Fonds AFC66 - Joseph Siddall Family fonds

Joseph Siddall (b. 21 Jan. 1824), was active as a grain merchant in Parkhill by 1865, when he was in partnership with R.H. O'Neil of Lucan and William Shoults of Parkhill. Joseph also served as a justice of the peace for Lobo Township, as well as treasurer of West Williams Township. Joseph married Jane O'Neil (b. 1832) in the early 1850s. Jane died in September, 1859. Joseph and Jane had three children:
Loezia Siddall (May 1854 - 14 July 1854)
Melissa Siddall (b. 11 Oct. 1855)
Robert Henry (Harry) Siddall (b. 21 Aug. 1857)

John Siddall and his wife Diana Rowden immigrated from London, England and settled, in the early 1830s, at a site on the boundary between London and Lobo townships, approximately five miles from Lucan, Ontario. Here John Siddall built a grist mill in 1832, thereby founding the village of Siddallsville. The grist mill was expanded to include woolen and saw mills, as well as a brewery and distillery.
The mill, farm, and associated businesses were inherited by various of Siddall's sons. The second son, Joseph Siddall (b. 21 Jan. 1824), was active as a grain merchant in Parkhill by 1865, when he was in partnership with R.H. O'Neil of Lucan and William Shoults of Parkhill. Joseph also served as a justice of the peace for Lobo Township, as well as treasurer of West Williams Township. Joseph married Jane O'Neil (b. 1832) in the early 1850s. Jane died in September, 1859. Joseph and Jane had three children:
Loezia Siddall (May 1854 - 14 July 1854)
Melissa Siddall (b. 11 Oct. 1855)
Robert Henry (Harry) Siddall (b. 21 Aug. 1857)
There was a fire at John Siddalls' grist mill in 1867; his son Joseph rebuilt it two years later. In 1877, Joseph opened the J. Siddall and Son bank in Lucknow, Ontario in partnership with his son Harry. Affiliated with Molson's Bank of London, Ontario, J. Siddall and Son moved to Galt, Ontario and eventually closed in the mid-1880s.
Throughout their time as bankers, the Joseph and Harry Siddall continued to run the mill or to rent it out. The family moved back to Siddallsville in the early 1880's, turning their focus again to the family mill. The mill burned again in 1883, and was rebuilt the following year; in the 1890s the Siddalls tried to sell it, apparently unsuccessfully. The family continued to operate the mill until a flood destroyed the dam in 1907.
Joseph and his two children resided together in Siddallsville as late as 1908; there is no evidence that either Melissa or Harry ever married. Harry gained a local reputation as a horse breeder, but the businesses did not prosper. Joseph died at home on his 95th birthday in 1909, and is buried at St. George's Anglican cemetery in London Township. Harry and Melissa's activities following the death of their father are unknown.