Family of Charles^8 Van Wicklin
Photo of a young, Charles Van Wicklin taken about 1885.
Charles^8 Van Wicklin (James^7, Garret^6, Isaac^5, Paul^4, Garret^3 Gerrit^2, Jentie^1
Jeppes), b. 1864, Colbourne, Ont.
Married: (married
2nd to...) Ella McDonald (b. 1866, d. 1941), 12 April 1893 Cramahe Twp, Ontario
(Although some have had reason to question whether Charles ever married
Ella--e.g. see commentary below-- Kim Rumball found proof in the Archives of Toronto and sent
this information via email on 25 March 2001. ) Also... see the two photos below that show Ella (McDonald) Van Wicklin, her
daughter Opal (Van Wicklin) Trottman and several of the Trottman children.
Archives of Toronto, Reel 932-#79 Registration Number 008-601-93 Ella McDonald, aged 26, daughter of Donald and Amy McDonald. Married on April 12, 1893 in Cramahe Twp, Northumberland County to Mr.
Charles Van Wicklin, aged 28, born in Haldimand, son of Isabella and James Schuyler Van Wicklin. (Kim
Rumball who supplied this information is descended from the McDonalds--more specifically from Donald S. and Margaret (Sinclair) McDonald via their son John Thomas McDonald--and
has Van Wicklins and also Tackaberrys in her ancestry. More information below in the sources section.)
(18 Sept 05 update, courtesy Georgi Sills in
source section below - Georgi's listing of this same marriage registration
indicates that Charles Van Wicklin was a widower at the time of his marriage to
Ella. This would indicate that we should be able to find a marriage certificate
for Charles for his first marriage, prior to 1893.
12 April
12 update - Marg Graham Trottman reexamined this
marriage certificate and noted that the designation for Charles was "B" for
bachelor at the time of his marriage to Ella McDonald)
Children:
1. Opal^9 B. Van Wicklin b. 5 May 1896, Cramahe Twp, Ont., CAN
(birth registration located by Georgi Sills, 7
Jan 07 via Ancestry.com [Canada] -- 5 May 1896 Opal Beatrice, d/o Charles Van
Wicklin [farmer] and Ella McDonald.)
Parents:
Charles' parents are James Schuyler and Isabella (Wright) Van Wicklin
Ella's parents are Donald and Amy McDonald
Photo below is of Charlie Van Wicklin (facing away with cane) and Lillie Mae Van Wicklin (middle back) with her children
(presumably the younger individuals pictured). Others in photo not identified.
Background information:
Charles^8 Van Wicklin (James^7, Garret^6, Isaac^5, Paul^4, Garret^3 Gerrit^2, Jentie^1 Jeppes) was b. 1864 in
Colbourne, Ontario. He died at Dundonald, Ontario on 2 August 1938 in his 74th year. He had one child, Opal, by Ella McDonald, b. 1893
in Cramahe Township. There is a question as to whether Charles ever married Ella.
(Update: See marriage certificate located
by Georgi Sills in source section below) In the 1891 Cramahe Township Census, they are not married. On the 1901 census, Charles has left and Ella and Opal was living with the McDonald family. If there was
a marriage, it was not for very long. However, Opal always used the name "Vanwicklin" until she married. Opal m. John
Trottman who predeceased her in 1938 and she married Roy Shopland. Opal's children are Helen^10 (Mrs. Don Farrow;
Brighton), Viola (Mrs. Douglas Potter; Brighton), Alice Mae (Mrs. Clarence Hadwen; Brighton), Herbert Trottman
(Dundonald, Ont.), Frank Trottman (Port Hope, Ont.), Charles and Harold Trottman (Trenton, Ont.), and Vernon Trottman.
Charlie went totally blind near the end of his life and he spent his last days in Opal's home where Frank Trottman (son of Opal
and a young man of 13 at the time) remembers the wake for Charlie in the living room of their home. According to Charlie's
funeral card, he is buried at Lakeport Cemetery.
Photo is of tombstone of Ella Van Wicklin, wife of Charlie. Marker lists parents and brother of Ella. Ella's great grandaughter,
Marg, and great great grandaughter, JoAnne, are in the background. (The listing of Ella as "Van Wicklin" on her family's
marker suggests that Charlie and Ella were indeed married at some point.)
Additional information on Charlie; 17 July 2000 letter from Audrey Vowels (daughter of
Lillie^8 May Van Wicklin, Parry
Sound, Ontario to Marg Graham Trottman
Dear Marg,
It was great meeting you and your children. I've always wanted to meet my mother's side of the family, but they didn't seem to
keep in contact with one another. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Amelia were the only two I knew, but I was very young then and
don't remember alot about them. My grandmother and grandfather (James and Isobel) were both deceased before I was born.
However my brother, Leonard, was here for dinner last night and he told me a little bit about your grandfather (my uncle
Charlie). He apparently was a sailer in his younger days and he sailed the Great Lakes. He looked after the masts on the boats
and also he made ropes. If any of the ropes were damaged or worn out, he could make new ropes. When he stayed here with
my parents on the farm, if any of the ropes were damaged he could mend them professionally. Leonard said that he threw a
cartridge in the stove and it blew up in his face and that is what caused him to go blind. He didn't become blind immediately,
but a few years later it caught up to him and of course, in those years, they didn't have the medical expertise they have now. He
seemed to have a sixth sense and he could walk anywhere he wanted to go without assistance. I still haven't found the picture of
him that I am looking for, but I will still keep looking.
By the way, the date for the birth of my mother's family are all wrong. As I said, my mother was born in 1889, so I know the
others are wrong. Melissa was still living in 1960, probably died in 1961 or 1962 so by that, she was born probably in the
1880/1870s. Lillie Mae died in 1984 at the age of 95.
Love Audrey (Vowels)
Parry Sound, Ont.
July 17/00
A Picnic at Little Lake (about 1924), Cramahe Township, Northumberland
County, Ontario, CAN--From left to right the children in front are: Charlie Trottman, Helen Trottman (twin) and Herbie Trottman (twin). The adults from left to right are:
Frank McDonald and his wife Nellie (Wright) McDonald, Herbert McDonald (Ella's brother), Alberta (Inglis) McDonald and
behind Alberta is her husband William McDonald holding Angus McDonald. Lucy Brown (formerly Drinkwalter), Ella
(McDonald) Van Wicklin holding Frank Trottman (child) and Mr. Brown (Lucy's husband) --courtesy Kim Rumball (2 April 2001)
A Picnic at Little Lake (about 1924), Cramahe Twp, Northumberland Co., Ontario, CAN--The children is front from left to right are: Helen Trottman (twin), Charlie Trottman, Harold Trottman, Herb Trottman (twin). The adults from left to right are: Opal Trottman holding Frank Trottman, Frank McDonald and his wife Nellie (Wright) McDonald, Herb McDonald, Jean Brown (daughter of Lucy Brown, formerly Drinkwalter), Alberta (Inglis) McDonald and her husband William behind her holding Angus McDonald (child), Lucy Brown, Ella (McDonald) Van Wicklin and John Trottman. --courtesy Kim Rumball (2 April 2001)
Source:
Marg Graham-Trottman, of Port Hope, Ont. (Several items received by mail, 19 April 2000 including Funeral announcements,
1891 and 1901 Cramahe Township Census; Cramahe Township Cemetery listings, IGI Records, Farmer's Census from 1884,
and pages copied from The History of Cramahe Township by George Blyth, 1992.)
Kim Rumball, who supplied information on the marriage date for Charles and Ella says the following about her line of descent
and her relation to the Trottman family. Charles and Ella's daughter, Opal, married John
Trottman.
My area of expertise is more along the McDonald lne. I am a descendant of Donald S. McDonald and his wife Margaret Sinclair, both of whom are buried in Walker Cemetery, Dundonald. I am descended from their eldest son, John Thomas McDonald and Ella McDonald (Van Wicklin) is descended from John Thomas's youngest brother, Donald. Most of my information is on John Thomas's line, although i have tried to fill in his brothers' and sisters' lines as well, which is where the Trottman line comes into play. The Trottman's used to come and visit my maternal grandmother, Lena (nee McDonald) and her brother Frank McDonald. --email from Kim Rumball dated 25 March 2001
1893 Marriage Certificate for Charles Van Wicklin and Ella McDonald (courtesy of Georgi Sills, via 18 September 2005 email) 008801-93 Charles Van Wicklin, 28, Haldimand, Cramahe (no occupation given), Widower, s/o James Schuyler Van Wicklin and Isabella Van Wicklin, married Ella McDonald, 26, Cramahe, same, d/o Daniel and Amy. Wtn: Elga Pake and Clara Pake of Murray on April 12 (1893). 12 April 12 update - Marg Graham Trottman reexamined this marriage certificate and noted that the designation for Charles was "B" for bachelor at the time of his marriage to Ella McDonald)