A Special Blog Post by Jan Barrett

Sheldon Genealogy thanks Jan Barrett for providing some photos of Sheldons in her line (which are now posted on our Sheldon Photo Wall as well as this interesting story about the Sheldon Cemetery in Canada.

“This article mentions the Sheldon Cemetery in Leeds, Canada,” Jan said. “I was there last summer and saw a number of Sheldon gravestones, including the one for my great-great-grandfather, Samuel.”

Jan reports that it is still a mystery as to whether he is buried there, or if it is just a memorial marker.

In the newspaper clipping,  the “Mother Barnes” mentioned in the article was a very famous fortune teller in Leeds.

“She lived not far from the Sheldons, and since they may have run a hotel in their home there is speculation that she came to the Sheldon home to tell fortunes for the guests,” Jan said.

She continued, “In any case, Mother Barnes must have been friendly with the Sheldons because when the widowed Samuel went to British Columbia to look for gold his children went to various relatives and neighbors. One of the youngest children, Isabella (Bella), went to live with Mother Barnes. (Verified in census records.)”

Special Note:

Jan has provided us with some additional information.  He is what she sent in a message:

You might want to include some links for more information on her:

Meet Mother Barnes, the “Witch” of Plum Hollow, Ontario « All In (northcountrypublicradio.org)

The Country Connection Magazine Story: Elizabeth Barnes–The Witch of Plum Hollow (pinecone.on.ca)

This article mentions that Mother Barnes did not like housework. I might guess that little Isabella Sheldon at about age 6 did housework for the family….

Amazon.com: Mother Barnes The Good Witch of Plum Hollow eBook : Robinson, James Foster: Kindle Store

My Grandmother was Mother Barnes-The Witch of Plum Hollow | lindaseccaspina (wordpress.com)

I visited the Leeds, Canada area last year and Mother Barnes’ home is still standing. The first article above has a good photo of it…just a simple log cabin that now appears to be a private home.

Jan