Matthew Bramhill was born on Aug. 21, 1843. He came to Canada from Epworth, Lincolnshire, England, in 1854, when he was 10, with his parents, George Bramhill and his wife Ann Garland. The family settled at Brantford before coming to Minto.

Matthew Bramhill married Alice Cooper on October 4, 1870. Alice was born Dec. 14, 1847. They had 2 children (1) George born 1872, died 1934 and (2) Mary Ann born 1874. Alice, died Mar. 11, 1874, leaving her two small children. George was raised by Matthew but Mary Ann was raised by her grandparents Joseph and Mary Cooper. Mary Ann developed tuberculosis and died Nov. 20, 1897 at age 23.

Matthew Bramhill then married Elizabeth Bent, daughter of Sophia and William Bent, on Sept. 11, 1877. Elizabeth (Bent) was born Oct 20, 1856. When Matthew and Elizabeth were married in 1877 they took over the George and Ann (Garland) Bramhill farm on Lot 18, Concession 4, of Minto Township for 18 years. Elizabeth Bent’s Mother and Dad, Sophia and William Bent, purchased 100 acres of land at Lot 21, Concession 3, of Minto Township, near Palmerston, Ontario in 1856 or 1858. It was a virgin forest, never felt the woodsman’s axe or a plough. It was known as the Queens Bush.

A piece of paper which attests to the fact that Lauretta’s great grandfather William Bent took his land from the Queen’s Bush is amongst the treasured possessions of one of his descendants Ivan Bramhill. Ivan passed away Nov. 2, 1993 and we don’t know who has this important piece of paper.

When grandmother Elizabeth (Bent) Bramhill’s father and mother, Sophia and William Bent, decided to move to the town of Palmerston in 1895, Grandfather Matthew and Grandmother Elizabeth Bramhill took over the Bent farm at Lot 21, Concession 3, Minto Township. Lauretta’s mother Sarah Bramhill was born in the house on this farm Aug. 1, 1895. Many years later, on April 19, 1917, Sarah gave birth to Lauretta’s sister, Mildred (Munford), in this same house. I remember my dad, Alfred Munford, telling how he hemmed all the diapers for the new baby as my mother Sarah was forbidden to peddle the sewing machine. In this Bramhill home on Lot 21, Concession 3 of Minto Township a son Ernest Clendon Bramhill was born on March 5, 1897.

Grandpa Matthew Bramhill passed away on Jan 28, 1905, at age 61, shortly after he suffered a fall. He was coming out of the root cellar in the barn. Upon opening the door, the wind caught the door slamming it shut, knocking Matthew down to the cement floor in the root cellar. He injured his kidneys and never recovered, leaving Grandmother Elizabeth to carry on with the farm with the help of her boys. Her youngest son Clendon took over the farm.

Clendon married Violet Bridge. Clendon and Violet had 8 children. Grandma Elizabeth Bramhill lived with Clendon and Violet until her passing on Jan 20, 1936, at 80 years, and when Violet and Clendon moved to the town of Palmerston in 1943 their oldest son, Ivan, took over the farm.

Ivan married Thelma Holmes. Ivan and Thelma raised three children on the farm – Marilyn Patricia, Judith Elaine, and Douglas Ivan. Ivan operated the farm until he passed away on Nov. 2, 1993. After his passing, his son Douglas Bramhill had the barn bulldozed down and the debris burnt. The house was sold to a fellow who took it apart piece by piece and was going to rebuild it near Elora. He started tearing it down in 1997 and before it was completely down Roy Bramhill took some pictures of it in January 1998. It’s sad to know that this century old farmyard will be no more. We are thankful to Ivan’s wife, Thelma Bramhill, for sending us a picture of this century old farmyard taken from the air before it was torn down. This century old farm was owned by Lauretta’s great grandparents William and Sophia Bent, then Matthew & Elizabeth (Bent) Bramhill, then Clendon & Violet (Bridge) Bramhill, and finally Ivan and Thelma (Holmes) Bramhill.

To Matthew and Elizabeth Bramhill were born nine children:

Sarah became Mrs. Munford; Lizzie, Mrs. Tetreau, moved to Saskatchewan; Sophia married Archie Brechin of Bruce Mines; Kezia became Mrs. Robert Henderson of Wallace Township; Matthew, John Thomas, William, Richard (Dick) and Clendon.

Matthew & Alice's children:                     Matthew & Elizabeth's children:
            George                                                     Sarah
            Mary Ann                                                 Sophia
                                                                            Kezia
                                                                            Mathew
                                                                            John Thomas
                                                                            William
                                                                            Richard (Dick)
                                                                            Ernest Clendon
                                                                            Elizabeth (Lizzie)
 
 

   Elizabeth Bramhill
 
 

Elizabeth (Bent) Bramhill's Family
Also Emigrated From England

William Bent

William Bent came to Canada from England in 1831. He married Elizabeth Bradt on January 5, 1841, and came to Minto in 1858, settling on Lot 21, Concession 3. William and Elizabeth Bent had two children Martha, who married James Butler and Eli who died when he was four months old.

Elizabeth died on February 18, 1844 and William married her sister Sophia Jane Bradt on December 23, 1844.

William and Jane had a family of 10 children with six daughters and four sons: Elizabeth, Miami, Sarah, Eliza, Mary Ann, John, Levi and the triplets - Naomi, James and William. The first school was located on the back of the Bent farm.

By trade, Mr. Bent was a bricklayer and plasterer, as were his sons. Many houses, two Presbyterian churches and the present Anglican Church in Palmerston were built employing his skills.

Of the triplets, Naomi married Albert Corbett and moved to Saskatchewan. William lived in the west for 40 years, returning to Palmerston in 1913 to live with his brother James.

William and Sophia celebrated their 50^th Wedding Anniversary in 1894.