From

Robert Srigley (1777-1836) and his descendants

By Norman Jolly

(FAMILIES, vol. 19, no. 1, 1980)

Robert Srigley, Quaker farmer, came to Newmarket, Upper Canada, about the year 1808. His wife was Jane, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Evans Heacock. Their children and grandchildren played a significant part as pioneers at Newmarket, in other areas of Ontario, and further west. Their story is of some interest to local and family historians. No trace of the Srigley name remains in the Newmarket area, except for the street that bears the name, and those gravestones which can be found. The Srigley name, however, has spread north, west, and south throughout Canada and the United States.

All persons with name Srigley or Shrigley, or other variants of the name, claim the town of Pott-Shrigley near Manchester, England as their place of origin. Several branches in the United States, although unable to documents a relationship with Robert or his family, claim the same origin. Except for a few families arriving from England in this century, none have been able to clearly show a lineage with Shrigleys at Pott-Shrigley, not withstanding many years of trying.

There are two basic sources for Srigley history. The first, an account by James Srigley of Pelee Island, grandson of Robert, was written shortly before his death in 1910. James outlined the family background for his own children, and related accurate in almost every detail, down to the correct listing in perfect order of the little-known listing of names in the May 2, 1931 issue of the Buffalo Evening News. Lee. F. Heacock, Canadian-born journalist, and grandson of Amos Heacock, younger brother of Robert’s wife Jane, presented in this article a romanticized version of Heacock arrivals in Canada, some as early as 1772. Most of the article is devoted to listing the Heacock and related families with hundreds of names, birthdates, and marriages. The article has been a reliable source of Srigley names down to the 1870’s. A family history was printed and distributed in 1977 which lists seven generations of Robert’s descendants, and includes any descendants of his brothers that have been located.

As a means of sorting out Robert’s descendants, and of separating them from other Srigley or Shrigley families, a simple numbering system was used. An example will explain. Alvin Srigley, great-great-grandson of Robert, is numbered R-1-1-9-2. He is the second child of James (R-1-1-9)who was the ninth child of James,Sr. (R-1-1). James Sr. was the first child of Jesse (R-1) who was Robert’s oldest child. In searching for Robert’s families, a few families of his brothers and sisters were found. Members of these families were given numbers starting with the appropriate initial.

Robert Srigley was born somewhere in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the first child of Enoch and Mary Skelton Srigley. Nothing is know of Enoch’s beginning or ending. It is believed he converted to Quakerism when he married. The family came with six children to the Niagara area, perhaps as squatters, in 1788. Enoch petitioned for land in 1795, and he was granted lots in Pelham Township. Their children were:

Robert, born 1777, married Jane Heacock

Hannah, born 1781, married at age 14 to Richard Swayze

Ann, born 1785, married Nathan Heacock

Joshua, married Susannah Heacock

Benjamin, married Martha Ward

Mary, born in the United States

Thomas, born in Canada

George, married 1^st Mary Ann Wallace, 2^nd Anne Hansler Weir

Enoch, born 1803, married Nancy O’Reilly

Enos, born 1803, married 1^st Margaret O’Reilly, 2^nd Eliza Brown.

The Srigleys and Heacocks are two families that came to Newmarket from the Niagara area, not under the sponsorship of Timothy Rogers. Robert changed his name to Srigley, and most of his descendants are identified by this spelling. The family remained in the Quaker religion while in Newmarket, although the name seldom appears in Quaker records. Robert and two of his children are buried in the Quaker cemetery, but Jane and several others and their families are in Newmarket Cemetery.

It is interesting to follow Robert’s children and their families as they enter the movements of population in their century. Jesse (R-1) was born in 1808. He married Phebe Varney of Musselman’s Lake, and they farmed in King Township. They had ten children. The 1881 census shows Jesse still on the farm. Aged 73, with a wife Harriet, aged 34, not yet identified. Most of Jesse’s eight surviving children moved north, south, and west, helping to open up Wingham, Dundalk, Pelee Island, and Elmvale areas, the next generation moving further, some to western Canada and the United States.

Mahon (R-2) married Sarah Merrick of Newton Robinson. They had twelve children, some of whom were born in Newmarket. They moved north to Innisfil Township, and many of their descendants live around Holly and Barrie. Some moved on to Manitoulin Island, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and to the United States. A few are in England.

Elisha Beman (R-3) was probably named after Squire Beman, the pioneer merchant who operated up and down Yonge Street. Elisha married Sara Ann Kreider at Markham. They had ten children and settleed near Shrigley, south of Collingwood. Descendants are found around Orillia, Collingwood and further north, also west and south into the United States.

Enoch (R-4) married Lucy Firkie and had ten children; only a few have been traced, in the Barrie and Orillia areas and western Canada. A son, William shipped cedar ties from a bay on the south side of Manitoulin Island, now known as Shrigley Bay.

Robert (R-5) married Fanny Hunt, and lived at Holland Landing. They had seven children who remained in the Newmarket – Toronto area.

Sara Ann (R-8) was born in 1821. She married 1^st. George Davison, and 2^nd John G. Atkinson. Of five children, two have been traced in the Newmarket area, where a son, John Davison was a prominent merchant.

Christopher Beswick (R-9) the youngest, was born in 1824. He married 1^st Martha King of York County, and 2^nd Emily Kavanaugh. They moved to the United States shortly after the second marriage.

The family has provided its share of complicated intermarriages. One combination involves three Srigley families, and two generations. Robert’s grand-daughter Isabella Irene Srigley (R-5-6) married the controversial industrialist and racetrack owner, Abe Orpen, who died in 1937, shortly after his kidnapping and release. A distant cousin, Lisle Srigley (R-1-4-6) was married to George Orpen, brother of Abe, and third, Srigley lade, Edith Maude Srigley (R-5-2-1), niece of Isabella, became the wife of Jimmy Williams, half-brother of Abe and George Orpen. By this marriage she also became sister-in –law to her aunt. How the three brothers met the three Srigley ladies, two in Newmarket and one in Wingham, remains a mystery.

Another combination of marriages involves a brother of Edith Maude, and explains a statement in the 1907 Biographical Record of the County of York, that John Wellington Srigley (R-1-5-2), son of Dr. Nelson Srigley (R-1-5) married Mrs. Violet Kaake Srigley. This seems an unusual method of documenting a marriage. It is quite accurate, however, since Violet was the widow of John George Srigley (R-5-2-5) who died at a very early age.

Robert’s will, made in 1836 shortly before his death at a fairly young age, provides a glimpse into the personal life of the family. His wife Jane was to have “twenty Pounds annually, and her choice of rooms in his house, as well as beds or bedding and furniture sufficient to make an aged person comfortable..” For his only daughter Sarah, there was five acres of land, a gift of twenty-five Pounds on her wedding day, and one good feather bed.

The will of Robert’s son Jesse, reveals another side to the gentle Quaker. His second wife Harriet, was to paid the interest on an investment of $3,000.00 and was to be cut off from this generous allowance if she decided to remarry. The remainder of his goods were divided with care, according to debts and deserts.. One son, Richard (R-1-4), received special attention by having his portion go directly to his children. There is a rumour that Richard took to drinking, and Jesse may have chosen this way of showing his disapproval, while still recognizing him a son.

Except perhaps for Jesse, the Srigleys were not active Quakers. Their names seldom appear in Quaker records, but the Quaker influence remained strong. It is seen easily in James’ account of 1910 where he describes his children’s activities. James was a religious man, proud of his Quaker heritage, and pleased that almost every one of his nine children was engaged in religious work of some kind. As the families moved away, they were caught up in the Methodist religion mostly, some converting to Anglicanism. There seems to be evidence that there is a carryover to the present day, with Srigley descendants represented and active in every religious denomination.