by Mike Crosby
Four members of the Crosby family moved from Brock Township and settled in Mara Township in the 1870’s, and were joined by their brother Michael in the 1880’s. Here is their story.
The Crosby Clan of Mara Township
About 1845, Michael Crosby who was born in County Cork Ireland, in1812, and his wife Mary Coyle born 1817, in Co. Cavan, came to Canada from Ireland with two young children, James b. 1841, and Mary Ann b. 1844. They settled in Brock Township, Concession 1, lot 3, (near Victoria Corners) and added 6 more children to the family. By mid 1870’s Michael & Mary had relocated to a smaller farm in Uxbridge Township, and four of their children, Mary Ann, James, Catherine and Margaret Jane, had settled in Mara. Michael Jr. later moved to Mara too. Although they never lived in Mara, both Michael Sr. and Mary were buried in St. Andrew’s Brechin, as most of their children lived there.
The 1871 census reveals that Mary Ann Crosby and her husband John Lytle, a blacksmith by trade, were living in Mara, on two acres, part of lot 15 con. 8, John had just obtained a Hotel Licence for the Millington Hotel, previously run by the Cuddahee family. Prior to her death, Mary Ann had 5 children. (i) Michael James Lytle – started out as a blacksmith, then went on to run a successful Livery service on Bay St. in Beaverton, and was considered one of the area’s premiere horseman, with many horses running in the Toronto tracks. He married Josephine ‘May’ Brennan of Thorah, they had 11 children. Two of their daughters, Winifred Josephine 1894-1950, & Marion Veronica 1908-2004 became Nuns in Michigan. Michael John, died as an infant in 1890. William James, was only 21, when he died in Beaverton. Lawrence Basil who went by Lorne, worked for his father’s livery, and when he joined the army in the 1st World War, he was assigned to the car pool. He remained single and died in Orillia in 1971. Alphonsus Russell, along with his brothers Michael and Lorne, worked in the Detroit area for a few years in the mid 1920’s then returned to Beaverton when the depression hit. He died in 1965. Mary Marguerite, known as Rita, remained single, and was buried in St. Joseph’s Beaverton, in 1985. Clara Lillian relocated to Detroit where she married Walter Drollinger, they had 5 children in Detroit. Clara died in 1950, her body was returned home for burial in Beaverton. Michael Joseph, remained single, he died in 1942. Stella, married Fred Bawden in Beaverton in 1944, they had one son. She died in 1996. Aileen Cecelia, emigrated to the States in 1937.
(ii) Catherine Anne Lytle, went by Annie, married Timothy Desmond, and spent most of her life in Whitby. She was a 50 year member of the Whitby Women’s Institute, and served two terms as President. They had 6 children, none remained in Ontario. Marie Ellen, went to Winnipeg, there she married Frank Brownell from Nova Scotia, he was an electrical engineer who worked for the telephone company. They remained in Winnipeg, and both died within months of each other in 1961. They had no children. James Alphonsus, joined Penn RR, in Ohio, and enlisted in the US Army for both World Wars. He remained in Toledo Ohio, married, and raised two sons, James H. was inducted in the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2008, as an Official, Robert is a Doctor, at the Woods County Hospital, in Bowling Green, Ohio. It is assumed William Albert died young. Margaret Ann, born in Brooklin, Whitby Twp. married Raymond Dillon in Detroit, where she died in 1977. They had no children. John Ambrose, was in Winnipeg working for the telephone company when he enlisted in the Canadian Signal Corp. in 1916. War diaries show he was gassed in Passchendale, and he spent some time in hospital in England. After his discharge from the army he found work in Detroit, where he remained until his death in 1970. He was married but had no children. Eileen Patricia was born in Whitby, she married Theodore Norman Morphy in 1933 and lived in Toronto. Ted as he was known, worked for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., in 1950 he was transferred to Calgary where they remained. Eileen died in Calgary in 1993. They had 3 children, who all remain in Western Canada.
(iii)John, b. 1868- it is assumed he died young.
(iv) William Albert Lytle, following in his father’s footsteps also became a blacksmith working in Brechin. By 1903 he and his family, went north to work as a blacksmith in the lumber camps, then set up shop in Copper Cliff and later in Sudbury, he continued to be active in his trade, right up to his death at the age of 83. Like his brother, he too married a daughter of Michael Brennan and Mary Foley of Thorah, Emma Catherine, they had 6 children. Albert Roy, born in Brechin, worked at McLeod Motors in Sudbury, he remained single and died in Sudbury in 1965. Michael Leonard, also born in Brechin, was known as ‘RED’ married Florine Ethier in Sudbury in 1936, they raised 4 children in Sudbury where Red worked as a machinist. He died in 1985. Martin James, born in Warren, Ontario, remained single, he worked at the Brewers Retail in Sudbury, he died in 1970. John Alvin, born in Warren, worked for Inco in Sudbury for over 30 years. He married and had 6 children. William’s twin daughters, Anna & Agnes, born 1909 in Warren, only survived a few months.
(v) Michael Thomas Lytle, was born in Mara, he also trained as a blacksmith under his dad, he married Bridget Ann (Nellie) Morrison, formally of Rama Township, they had 8 children. Edmund died as an infant. Bridget, died in the Gravenhurst Sanatorium, in 1917, within a year, two teenage daughters Lillian and Irene Elizabeth, also fell to T.B. Following Bridget’s death, Father Hayes placed the young Lytle children into families in the parish. Edward Joseph, who went by Joe, joined John Crosby and his family. He later married Vera Vilneff of Marmora, and raised 13 children in the Norwood area. Thomas was placed with the Hayes family in Rama, in 1936 he married Marjorie Gendron of Penetanguishene, and together raised 5 children in Toronto. Catherine Marie, who married Carl Wingrove, had five daughters, and is laid to rest in Milton. Annie, married Victor Moulson of Toronto, they had one son. Helen, born a year prior to her mother’s death, married Joseph Currie and raised 5 children in the Campbellville area.
Mrs. Mary Ann Lytle,(nee Crosby) died in 1873, and is interned in the first row of St. Andrew’s, Brechin, the grave marker has her name spelled ‘Little’. Widower John, remarried and had 9 more children, he was a blacksmith in Brechin for over 30 years.
Per the Mara 1871 census, James Crosby, born in Ireland, was residing with his sister Mary Ann and brother-in-law John Lytle. In 1873, he married Mary Corrigan, daughter of long time Mara resident Hugh Corrigan, and for about 10 years they had a farm on lot 9, con.10, near Udney. By 1885 the family was relocated to part of lot 13, con. 7, James died there in 1920, and Mary who then was residing with her widow daughter Catherine died in 1947. Both are buried in St. Andrew’s they had 9 children.
(i)Mary Crosby, married Dennis Prior, they had no children, she died about 1930. Likely in Niagara Falls N.Y.
The second child of James and Mary, was Michael Hugh Crosby, was known as Hugh, married Mary Westlake of Mara, their farm was on lot 12, con. 5. Hugh’s death was a result of an accident while working on Highway 12, near Brechin, on July 13, 1939. Mary soon after moved to Brechin, where she continued to live until her death in 1958. They had 7 children. (i) Edward Joseph was a miner in northern Ontario, in 1940 he married Edna Rochon in Abitibi Quebec. They had 5 children; the first two were born in Orillia, the family then went to Elliot Lake, eventually settling in Waterloo, where he died in 1991. (ii) Mary ‘May’ Lorena Crosby, married Peter Maloney of Mara. (iii)Margaret Evelyn, married Joseph Quinn and raised their family of 7 children in the Perth area. (iv) Ethel Bernadette, married Joseph M’Larkey who farmed near St. Mary’s, their only child, Colleen, married and moved to Alberta. (v) Henry Hugh, died as an infant. (vi)Katherine, at the time of her father’s death, Katherine was residing in Rouyn, Quebec, she joined her brother Hugh in Oshawa by 1942, and remained there during the war years, working at General Motors, after the war she married William MacDonald of Orillia, where they resided. They had 4 children, one John Russell, died young of leukemia. (vii) Hugh Albert, spent some time in the mining community of Timmins, and in 1942 he moved to Oshawa, where he met & married Agnes Kelly. They resided there the rest of their life’s, except the time Hugh served overseas during the war. They raised 4 sons in Oshawa. Both he and Agnes are buried in Resurrection Cemetery, near Whitby.
The 3nd child of James and Mary, Catherine Agnes Crosby, married Thomas Vincent Kelly of Mara, their farm was on the south half of lots 7& 8 con. 6. Thomas died of the flu and pneumonia in 1923, Catherine died in 1969 both are interned in St. Andrew’s Brechin. They had 12 children.
(i)Mary Ester Kelly- remained single, she lived in Brechin and was a regular contributor to the Orillia Packet & Times. She was buried in St. Andrew’s in 1979.
(ii) Marie Philomena Kelly, died of flu and pneumonia just 12 days prior to her father in 1923. (iii) Peter James Kelly, married Christina MacDonald, he died in 1969, internment St. Andrew’s. (iv) Elizabeth Ellen Kelly, died as an infant in April 1909, she is buried at St. Andrew’s. (v) Anges Marcella Kelly, married William Robert Heitzner of Mara, they had 5 children. (vi) Thomas John Kelly, married Mabel McIsaac, he died in 2004, and his children still reside on the farm cleared by his great grandfather in the 1860’s. (vii) Theresa Catherine Kelly, died in 1955, burial St. Andrew’s. (viii) Frances Ethel Kelly, married Francis Maurice Mangan of Mara, she is buried in St. Joseph’s Beaverton, one of her son’s operates Mangan Funeral Home in Beaverton. (ix) Joseph Emard Kelly, relocated to Brantford. (x) Margaret Lillian Kelly, married Francis Henry Keenan of Toronto where they raised their 9 children. Margaret died in 1972, Frank in 2001, both are buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery. (xi) Gerald Ambrose Kelly, relocated to Toronto. (xii)Patrick Harold Kelly, married Mary Theresa Flood daughter of Garry Flood and Mary Adelaide Corrigan of Mara, they had 2 children. Patrick died in 1993, Mary Theresa in 1997.
The 4th child of James and Mary was, James Crosby Jr., in 1913 he married Catherine Ann McDonnell of Rama, the next year they had a daughter, Margaret, in Mara, on lot 10 con. 6, she died Feb. 1915. James and Catherine soon after moved in with Catherine’s parents who had just relocated to 59 Emerson, Toronto, they had 3 more children in Toronto. In 1920 James died of the flu, he is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery. James’ children Eileen, Addie, & Kenneth James, all remained in Toronto. Eileen married Joe McGowan, a son of long time Mara residents Fred and Gladys McGowan, they had 3 sons. She died in Toronto in 1980, and is buried in Uptergrove. Addie married Frank Slaughter, they had 2 sons and a daughter. Ken married Mary Dunne of Toronto, just 6 weeks before he reported for RCAF training in January 1944: he later transferred to the Army and was deployed in Europe, where he remained until June 1946, serving latterly with the Canadian Army Occupation Force, earning the rank of Sergeant. Ken had 5 sons and a daughter, He died in April 1980, 3 months after his sister Eileen. In 1937, by the time the three children were out of school, widower, Mrs. Catherine Crosby, (nee McDonnell), remarried to James O’Connor of Rathburn, she died in November 1980, the same year as her son and daughter, and is buried in Uptergrove .
William Crosby was the 5th child of James and Mary, he married Margaret Clarke, a descendant of one of Mara’s first settlers, they remained in Mara, and farmed on lot 13, con.8, and retired to Brechin in his later years. William was a tall man over 6’ 3”, he died in 1972, his wife predeceased him in 1968, both are buried in St. Andrew’s. They had 12 children.
(i)Thomas Joseph, served in the Army in WWII, while overseas, he met his bride in Scotland, and on their return lived in Toronto and raised two sons. (ii) James William, also served in the military in WWII, he married Edith Maloney of Mara, and they had 9 children. (iii)Michael Edward, joined the Navy in WWII and served on the RESTIGOUSE in the North Atlantic, he married Yvette Drapeau in New Toronto in 1945, then was shipped out to the Pacific for duty. They had two children. Michael died in Toronto in 1994. (iv)Frank Patrick, died single in 1933. (v)Emmett was the 4th member of the family to join the military in WWII, he died in 1992 with no children. (vi)Ambrose Philip, was accidentally killed on Highway 12, in front of his father’s farm in 1937. (vii)Teresa, married Thomas Edward Clarke of Mara in 1945, they had 7 children, three of whom still reside in Ramara today. (viii) Leonard, died in 1984 he had no children, burial St. Andrew’s. (ix) Cecilia, died as an infant 30 August 1925. (x) Rita, married William Nicholson, they had two children. (xi) Helen married Murray MacDonald, they had 5 children all born in Toronto. (xii) Infant Crosby died at birth 22 Oct. 1929.
The 6th child Ellen Crosby was born in Mara in 1883, remained single, she worked in Toronto, where she died in St. Michael’s Hospital in 1937 and was laid to rest in St. Andrew’s Brechin.
The 7th child of James &Mary, was Susan Crosby, in 1909 she married Raymond Francis Burbee, of Niagara Falls N.Y., in Brechin. tThey had 2 children in Mara before they relocated in Niagara Fall N.Y., where they had 4 more children. (i) Their daughter Mary, married Jack W. Hackett, a lawyer, and they had two sons. (ii) The eldest son Francis Joseph, married and relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio, he had a daughter and a son. (iii) Margaret, married and had one son. (iv) James Crosby Burbee, served in WWII, he married and had a daughter & son. (v) John D., also served in WWII, and was awarded a Purple Heart. After the war, he married, and was a U.S. Postal employee for over 26 years. He had no children. (vi) Edward Thomas, married and raised 3 children in the Niagara Falls area. Susan died in Niagara Falls, New York, in 1970, her husband Raymond, predeceased her by 36 years.
The 8th child, John, was known as Jack, he married Anna McGee of Carden Twp. in 1915, they settled in Mara where they raised 7 children, Anna died soon after the birth of her 7th child in 1927. John assumed the farm of his late father on the 7th concession, and remained there until the late 1930’s. He moved his family to Richmond Hill, then Toronto, where he died in 1959 and is buried beside his wife, in St. Andrew’s. (i) His daughter Marie married Leonard Kenny of the 7th concession Mara, they lived in Orillia for some time before they relocated to Toronto, they had 5 children. (ii) Harold lived in Windsor and had one son. He later retired to Brechin, and is buried in Uptergrove. (iii) Jack also lived in Windsor with 3 children. (iv) Katheline married and lived in British Columbia. (v) Beatrice married George Corvari, they lived in what is now called Mississuaga, and had 6 children. (vi) Ruth married Lucien ‘Bill’ Ouellet, and raised 5 children also in Mississauga. John’s 7th child died at birth.
The 9th child of James and Mary was Isabella Elizabeth, who went by Elizabeth, she married Patrick Wyman Merrifield of Renfrew County, at St. Andrew’s Brechin in 1920, They relocated to the London Ontario area for health reasons, and raised 10 children.
The third member of Michael Crosby’s family to reside in Mara was Catherine Crosby, she married Michael Duffy, the son of one of earliest settlers of Mara, Patrick Duffy and Mary Ann ‘Nancy’ Corrigan. Catherine and Michael had 3 children in Mara before they moved to Iowa, there they had 5 more children. Michael died in Spirit Lake, Iowa in 1913, and Catherine passed away at her daughter’s home in Detroit in 1929. (i) Mary Ann born in Mara, died in 1929 in Detroit just weeks prior to her mother. John , died in 1880 at the age of 3 in Mara, just before his parents moved to the States. Sara Jane born in Mara, died prior to her father’s death in Iowa. Michael Patrick, born in Iowa, died about 1895 in Iowa. Anna, married Fred Andreas in 1902, they had 3 children in Iowa, they later moved to Detroit. Margaret, of Iowa, the 1910 US census lists her as a dressmaker in Detroit. Helen, married Leo Glahn and they had 3 children, the first in Colorado, the next two in Detroit, where the family remained. Helen died in Taylor, Michigan in 1979. Mabel Catherine, married Gilbert Williams in Detroit, they had one child, she died in Youngstown Ohio in 1965.
The 4th member of Michael’s family to reside in Mara was his daughter Margaret Jane Crosby, she married William Joseph Ferguson, the son of John Ferguson and Bridget McLaughlin who had moved to Mara from Pickering Twp. around 1850. William & Margaret, resided on part of lot 16, con.10, in Mara, and raised 8 children there. The family left Mara Township in the early 1890’s, relocating to West Bay City, Michigan. Margaret Jane, gave birth to a son named Leo, in 1894, she died sometime prior to 1900. The US 1900 census, indicates William was a widower, he remained in Bay City, where he died in 1922. The children all took different paths, (i) Christina Ferguson, married Joseph Peloquin of Bay City, they moved to River Rouge, Michigan, where they had 2 children. (ii)Mary Ann Ferguson, after spending some time in Michigan, she returned to Mara, and in 1908 she married William James French, together they ran a General Store in Brechin for over 25 years then relocated to Toronto around 1930, where she died in 1967. They had 7 children. John Gerard Paul, was ordained a Basilian Priest in 1927, he spent most of his religious life teaching, mainly in Detroit, and while there he organized a boxing club, on many Friday nights television viewers could see Fr. French’s boys in action. After his 50th anniversary of Priesthood he retired to the Basilian Father Residence in Toronto. He was buried in the Basilian Fathers plot in Holy Cross Cemetery, Thornhill in 1996. Margaret Mercedes, was well educated, she attended the Ontario College of Education, and then went on to earn her MA and was the first instructor of French & Spanish at Carleton College, later known as Carleton University. She remained single and died in Toronto, in 1967. Mary Agnes Bridget, became a nurse in Michigan, she died in California, a spinster, in 1993. William James died in 1975, buried in Thornhill. Mary Christina died as a 3 month old infant in Dec. 1913 in Brechin. Philip Leo married Mary Martel, they had 8 children in Toronto, he died in 1992. Marion, moved to Western Canada. (iii) Thomas, remained in Michigan, he worked as Millwright in several factories in the Lansing area, of Michigan. In September 1918 he enlisted in the US Army. He remained single. (iv) William John also remained in Michigan, he married Myrtle Adams, and had two daughters. He enlisted in the US Army the same day as his brother Tom. William died in 1925, his daughters were only nine and four years of age. (v) Bridget Ferguson was ordained into the Sisters of Mercy in Michigan, she spent most of her religious live as a nurse in several Mercy Hospitals in Michigan, Sister Mary Mercedes, died in 1968 at St. Getrude Convent, Grand Rapids Michigan. (vi) Margaret Jane Ferguson, returned to Canada, where she married Fred Cahoon in Toronto, and there they raised 2 sons. (vii) at the age of 12, John Joseph, drowned in 1902, and is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Bay City, Michigan. (viii)Michael James Ferguson, enlisted in the US Army in WW1, he remained in Michigan, where he died in 1969. (ix) Leo was born in 1894, in West Bay City, Michigan, he died in 1917, and is buried alongside his brother John, in St. Patrick’s cemetery.
The 5th child of Michael &Mary Crosby to reside in Mara was, Michael Jr. Like his brother James, he too married a daughter of Hugh Corrigan and Catherine Nellis, Susan Corrigan. They married in 1887. Michael also shared part of lot 13, con. 7, with his brother James. By 1924 Michael, Susan and others from his family had relocated to 227 Randolph Pl., Windsor, Ontario, where he died in 1941 and Susan in 1944. They had 8 children in Mara
i)Etta in 1914 she was working as a maid in McCauley’s Brechin Hotel, where she had to jump from her third floor room window to escape a fire, she always walked with a limp thereafter. In 1919 she married William McNarney, they had no children, she died in 1959, and is buried at Victoria Road.
ii) The 2nd child of Michael Jr. & Susan was, Mary Catherine ,in 1919 she married Thomas Peters, of Sandwich Township, who died 10 months later of the flu. In 1923 she married Joseph Coyle from Stayner, in Windsor. They eventually moved to Detroit where Joe worked in the automotive industry, and had four children. She died in Michigan in 1952.
Michael and Susan’s first son was (iii) Oliver Thomas Crosby, born in 1893, he married Elizabeth Thompson of Carden, in 1918, he resided on the 9th concession of Mara for most of his live. He died in 1969. They had 14 children. (1) Gerald Oliver, married Harriett Newman, daughter of John Newman of Mara, they raised 6 children in Toronto, where Gerald was a car salesman, he retired to Orillia, where he died in 1997. (2)Rosetta, also married into a family with deep roots in Mara, William Jeremiah Murphy, son of Thomas Murphy. They had 6 children, she was buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery, Orillia in 2003. (3) Mary Elizabeth, married Austin Joseph Clarke in 1947, they lived in Orillia, she was a 50 year member of the Catholic Women’s league. She died in 2004. They had 8 children. (4)Anna Theresa, died as an infant in Feb.1924, internment St. Andrew’s, Brechin. (5) Mabel Theresa, married Terrance Hucal, she worked for the Ford Motor Company, she died in Brampton in 1998, survived by 2 daughters, interment at St. Michael’s, Orillia. (6)Mildred Annastasia, married George O’Connell in 1952, they raised 4 children in Toronto, she died in Toronto in 2000. (7)Charles Michael, married Muriel Newnham of Toronto, they had 4 children in Scarborough, after the closing of the Toronto Telegram, he relocated to Ottawa to work with his brother Bill. He died in Ottawa in 2003. (8) Francis Joseph, who worked in the trucking business most of his life, died in Owen Sound in 2002, he and his wife Margaret McIntyre raise 7 children in Toronto. (9)James Thomas, worked for Acme Screw & Gear, he married Theresa Carew of Newfoundland, in Toronto 1952, they raised 2 children in Toronto both James & Theresa, are buried in St. Joseph’s, Highland Creek, Toronto. (10)William Kenneth, was involved in the foodservice industry in Ottawa and the surrounding area, he operated, ‘Crosby Vending Services’ until it was sold to Canteen Canada. He married Joyce Villeneuve, they had 2 children. He died in 2008. (11) John Patrick, known by all as Jack, started in the trucking business in the early 1960’s, he retired in 1999, and lives with his wife Marilyn, in Warminster, they have 2 children. (12)Lillian Mae, married Ian Milne in Scarborough , they had 5 children, she was a Real Estate Agent in Peterborough, where she died in 2002. (13)Edward Clifford, started in trucking 30 years ago, he married Marilyn Ferrier from Orillia, they had 2 children. Marilyn died at the age of 39, and is buried in St. Michael’s, Orillia. (14) Ruth Marie, married ‘Mac’ Arthur Vyse, they lived in Orillia, most of her life, & had 4 children. She died in 2003.
The 4th child of Michael Jr.& Susan Crosby was, (iv) Michael Gabriel- he was known as ‘Gabe’. He enlisted in the 1st World War, on return he lived in Toronto for a number of years. He married Mary Isobel ‘Molly’ Greenwood, about 1926, and had 9 children. Around 1930 he moved his family to Vancouver. (i) Michael James died in Durham N.C. in 1987. (ii) Margaret Lillian, born in Toronto, married Hugh Patrick McColoch in Vancouver in 1948, she died in Vancouver in 1973, survived by 3 children. (iii)Shirley Kathleen married Richard Welden, they had 2 children. (iv) Elizabeth Ann married Joe Miller and had 6 children. (v)Mary Patricia was born in Vancouver in 1935, and died in 1936. (vi) Rose Eleanor was born in Vancouver, she married Michael Rabbit, they had 3 children, she died in Salmon Arm BC in 1976. (vii) Joseph Kenneth, was a member of the RCMP, he resigned to marry Marlene Joan Maxim of Regina, Saskatchewan, they raised 3 children in Regina. Ken, as he was known by, served on the Regina Police force for many years. After Marlene’s death in 1997, Ken remarried and retired to Nevada, where he died in 2009. (viii)William Harold ‘Loius’ and his wife Louella Simon had 3 children. (ix) Laurence Robert, served in the Canadian Armed Forces, he & his wife Donna Darragh, have 2 children, in Nova Scotia.
Michael Gabriel, ‘GABE’ died in British Columbia in 1986 at the age of 90.
The 5th child of Michael Jr. and Susan, was Mabel Margaret Crosby, she moved with her parents to Windsor in the early 1920’s, and commutated across the bridge to work at Western Union in Detroit for several years. When the depression hit she moved to Vancouver, and was soon followed by her friend from Detroit, Edward Ignatius Haffey of Brantford. They married in Vancouver in 1929, and had 7 children, all born in B.C., (i)William Edward, married Shelia Graham and they had 2 children. William died in 1974, from injuries suffered when the excavator he was operating flipped over.(ii) Lois, a nurse worked in several health care centres, and other industries. She remained single, and lives in Princeton BC. (iii) Loyd married Eileen Fenney, they had 5 children, he now lives in Calgary. (iv) Patrick, was born in Oliver BC, he married Suzanne Blanchet, and had 4 children, he currently lives in Acton, ON.(v) Rita Maria, also born in Oliver BC, is an Occupational Nurse, she married Martinnus Laan, & they have 3 children. (vi)John Francis of Oliver BC, lost his life when the truck he was driving went off the road in Cassiar BC, in 1962. (vii) The youngest, Fred, was ordained a Priest of the Archdiocese of Vancouver in 1967, where he served in several parishes and then spent 20 years as a military Chaplin. Retired, he now lives in Princeton BC.
The 6th child, of Michael Jr. & Susan was, Frederick Crosby, he also went with his parents to Windsor, and in 1940 he emigrated to the USA. There he married Mary O’Sullivan and had a daughter. Fred died in Detroit in 1975.
Mildred Anastasis Crosby was the 7th child of Michael Jr.& Susan., in 1941 she married Ernest George in Pontiac Michigan, where she died in 1993.
Albert Joseph Crosby, was the 8th child of Michael Jr. & Susan, he married Margaret Mae McIsaac. They lived in the USA, where he joined the USA Air Force, he died in Florida in 1976, and is buried in Farmington, Michigan. After Albert’s death, Margaret Mae, returned to Mara, and is buried in Uptergrove.
The list of descendants of the five members of the Crosby family who settled in Mara Township over 140 years ago, now numbers over 1,100. Although the Crosby name no longer appears in the Ramara voters list, some descendants of these early settlers of the area still reside in the township, with family names like Brooks, Clarke, Heitzner, Kelly, MacDonald, Mangan, McGowan, McNamee and Murphy, to name a few.
Prepared by Michael Crosby, revised Feb, 2010.
Note: The first families moved to Mara in the 1870’s– the last farm was sold in 1960-61.Then Len moved himself his mother and father to Brechin where he died in 1984 –ending the active history of the Crosbys in Mara
Jack has let me know that his father Ollie Crosby sold his farm in 1988 and his brother Gerald’s cottage was sold in 1993. As far as I know, they the last of the last Crosbys In Mara