History of the Searle Family

The purpose of this document is to provide the descendants of Arthur Samuel Thomas Searle and Isabella McGinn a history of their ancestors on the Searle side of the family, going as far back in time as possible.

Part 6: The Children of Joseph Searle and Mary Ann Trim

Joseph’s sons with Mary Ann Trim stayed for the most part in Guelph, except for Joseph.

Joseph Searle - Farming in Durham County

Margaret (Maggie) Lucille Searle, daughter of Joseph Searle and Sarah Jane McGahey, and her husband, Frank Dring. Date Unknown.

Joseph Searle (1848 – 1900), at the age of 15, was living by himself in the Township of Clarke, Durham County, which is near the Township of Hope, where he was born. He married Sarah Jane McGahey on February 15th, 1869, and continued to live in Clarke and then Hope until his death on April 26th, 1900. Joseph and Sarah had 6 children together: Margaret Lucille Dring (1868 - 1946), James Henry (1872 – 1936), Mary Elisabeth McMillen (1878 – 1950), Robert George (1883 – 1960), Samuel David (1885 – 1963), and Joseph Milton (1887 – 1962). James, Margaret, Mary, and Samuel all stayed in the Durham region (Hope, Whitby, Oshawa, and Orono, respectively), while Robert and Joseph moved out west in the 1910s: both moved to Saskatchewan and eventually Joseph made his way out to White Rock, BC.

Samuel Trim Searle - Namesake of Great Grandfather

Samuel Trim Searle lived in Concord, Erie County, New York in 1870 and married Sarah Amelia Thomas on July 18th, 1872, at Troy, Wentworth County, Ontario. They moved to Guelph and had a son named Daniel in 1873. Samuel Trim died at the age of 31 on October 25th, 1879, in Guelph. His funeral took place on Monday, October 27th at his residence on Arthur Street. It is unknown where he was buried. In 1881, Sarah and Daniel were still living in Guelph. Sarah married Alexander Stephenson on February 8th, 1882 and continued living in Guelph until her death in 1935. It is not clear what happened to Daniel Searle, however, he likely died between 1881 and 1891.

Celia Searle, daughter of George Searle, taken circa 1910.

George Searle - Baker in Guelph

George Searle stayed in Guelph until his death on July 9th, 1915, at the age of 71. On the 1861 Canada Census, at the age of 17, George was living in Guelph and working as a laborer. He married Ellen McEllistrum around 1864 and they had 8 children together between 1865 and 1882: Mary Ann Foran (1865 – 1913), Edmund (1866 – 1913), Catherine Norman (1869 – 1929), Ellen Attrell (1870 – 1963), George (1874 – 1938), Joseph (1876 – 1877), Julia Schopp (1879 – 1898), and Samuel Richard (1882 – 1883). George served as a butcher under Mr. Nickason in Eramosa for a few years before becoming a baker in Guelph, learning the trade under Mr. Andrew Armstrong. He remained a baker and confectionary merchant with stores on Ontario and Macdonell streets in downtown Guelph until his death in 1915. His wife, Ellen, died in 1884. George then married Annie Elizabeth White on June 14th, 1885. George and Annie had 3 children together: Martha Jane Heffernan (1886 – 1964), John Henry (1888 – 1969), and Cecelia Etta Kane (1890 – 1973). George was also step-father to Annie’s daughter from her first marriage, Mary Ann Monahan (1879 – 1948).

Catherine Searle, daughter of George Searle, and her husband, William J. Norman. Taken 1888.

George had two grandchildren serve in World War I: William James Norman (1892 – 1951) and John Price Searle (1889 – 1945). William Norman enlisted on September 24th, 1914, with the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force and served in France with the Remount Depot as a driver for the rest of the war until he returned to Canada on March 5th, 1919. John Searle enlisted on October 26th, 1914, and sailed from Halifax to France on April 18th, 1915. He served in France with the 18th Battalion until he suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was admitted to the General Hospital in Boulogne, France, on April 7th, 1916. John survived and was discharged on June 2nd, 1916.

Joseph's Children with Isabella McCowan (Cummins) and Jane McKee (Orton)

Of Joseph Searle’s children with Isabella Cummins and Jane McKee, 3 lived to adulthood. Mary Isabella Searle was a servant in the household of John Gibson in Arthur, Ontario, in 1871 at the age of 15. She married Sidney Rachar in Mount Forest, Ontario on January 22nd, 1884. Mary Isabella and Sidney had two children, Oliver Norman (1884 – 1961) and Mabel Angeline (1886 – 1919). Sidney died in 1891, and both Mary Isabella and her daughter Mabel died in 1919 in Toronto.

Elizabeth “Jennie” Searle moved to Michigan with Joseph and Jane and married Dell Willis in 1887 and Frank Ervin Styles in 1890. Jennie and Frank had 4 children: Jessie May Smith (1894 – 1957), Ervin Holmes (1897 – 1978), James Thomas (1902 – 1966), and Nora Idoria Lang (1905 – 1927). Jennie continued living in Michigan until her death in Detroit, Michigan on December 21st, 1935.

John Wesley Searle lived in Michigan most of his life. He lived with his parents in Burlington, Lapeer, Michigan in 1880. In 1887, he married Cora Levina Cooper in Wilber, Iosco, Michigan. Cora and John had one child together: Wesley James (1888 – 1976). Cora died around 1890; John then married Lucy Ann Scott on October 8th, 1891. John and Lucy had 3 children together: Laura Loranger (1893 – 1966), Mary Amy (1895 – 1977), and John (1915 – 1992). Lucy died in 1929, and John married a third time to Sarah W Kelly on June 1st, 1931. John Wesley was a farmer and stayed in Wilbur, Iosco County, Michigan, until his death on July 3rd, 1940.