John Pollock

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00027-2015.11
• Occupation: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Servant
• Residence: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Church of Scotland
• Occupation: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Carpenter
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Ch. of Scotland

John married Rachel Hewitt 4 Feb 1859, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Rachel (daughter of Elisha Hewitt and Rachel Cress) was born 5 Jul 1839, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 5 Dec 1911, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Winterbourne Presbyterian Cemetery, Winterbourne, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Ellen W. McElwain
• Name: Helen Pollock
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-457546
• Residence: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Church of Scotland
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Ch. of Scotland

Ellen married Samuel Michael McElwain 30 Sep 1879, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Samuel was born 1851, , Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-222692

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-68933
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Ch. of Scotland
• Occupation: 1881, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farm Labourer
• Occupation: 1891, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Residence: 1891, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Occupation: 1901, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farm Labor
• Occupation: 1911, Winterbourne, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Residence: 1911, Winterbourne, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Notes:

Eleanor Springer Put Under Arrest
Eyewitness of Killings Charged As Incorrigible; Joint Funeral

Eleanor Springer, 19-year-old West Montrose district girl who was the sole survivor and an eyewitness of the weekend shooting fatalities there, was last night taken into custody and placed in the county jail. She is being held on a charge under the Female Refugees Act, gist of the charge being that she is an incorrigible, [incorrigible: not able to be corrected or reformed] Crown Attorney Clement said today. She has been remanded until tomorrow morning and will appear in court before Magistrate Polson.

May Amend Charge
Crown Attorney Clement said this afternoon that there was a possibility the charge against Miss Springer would be amended when she appears tomorrow. He emphasized that any action taken by the crown in the case was intended to be helpful for the young woman. Mr. Clement said that no definite decision has yet been made about an inquest into the death of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Letson, Wilson, Percy and Walter (Pat) Letson, but that it was unlikely any further investigation would be made. The five bodies were released to the Dreisinger funeral parlor in Elmira where the service for all five will be held Wednesday afternoon at two o'clock. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Letson, Wilson and Percy, slain by their cousin, Pat Letson, will be buried in a single grave at Winterbourne Presbyterian Cemetery. Pat Letson will be buried in the United Church Cemetery at West Montrose. Provincial Police said today that Eleanor Springer was recovering from nervous shock and is able to give a better story of what happened during the fateful night.

Grim Suggestion

Her own escape from death is almost certainly the result of the unwitting intervention of Elisha (Losh) Pollock, 87, Provincial Constable Scherer said today. Pat Letson, on the Sunday morning, had asked the girl in menacing tones if she wanted to "join Mary." Mary was Mrs. Hugh Letson who was shot down in the living room of the home about Saturday midnight with her husband and her brother-in-law Percy. Before anything could happen Mr. Pollock came in from doing some chores in the barnyard and the girl seized the opportunity to run away from the home and reached her home, three miles away, more than an hour later.


Kitchener Daily Record, Tuesday, December 30, 1947, Pg 3

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-232347
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Ch. of Scotland

Other Events:

• Name: Jennie Mitchell
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-2429
• Residence: 1891, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Jennie married William Mitchell 30 May 1888, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. William (son of Andrew Mitchell and Jessie Henderson) was born 1 Jun 1864, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 23 Apr 1943, Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Woodland Cemetery, Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-115827

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-232348
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Ch. of Scotland
• Residence: 1891, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-232349
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Ch. of Scotland

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-275034
• Residence: 1891, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Name: Rachel Redilia C. Letson
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-53605
• Birth: 19 Mar 1875, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1911, Winterbourne, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Residence: 1932, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Rachel — Joseph C. Letson. Joseph (son of George Oliver Letson and Sarah Goodwin) was born 16 Oct 1868, Winterbourne, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 31 May 1944, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Winterbourne Presbyterian Cemetery, Winterbourne, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-275045
• Residence: 1891, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-273960
• Residence: 1891, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Residence: Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-53675
• Military: 1914, WW1; WW1, Private

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-53606
• Residence: 1911, Winterbourne, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Employment: Great West Felt Co., Elmira, Ontario
• Misfortune: murder, story
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-77104
• Misfortune: 28 Dec 1947, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; murdered

Notes:

Five Die In West Montrose Quarrel; Letson Family Is Wiped Out In Waterloo County's Worst Shooting
[Excerpts from article]

A family was wiped out; a suicide committed and five are dead due to jealousy over an eighteen year old girl, Miss Eleanor Springer, in a family quarrel which started shortly after midnight Sunday morning last. The dead are: Hugh Letson, 45; his wife, Mary, 44; two brothers, Percy, 38 and Wilson, 43, and a cousin Walter (Pat) Letson. The entire Letson family was wiped out by gunfire by Pat Letson. On Saturday evening Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Letson, Wilson Letson and Eleanor Springer went to Kitchener and on the way home stopped at Bridgeport Hotel for beverages. Arriving home shortly after midnight the car was driven to the driving shed. As Wilson stepped out of the car he was blasted in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun in the hands of Pat Letson, according to the statement given to the coroner, Dr. LeRoy Wagner, Elmira, and the Provincial police. He died instantly and fell beside the car. Then followed a very heated argument which took them into the house. Shortly after two or three shots were reported as being fired, according to the only witness of the affair still alive, Eleanor Springer. It is believed both Mr. and Mrs. Letson were killed at this time and also Percy Letson. Sunday wore on before any hint of the shooting became known. No gunshots were heard by neighbors, there being a community wedding party which most attended, the night before. It was Elisha Pollock, 87, aged cousin, slightly blind and hard of hearing found Pat Letson, on the kitchen couch, and when he failed to awaken with repeated shaking, went to the neighbours to inform them Pat was dead. He failed to see the gunshot wound in the chest. He was accompanied back by Wilfred Heinbein [Heibein] and Robert Winfield who found Pat had been shot. Dr. LeRoy Wagner was then notified and went down to West Montrose to investigate.... Provincial police were notified by Dr. Wagner and the investigation got under way.... Sometime between three o'clock and seven, Pat Letson shot himself in the kitchen when he sent the aged Mr. Pollock to the barn to do some chores.

Elmira Signet, Thursday, January 1, 1948, pg 1

_______________________


The three Letson brothers were sons of the late Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Letson of Winterbourne, while the late Herman Letson, father of Pat Letson, was a native of West Montrose. Hugh Letson worked on his homestead farm in West Montrose. His brothers, Percy and Wilson, were employed at the Great West Felt Co. plant in Elmira, while Pat worked at the Link Belt factory in Elmira.

_______________________


Great Many Attend Funeral of Letson's

So many people attended the funeral of the Letson family held Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m., they overflowed the Dreisinger Funeral Chapel, filled the Furniture Store, where a public address system had been placed for those to hear the service who could not see it, and still made it necessary for about a hundred to wait outside the funeral home to witness the cortege. Rev. C. L. Mitchell conducted the service, and Rev. R. M. Metcalfe gave the sermon. Pall bearers, of which there were twelve, were: Floyd Goodwin, Bert Goodwin, Leroy Goodwin, Lorne Godwin, David Goodwin, Murray Fries, A. Schmermund, H. Conrod, J. Eckert, L. Letson, W. Letson and L. Eby. Burial of Walter (Pat) Letson was made at West Montrose Cemetery. Burial of Wilson, Percy, and Hugh and Mary Letson was made in one grave at the Winterbourne Cemetery.

Elmira Signet, Thursday, January 1, 1948

Other Events:

• Interesting: crime, murder, life story
• Name: Archie Letson
• Name: Hugh Letson
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-7570
• Residence: 1911, Winterbourne, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Occupation: 1921, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer, Saw Mill
• Residence: 1921, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Misfortune: 28 Dec 1947, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; murdered
• Funeral: 1948, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Five Die In West Montrose Quarrel; Letson Family Is Wiped Out In Waterloo County's Worst Shooting
[Excerpts from article]

A family was wiped out; a suicide committed and five are dead due to jealousy over an eighteen year old girl, Miss Eleanor Springer, in a family quarrel which started shortly after midnight Sunday morning last. The dead are: Hugh Letson, 45; his wife, Mary, 44; two brothers, Percy, 38 and Wilson, 43, and a cousin Walter (Pat) Letson. The entire Letson family was wiped out by gunfire by Pat Letson. On Saturday evening Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Letson, Wilson Letson and Eleanor Springer went to Kitchener and on the way home stopped at Bridgeport Hotel for beverages. Arriving home shortly after midnight the car was driven to the driving shed. As Wilson stepped out of the car he was blasted in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun in the hands of Pat Letson, according to the statement given to the coroner, Dr. LeRoy Wagner, Elmira, and the Provincial police. He died instantly and fell beside the car. Then followed a very heated argument which took them into the house. Shortly after two or three shots were reported as being fired, according to the only witness of the affair still alive, Eleanor Springer. It is believed both Mr. and Mrs. Letson were killed at this time and also Percy Letson. Sunday wore on before any hint of the shooting became known. No gunshots were heard by neighbors, there being a community wedding party which most attended, the night before. It was Elisha Pollock, 87, aged cousin, slightly blind and hard of hearing found Pat Letson, on the kitchen couch, and when he failed to awaken with repeated shaking, went to the neighbours to inform them Pat was dead. He failed to see the gunshot wound in the chest. He was accompanied back by Wilfred Heinbein [Heibein] and Robert Winfield who found Pat had been shot. Dr. LeRoy Wagner was then notified and went down to West Montrose to investigate.... Provincial police were notified by Dr. Wagner and the investigation got under way.... Sometime between three o'clock and seven, Pat Letson shot himself in the kitchen when he sent the aged Mr. Pollock to the barn to do some chores.

Elmira Signet, Thursday, January 1, 1948, pg 1

_______________________


The three Letson brothers were sons of the late Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Letson of Winterbourne, while the late Herman Letson, father of Pat Letson, was a native of West Montrose. Hugh Letson worked on his homestead farm in West Montrose. His brothers, Percy and Wilson, were employed at the Great West Felt Co. plant in Elmira, while Pat worked at the Link Belt factory in Elmira.

_______________________


Great Many Attend Funeral of Letson's

So many people attended the funeral of the Letson family held Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m., they overflowed the Dreisinger Funeral Chapel, filled the Furniture Store, where a public address system had been placed for those to hear the service who could not see it, and still made it necessary for about a hundred to wait outside the funeral home to witness the cortege. Rev. C. L. Mitchell conducted the service, and Rev. R. M. Metcalfe gave the sermon. Pall bearers, of which there were twelve, were: Floyd Goodwin, Bert Goodwin, Leroy Goodwin, Lorne Godwin, David Goodwin, Murray Fries, A. Schmermund, H. Conrod, J. Eckert, L. Letson, W. Letson and L. Eby. Burial of Walter (Pat) Letson was made at West Montrose Cemetery. Burial of Wilson, Percy, and Hugh and Mary Letson was made in one grave at the Winterbourne Cemetery.

Elmira Signet, Thursday, January 1, 1948

Archibald — Mary Ann Goodwin. Mary (daughter of Gillis Goodwin and Alice Franklin) was born 22 Oct 1903, Peel Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada; died 28 Dec 1947, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Winterbourne Presbyterian Cemetery, Winterbourne, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-166968
• Residence: 1911, Winterbourne, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Residence: 1921, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Employment: Great West Felt Co., Elmira, Ontario
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-166969
• Residence: 1911, Winterbourne, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Residence: 1921, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Crime: 28 Dec 1947, West Montrose, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; murdered his family

Notes:

Five Die In West Montrose Quarrel; Letson Family Is Wiped Out In Waterloo County's Worst Shooting
[Excerpts from article]

A family was wiped out; a suicide committed and five are dead due to jealousy over an eighteen year old girl, Miss Eleanor Springer, in a family quarrel which started shortly after midnight Sunday morning last. The dead are: Hugh Letson, 45; his wife, Mary, 44; two brothers, Percy, 38 and Wilson, 43, and a cousin Walter (Pat) Letson. The entire Letson family was wiped out by gunfire by Pat Letson. On Saturday evening Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Letson, Wilson Letson and Eleanor Springer went to Kitchener and on the way home stopped at Bridgeport Hotel for beverages. Arriving home shortly after midnight the car was driven to the driving shed. As Wilson stepped out of the car he was blasted in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun in the hands of Pat Letson, according to the statement given to the coroner, Dr. LeRoy Wagner, Elmira, and the Provincial police. He died instantly and fell beside the car. Then followed a very heated argument which took them into the house. Shortly after two or three shots were reported as being fired, according to the only witness of the affair still alive, Eleanor Springer. It is believed both Mr. and Mrs. Letson were killed at this time and also Percy Letson. Sunday wore on before any hint of the shooting became known. No gunshots were heard by neighbors, there being a community wedding party which most attended, the night before. It was Elisha Pollock, 87, aged cousin, slightly blind and hard of hearing found Pat Letson, on the kitchen couch, and when he failed to awaken with repeated shaking, went to the neighbours to inform them Pat was dead. He failed to see the gunshot wound in the chest. He was accompanied back by Wilfred Heinbein [Heibein] and Robert Winfield who found Pat had been shot. Dr. LeRoy Wagner was then notified and went down to West Montrose to investigate.... Provincial police were notified by Dr. Wagner and the investigation got under way.... Sometime between three o'clock and seven, Pat Letson shot himself in the kitchen when he sent the aged Mr. Pollock to the barn to do some chores.

Elmira Signet, Thursday, January 1, 1948, pg 1

_______________________


The three Letson brothers were sons of the late Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Letson of Winterbourne, while the late Herman Letson, father of Pat Letson, was a native of West Montrose. Hugh Letson worked on his homestead farm in West Montrose. His brothers, Percy and Wilson, were employed at the Great West Felt Co. plant in Elmira, while Pat worked at the Link Belt factory in Elmira.

_______________________


Great Many Attend Funeral of Letson's

So many people attended the funeral of the Letson family held Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m., they overflowed the Dreisinger Funeral Chapel, filled the Furniture Store, where a public address system had been placed for those to hear the service who could not see it, and still made it necessary for about a hundred to wait outside the funeral home to witness the cortege. Rev. C. L. Mitchell conducted the service, and Rev. R. M. Metcalfe gave the sermon. Pall bearers, of which there were twelve, were: Floyd Goodwin, Bert Goodwin, Leroy Goodwin, Lorne Godwin, David Goodwin, Murray Fries, A. Schmermund, H. Conrod, J. Eckert, L. Letson, W. Letson and L. Eby. Burial of Walter (Pat) Letson was made at West Montrose Cemetery. Burial of Wilson, Percy, and Hugh and Mary Letson was made in one grave at the Winterbourne Cemetery.

Elmira Signet, Thursday, January 1, 1948