William McClure |
Very little is known about our William McClure, it's possible he married Mary Ashbridge somewhere in Pennsylvania and all that is known is that they had a child. Mary Ashbridge was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania in about 1766 and died in 1841 in York (Toronto). Mary was the third eldest daughter of eleven children of Jonathan Ashbridge and Sarah James. Jonathan, who was raised by devoted quaker parents died during the American Revolution about 1782. William McClure and Mary Ashbridge had only one son together named James, born in about 1788 and young James went by the surname of McClure. William either died or left, sometime around the birth of James, and his whereabouts are unknown. In 1793, Mary and her young son, James McClure emmigrated to York (Toronto, Canada) with Mary's widowed mother Sarah (James) Ashbridge and several of Sarah's children. Mary Ashbridge married a Parker Mills either shortly before or after arriving in York. Apparently, they spent their first nights near the ruins of the old french, Fort Rouille where the C.N.E. grounds exists today. Shortly after arriving they travelled 1 1/2 miles east of the Don River and started clearing land and building a home. In 1796, they were granted this land which total 600 acres between Ashbridge Bay on Lake Ontario and present - day Danforth Avenue. Sarah and her family started clearing and farming their land. In 1799, Sarah and her two sons and sons-in-law also petitioned and received land in Scarborough. Today at 1444 Queen St.E.(1Km.east
of Greenwood Ave.) in Toronto stands the historical ASHBRIDGE HOUSE and just 200 ft. east of the house is the site of a previous house built in 1809 and also the original site of the log cabin. A historical plaque located at the N/W corner of Queen St. and Woodfield Ave. commemorates the site of the log cabin and over two centuries of Ashbridge history. The Ashbridge House was built by Sarah's grandson Jesse Ashbridge in 1854. |
James McClure |
James McClure lived with his mother Mary and step-father Parker Mills and their children on their farm next to the Ashbridge's. Sarah Ashbridge died in 1801 and with no legal will, her 200 acres of Scarborough land descended to her son John and her Toronto lands to her eldest son Jonathan. In 1834, the 200 acres of Scarborough land was divided in half and sold to Sarah's two grandson's James McClure for 100 pounds and years later to Andrew Heron for 200 pounds. James married Delilah Barton in 1818 and several years later settle on their new Scarborough farm and raised twevle children, James b:1819, Mary b:1821, Hannah b:1823, Sarah b:1825, Joseph b:1826, Phoebe b:1829, Harriet b:1831, Isaac b:1833, Amy b:1835, Jesse b:1838, Elizabeth b:1841, and Rebecca b:1845. Delilah died due to the birth of Rebecca and James died in 1861 at his son-in-law Alex Thompson's home and hotel/tavern in Scarborough. |
Jesse McClure |
Jesse was born circa 1838 on the Scarborough farm located on the south-west corner of Kingston Rd. and Midland Ave. where his father farmed 100 acres. Jesse married a Martha Swallow (1835-1871) in 1859, they had four children Clara b:1860, Matthew b:1862, Annie b:1870 and Bev's Ggrandfather James b:1871. Clara and Matthew were both born on a Scarborough farm just east of James McClure's farm and several years later Annie was born somewhere north of Toronto. Martha died shortly after the birth of James and she is resting near Dundalk,Ontario. In 1873, Jesse married a Mary West (1854-1939) and had an additional five children, Joseph b:1874, Herbert b:1877, Mary b:1880, Jesse b:1884, and Harriet b:1890. In 1915, Jesse passed away in Toronto. SEE PHOTOS |
James McClure |
James was born in 1871 on a London, Ontario farm. In May 1898, James who was a tailor by trade married Margaret Jane Walker Graham who was born in 1880 in Toronto. James and Margaret were married in Toronto and raised a total of ten children, eight girls and two boys. Bev's grandmother Jessie b:1899, Shirley b:1901, Lola b:1904, James b:1905, Ada b:1906, Matthew b:1908, Violet b:1911, Daisy b:1918, Norma b:1921, and Margaret b:1924. James and Margaret's children were all born in Toronto. Margaret died on February 9, 1929, James remarried a Josephine "Doddie" Foster and James died January 1, 1961. SEE PHOTO |
Jessie McClure |
Jessie was born in Toronto in 1899 and married Thomas John Letcher who was born in 1898 in Bristol, England. Tom and Jessie had three children, Margaret Jane (Babsie) b:1931 who tragically passed away 27 months later, Bev's mother Jessie Irene b:1932 and Robert b:1935 and they were also born in Toronto. Jessie Irene married Bev's father, Charles A. Higginson who was born in Toronto in 1926, they reared five children Graham b:1957 who also tragically passed away 20 months later, Barbara b:1960, Beverley b:1961, Beth b:1964, and Brenda b:1966 who were also born in Toronto. |
HELLO, my name is Frank and my wife Bev and I have three children ranging from the ages of 11 to 17. They're great kid's, most of the time... Family is very important to Bev and I and thats why we are tracing our family history. Actually Bev is a McClure, on her mother's side and both of my parents are Portuguese from Terceira,Azores, but that's another story and a future web page. We have over 2200 descendants of William McClure and the Ashbridge's documented, and if you have any information or would like to know any information on The McClure's of Canada or The Ashbridge's, drop me an e-mail...fazevedo@attcanada.ca
