William Randall (1855-1938)  Arthur Randall (1858-1935)   George Randall (1862-1925)

The above are grandsons of William Randall, who was born in 1794 in Wiltshire England. 

William Randall, a weaver, was born in Wiltshire, England. His first wife died and he married Ann Ashley, the woman who had been hired to look after his children. The family emigrated to Canada and settled in Adelaide township, Middlesex County,  in about 1832. There are indications that they may have come with the first group of Petworth emigrants on the ship Lord Melville or Eveline. The Petworth emigrations were organised between 1832 and 1837 by Rev. Thomas Sockett of Petworth parish, Sussex, England, to assist the poor of the parish to emigrate to Upper Canada under the sponsorship of the Earl of Egremont, and many settled in the newly opened Adelaide township. The name William Randall appears twice on agent Roswell Mount’s 1832 pay lists of people working on road construction in Adelaide and Warwick townships. It appears likely that another Randall family who came in 1833 with the second group of Petworth emigrants on the ship England to Lambton county were relatives.

William had several children including three sons, William (1818), Samuel (1823), James (1829) born in England. Other children were born after arriving in Canada including a daughter, Mercy, who came to Sylvan, married John Thompson and lived on lot 22, Conc. 21 in 1871. After the death of his wife, William came from Adelaide village to Sylvan in 1865 and set up a weaving business (½ acre of lot 16, Conc. 21 which was surveyed as the Village of Sylvan). A few months before he died, he was living with his daughter Mercy and her husband.

William, the eldest son, was born in England and came to Adelaide with his father. In 1842, he married Elizabeth Sitlington, also born in England. William was an enterprising young man who, when very young, got the job of carrying the mail from Adelaide to Delaware, and later he carried the mail from London to Sarnia. With the coming of the railways, long distance mail carrying jobs were disappearing so he moved his family to Sylvan in about 1850 where he and Lewis Mott became the first settlers. The 1851 census locates him at lot 16, Conc. 16, but by 1855 he was on the southern part of Lot 18, Conc. 16 which he purchased from the Canada Company in 1860. He immediately sold 50 acres to Robert Campbell, and later sold one acre to the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church of West Williams, leaving 33 acres. The new post offices in the Sylvan area needed a carrier and thus William resumed his postal career.  In addition to carrying the mail, William farmed, had an orchard, and in later years joined with his brother Samuel  in a business manufacturing hand made slop brick.

He had a family of eight surviving children. Serina (1843) married Mr. A. Ward and lived in Port Huron, Michigan. Elizabeth (1844) married Croft Nicholson in 1866 and moved first to Deckerville, and then Port Huron, Michigan. Samuel (1847) married Lettisha (surname unknown) in 1877 and immediately left for a winter job felling trees in the lumber woods of Michigan where he was killed by a falling branch. His body was returned to Sylvan for burial in Sylvan cemetery. Little is known of Adam (1849). James (1856), moved to Thedford, married Euphemia Johnson and worked as a hotel clerk. Sarah J. (1860) married Alfred O. Rice of Wyoming, Ontario, and moved to Oil Springs. Martha (1863) married Alexander McFadyen of Marthaville in Lambton county and also moved to Oil Springs. A daughter, Jane, died as an infant.

Son William James Randall (1860 - 1932) married Mary E. Pascoe (1860 - 1920) and they assumed ownership of the farm. They had three children. Florence Edith (1885 - 1969) married James N. Vernon (1885 - 1948) and continued to live in West Williams.  Julia Ann (1890 - 1983) married Stephen H. Forman, May (1899 - 1966) married John Elliot and they both moved to St. Marys.

SAMUEL RANDALL (1823 - After 1901)

Samuel Randall married Harriet Sitlington (sister of William’s wife Elizabeth) on March 10, 1842. He farmed in Adelaide township until 1857, when he arrived with his family in West Williams and purchased lot 16, Conc. 15. from Boswell Wilson. In 1873 he traded the farm to Edward M. Proctor in return for lot 15, Conc. 21, the site of the Proctor saw mill. By this time, most of the white pine for which Sylvan was famous had been harvested, but Samuel continued to operate the sawmill doing custom sawing for local farmers. He also began a business manufacturing slop brick, and continued farming as well. Many of the early brick structures around Sylvan are made with Randall brick. Some time around1880, his wife Harriet died, and Samuel moved first to Wyoming, Ontario and then to Bay City, Michigan. In 1888 he married Harriet Stover, a Canadian woman whom he met in Bay City. The Parkhill Gazette reports that they continued to visit relatives in Sylvan and Lambton county in the last years of the nineteenth century. In 1901, Samuel was retired and living with his daughter Margaret in Wyoming, Ont.

Sam and Harriet Sitlington had nine children. Eldest was Eli Randall (1843) who married Jane Thompson and bought his father’s property, lot 15, Conc.21 which he farmed until 1883 at which time he moved to Deckerville, Michigan. Sara (1845-1919) married William Climie, sister Margaret Ann (1846) married Thomas Climie and both moved to Wyoming in Lambton county. Elizabeth Randall (1850) married Joseph W. Smith, a Strathroy merchant They moved to Wyoming, Ont. and eventually to Los Angeles, California. Little is known about Harriet (1852). Melissa (1855-1935) married B. Hunniford (1849 - 1899) and lived near Thedford. They are interred in Sylvan Cemetery. Son William (1858) married Sarah Thompson and moved to Michigan. Levina (1861-1873) is buried in Dunlop cemetery in Mandaumin, Ont.

James Edward Randall (1862 - 1919) remained in W. Williams. He married Elva J. Richards (1862-1944) from Lambton county. Their daughter, Laura Mildred Randall married John Alfred Vernon in 1909. They and their descendants continued to farm in W. Williams.

James Randall was the last of the three brothers to move to West Williams. When Samuel moved to West Williams, James assumed ownership of his brother’s farm in Adelaide township . He married Elizabeth Mary Morse (1835-1905), also of Adelaide, and they began to raise their family. In 1870 he joined brothers William and Samuel and his father, William, when he moved his family of eight children to part of lots 16 and 17, Conc. 21. Two more children were born in W. Williams.

James’ eldest son William Thomas Randall (1855 - 1938) married Caroline Tompkins and moved to Michigan. The eldest daughter, Eliza Ann (1857-1874) died at the age of seventeen, and is interred in Sylvan cemetery. Ellen, known as ‘Nell’ (1860) married Wesley Clark from Petrolia. George (1862-1925) married Mary Ellen Higgins (1864-1917) and moved to Port Huron where he worked in the railway car shops. Brother Lewis (1864-1937) and sister Amelia (1866-1949) also married and moved to Port Huron. Mary (1868) remained a spinster. She inherited lot 16, Conc. 21 from her parents, and it was farmed on her behalf by her brother Arthur. Margaret (1872) married W. Lamb and moved to Michigan as well. The youngest daughter, Blanche (1873-1939) married Elisha B. Clark from Warwick in Lambton county and moved to Biggar, Saskatchewan.

Arthur Randall (1858-1935) married Caroline (Carrie) Clark (1863-1936), Elisha Clark’s sister. They bought the section of lot 17, Conc. 21 from Arthur’s father, and farmed there until their deaths. After the death of William Randall Jr., Arthur assumed the duties of mail carrier, and occasionally recruited his oldest daughter Olive to take the mail to the Lamon post office on her bicycle. Arthur also had a woodworking shop where he repaired buggies, made household items such as cutting boards and rolling pins, and did other custom woodworking. He owned one of the first cars in Sylvan which he polished regularly, drove infrequently and stored in the barn. The car, still in mint condition, was destroyed many years later when the barn burned.

Daughter Olive (1885 - 1969) married William Sturdevant from Smith’s Creek, Michigan. They lived in Smith’s Creek, and Biggar, Saskatchewan before finally settling in Parkhill. Elizabeth or Bessie (1889 - 1959) married Ernest Faulds of Arkona, and lived several places across the United States and Canada. She died at the home of her sister Olive in Parkhill. Martha or Mattie (1891-1954) married Blynn Hubble and lived near Detroit. John (1894-1975) served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France during World War I. He married Lily Wolfe and they farmed lot 16, Conc. 21. Upon retirement they sold the farm to Roy and Laura Smith, and moved to Parkhill. John and Lily had two sons born in W. Williams, Bruce and Edward. An infant daughter, Florence (1900 - 1902) died at age two and is interred in Sylvan cemetery. Marjorie (1905 ) married Lloyd Tedball and moved to Thedford. Kenneth (1911 - 1964) married Amie Lawson. Kenneth worked as a mechanic at Gray’s garage in Parkhill while living on and farming lot 17, Conc. 21. They had three children, Arlene, Eleanor and William. With Ken’s death in 1964 and the sale of the farm, the family name "Randall" disappeared from the Sylvan area after a period of one hundred and fourteen years.

Descendants of William Randall
           
   1     [1] William Randall     1794 - 1871 (Interred Sylvan Cemetery, Sylvan, Ontario)
..        +(Elizabeth?) (Alace?) Unknown     Unknown - Unknown
        *2nd Wife of [1] William Randall:    
..        +Ann Ashley    1805 - 1865 (Interred St. Ann Church Cemetery, Adelaide, Ontario)
..................    2     William (Jr.) Randall     1818 - 1899
......................        +Elizabeth Sitlington     1821 - 1901
......................................    3     Serina Randall    1843 - Unknown
......................................    3      Elizabeth Randall    1844 - Unknown
..........................................         +Croft Nicholson    1843 - Unknown
..........................................................    4      John Nicholson    Unknown -
..........................................................    4      Eva Nicholson    Unknown - Unknown
...............................................................         +John Bastedo    Unknown - Unknown
......................................    3     Samuel Randall    1847 - 1877
..........................................         +Lettisha Unknown    Unknown - Unknown
......................................    3     Adam Randall    1849 - Unknown
......................................    3     James Randall    1857 - 1904
..........................................         +Euphemia Johnson    Unknown - Unknown
......................................    3     Sarah J. Randall    1860 - Unknown
..........................................         +Alfred O. Rice    Abt. 1845 - Unknown
......................................    3     William James Randall    1860 - 1932
..........................................        +Mary Ellen Pascoe    1860 - 1928
..........................................................    4      Florence Edith Randall    1885 - 1969
...............................................................         +James N. Vernon    1885 - 1948
..........................................................    4      Julia Ann Randall    1890 - Unknown
...............................................................         +Stephen H. Forman    1881 - 1972
..........................................................    4      May Randall    1898 - 1966
...............................................................         +John Elliot    1894 - 1945
......................................    3     Martha Randall    1863 - Unknown
..........................................         +Alexander McFadyan    Abt. 1858 - Unknown
..................    2     [3] Samuel Randall     1823 - Aft. 1901
......................        +Harriet Sitlington     1817 - Bef. 1888
......................................    3     Eli Randall    1843 - 1917
..........................................        +Jane Thompson    1846 - 1907
..........................................................    4      John W. Randall    1873 - 1909
..........................................................    4      William Herbert Randall    1875 - 1918
...............................................................         +Minnie Barber   
..........................................................    4      Margaret Ann Randall    1878 - 1884
..........................................................    4      Thomas Randall    1880 - Aft. 1918
...............................................................         +Sophie Brownlow    Unknown - Unknown
..........................................................    4      Wesley Randall    Unknown - Unknown
......................................    3     Sarah Randall    1845 - 1919
..........................................         +William S. Climie    1848 - 1904
..........................................................    4      William W. Climie    1872 - 1934
..........................................................    4      Hattie Lavinia Climie    1877 - Unknown
...............................................................         +R. R. Beyer    Unknown - Unknown
..........................................................    4      Thomas Bertie Climie    1879 - Unknown
..........................................................    4      [2] Annie Elizabeth Climie    1881 - Unknown
...............................................................         +J. M. Biscombe   
..........................................................         *2nd Husband of [2] Annie Elizabeth Climie:    
...............................................................         +Harry S. Adams    Unknown - Unknown
..........................................................    4      Samuel James Climie    1884 - 1960
..........................................................    4      Laura Gertrude Climie    1888 - 1958
...............................................................         +D. W. McNaughton   
......................................    3      Margaret Ann Randall    1846 - Unknown
..........................................         +Thomas Climie    1844 - 1916
......................................    3      Elizabeth Randall    1850 - Aft. 1919
..........................................         +Joseph W. Smith    1850 - Unknown
..........................................................    4      Hattie M. Smith    1878 - Unknown
..........................................................    4      Carman Smith    Unknown -
......................................    3     Hariet Randall    1852 - Unknown
......................................    3     Melissa Randall    1856 - Unknown
..........................................         +Benjamin F. Hunniford     Unknown - Unknown
..........................................................    4      Margaret Ethel Hunniford    - 1960
..........................................................    4      William Hunniford   
..........................................................    4      Florence Hunniford   
...............................................................         +William Nutt   
..........................................................    4      Franklin Hunniford   
...............................................................         +Margaret Jane McLachlan   
..........................................................    4      Clifford Hunniford   
..........................................................    4      Ernest Edward Hunniford    1880 - 1954
...............................................................         +Luella May Wood    Unknown - Unknown
......................................    3     William Henry Randall    1858 - Aft. 1901
..........................................         +Sarah Thompson    1860 - 1901
..........................................................    4      Emma J. Randall   
..........................................................    4      Maggie Ethyl Randall   
..........................................................    4      Elva Pearl Randall   
..........................................................    4      George M. Randall   
..........................................................    4      Lavina May Randall    1880 - 1882
..........................................................    4      Annie Mabel Randall    1883 - Unknown
...............................................................         +William Simpson    1862 - 1942
..........................................................    4      William Roy Randall    1896 - 1955
......................................    3     Levina Randall    1861 - 1873
......................................    3     James Edward Randall    1862 - 1919
..........................................        +Elva J. Richards    1862 - 1944
..........................................................    4      Laura Mildred Randall    1886 - 1978
...............................................................         +John Alfred Vernon    1877 - 1970
..........................................................    4      Merle Randall    Unknown -
..................        *2nd Wife of [3] Samuel Randall:   
......................        +Harriet N. Stover     1839 - Unknown
..................    2     James Randall     1829 - 1885
......................        +Elizabeth Mary Morse     1835 - 1905
......................................    3     William Thomas Randall    1855 - 1938
..........................................         +Caroline Thompkins    1854 - 1914
..........................................................    4      Clara Randall    1883 - 1979
...............................................................         +Unknown Bird   
..........................................................    4      Elisha Brown Randall    1885 - Unknown
..........................................................    4      Howard Randall    1888 - 1964
..........................................................    4      Lottie Almira Randall    1888 - 1959
...............................................................         +John William Field    1883 - 1958
..........................................................    4      Elizabeth Randall    Unknown -
...............................................................         +Unknown Beavers   
..........................................................    4      Rebecca Randall    Unknown -
...............................................................         +Unknown Langland   
......................................    3     Eliza Ann Randall    1857 - 1874
......................................    3     Arthur Randall    1858 - 1935
..........................................         +Caroline (Carrie) Clark    1863 - 1936
..........................................................    4      Olive Naomi Randall    1885 - 1969
...............................................................         +William J. Sturdevant    1884 - 1954
..........................................................    4      Elizabeth Mary (Bessie) Randall    1889 - 1959
...............................................................         +Ernest Carman Faulds    1888 - 1937
..........................................................    4      Martha Lavina (Mattie) Randall    1891 - 1957
...............................................................         +Blynn Charles Hubble    1889 - 1959
..........................................................    4      John James Randall    1894 - 1975
...............................................................         +Lillian (Lily) Elizabeth Wolfe     1916 - 1994
..........................................................    4      Florence Randall    1900 - 1902
..........................................................    4      Marjorie Harriet Randall    1905 - Unknown
...............................................................         +Lloyd Henry Tedball    1898 - 1959
..........................................................    4      Kenneth Carman Randall    1911 - 1964
...............................................................         +Amy Lawson   
......................................    3     Ellen (Nell) Randall    1860 - Unknown
..........................................         +Wesley Clark    Unknown - Unknown
......................................    3     George Gilbert Randall    1862 - 1925
..........................................        +Mary Ellen (Minnie) Higgins    1864 - 1917
..........................................................    4      Alice Randall    1885 - 1957
...............................................................         +George Howard Boddy    1887 - 1958
..........................................................    4      Beatrice Randall    1889 - 1919
...............................................................         +Philo DeWayne Hotelling    1887 - 1947
..........................................................    4      James Harold Randall    1891 - 1970
...............................................................         +Margaret M. Hager    Unknown - Unknown
..........................................................    4      Eunice Randall    1896 - 1926
..........................................................    4      Nellie Randall    1900 - Unknown
...............................................................         +Charles Magahay    1896 - 1959
......................................    3     Lewis Henry Randall    1864 - 1937
..........................................         +Addie A. Wait    1865 - 1957
..........................................................    4      Faith Randall    1898 - 1976
......................................    3     Amelia M. (Minnie) Randall    1866 - 1949
..........................................        +John Phipps    1852 - 1910
..........................................................    4      Mary Morse Phipps    Unknown - Unknown
...............................................................         +John Law Ross    1900 - 1941
......................................    3     Mary E. Randall    1868 - Unknown
..........................................         +Unknown Lamb   
......................................    3      Margaret Jane Randall    1872 - Unknown
..........................................         +William Lamb    Unknown - Unknown
..........................................................    4      George Lamb    Bef. 1897 - Unknown
......................................    3     Blanche Louise Randall    1873 - 1939
..........................................         +Elisha B. Clark    1871 - 1939
..................    2     John Randall     1838 - Unknown
......................        +Sarah P. Smith     1842 - Unknown
..................    2     Grace Randall     1840 -
..................    2     Mercy Randall     1841 - Unknown
......................        +John T. Thompson     1842 - 1912
......................................    3     William F. Thompson   
......................................    3     Joseph Thompson    1871 - 1890
......................................    3     William F. Thompson    1874 -
......................................    3     David Thompson    1875 - Unknown
......................................    3     Edward Thompson    1879 - Unknown
......................................    3     James Thompson    1882 - Unknown
..................    2     Mary Randall     1843 - Unknown
......................        +Charles Parker     1833 - Unknown
..................    2     Martha Randall     Unknown - Unknown
......................        +Thomas Dowding     Abt. 1796 - Unknown
......................................    3     Eliza Dowding   
......................................    3     James Dowding   
......................................    3     George Dowding   
......................................    3      Elizabeth Dowding   
......................................    3     Harriet Dowding   
......................................    3     Mary Ann Dowding   
......................................    3     Sarah Anne Dowding    Unknown -
......................................    3     William Dowding    Unknown -
..................    2     Ann Randall     Unknown - 1836
..................    2     Marianne Randall     Unknown - Unknown
......................        +Stephen Thrower     Unknown - Unknown
......................................    3     Charles Thrower   
......................................    3     Mary Jane Thrower   
......................................    3     Sarah Matilda (Mary) Thrower   
......................................    3     William Thrower   
......................................    3     Ann Thrower   
......................................    3     James A. Thrower   

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