Chalk

(submitted by Kay and Harold Dailey and Betty (Chalk) Greening)

James Chalk (1796–1867) and his wife Sarah Newman (1797–1875) came to Canada in about 1843 from Hala-Hants near Salisbury, England, with eight children. They landed at Port Burwell, Ont. after a long five week trip from England. James received 100 acres of land in Malahide Twp. from the Crown in 1847. James and Sarah's family were: Elizabeth (1820–), Harriett (1823–1866), John Henry (1826–1904), John (1829–1910), James (1832–1833), Alfred Charles (1834–1916), James (1838–1867), and Finley (1841–1907).

James and Sarah Chalk's oldest son John Henry (1826–1904) married Jemima Jane Stephenson (1837–1896) sometime in 1856 and raised a family of eight in Warwick Twp., on Chalk Line — south ½ of Lot 4, Con. 4 NER. John Henry had bought this farm in 1853. Their children were: James S. (1857–1883), a teacher or lawyer in Windsor who never married; William Thomas (1859–1932) who married Mary Eliza Rundle (1881–1951) in 1906 and farmed on the 10th line of Brooke Twp.; Harriett Elizabeth (1862–1923), a nurse who married Joe Campbell (1859–1906) in 1891 and lived in Detroit; John (1864–1945), who was a carpenter in the Alvinston area; Finley (1867–1934), who was a veterinarian in Forest for many years; Sarah (1870–1940), who married Colin Campbell (1862–1917) in 1898 and farmed in Enniskillen Twp.; Barbara I. (1874–1906), who married Charles Learn of Warwick Twp. in 1904; and Mary Jane (1878–1913), who married Robert John Garrett (1872–1945) in 1905.

Henry, Mary Jane, Barbara and Finley Chalk. Courtesy B Greening.

As well, John Henry's brother Alfred (1834–1916) lived with him on the farm on Chalk Line. Alfred was unmarried. The census of 1901 lists him as “brother of head of family”. He fought for the South in the American Civil War, which ended in 1865. Alfred was an odd man. It was said that when he worked as a day labourer he would only take payment in coins. When John Henry died in 1904, the farm was left to the family, but it could not be sold until after Alfred died.

One of the stories that has been told is that John Henry Chalk used to trap animals for their hides and would walk back to Aylmer, from where he came, to sell the hides every year.

William Chalk, second oldest son of John Henry, would walk from the 10th line of Brooke Twp. to Warwick Twp. at least once a month to visit his family.

The name Chalk is supposed to mean hard working people who were great craftsmen and made their living with their hands. This held true with the Chalk family of Warwick. The Chalk name is originally supposed to have come from the White (Chalk) Cliffs of Dover.

Finley Chalk, fifth child of John Henry and Jemima, married Lucy B. Core (1869–1964) in 1902. He served as a veterinary surgeon overseas in the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps in World War I, serving at Vimy Ridge on the western front, at Gallipoli, and in Egypt. In Forest, Finley and Lucy lived where Alpaugh's Memorials is located on King Street (2008). They had two children, Harold Henry and Laura Mabel. Finley's wife took her nephew Percy Core to raise when his mother died. It seems there was always room for one more in Finley and Lucy's home.

The story is told that Finley Chalk rode a motorcycle when he made his calls. You could hear him roaring down the gravel roads at breakneck speed!

Finley served on Forest Town Council for many years, as Reeve for several years and on Lambton County Council in 1914–1915. He was a member of Royal Oak Lodge 108, the Independent Order of Oddfellows (IOOF) and the Canadian Legion. He was one of the founders of People's Telephone Company. In his later years, Finley was a government meat inspector at the Canada Packers Plant in Toronto.

Finley inherited the south ½ of Lot 4, Con. 4 NER in 1916, after his uncle Alfred died and Finley's sisters Harriet and Sarah signed it over to him. In 1932 he gave this property to his daughter Laura.

In 1912, Finley had purchased the south ½ of the east ½ of Lot 3, Con. 4 NER for $2000. Upon his death in 1934, his wife Lucy had a life lease on it. At her death the property passed on to their son Harold Chalk.

A 1934 newspaper clipping recorded that “The remains [of Captain Finley Chalk] will arrive by Canadian National Railways (CNR) at Watford at 12:42 p.m. and by motor to Forest where they will be at rest at the funeral chapel of A. F. Steele and Son until 2:30, when service will be conducted in the Baptist Church by Rev. A. A. Barnes.” He was buried with full military honours.

Laura Chalk (1905–1978) married Orville Neil Dailey. They had one son, Harold Bruce. The Chalk farm is still owned and farmed today by Harold and his wife Kay.

Harold Henry Chalk (1904–1996), Finley's son, lived in Toronto at the time of his father's death. Harold H. served in World War II. He returned to work for the federal government in Ottawa after the war.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Chalk Family

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