Margaret "Maggie" McKenzie was born on April 23, 1849, in Ontario Canada the eldest daughter of Donald S. McKenzie and Sarah Maria (Biggar) McKenzie. On December 18, 1873, she married David Clark in Blenheim, Kent, Ontario, Canada.
Between 1874 and 1889, Maggie and David had seven children:
- Garnet Wolsley Clark born August 20, 1874,
- David Garriet Clark born August 20, 1875,
- Elgin Percy Clark Born February 19, 1878,
- Henry Lester Clark born January 11, 1880,
- Charles Varney Clark born August 17, 1882,
- Bertha Clarke born October 2, 1885
- Hugh Franklin Clark born March 3, 1889.
The following words were written on a piece of the dock near the place that the bodies of mother and children were found:
"Do not blame Garnet, I did it. David Shan’t have those little ones, Maggie"
It is said that the previous fall David left Maggie and their five children. The newspaper article published in the June 21, 1891 edition of the Chatham Tri-Weekly Planet states that
" A Jury was impaneled, who after hearing the evidence returned a verdict to the effect that the unhappy woman committed suicide while in a fit of temporary insanity."
The Newspaper article goes on to state that:
"The large number of people at the funeral may be taken as a measure of the respect in which the deceased was held. Popular feeling is strongly aroused by the shocking circumstances, and runs high against the absent husband and his relatives at the Eau. The prevailing idea, whether right or not, is that Mrs. Clark was prosecuted beyond endurance. Besides the log on which Mrs. Clark wrote her last message were found some letters, one from her husband notifying her to get off the farm, and another written by herself conveying a sad story of destitution and burden too heavy to be borne, and of which it seems few, if any, who knew her had any conception, as she was not accustomed to canvas her circumstances with neighbors."
In the Parcel that Garnet was sent to deliver to Alminia "Minnie", was a letter stating that the contents of the parcel were meant for her older children.
In a letter to her half brother Jeremiah McKenzie, Almina "Minnie" (McKenzie) Pardo states:
"Just think Jerrie, How could she ever do it? Bertha was a dear little girl and Hugh was a nice child just beginning to talk. I was there last Tuesday night. She was very downhearted but never mentioned such a thing. She said in her note that she thought in the orchard at her home would be a nice place for their sermons. You see she has been thinking of it for some time"
Minnie goes on in her letter to describe the fate of the older children, still living at home, which included Garnet age 16, Harry Age 11 and Charley age 8
"William Clark took Harry the second boy and Charley the youngest is at Solomon Burks until there is a change made. Garnet is going to work on a farm for a man about a mile from here."
To clarify relationships, William Clark is David's older brother and Solomon Burk is of some relation to Samuel Burk, the husband of Sarah Maria McKenzie who is another sister of Maggie, Minnie, and Jeremiah.
Lesson Learned: Not all stories that we find in our family history are pleasant ones or even easy to understand. But the thing that I take from these stories, good or bad, is that our ancestors were "real" people with hopes, dreams, fears, and sorrows.
I will close this post with the bible verse that was read at the funeral of Maggie McKenzie and her two precious babies.
I am in a strait. Let me fall into the hands of God rather than into the hand of man -- 2 Samuel 24:14
Sometimes our research does lead us to unhappy endings. I doubt that a single one of us who have been at this a while, doesn’t have a sad story or two. Always sorry to hear of a mother or father who took their children with them when they decided to commit suicide. Thanks for sharing your ancestor’s story.
Diane
That’s a very sad story. You wrote it very well. Thank you for sharing it. I’ve included it in my NoteWorthy Reads post this week: http://jahcmft.blogspot.com/2015/05/noteworthy-reads-12.html.
Such a sad story! Maggie is a relative of mine. Her son Harry is my great grandfather.