Gordon Leavoy 1889-1949

Gordon W. Leavoy 1889-1949

Gordon William Leavoy, my great-grandfather was born February 7, 1889 in Arnprior, Ontario to parents Peter Lavoy and Agnes Stewart. He was the 8th child in a family of 11 children who moved frequently within the decade of his birth. His family was living on a small farm at the time in Horton, South Renfrew.

The family farm at the time of Gordon’s birth is highlighted here

The Leavoys were in constant movement following the logging camps. Peter, head of the household, worked half of the year (during the winter months) as a laborer to ensure enough income for survival. During the balmy summer season the family would farm largely for subsistence.

Looking through records to find how Gordon entered the work force is very difficult. I have not found him as an employee on censuses any time before 1930 as of yet. However there are details on his marriage certificate that with the right eyes and decoding might be understood at some point in the future (see below).

Gordon married Mary Beatrice Kennedy (“Bea”) at the Presbyterian church in Haileybury, Timiskaming on August 19th, 1913. There is rumor (from hand written documents- possibly written by Bea herself) that Bea’s parents did not like Gordon and that the couple eloped without their knowledge. The Kennedy parents only discovered their daughter’s marriage 6 months later. I have a copy of their marriage certificate which unfortunately is very illegible. What I can glean from the faded script is the following:

Gordon, age 24 was living in Cobalt, Ontario at the time when he married, although he lists Arnprior as his place of birth. His parents Peter Leavoy (note the spelling) and Agnes Stewart are also listed. It nearly kills me that I can’t decipher his occupation on this document, but if anyone has a suggestion please feel free to comment.

His bride, Bea, was 18 and from Coppercliff (outside of Sudbury), although she was also living in Cobalt- this must be where the couple met. Her parents were Robert Kennedy and Sophia McDonnell.

The couple, both living in Cobalt would have been there for the silver mines. I have knowledge of Bea’s family being miners in the region (her father was a foreman according to the 1901 census), previously living in the town of Creighton Mine (now a ghost town). Gordon’s move from the Arnprior area out to Cobalt would have been to partake in the mining boom in some way. He was likely following what he knew growing up as he had witnessed his father and grandfather work as migratory labourers, exploiting the land. In this case he would see the shift from logging to mining. There is a 1911 Canadian census, yet I have not Gordon at that time yet. Whether or not he went straight from the Renfrew area to Cobalt or stayed in North Bay previously is currently a mystery. To the left is a picture postcard that Gordon sent to his younger sister Mable from North Bay, Ontario. It appears that he (on the far right- foreground) is with a group of working men- this might be a clue to his work and what he was doing in the region.

I know that after moving into Cobalt, he would have lived in a tar paper shack like many of the other workers- he was young and idealistic and had never lived in luxury. Author Kathleen Airdree has written about the growth of Cobalt after the discovery of silver in 1903:

The small town and its citizens were overwhelmed by the influx of people who wanted a piece of the action. By the hundreds (later, thousands), they arrived in need of accommodations and tools for their work. Outfitters could not maintain enough stock to supply everyone. […]One woman who arrived with her family in 1904 commented on the profusion of shacks and boarding houses and the landscape that was a “battlefield of mud, tree stumps, and rock dumps”.

Women raising small children struggled while the men worked long shifts in the mines. Drinking water was sold by the bucket. Most of the houses were built of whatever materials could be scrounged, including dynamite boxes. Not all newcomers were miners or prospectors. There were young families hoping to improve their lives. Some established blacksmith shops, cafés or stores. (Silver Mines in Cobalt Ontario, 2009)

Gordon and Bea left Cobalt sometime within a few years after their marriage and moved to South Porcupine where they had their first child, Cynthia Bea Leavoy on August 9, 1915. By 1917 the family had moved to Kingston where their second child Patricia Claire was born on the 19th of August. I know that Gordon fought in the first World War but do not know the details of whether he was overseas or when he was stationed. The family move to Kingston may relate to his involvement in the military, as it is a base town. When Gordon served in WW1 he was a sergeant and his regiment # was: 2774012 (sometime in the near future I will order a copy of his military attestation papers to find out more).  My speculation is that if he was overseas it would have been between the birth of his first and second children: 1914-1916.

Four more children were had, all while Gordon and Bea lived in Kingston. Gordon Robert Leavoy, named after his father and maternal grandfather was born on the 13th September 1919; Helen Florine Leavoy, my grandmother was born on the 13th January 1921; Nelson Wellington Leavoy was born on the 28th of April 1922; Kenneth Oscar Kennedy Leavoy, named for his mother’s family was born on 16th June 1923.

Bea and the children moved to Detroit, Michigan sometime after Kenneth’s birth in 1923. Gordon had been living there for much longer on his own for work. According to the 1930 United States Federal Census, Gordon had lived in Detroit since 1913 and if this was the case he may have simply switched careers sometime around the couple’s marriage date which was the same year. All of the Leavoys are listed as aliens to the USA and their stay there was have been planned as temporary from the beginning. In 1930, Gordon (age 39) was working as a salesman in an “auto salesroom”. The neighboring families also worked for the auto industry in some way which is reminiscent of the family life in mining or logging communities. The Leavoy family rented their house (845 Milwaukee Ave.) for $40 per month, as many of the neighbors did as well.   One other juicy tidbit of this census is that they list Bea’s father’s birthplace as Wisconsin which I have no record of (they may have thought this would help them in the USA).

Gordon’s work in Detroit seems to be sporadic and the family did not live there for very long. Border crossing records show that 3 years later (1933) Gordon was crossing back into the USA as he had apparently done for “occasional visits”. The family now lived in Windsor, Ontario where they stayed permanently (at 829 Gladstone Avenue).

Taken from a Google street-view image, the Leavoy home in Windsor as looks today.

I have two other records of Gordon’s border crossing into Detroit: in 1937 and in 1945 where he always leaves his contact in the USA as a man (relative?) named Dick Connell or Cornell.

One of these dates is rather close to the date of his first child’s marriage: Bea married to a photographer named Noel Francis Wild in Detroit at the St. John Episcopal Church in 1936 (she passed away 7 years later during childbirth).

It is really questionable as to how much time Gordon spent with his family. My grandmother’s stories of him are very unfavorable, although possibly exaggerated. Stories of Bea and her family (the Kennedy family) at a cottage in the Ottawa valley are in great contrast and are told with great fondness.

I am also unsure as to how much contact Gordon had with his own family- brothers, sisters and parents. There is one photograph from my grandmother’s many boxes that shows  Gordon at an older age with three of his sisters.

It catches my attention: I am not sure which sisters they are but they all look quite happy. Was it a reunion of some sort? Another thing to investigate further, but if any relatives from  Gordon’s immediate family contact me I may reach some sort of break through here.

Gordon died in 1949 at age 60 after prolonged illnesses (diabetes and syphilis).  Bea lived on until 1975 when she died of complications during surgery.