Person:Barbara McNiven (1)

Name and Relationships

Name: Barbara Matilda McNiven - Source is her 1904 marriage registration. She was called Barbara. Source is 1881 Census of Canada in which she was called Barbara.

Parents: John McNiven and Mary McLean. Source is 1904 marriage registration (last names are incorrectly spelled as MacNiven and Maclean in that document.)

Spouse: George Thoburn. Source is their 1904 marriage registration.

Personal History

1877 - Birth: BARBARA Matilda McNiven was born in 1877. NOTE: There is some uncertainty about this date as cannot locate her birth registration as the records for Oro Township apparently did not survive. The sources that support 1877 include 1881 Census of Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, her 1904 marriage certificate and her grave marker which says that she was 32 (i.e. within 2 weeks of being 32). However, 1901 Census of Canada says she was born on November 15, 1879. The Wadena Herald said she was 33 years old when she was killed on November 1, 1909. (This does not appear to be correct - if the November 15, 1879 date is correct for her birthday, she would only have been 31 when she died.) A number of sources say she was born in Oro, Ontario.

1881 - Census: Barbara (incorrectly spelled Barbra in this census) McNiven 4, was living with her parents, John McNiven 39, Farmer, and Mary McNiven 39, her older sister Annie 6 and her uncle, Duncan McLean 38, in Oro Township, Ontario. Source is 1881 Census of Canada.

1891 - Census: On May 19, 1891, Barbara (incorrectly spelled Barbra in this census) McNiven 14 was living with her parents, John McNiven 50, Mary McNiven 50, her older sister Annie (incorrectly spelled Anney in this census) 16 and her uncle Duncan McLean 48 in a 1 1/2 story house in Oro Township. Source is 1891 Census of Canada.

189? - Barbara McNiven helped her mother at the boarding house in Sarnia. One of the boarders was George Thoburn. That is how they met. Source is Mary M. Irwin Story About My Ancestors, 1992, unpublished. WHEN WAS THIS?

189? - "She worked as a compositor in the offices of the Orillia Packet." WHEN? Source is The Wadena Herald, Nov 11, 1909.

1901 - Census: Barbara McNiven (last name incorrectly spelled Mcrowe in this document) 21, Carpenter at Printing, (i.e. Compositor), was boarding in the Archibald Thom household in Sundridge, Ontario. Other household members included Archibald Thom 63, Sarah Thom 56, William Thom 33, Ruby Thom 20, John Harper 39, and Frances Chapman 13. Source is 1901 Census of Canada. She was working in the offices of the Sundridge Echo. Source is Mary M. Irwin Memoirs, unpublished.

1902 - Marriage of Friend: On August 27, 1902, Barbara's good friend, Ruth Thom 21 (interestingly listed as two years older (23) in this document) married John Harper 40 in Sundridge, Ontario. Source is their 1902 marriage registration.

1904 - Marriage: On July 27, 1904, Barbara McNiven 26 married George Thoburn 29 in Orillia Ontario. Witnesses to the marriage were Hector McLean, Orillia and Mrs. Hector McLean, Orillia. (WHO ARE THEY?) Source is 1904 marriage registration. (Last name of Barbara spelled incorrectly as MacNiven on this document as is her mother's maiden name - MacLean.) A marriage announcement in the Barrie Examiner, Aug 18, 1904 on page 1 stated "At the residence of the bride's parents, Orillia, on July 27, by the Rev. John Gray, Barbara, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John McNiven, to George Thoburn, Allandale." Source is The Barrie Examiner, Aug 18, 1904.

1905 - Birth of Child: Barbara Thoburn's first child, George, was born on November 18, 1905 in the Town of Sarnia, Ontario. At that time the family was living in Sarnia at 381 Palmerston St. Source is George Thoburn II 1905 birth registration.

1906 - Death of Father: On February 15,1906, Barbara Thoburn's father, John McNiven died in Sarnia. Source is John McNiven's 1906 death certificate.

1906 - Residence: "In the spring of 1906, [George Thoburn] came west to Quill Lake and took up land at Clair." Source is Wadena Herald, Nov 11, 1909. NOTE: It is probable that the family went west because Barbara's sister, Annie, was already living near Clair, Saskatchewan. NEEDS TO BE CONFIRMED.

1906 - Census: On July 14, 1906, Barbara Thoburn 26 was living with George 30, baby George 3 and her mother, Mary McNiven 68 on a farm near Quill Lake, Saskatchewan. Source is 1906 Census of Canada. 1907 - Birth of Child: On November 22, 1907, their second child, Mary McLean Thoburn was born in Saskatchewan. Source is Saskatchewan birth records website.

1909 - Murder: On November 1, 1909, Barbara Thoburn 33, her husband, George and her mother, Mary McNiven were all murdered by John Thoburn's hired man, John Mescei 20. Source is John Mescei's 1910 trial transcript, National Archives, Ottawa, Canada. Various newspaper accounts list incorrect details of this event. CANNOT FIND HER DEATH REGISTRATION. An unconfirmed source says that she was "noticeably pregnant" at the time of her death.

1909 - Burial: Barbara Thoburn was buried in Quill Lake Cemetery in Lot 8, SW plot. Source is Quill Lake Cemetery file. Her name is incorrectly spelled Thobourne in the cemetery file.

Grave Marker: GEORGE THOBURN Died Nov 1, 1909 His wife BARBARA Died Nov 1, 1909 Aged 32 years. Source is grave marker, Quill Lake Cemetery, Saskatchewan.

Homestead

The homestead was on Part SE, Section 18, Township 35, Range 15, Meridian W2. Source is Land Grants of Western Canada, 1870-1930. The house that they were living in was actually on the Section 19 and this is where they were killed. Source is the Mescei trial documents and the Probate Court documents. See George Thoburn for additional details on the homestead.

1. ↑ CAN-ONT-SIMCOE-L Archives 1904 Marriages, Orillia 1.
2.   "I think that my mother must have been musical because she had a piano and she brought it from Ontario to the West." Source is Mary M Irwin Stories About My Ancestors, 1992, unpublished.