Percy L. Climo
6 Simmons Street
P. O. Box 299
Colborne, Ontario
KOK ISO
Dear Mr. Climo,
How can I ever thank you for all the help you have given me? Did you hear the whoop? I just returned from three weeks in Washington, D.C. and found waiting for me, the wonderful array of material that you had sent. I started this letter two days ago, but must confess that it has been delayed as I repeatedly become absorbed in reading the material and detain the letter even more. I am enclosing a Postal Money Order to reimburse you for the postage.
Your articles on the formation of the Newcastle District and the papers on the Rogers/Greeley/Peters families are of particular interest and I have made copies of them. The account of pioneer life by Susan Burnham Greeley was fascinating. I was interested to learn that those early settlers managed a great deal of travel, even though travel was difficult by today's standards. I was also interested to find that people moved great distances and the same family might be found in several records of areas quite distant from each other. I have not made a sure connection yet but this new data makes me feel that we are closing the information gap on these people.
Stanbrough Stancliff's 3rd cousin, John Stanclift, also lived for many years in Canada. It was his daughter who married a John Armstrong at Loughborough in 1812. That family has a repeated and multiple relationship to the Ward, Hough, Armstrong and Crandall families, both in Canada and later in Erie County, Pennsylvania. When I found the Wards and Houghs in Kingston, I thought that they would not be related to the Wards or Crandalls in Cramahe because of the distance, but after reading of the travels of the Rogers/Armstrong family, I am rethinking that assumption. Finding David McGregor Rogers was related to the Armstrongs was of interest but now I find he was also a brother in law to Thomas Ward of Cramahe and Port Hope.
John Stanclift's family story written by a grand nephew in 1892 says "John Stanclift moved to Toronto about 1797/8" another source quoting a letter from John's brother says "John took up and held land for a man named Smith". We all made the assumption that Toronto meant today's Toronto. When I looked up Port Hope in the Atlas of Northumberland and Durham Counties, I found it was earlier called Smith's Creek and from the papers you just sent I see it was also called Toronto at about the time John Stanclift came to Canada. Since men named Smith owned or claimed large tracts of land in that area, it seems to fit the family story. This could mean that Stanbrough's cousin may have lived near him before moving on to the Ernestown/Kingston area.
Before you sent me the Land and Property records and the Census records of Hamilton Township, I had believed that Stanbrough lived there until he moved about 1812 to Ohio. Now it is clear that he left Cobourg before 1809. You asked if I knew where he went—I do not. Maybe he travelled on to the Kingston area with cousin John. Another mystery to solve. Stanbrough has been a hard man to follow and if he had had a common name, I doubt that we would have much information on him at all.
My husband, Bob, is to present a paper before a convention of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in Toronto the first week of June and I intend to tag along with him. This may be of interest to you as I notice from the text of your Genealogy that you are a Mechanical Engineer. I will have a few days to visit the research facilities in Toronto, and perhaps I can learn something new about this elusive family.
We hope to visit the Cobourg area, probably about June 9th, depending on the final sessions of the convention. I'd like to call you before that time and perhaps even have the opportunity to meet you.
Meanwhile I will edit and make hard copy of all my files concerning Canada and hope to regain some of the familiarity with the area that I had at the time of my original research. I shall read the material that you sent and get it back to you promptly.
Again many, many thanks for your books and your wonderful help.
Sincerely,
Sherry
May 18, 1989
Percy L. Climo
Box 299
Colborne, Ontario
KOK 1S0. ISBN 0-9692131-0-7
Dear Mr. Climo,
I found a listing of your book Early Cobourg in an issue of the Canadian Genealogist, that is several years old.
Is the book still available? If so please advise the cost and postage. I would very much like to obtain a copy.
I am most interested in this area and the records that might be available for research. My husband's ancestor Stanbrough Perigrine Stancliff was one of the first settlers in the associated Township of Hamilton. His land was "broken front" lot # 14, 1st concession, which I believe would place him on the lake shore and in the south east corner of the town of Cobourg.
Enclosed please find an international postage coupon for your reply.
Sincerely,
Sherry Stancliff
February 22, 1989
Received March 3/ 1989
Parcel mailed March 4/ 1989
Percy L. Climo
Box 299
Colborne, Ontario
KOK 180
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Climo,
Your wonderful package arrived yesterday. Thank you so very much. I have been reading the book you sent and it is most interesting.
We too enjoyed the time that we spent together. I am so glad that we had the opportunity to meet you both. The tour of Cobourg was really terrific and added so much to our trip. Cobourg is such a lovely town, Bob says he is proud that his ancestor, Stanbrough Stancliff, was one of the founders. We certainly enjoyed having dinner with you too.
Mr. Climo, you will never know what a great help you have been to us in our Genealogical quest. Seeing Cobourg made it all come alive for us.
I had intended to write as soon as we returned to Cincinnati, but waited until our photos were developed, hoping to send you some prints. Unfortunately there was some sort of problem in the developing and we do not have any of the Cobourg photographs. We are very disappointed.
Thank you for looking into the origin of the mill-stone for us. We were particularly interested in it because it looked so much like the ones in the town where Stanbrough lived after leaving Canada. Isn't it too bad that we will never know the age of those stones.
Again many thanks for your generosity and willingness to share so much of your research with us.
Sincerely,
Sherry & Bob
June 24, 1989
Received June 29—1989.
Percy L. Climo
Box 299
Colborne, Ontario
KOK 1S0
I was delighted to find your book in my mailbox yesterday. Thank you so much for your prompt response. Enclosed is a Postal Money Order-for the $8.50 plus $5.05 postage. I look forward to reading the book in more detail. So far I have only browsed the parts about Stanbrough. I was not aware of the 1804 Census records and glad to get that information. I was also missing the exact date that the patent was issued and glad for that information too. My records only show three acres cleared in 1799 but that’s a minor difference, and I may well have made an error in copying.
I appreciate the description of the land as it is today. I also found the newspapers and map of great interest.
I intend to do some more work in this area, I sent for 6 rolls of microfilm from your Archives, but I have to drive into town to use the Public Library microfilm readers and it takes so much time that I never seem to finish. On page 19 you say Stanbrough’s property was sold about 1808, are those local records?
You would think a man with a name like Stanbrough Perigrine Stancliff would be easy to trace, but this man managed to stay out of all but the most obscure records. It is only recently that concentrated digging in Court records here in Ohio, revealed the names of all of his children. I know much more about the immigrant ancestor than I do about this man. Any scrap of information is pure gold.
Can you tell me if there are any old cemeteries in Cobourg, with stones for the earliest settlers. I hope that I will be able to accompany my husband to Toronto this summer for a business trip and then take some extra time to drive up to Cobourg. I would love to find some old stones that might have been carved by this man.
I hope the enclosed information on Stanbrough is what you had in mind. I have trouble editing my research and not sending much more than someone cares to know.
Sincerely,
Sherry Stancliff
March 11, 1989
Rec’d March 20 /89.
