Blaney Cherry

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98225569
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-97209
• Occupation: 1881, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Miller
• Occupation: 1891, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Gentleman
• Residence: 1891, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Notes:

The Late Blaney Cherry, of Preston, Aged 84 Years

Mr. Blaney Cherry, father of Mr. Samuel Cherry, died at his residence, on Wednesday, Sept. 25th., at 12.30 o'clock, aged eighty-four years and four months, says the Progress. He had been in good health up to within a couple of weeks ago, when he took to his bed, since which time he could take no nourishment and gradually grew weaker until the end. He was a native of Londonderry, Ireland and was married in 1833, coming to Canada, in the following year. After a residence of about nine years, he removed to Dundas, where he ran a flouring mill, until he came to Preston, in 1879. Mr. Cherry never engaged in business in Preston, but with his wife, who died last June, lived in retirement to enjoy a well-earned rest. The deceased was the father of ten children, of whom seven are living. They are Mrs. Woolams, of Brantford; Mrs. Wilson, Rolands, Wyoming; Mrs. D. Burnfield, Ogden, Utah: Mrs. Fallis, London; Samuel Cherry, Preston; John Cherry, Galt and Edward Cherry in Alton. During his illness, he was attended by his daughter, Mrs. Woolams and his sons, Samuel and John, with their families. The funeral took place to St. John's church, on Thursday afternoon and was well attended. The beautiful service of the English church was conducted by Rev. J. Edmonds, who also officiated at the grave. The pall-bearers were Messrs. W. C. Schlueter, John Cutler, W. D. Hepburn, J. D. Webster, Cyrus Erb and David Harris.

The Weekly Reformer 3 Oct 1895 pg 3

Blaney married Catharine Green 1833, , Ireland. Catharine was born 28 Apr 1809, Shanond, Ireland; died 10 Jun 1895, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Preston Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-92436
• Residence: 1862, Millgrove, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1871, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Miller
• Residence: 1871, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Ch. of England

William married Margaret Avington 8 Aug 1862, Dundas, West Flamborough Twp., Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada. Margaret (daughter of Timothy Avington and Ann) was born 1837, , Quebec, Canada; died 2 Jul 1914, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Preston Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Birth: , Quebec, Canada
• Business: Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Cambridge Rollers Mills
• Name: S. J. Cherry
• Residence: 140 King St. W., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-89122
• Residence: 1862, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Elected Office: 1884, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Councillor - Preston
• Occupation: 1891, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Flour Miller
• Residence: 1891, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican
• Elected Office: 1899, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Councillor - Waterloo County
• Occupation: 1901, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Miller
• Elected Office: 1906, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Warden for the County of Waterloo
• Elected Office: 1906, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Waterloo County Council
• Occupation: 1911, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Manufacturer
• Residence: 1911, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican
• Website: 2009; Photograph
• Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region: Bef 2012, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

SAMUEL CHERRY

Samuel J. Cherry was born on February 4th., 1843, at Diamond, Carleton County where his parents had settled on emigration from the County of Armagh, in the north of Ireland, and died at Preston, July 2nd., 1917. The family moved to Dundas in his infancy. Here he went to school, one of his teachers being Robert Edgar, grandfather of Town Clerk Edgar, of Preston. At the age of about 15 years he became apprentice in the grist mill of the late Jas. Coleman. At 19 he came to Preston to work in Abram Erb & Bros. Cambridge Mills, which later became his own. In Preston he married Barbara Wilrick, who predeceased him by seven years. He returned to Dundas to take charge of the Joseph Webster mills and a few years later went to Guelph, to the Speedsville mill, then owned by the late James Goldie, who subsequently built a new mill of which Mr. Cherry was superintendent for about 12 years. By this time he decided to go into business for himself, or rather with his brother John. They had in succession the Phoenix mill in Guelph, the Glenmorris mill, then one in Walkerton, and later operated the Clendinning mill until in 1879 they acquired the mill in Preston. Ten years later the brothers dissolved partnership, S. J. Cherry continuing alone. The present mill buildings date from 1894 when they replaced the old frame mill built in 1835 on the site of the original John Erb mill. Mr. Cherry improved and beautified the property generally, building also the two handsome brick houses on it, the first replacing an old frame house.

In public life Mr. Cherry was member of the town council of Preston, chairman of the Park Board almost from its inception to the time of his death and for eight years member of the County council, ending with being warden of the County in 1906. He was member of the Toronto Board of Trade, member of the Dominion Millers' Association, and director of the Galt Malleable Iron Co., Ltd., and of the Canadian Millers Mutual Fire Insurance Co. He was a member of St. Johns Church (Anglican) Preston. In politics he was a Conservative.

He left two sons, George and William, and one daughter, Mrs. Carl Nispel, all of Preston.

From the Galt Reporter: "Sam" Cherry was one of the most successful of the old time flour millers, a worthy contemporary of the Sherks and Sniders and Goldies, who have made Waterloo County famous in the flour markets of Canada, England and Scotland. Sam was a public-spirited citizen, as Preston well knows. Who has not admired the beauty spot he created out of the canal and the slopes thereof? What would he not have done to beautify Galt had he been the owner of the dam and the surrounding property which, not long ago, offered opportunities for embellishment rarely at hand in a growing and picturesque city? The Cherry idea in Civic Beautification should not be allowed to lapse in the district of which Galt and Preston form a part.

Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society 1917

______________________

From the age of fifteen, when he became an apprentice in a gristmill at Dundas, until his death some sixty years later, Samuel Cherry was associated with flour mills. The Cherry Mill at Preston is the oldest continuing business in Waterloo County. The 1807 original "John Erb" mill was replaced by a frame mill in 1835, and the brick structure was erected in 1894.

At the age of nineteen, Cherry moved to Preston to work with the Abram Erb and Brothers Cambridge Mill, which he later owned. He subsequently had charge of mills at Dundas, Guelph, Glenmorris, Walkerton and Glendinning. In 1879 he and his brother John acquired the Preston mill and ten years later he became sole owner.

Cherry served the municipality as a member of the town council, chairman of the park board, as a member of the county council and as warden in 1906.

Waterloo Region Hall of Fame

Elected Office:
Image from: 100 Years of Progress in Waterloo County Canada Semi-Centennial Souvenir 1856-1906

Website:
Grace Schmidt Room of Local History Digital Collection


Description: Black and white, head and shoulders, studio portrait of Samuel J. Cherry.

Cherry was born on 4 February 1843 at Diamond in Carleton County and served as an apprentice in local grist mills. Later in life, he owned and operated several mills, including the Cherry Taylor Flour Mills Ltd. in Preston, which he started with his brother, John. He also served as a Waterloo County warden, a member of Preston town council, and as the director of several local businesses. Cherry died on 2 July 1917.

Samuel married Barbara Willerich 31 Dec 1862, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Barbara (daughter of Peter Willerich and Catherine) was born 24 Jan 1845, Buffalo, Erie, New York, United States; died 30 Aug 1908, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Preston Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Samuel married Bertina "Bertena" Stengel 11 Aug 1913, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Bertina (daughter of George William A. "William" Stengel and Hannah Kolb) was born 23 Apr 1878, Centreville (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 31 Aug 1961, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried 2 Sep 1961, Parklawn Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Mary Fallis
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-85804
• Residence: 1878, London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada

Mary — Lawrence Fallis. Lawrence was born Abt 1846; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Birth: Fitzroy, , Quebec, Canada
• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/91990457
• Interesting: mill, story, business, misfortune, murder
• Residence: 38 Lansdowne Ave., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-65660
• Occupation: 1881, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Miller
• Occupation: 1883, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; miller
• Occupation: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Miller
• Residence: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican
• Retired: 1901, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1911, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Notes:

THE HOLLOWED CHOCOLATE

from Memoirs of a great detective:
incidents in the life of John Wilson Murray (1904)

compiled by Victor Speer

A CALL to Galt awaited Murray on his return from Thessalon and the search for Maud Gillespie. Great excitement prevailed in the county of Waterloo. Many people were terrified; others were infuriated. A fiend was among them spreading death and planning the extermination of whole families. No one had any clue to the mysterious one's identity. It might be a stranger, it might be a neighbour; it might be a person of high estate or it might be a creature of low degree. None knew, and there were myriad suspicions. It was as if an avenging angel or a deadly devil were abroad in the county, lurking to slay and escape unseen, leaving no trace of the manner of death. A victim arose in the morning well and happy, and fell lifeless before noon without a sign of sickness or an intimation of the end.

"The climax came when little Meta Cherry, the three-year-old daughter of John Cherry, a prominent mill-owner of Galt, died in a sudden and mysterious way," says Murray. "I went to Galt, a prosperous town near Berlin, in the county of Waterloo It was September 1888. Several persons were sick, as if a plague were upon them. I looked at the little child. She seemed startled, even in death, as if the hand that thrust her into eternity had seized her roughly and scared her. I talked with John Cherry, and he told me of a box of chocolate drops that had come through the mail. He showed me the box. A few of the chocolates were gone. Meta had eaten them. I took one out, and carefully scraped the chocolate off with a knife-blade. I found on the bottom of the chocolate a spot where a cavity had been bored, and this had been filled with a whitish substance, unlike the cream candy of the chocolate, and the hole then had been sealed deftly by glazing over the bottom with more chocolate. I took the contents of the box, and sent the chocolates to Professor Ellis for analysis.

"I examined the box minutely. It revealed no clue, simply an ordinary pasteboard box. The wrapper in which it came showed a label pasted over an old address. The address on this label was printed with a soft lead pencil. I steamed the label to get at the address underneath it, but it had been washed out and scraped away, except for the one word 'Miss.' The package had been mailed in Galt. On inquiry I learned that similar packages had been received by the Rev. John Ridley, minister of the Church of England in Galt, and by Miss May Lowell and Mrs. Lowell, daughter and wife of Charles Lowell, proprietor of the Queen's Hotel in Galt. The boxes were quite small, and the inscriptions were alike as to the soft lead pencil. The packages had been dropped in the mail when no one was around, and the sender had vanished unseen.

"Professor Ellis reported that the cavities in the chocolate drops were filled with strychnine. This established clearly the intent of the poisoner to kill many people, and wipe out a number of families.

"I spent days gathering all the gossip of the town for generations back, hearing all the tales of trouble, and searching for some secret feud or some deadly hatred that would supply a motive for the deed. I ransacked ancestral closets for family skeletons, and I poked in all the after-dark affairs and twilight scandals since the days when the oldest inhabitants were gay young folk, fond of walking hand-in-hand through the gloaming. I ran down secrets that distressed dear old ladies, and left them in tears. I heard confessions of errors of youth that had lain locked in gentle bosoms for many kindly years; in fact, for a time I was an old Paul Pry Gadabout, poking my nose into other folk's business, until I felt I had sifted the lives and winnowed the chaff from the wheat in the collective career of the entire community. Every town has its chamber of horrors, where the sad episodes of indiscreet living are laid away to crumble in darkness, and the town of Galt has no more than its share of secrets of the passing generations. I found nothing in the long-gone years to throw light on the crime. There was no venerable hatred sufficient to inspire the murder of a little child. So I turned to later years, and for entanglements of recent months.

"In the meantime, about the middle of October, I arrested Hannah Boyd at Thorold. Hannah was a fine-looking girl, and had been living as a domestic in the Queen's Hotel, of which Mr. Lowell was proprietor. Later she removed to Thorold, and worked for a family there as Hannah Bond. Her home was in Hamilton. I kept her a week, and interviewed her thoroughly, particularly as to the family life of the Lowells, and whether she knew of the receipt of the package of chocolates by Mrs. Lowell and Miss Lowell, and whether she ever had heard of any trouble with the Ridleys, the Cherrys, and the Lowells. I was satisfied after these interviews with Hannah that she had no guilty knowledge, and that she had nothing whatever to do with sending the packages.

"I did develop promptly a strong suspicion as to the person who did send the poison packages. I searched the drug-stores through Canada, and examined the poison-books in all of them, and went so far as to describe to some of the druggists the person I suspected; but I found no clue that would hold in a trial as sufficient evidence to convict anybody. It is one of the most aggravating cases of my entire experience, yet I hold steadfast to my first impression."

_______________

SAD DROWNING ACCIDENT

A very sad drowning case occurred in Galt, yesterday (Thursday) a little after 1 o'clock. Mr. Jas. Robinson and Mr. Thomas Mullett were shooting on the dam and getting a shot at a duck wounded it. The wounded bird made off down towards the dam, the two young men following it in the boat and it is supposed in the eagerness of their chase they did not notice how close they wore getting to the dam, and when they were alarmed was too late. As the boat was seen to go over the fall empty, both must have jumped out before it went over. Robinson was able to make his way to shore, being assisted by Mr. John Cherry of Preston, who saw his danger, and threw him a pole, but young Mullett went over, and Mr. Cherry says went down the river as he saw his body floating below the fall. Search was immediately instituted, but as the water is quite high and muddy it is a great chance that it will be successful. Young Mullett was a carpenter by trade, a worthy, industrious young man, and his untimely end is a matter of sincere regret to his many friends and acquaintances.

Galt Reporter Oct 16 1885 pg 1

John married Margaret Munro "Maggie" Cutten 7 Feb 1883, London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada. Margaret (daughter of Edward Logan Cutten and Jemima C. Lowell) was born Sep 1858, Haysville, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Apr 1934; was buried , Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-213259
• Occupation: 1873, Ayr, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; miller
• Occupation: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Miller
• Residence: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican
• Occupation: 1911, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Miller, Flour Mill
• Residence: 1911, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Edward married Agnes Rutherford 3 Nov 1873, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Agnes (daughter of George Rutherford and Sarah Fox) was born CALC 24 Dec 1852, Ayr, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 27 Sep 1925, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried 30 Sep 1925, Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-312393
• Residence: 1871, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Ch. of England

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-312394
• Residence: 1871, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Ch. of England

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-89120
• Occupation: 1901, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Miller

Notes:

George A. Cherry, well known Preston resident for many years died early Sunday morning (November 5, 1944) following an illness of several years. In his 82nd year, the later Mr. Cherry was born in Preston and lived here for the greater part of his life.

A miller by trade, the deceased was head miller at S.J. Cherry flour mill for many years and was also head miller at various periods at Walkerton, Arkell and Glenmorris. He lived retired for the past 25 years.

The late Mr. Cherry was a member of St. Peter's Lutheran church, His wife predeceased him in January of this year.

Surviving is a daughter (Ida) Mrs. Raymond Bonive, a sister Mrs Charles Nispel, and a brother William, all of Preston.

The late Mr. Cherry is resting at his residence 126 King Street from where the funeral will be held on November 8, 1944 at 3 o'clock. Internment will be held in the Preston Cemetery

Galt Reporter Newspaper Nov. 1944

_____________________

CHERRY, GEORGE A.

A former resident of Arkell, recently of Preston, early on Sunday morning, November 5, 1944, in his 82^nd year, following an illness of several years. Mr. Cherry was born in Preston and lived there for the greater part of his life. A miller by trade, he had been head miller at the S. J. Cherry Flour Mill in Preston for many years, and at mills in Walkerton, Arkell and Glenmorris. He had lived retired for the past twenty-five years. He was a member of St. Peter's Lutheran Church. His wife, Wilhelmine Herman, died in January of this year. Survived by a daughter, Ida (Mrs. Raymond Bonvie); a sister, Mrs. Charles Nispel; and a brother, William; all of Preston. The funeral was held on Wed., Nov. 8 at 3 from his residence, 126 King St., with interment in the Preston Cemetery. Rev. W. H. Knauff officiated.

A Celebration of Lives Obituaries of Puslinch Township, Wellington Co., Ontario Vol 1, Anna Jackson & Marjorie Clark
Used with kind permission of Marjorie Clark

George — Minnie Herman. Minnie was born 6 Oct 1864, , Ontario, Canada; died Jan 1943. [Group Sheet]

George — Wilhelmine "Minnie" Herman. Wilhelmine was born 10 Sep 1865, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 7 Jan 1944, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried 10 Jan 1944, Preston Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Mary Ellen Nispel
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-350998

Mary married Charles Nispel 20 Mar 1890, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Charles (son of Conrad Nispel and Friedericka Eberhardt) was born 11 Mar 1862, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 1942; was buried , Preston Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Residence: 140 King St. W., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-350743
• Occupation: 1891, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Flour Miller
• Residence: 1891, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican
• Occupation: 1901, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Bookkeeper
• Occupation: 1911, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Bookkeeper, Flour Mill
• Residence: 1911, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-332355
• Residence: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177981005
• Name: Mabel Bechtel
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-207042
• Residence: 1911, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Mabel married Charles Herbert Bechtel 12 Sep 1906, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Charles (son of Byron Erb Bechtel and Anna Margaret Taylor) was born 8 Jun 1882, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 10 Sep 1947, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Blair Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-65663
• Residence: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/226149912
• Interesting: murder, life story, misfortune, crime
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-31121
• Misfortune: 1888; murdered by eating poisoned chocolates

Notes:

THE HOLLOWED CHOCOLATE

from Memoirs of a great detective:
incidents in the life of John Wilson Murray (1904)

compiled by Victor Speer

A CALL to Galt awaited Murray on his return from Thessalon and the search for Maud Gillespie. Great excitement prevailed in the county of Waterloo. Many people were terrified; others were infuriated. A fiend was among them spreading death and planning the extermination of whole families. No one had any clue to the mysterious one's identity. It might be a stranger, it might be a neighbour; it might be a person of high estate or it might be a creature of low degree. None knew, and there were myriad suspicions. It was as if an avenging angel or a deadly devil were abroad in the county, lurking to slay and escape unseen, leaving no trace of the manner of death. A victim arose in the morning well and happy, and fell lifeless before noon without a sign of sickness or an intimation of the end.

"The climax came when little Meta Cherry, the three-year-old daughter of John Cherry, a prominent mill-owner of Galt, died in a sudden and mysterious way," says Murray. "I went to Galt, a prosperous town near Berlin, in the county of Waterloo It was September 1888. Several persons were sick, as if a plague were upon them. I looked at the little child. She seemed startled, even in death, as if the hand that thrust her into eternity had seized her roughly and scared her. I talked with John Cherry, and he told me of a box of chocolate drops that had come through the mail. He showed me the box. A few of the chocolates were gone. Meta had eaten them. I took one out, and carefully scraped the chocolate off with a knife-blade. I found on the bottom of the chocolate a spot where a cavity had been bored, and this had been filled with a whitish substance, unlike the cream candy of the chocolate, and the hole then had been sealed deftly by glazing over the bottom with more chocolate. I took the contents of the box, and sent the chocolates to Professor Ellis for analysis.

"I examined the box minutely. It revealed no clue, simply an ordinary pasteboard box. The wrapper in which it came showed a label pasted over an old address. The address on this label was printed with a soft lead pencil. I steamed the label to get at the address underneath it, but it had been washed out and scraped away, except for the one word 'Miss.' The package had been mailed in Galt. On inquiry I learned that similar packages had been received by the Rev. John Ridley, minister of the Church of England in Galt, and by Miss May Lowell and Mrs. Lowell, daughter and wife of Charles Lowell, proprietor of the Queen's Hotel in Galt. The boxes were quite small, and the inscriptions were alike as to the soft lead pencil. The packages had been dropped in the mail when no one was around, and the sender had vanished unseen.

"Professor Ellis reported that the cavities in the chocolate drops were filled with strychnine. This established clearly the intent of the poisoner to kill many people, and wipe out a number of families.

"I spent days gathering all the gossip of the town for generations back, hearing all the tales of trouble, and searching for some secret feud or some deadly hatred that would supply a motive for the deed. I ransacked ancestral closets for family skeletons, and I poked in all the after-dark affairs and twilight scandals since the days when the oldest inhabitants were gay young folk, fond of walking hand-in-hand through the gloaming. I ran down secrets that distressed dear old ladies, and left them in tears. I heard confessions of errors of youth that had lain locked in gentle bosoms for many kindly years; in fact, for a time I was an old Paul Pry Gadabout, poking my nose into other folk's business, until I felt I had sifted the lives and winnowed the chaff from the wheat in the collective career of the entire community. Every town has its chamber of horrors, where the sad episodes of indiscreet living are laid away to crumble in darkness, and the town of Galt has no more than its share of secrets of the passing generations. I found nothing in the long-gone years to throw light on the crime. There was no venerable hatred sufficient to inspire the murder of a little child. So I turned to later years, and for entanglements of recent months.

"In the meantime, about the middle of October, I arrested Hannah Boyd at Thorold. Hannah was a fine-looking girl, and had been living as a domestic in the Queen's Hotel, of which Mr. Lowell was proprietor. Later she removed to Thorold, and worked for a family there as Hannah Bond. Her home was in Hamilton. I kept her a week, and interviewed her thoroughly, particularly as to the family life of the Lowells, and whether she knew of the receipt of the package of chocolates by Mrs. Lowell and Miss Lowell, and whether she ever had heard of any trouble with the Ridleys, the Cherrys, and the Lowells. I was satisfied after these interviews with Hannah that she had no guilty knowledge, and that she had nothing whatever to do with sending the packages.

"I did develop promptly a strong suspicion as to the person who did send the poison packages. I searched the drug-stores through Canada, and examined the poison-books in all of them, and went so far as to describe to some of the druggists the person I suspected; but I found no clue that would hold in a trial as sufficient evidence to convict anybody. It is one of the most aggravating cases of my entire experience, yet I hold steadfast to my first impression."

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-361085
• Occupation: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Apprentice Miller
• Residence: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-361087
• Residence: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Other Events:

• Name: Albert Cherry
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-213261
• Residence: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican
• Occupation: 1911, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Miller, Mill
• Residence: 1911, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Other Events:

• Name: Blanche Cherry
• Name: Martha Blanche "Blanche" Carrick
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-66754
• Residence: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Martha — James Alymer Woodley Carrick. James (son of Robert Carrick and Catherine Morrison) was born 28 Dec 1874, Beverly Twp., Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada; died 1956; was buried , Mount View Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-388868

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-361089
• Residence: 1891, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

Roy — Lillian M. Rigsby. Lillian was born 1889; died 1957; was buried , Mount View Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-230717
• Residence: 1911, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Other Events:

• Name: Mary Clara Pearl Williams
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-352489

Mary — Thomas Williams. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-350999

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-351004
• Residence: 1973, 120 Church St. N., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

NISPEL, Clement C.

At South Waterloo Memorial Hospital, on April 10, Clement Nispel, of 120 Church St. N., Cambridge (Preston), in his 78th year, beloved husband of the former Leota Blankstien; dear father of James of Cambridge, John of Troy and Mrs. Mary Ann Muir of Cambridge; loving brother of Barbara (Mrs. J. J. Richardson) of Cambridge. Resting at the Barthel-Stager Funeral Home, Queen and Argyle St., Cambridge, for funeral and committal services Thursday, at 2 p.m. Interment following in Preston cemetery.

Kitchener-Waterloo Record 11 Apr 1973 pg 39

Clement married Leota May Blankstein 30 Jul 1925, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Leota (daughter of Charles H. Blankstein and Anna Genz) was born 8 Aug 1902, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 5 Jun 1994, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried 6 Jun 1994, Preston Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Barbara Fredericka Richardson
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-89668
• Residence: 1973, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

RICHARDSON, Barbara - Of the Preston Spring Gardens, Saturday, April 28, 1979, at the South Waterloo Memorial Hospital, in her 82nd year.

Barbara Nispel, beloved wife of the late John J. Richardson. Mrs. Richardson was born in Preston, lived here all her life. A member of St. John's Anglican Church. Survived by two sisters-in-law, Mrs. Harold Ballantyne of Kitchener and Mrs. Clem Nispel of Cambridge; also a niece, Mary Ann (Mrs. Kenneth Muir) of Cambridge and two nephews, James Nispel of Cambridge and John Nispel of Troy.

Funeral service was conducted this afternoon, Monday, from the Barthel-Stager Funeral Home, Cambridge. Interment in Preston cemetery.

Kitchener-Waterloo Record 30 Apr 1979

Barbara — Major John James Richardson. John (son of George Reid Richardson and Mary Agnes Little) was born 1891, , Dumfrieshire, Scotland; died 27 May 1960, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried 30 May 1960, Preston Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]