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Two Boomhower women from Kennebec Ontario: Rosetta and Rosella

Two Boomhower women from Kennebec Ontario: Rosetta and Rosella

Posted: 21 Feb 2015 9:47PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Boomhower, Thompson, Gee, Lake, Parks, Peterson
I was looking for something online today and came across the war memorial for Ross Clifford Thompson who died in 1944. It is stated his parents were Archibald and Ada Thompson. I did not have them in my files so looked them up. I found that Archibald was born in 1883 in Kennebec to Isaiah Thompson and Rosella nee Boomhower. Isaiah died March 30 1883 at age about 22 years. But upon further investigation into who his mother was, I found much conflicting information.

Many people have this Rosella recorded as the daughter of Gilbert Boomhower and his wife Julia Ann Parks. I wanted to know why, so got out my Kennebec books and have spent the whole morning going over all of this information. Several posters and no doubt direct family descendents have somehow assumed there was only one woman named Rosella or Rosetta born about 1863 in Kennebec, and have her married to at least three men: Isaiah Thompson, Thomas Gee and William Herbert Lake. Of course, this defies logic when it comes to her child bearing; it is not possible that she lived in two different places at the same time and was giving birth to children in same year within a couple of months of each other. So I knew there had to be TWO women with same name and everyone just keeps mixing them up.

In 1871 in Kennebec, ONTARIO, there is a gal named Rosella Boomhower age 8 years daughter of James Boomhower and Amanda Peterson. In Linda Corupe's Kennebec transcriptions this family is on page 29.

On Page 32 is 8 year old Rosetta Boomhower, daughter of Gilbert Boomhower and his wife Julia Ann Parks.

Note that in 1871, Rosella daughter of James and Amanda is living right next door to Isaiah Thompson age 10 years, son of Isaiah Thompson senior and his wife Mary Wood.

Now here comes the glitch- I can't find a marriage online in Ancestry records for Isaiah Thompson to Rosella Boomhower.

HOWEVER....In Linda Corupe's marriage transcriptions for Kennebec, she has Isaiah marrying Rosetta Boomhower on Sept. 24, 1882 at Kennebec and has her recorded as the daughter of Gilbert Boomhower and Julia Ann Parks.

I think this information was wrong and I have no idea what happened here- were Rosella's parents names recorded incorrectly, or stated incorrectly as Gilbert and Julia Ann? Without seeing the original marriage record I am lost on this.

However, on January 21, 1886, same Rosella (daughter of James and Amanda) married Thomas Gee from Sheffield, Ont. in Lanark County:

Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928

Name: Mrs Thompson Rosalia Neè Rosalia Boomhower (WIDOW age 23 years)
Age: 23
Birth Date: abt 1863
Birth Place: Kennebec
Marriage Date: 21 Jan 1886
Marriage County or District: Lanark
Father: James Boomhower
Mother: Amanda Boomhower
Spouse: Thomas Gee (living at Kennebec at time of marriage) Storekeeper
Spouse's Age: 29
Spouse Birth Date: abt 1857
Spouse Birth Place: Sheffield
Spouse Father: David Gee
Spouse Mother: Mary Ann Black Gee

Note that she is ROSELLA, not Rosetta, that she is a widow, that she is Mrs. Thompson and that her parents were James and Amanda.

I cannot find Thomas Gee and Rosella on the 1891 census, however by January 1891 they had three children: two daughters Carrie and Etta and a son Sandy.

Where was Rosella's son Archie Thompson in 1891?

In Kennebec with his GRANDPARENTS James Boomhower and Amanda Peterson. He is age 7 years. In 1901 he is still with them but was recorded as Archibald Boomhower age 17:

1901 Kennebec:

14 Boomhour James M Head M 1842 58
15 Boomhour Amanda F Wife M Feb 24 1842 59
16 Boomhour J. Wilson M Son S Apr 3 1877 24
17 Boomhour Archibald M Son S Aug 9 1883 17


Here is Rosella in 1901 with her second husband Thomas Gee and children:

1901 Census of Canada

Name: Thomas Gee
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Age: 44
Birth Day & Month: 30 Aug
Birth Year: 1850
Birthplace: Ontario
Relation to Head of House: Head
Racial or Tribal Origin: Scotch (Scotish)
Nationality: Canadian
Religion: Presbyterian
Occupation: Laborer C Maker
Province: Ontario
District: Hastings (east/est)
District Number: 70
Sub-District: Hungerford
Sub-District Number: B-4
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Thomas Gee 44
Rosella Gee 38
Carrie Gee 14
Etta Gee 13
Sandy Gee 10

I cannot find Thomas and Rosella in 1911 or in 1921. By 1921 they supposedly had moved to Toronto, Ontario. Thomas died there on Feb. 26, 1923 and had been there nine years at the time of his death. I have not yet found a date of death for Rosella.

Their daughter Carrie Gee married Sidney Jarrett on Feb. 3, 1909 in Toronto and had at least one son George Edward Jarrett born in 1910. Their son Alexander Sanford Gee married Francis Hughey on May 30, 1918 in Toronto.

If anyone else has the date and place of death for this Rosella Gee nee Boomhower, please post here or contact me directly. Did she die in Toronto? Several people post that she died in Bancroft in Hastings County in 1941 but I am sure that was Rosetta Boomhower wife of William Herbert Lake and is not the same person as the wife of Thomas GEE.

Now back to the other gal, Rosetta Boomhower daughter of Gilbert Boomhower and Julia Ann Parks- again, I cannot find a marriage record for Rosetta to William Herbert LAKE, but they must have married about 1882. Their first son Charles Ross Lake was born June 6, 1883 in Hastings County. They appear on the 1891 census at Faraday in Hastings County; in 1921 they are at Bancroft, Hastings County. Rosetta is recorded as dying at Bancroft on March 5, 1941. Her parents Gilbert Boomhower and Julia Ann Parks died at Faraday, Hastings County, Gilbert in 1907 and Julia Ann in 1908.

Wife of William Herbert Lake seems to be recorded consistently as ROSETTA.

Wife of Thomas Gee seems to be recorded consistently as ROSELLA.

If anyone has other records to back all of this up, or questions about these two women, please post here or contact me directly.

Thanks from Nora





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