Albert was born in Wiarton, Bruce County, Ontario, on July 4, 1889. I’m not convinced he was born in Wiarton. His birth wasn’t registered when it occurred so Albert gave the information himself in 1955 and it may not be absolutely correct. However, Wiarton is very close to Keppel where the family was living in 1885 so the information may be correct. Albert was a farmer like the rest of his brothers. His family moved to Crozier, Ontario when he was about 2 years old and he lived there the rest of his life. Although he married Clara Moore in Alice, Renfrew, Ontario on January 27, 1915 so he must have left home for some reason. Albert and Clara were unable to have children but they adopted Harley Benjamin Jamieson. and fostered Dave Craven.





I'd be happy to hear from you if you have more information, stories or photos of any of the Jerry boys, or if you'd like to know where I got my information. Just click on the contact me button at the top right.

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