The Late John
Abel of North Walsingham
A veteran resident of
Norfolk answered the last summons recently in the person of Mr.
John Abel of North Walsingham, whose death took place at the
family homestead on Tuesday, 22 Mar 1910.
Mr. Abel was born at Skene,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the 31 Oct 1819 (the year of Queen
Victoria's birth), and was consequently in his 91st year at the
time of his death. He was some months old when George the Third
died and he was consequently during his lifetime a subject of five
British Sovereigns.
Mr. Abel was married in
Scotland to Miss Jessie Cootes who continued his loved companion
throughout a long married life. Mrs. Abel predeceased her husband
some four or five years ago. Together they came to Canada with one
small child, something over 60 years ago.
Their first objective was
the then small village of Simcoe, where an elder brother, the late
David Abel, afterwards and for many years postmaster of Port
Dover, kept a shoe store in partnership with the late James
Anderson.
Mr. John Abel was a
millwright by trade and on coming to Simcoe he became foreman of
the foundry of the late John Boyd and in that employ he continued
for some time. In 1856 he decided to try farming and moved to
Walsingham, settling upon the farm he continued to occupy until
his death.
Like so many Scotchmen of
his class, Mr. Abel had received a good grounding in the elements
of education and throughout his long life he retained his love of
reading. His faculties were spared to him in remarkable degree to
the very last.
On the Sunday before he
died he took his dinner with the others of the family. The day
following, he was up and around and when the Daily Globe came in
about four o'clock, he sat is his chair and read it, as had
been his want from the day of its inception.
In going to bed he
required no assistance, but shortly after became seriously ill and
on Tuesday afternoon he "solved the mystery" that to him
was no mystery at all, but a sure and certain beginning of a
glorified life with his Master, whom he had served all his life.
In Scotland, in Simcoe, and in Walsingham, Mr. Abel had been an
Elder of the Presbyterian Church for over three score years.
He was one of four
brothers, David, John, Alexander and Downie, all of who are now
dead. Two sisters survive, Mrs. Alexander Durward of Simcoe, and
Mrs. Bechan of Kakota. He leaves four children: William in
Vancouver, John S. on the homestead, Mrs. Smith of Hamilton, and
an unmarried daughter, Miss Mary, of Orillia.
