Susan Hedley was born in 1860, about the time of Nicholas and Jane's
move from Carleton County to West Wawanosh. She was the 12th child in the
family. In the 1871 Census for Kinloss Township the family was living on Lot 8,
Concession 9. Susan, the eldest child in the household at the time, was eleven
years old, her elder sisters and brothers having either married or found work
outside the home.

        It is assumed that the name "Sarah." as well as the designation "f" for
female was a misinterpretation of "Pharoh".The nationality "Irish" assigned to
the three children also appears to be in error, for "origin" normally referred to
the father's place of birth, which was Ovingham, Northumberland, England.
        By the time of the 1881 Census the family had settled in West Wawanosh,
and Susan, 19, was working as a seamstress while living at home.
 

        Henry and Susan bought fifty acres at Lot 13, Concession 9, West
Wawanosh, near Belfast, but within a short time moved north with their first
child, Horace, to the Bruce Mines area near Sault Ste. Marie. Susan and Henry
Alton had six children, five boys and one girl, all but the first born in the Bruce
Mines area.
        Henry Alton was born on July 23, 1859 and died on April 25, 1934 at age
75. Susan lived to age 98. She died October 14, 1958. Both Henry and Susan
are buried in Old Greenwood Cemetery, Korah Twp. on the north end of the
present city of Sault Ste. Marie. The cemetery is on the corner of 4th Line
and Peoples Road.  The graves of Susan and Henry are in Range 16s lot 7.
The plot has a large black headstone in the center with the name ALTON on it.

On either side is a smaller black stone.

Children (iv) and grandchildren (v)
    1 - Horace Alton, b. October 9, 1883, probably in West Wawanosh, grew up
         near Bruce Mines.
         m1 was to Elizabeth 'Jane' Harvey (1889-1946) in Bruce Mines, Horace
         and Jane moved to Kamloops, B.C. where Horace worked with his brothers
         Ernest and Russel in a jointly-owned service station.  Jane died in 1946
         at age 57.
         m2 was to Charlotte Spack (b.1891) a nurse, in Vancouver.
         Horace died in 1964 at age 81. No family.
    2 - Ernest Alton, was born September 10, 1888. His wife's name was Margaret.
         They moved to Kamloops where Ernest worked with his brothers Horace
          and Russel in their jointly-owned service station. One adopted son: (v)
            (1) Glen Alton
    3 - Elmer William Alton, b. 1891, became a dentist and practiced in
         Wyndotte, Michigan.  One daughter: (v)
            (1) Arlene Sue (Alton) Flintoff.
    4 - Estelle (Alton) Thompson, b. Nov. 13, 1894, m. James Thompson.
         Estelle and James owned a restaurant in Sault Ste. Marie.
    5 - James 'Melvin' Alton, b. in 1896, served overseas in World War I and met
         Margaret Hopper (b. 1896) in England. They were married June 2, 1919
         in  Sault Ste. Marie and had two daughters and a son. Melvin and
         Margaret farmed in Leeburn, near Sault Ste. Marie, where he was
         treasurer of the Algoma Central Railway. Melvin  died on July 18, 1949
         at age 53. Margaret died at age 84 on May 15, 1981.
         They had three children: (v)
            (1) Lloyd Alton, b. 1921, m. Reta Anderson. They raised two sons (vi).
                   [1] Jim
                   [2] Ronald, raised in Sault Ste Marie.
            (2) Madeline (Alton) Phillip, b. 1924, m. Malcolm Phillip b. 1922.
                 They lived  in Sault Ste. Marie and had one son: (vi)
                    [1] Leslie, b. 1944, lost his life in 1962 at age 17 in the air force.
            (3) Phyllis (Alton) Anderson, b. 1931, was married in 1951 to
                 Edward Anderson (b. 1930), head of a detective division in the Soo area.
                 Two children: (vi)
                    [1] Dale b. 1954.
                    [2] Karen b. 1957.
    6 - Russel Henry Alton, b. Feb. 2, 1898, died 1945, was the youngest of
         the six children of Susan Hedley and Henry Alton. He was an engineer
         on the Algoma Central Railway before going to Kamloops, B.C. where he
         was the manager of a Service Station operated by him and his two
         brothers, Horace and Ernest. He married L.Verda O'Ral Houston of Deep
         River, Ontario in 1928. They had three daughters: (vi)
            (1) Carmen Lorraine (Alton) Pearse, b. 1929, was married in 1951 to
                  Richard Pearse. They lived in Kelowna and Kamloops.
                  Four children: (vii)
                     [1] Susan Lorraine Pearse, b. 1953
                     [2] Christine Jane Pearse, b. 1955
                     [3] Donald George Pearse, b. 1961
                     [4] Pamela Lynn Pearse, b. 1965
          (2) Lois (Alton), born in 1931, was the second daughter of Russel and
               Verda Alton.
               m1 was to Hector Hannah (b. 1931) in 1950.  Lois and Hector lived in
               Kamloops.Three children: (vii)
                     [1] Sandra Jean Hannah, b. 1954, m. Svend Sorensen
                     [2] Stephen Russel Hannah, b. 1955, m. Sheran Ritchotte
                     [3] Allan Bruce Hannah, b. 1961
               Lois and Hector Hannah were divorced in 1963.
               m2  was to Allan McLean (b. 1927) in 1951.  Lois and Allan also
               lived in Kamloops.
          (3) Cleland O'Ral (Alton) Dumma, b. 1933, m. in 1952 to
                Robert A. Dumma, b. 1928. Cleland and Robert raised five
                children in Prince George, B.C., then moved back to Kamloops:
                (vii) 5 children:
                     [1] Vicki Dumma was born in 1955 in in Prince George, B.C.
                          m1 to Larry Kronebusch in 1974, they were divorced 1978,
                          m2  was to James Fraleigh, b. 1950.
                     [2] Richard Dumma, b. 1957
                     [3] Gary Dumma, b. 1959
                     [4] Larry Dumma, b. 1959, m. Barbara Randall in 1981.
                     [5] Colleen Dumma, b. 1962
 

this page was updated Feb.19, 2003

return to main index page

Receive email when this page changes