The Narrative Lineage
of
Ryan Edward Anthony Halladay
Prepared by Clinton Edward Halladay from various sources
with acknowledgement to Russell Strong and the R.G. Strong Family Genealogy Web Site
I have just recently begun to research my direct Halladay Family lineage and as a result there is much information yet to be unearthed and verified. Given the first recorded data in this regard is circa 1270, I am certain you can well appreciate the magnitude of this undertaking.
Historical records indicate various spellings of the name as scribed by town clerks: Halladay, Halliday, Haliday, Hallady, Halody, Holloday, and Holliday; however, it should be noted that original signatures in the case of deeds, petitions, etc. appears as Halladay.
Sir John Halladay, born in Scotland circa 1270, has the distinction of being the first record of all those bearing the name Halladay in Scotland, England and the Americas. The next record is that of Walter Halladay and it is clearly established that he is a direct descendent of Sir John. The specifics of the missing years are, at this juncture, unclear.
The North American progenitor of those bearing the Halladay name was Walter Halladay, born circa 1640, died at Suffield Connecticut Sept 21, 1709. (There is some confusion as to whether this was Suffield, Connecticut or Southfield Massachusetts. One record stating the later became the former.) It is not conclusively known if he was born in Scotland or America. There are no Halladay names found in American records previous to Walter’s marriage in 1673 and the registering of a Land Grant, Suffield, Connecticut in 1674. Walter is recorded as being a Surveyor in Suffield.
Walter’s grandson Ebenezer, son of Samuel, was killed in 1760 at Montreal, Ile-de-Montreal, Quebec in a battle in the French and Indian War. His family were all born in Connecticut.
Noah, Ebenezer’s third child, second son, appears to be the first Halladay resident in Canada. He was in Colonel Timothy Bedels Regiment at Havirell, NH (there is a copy of the War Rolls in the Pension Bureau in D.C.). He was in the NH Revolutionary War Rolls from September to December of 1776 and from April 1778-1779. Then he’s in the 1790 Vermont census for Barnet Township, Orange Co. Noah is in the August 1800 Vermont census and the April 1801 Augusta, Ontario census. It is thought that the family crossed on the river ice into Canada by ox sled in January 1801 as part of the Loyalist movement. Noah died in 1803 in Augusta and the resting place of his remains is still a mystery. He may be buried there or in Ogdensburg or under the dam at Upper Beverly Lake or at the Merriman homestead near Elgin.
Five of Noah’s six boys fought for Canada in the War of 1812: Samuel, James, Ebenezer, Alvin and Henry. Henry has been recognized by the Township of Rideau Lakes with a War of 1812 Heritage Plaque positioned at his grave site in the Halladay Burial Place.
It was in 1802 the Halladay family moved to this area and became the driving force behind the founding of Elgin. In the 1820s Ebenezer began clearing the land where Elgin now stands. Ebenezer was a farmer and businessman who donated much land in the area including the site of the Elgin United Church and the Halladay Burial Place.
The building of the Rideau Canal spurred the area and circa 1830 a village known as Halladay’s Corners was in full swing. The name was changed from Halladay’s Corners to Elgin in 1850 in honour of James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and one-time Governor-General of Canada.
In 1827 the building of the Rideau Canal began, and stone was quarried for the locks and the Lockmaster’s house at Jones Falls from Henry Halladay’s farm on County Rd 8 just west of Leeds Transit. Consequently, the farmland being compromised by the quarry, Henry’s family was moved to Lot 10, Con 1, where the homestead still stands occupied by the Halladay family.
One of Henry’s sons, Truman, subsequently took over the farm from Henry. Truman was also in the Leeds Militia and I have Commissioning Certificates as Ensign, then Lieutenant, in 1847 and 1857 respectively, in my possession.
In 1873 Truman’s son, Clarence, age 21, was killed by a falling beam while working on a barn. Now Clarence was known to be rather loose of tongue, which led many staunch townsfolk to speculate about his inevitable comeuppance. The church had a balcony at the back and during the funeral service loud creaking was heard causing those in attendance to flee the building on the premise that perhaps Clarence’s corpse was indeed rising from the coffin. Meetings and discussions ensued, and it was decided to tear down the church and construct a new one. I suppose one could say the “ghost” of Henry Clarence ultimately led to the construction of the present-day Elgin United Church in 1893 and completed in 1894.
Truman’s fifth son, Clinton Ximenus, farmed the homestead and it is believed he may also have worked as a cheesemaker. Clinton was married twice, his first wife Eva Jane Leggett died at the age of 25. A boy from this marriage died as an infant. Clinton’s second wife, Sara Eliza Seed, mothered a son, Joel Lynn.
Joel Lynn lived on the family farm as well as many other temporary locations, he being both a farmer and cheesemaker. At one time he owned a cheese factory near Jones Falls.
Lester Rogers Halladay, Joel’s son and my father, married Helene Edna Burt and operated the family farm his entire life. He and Edna also operated a sugar bush and delivered mail for over 30 years. They had three children: Mary, Georgina and Clinton. Clinton, the youngest (that’s me), left the farm for a career in banking and the Federal Public Service, returning to the family farm in 1981. Although no longer actively farming, the land is leased for crops. I married my true love, Sharon Bain, in 1969 and we have one son Ryan.
Ryan, born June 6, 1975 lived in Mississauga, Ontario until his death March 11, 2021. Was a General Partner with Edward Jones Financial. He married the remarkable Christina Truant in 1999 and they have two awesome daughters, Lauren and Madeline.
Notwithstanding there are still gaps in the early Halladay chronology one must acknowledge that some 700 plus years is a pretty good run!