I have been researching my Bower origins in Ontario, Canada for about a year. In the index to the 1871 census of Ontario, I located Mary Ann Bower, a recent widow (her husband's name was Joseph) and several of her children in Kemptville, Ontario. Joseph had been a merchant with a general store in Kemptville. He died 7 September 1870 and was born in 1813 or 1814 and Mary Ann in 1818, both in Ontario (if they told the census taker the whole truth! ).

I spent many bleary-eyed hours with old Canadian census returns: 1871, 1861, 1851 (1841 [rotten luck] is missing). I managed to assemble a list of 11 children of Joseph and Mary Ann, the youngest being my great grandfather. Now I understand why he was on one of the first trains west; would you stay in a small town with nine or ten older siblings?

Over a period of months, and with a fair bit of help, I have assembled a reasonable amount of information on the family.

Joseph Bower was born early in November 1813. According to one source, he was born in the town of Williamsburgh. Another states it was "on a farm on the fourth concession of South Gower." Either way, that's the last we hear of him until he turns up in Kemptville in 1835. He worked for local retailers for about two years. He then opened his own store in a building that served as both business and home for several years.

Within a couple of years, he had married Mary Ann Huntington. She was born in Madrid, St. Lawrence County, New York in 1818. Her exact birthdate is still a mystery, as is the location of their marriage. After that the records are pretty complete.

The couple settled in Kemptville and, there, raised a family.

Children:

During the 1840s and '50s, Joseph built his business. In 1850, he moved the store to larger quarters and began purchasing property. In 1859 he built a bigger store which remained the location for his business over the years under various names: Bower and Huntington; Bower, Porter and Blackburn and finally, Bower, Porter and Bower. Not content with retailing, Joseph also operated a distillery for several years in the 1840s and '50s.

Firmly established as one of Kemptville's most successful businessmen, Joseph built a very large home for his wife, seven sons and four daughters "which is today amongst the finest in town," according to the 1903 booklet, Kemptville Past and Present, by J. Carr Anderson. He also had 203 acres of land stocked with cattle, pigs and horses.

Joseph took part in the business of his community, serving on the school board and as treasurer for the village. He was a member of the congregation of St. James Anglican Church. When he died, on 7 September 1870, he was buried in the cemetery at St. James. By that time, his eldest children were married (Elizabeth to James Porter, Mary Jane to Andrew Blackburn, Joseph William to Sarah Maley). The others remained at home with Mary Ann.

We know the names of several more of the children's spouses: Samuel Henry married Hannah Jane Anderson and, following her death, Maria Maley. He fathered at least three sons. Ann Catherine married Herod Laing and Caroline married James Malcom McGregor.

The youngest son, Gideon Bower, married Margaret Mary Hudson sometime prior to 1885. I do not know where that marriage took place but their first child, Frank, was born in Manitoba and the second, Arthur Hudson, in Calgary in October 1887. Within a year, the family had moved to Vancouver.

Family lore says that several others in the family also moved west, settling somewhere in Manitoba and in or near Fleming, Saskatchewan. It also claims the Bowers were Loyalists from New York, possibly Saratoga Springs.