Kenora Great War Project

 

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The People

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These are the stories of Kenora participants in the First World War.

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Dougherty, Charles James

Corporal Charles James Dougherty was the son of Thomas Arthur and Mary Dougherty of Kenora, Ontario. Thomas was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and his wife Mary (née O’Keefe) was from Lacrosse, Wisconsin. They moved to Canada around 1887, settling in the small town of Rat Portage about four years later. They had five children, three… Read More »

Hansen, Einer

Along with his twin brother Rudolph Eugene, Einer Sixtus Hansen was born on 18 October 1900 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. His father Johan Haaken (John) Hansen, a marine engineer, was born in Norway and had immigrated to Canada with his widowed father and some of his siblings in the late 1880’s, first… Read More »

Harper, John English

John English Harper was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (née Knott/Nutt) Harper. A birth record was not found for John and various birth dates were given in his attestation papers and service files as well as other records: December 1876, November 1878, 18 February 1879 (obituary), 18 February 1881, 28 February 1881 and 18… Read More »

Tew, Gordon Melvin

Gordon Melvin Tew was born on 18 October 1897 in Winona, Ontario. His father William Tew was from Bambury/Hempton, Oxfordshire in England and had immigrated to Canada aboard the Parisian in 1889. His mother Ida Sturch was from North Grimsby, Ontario. The couple married on 23 December 1893 in Hamilton. Settling in Winona, William found… Read More »

Travis, Albert Edgar

Albert Edgar Travis was born on 16 May 1894 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. His father Herbert Travis, a music teacher/professor, was from England while his mother Edith Florine Emily Wood was from Arkona in southwestern Ontario, having moved to Manitoba with her parents and siblings as a child. The couple… Read More »

Masterson, W

After the war the town of Keewatin in northwester Ontario had a plaque made that honoured all who served and were from the area. W Masterson was listed on roll but his identity and service could not be confirmed.  

McNicol, Robert

Robert McNicol was born on 28 May 1898 in the district of Kinning Park in Glasgow, Scotland, date confirmed by his Scotland birth registration record. His father William McNicol, a marine engineer, was from Alloa in Clackmannshire while his mother Mary McLeod Martin was from Ayr in Ayrshire. The couple married in Kinning Park on… Read More »

McReynolds, Courtland Campbell

Courtland Campbell McReynolds was born on 23 May 1889 in Balaclava, Grey County in Ontario. His parents William Decker McReynolds, a fisherman on the Great Lakes, and Eliza Catherine Campbell were both from the area, marrying on 10 July 1888 in Balaclava. Children born to the couple were Courtland, Louis Guy (1892), Georgina Elba (Joy)… Read More »

Hansen, Louis (Lewin)

Private Louis (Lewin/Lewis) Hansen was living in northwestern Ontario when he enlisted on 14 April 1916. He signed up in Winnipeg with the 197th (Vikings of Canada) Battalion, which was based in Winnipeg and recruited in western Canada. His address was Keewatin, Ontario, his occupation was ranger and next of kin was his cousin Constance… Read More »

Simmons, Archibald Erastus

Archibald Erastus (Archie) Simmons was born on 20 July 1894 in Wingham, Ontario. According to their marriage record his father Archibald Erastus Simmons was from London, Ontario while his mother Rachel Ellen Rankin was from Listowel, Ontario, elsewhere given as Gowanstown. The couple were living in St Thomas, Ontario when they married there on 10… Read More »