3901 County Road 25, Morganston
(1909)
Roll No. 1411-011-040-12900-0000 – Cramahe Township Ontario
Four Square Vernacular
The land records for this house points to a build date of the three years between 1909 and 1912.
It is clad in narrow gauge wooden clapboard; it appears to have a concrete basement (which would point to years post 1900, so that fits); it has a hip roof; a large flat roof addition on the rear of the house; six over six paned windows on the upper level and nine pane on the lower floor.
The square shape of the house most closely resembles the American Foursquare architectural style, but it doesn’t have the third floor or the dimensions usually associated with that style.
There is a concrete porch on two sides, with multiple “classical” pillars.
History or Associative Value
Franklin Hardinge purchased the property on which 3901 Hwy 25 stands in 1912. He was a native of Cramahe township but at the time of the purchase, was a manufacturer, living in Chicago. His bachelor brother Lorne, a carpenter, bought the property in 1919. The house at 3901 was probably built between 1909 and 1912 by John Anderson, a storekeeper. This supposition is based in the purchase and sale prices of $187 and $1,600 which usually pointed to an improvement.
Additional Historical and Genealogical Information
3901 Highway 25, Morganston, Ontario Cramahe Township, Concession 9, Lot 16
Lot 16, Concession 9 consists of the 200 acres immediately north and east of Morganston. The first five owners of this land were never residents of Cramahe Township. Alexander Chisholm (?-?), who was granted the property by the Crown on 30 June 1801, lived in Hastings County. John Young (1759-1819) of Quebec City bought the property from him on 28 November 1804. On his death on 14 September 1819, the property was inherited by Young’s son Thomas Ainslie Young (1797-1852), also of Quebec City. The next owner was Charles William Grant (1782-1848, 5th Baron de Longueuil), who acquired the property from Young the younger on 10 February 1823. Grant was a member of the Legislative Council for Lower Canada. On 16 April 1833 he sold the land to William C. Anderson (?-?), an officer in the Royal Artillery and resident of Montreal.
The first Cramahe resident to own Lot 16 was William Snider (1806-?), who bought it from Anderson on 21 March 1850. Snider was a resident of Belleville at the time, but was a Cramahe farmer by 1851. No information has been found about his family, other than the fact that his wife’s name was Amanda.
The southwestern part of Lot 16 next went to farmer David Glover (1832-1892), who bought it from Snider on 13 March 1866. Glover married Elizabeth Ann Sills (1832-1927) in 1849 and had at least five children: Hannah (1850-?), Sarah E. (1852-?), William Allen (1861-1925), James Walter (1865-1955), and Isaac Franklin (1868-1912).
When David Glover died in 1892 the western part of the southwestern quarter of Lot 16 went to his son James Walter Glover. The younger Glover was unmarried when he inherited the property, but married Bertha Lodema Bradley in 1893. They had a daughter Clara Elizabeth (1895-1911). Bertha died when Clara was 3 months old, and James remarried in 1900. His second wife was Mary Rosetta Ross (1874-1937). Children by the second marriage were James Clarence (1901-1989), Frances Helen (1902-1990), Florence Isabella (1905-1950), and David Oscar (1907-1961).
On 29 September 1909, the acre in the southwestern corner of Lot 16 in Morganston, on which 3901 Highway 25 now stands, was sold by Glover to storekeeper John Alexander Anderson (1865-?). Like James Glover, Anderson was married twice. His first wife was Emma Jane McColl (1875-1901, m. 1891) with whom he had five children: Mabel Gladys (1893-1980), James William (1895-1898), Harry Milton (1900-?), Alta May (1900-?), and Mildred Alice (ca. 1900-?). His second wife was Maud Mary Bailey (1878-?, m. 1904). They had three daughters: Jean Elizabeth (1908-?), Margaret Bernice (1910-?), and Frances Mildred (1912-?).
Franklin Hardinge (1867-1945) purchased Anderson’s acre on 19 June 1912. Although a native of Cramahe Township, Hardinge was a “manufacturer” living in Chicago when he made this purchase. He was still a resident of Chicago when he and his wife Amelia Maude (née McCormick, 1876-?) sold the property to Franklin’s younger brother Lorne Hardinge (1884-1939) on 24 November 1919. Lorne Hardinge was a carpenter, and a resident of Cramahe Township. No information has been found about wife or children. He owned the property until 1923, at which time he was a bachelor.
The house at 3901 Highway 25 was probably built by John Anderson between 1909 and 1912. He purchased the property in 1909 for $187 and sold it in 1912 for $1600. This large increase in price is strong circumstantial evidence for an improvement to the property, and that improvement was likely the house.
Castleton, ON K0K 1M0, Canada