Nathan R. Uttley Ц 1867-1910

Nathan R. Uttley was born in Elmira, Ontario on October 14, 1867. He was the sixth of seven children born to Nathan Uttley and Lucinda (nee Randall),and he was the first born in the new country of Canada which had its confederation on July 1 of that year.

The birth date comes from two sources. The Births page of the Family Bible reads "Nathan R Uttley Born Oct 14 1867" but the 'O' has been overwritten to look like "Dct". Was it December 14? The Census of 1901 says he was born October 14, 1865. The year "1865" is wrong and should be "1867" with the Family Bible, 1871 Census (age 3), 1881 Census (age 14), his headstone and his obituary all pointing to 1867 as the year of his birth.

[Bruce's note: And if anybody can tell me what the 'R.' stands for, I would appreciate it. I blindly figured it stood for Robert, but there is nothing I have to substantiate that. For now he will remain Nathan R. to distinguish him from his father.]

Marriage Record

Nathan R. marries in 1888. The Ontario Marriage Archive for 1888 (microfilm M62 1888 #011890) shows:

     Date:       March 18, 1888 at Doon, Ontario
     Groom:      Nathan Uttley
     Age:        21
     Residence:  Waterloo
     Born:       Elmira
                 bachelor
     Occupation: Livery Hos
     Parents:    Nathan Uttley / Lucinda Uttley
     Religion:   Presbyterian
     Bride:      Mary Ann Wolfe
     Age:        22
     Residence:  Waterloo
     Born:       Waterloo
                 single
     Parents:    Andreas (?) Wolfe / Sarah Wolfe
     Religion:   Lutheran

A 'Livery Hostler' takes care of horses. Bruce's Auntie Bea's notes on her grandfather Nathan say he was a hostler at the start after he came to Canada. Nathan R. must have picked up the knowledge from his father.

This is the only mention of Mary Ann Wolfe. Bruce found no record of any children and nothing about her death.

Second Marriage Record

Nathan R. Uttley marries again in 1890. The Ontario Marriage Archive for 1890 (microfilm M69 1890 #012290) records:

     Date:       May 11, 1890 at St. Jacobs, Ontario
     Groom:      Nathan R. Uttley
     Age:        24
     Residence:  Waterloo, Ont
     Born:       Elmira, Ont
                 bachelor
     Parents:    Nathan Uttley / Lucinda Uttley
     Religion:   Presbyterian
     Bride:      Mary Kercher
     Age:        24
     Residence:  Berlin, Ont
     Born:       Wellesley twp, Waterloo Co
                 single
     Parents:    Michael Kercher / Mary Kercher
     Religion:   Evangelical Association

Nathan R. is listed as a 'bachelor'. Was there some reason why his first marriage two years earlier didn't count?
Mary was born April 12, 1864 in Ontario by the 1901 Census. If her age is to match Nathan R.'s the 1901 Census must be wrong by two years for her as well(??).

Their first child was born eight months later. The Ontario Birth Archive (film B107 1891 #039214) --

     Date:       7 January 1891, Waterloo
     Name:       Anna Elizabeth
     Sex:        F
     Father:     Nathan Uttley, Hostler
     Mother:     Anna Kircher
     When reg:   12 Feb 1891
     Accoucheur: none

the 1901 Census gives the same date of birth for Annie, but gives Elmira as the location. I see no reason for Elmira unless, perhaps, Mary's parents lived in Elmira.
there was no obstetrician (not that one was not recorded, there was none).
Nathan R. is still working with horses.
the fact that the mother's given name is listed as 'Anna' rather than 'Mary' is just a clerical error.

The biography of Nathan R. is not a happy one as can read the facts that are recorded. Now he enters what must have been the low ebb.

BORN:  Rosa Melvina
       June 26, 1893, Waterloo
       Parents:  Nathan R. Uttley / Mary Kerchnet
       Doctor:   Dr. Armitage
       Ontario Birth Archive (film B117 1893 #035470)
DIED:  Rosa Mulvina Uttley
       Nov 5, 1893, Waterloo, age 4 mo 10 days
       daughter of Nathan Uttley Jr
       cause: bowel trouble
       Ontario Death Archive (film M69 1893 #017829)

BORN:  William Henry Uttley (male)
       March 13, 1895, Waterloo
       Parents:  Nathan R. Uttley (laborer) / Mary Kirchner
       Doctor:   Dr. Bingham
       Ontario Birth Archive (film B128 1895 #033404)
ALSO:  Carrie Melinda (female)
       March 13, 1895, Waterloo
       Parents:  Nathan R. Uttley (laborer) / Mary Kirchner
       Doctor:   Dr. Bingham
       Ontario Birth Archive (film B128 1895 #033405)
DIED:  William Henry Uttley
       Sept 15, 1896, Waterloo, age 1 1/2 years
       son of Nathan Uttley
       cause: Inflamation of the brain, 1 week
       religion: ?
       informant: Nathan Uttley
       Ontario Death Archive (film M81 1896 #019652)
ALSO:  Carrie Melinda Uttley
       Sept 29, 1896, Waterloo
       daughter of Nathan Uttley
       cause: [Bruce's note:I recall it was listed and different, but
               I didn't write it down]
       religion: ?
       informant: Nathan R Uttley
       Ontario Death Archive (film M81 1896 #019665)

BORN:  Lizzie (female)
       Aug 2/97, Waterloo
       Parents:  Nathan Uttley (laborer) / Mary Kercher
       Doctor:   Dr. J. H. Webb
       Ontario Birth Archive (film B139 1897 #042949)
DIED:  Elizabeth Uttley
       June 27, 1898, Waterloo, age 11 months
       cause: tubercular disease of brain
       religion: Evangelical
       Ontario Death Archive (film M90 1898 #021483)

William Henry and Carrie Melinda were twins. And they died so young within a month.
lots of evidence here of names being reused within the family. Nathan R. has a brother William Henry, Caroline/Carrie is his step sister and from the previous generation and Elizabeth/Lizzie occurs elswehere. But Rosa Melvina stands out as a name unlikely to be repeated for generations.
the Census of 1901 confirms that Annie, the eldest, was the only surviving child of Nathan R. and Mary.

Nathan R. Uttley had several careers in his lifetime. He was a 'livery hostler' up into the 1890's and then his occupation is recorded as 'laborer'. The Vernon Directory of 1901-03 gives 'iron dlr' as the occupation for N. Uttley, a householder on Duke Street Waterloo. By 1907-08 Nathan R. Uttley is a 'laborer' on Queen Street Waterloo. Finally the 1911-12 directory lists Nathan R. Uttley as a 'junk dlr' on Queen Street in Waterloo and a householder on Duke Street, Waterloo. But by the time this directory was in circulation, Nathan R. was dead.

Death Record of Nathan R. Uttley

The Ontario Death Archive (film M159 1910 #031023) lists:

     Name:     Nathan R Uttley
     Date:     Dec 7, 1910
     Age:      43 yrs 1 mo 15 days
     Born:     Elmira
     Died:     Waterloo
     Occup:    Rag Dealer
     Father:   Nathan Uttley, Elmira
     Mother:   Lucy Randall, Wellesley
     Doctor:   Dr. Armitage
     Cause:    Heart Failure, 4 days

working backward, Nathan R. would have been born on October 22, 1867. That's close enough to the 'right' answer of October 14, 1867 for me.
we know Nathan (Sr.) was not born in Elmira, and I am very suspicious that Wellesley was Lucinda's birthplace. Perhaps this is a confusion with the origins of his elusive step mother, Mary Ann Delena Maud?
back when I came across this archive entry, it was the first confirmation of Randall as Lucinda's maiden name that I had found.

Obituary of Nathan R. Uttley

An obituary from the Berlin News Record, Thursday December 8, 1910 page 2 contains:

RESPECTED CITIZEN, DIED IN WATERLOO
а ----
Mr. Nathan R. Uttley passed away at his home Duke St. Waterloo, on Wednesday, Dec. 7th, 1910. Mr. Uttley was born Oct. 14th, 1867, and was in his 43rd year. His death was unexpected to his numerous friends. The funeral is private and will takeplace from his late residence at 2 p. m. Sunday.

From the Berlin Daily Telegraph on Thursday December 9, 1910 page 4:

DEATH OF NATHAN UTTLEY.
ааа ---
а The death of Mr. Nathan Uttley occurred Wednesday evening at the age of 43 years, 1 month and 15 days, after an illness of two weeks. Deceased was born in Elmira, and at the age of 18 came to Waterloo where he has since resided.
а There survive his aged mother, wife and one daughter, Annie, and five brothers and four sisters.

The report in the weekly Waterloo Chronicle-Telegraph on Thursday December 15, 1910 page 5 is identical (down to the hyphenations) to the report in the Berlin Daily Telegraph.

In the two different death reports:

the arithmetic of dates and age don't quite match up but it is close enough for me
Nathan R. is survived only by his wife and one daughter Annie and we know of four children that died young -- Rosa Melvina, William Henry, Carrie Melinda and Elizabeth.

Cemetery Records

His headstone in Mount Hope Cemetery, Waterloo is inscribed:

NATHAN R. UTTLEY
1867--1910

above it, in the same style we find:

CATHERINE BIRMINGHAM
WIFE OF
JOHN R. UTTLEY
1860--1899

So why do Nathan R. and Catherine share a headstone? They are buried beside one another in graves 1 and 2 of a group of six. [The occupant of grave 3 is unknown and has no date and John R. Uttley was buried in grave 4 in 1950. The answer seems obvious -- Nathan R.'s widow didn't have the resources for a plot or a marker and the elder brother, John R. stepped in and made an offer that was not be refused. But

there were four available plots right next door in his father Nathan's section [three if we say one was reserved for his wife Mary Ann]
why give equal billing to Catherine Birmingham and Nathan R. on the one stone? This would imply to anyone that these two were husband and wife. I do not understand this marking, even if John R. had gone to Copper Cliff and never expected to return.

As a postscript to this report there is one more item to add. The Vernon's Directory for 1912-13 has a new entry:

Uttley, Mrs Mary, charwoman, r[ear] of No 1
Bitzner Terrce, Cedar N

As the wife of a livery hostler, a laborer, and a dealer in iron, junk and finally rags, she never could have had much. Now she is a widow at the low end of the social scale, living in the rear of an apartment in the 'low-rent' district of town.

One year and a month after the death of Nathan R., before Annie's marriage, Mary remarries (Ontario Marriage Archive 1912 #020026):

     Date:  Jan 6, 1912, Waterloo
     Groom: John Seibel
     Bride: Marian Uttley
                  Husband         / Wife
     Rank:        Laborer         / House Keeper
                  widower         / widow
     Age:         63              / 45
     Religion:    Lutheran Church / Church of England
     Residence:   Waterloo        / Waterloo
     Father:      Jacob Seibel    / Michael Kaercher
                  Weaver          / Farmer
     Mother:      Elizabeth Miller/ Mary Staebler
     Witnesses:   Roy Wolfe, Waterloo
                  Elizabeth Wolfe, Waterloo
     By:          M. L. Wing, Waterloo

Bruce's Notes:

Mary's maiden name was 'Kercher' and not 'Kaercher' from entries in the 1871 Census.
Now Mary is known as Marian. This could have been the name she always used as her mother was also 'Mary'. [But to me Marian is a man's name and Marion is the feminine.]
here are more references to the Wolfe family.

Henrietta Warley Uttley's marriage record indicates her mother was 'Marion Uttley'. Who was this Marion? Perhaps her mother 'Mary Jane' was also a 'Marion'. Henrietta had been formally adopted by Nathan [Sr.] before he died in 1903 so could Marion be her grandmother, Mary Ann Delena Maude? This is most unlikely as there are lots of references to her grandmother and every one of them is as 'Mary'.

Annie Elizabeth and Henrietta were close in age. Annie was a witness at Henrietta's wedding. It is very possible that Henrietta went to live at Nathan R.'s house after Nathan Sr. died in 1903, that Annie Elizabeth and Henrietta became like sisters and that the 'Marion' listed as the mother is Mary Kercher. This Mary was known as Marion/Marian when she marries a half year later.

Bruce found subsequent references in the Vernon's Directory to Jacob Seibel, but he found nothing for John Seibel immediately before or after the marriage date. So here the trail of Mary Kercher goes cold, once again.

Ah, but there's more. Annie Elizabeth Uttley was married in Berlin on May 23, 1912. I would wish her all the luck in the world that seemed to have eluded her father.

Bruce's Notes:
а As I gathered these scraps of information about Nathan R., the picture of a ne'er-do-well and a loser took shape in my mind. After organizing the material and stepping back to view a bigger picture, my first impressions were wrong.
а As Gloucester says in Lear, "As flies to wonton boys, are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport." Nathan R did not have an easy life by any measure. His first wife dies young I believe, and Nathan R marries again. There must have been great depression as he and his wife lost four young children as infants through the 1890s. The jobs he held were tough, but he always had one. He died young, with "numerous friends". This man was used to adversity and kept going in spite of the setbacks.

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Dorothy Gwynn
dgwynn@dns.magtech.ab.ca