. . Stanley Spillett was born in Stalisfield, Kent, England in 1809. His father was Richard Spillett and his mother was Mary Mace. I have this line back as far as 1525, but only have names and dates, no personal information.Hannah Paxman was also born in England in 1820, and her parents were John Paxman and Hannah (maiden name unknown.)
Hannah's father John Paxman possibly fought in the War of 1812. According to a genealogist in Toronto, the lands given away on the north shore of Lake Simcoe were given to officers from the War of 1812. John Paxman was given a plot of land in Oro Township (just north of Lake Simcoe) for his services. In 1834 he brought his wife Hannah Sr., his 3 sons, his daughter Hannah Jr., her husband Stanley Spillett and their baby son Samuel.
Hannah and her mother could not read or write. All members of the family were Methodist.
Stanley and Hannah purchased a plot of land in Tecumseth Township in Simcoe County, just south of Cookstown in Ontario. They soon had a very large family:
Samuel, born in England in 1839.
The rest of their large brood were born in Ontario:
Stanley, born 1844
Richard, born 1846
Martha, born 1848
Mary, born 1850
Isaac, born 1854
Hannah, born 1855
Charlotte, born 1857
Sarah Ann, born 1859
John, born 1861Stanley and Hannah were quite well-off, considering the average living conditions and income of families of the area in the 1860s. They owned 1 horse, 1 cow, and 3 pigs valued at $39.00. They also had a horse carriage valued at $10.00. Their single story frame home was located on 1 ½ acres in Tecumseth Township, in Simcoe County, Ontario. The house was valued at $100.00. It no longer stands.
Stanley Spillett ran a brick making business. The kiln was located on the lot across the road from his, so it is assumed that he rented this from the owner Robert Carter. He employed 3 men and paid out a total of annual wages of $60.00. They made 150,000 bricks per year by hand and delivered them by horse and carriage. His business was valued at $600.00 in the year 1861.
The Spillett family was always listed as "Methodist" in the census returns, so it is assumed that they must have attended the Newton Robinson Methodist Church which still stands in the little hamlet of Newton Robinson, Ontario. Given its close proximity to the Spillett brick kiln, I have often wondered if this charming little chapel was built with "Spillett bricks". It is now owned by the United Church of Canada and still holds services. It is surrounded by a graveyard which has many members of the Baycroft family which later became relatives of the Spillett family when grandson Merritt, son of Isaac Spillett, married Olive Baycroft, daughter of Thomas Baycroft. (They, however moved west to Manitoba, and are not in the little cemetery.)
In 1861 our Samuel was working as a carpenter.
In 1866, Samuel married Margaret Cleary/Clarey (I have found her name spelled both ways in several different sources) in Tecumseth Township, Simcoe, Ontario. Margaret was born in County Fermanagh, Ireland and came to Canada in 1847.
While living in Tecumseth, Samuel and Margaret had five living children:
John James Spillett, born 1868
Jemima Spillett, born 1873 (our ancestor)
Mary Anne Spillett, born 1874
Thomas C. Spillett, born 1878
Margaret (Maggie) Spillett, born 1881As of 1871, Samuel was still earning his living as a carpenter.
Stanley Spillett died in 1882 and was buried in Wilson's Hill Cemetery in Newton Robinson, Ontario... just a brisk walk away from his home. Hannah died later, and although we don't know for sure if she is buried in Wilson's Hill Cemetery, it is assumed as Stanley had previously purchased 6 plots in the cemetery.
We only know the son Samuel died before 1890, because his wife Margaret was now listed in the Farmer's Directory of 1890 as the owner of Lot 20 Conc 9 in Tecumseth Township. His brothers moved west in 1890 to purchase cheap land in Manitoba. I wonder if Samuel went with them hoping for a better life for his family and died somewhere along the way, as I have never found an Ontario registration of death or a burial place. Or perhaps he, too, is buried with his parents in Wilson's Hill Cemetery. Unfortunately the internment records for Wilson's Hill Cemetery are incomplete, and although we know Stanley Spillett purchased 6 plots in the cemetery, we only know for sure that he is indeed buried there.
Samuel's brothers settled in Dauphin Manitoba and became quite successful farmers and business men.
A year later in 1891, the widow Margaret was found in the census living with her daughter Jemima and her new husband John Joseph Hodgins in the town of Aurora. She was listed as a widow and working as a "washing maid". Mary Anne, Thomas and Maggie were also living with them as children. I have not found the oldest son John James Spillett yet.
Jemima's new husband John Joseph Hodgins, his older brother James Hodgins, and Jemima's brother Thomas all worked for the Spillett brickmaking company.
Margaret Clarey Spillett died on the 14th of March, 1915 of chronic bronchitis and heart failure. According to her obituary, her last address was 15 Mosley Street, Aurora. (I have since visited the home and it is one of the original homes in the town of Aurora. It is still lovely today.) She was buried in the Aurora Cemetery. In the same plot is her daughter Jemima Spillett Hodgins, granddaughter Helen Jean Hodgins (a spinster), and an unnamed infant Spillett child.