Leslie Forsyth of Medicine Lodge, Kansas

Source:  CHOSEN LAND - A History of Barber County, Kansas - Dedicated to  the People of Barber County - Past, Present and Future - Taylor Publishing, Dallas, Texas

Excerpts for Forsyth families received from the Lincoln Library, Medicine Lodge

The Death of William R. Forsyth of Medicine Lodge, Kansas, 96

This obituary was received from the Lincoln Library, Medicine Lodge, Kansas

1905 Census for Medicine Lodge, Kansas

In 1905, William and Elizabeth Forsyth of Medicine Lodge, Kansas had visitors.  William's sister, Margaret, a music teacher, apparently lived with the couple for several years.  Also in this census is Annie Forsyth, the widow of Charles Cockburn Forsyth and mother of Leslie;  she was born in Ireland and is listed as a nurse. We don't know what happened to her, but Leslie was going to school in Canada and living with his Forsyth grandparents.  In 1905, William is the owner of a mill, a fact that was noted in his father's history from a Weston source.  The other woman in this census is not a relative.



Family Tree - Charles Forsyth

Border Crossing for Annie and Margaret Forsyth -1924

In June of 1924, Annie Elizabeth Forsyth and Margaret Forsyth, crossed the border at Port Huron, Michigan en route to Kansas to stay with their brother,William, for an indefinite period of time.  Annie was 52 years old, in good health, stood 4 '11"and had brown hair and blue eyes. 

Margaret was 57, in good health, was 5'3"with brown hair and brown eyes. In the Charles Forsyth family history, it is stated that it was Margaret, the music teacher, who went to Kansas for a few years and taught piano there.  It doesn't mention Annie. Perhaps Margaret stayed for an extended period, and Annie came back sooner.

Charles Leslie Forsyth, grandson of Charles of Weston

                        Marriage of Charles Cockburn Forsyth, son of Charles of Weston, Ontario to Annie  Nixon

 and the  birth of Charles Leslie Irwin Forsyth (below centre).  Charles Leslie I.  was raised by his Forsyth grandparents in Weston and went to Kansas as an adult. He is shown in the census in Canada as Charles, but in later life he appears to have used Leslie. His wife's name was Estelle.


1930 Census - Medicine Lodge, Barber, Kanasas
Leslie C. Forsyth, 33, b. Canada 1897
Estelle Forsyth, 32
William A. Forsyth, 6

Information from Census - Owned house valued at 4,000; Radio in house - yes; Residence was not a farm.
He was a retail furniture merchant. He became a citizen in 1903

1940 Census - Location as above

Leslie Forsyth, 43, Furniture Dealer and Undertaker of funeral home
Estelle Forsyth, 42
William Forsyth, 16
Robert Forsyth, 6

Birth of Charles Leslie Irwin Forsyth, February 6, 1897 in Toronto.

   The father, Charles, was a carpenter at this time.

Annie Elizabeth FORSYTH

                                                                         1942

Isabella Allison Forsyth JEWELL of Oklahoma

Isabelle Allison Forsyth, Mrs. Thomas Jewell

1868-1958

                                                              Isabelle Jewell, 1940

1871 Census - Ontario,Canada -Toronto, St. John's Ward 

Peter Wood, 60, carpenter, b. Scotland

Mary A. Jewell, 28, b. Ontario

Jennie Jewell, 7

Thomas Jewell, 5

1881 - Census - Ontario, Canada - Toronto, St. George's Ward

John J. Jewell, 40, upholsterer, b. Ontario

Mary Jewell, 37

Thomas Jewell,  16

Jennie Boyle, 32

Marriage:  June 30, 1890, York County, Ontario

Thomas Jewell, 24, son of John Jewell and Mary Ann Wood, Grocer

to Isabel Forsyth, 22, daughter of Charles Forsyth and Margaret Pirette

by W. Peritte, Methodist Church

1891 Census - Ontario, Canada - Toronto, St. Andrew's Ward

Thomas Jewell, 25, Retail Grocer

Isabelle Jewell, 23

1895 - USA Census - Pratt, Kansas

Thomas Jewell, 29,

Belle F. Jewell, 27

Clifford Jewell, 2

1910 - USA Census - Enid, Garfield Co, Oklahoma

Thomas Jewell, 45

Belle Jewell, 43 Canadian/Gaelic

(They were lodgers in a boarding house)

(Clifford is in Toronto with his grandparents in 1911 Census)

1920 - USA Census - Custer Co, Thomas Town - Census taken Jan 6/7

Clifford Jewell, 26, b. Kansas, Salesman, working on road

Faye Jewell, b. Canada

Thomas C., 5, b. Oklahoma

James L., 4/12, b. Oklahoma

1920 USA Census - Enid, Garfield Co. Oklahoma

Thomas Jewell, 54, wholesale grocer, salaried, b. Canada

to the USA in 1892, owned own home

Belle F. Jewell

1930 USA Census - Medicine Lodge, Kansas

North Walnut Street

Thomas Jewell, 64, 24 when first married, own home worth 6500, has radio, not a farm, to USA in 1892, retail merchant of grocieries

Belle, 57

(appears to be among other shops)

From Highland Cemetery, Medicine Lodge, Barber County, Kansas

Sons of Charles and Margaret Forsyth, Weston

                                Brothers - William R. and John K. Forsyth as young men

This photo is marked William Forsyth.

                                                    Probably William R. Forsyth as a young man.

John Knox Forsyth and Jane Elizabeth Hunter

John Knox Forsyth, son of Charles of Weston, was born 1862 and died in Weston in 1934.

He was a millwright.  His daughter, Mary, became a nurse and married a George Shellhorn.  Ray Hunter Forsyth married firstly, a Gertrude Porter who was American, in Winnipeg.  Their divorce record and Ray's remarriage are on ancestry.com in the state of Florida.  He apparently died in Florida, although both he and his sister Mary, are buried in Weston

W.R. Forsyth of Medicine Lodge, Kansas

William Robert Forsyth was the son of  Charles Forsyth and Margaret Pirritte.  He married Elizabeth Jackson .

                             Photo taken in Toronto of Wm R Forsyth and wife Elizabeth Jackson

                   Photo taken in Wichita, Kansas of Wm R. Forsyth and his wife, Elizabeth.

                                         W.R. Forsyth and Elizabeth Jackson in later years.

1895 Census - Kansas, Barber Valley (County?)
Census taken March 1st
W.R. Forsyth, 34, Merchant
Elizabeth J. Forsyth


1920 Census - Kansas, Medicine Lodge
William R. Forsyth, 59, b. Canada 1861, Immigrated 1894 (citizenship1905)
Furniture store / Undertaker
Elizabeth Forsyth, 55
Charles L. Forsyth, 22, nephew



1925 Census - Kansas, Medicine Lodge
W.R. Forsyth, 64, widower, furniture dealer, own store

Forsyth Monuments at Riverside Cemetery, Weston, Ontario

                                            Monument for John Knox Forsyth family.

Monument for Charles Foryth family.

Charles Forsyth of Weston, Ontario

From the Commemorative Biographical Record of the County of York Ontario 1907

CHARLES FORSYTH, one of the prominent citizens and successful business men of Weston, County York, Ont., engaged in contracting and building, was born at West Fenton, in the parish of Dirleton, County of Haddington, Scotland, April 14. 1833, son of John and Charlotte Forsyth, natives of that country.

John Forsyth was born in 1804, and his wife in 1796. They came to Canada in 1863, settling on a farm in Muskoka, Macaulay town ship, County Simcoe [now Muskoka], where he died in 1885, three years after the death of his wife. They were both members of the Presbyterian Church in which he had been deacon in the old country. To John Forsyth and wife were born four children: Alice, born in Scotland, April 3, 1831, married James McNee, of Muskoka, Macaulay township, and at her death left four children, John, James, Ellen and Charlotte; John, born in Scotland in 1835, married and settled on a farm near the old homestead, where he has reared a large family; Charles; and Robert, born in Scotland in 1838, there learned the tailoring trade, which he is now following in Dundas, where with his wife and two children, Kate and Charlotte, he now makes his home.

Charles Forsyth received his literary training in his native country, where he was reared to manhood and learned the trade of a mill wright. On July 21, 1855, he sailed from Liverpool on the sailing vessel "Emerald Isle," but after being out six days the ship was compelled to return to port on account of being disabled. It finally reached New York, Sept. 13, 1855, from which city Mr. Forsyth made his way at once to St. Catharines, Ontario, and then engaged in work at the village of Weston, with a Mr. Laurie.  

In 1857 Mr. Forsyth married Miss Margaret Pirritte, born in 1835, daughter of John and Joanna Pirritte. In 1858 Mr. Forsyth purchased real estate and erected a home on Maria street, where he lived for six years. In 1867 he purchased real estate on Main street, building two fine homes, and he is also the owner of other valuable property.

Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth are the parents of children as follows:

*Charlotte passed away in March, 1874 ;

*William R., born in "Weston in 1860, married to Miss Lizzie Jackson, of Weston, is now a resident of Medicine Lodge, Kansas, where he owns and operates a feed-mill;

*John K., born in 1862, a millwright, of Toronto, married at Toronto Elizabeth Hunter, of Markham, and has two children, Ray and Mary;

*Margaret Scott, born in July, 1865, is a music teacher at Weston, and also followed that profession for four years in Kansas, where she had gone to visit her brother;

*Isabelle Allison, born in 1868, married Thomas Jewell, who is engaged in the mercantile business at Enid, Oklahoma, and they have one son, Clifford F. ;

*Miss Annie Elizabeth, born in 1870, resides at home ;

*Charles, born in 1872, married Miss Annie Nixon, and they settled in Toronto, where he died in 1897, leaving one son, Charles L., now in Kansas, who was reared and educated by his grandparents in Weston; *James Pirritte, born in Weston, in 1875, married Miss Jessie Wilby, of Weston, and they now reside in Edmonton, Northwest Territory, where he is engaged as a hardware merchant, and they have two children, Charles and Margaret;

*Miss Mabel, born in Weston in 1877, resides at home.

Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth are members of the Methodist Church, of which for many years Mr. Forsyth has been a trustee. In politics a Reformer, he has filled the position of school trustee for a number of years. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and Odd Fellows.

For over fifty years Mr. Forsyth has been a resident of Weston, and during this long period has done much to further movements of benefit to the village. He is a self-made man, and is highly esteemed by all with whom he has come into contact.

Received from C. Forsyth, Nov, 2012 (Decendant of James P. Forsyth)

Charles Forsyth, Millwright, 1833-1923

1861 Census - York County, Township of York, Enum. Dist #5
1 story house / 1 family
#24 - Charles Forsyth, b. Scotland, 27, Farmer
#25 - Margaret Forsyth, birth place not given, 25


1871 Census - York West

FORESITH,Charles, 38, b. Scotland

This census only gives head of family, however Charles and
Margaret would have had five children in 1871.

1881 Census - West York, Ontario Film C-13249
Charles FORSYTH, 47, b. Scotland, Millwright, C. Methodist
Margaret FORSYTH, Scottish, 46, b. Ontario,C. Methodist
William Robert FORSYTH, Male, 20, b. Ontario, Millwright
John Knox FORSYTH, Male, 18, b. Ontario
Margaret Scott FORSYTH, Female, 15, b. Ontario
Isabella Alliston FORSYTH, Female, b. 13, b.Ontario
Annie Elizabeth FORSYTH, Female, 11, Ontario
Charles Cockburn FORSYTH, Male, 8, b. Ontario
James Piritte FORSYTH, Male, 6, b. Ontario
Mabel FORSYTH, Female, b. 3, Ontario

1891 Census - St. Patrick's Ward, Toronto West, Ontario
Forsyth, Charles, 57, b. Scotland, parents b. Scotland, Millwright
Forsyth, Margaret, 56, b. Ontario, parents b. Ontario
Forsyth, Maggie, 25, b. Ontario, Music Teacher
Forsyth, Annie, 21, b. Ontario, Dressmaking
Forsyth, Charles, 18, b. Ontario, carpenter
Forsyth, James, 16, b. Ontario
Forsyth, Mable, 14, b. Ontario

1896, April, 9 - Toronto
Marriage of Charles Cockburn Forsyth and Annie Elizabeth Nixon

1901 Census - Weston Village, York County, Ontario
Forsyth, Charles, Head, b. Apr 14, 1833, 68
Forsyth Margaret, F., Wife, Feb 12, 1835, 66
Forsyth Margaret, Daughter, Jul 25, 1865, 35
Forsyth, E. Ann, Daughter, Jan 27, 1870, 31
Forsyth, P. James, Son, Jan 19, 1875, 26
Forsyth, Mable, Daughter, May 12, 1877, 23
Forsyth, L., Charles, Grandson, Feb 5, 1897, 4

1911 Census - Weston, York Centre, Ontario
Forsyth, Charles, Head, b. Apr, 1833, 78
Forsyth, Margaret, Wife, b. Feb, 1835, 76
Forsyth, Margaret, Daughter, b. Jul, 1866, 45
Forsyth, Annie, Daughter, b. Jan, 1870, 41
Forsyth, Mabel, Daughter, b. May, 1877, 34
Forsyth, Cliferd, Grandson, b. Mar, 1893, 18

Note: States that Charles came to Canada in 1855. Margaret was
born Ontario so he must have been single when he came to Canada

Death of Margaret Forsythe, Main Street, Weston, Ontario
Female, 85 years old, housewife,
Cause of death: Apoplexy (stroke)
April 17, 1920 Burial: Riverside Cemetery, April 19, 1920
Informant: W. J. Ward, no relation.

Death of Charles Forsythe, Main Street, Weston, Ontario
Male, 91 years old, widowed, b. Scotland
Dr. W.J. Charlton, Weston - Informant: John Forsythe, son
Burial: Riverside Cemetery, by W.J. Ward, Weston
June 13, 1923 - Attended by doctor May 1 - June 13
Cause: heart disease/cardiac
Contributing factors - kidney failure

Bible of Charles Forsyth

I recently noted this message on a Forsyth message board...

Subject: [FORSYTH] Charles Forsyth photos & bible
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:37:28 -0700
Someone is selling a bible and many old photos of the Charles Forsyth family on eBay. Weston, Ontario is mentioned. Children were William Robert ; John Knox; Margaret Scott; Isabella Alliston, Annie Elizabeth; Charles Cockburn, James Prettie, and Mabel Forsyth. Individuals in the photos are apparently identified. Anyone out there related? The seller purchased these items at a sale in Kansas.

The message included a link which is no longer active. It seems that some of Charles Forsyth's descendants moved to the US. If anyone out there knows anything about these photos or the bible, I would love to hear from you.

Another message on the same topic:

There is a family bible and photographs of Charles Forsyth born 1833 in Scotland, immigrated to Ontario, Canada. This family then immigrated to the USA, Medicine Lodge, Kansas. In case anyone is interested these items are selling on Ebay this week. (Dated October, 2008)

Update on the bible and photos November, 2012:  Apparently these items were found in the in Kansas and someone rescued them and sold / tried to sell them on ebay.  Somehow they fell into the hands of the Forsyth family history group of America and a Forsyth descendant was given copies of the photos.  Yeah!!!