NONAGENARIAN
PASSES
In the passing of Henry
Bartholomew after a rather lengthy illness, Windham township loses
one of its pioneer settlers and Norfolk a link with an historic
past.
Mr. Bartholomew succumbed
on Friday at his home at Vanessa, in his 91st year.
Born in the township on
the same farm on which he died, Henry Bartholomew was of German
stock.
His father came to this
country when two years of age, and finally settled in Windham,
becoming engaged in the lumber industry.
Henry Bartholomew was the
youngest of a family of six and the last surviving.
He, too, has been a
prominent figure in the lumber industry of this district,
operating in his younger days, several sawmills in and around
Vanessa.
His real estate holdings
at the time of his death amounted to around 800 acres, no small
amount for this district.
At various times he owned
grist mills, a cider mill, a cooperage, a box factory, and a fruit
evaporator. He was said to be the first man in Canada to take up
the business of drying apples.
As well as taking a hand
in these activities, he was an experienced builder, the Waterford
public school having been erected by him.
He also had a hand in the
the construction of the T. H. and B. Railway and all the ties
used, as well as other necessary lumber, were supplied by him.
When Vanessa received its
name in 1876 he was appointed its first postmaster and held that
office up until his death. He is believed to have been the oldest
postmaster in Canada.
In his later years he
remained active and passed from industry to agriculture. The
800-acre estate was devoted to mixed farming, but he also
went in for tobacco growing, ginseng and turkeys, to say nothing
of several fine herds of dairy cows.
Mr. Bartholomew remained
alert and active to the time of his death. Up until a few years
ago he drove his own automobile. In the winter months, it was his
custom to go to Florida, where he has real estate holdings, but
had not gone this year.
His wife, who was Emma
McKerlie, passed away on 3 Sep 1925, and he had made his home with
his daughter and her husband, Harvey Serles, at the family
homestead on the outskirts of Vanessa.
He is also survived by a
nephew, W. H. Bartholomew of Simcoe, and two nieces, Mrs. William
Lake and Mrs. MacNicol of Brantford.
The funeral was held from
his late residence at Vanessa on Monday, 7 Mar 1932 at 2 p.m., and
was attended by a large number of friends and relatives.
The service was conducted
by Rev. A. R. Johnson, pastor of the Vanessa United Church. A duet
"Looking This Way" was sung by Lylla and Oscar Gibson.
Interment was made in Vanessa Cemetery.
The pallbearers were:
Messrs. Frank Baker, William Baker, George Boomer, William
Hodgson, Albert McKerlie and Bruce Hill.
The profusion of floral
pieces bore a silent tribute to the esteem in which deceased was
held by a host of friends.
