Marriage of William Peacock and Sarah M. Hunter

I found the marriage of William Peacock on ancestry.com, with his surname misspelled. The information is as follows:

William Peacotte, 23 of Brant (Township, Bruce Co.) 23, born Toronto, son of Hugh Peacotte and Helen Wagget to

Sarah E. (sic) Hunter, 19, born and living in Brant (Twp) dau of Richard Hunter and Laetitia Antwissel, of Brant Twp, Bruce County,

Witnesses:  James Craig, Brant (Twp)
Agnes Murdoch, Walkerton

Married May 20, 1880 in Walkerton, Brant Twp, Bruce County
By Rev. Robert Moffat, Presbyterian


The Hunters were an Irish family who appear in the census for Brant Township, Bruce County for the 1861, 1871 and 1881 censuses.  All their children, beginning with Frances, William, John and Sarah were born in Ontario, so it would seem that they came to Canada about 1855 from Ireland.  Richard and Letitia's marriage has not been found.

In 1891, they are in Cornwallis, Selkirk, Manitoba.  Richard was a farmer in all census records.  His two sons are in the 1881 census for St. Agathe (south of Winnipeg on the Red River) and are farmers, apparently going to Manitoba before the rest of the family.  The census record is in French.

Sarah Margaret Hunter's brother, William Hunter, married her husband's sister, Eliza Peacock.  This marriage has not been found.  The William Hunter family migrated to Vancouver as did William Peacock after the death of his wife Sarah in Manitoba.

New Information about Eldest Children of Hugh and Ellen Peacock

Marker for William Peacock and his second wife, Helen Louise Peacock

Grave Number - Jones*44/002/0009. It is a double grave. Helen's first husband, Joseph Pengelly, is buried beside the grave shown above in plot oo10. William and Helen are in the same plot, 0009, as permitted by the cemetery. Click on the title of this post for an aerial view of this cemetery.

Today I found the burial of William Peacock, eldest child of Hugh and Ellen Peacock. He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver and his grave is marked by the flat stone shown above. Opposite this grave (across the little roadway), is the plot for his sister Eliza Hunter, but the Hunters do not have a marker.

• Please refer to the January 29, 2009 post entitled William Peacock for the new information about William and his second marriage.
• Refer to the January 29, 2009 post entitled Eliza, Mrs. William Hunter for new information about this couple, also buried at Mountain View Cemetery.

William Peacock b. 1856-1923

Grave Marker for William Peacock and his second wife, Helen Louise, at the Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia (Grave No. Jones*44/002/0009)

William Peacock was the eldest child and first son of Hugh and Ellen. He was born in Toronto on September 22, 1856. He appears in the census records with his parents until 1881 by which time he and his wife Sarah had apparently already left for Manitoba. It would seem that they went first to Whitehead, close to Brandon to acquire land, and the rest of the family followed.

William and Sarah have two young men living with them as 'sons' in the 1891 census. They may have been 'home boys.' In Whitehead, William was a farmer.

1891 Census - Whitehead, Manitoba - April 6, 1891

William Peacock..............34..........b. Ontario......Farmer
Sarah M. Peacock................30..........b. Ontario
Frederick Borden.................22......... b. England... shown as son
Henry Neil............................19..........b. Ontario...shown as son

In 1901, the family is still in Whitehead. William and Sarah have Samuel Peacock's daughter, Pearl, living with them.

1901 Census - Whitehead, Manitoba
(Note that the surname is spelled Pecock in this census)

Pecock, William..M..Head.M. b. Sep 22, 1856... 44, Farmer
Pecock, Sarah M...F......Wife...... M. b. Dec 12, 1860.... 41
Pecock,Pearl..........F......Niece......S. b. Sep 6, 1891...... 10

All Irish/ all Canadian, all Protestant, all born Ontario
Sometime after 1901, William and his family moved to the USA where their son, Willard was born. They returned to Manitoba in 1903. In the 1906 census, they are living on 1oth Street in Brandon and now have a fourteen year old daughter who wasn't with them in the previous census. Perhaps she was adopted.

1906 Census - Brandon, Manitoba

Address - 456 1oth Street
Peacock, William, Head..M.M..48... b. Ont..to Man. 1903
Peacock, Sarah M..Wife....F....M...44... b. Ont..to Man. 1903
Peacock, Edith.......Dau.....F.....S....14... b. Manitoba
Peacock, Willis.......Son.....M....S.....4... b. USA
Sarah died at 48 in 1908 in Brandon, Manitoba. Her maiden name and place of burial are unknown. In the 1911 census in Brandon, both Hugh and his eldest son, William are widowed.

1911 Census - Brandon, Manitoba

Address - 456 10th Street
Peacock, William,M....Head......Wid...b. Sept 1856...54
Peacock, Edith......F......Daughter..S........b..June 1893...18
Peacock, Willard..M....Son.............S........b..Aug..1903...8
Peacock, Hugh......M....Father.....Wid......b..June 1833...77
Jones, Lilly............F.....Roomer.......S.......b..Mar 1884...27

In this census, William states that he went to Manitoba in 1880 and that he is self-employed as a travelling grain merchant.

William next appears in British Columbia in 1917 when on March 23rd he married Helen Louise Pengelly who was the widow of Joseph Pengelly. Helen Louise E. nee South was born in Melboure, Australia in 1872 and came to Canada in 1901. In the 1911 census, she is living in South Vancouver with her husband, Joseph Pengelly, an Inspector (born in England) and a daughter named Josephine. Joseph died October 10, 1915 at 48 years old.

Helen belonged to the Christian Scientist group, as did William's sister, Eliza, Mrs. William Hunter. Perhaps it was this connection that brought the couple together. However, they were married only six years when William died accidentally in Ocean Falls, B.C.

Ocean Falls was a small pulp mill community about 300 miles north of Vancouver isolated by steep terrain and rugged coastal mountains and accessible only by boat at that time. The cause of death is shown as a head injury. He died June 4th, 1923 at 66 years of age. He would have turned 67 in September. There was a coroner's inquest into his death:
'Injuries received by a heavy box striking him on the head. Accidental. No blame to anyone.'

The death certificate also states that he died in hospital in Ocean Falls. He had been doing construction work on a dam there from April 23 to the day of his death. His occupation is given as 'carpenter.' His wife, Helen, reported his death and gave their address as 6434 Prince Albert Street, South Vancouver. It also confirms his birthdate, birthplace and parents.
Helen Louise died February 7, 1931 at 58 years of age. At the time of her death, she lived at 3640 Kingsway, Vancouver.  They are buried at the Mountain View Cemetery at 41st Avenue and Fraser in Vancouver. There is a double marker with Pengelly on the right and Peacock on the left. Helen's first husband is buried in plot 10 and William and Helen are buried in plot 9.

The following is questionable as there is a Willard born in Minnesota to a James and Jane Peacock.  The following information probably relates to him.
A Willard has been found in the 1930 census for Los Angeles:
Lyle, James R. .......Head, 28, b. Tennessee, Lather-house, renting for $25.00 Lyle, Annie........................ 26, b. Canada (this couple went to the US in 1924)
Lyle, Meryle.......daughter, 6 years, b. Canada
Peacock, Willard, lodger, 28, b. 1901, Minnesota, Father b. Canada, Mother b. USA Rubber worker, tire factory

His death is also listed on ancestry.com giving the following information: b. 17 August, 1901 Minnesota, died 24 August 1969 Anaheim, Orange County, California