I received the following information from Corson Ellis, Atlantic Highlands, NJ, email:
Corsone(a)aol.com, whom has granted his permission to allow me to republish it here. I have
done no editing on this data. If you would like more information, or Nellie fits into
your family, please contact Corson.
109. John Corson (1 Sep 1847-20 Aug 1908) was born in Grimsby. He grew up there and
following in the footsteps of his brother Dolph and father William Henry, he was the Capt.
of a lake schooner carrying coal, lumber, and other cargos between the Lake Ontario ports
of Oswego, Bellville, Kingston, and Deseronto. An old paybook from the years 1888-1891
shows John as master of, at first, the sail schooner Garibaldi, having succeeded his
brother, and then of the schooner W.J. Suffel. He and his wife, Nellie Carscadden
(1857-1935) of Lindsay lived in a handsome brick house in Hamilton of which their
grandaughter, Helen Brunton says they were exceeding proud.
But the grand old sailing schooners and the men that sailed them could neither compete nor
adjust to the new realities and culture of steam. John and Nellie sold the boat and came
up to Corson's siding where they opened a small store according to Beatrice Junkin.
After his father was blinded he took over management of the Corson operations per Bottling
and Lily, but towards the end of his life the timber was all cut, the market for lime had
declined, and the land was marginal for farming. Many young men moved west or to the
cities.
John and Nellie had three children, John called Percy, Sara called Sadie, and Bertie who
died in a mental hospital.
John's funeral card in the author's possession reads in part " The Funeral
will leave the G.T.R. (Grand Trunk Railway) station, Lindsay, on Monday, August 24th, at
10:15 a.m., on arrival of the morning train from Coboconk, and proceed to the Riverside
Cemetery for interment." After John died Nellie lived with her son and daughter in
law Percy and "Lil" * The Cascarden family history is in my files, a gift
from Helen Brunton.*
7 Jul 1998 rewritten
Known children of John Corson and Nellie Carscadden
228. Sarah Cordelia "Sadie" Corson (1881-1936) According to her daughter, Helen
Brunton, Wiljames Thompson (1905-4 Aug 1953) was an orphan- his mother Dublin-Irish, his
father a soldier who shipped out to India in the British Army. The mother came to London
to wait, but died, leaving the Bishop to take care of the child. When young, Wiljames -
and he was always called thus- came to Canada to work for a farmer in Ontario. He saved,
and put himself through the Ag. School at Guelph. This lead to a job as manager of a fruit
farm near Oakville near where Sadie Corson was teaching school. They were married in
1901on the 11th of Sept. * 932-106, 18433/01 OVS* They then moved to a job with Swift and
Co. which took them to the Guianas in South America, to Mexico, and other exotic places.
But malaria caught them, and they returned to Canada.
Wiljames was charming, articulate, and very adventurous. The west was opening up. He
bought two full sections of land (320 acres) along the Saskatchewan River at Clark's
Crossing, moved into a tent, and started planting and building.
Bad luck dogged their efforts. Early ripening wheat had not been developed, Wiljames
planted flax, it froze. The uncompleted house and barn with all their stored furniture
inside went up in flames when the fire set to clear the fields spread across the
firebreak. Wiljames and Sadie went bust. Next he turned to selling bonds to finance
construction of creameries for a local coop. Unable to pay him his salary, an agreement
was struck for him to take his pay from the proceeds of the sale of bonds until the coop
could make it up. They moved to Toronto. Life was good. Money plentiful. Daughter Helen
went to Havergal Women's boarding school in Toronto. They had a nice house on the
Crescent. Then growing conflict led the government to arrest him for stealing. Years later
he found the letter of agreement which would have exonerated him, but in the meantime they
could only pray. It was years later when Helen, age 25, got the then Prime Minister, R.B.
Bennett to hear her story, and st!
art the slow wheels of justice grinding which eventually ended with a letter of
exoneration and apology from the Ministry of Justice. The story told to me in Apr 1993 is
from their daughter, Helen Brunton, still alive and well in Toronto in 1998 age 93.
9 Jun 1998 NYC
180. ii. Alberta "Bertie" Corson(1886-1930) She grew up in Corson's Siding,
and died in a mental hospital in--- Never married.
284 iii. John Percival Corson (1891-1 Jun 1964) grew up at Corson's Siding, went to
local schools, and enjoyed hunting and fishing with young pals - and future relatives- Ben
and Joe Hannivan and Norm Scriver. In his tenties Percy married a local lady, Lillian
Laidlaw (1897-1990) and they settled on a farm between Corson's and the town of
Coboconk. Percy had inherited substantial acerage from his father- part of Captain
Corson's orgiginal holdings - and these now became valuable again as Torontonians came
north looking for summer retreats.
When the Province created Balsam Lake Provincial Park, Percy sold them a large piece of
land. The old Corson house is today still opposite the park entrance.
The railroad ran along the backside of Percy and Lil's farm, and every morning she
would slip through a hole in the fence, flag down the train, and catch a ride to her
teaching job in Cobokonk. One of her pupils was, according to Ernest Scriver, his father,
Norman. In time she became the first female elected to the school board.
The Corsons lived quietly. Percy was the elected Reeve of Coboconk, but there were no
children. He drove new Studebakers, and did "casual" farming. Percy's
funeral book in my possession, shows a long list of friends and relatives from far and
near. He was buried in Lakeview Cemetery, in Kirkfield, ON. After Percy's death
Lillian lived on in the house increasingly crippled by blindness and arthuritis. Her
niece, Helen Brunton then 84 came to care for her till the end. * Information for the
above comes from long conversations with Helen Brunton and Lily Corson and Beatrice
Junkin*
NYC 9 July 1998