Birth

Russell Uttley 1887-1970

Russell Uttley was born in Elmira on December 20, 1887. He was the fourth of seven children and the fourth son of John Robert Uttley and Catherine (nee Birmingham). A streak of male heirs that ends with Russell.

The birth can be found in the Ontario Vital Statistics in 1887, #034-846. Russell's four older brothers were not registered at the time making this the first birth in the family to be registered. A date of December 22, 1887 noted in the 1901 Census, but his obituary matches the date of December 20, 1887 found in his Birth Registrations. There was a birth announcement in the german-language Berliner Journal on December 29, 1887 that also supports the date of December 20:

Uttley, John R.   Dec 20, 1887     The wife of John R. Uttley, in Elmira,     a son

     Born:       December 20, 1887
     Place:      Elmira
     Name:       Russell
     Sex:        Male
     Father:     John R. Uttley,
                 Fireman, Elmira, Ont
     Mother:     Catherine Birmingham
     When reg:   Decem 26 1887
     Doctor:     D. L. Walmsley, M.D.

In his early life his name was spelled Russel. The 1891 Census lists Russel as a son of age 3. Ten years later in 1901 the Census again lists Russel as a son at age 13.

Russell Uttley on the farm

Russell left home as a youth and went to the Birmingham farm in Crosshill where his mother was born. There he fit in with his uncles, aunts and cousins who knew the family of Jack Uttley well.

Marriage Record

Russel marries. The Ontario Vital Statistics for marriages in 1909, reference #020-433, records:

   Groom:        Russel Uttley
   Age:          22
   Occupation:   Boiler Maker
                 bachelor
   Religion:     Church of England
   Residence:    Waterloo
   Father:       John Uttley, Engineer
   Mother:       Catherine Birmingham

   Bride:        Ida Meyers
   Age:          21
                 spinster
   Religion:     Evang. Assn
   Residence:    Crosshill
   Father:       Hezekiah Meyers, farmer
   Mother:       Sarah Block

   Date:         29 November 1909, New Hamburg
   Witness:      Sarah Meyers, Crosshill
                 Sybilla S. Yager, New Hamburg
   By:           Rev. W. J. Yager

• Russel worked as a boiler maker in Waterloo, in 1909. This was a common occupation in this family.
• He worked as a teamster and lived as a householder at 24 Courtland Ave [Berlin] in the 1911-1912 Vernon Directory.
• His obituary reports that he served overseas with the 118th Batalion, Canadian Expeditionary Forces, during WWI. The National Archives of Canada lists UTTLEY, Russel under Regimental number 751282.
• By 1921 Russel works at J.M. Schneider (meatpackers) and is a householder at 425 Mill, [Kitchener].

Death

On Thursday December 24, 1970 the K-W Record ran this obituary on page 29:

Russell Uttley     Russell Uttley of 126 Fourth Av. died Wednesday at St. Mary's Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was 83.     He was a resident of the Twin Cities for 68 years and was employed as a moulder at Canada Valve Ltd. six years until his retirement in 1946.     He served with the 118th Batalion overseas during the First World War.     A son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Uttley, he was born in Elmira Dec. 20, 1887. He was a member of the Baptist Church.     He was predeceased by his wife, the former Ida Myers.     Surviving are three sons, Howard and Russell, both of Kitchener, and Earl of Saint John, N.B.; five daughters, Mrs. Maxwell (Hazel) Coffen, Mrs. Frederick (Violet) Hofheinz, Mrs. Elsie Currie and Mrs. John Dickson, all of Kitchener and Mrs. Richard (Jean) Pfeiffer of Chelmsford; a sister, Mrs. Hilda Bone of Port Hope; 22 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by three brothers and two sisters.     The body is at the Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Home where Rev. Arthur McDowell of Highland Baptist Church will conduct the funeral service at 3 p.m. Saturday. Burial will be in Woodland cemetery. Donations to the Highland Baptist Church building fund will be accepted as expressions of sympathy.

His headstone at Woodland Cemetery, Kitchener, contains:

Russell Uttley Sr 1887-1970 Beloved husband of Ida Myers

Birth

Ida Meyers was born in Wilmot Township on September 5, 1888, the daughter of Hezakiah Meyers, a farmer, and his wife Sarah Block.

Death

Her headstone beside the one of her husband at Woodland Cemetery, Kitchener, contains:

Ida Meyers 1888-1942 Beloved wife of Russell Uttley

• Woodland Cemetery has an interment date in 1901 for this plot. The date, they explain, is in fact a code indicating that there is no burial in this plot. This is consistent with the fact that section 'ma' of Woodland Cemetery wasn't used in 1942.
      So where was Ida buried?

Ida died of a stroke on February 2, 1942. A death notice and obituary was printed in the Kitchener Daily Record on Tuesday February 3, 1942, on page 13:

DEATHS UTTLEY, Mrs. Russell, 261A King Street West, Feb 2, 53 years.

MRS. RUSSELL UTTLEY     Mrs. Russell Uttley, 261A King Street West, died at her home last night at the age of 53 years. Death followed a stroke. Mrs. Uttley, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Hezekiah Meyers, was born in Wilmot Centre, Sept. 5, 1888. She attended Benton Street Baptist Church.     Surviving are her husband, three sons, Howard, Earl and Russell Jr., all of Kitchener, five daughters, Mrs. Herbert Benedict, Mrs. Frederick Hofheinz, Mrs. Edgar Currie and Mrs. William Dickson of Kitchener and Miss Jean Uttley, Galt, five sisters, Mrs. Miranda Nahrgang, New Hamburg, Mrs. Susannah Manser, Mrs. Isabelle Eby and Mrs. Ephriam Ernst, Kitchener, and Mrs. Emma Hieronimus of Crosshill and by seven grandchildren. Two brothers, Albanus and James Meyers, and one sister, Mrs. Lucy Eckensviller, predeceased her.     The funeral will be held Thursday afternoon from the Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Home at 2 o'clock. Interment will take place in Woodland Cemetery. Rev. Clarence M. Keen, pastor of Benton Street Baptist Church, will conduct the services. The remains are resting at the funeral home.

• It is interesting that her headstone spells Meyers with an 'e' but Russell's headstone spells it as Myers. From found records, her headstone is correct.
• The obituary spells out that she would be buried at Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener.
      Where was Ida buried, if not there?

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Most recent revision November 2015