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of Wis., was writing a genealogy of the family and this included our branch. Recently I have seen a genealogy of David Annis, who came to America from Enniskillen, Ireland, in 1638. He had eight children, and I think our family descended from one of these children.
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Note: B. S. Annis was Burleigh Smart Annis, born January 27, 1859 at Wells, ME. The "Lorenzo Annis" that he refers to is actually Alonzo Lawson Annis who accumulated a massive amount of information on the Annis Family from about 1890 until his death in 1921.
The "genealogy of David Annis" that he refers to is Dr. John McNab Currier's book, The Genealogy of David Annis (1754-1824) of Hopkinton and Bath, NH, His Ancestors and Descendants, published in 1909. He mistakenly refers to David as the original emigrant ancestor, when it was in reality, Charles Cormac Annis.
Burleigh S. Annis' lineage was: John Augustus Annis (1818-1891), John Annis (1783-1825), Stephen Annis (1756-1840), Stephen Annis (1726-1792), Charles Annis (1692-1741), Abraham Annis (1668-1738) Charles Cormac Annis 1638-1717).
The eldest son of Levi and Rhoda Conant Annis. The eldest of thirteen was Charles - born on Dec. 18th, 1804, he married Nancy Nicholls, of Michigan, who died in 1872. They had three sons. The Reverend George Annis, Doctor Ezra Annis, and Hiram Annis. This branch of the Annis family moved to Michigan quite early, and all personal contact has been severed by time, naturally we are disappointed, and while this booklet is we think fairly correct, it is not in all cases official, for we are unable to have the records of Michigan officially searched.
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The eighth child and third daughter of Levi and Rhoda Conant Annis was Elizabeth Annis born in 1818 A.D. and died 1903. She married Anthony Washington, J.P., 1814-1876 who was a local preacher in the Methodist Church for 40 years. His father and brothers who lived on the Kingston Road in Scarboro encouraged the gatherings in Annis's house on Sunday evenings, in their prayers and exposition of the Scriptures, it became a regular service and the neighbours spoke of it as Washingtons. As time went on and a church building of logs was completed it was known as "Washington" Church. The 3rd generation of buildings, viz:- the present beautiful brick structure can be seen the name carved in stone high above the entrance, "Washington Methodist Church 1885". Built on the site of the original Annis squatters home of 1793. The Church is a monument to the lives of Levi Annis and the Washington boys.
Anthony and Elizabeth Washington has a family of eighteen children, let me name them- 1. George; 2. Stephen; 3. Andrew; 4. Caroline; 5. and 6. twins, died early; 7. Anthony; 8. Mary Jane; 9. Levi, died in infancy; 10. Levi; 11. Sarah; 12. David; 13. Ezra; 14. and 15. Jabez and Ann. Ann died at birth; 16. Elizabeth; 17. Joseph J.; and 18. Margaret S., and Margaret, the youngest child, writes as follows:- As you see ten of the large family of 18 children lived to a good age, George died at 86 years, Stephen at 74, Andrew at 84, Grandma (M. Jane) at 73, Sarah at 69, Levi at 81, Ezra at 73. I think it a marvelous record for such a large family and that everyone should have their faces turned homeward, she believes this true of all. On mother's monument where she and Father and eight children are buried in Zion Cemetery, there is inscribed, "Her children rise up and call her blessed", and of Father is written, "A local preacher for 40 years". Mother lived to be 86 years of age and the minister who saw her passing said it was most fitting to call it a "translation" so glorious and triumphant was her experience. Truly she was a Mother of Israel.
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The first named child, viz.:- Rev. George M.A., died 1925; married Maggie Garvin, with no children. He was examiner in the Educational Department of the Church for Theological Students.
Number 3, Andrew, died 1924, he married Jane Tiffin, with no children. Number 8, Mary Jane, died 1920, married her first husband, John Collins, with no children. Her second husband was Charles Arthur Annis, with no children.
No. 13, Ezra is unmarried.
No. 16, Elizabeth, unmarried.
No. 18, Margaret, married R. James Southcombe, with no children.
The second child of Elizabeth and Anthony Washington was Stephen, who died in Mariposa Township in 1914, his first wife was Hannah Lauder with one child, buried with mother. His second wife was Grace Hazelwood, they had three children; Arthur, whose wife Minnie McKenzie had two, Andrew and Margaret. Second child Sarah's first husband was John Emerson, second husband was James Patterson. The third child of Grace and Stephen Washington was Walter John, who married Lottie Gorrell, they had three, Grace, Bessie and George; Bessie married Tom Moss and had two of a family, George W. and Grace Washington.
The tenth child of Elizabeth and Anthony Washington was Levi, in business 40 years, active in church and temperance work, a lover of the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and he married Eliza Bacon, and had four children, Fred, who married Lillian Murry, and had three children, George Juanita and Ruby Washington.
The second child of Levi and Eliza was Eva, who married Fred Sills.
The third child was Ethel, who married Everett Potter, with only one child buried with it's mother.
The fourth child, Alam, married H. S. Treese.
The eleventh child of Elizabeth and Anthony Washington was Sarah, who died in 1920. She married James Tremeer, B.A., a High School teacher, and they had five of a family, viz., Florence; Ethel; Harriet, who married J. F. Gorden and raised five children, viz., Patricia, Franklin, James, and Gracia. Sarah's fourth child was Rose, who married Ernest Bartlett and raised two children, G. Arnold and Kathleen; Sarah's fifth child was Evelyn, who married Fred G. Stride, and had three children, Muriel, Raymond, and Sanale Stride.
The fourteenth child of Elizabeth and Anthony Washington was Jabez, who died in U.S.A. He married Harriet Luxton, and had two children, John, whose wife was Beatrice Knowles; they had six children, viz. Ida, Elva, Bert Mary, Ward and Frank Knowles, and
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Arthur, who married Gertrude Hill, and had one child, Eugene Washington Hill.
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Among the thirteen sons and daughters of Levi and Rhoda Conant Annis was Levi, the ninth in order of birth, who married Janet, young daughter of William Young, who migrated from Howick, Roxsboroshire, Scotland to Scarboro; both Uncle Levi and Aunt Janet reached their allotted span in life, he was 74 years old, and she was 73. Levi was of athletic build, and in his young manhood, was considered by all, far and near, as the champion wrestler of his day, was never put on his back. He wore a blue smock, which led to the expression "Blue Hawk"; village celebrations, or inter-township gatherings or logging bees became animated when Blue Hawk was present. He, as well as all his brothers, were fine of physique, and pleasing in character; it is a rare joy to be in their company, a man was better having met them. Uncle Levi was a fine shot with a gun, poor bunny had little chance, and many a stranger, to test his skill, raised a copper coin by tossing it high, never to see it again; if the first barrel failed, the second drove the coin out of sight. He was a successful farmer and business man of retiring disposition. He loved his home, and everybody loved him.
A unique character and perennial caller at his father Levi's home was Old Joe Bowers. Levi and his brothers were very attentive to this particular guest, whose tobacco pipe was freshly filled. Poor Old Joe, on both knees, searching for a live coal in the open hearth, bestowed his richest blessing on all the sons of Levi, the finest boys in all the world, but when the coal reached the gunpowder, Joe rolled on his back: "I always said they would be hung. They were all filled with such humor, but kindly disposed to all, especially Joe.
Levi and Janet Young Annis had three children, Charles Arthur, Mary and Christina Annis.
Arthur married Fanny Chester, a sister of his cousin David's wife, Maggie. They had a family of four, Charles, Jennie, Levi, and Mabel.
Charley married Sarah Taylor, a first cousin of the editor of this booklet; they had a family of five, Frank, who died early; Florence, a teacher and elocutionist, who married Dr. Quakenbush of Port Arthur; Arthur of Toronto University, who was one of the executives of the Annis Association, Elmer and Evelyn Annis.
Arthur and Fanny Chester Annis's second child was Jennie, who married Wilmot Brumwell of Victoria Square, and had one son, Frank Brumwell.
Arthur and Fanny's third child was Levi, his wife, Beatrice White, they had three children, Claire, University student, and Editor
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of his High School Yearly, viz., "Scarboro Bluff", also a member of the Annis Association Executive, and Erma and Doris Annis.
Arthur and Fanny's fourth child was Mabel Annis, whose husband, Homer Burk, was a trap shooter of continental fame with trophies to show, and a lover of the great outdoors, angling and hunting. They had one daughter, Verna Burk.
Levi Annis and Janet Young's second child was Mary Annis, who married James Chester, a brother of Arthur's wife, Fanny; they had seven of a family, viz., Florence, Edna, Janet, Levi, Nellie, Hannah and Mrytle Chester.
The eldest, Florence, married Archibald Muir, they had one child, Mary Muir, of Toronto University.
The second is Edna Chester.
The third child, Janet, married William R. Miller, and they had three in family, Marion, William and Chester Miller.
The fourth was Levi Chester, his wife was Annie Reith, they had one child, Olive Chester.
The fifth was Nellie, who married Arthur Hilditch, they had two children, Chester and Bessie Hilditch.
The sixth child was Hannah Chester.
The seventh was Myrtle Chester of Scarboro.
Levi and Janet Young Annis' youngest child was Christina, who died at the age of 25 years, a beautiful character, who showed forth the life of her Lord and Master; a type of her father, Uncle Levi Annis.
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The eleventh son of Levi and Rhoda Conant Annis was Jeremiah, who married Jane Ann Fawcett, daughter of William Fawcett, and Mary Armstrong, who migrated from Cumberland, Eng. about 1820 and settled in Scarboro, Lot 15, Con. 1, far from the prospective fortune in the City of Bolton.
Jeremiah occupied the north part of the squatter's lots, no. 15-16 Lakefront. His home was across the Kingston Road from the Washington Church, and was commonly known as "The Methodist Preachers Home", and was always open to receive the minister with free hospitality, for Jerry's wife was a Sainted Mother in Israel, and when the children were told to see to it that wood and kindling were on hand to warm the front rooms, they knew the Minister was coming. Aunt Jane did it as unto the Lord. Like Anna of old her heart and life were in the church. Stable room for the horse with armfulls of bedding and hay and oats. The very best was none too good. They were endeavoring to keep the fires burning on the Altar of worship of Jehovah. At church anniversaries and garden parties, all that the home contained, was at its
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disposal. Even the barns in winter time had as many as 50 horses, "the more the merrier" the hired man would say.
These friends and visitors from afar, returned at opportune times with blessings and gifts, for the host and hostess were affectionately known to all as Uncle Jerry and Aunt Jane, whose influence was for good. They lived for God and their fellow man.
Thirty years have passed since God called them, their deeds liveth. Theirs was a modest and humble service for Christ and no for popularity. My father enjoyed company, especially if accompanied by hounds and guns. Thus, quite frequently, the four brothers, Levi and Andrew, David and Jerry, with equipment and lunch, hied themselves to the wooded banks of the river Rouge, for rabbits and foxes. These reunions were a great social bond.
Uncle Jerry was a useful public servant as Hotel License Commissioner, Township Councillor and a Justice of the Peace. His services were very much sought, he had a wide experience, but preferred private life. His was not a college education, and with only a slight public school training, yet he was a clear headed business man, and a successful farmer, and could sell a bunch of cattle or hogs, a mow of hay or a pile of wood when he received a good offer, not by arithmetic, but by sight.
He was a liberal in politics, an upholder of representative and responsible Government, an opponent of the Family Compact, but was tolerant, and a friend of all Conservatives, and a welcome guest at any partisan gathering. He was in touch with the founders of big business in Toronto, a personal friend of Alexander McKenzie, Edward Blake and Oliver Mowat and George Brown and a life long reader of the Globe.
A very notable feature in the lives of the men of the Annis family was the God-given intuition to select a wife. Call it judgment or what you will, but we must admit that it was the mothers of the Annis children who moulded the character and inspired the lives with a holy ambition, and we call upon the whole Annis fraternity to testify to the truth of this simple axiom. Was it not Mother who taught us to pray and stimulate us to aspire to all that is good and noble and true, was it not she who cuddled and fed us, and followed our footsteps with lofty ambition and urged us on? And that memory still holds us, and some day a realization of her faith, should find us timidly knocking for admission to be with her, and all who have heard His voice say "well done". We call upon all the clan to rise with us on our feet in memory of the infusion into the Annis family of the blood of the Courtices, the Colemans, the Washingtons, the Burkes, the Skeldings, the Youngs, the Taylors, the Fawcetts, the Hemmingways, the Moffats and the Conants, and to go back a few generations, namely the Cases (Chase), and the Rolphs (Rolfes). What a bond is blood. It creates virility and strength.
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Can we forget the part played in the economy of our lives by our mothers? It is with interest to recall the straw hat making, the wool carding, spinning, weaving, and sewing and knitting; our clothes being home-made until we were fourteen, when the first store suit was bought. Those were industrious days, our fathers were less favored than we. Even in their education, as well as courtship was supervised at home in the great one room with it's fireplace. The suitor was constantly under scrutiny, as was the object of his love, her industry, and character under observation. Happiness followed.
We do not forget the precautions taken to guard against ill health. The supply of herbs, burdock, boneset, horehound, gold thread, black cherry bark, sassafras, slippery elm bark, yarrow and even chamomile were hanging by a string to the rafters of the attic.
Jeremiah and Jane Ann Fawcett Annis had seven children, namely, John, born July 8th, 1854; Mary Jane, born 1856; Levi Edward, born Dec. 7th 1858; Elizabeth, born 1860; Sarah Ellen, born 1862, died in infancy; Annie Florence, born Feb.20, 1864 and William David Annis, born Feb 17th, 1866.
The eldest, John, married Margaret Burrill; they had eight children, namely, Howard Franklin, Viola, who died in infancy; Jeremiah Ross, William Gorden; Harold Cleveland; Clare, Reginald; and Berniece Iona. Howard married Elsie Herman, they had three children, Frank, Clare and Lovetta.
The second child of Jeremiah and Jane Ann was Mary Jane; she married William Andrew Heron, and had one child, Edna Annie Heron.
Jerry and Jane's third child was Levi Edward Annis, who married Mary Christina Young, daughter of Thomas Young, late of Howick, Scotland and of Mary Wheeler Young, daughter of J. P. Wheller, J.P., Ex-Warden of York County, and License Inspector for East York. He came from Devonshire, Eng. They had four children, namely, Stanley Ewart, Mary Augusta, Hanford Conant, and Wilbur Fawcett Annis. The eldest, Stanley Ewart Annis, M.A., B.D., lately of China, married Agnes Davis, R.N., of Peterboro.
To better prepare themselves for their great life work as missionaries of the Gospel, Stanley took a trip to the University centers of Europe, and studied the methods and systems of education, and together, he and his wife, spent a year at Hartford, Conn., University studying missions, and immediately left for the interior of China, and after twelve years of toil, were driven from their homes at the point of a bayonet, by bandits, without food or clothing, they had their four children hid among the rushes of the slimy Yangtse Kiang river, until rescued by a British river patrol boat and the British Consul ordered a general evacuation. They now occupy
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the less strenuous position of ministering to the spiritual needs of the people of Ontario.
Stanley and Agnes had five children, namely, Mary Irene, Edward Stewart, Harold Stanley, Lloyd Hamber, and William Arnold. Edward, Harold and Lloyd were born in China, 2,000 miles inland, while the parents served as missionaries in the Province of Sze Chwan, West China. The second child of Levi and Teany (Christina) was Mary Augusta, who married Rev. George H. Dix, B.A., B.D., a minister in the United Church in Saskatchewan. She proved a valuable helper in church life. They have four children, namely, Wilbur Frederick, George Wesley, Melvin Annis, and Dorothy Marian, all born in the Province of Saskatchewan. The third child of Levi and Teany was Hanford Conant, who married Viola Bush, they had one child, Margaret Christina Annis. Hanford is a golfer and manages the Humber Valley Club, with the largest membership in Canada.
Levi and Teany's fourth child was Wilbur Fawcett Annis, a student in Toronto University when war broke out. He joined the 201st Battalion as Lieutenant, went overseas with the 58th and to France with a British unit; wounded at Arras. While convalescent, was called to Buckingham Palace, and dined with the Royal Party, and was engaged in private conversation with His Majesty about his country, Canada, his people and family. Wilbur's loving reference was, they were all delighted and that Princess Mary was the most shy girl with whom he ever tried to carry on a conversation. He joined the Air Force, was sent to Canada as an instructor, and was killed in an accident at Camp Borden on the 2nd of May, 1918, aged 23 years. He lived a full matured man's life.
The fourth child of Jeremiah and Jane Annis was Elizabeth Annis. She married John P. Masson, a son of Henry Masson, from Devonshire, Eng. They had one son, Henry Annis Masson, a farmer and breeder of Clydesdale and Hackney horses. He married Isabell Wood, daughter of William Wood, of Agincourt, they had three children, namely, Charles Elwood, and Florence Evelyn of the Bank of Nova Scotia and Murry Arnold Masson.
Sarah Ellen was the fifth child of Jeremiah and Jane Ann Annis, she died in infancy.
The sixth child of Jerry and Jane Annis was Annie Florence, who married Walter Scott Major, farmer of Whitevale, one of the Major Brothers of Shetland ponies fame. They had two children, Frederick Annis and Lydia Ilah Major. When the Great War broke, Fred enlisted and trained in the Canadian Air Force, and was loaned to the United States Government for training cadets. While in the State of Missouri he met his future wife, Christine Natalie Clark. Fred then went overseas as a member of the British
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Naval Air Force, as Lieutenant, and during the last two years of the war, had a strenuous time of it; was shot down three times while over the North Sea and survived to return after the close of the war, to marry his sweetheart, Christine. They had two children, namely, Margaret Virginia, and Walter Clark Major.
Fred's sister, Lydia Ilah Major, is still unmarried.
The seventh and youngest child of Jeremiah and Jane Ann Annis was William David Annis, an ex-Councillor and ex-Reeve of Scarboro Township. At present he seems a very busy man presiding over a population of 16,000 people as Tp. Clerk, Sec. of the Utilities Commission, Sec. of the Scarboro High School Board, Sec. of the Children's Aid Society of York Co., and Sec. of the Washington Church Official Board. He married Elizabeth Ellen Harding, daughter of Oliver Harding, of Unionville, they had two children, Ross Harding Annis, who died in infancy and Grace Marion Annis of Toronto University, and the present Sec. of the Annis association, and a valuable assistant in compiling this genealogy of the Annis family.
Excerpts from a letter written while convalescing during the Great War.
Royal Free Hospital, W.C.
18/2/17
Dear Mother and Father:- There were ten officers from this hospital invited to see the King, three motor cars called for us at three o'clock; they were driven by three ladies of the Canadian Red Cross Society.
We arrived at Pall Mall and drove in all pomp and glory through the gates to the Palace entrance. Here we were met by footmen who escorted us in, announced our names, took our hats and coats, and led us into the gorgeous Court Hall. My Goodness! talk about beauty; everything trimmed with red and gold, with rugs under our feet which were nearly a foot thick I should think. It is useless my trying to describe all this glory, it's simply beyond description. Anyway, here we intermingled with personages of almost every title, Dukes, Duchesses, Princesses, Lords, Counts, Countesses, Knights, Generals, Admirals, Earls, and so many others I cannot relate them all.
Just before the commencement of a cinema entertainment, the Royal Party entered. We stood to attention while they came up the velvety carpeted aisle, and took their seats at the front. I had the honor of occupying the chair beside Lady Minto, while two chairs from us sat His Majesty, the King, together with Queen Mary. Either side and in front were Princesses, Dukes and Duchesse, including H.R.H the Duke of Connaught, the Duchess, and Princess Mary, as well as scores of other notable persons of Royal Blood.36.
After the entertainment we filed through the reception hall, where we had the privilege of shaking hands with the King, Queen, Princess Mary, the Duke and Duchess, and several more. After which we were ushered into the tea room and partook of the most delicious tea. I had the honor of taking tea with Lady Grapel, whose husband is Controller of the Royal Household.
On tea being over it was announced that we should make ourselves at home and were shown into the immense drawing room of gold and lace and silver. Really folks, I thought sue I was in a wonderful dream, and could scarcely make myself believe that I had even been in a dirty old dug-out.
However, here we were. Here was His Majesty King George V., Ruler over the greatest nation on earth. Here he was intermingling and talking with his humble subjects, just as if he were one of us, and here was Her Gracious Majesty Queen Mary. Oh so lovely. She is a beautiful woman, so stately, so Queen like, she could not more fittingly fill her position. And here was Her Royal Highness Princess Mary, so charming and unassuming. I had the most unusual honor of speaking to each of these, with the King himself, I had a twenty minute conversation. He is really an extraordinary man, so congenial, so condescending and so apparently pleased to speak with one of the common multitude. I only wished I had had an unseen stenographer, who could have taken in shorthand the contents of that, to me, most memorable conversation. I shall never forget it. He asked me questions of the Canadians at the front. What Division I was in. What the senior officers were like, what part of Canada I came from, and do you know Father, I told him you attended his coronation, that you were at the Festival of Empire as representative of Canada at Crystal Palace, and he was so pleased. It was jolly nice, believe me.
I also had a little chat with Queen Mary and Princess Mary, also with the Duke of Connaught, the Countess of Airlie, the Marchioness of Landsdowne and several others.
We certainly did have a most enjoyable time, and shortly after six o'clock we took our leave, entered our cars and drove back to our respective hospitals through the dense fog of a London night, content with the fact, that never before in our lives (and perhaps never again) had we spent such a wonderful afternoon as guests of such noble hosts. We spent in all three hours in company with their Majesties, the King and Queen of England.
What a change you say from a life in a dugout. It sure was a change, but one thing I know is that had I never been in a dugout of filth and vermin, I should never perhaps have been privileged to enter such a place of luxury. Must close now, got a letter from Hanford and one from Auntie Cowan." signed - Wilbur F. Annis37.
Commander Annis, R.A.F., son of the Editor, was killed May 2nd, 1918, at Camp Borden, in an accident with his cadet holding the controls of the airplane.
The following is clipped from the Toronto Evening Telegram, Oct., 1928.
When bears roamed through the woods of Scarboro and oxen plodded along the Indian trails, a band of squatters would gather in the public house of Levi Annis to hear Methodist preachers expound the old-fashioned gospel of salvation and damnation. It was in this hotel of rough hewn logs near the old Kingston Rd., at what is now Stop 27, that Washington church had it's birth. From these few and far-between meetings was born the desire for religious light, and this week Washington United Church is quietly celebrating the 125th anniversary of it's founding.
Scarboro in the early days of the first Levi Annis and his hardy neighbors was a wilderness clothed in virgin forests, pierced and scarred in places by the axe of the white man and sparsely dotted with homesteads.
A vivid description of those early days before Washington church was formed, was given to The Star by a great-grandson of Levi Annis, who bears the same Christian name as the departed pioneer. Levi Annis lives within sight and a stone's throw of the church which he has attended for the past 60 years.
"It is a case of a hotel fathering a church," said Mr. Annis with a smile. "Rather unusual, but true nevertheless. My great-grandfather kept a public house behind the site of the present church and ministers would occasionally stop there. It was an old log house and one big room took up nearly all the space. People sat around on slab benches and listened to these preachers expound the gospel. There was no regular service; they would come together once every three or four weeks, but they did not allow any obstacles to get in the way of their attending. Whenever it was learned that a minister would stop at the hotel, a scout would be sent around the countryside to inform the people and they would yoke their oxen teams and travel over the tortuous paths towards the meeting place.
A Simple Religion
"These meetings were practically the only social contacts those pioneers made," declared Mr. Annis. "It was undenominational in a sense and theology was not discussed. The old-fashioned faith of salvation and damnation filled the religious wants of the people. The religion they heard expounded by the ministers of the English Wesleyan Methodist church was a simple and satisfying one."
"Farmers would bring their own meals with them to these meetings, but meals were provided free to those who desired them.
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