Notes:

NOTE 1./ Cyrus Henry married Beatrice Scott Thomson in 1880. She was born in Scotland and came with her parents as an infant. The Thomson family lived on the south-east corner of Egerton Street and Commissioners Road, but when their daughter married, the parents moved to Sarnia, and Cyrus and Beatrice moved into the house built by Cyrus' father where their daughter and son were born. Transfers of parcels of land on both sides of Commissioners Road were implemented between Cyrus and his father, Ralph, who in 1895 moved to Egerton Street where he lived until his death in 1920. More land were change hands now when in 1902, Cyrus bought the east half of Lot 19 from Letitia Curtis for $2,295.00 the same lot that had been sold to Silas Curtis in 1835 for $1,100.00. A red brick house was built in 1914 on the homestead lot. The Delco system used at first was replaced when Hydro was installed in 1920 and a telephone service was also installed. The householder was required to purchase three shares of telephone company stock and not only supply the poles but haul them to the installation site before the service could be hooked up. For a number of years, into the 1920's four or five families of gypsies with their children and dogs would camp on the Sumner property. Following the Fall Fairs circuit, they would arrive in the late summer and their stay at Pleasant Hill Farm coincided with London's Western Fair where they told fortunes and predicted the life-expectancy of the person who paid to see them. From the time Cyrus's son Ralph Alexander was old enough to work on the farm, Cyrus or "Cicey" as he was known took to the road. With his steam engine he was up and down the Con. Roads threshing, silo-filling, grinding grain, woodcutting, and at times grading the roads. In 1922 the steam engine was exchanged for a Rumley oil-pull tractor and Cyrus continued doing the work he loved. The day finally came when Cyrus decided to retire. He sold his engine and the custom work to Joe Wilkins who was eager to carry on the business. Joe had barely begun his custom work when one day a belt slipped from the machine, and without turning off the engine, Joe attempted to replace the belt. The powerful maching wrenched Joe's arm from his body and he died as a result of the accident. Cyrus took back the machine, finished the waiting jobs and sold the machine to Joe's brother, Earl.
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NOTE 2./ 1911 Westminster, Middlesex East, Ontario census,

Sumner Cyrus H M Head M Dec 1862 48
Sumner Beatrice S F Wife M May 1866 45
Sumner Hellen T F Daughter S Oct 1891 19
Sumner Ralph A M Son S Oct 1894 16
Thompson Andrew M Father-in-law M Jul 1833 78
Thompson Hellen F Mother-in-law M Apr 1836 75
Walters Alexander M Servant S Aug 1897 13.

Cyrus married Beatrice Scott THOMPSON on 25 Jun 1890 in Sarnia, Lambton County, Ontario. Beatrice (daughter of Andrew THOMPSON and Helen UNKNOWN) was born on 04 May 1865 in Hawick, , Borders, Scotland; died in 1958 in Westminster, Middlesex East, Ontario; was buried in Pond Mills cemetery, London, Middlesex, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ralph married Mary Elizabeth ROOT on 26 Feb 1862 in Westminster, Of Middlesex, Ontario. Mary was born on 27 Oct 1843 in Middlesex, Ontario, Canada; died on 19 Oct 1893 in Middlesex, Ontario; was buried in Woodland Cemetery, Middlesex, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Andrew married Helen UNKNOWN. Helen was born in Apr 1836 in Scotland; died after 1911 in Westminster, Middlesex East, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

NOTE 1./ Cyrus and his wife Rebecca were buried in Woodland Cemetery in London, Ontario. Cyrus was a farmer and came to Westminister Township in 1819. He purchased 200 acres of Lot 19 in Con. 2 in 1835 which was originally patented to Ira Wooden from the Crown in 1825. His wife Rebecca was a cousin. Lot 19 was standing bush and Cyrus used the lumber to frame a 7-bedroom house, facing on Commissioners Road and a barn. In the clearing he grew grain and pastured his cattle. Commissioners Road had been built to facilitate east and west traffic through Westminister Township. The large house Cyrus built was frequently an over-night stop for travellers who received supper, sleeping accommodations, breafkast, and feed and water for their horses.

By 1854, the London and Port Stanley Railway was buying land for the right-of-way and two and a half acres of the west half of Lot 19 were sold to the railway company. Having done this, a problem arose, because Cyrus could no longer get to that part of his property beyond the right of way, so in 1879 he sold to his neighbor on Con. 2, Elliot Grieve, eleven acres from the part south of the tracks. He later recovered some of this acreage with purchases in 1880 of ten acres and an additional five acres in 1885, from William E. Grieve on the east side of the tracks. Cyrus was an innovative farmer. The windmill which was mounted on top of his barn drew water from the dug well a hundred feet away to the barn using a jerk-line. He also installed a geared shaft that operated the root-pulper, for animal feed. Cement that was needed for building or for repairs was mixed by windmill power, but the men had to haul the gravel from the Themes River at the Meadow Lily Bridge with a team and wagon. (Century Farms of Westminister Township by Marguerite E. Murray).
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NOTE 3./ 1851 CENSUS WESTMINSTER TOWNSHIP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, ONTARIO, CANADA
AS OF 11 JANUARY 1852; AGE IS NEXT BIRTHDAY

NAMES BORN RELIGION AGE Lived Con & Lot REMARKS

Cyrus W. Sumner Upper Canada Protestant 49 Con 1 Lot 19 Farmer
Rebecca Sumner USA Protestant 52
Ralph B. Sumner Upper Canada Protestant 15
Sarah M. Sumner Upper Canada Protestant 13
William C. Sumner Upper Canada Protestant 10


Birth:
Blenheim, (Oxford

Cyrus married Rebecca SUMNER on 16 Feb 1835 in Middlesex, Ontario. Rebecca (daughter of William Augustus SUMNER and Elizabeth BEARDSLEE) was born on 11 May 1799 in Bristol, Addison, Vermont; died on 28 Sep 1873 in Westminster Township, Middlesex County, Ontario; was buried in Woodland Cemetery, Middlesex, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]