Russell Uttley was born in Elmira on December 20, 1887. He was the fifth of eight children and the fifth son of John Robert Uttley and Catherine (nee Birmingham). Wow! What a streak of male heirs.

The birth can be found in the Ontario Birth Indexes. Russell's four older brothers were not registered at the time making this the first birth in the family to be registered. A date of December 22, 1887 noted in the 1901 Census, but his obituary matches the date of December 20, 1887 found in his Birth Registrations.

     Name:       Russell
     Born:       December 20, 1887
     Sex:        Male
     Where:      Elmira
     Father:     John R. Uttley,
                 Fireman, Elmira, Ont
     Mother:     Catherine Birmingham
     When reg:   Decem 26 1887
     Doctor:     D. L. Walmsley, M.D.

In his early life his name was spelled Russel. The 1891 Census lists Russel as a son of age 3. Ten years later in 1901 the Census again lists Russel as a son at age 13.

Marriage Record

Russel marries. The Ontario Marriage Archive for 1909, reference #020433, records:

   Groom:        Russel Uttley
   Age:          22
   Occupation:   Boiler Maker
                 bachelor
   Religion:     Church of England
   Residence:    Waterloo
   Father:       John Uttley, Engineer
   Mother:       Catherine Birmingham

   Bride:        Ida Meyers
   Age:          21
                 spinster
   Religion:     Evang. Assn
   Residence:    Crosshill
   Father:       Hezekiah Meyers, farmer
   Mother:       Sarah Block

   Date:         29 November 1909, New Hamburg
   Witness:      Sarah Meyers, Crosshill
                 Sybilla S. Yager, New Hamburg
   By:           Rev. W. J. Yager

• Russel worked as a boiler maker in Waterloo, in 1909. This was a common occupation in this family.
• He worked as a teamster and lived as a householder at 24 Courtland Ave [Berlin] in the 1911-1912 Vernon Directory.
• His obituary reports that he served overseas with the 118th Batalion, Canadian Expeditionary Forces, during WWI. The National Archives of Canada lists UTTLEY, Russel under Regimental number 751282.
• By 1921 Russel works at J.M. Schneider (meatpackers) and is a householder at 425 Mill, [Kitchener].

Death

On Thursday December 24, 1970 the K-W Record ran this obituary on page 29:

Russell Uttley     Russell Uttley of 126 Fourth Av. died Wednesday at St. Mary's Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was 83.     He was a resident of the Twin Cities for 68 years and was employed as a moulder at Canada Valve Ltd. six years until his retirement in 1946.     He served with the 118th Batalion overseas during the First World War.     A son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Uttley, he was born in Elmira Dec. 20, 1887. He was a member of the Baptist Church.     He was predeceased by his wife, the former Ida Myers.     Surviving are three sons, Howard and Russell, both of Kitchener, and Earl of Saint John, N.B.; five daughters, Mrs. Maxwell (Hazel) Coffen, Mrs. Frederick (Violet) Hofheinz, Mrs. Elsie Currie and Mrs. John Dickson, all of Kitchener and Mrs. Richard (Jean) Pfeiffer of Chelmsford; a sister, Mrs. Hilda Bone of Port Hope; 22 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by three brothers and two sisters.     The body is at the Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Home where Rev. Arthur McDowell of Highland Baptist CHurch will conduct the funeral service at 3 p.m. Saturday. Burial will be in Woodland cemetery. Donations to the Highland Baptist Church building fund will be accepted as expressions of sympathy.

His headstone at Woodland Cemetery, Kitchener, contains:

Russell Uttley Sr 1887-1970 Beloved husband of Ida Myers

Picture of headstone to follow after the snow melts (January 2000)

Death

Her headstone beside the one of her husband at Woodland Cemetery, Kitchener, contains:

Ida Meyers 1888-1942 Beloved wife of Russell Uttley

Picture of headstone to follow after the snow melts (January 2000)

• Woodland Cemetery has an interment date in 1901 for this plot. The date, they explain, is in fact a code indicating that there is no burial in this plot. This is consistent with the fact that section 'ma' of Woodland Cemetery wasn't used in 1942.
      So where was Ida buried?

The date of Ida's death in 1942 is not yet known. So far no obituary for her has been located. The date can be determined by searching the K-W Record of 1942 or more directly, perhaps, by contacting Highland Baptist Church in Kitchener.

• It is interesting that her headstone spells Meyers with an 'e' but Russell's headstone spells it as Myers. From found records, her headstone is correct.

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Most recent revision January 2000