Notes for Benjamin THURTELL

Thurtell and Related Families Thurtell and Related Families

Notes for Benjamin THURTELL

The family tree done by Harriet Thurtell about 1900, the 1963 Thurtell family history, and the History of the Thurtell Family done by Susan Persia Thurtell about 1968, all in the possession of Susan Persia Thurtell Miller, show Benjamin was born at Hobland Hall, and he and his wife, Anne Barber Thurtell, had all six of their children at Hobland Hall. He came to America in 1834 and settled in Guelph Township, Canada, on Lots 11, 12, 13, Con. 5, Div. D, with 200 acres. After the death of his first wife, he married Sarah Ann Davie, who owned Lots 8, 9, 10, Con. S, Div. D, Guelph Township.

Information received in 1997 from Charlotte Angst Mackie shows that Benjamin Thurtell and his six children came to America in 1834 or 1835, after the death of his wife, Anne Barber Thurtell. On December 24, 1835, Benjamin Thurtell Sr. received a Grant from the Canada Company for farm Lots 11 & 12, Concession 5, Division D, Guelph Township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada.

A book published in 1935 by the Guelph Publishing Company, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, which was reprinted in 1983 called "The Beginning of Things in Wellington and Waterloo Counties" by A. E. Byerly includes several references to Benjamin Thurtell. It shows the chairman of Guelph Township meetings in the 1830's was usually either Benjamin Thurtell, John Inglis, or Geoffrey Lynch. When the Wellington District Council came into operation in 1842, Benjamin Thurtell was among the first councillors. A Commission of the Peace was created for the District of Wellington in 1849, and Benjamin Thurtell was among the men appointed for Guelph at that time.

A brochure prepared by Charlotte V. Mackie, of Guelph, Ontario, "Benjamin Thurtell and Descendants" for the "Woodlawn Cemetery Self Guided Memorial Walking Tour," Woodlawn Cemetery, 762 Woolwich Street, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 3Z1,shows that Benjamin Thurtell Sr., "a well educated man, was prominent in Municipal affairs during the early formation of this area, and served in Guelph Township as a Magistrate, Municipal Councillor, Reeve and Warden. He was elected to the first council under the Municipal Act of 1841, retiring from the District Council in 1848, and was again elected in 1850 as "Town Reeve" of the Township of Guelph. By the Municipal Act passed in 1849, the Town of Guelph was set apart as a separate corporation from the Township. But, the Schedule in which Guelph was entered having been omitted by the Clerk of the Legislature in copying, the Town and Township remained one Municipality during 1850, with Benjamin Thurtell as Town Reeve. In 1851 the separation took place and Benjamin Thurtell the First Reeve of Guelph Township served until the end of 1853, when he retired due to ill health."

The County of Wellington would like to include a photo of Benjamin Thurtell, along with the other wardens of the county, on the wall in the court room in the Wellington County Court House in Guelph. So far, no picture of him has been located.

Benjamin Thurtell, born 1795, and Mrs. Anne Thurtell are listed in the Historical Atlas of Wellington County, Ontario, Canada, in the National Library of Canada, reference F5498 W39, on page 66, with the year of the record shown as 1906 and both of them shown as natives of England. This was found in the Ancestry.com library on the internet in May 1999.

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