Charlotte Francis & William Woodley
Charlotte Regina Francis, my 2nd great grandmother, was born March 30, 1842 in Brooklin, Ontario, the eighth and last child of Henry Francis and Sarah Stacy. I have often wondered how that middle name was chosen for her. Was the family honouring royalty in England? None of her siblings had similar names. In fact, few of them had a middle name. It remains a puzzle.
When I started my genealogy research, I did not know anything about Charlotte’s family. Our family had no record of her parents. After some diligent searching, I found an 1851 census record that had Charlotte listed in the Francis family, but her name had been transcribed incorrectly which made it difficult to find.
This led me to Charlotte’s parents who had emigrated from England around 1835 with their first five children. After living in various locations in Ontario, they eventually settled in Brooklin, near Whitby, where they bought farm land and lived for many years.
William Woodley
William James Woodley was also born in Brooklin two weeks after Charlotte on April 13, 1842. Of the 11 children born to Ann Brimacombe and James Arthur Woodley, only William was born in Brooklin. The first two were born in England, and the remaining eight were born in Darlington Township. I haven’t discovered why William was born in Brooklin, but, since Charlotte and William were born there two weeks apart, I wonder if the families knew each other.
Regardless, William and his family didn’t stay in Brooklin. By 1850 the Woodley’s had moved to Darlington Township where they bought farm land, but somehow Charlotte and William reconnected. They were married in Whitby on Nov. 5, 1866.
Records show that they lived on Concession 8, Lot 10 in Darlington Township after their marriage. This photo is of the house currently on that lot which is the location of the Woodley Sawmill.
Many of the Woodley siblings owned properties in that area, and this property is still in the hands of a descendant who operates the sawmill today. Woodley Sawmill is marked on Google at this link.
Charlotte and William had four children who were born in Darlington Township – Frank, James, Ida May who is my great grandmother, and Lottie. Sometime around 1875, they moved to Cartwright Township and bought property south of a small town called Blackstock, where three more children were born – Edith Mabel, William and Eva Grace.
By 1901 Charlotte and William had moved again, this time to Lindsay, Ontario. They were both 58 years old and their two youngest children were still living with them, Edith Mabel 23 years old, and Eva Grace 17.
A cousin gave me a wedding invitation from 1904 for Edith Mabel and it showed the address of the Woodley family home where the wedding took place at 112 Lindsay St. S. in Lindsay. This photo above shows the house as it looks today.
Sometime in 1901 Charlotte travelled from Ontario to Manitoba to visit her son James Woodley and his wife Mary Greenwell with their two children, Lulu and Cyril. In this photo, she is sitting in the centre with other family members in the back row who accompanied her on the trip – daughter Eva Grace on the left, Selena Thompson (wife of her son, Frank), and daughter Edith Mabel on the right.
In addition to having their two daughters, Eva Grace and Edith Mabel, living with them in the Lindsay house, Charlotte and William had two grandchildren with them – Eva May who was 13 and Charles Franklin who was 11. You can read how this came about in this story. It was likely in this house in Lindsay where granddaughter, Eva May, was married in Dec. 1908.
By 1911 Charlotte and William had moved once more, this time to Blackstock. This photo below of the house was taken by Bill Babcock, a great grandson of the Woodley’s, many years ago while he was researching the family history.
These stalwart ancestors were now 69 years old and still had two grandchildren with them. Charlie was 21, but Edith Mabel Crawford, daughter of Lottie Woodley, was only 8. What an amazing couple to have had young children with them for so many years!
In Dec. 1915, Charlie, my grandfather, married Helena Maud Conley, and she moved into the Blackstock house too. My mother was born there in March 1917. Another full house!
In Nov. 1916, many of the children and grandchildren of Charlotte and William gathered at the Blackstock home to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary including the Babcock and Reid families. I’m not sure Charlotte looks very happy in this photo. Perhaps it was taking too long to get everyone together.
There was one more move left for Charlotte and William. Around 1917 they moved with my grandparents, Charlie and Maud, to 45 Albert St. S. in Lindsay, a house I remember visiting quite often when I was young.
William Woodley died in this house on Oct. 8, 1919 and Charlotte continued to live with the family.
My mother frequently mentioned that Charlotte had a very strong personality and continued to run the household as if it was her own, much to the consternation of my grandmother, Maud. Apparently, Maud gave Charlie an ultimatum to get Charlotte to change her ways, and I gather it worked.
Charlotte died at the Lindsay house on Dec. 30, 1928. In this photo she is sitting in the yard at the side of the house.
I have wondered if Charlotte’s middle name, Regina, had an influence on her personality, making her the “queen” of her realm – until she met my grandmother.
My great grandmother, Ida May Woodley, died quite young, and it was her children who were living with Charlotte and William in Lindsay. Ida May’s story is at this link.
