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These are the stories of Kenora participants in the First World War.
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Private Hilliard Rusteed Dusang was the first Kenora lad to join the 94th Battalion, signing up at age 18. He arrived in France in September 1916 and he was killed at the Battle of Vimy Ridge seven months later. Hilliard was the son of Albert James Dusang and Caroline Laura Gill. Albert and Caroline were… Read More »
Robert Lockie Halliday was born on 12 June 1883 in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the first born child of William Halliday who was from Kirkfieldbank and Margaret Lockie who was from Newmains. The couple had married earlier that year in nearby Cambusnethan. Other children born in Hamilton were Marion, Elizabeth, William, Grace, and John…. Read More »
Hugh Donald McLean was born 28 October 1891 at the family home on Beaton’s Island in Keewatin, Ontario. When Hugh was born his middle name was registered as ‘Daniel’ which may have been a mistake when recorded. His parents, Donald (known as ‘Dan’) and his mother Catherine emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland arriving in Quebec in… Read More »
Although he gave his year of birth as 1883 on his attestation papers, Charles Stewart Erskine was born on 16 November 1881 in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland. His parents were Thomas and Janet (née Stewart) who had married in 1870 in Falkirk. Over the years Tom made his living as a joiner journeyman (contract carpenter). The… Read More »
Private John Arthur Presley was born in Clarence Creek, Russell County, Ontario. His parents were Joseph Presley, a farmer, and Jane Conn. Joseph and Jane were both Irish and born in the Clarence Creek area. John grew up there and he was one of at least ten children. At some point he moved west and… Read More »
Alexander McCready Reid was born on 21 August 1884 in the community of Pollokshaws in Glasgow, Scotland. His father James Reid, a joiner, was from Ayr, Ayrshire while his mother Margaret (Maggie) McConnachie Hendrie was from Bonhill in Dunbartonshire. The couple married on 2 June 1876 in Pollokshaws. Alexander had an older brother James and… Read More »
William Charles King was born 11 June 1870 in Hammersmith, England. He was the eldest child of William King and Emma Sarah Tomlin. His siblings were: Ellen Sarah (1872-1934; m. William J. Granville), James Edward (1876-1929), Emma Elizabeth (1880-1938; m. John E. Pike), Edward George (1884-1943), and Mary Annie (1887-1910). The family was living in… Read More »
Peter Angus McIntosh (MacIntosh) was born on 19 January 1888 in St Peter’s, Nova Scotia. His parents Angus McIntosh and Catherine Robertson (aka Robinson) were both from Nova Scotia, likely marrying around 1883. Farming in the St Peter’s area, children born to the couple were Christine Euphemia (1884), John James (1885), Peter, James Vincent (1889),… Read More »
Throughout the war railroads were essential for evacuating the wounded and moving troops, equipment and supplies, and skilled workers were needed for their construction, maintenance and operation. Sapper James George Morgan, a CPR employee from Kenora, Ontario, enlisted with a railway unit in March 1917 and served in France and Belgium for two years. George… Read More »
Samuel Joseph Taylor was born on 13 June 1885 in Lurgan, County Armagh in northern Ireland. His parents were Absalom Taylor, a shoemaker, and Mary Ann Stevenson, the couple marrying on 18 February 1889 in Lurgan. At the time of the marriage Absalom was a widower. Samuel had an older sister Susan (born 1883)… Read More »
