John Henry^[1]

1839 - 1903  (63 years)

• Name	John Henry
  Born	25 Jun 1839	, Ontario, Canada   [2, 3, 4, 5]
  Gender	Male
  FindAGrave	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/215559374
  Occupation	1871	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  	Fireman
  Occupation	1881	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	Store Keeper
  Occupation	1891	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  	Farmer
  Residence	1891	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  	Methodist
  Occupation	1901	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	Farmer
  Eby ID Number	00092-5283.1
  Died	16 Feb 1903	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Buried	New Hope Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I83499	Generations
  Last Modified	12 May 2024

  
  

  Father	James Henry,   b. Abt 1802, Of, Ireland ,   d. Feb 1845, Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age ~ 43 years)
  Family ID	F21735	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Rife,   b. 8 May 1842, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 13 Aug 1926, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 84 years)
  Married	6 Jan 1864	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [6]
  Children	1. Mila Henry,   b. 1864, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   2. Allen Mills Henry,   b. 1865, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   3. Isabella Henry,   b. 16 Apr 1867, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   4. Thomas Emerson Henry,   b. 30 Jul 1869, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   5. George Milton Henry,   b. 21 Jul 1871, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   6. James Henry,   b. 1873, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   7. Albert Bertrum Henry,   b. 1876, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   8. Bertie Henry,   b. 1877, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	13 May 2024
  Family ID	F3044	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  "Notes of Interest for Descendants of John Henry and Elizabeth Rife. The town of Hespeler was incorporated into the City of Cambridge in 1973 along with Galt, Preston and some nearby villages. One of the requirements of this amalgamation was the elimination of any duplication in Street names. There was a Henry Street in Galt, Preston and Hespeler. Henry Street Hespeler was named in honour of John Henry. The Galt Street, being by far the longest, was to retain its name, while the Preston and Hespeler Street were to be renamed. I (Robert L. Henry, Halifax) did not agree with this decision and decided to take action. I prepared a court brief and presented it to the judge at the hearing in Kitchener, Ontario. I knew that it was an uphill fight to retain the name "Henry" only on the street, so my conclusion in the brief was a request to rename the street "Henry Villa Drive." "Henry Villa" was the name of John Henry's home. This was authorized by the Court, so now Henry Street in the Hespeler portion of Cambridge is now known as "Henry Villa Drive." The following is a small street map of the old farm area in Hespeler in which streets of interest to the family are shown. Milton Avenue is named after my uncle George Milton. Austin Avenue is named after my uncle James Austin. Emerson Street is named after my father Thomas Emerson. (I don't know why they didn't get a street named for uncle Bert, Aunt Mildred or Aunt Bella when they were at it)." Henry (1802-1845) was a younger brother of Reverend Thomas. He was married around 1825 and it is believed his wife was an Ellis from the Oshawa area. James and his wife moved to the Guelph area about 1830 (Guelph was founded in 1827) and raised a family of nine children. The next set of notes concerns the family of James Henry (1802-1845). Except for his son John (1840-1903) very little is known. The names below were taken from county records of Guelph and Waterloo and others were names of my father's first cousins. John Henry (1840-1903). John lived all his life in the vicinity of Hespeler (except for a brief stay in California). He married Elizabeth Rife (1842-1926) from Berlin (Kitchener), Ontario. They raised a family of two daughters and four sons. Henry Re-Unions. The plans for having an annual Henry Re-Union were drawn up in Hespeler during the funeral of Elizabeth (Rife) Henry on August 13, 1926. The first Re-Union was held at Arthur in 1927 and the second was held at Oshawa in 1928." next set of notes concerns the family of John (1840-1903) and Elizabeth (Rife) (1842-1926). John was a businessman in Hespeler, Ontario. He married Elizabeth Rife on 6 January, 1864 in Berlin (Kitchener) Ontario. In 1866, he built a two storey stone building on the main street of Hespeler which contained two stores on the lower level and his own living quarters on the second storey. He operated a bakery in one store and rented the other. In 1875, he erected another stone building alongside and opened a grocery store. In approximately 1880, he purchased a large farm on which was a huge stone barn, farmhouse and house for the hired help. This was the original farm of Jacob Hespeler for which the town was named. He moved the family to the farm house which was known in the town as the Henry Villa. In 1898, the two buildings on the main street were torn down and the large Henry Block was erected in their place. It was completed in 1901 and still stands today (1974) as an imposing structure on the town's main street. The Henry farm was sold to John Forbes and the buildings torn down for his residence (one square stone tower of the barn remains today). Part of the farm land was used for town development - the remainder stayed as farmland. Today, Alex Forbes (son of George) has a wild bird sanctuary on the farmland." email from Michael Ellis inkellis@cogeco.ca 2007 _____________ Died In Hespeler, on Monday, February 16th, 1903, at 8.15 o'clock a.m., John Henry, Aged 63 years, 7 months and 22 days. Funeral Will take place from his late residence, Avenue St., Hespeler, where services will be held on Wednesday, February 18th, 1903, at 2.30 o'clock p.m., thence to the Hespeler Cemetery for interment. Friends and acquaintances will please accept this intimation. Hespeler, February 16th, 1903. Funeral Card

  
  

• Sources

  [S10] Book - Vol II A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 182. [S143] Census - ON, Waterloo, Hespeler - 1901, Hespeler (Village) D-2 Page 23. [S508] Census - ON, Waterloo, Hespeler - 1871, Page 12. [S299] Census - ON, Waterloo, Hespeler - 1881, Page 5. [S2208] Census - ON, Waterloo, Hespeler - 1891, Section 1 Page 59. [S31] News - ON, Waterloo, Cambridge - Dumfries Reformer (1850-1892), 20 Jan 1864. Henry, John married 6 Jan 1864 to Elizabeth Ripe [Rife?] By Rev Mr Bindeman, Berlin. Bride of Waterloo.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 25 Jun 1839 - , Ontario, Canada Married - 6 Jan 1864 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Fireman - 1871 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Store Keeper - 1881 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Farmer - 1891 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Methodist - 1891 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Farmer - 1901 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 16 Feb 1903 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - New Hope Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth