The KOELLA Family of Lowville

In January 1919, Norman Koella (1880-1939) and his wife Laurel Annetta (nee Crull, formerly of Millgrove) (1885-1940) of Carlisle, acquired from George Connell and wife, the Lowville Store and associated 1/6 acre. In 1922 they purchased an adjacent 1-acre lot from James Auckland. Norman was born and raised in the village of Carlisle, with experience in the General Store/Post Office and later as a garden farmer. His mother, Augusta Koella (1859-1936) was well known in the Carlisle community being postmistress there for 52 years with 60 years total in the postal service. (This must be one of the longest, if not the longest, term for a woman postmaster in Canadian history.)

Norman KOELLA (1880-1939) with wife Laurel Annetta (nee CRULL) (1885-1940), and infant daughter Grace. 1905      

Norman and Laurel Annetta Koella resided at lot 7 Con 8 East Flamborough, Carlisle, where they farmed garden produce until their move in 1919 to Lowville with their two daughters, Grace (14-yrs old) and Ora (11-yrs old).

About 1920, the Koella family of Lowville took in a lodger by the name of Charles Bryant, who at 18-yrs old had just immigrated from London. Charles was employed by the Koella family where he learned the trade of a storekeeper. In 1925, Charles Bryant wed Myrna Faye Coulson of Lowville, and in partnership with Norman Koella established a General Store at Guelph Junction. Charles and Myrna would later move their business to the Mountsberg Store.

As a General Merchant, Norman sold a variety of goods at the Lowville Store, including meat, dry goods, footwear, hardware, paint, and gas. He also purchased farm produce and fowl from local farmers, or exchanged for goods.

      Ora Koella in Model T Ford, with father Norman Koella, Lowville. c1925

In June 1927, Norman and Laurel Annetta’s daughter, Grace, married John Maurice Readhead of Lowville. They resided on a farm on the south-east side of Lowville, raising two children, Marion and John. [An interesting side note: Maurice Readhead was the grandson of John Readhead (1834-1919) who worked at the August Koella sawmill at Breezy’s Corners west of Carlisle in the early 1860’s, before he came to the Lowville area to establish his own mill. August Koella (1824-1863), a native of Switzerland, was Grace Koella’s great-grandfather.]

June 1927 Lowville Marriage: Maurice Readhead and Grace Koella. (l-r: John Maurice Readhead, brother Clarke Spence Readhead, Grace Violet Koella, and sister Ora Marion Koella).

Some excitement in the Lowville area occurred in October 1927, when Campbellville bank bandits fled through the village of Lowville. “N. Koella, who keeps a store at Lowville, four miles south of Campbellville, was the victim of some anxious moments, as three minutes before he saw the sedan careering around the corner in front of his shop, he had sent his daughter with $800 walking on the road to Milton to bank the money.

“Five minutes before I was called from Campbellville to watch out for the robbers’ car I saw the auto whirl through at about 45 miles an hour and heading south towards the Dundas highway. It was just three minutes before the car came through that I had sent my daughter Laura [reporter apparently erred in citing Norman’s wife’s name rather than his daughter Ora] to the bank at Milton with $800 in cash. Then Edward Thomas called me and told me about the robbery.”   (The Toronto Daily Star, 29 Oct 1927, pg 4)

By 1931, Norman had two employees lodging at his Lowville store, both recent immigrants. James Larkman (21-yrs old; truck driver) from England, and William Dawson (18-yrs old; salesman) from Scotland.

In the early 1930’s, a chain of misfortunate events struck the Koella family of Lowville. In late May of 1931, the Koella barn and its contents at the rear of the Lowville General Store was destroyed by fire. The following year, May 1932, the Koella truck and a load of eggs was destroyed in an accident, followed a few days later by a disaster where the Lowville Store and residence were destroyed by fire. Only some stock and furniture were able to be salvaged. The later fire which destroyed the original Lowville Store happened while the Koella family was attending the nearby church. It was reported that service was dismissed so that members of the congregation could go help fight the fire.

In April of 1932, Norman and Laurel Annetta purchased the house and 1/8 acre of property belonging to John David Nicholson and wife, situated on the steep hill on the east side of Guelph Line, overlooking the rebuilt General Store and lower valley below. In March 1934, Norman and Laurel Annetta’s second daughter, Ora, married Mervyn Edwin Coulson of Lowville. They first resided on a farm north of Lowville on Guelph Line near 10 Sideroad (now Derry Road), later moving to the north edge of the village of Lowville to farm the area bound by 8 Sideroad, Guelph Line and 12-mile Creek (Bronte Creek). Mervyn and Ora Coulson raised four children, Paul, Bruce, Gail and Philip. 

March 1934 Lowville Marriage: Ora Koella and Mervyn Coulson (l-r: Eleanor Beatrice Coulson, Ora Marion Koella, Mervyn Edwin Coulson, Vernon McArthur)

The 1931 barn fire had been covered by insurance. However, it is reported that for the 1932 fire loss of the store, residence and contents, only $16,000 of the $25,000 was covered. It appears that this was too much for Norman’s business to recover, and he was forced to file for bankruptcy in August 1934.

In September of 1937, Norman Koella sold the rebuilt general store to Fred Auckland. After a period of 18 years as the merchant of Lowville Store, Norman would only enjoy just over a year of retirement before becoming ill and then dying in January 1939. The widow Laurel-Annetta sold the Lowville house to Charles Arthur Powell in March 1940. Laurel-Annetta then passed away in November 1940. Norman and Laurel Annetta KOELLA are buried in the York Street Hamilton Cemetery in the KOELLA family plot.

Koella descendants now reside in such places as Burlington (including the Lowville area), Milton, Waterdown, Hamilton, Kitchener, Guelph, Gores Landing, Pembroke, Ottawa, La Ronge SK, and Kelowna BC. 

Author: Daryl Coulson

Sept 2024