Ernest Benjamin Gillis Family History

William GILLIS[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Male 1803 - 1889  (86 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name William GILLIS  [6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
    Born 20 Aug 1803  Glaslough, Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  [6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14
    Christened 4 Sep 1803  Glaslough, Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Baptism 4 Sep 1803  Glaslough Monaghan Eire Find all individuals with events at this location 
    William son of Robert & Catherine Gillis 
    • 4/9/1803  William son of Robert & Catherine Gillis, Glaslough
      per Donagh Records held by Ethne (Mar 2019)

      Note: this likely means that he was born in 1803?
    Fact 1 1826  [6
    Fact 1 Emigrated to Canada with brother James. 
    Emigration 12 Jul 1826  [6
    Ship "Bolivar" Quebec, Canada 6 weeks 3 days at sea 
    Fact 2 12 Jul 1826  [6
    Arrived at Quebec 3 weeks after the brig Caledonia had landed. 
    alt. Marriage 4 Mar 1832 
    Residence 1861  M?gantic, Canada East, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [11
    Residence 1871  Quebec, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [13
    Residence Abt 1881  M?gantic, Quebec, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [12
    Buried 1889  Boutelle Cemetery, Inverness, Megantic Co., Quebec Find all individuals with events at this location  [6, 7, 15
    Died 20 Dec 1889  Inverness, Megantic County, Quebec, Canada (Gillis Corners) Find all individuals with events at this location  [6, 7, 8, 16, 17
    Alt. Death 28 Dec 1889 
    _UID 8FCFFB7A2AAC42FAB1B2E0D448EA22ACFC4F 
    Person ID I43  tag1
    Last Modified 31 Mar 2019 

    Father Robert GILLIS,   b. 1771, Monaghan, Monaghan, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Nov 1857, Church of St. Salvator, Donagh County, Monoghan, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 86 years) 
    Mother Catherine McDOWELL,   b. 1774, Monaghan, Monaghan, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   bur. Glaslough, Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F13  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Nancy ROBINSON,   b. 5 Aug 1815, Armagh, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Jul 1887, Inverness, Megantic County, Quebec (Boutelle Cemetary) Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 71 years) 
    Married 4 Mar 1833  Ch. Of England, Leeds, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location  [6, 7, 9, 10
    • It was a very stormy day and the wedding party walked up to their knees in snow from the bride's father's home, Samuel Robinson, on the Dublin Range,
      to the same place that another couple were also be married that day.  There were no roads there in those days so they had to walk.  After the wedding, the party walked back to Samuel Robinson's home.

      They were married at the home of Alexander Learmoth, a Church of England minister, on Grays Road, near the present town of Inverness, Megantic County, Quebec.

      Note:  Repertory of Births, Marriages, and Burials, "The Anglo-Protestants of Megantic County", 1826-1991, from the LDS Family Library, lists William Gillis and Nancy Robinson's marriage date as March 4, 1833; in Church of England, by Leeds, witnesses:  Alexander Learmoth and William Stele. [6, 7, 15]
    Children 
     1. Ellen GILLIS,   b. 23 Nov 1833, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 Jul 1921, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 87 years)
     2. Elizabeth GILLIS,   b. 20 Jun 1835,   d. 29 Aug 1875, Inverness, Quebec, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 40 years)
     3. James GILLIS,   b. 26 Feb 1837, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 19 May 1921  (Age 84 years)
     4. John GILLIS,   b. 14 Mar 1839, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 May 1911, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 72 years)
     5. Hannah GILLIS,   b. 11 May 1841, Inverness, Megantic County, Quebec, Canada (Gillis Corners) Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 30 Dec 1874, , Nelson, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 33 years)
     6. Martha GILLIS,   b. 7 May 1843, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 Feb 1925, , Montreal, , Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 81 years)
     7. Baby Boy GILLIS,   b. 1845,   d. Yes, date unknown
     8. Rev. William McNab GILLIS,   b. 20 May 1845, Inverness, Megantic County, Quebec, Canada (Gillis Corners) Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 Jul 1928, Windom, Cottonwood, Minnesota, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 83 years)
     9. Samuel Robinson GILLIS,   b. 8 Apr 1848, , St-Sylvester, Lotbiniere, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 16 Aug 1900, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 52 years)
     10. Nancy GILLIS,   b. 25 May 1850, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 25 Mar 1867, Inverness, Quebec, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 16 years)
     11. Robert Brown GILLIS,   b. 11 Jun 1852, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 19 May 1946, Bienfait, Saskatchewan, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 93 years)
     12. Rebecca GILLIS,   b. 17 Jun 1854, , Inverness, Megantic, Quebec, Can Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 16 Nov 1934, Inverness, Quebec, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 80 years)
     13. Thomas Scott GILLIS,   b. 11 Jul 1856, Inverness, Megantic County, Quebec, Canada (Gillis Corners) Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 25 Mar 1947, Ottawa, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 90 years)
     14. Rev. Benjamin Cole GILLIS,   b. 19 Mar 1859, Inverness, Megantic County, Quebec, Canada (Gillis Corners) Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 2 Nov 1932, Rochester, Olmsted, Minnesota, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 73 years)
     15. Catherine McNabb GILLIS,   b. 6 Dec 1862, Inverness, Megantic County, Quebec, Canada (Gillis Corners) Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 12 Mar 1947, Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 84 years)
    Last Modified 26 May 2014 
    Family ID F12  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • William and brother James emigrated to Canada aboard the same ship in 1826.  Unknown to John, his future wife, Nancy Robinson, also was on that ship; they married 6 years later in 1832 (reported by B.C. Gillis).

      NOTE:  See later notes in this section provided by Mrs. Shirley Aabjerg in April 2001; until these notes, it was thought that William John was John William, and that there were only 4 children of Robert Gillis and Miss Mac Dole.  However, these notes cite statement by Robert Gillis (a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Riddle) Gillis, to B.C. Gillis (William's son) in 1910 that there were in fact five children:  William; Andrew; John; Rebecca; and James.  He further said that William and James emigrated to Canada, and that Andrew purchased a small holding, and married Elizabeth Riddle, Robert's mother.

      The book "Annals of Megantic County" (D. McKillop, 1902) says that John (William) was born at Glaslaugh, Monaghan County, Ireland and arrived in Quebec on July 12, 1829.

      NOTES FROM Mrs. Shirley Aaberg APRIL 2001, AS RELATED BY THOMAS GILLIS OF OTTAWA TO HIS SISTER KATIE BROWN (GILLIS) IN 1943:

      William, our father, was born August 15, l806.  He came out to Canada on the good ship "Bolivar" which landed at Quebec July 12, l826, after being six weeks and three days at sea.  On this ship also came Samuel Robinson, born 1782, and died June 14, l872, age 92.  His wife, Ellen McCammon died Apr. 20, l852, age 70 and they had six children- William, who later went to Ohio; Thomas who stayed on the 5th range, Inverness and died March 5, l917 at age 105;  James, who went west;  Martha who became Mrs. McCammon and our mother Nancy who married William Gillis.  Mother was born August 5, l826 after the ship landed in Quebec.  William Gillis had intended to go to western Canada but he met some people who told him many people were dying of fever and ague and the country was low and swampy.  He stayed four years in Quebec, worked for Bonnom Ray, a tobacco manufacturer.

      Our grandfather in Ireland had a farm and several looms and more linen raisers, lots of flax on his farm.  That is where our father (John William) learned to weave.  William moved up from Quebec to Upper Ireland, P Q where he bought 200 acres of land, about six miles from Thetford Asbestos Mines.  He built a log house which he gave to his son Robert, who sold it to Ben.  Ben sold it to Tom who sold it to Charlie Canning.  They then bought the 100 acre farm which was given to John, who sold it to Mr. Granklin.

      James Gillis (John Mooney's uncle) came from Ireland about this time and bought the farm we lived on.  Before selling this, father had 600 acres and seven sons.  Father got all this land for very little money.

      William Gillis and Nancy Robinson were married in the home of Alexander Learmouth at Craigs Road, Megantic County by Rev. Alexander, a Church of England minister on March 4, l832 with Mrs. Deraney as bridesmaid.  They had 15 children, one dying in infancy.  Uncle Andrew, the eldest son had two sons, Robert and Thomas.  Robert was the man who trailed and caught Crippen on a boat at Quebec.    He was the Inspector of Scotland Yards and either he or Thomas recovered with the "queen's Gold Lace."  In l9l9, Edgar (Kate Gillis Brown's son) visited them when on leave at Tandragee. Robert's son Sidney, invalided home, badly wounded.  Both Robert and Thomas traveled extensively in Canada and Australia.  Robert was in Toronto when it was still called York.  His son stayed one winter with Marsha Gillis in Inverness.

      OTHER NOTES PROVIDED BY MRS. AABJERG IN APRIL 2001:

      In l996, Donald Mooney contacted a descendant of Andrew Gillis, Valerie Gillis Harvey of Rockhampton, Australia.  She submitted the following about her family:

      The Gillis Family as I know it:

      Robert Gillis married Isabella Haire, who was a milliner, on the 22 Dec. l870 at Navan in the County of Meath, Eire. Isabella (known as Bella) was the daughter of Thomas and Jane Haire.  Thomas, a Royal Irish Constabulary member was Head Constable in Navan at the time of the wedding.  Thomas Haire died in l874 after a fall from his horse, and is buried, together with a daughter Malda, who died in her teens, in the graveyard of St Mary's Church of Ireland in Navan.

      A little time later Jane (nee Noble) whose family were jewellers in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, N.I., took her children Sadie, Emily, Lucy, Minnie, James, Alfred and William to the U S to start a new life. They settled in Maynard, Mass. Two of the boys later moved to Canada - William to Montreal and Alfred to Toronto.  Bella, Margaret (known as Maggie) and Joseph stayed in Ireland.  Joseph later went to live and work in England.

      According to Maggie, our Haire and Noble ancestors came from Ayrshire, Scotland in the 17th century. This ties in with the Plantation of Ulster.
      ----------------------------
      Descendants of George Mooney and Mabel Grace Jamieson have held a biannual Mooney reunion at Minter Gardens since the mid-nineties.  Don Mooney of Brockville discovered that Mabel's descendants, who attend the reunion as well, are related to us through the Gillis side.  William Gillis who emigrated to Megantic county in l829 had a daughter Ellen who married Robert Kean.  One of their children, Mary, married William Alfred Jamieson and their daughter was George Mooney's wife.


      !MARRIAGE:  Leeds Anglican Church Register; 1833; M210/2, frame
      001547, National Archives of Quebec; Federation of Quebec Families, Case
      postale 6700, Sillery, QC, G1T 2W2, Canada; NOTE:  (from disk)

                      "Gillis           12.      seventh leaf
                       Married  William Gillis, of the township
                                of Inverness, farmer, being a
                                bachelor and Nancy Robin-
                                son of the same township, spin
                                ster, were married after banns
                                duly published, on the fourth of
                                March, one thousand Eight
                                Hundred & thirty three
                                by me, J.S.Alexander, Mission^y
                                         for Leeds &c.
                                              )
                                In presence of) Alex^r Learmonth
                                              ) William Stele
                                We hereby declare that we
                                were married as afore-
                                said by mutual consent
                                Contracting)  William Gillis
                                Parties    )  Nancy Robinson"

      !MARRIAGE:  Paul Vachon, THE ANGLO-PROTESTANTS OF MEGANTIC COUNTY, Repertory of
      Births, Marriages, and Burials; 1826-1991; Societe Genealogigue de la region de
      l'Amiante, Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada, 1992, Publication Number 5;
      Marriages p52;US/CAN 971.4575 K2r,Fiche 6125775,LDS FHL Salt Lake City UT;NOTE:
      "04/03/1833  GILLIS, William (farmer) Inverness
                   ROBINSON, Nancy  Inverness
                   Church of England (Leeds)
                   witness: Alexander Learmonth and William Stele"

      !DEATH-BURIAL:  Cemetery Recordings of Megantic County, Quebec; 1838-1993;
      Records in poss of Gladys Patton, Lennoxville, QC, Canada; p6, Boutelle
      Cemetery, Inverness, QC, Canada; NOTE:  Headstone Inscription
         "William Gillis  died Dec. 28, 1889, age 86 yrs.  / his wife /
          Nancy Robinson  born Aug. 5, 1814 - July 5, 1887"

      !CENSUS:  1861 CAN,PQ,Megantic County, Inverness Township; 1861; ED 2,
      p 15946, lines 20-33; Public Archives Canada Film C-292; LDS Film 0517394,
      FHL Salt Lake City UT; NOTE:
        William Gillis, farmer, and his family lived in a one-story, one-family log
      house.
        William   Gillis  Farmer    Ireland  W.M.  54 m                  b c1807
        Nancy     Gillis              do      do   44 m                  b c1817
        James     Gillis  Labourer  L.CanB.   do   24                    b c1837
        John      Gillis     do       do      do   22      att sch       b c1839
        Hannah    Gillis              do      do   20      att sch       b c1841
        Martha    Gillis              do      do   18      att sch       b c1843
        William   Gillis              do      do   16      att sch       b c1845
        Samuel    Gillis              do      do   13      att sch       b c1848
        Nancy     Gillis              do      do   11      att sch       b c1850
        Robert    Gillis              do      do    9      att sch       b c1852
        Rebecca   Gillis              do      do    7      att sch       b c1854
        Thomas    Gillis              do      do    5                    b c1856
        Benjamin  Gillis              do      do    2                    b c1859

      1871 census  page 42 ed 156  subdis 2 Inverness
      line 16  122-142  Gillis, William m 64  Ireland  W. Meth. Irish  Farmer M
                               Nancy f 56      " " "  M
                               John  m 32      Q          "      "     Farmer
                               Robert m 19     "        "        "      "
                               Rebecca f 17    "          '       "
      page 43
      line 1  Gillis, Martha  f 28   Q  W. Meth  Irish
                      Thomas  m 15   "     "     "       in school
                    Benjamin  m 12   "    "     "        in school       b c1859
                    Catherine McN  f  9    "     "       in school       b c1862

      find 1881 census

      !BIOGRAPHY-RELATIONSHIPS:  Dugald McKenzie McKillop, ANNALS OF MEGANTIC COUNTY,
      QUEBEC; 1828-1966; D. McGillop, Lynn, Mass., 1902, Third impression ... 1966;
      p 137; copy in poss of John W.Wark, Menlo Park, CA; NOTE:
        "GILLIS.  William Gillis, born at Glass Laugh, Monaghan County, Ireland,
      arrived at Quebec, July 12, '29, or three weeks after the Caledonia had landed.
      Mr. Gillis was accompanied by his mother whose maiden name was Nancy Robinson.
      The Robinson family remained in Quebec till '32, when they came to Inverness.
      The Gillis family, near Inverness Corners, is well-known in the locality.
      Samuel R. who succeeded to the homestead, died Aug. 16, 1900, aged 52.  William
      M., born at Inverness in '45, studied three years at Montpelier, Vt., and in
      '78 received the degree of B.A. from Middletown, Ct., Wesleyan College.
      Received by the Vermont Conference in '77, and in '91 removed to Minnesota.
      Benjamin C. (the fourteenth child) was born March 19, '59.  Graduated B.A. from
      Boston University in 1891.  Ordained same year.  In '97 was married to Mary L.
      Palmerlee.  Resides in Minnesota."
      COMMENT:  The mother's name Nancy Robinson, given for William Gillis, may be in
      error.  William married a Nancy Robinson in 1833.  Also, the headstone in
      Boutelle Cemetery states Nancy Robinson as wife of William Gillis.  Who was the
      mother of William Gillis ??? [6, 7, 15]
    • (Research):http://docshare.tips/newry-amp-armagh-directory_58856e97b6d87fe8078b4c3d.html

  • Sources 
    1. [S92] .

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    4. [S162] Ancestry Family Trees (Reliability: 3).
      http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=26120745&pid=1782492041

    5. [S134] .

    6. [S2] .

    7. [S68] .

    8. [S202] (Reliability: 3).
      Death date:  1889Death place:  Montr?al (Basilique Notre-Dame), Qu?bec
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=drouinvitals&h=12530577&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

    9. [S202] (Reliability: 3).
      Marriage date:  1833Marriage place:  Leeds M?gantic (Church of England), Qu?bec
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=drouinvitals&h=13855866&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

    10. [S202] (Reliability: 3).
      Marriage date:  1833Marriage place:  Leeds M?gantic (Church of England), Qu?bec
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=drouinvitals&h=6641265&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

    11. [S198] (Reliability: 3).
      Birth date:  1807Birth place:  IrelandResidence date:  1861Residence place:  M?gantic, Canada East, Canada
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1861canada&h=793911970&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

    12. [S197] (Reliability: 3).
      Birth date:  1807Birth place:  IrelandResidence date:  abt 1881Residence place:  M?gantic, Quebec, Canada
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1881canada&h=1234528&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

    13. [S199] (Reliability: 3).
      Birth date:  abt 1807Birth place:  IrelandResidence date:  1871Residence place:  Quebec, Canada
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1871canada&h=1753868&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

    14. [S196] (Reliability: 3).
      Birth date:  Birth place:  Monaghan
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=royirshco1816&h=39542&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

    15. [S89] .

    16. [S6] .

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