Family Stories

ca 1821 – after 1871; County Tyrone to Dufferin County, Ontario

Joseph Minary was born about 1851 in County Tyrone. His parents were David and Mary Manary in Ireland, as his siblings David and Mary had stated this in their marriages records. When he was about 30, he immigrated from Tyrone to Canada. Although his other relatives in Canada – James, Robert, and Sarah — were already living in Lanark County, he chose to go further west to Mono Township in Dufferin County. Once in Canada, he changed the spelling of his surname to Minary to distinguish himself from the other Manarys and Menarys in the region.

According to lore handed down to descendants, Joseph was said to be a tall, fine-looking man. In 1854, age 33, he married Ellen Coleman in Mono. Ellen was born in 1831 in Antrim. David farmed in Mono, and the couple had eight children, born between 1855 and 1867. About 1871, Joseph and Ellen separated and Ellen moved away to be closer to relatives. Some of their children settled in Shallow Lake, others in Amabel, and two migrated to Manitoba. Joseph remained in Dufferin County and died sometime later. His burial place has never been found.

ca 1830 – 1875; County Tyrone to Dufferin County, Ontario

David Manary, born about 1830 in County Tyrone, Ireland, was a son of David Manary and his wife Mary of Ireland, according to his marriage certificate. Sometime before 1855, he immigrated to Ontario, either with his brother Joseph Minary in 1851 or joining him in Dufferin County shortly after. The 1861 agricultural census showed they both lived in Mono on Concession 3, Joseph on Lot 26, and David on Lot 25.

In 1864, at the age of 34, David married Jane Lively, who was born in 1844 in Ireland. David farmed and the couple had a family of four children born between 1865 and 1872. Unfortunately, David developed heart disease and died at the early age of 45 in 1875 in Mono.

Jane remarried about 1878 to William Revels, a widower with four children of his own. Sometime between 1878 and 1883, William and Jane moved to Pennsylvania. Jane and David’s children took on the Revels surname, although in later life, some of them hyphenated their name to Manary-Revels in records.

Most of their children remained in Pennsylvania, although their youngest, Thomas (Manary) Revels moved to Oklahoma. No known descendants had been found for David Manary’s line until 2020, when DNA matches revealed one living descendant, who still lives in Oklahoma.

ca 1831 – 1877; County Tyrone to Dufferin County, Ontario

Mary Manary was born about 1831 in County Tyrone to David and Mary Manary and was a sibling to Joseph and David, both of whom also went to Canada. Mary may have immigrated with her older brother Joseph in 1851. In 1854, at age 23, she married William Cassels in Mono, Dufferin County. The two had a daughter named Jane in January 1855 and sometime after that, William died. In 1858, Mary remarried to Francis Allingham, a farmer in nearby Amaranth who was a widower with two children of his own. Together, they had five more children, born between 1859 and 1866.

When the youngest child of the family was only three years old, Francis met with a tragic accident. He was out walking with his young son, and while closing the bars of the gate, he accidentally set off the shotgun he was carrying. The bullet went through his chest and into the base of the brain. Francis lived for 24 hours but succumbed to the wound. The newspaper account stated that he was about 60, but in fact, he was only 47.

Mary was now a widow for the second time, this time with a blended family of seven children. She managed to keep the farm for some years, but sometime before 1877, moved to Toronto, possibly to be with her son John, who lived there. In July 1877, Mary died at the age of 46 and is buried at St. James Cemetery in Toronto.  Some of her children moved to Buffalo, New York, while others made their way to Saskatchewan.