The Peer Family of Halton County

Preamble

I have always regretted not knowing very much about my ancestors, the Peers, who were my maternal grandmother’s family. Like most people attempting genealogical research, I started much too late to be able to speak to ancestors who were directly related. After so many years family records are sparse and descendants scattered. The following is an attempt to put together my grandmother’s family history and respond to a request for information on the Peer family.

The following information is based on reading several documents, scrolling through census listings, reviewing land registry records, visiting cemeteries and clipping a number of birth notices, marriage announcements and poring over numerous obituaries and news stories.

My maternal grandmother, Ellen Peer, just Ellen with no middle name, was born October 6, 1897 at Kilbride, Ontario. She was the eldest daughter of John Henry Peer and Elizabeth Ann Wedge and the only thing I can recall is her telling me about Kilbride was that she was born “right next door to the old schoolhouse” and how proud she was of her heritage.

This article starts with an overview of the Peer family who arrived in what is now Ontario at its earliest beginnings.

The Original Peer Family

The Peer family originated from either Germany, or the Netherlands, before coming to America in the late 1680’s. Most evidence, however, points to a Dutch ancestry. To make research even more challenging early documents, in both Canada and the United States, show the Peer name was often spelled “Pear”, “Pier”, Pyer” and “Pierre”.

This paper starts with Jacob (c. 1742-1815) and Ann (1754-1816) Peer who were both born in New Jersey and married in that state in 1770. Jacob appears in various land title documents and census lists as early as 1774 in Newton Township, Sussex County, NJ which was first settled by German immigrants. Newton, NJ is now a small town of 8,000, located approximately 55 miles (90 km) from New York City and is presently part of the Greater New York Metropolitan Area.

Jacob and Ann are heads of the first of our branch of the Peer family to arrive in Canada. The Peers escaped New Jersey to leave behind the hardships they faced after the American Revolution. Like other families who supported the British Crown, the Peers would have faced the same forms of persecution and turmoil that British sympathizers were facing at that time. It was in the summer of 1796 the Jacob Peer family left New Jersey, a hot bed of political upheaval, for what is now the Province of Ontario.

Jacob and Ann Peer brought with them a large family consisting of six sons and three daughters. At the time of their arrival in Ontario the majority of the Peer offspring were young adults already married, ranging from 16 to 30 years of age. Their children, all born in Sussex County, NJ, are as follows: Levi (born 1760), John (born 1762), Edward (born 1764), Philip (born 1766), Phoebe (born 1768), Marcy (born 1773), Jacob Jr. (born 1776), Stephen (born 1780) and an unknown daughter. Jacob and Ann’s eldest daughter Phoebe arrived in the province, with her husband Daniel McQueen, as early as 1787 and John Peer, Jacob and Ann’s second eldest son, came to Canada a year later.

Apparently the Peers did not meet the strict requirements to be eligible for a land grant as loyalists and to be placed on the United Empire Loyalist rolls. A number of the original Peer family to arrive in the province did apply as settlers however and did receive parcels of land mainly in the Niagara and Dundas areas.

Based on the number of children arriving with the original family it is obvious the Peers have a large number of descendants in Canada and the US after more than two centuries. Many Peer family branches have spread out all over North America. To make this manageable I have concentrated only on the direct line of my Peer ancestors. However, there are some interesting members of other branches of the early Peer family worthy of mention for their accomplishments and contributions to the development of Ontario as well as sacrifices during the War of 1812.

Jacob and Ann’s second eldest son, Edward (c.1764-1834), was one of the earliest settlers and industrialists in the Hamilton-Dundas area. He purchased land and a saw mill at Spencer Creek about 1800 and briefly operated a tavern on the York Road. A short time later he established a grist mill closer to the Dundas Road calling it “Dundas Mills”. In 1804 Edward Peer sold the property to Richard and Samuel Hatt. Richard Hatt eventually expanded the former Peer mill and founded the town of Dundas. (The Hatt brothers were also instrumental in the development of Ancaster.) Early records show members of the Peer family also owning land in the Ancaster area. Edward Peer was responsible for a road between what is now Ancaster and Hamilton which became known as the Peer Road. Edward eventually moved to Pennsylvania and died there in 1834.

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Jacob and Ann’s fourth eldest child, a daughter Phoebe Peer, was born in New Jersey circa 1768, and married Daniel McQueen (c. 1764-1854) in 1787 before coming to Canada. It was Daniel McQueen who successfully petitioned for land in Norfolk County, built a dam, created a mill site originally two miles north of Lake Erie, called Dover Mills and founded what is now the town of Port Dover. During the War of 1812 Daniel McQueen served in the Norfolk Militia fighting the Americans, and as a result, was away from his home and family during much of the war. Phoebe was left behind with the children, and during a raid on the McQueen settlement, although threatened could see that the invading American soldiers were starving. Out of compassion she provided the enemy with bread and milk. As a result of her kindness, the McQueen home was the only one left standing when the entire village was burned on May 14, 1814 by the American soldiers. It is significant that this attack on private property at Port Dover is believed to be the reason for the British attacking Washington DC and burning the Executive Mansion, now known as the White House, on August 24, 1814. Daniel McQueen died in 1854 and is buried beside his wife Phoebe in the Norfolk County cemetery which bears his name on land he donated overlooking the Lynn River.

Jacob and Ann’s eighth child and youngest son, Stephen Peer, was born in New Jersey in 1780 and married Lynda Skinner in 1809 at Stamford Township after coming to Canada. He settled and remained in the Niagara area and fought during the War of 1812 enlisted in the 2^nd Lincoln Company. Stephen was wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812, the same day—and tragic battle—Major-General Isaac Brock was killed. Although Stephen survived this injury he was killed almost two years later by American soldiers during the Battle of Chippewa on July 5, 1814 and is presumed to be buried in a mass grave on the battle field. The family also suffered property damages during the war and his widow filed a claim for losses after the war. Stephen Peer once owned considerable land in the Town of Niagara Falls, on both sides of Main Street, and as a result Peer Street was named in his honour.

A grandson of Jacob and Ann Peer, also named Stephen, was born at Niagara in 1840. He was a house painter and used to working at heights from ladders and scaffolding.  As a young man he saw Charles Blondin cross the Niagara Gorge on a tight rope in 1859 and had witnessed his cousin, Philip Harmon Peer, perform a death defying jump from the Suspension Bridge in 1879. Stephen wanted to be the first local resident to walk a tightrope at Niagara Falls. He gained experience in the art of tightrope walking when he became an assistant to Henry Bellini. However, when Bellini discovered Peer had attempted to make a gorge crossing using his equipment without permission, Stephen was fired. On June 22, 1887 Stephen Peer did achieve his goal by successfully walking over the Niagara Gorge from the area of the Whirlpool Bridge to the American side and back again. Unfortunately three days later, on June 25, 1887, he fell to his death after attempting the stunt a second time. This time, it was alleged he had been drinking with friends, and fell to his death.

As mentioned, this paper will concentrate on the branch of the Peer family of which my grandmother was a descendant. To help navigate, here is our Peer family lineage which covers eight generations from Jacob Peer (born in 1742) to me, John McDonald (born almost two hundred years later in, 1947):

Jacob Peer (c. 1742-1815) and Ann (1754-1816) (her surname unknown)

    Philip Peer (1766-1828) and Ester Dunn Price (1766-1816)

       Alpheaus Peer (1800-) and Mary Ann Young

           James Aaron Peer (1826-1914) and Elizabeth Wingrove (1836-1875)

               John Henry Peer (1869-1947) and Elizabeth Ann Wedge (1862-1948)

                     Ellen Peer (1897-1991) and William Henry Service (1890-1965)

                           Dorothy Elizabeth Service (1928-2003) and Russell John McDonald (1913-1967)

                                 John Robert McDonald (1947)

First Generation

As mentioned previously, the original Peer family faced repercussions in New Jersey for their loyalty to the British Crown and as a result fled to Canada after the American Revolution. The Peers were part of an influx of British sympathizers, who numbered in the thousands, and settled in what is now Ontario. Based on early records it appears that most of the Jacob and Ann Peer family first settled in the Niagara area, and shortly after, the Dundas and Ancaster areas. By the very early 1800’s some of the first and second generation of Peers had moved into Halton County when it was being surveyed and opened up for settlement.

Fortunately a document, dated July 13, 1797, still exists which shows Jacob Peer petitioning for land confirming he and his family had arrived in Canada in June 1796. He was awarded 200 acres in Barton Township, Lincoln County the following day and in 1803 also received Crown land in Ancaster Township. Records show that in 1804 Jacob gave his son Philip half of Lot 5, Con. Ancaster Township but this was sold two years later.

Jacob Peer the original head of the Peer family who fled New Jersey and came to present day Ontario died in January 1815 at age 77 on the land he was granted in Barton Township. His wife Ann remained on the property until her death about 1821. It is assumed both Jacob and Ann (my ggggg grandparents) are both buried at the Barton Township farm.

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Second Generation

The next descendant in the Peer family I am tracing is Philip Peer (my gggg grandfather) who was born circa 1766 at Sussex County, NJ. Philip, an apprenticed carpenter, was the fourth eldest son of Jacob and Ann Peer. At age 26 Philip married Ester Dunn Price (1766-1816), daughter of Francis Price and Ester Dunn, at Frankfurt County Township, Sussex County, NJ in 1792. Unfortunately little is known about Ester possibly because she died relatively young in 1816. Philip was living in Ancaster Township at the time of her death raising seven children. Two years later he was remarried to Susan Greeniaus (1800-1871), daughter of Sebastian Greeniaus and Eve Will.

Philip defended the province against the Americans during the War of 1812 for approximately one year. By 1819 he had relocated from Ancaster to Trafalgar Township in Halton County. Records reveal a petition was signed on February 25, 1819 by several men at Trafalgar which reads: “We the undersigned having known Philip Peer by trade a carpenter to be a resident in this part of the Province for a number of years and of his having been a resident in the Province 18 years last June during which time to our knowledge he has demeaned himself as a peaceful, honest and industrious man and that he was zealous in the defence of this country against the United States in the late War and that we believe him to be a good neighbour and good subject and a deserving man.”

At first glance I assumed this petition was for consideration of a land grant, however, it appears that Philip was asking for some form of clemency for his son, named Jacob (1804-1880), who at age 15 was arrested in March 1819 and found guilty of arson and imprisoned. A series of court documents show solitary confinement and even a death sentence being considered for the young man.  The court however took into consideration his young age and that the crime was allegedly “instigated by another”. A combination of good behaviour and the fact he was repentant resulted in young Jacob being pardoned and released in March 1821.

Philip Peer had nine children: Alpheaus (c. 1797-1841), Mary (c. 1798-1888), John (c. 1799-1888), Jacob (c. 1803-c. 1880), Dennis (1804-1881), Lewis (c. 1810-), Jane (1815-1907), Philip (1819-1904) and Ruth (1821-1901).

Philip Peer died in October 1828 at Brantford in Brant County.

Third Generation

The next generation of the Peer lineage takes us to the 1797 birth of Alpheaus Peer (my ggg grandfather), who was the eldest son of Philip Peer. Because his birth was at about the same time the families relocated from New Jersey to Ontario, some records indicate Alpheaus was born in New Jersey while others refer to him as a Canadian citizen. Alpheaus was married to Mary Ann Young, the daughter of John Peter Young, a Loyalist farmer from Sussex County, NJ who, after immigrating to Canada, fought with the British during the War of 1812. There is also some discrepancy about the year Alpheaus and Mary Ann were married in Nassagaweya Township, Halton County.  Some records show the marriage took place in 1826 while others claim 1829.  

Alpheaus Peer and Mary Ann Young had three children: James Aaron (c. 1826-1914), Rachel (1829-1905) and Annie Jane (1832-1921).  In April 1833, documents indicate Alpheaus’ wife (the former Mary Ann Young of Nelson Township and daughter of John Peter Young, who defended the province) petitioned for land. It is claimed that as a daughter of a United Empire Loyalist she had never received land to which she was entitled. Further documentation shows she finally did receive a recommendation for land a month later, in May of 1833. Unfortunately, very little is known about Mary Ann (Young) Peer but we do know Alpheaus and Mary Ann lived most of their lives in Halton County and Alpheaus Peer died about 1841.

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Fourth Generation

The eldest son of Alpheaus Peer and Mary Ann Young was James Aaron Peer (my gg grandfather) who, according to some records, was born on February 26, 1826 at Beverley Township (which at that time was part of Halton County). James Aaron was a farmer and on October 26, 1854 married Elizabeth Wingrove at East Flamborough Township, Wentworth, County. They had nine children: James William (1857-1936), Sarah (1858-),Mary Jane (1860-), Edward W (1862-1946), Aaron Jr. (1867-1967), John Henry (1869-1947), Elizabeth Matilda (1871-), Jordan (1873-) and George Philip (1875-1939).

Elizabeth (Wingrove) Peer died on May 24, 1875. I am making an assumption that Elizabeth died from complications giving birth to their youngest son, George Philip, as his birth (May 2, 1875) and her death date (May 24, 1875) are in close proximity. Elizabeth was buried at Mountsberg Cemetery along with other members of the Wingrove family. Her parents, James Wingrove (1814-1882) and Sarah Bell (1815-1889) arrived in Canada about 1832 from North Hampshire, England and are also buried at Mountsberg Cemetery.

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On August 10, 1877, just over two years after Elizabeth’s untimely death, James Aaron married for a second time, at Kilbride. His new wife, Rebecca Newsome was a widow. Her maiden name was Tremble and she was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Tremble who had emigrated from England. James Aaron was 46 years of age and Rebecca was 57 when they married. Based on census records it appears Rebecca had lost her husband at around the same time James had lost his wife. Yet another example of a widower remarrying while raising a number of young children. Although the two eldest Peer children were young adults in 1877 (James and Sarah were in their early 20’s) the majority were under 15 years old (ranging from Edward, 15, down to George Philip still an infant) when their mother died.

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Rebecca died in 1902 and shortly thereafter James Aaron Peer, in his mid-70’s, moved to Burlington and lived with his son, Aaron Jr., on Hurd Avenue.

The March 4, 1914 edition of The Burlington Gazette reveals that James Aaron Peer took his own life at the home of his son on February 26, 1914. According to the news account James Aaron had been in “good health, vitality and jovial disposition” but had recently suffered from ill health and was severely depressed. (I have a post card, dated January 12, 1914 sent by James Aaron’s grandson, Lawrence, indicating his grandfather “…is very low..”).  This tragic event happened 45 days after the postcard was written and took place on would have been James Aaron’s 88^th birthday. His remains were buried at Mountsberg Cemetery on February 28^th.

Fifth Generation

The next member of the family following in my Peer lineage is John Henry Peer (my g grandfather) who was born November 28, 1869 at Kilbride. He was the sixth eldest of the nine children born to James Aaron Peer and Elizabeth Wingrove. As a young man he worked on farms in the Kilbride area and in Nassagaweya Township. On December 23, 1896 he married Elizabeth Ann Wedge, also from Kilbride. They knew each other all of their lives, having grown up together in the village. John Henry and Elizabeth Ann Peer raised a family of four children (George Elgin, Ellen, Mary Jane and Henry Daniel) at Kilbride. The eldest, George Elgin, was actually a son of Elizabeth Ann’s from a previous relationship as he originally went by the name George Elgin Boyce but was later adopted by John Henry Peer and had his name changed to Peer.

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John Henry and Elizabeth Peer lived in Kilbride until 1902 when the family relocated to Burlington where John Henry began working at the Burlington Box, Barrel and Basket Company. The company, also known as the Glover Basket Company, was started in 1893 by W. T. Glover a fruit grower who recognized the need for various types of returnable packaging for the emerging fruit and vegetable growing areas of Burlington and Niagara. At the time the Peers relocated to Burlington, the basket company couldn’t keep up with the orders. John Henry often drove wagon loads of baskets to Vineland which would involve two to three days of travel. Some family records also mention him working at the Dalton Basket Factory in Burlington. Although John Henry Peer, like many of his peers (pardon the pun) did not have much education, he could however readily correct spelling and grammatical errors made by others.

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After about a decade, around 1913, the John Henry Peer family left Burlington and moved back to the Kilbride area, this time to the small hamlet of Moffat, located in Nassagaweya Township. John Henry began working for Duncan Campbell, who operated a lumber yard near Campbellville, drawing logs with a team of horses. He became well acquainted with the lumber business, and it was well known that John Henry Peer could accurately determine the number of board feet accessible in a log with just a glance. John Henry was not a wealthy man and, as he was about to retire in the late 1920’s, struck a deal with his employer Duncan Campbell to purchase a small piece of land on the Puslinch Town Line, immediately west of Moffat. John Henry and his wife Elizabeth lived for the balance of their lives in this small secluded wood frame house, immediately north of the corner at the Moffat Sideroad (15 Sideroad) and the Puslinch Town Line.

When John Henry Peer died on March 19, 1947 the story goes that he had been outside all morning cutting wood for the stove. When he went home for lunch he put away his saw and axe for the day, even though he had plans to go back cutting wood. He came into the house, sat down in his favourite chair and when his wife called him for lunch there was no response. He died suddenly of a coronary thrombosis and it is presumed he must have known something was wrong when he put away his wood cutting equipment at mid-day which was very unusual. With no neighbours in close proximity, Elizabeth Ann went to the front of the house waiting at the mailbox for the mailman to come along. A funeral service was held for John Henry Peer on March 21^, 1947 at Moffat Methodist Church and he was buried at the Moffat cemetery.

After John Henry’s death my great grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Peer, left the small house on the Town Line, just west of Moffat, and lived with her daughter (my grandmother) Ellen Service on Lot 18, Con. 5, Nassagaweya Township. Her family, the Wedges, were of Irish descent and had immigrated to Canada in the 1850s. Their first home in the province was near Goderich, at Wawanosh Township, Huron County according to the 1861 Census. The 1871 census reveals that Elizabeth Ann’s mother was a widow and the 1881 census confirms the Wedge family had relocated to Halton County and were living in Kilbride.

Elizabeth Ann Wedge was born in Ireland in 1862. Her father was John Wedge (1823-died before 1871), who had served in the military and Elizabeth Ann’s mother was Ann Hicker (1820-1908). Little is known about John Wedge but we do know Ann (Hicker) Wedge died in Burlington on January 22, 1908 and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in that city.

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Left: Ann (Hicker) Wedge headstone at Greenwood Cemetery, Burlington
Right: Death registry for Ann (Hicker) Wedge, wife of John Wedge

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Elizabeth Ann Wedge’s older sister Asenath married Albert Culp at Kilbride on Christmas Day, 1881. She was a nurse in Hamilton for many years.

Elizabeth Ann Wedge’s younger sister, Ellen, (after whom my grandmother was named) married John Stremble on November 22, 1905.

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Left: Elizabeth Ann Wedge as a young woman around the time of her 1896 marriage to John Henry Peer.
Right: Elizabeth Ann Wedge earned Quarterly Tickets from the Methodist Church at Kilbride for many years.

Left: John Henry and Elizabeth Ann Peer in their later years at Moffat.
Right: John Henry Peer and Elizabeth Ann Wedge headstone at Moffat Cemetery.

Sixth Generation

My grandmother Ellen Peer, eldest daughter of John Henry and Elizabeth Ann Peer, was born at Kilbride on October 6, 1897 next door to the 1876 Kilbride schoolhouse she attended. Ellen was baptised at the Kilbride Methodist Church and many of her aunts, uncles and cousins were affiliated with this church for many years. When she was about five years of age the Peers relocated from Kilbride to Burlington when her father, John Henry took the position previously mentioned at the basket factory. Before attending school, Ellen was educated at home by her older brother George and her mother. It has been said she could read and write so well she didn’t need to finish Grade One and advanced to Grade Two.

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Ellen continued her schooling in Burlington and when she was old enough started working at the Burlington Canning Factory which was situated along the lakeshore at Lake Ontario and just a few blocks from the Peer’s Ontario Street home. She must have been barely old enough to work in the canning factory as she talked many decades later about how the juices from strawberries and tomatoes would run down her little arms making her work with her hands at shoulder level.

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It would have been about 1913 when the John Henry Peer family moved from Burlington to the village of Moffat in Nassagaweya Township and lived in a house next door to the Moffat store. When she was old enough to assume responsibility for taking care of children, Ellen worked for a Dr. King as a domestic mainly taking care of the King’s two young daughters. When she was finished looking after the children, she would ask if she could help in the doctor’s pharmacy and would often “powderize” pills or count pills into a bottle. After a few years the Peers moved from Moffat village to the property referred to once owned by Duncan Campbell on the Puslinch Town Line.

It was in the summer of 1914 that Ellen met her future husband (my grandfather) William Henry Service. She became good friends with another Moffat resident, Margaret (Service) Ramsay (William’s sister). Margaret invited Ellen to a baseball game being played across the road from the Moffat store. It was during this baseball game that William and Ellen became friends and eventually fell in love. Soon after William would take Ellen out for a drive with the horse and buggy around the country side. By the end of 1914 they were engaged. William went to Acton on March 18, 1915 to pick up the marriage licence. One month after the wedding, on April 14, 1915, members of the Moffat Sunday School presented Ellen and William with a set of dishes and sincere congratulations. This letter shows the high esteem Ellen was held in the community and how active she was with the Sunday school at Moffat. They were married at the home of the bride (the Peer residence on Puslinch Town Line) on March 24, 1915 by Rev. Milton Carter, the minister at Moffat Methodist Church. The wedding dinner that evening was held at the home of the groom (the Service residence on the 6^th Line, Nassagaweya) and thankfully a number of pictures still exist to mark the occasion.

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Although my grandparents were married in March 1915, it wasn’t until the spring of 1916 that they got away for a few days honeymoon (before seeding began on the farm). There were chores to be done and not much money for fancy trips. As it turns out, the honeymoon trip was a buggy ride to spend a few days with Ellen’s aunt and uncle at Kilbride.

My grandparents spent most of their lives on the farm at Lot 18, Con 6, Nassagaweya Township which had been in the Service family since the late 1890’s. They raised a family of eight children.  Five daughters and three sons: Alexander Henry (1916-1997), Jessie Josephine (1918-2014), Elvira May (1920-2002), Edith Lavina (1923-2007), Dorothy Elizabeth, my mother (1928-2003), George Eric (1930-2004), William Elwyn (1933-2015) and Viola (1937-2020). They remained on the old Service farm until April 1950 and for a short period relocated to the Guelph Line (across from Ebenezer Church). It was during this time, on July 31, 1950, that three of their cattle were struck by lightning. On November 24, 1951 a large auction sale was held at the Service farm when William had decided to retire and move into Milton. Their next home would be 17 Bruce Street in Milton.

Top Left to Bottom Right

1. William Henry Service on the Nassagaweya Farm
2. William Henry and Ellen Service with their eldest child, Alex in 1916
3. William Henry and Ellen Service with their youngest child, Viola, in 1937
4. The Auction Sale poster for William H. Service when they moved from country to town in 1951
5. William Henry and Ellen Service at their new home in Milton c. 1961
6. My grandmother Service had a real “green thumb” and won many prizes in horticultural shows
7. Grandma Service always treasured the old Edison phonograph that her brother George purchased back in 1902. It is still in the family.
8. William Henry and Ellen Service with their grandchildren in March 1963 These photos were taken to commemorate my grandparent’s 48^th wedding anniversary.
9. The William Henry Service and Ellen Peer family. (L-R) Edith, Dorothy, Alex, Elwyn, Viola, George, Elvira, Jessie (Centre) William Henry and Ellen Service.
10. A few years after William Service’s death Ellen married John Reid.

After my grandfather William Henry Service died in 1965, my grandmother lived on her own except for a short period when her sister-in-law, Margaret Ramsay shared accommodation at the Bruce Street home until her death later in 1965. (This is the same Margaret who introduced my grandmother to her future husband William Service in 1914). A few years later my grandmother then married John Reid in the mid-1960s, however he died in 1969 and she continued to live on her own for another 20 plus years. On February 13, 1990, at age 93, she moved into Halton Centennial Manor (now Allendale Long Term Care) and continued to look after her beloved plants in her room until her death on March 12, 1991 in her 94^th year. At that time she had 38 grandchildren and 92 great grandchildren.

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Conclusion

Although there aren’t as many Peers in the telephone directory today as there were a century ago, there are several hundred (if not thousands) of descendants of the original Jacob and Ann Peer families still living in the Niagara, Ancaster, Dundas, Hamilton and Halton areas. Along with other families loyal to the British Crown, the Peers were hard working immigrants on the original farms and mills which greatly contributed to the development of what is now the Province of Ontario. The Peers were mainly Methodist in religion and Conservative in politics and through marriage are affiliated with many of the old family names in Halton. Names such as, Colling, Coulson, Coverdale, Dynes, Featherstone, Gallagher, Galloway, Greenleese, Harbottle, Lyons, Pickett, Thomas, Watson, Wingrove and Wedge are interwoven into the Peer genealogy and Kilbride’ s heritage. After nearly 250 years since Jacob and Ann Peer’s arrival, these names will live on forever in history books, inscriptions on cemetery headstones and in our memories.

This paper was compiled based on information from the following resources:

• The Canadian Champion
• The Acton Free Press
• Various Halton County Census records
• Various Halton Land Registry Office records
• Interviews with my grandmother Ellen (Peer) Service
• Genealogical research by Jessie Hamilton (my aunt)
• Genealogical research by Patricia Jackson
• Genealogical Research by Lorine McGinnis Schulze

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Contributing Author: John McDonald