Jessie Forsyth was the youngest child of John and Mary Forsyth. She was born in Macaulay Township on November 6th, 1885. She married George Nelson Peacock, son of John Peacock and Mary Ellen Oliver, also of Macaulay Township, on the 9th of August, 1905. Jessie died November 9th, 1965 and is buried in the Kirk Cemetery, Bracebridge.In the 1911 census, shown below, Mary Dales Forsyth who had been widowed three years, was living with Jessie and George Peacock.
1911 Census - Macaulay Township, Muskoka, Ontario
Peacock, George....... Head..............b. Mar, 1886........age 25
Peacock, Jessie......... Wife...............b. Nov, 1885........age 25
Peacock, Gertrude....F.....................b. Jan, 1906........age...5
Peacock, Hazel.......... F....................b. Jun, 1907.........age..3
Peacock, Marjory..... F.....................b. Dec, 1908.........age..2
Peacock, Clarence.....M....................b. Aug, 1910........age..10/12
Forsyth, Mary, Mother-in-law, W..b. Sep, 1840..........age 70
The family members born after 1911 are:
John Melville b. June, 1912, died June 25, 1912, buried Kirk Cemetery
George Murray b. 1 June, 1913, died 11 June, 1968, buried Kirk Cemetery
Elmore Leroy Willis b. 14 July, 1915, d. 199_, Massena, New York
Eileen Mary b. 15 Sept 1917, d.______ Toronto, Ontario
Kenneth Merle b. 24 Jan 1922, d. May 14, 1987 (of Fenwick) St. Catherines,Ontario
Glenwood Nelson b. 25 Jan 1924, d. _______ Bracebridge,Ontario
Maurice Beatty b. 2 Jan 1926 d. 4 Sept 1927Whooping Cough, Bur. Kirk Cem.
Terrance Morley b. 9 April 1927, Sturgeon Fallsd.19_____Bracebridge
Helen Yvonne b. __ Dec 1935, d. 2009, Bracebridge, Ontario
The following was written by Jessie:"In the fall of 1908, we were living in Falkenburg and heard a farm was for sale - lot 12 on the 4th and 5th concession of Macaulay. George Peacock and his father went over to look things over and came back home, and George said he was going to see the man who had it for sale.
"We bought the farm in December, 1908 and moved over there in January, 1909. We had three children, 3 girls (including) a baby born on December 14th , 1908. There was no house on the farm, only a barn and two log cabins down by the creek where someone had a camp one time. George fixed the smaller one up for us to live in till we got a house built. It was fixed up warmer than the other one. We moved there in January on a very cold day.
"The flat road ran through our place in the winter when the men drew logs, bark and wood to town. George’s brother was cutting logs on the farm and the men were boarding at our place and sleeping in the other cabin. They had a box stove in the cabin to keep warm. The men went home to Bracebridge on Saturday nights. It came an awful cold night. We couldn’t get our cabin warm and George went into the other cabin and picked the box stove up in his arms and carried it into our cabin (it still had fire in it) and attached it up to our cook stove.
"In the spring, we built the first part of our house and worked at it in our spare time. We had one cow and one horse. We had a very good garden that year which helped out. We also had lots of raspberries to pick.
"The next year (1910) our first boy was born. Unfortunately he was drowned at Maplehurst in 1930. My husband passed away in 1948 and I have lived on this farm ever since (January 1909), elsewhere only when I visit my family. My son Murray and his son Keith do the farming now, but the farm is the only place that is like home to me."
-Written by Jessie Forsyth Peacock
