From The Settlement of Prince Edward County by Nick and Helma Mika. Transcribed here by Linda Herman

Pioneers of Prince Edward County 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

RICHARD CALNAN

From County Cork, Ireland.

Richard Calnan was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1803. He was very young when his father died. His mother re-married, and the family became wealthy. Richard worked hard developing the estate, fully expecting to receive a share of it. However, his elder brother inherited it, and refused to share any part of it with Richard. Richard then crossed the channel to England where he lived and worked for a few years. It was during this period in England that he married Sophia Hurren, whose father served in the 16th Regiment in the British army, and who often was called upon to be a body guard to King George III. When Richard and Sophia sailed for Canada, their first child was but three months old. Even though pioneers had preceded them to Prince Edward County by forty years, there was still plenty of vacant land. Richard was content to work for one year for David Osterhout. At the end of that time, he bought fifty acres in Ameliasburgh. In order to get a clear deed to the land, however, he had to pay once again the full purchase price.

The twelve children born to Richard and Sophia Calnan were Margaret, John, Fanny, James, Hannah, Elizabeth, William, David, Edward Wesley, Oliver Denton, Sarah Matilda, and Richard. The children all succeeded admirably in their various endeavours.

Margaret Calnan, who was born in England, in 1832, married William Pine. They settled in Sophiasburgh and had four children: Richard, Mary Elizabeth, Fannie and Joseph. Margaret Calnan died in 1921.

The eldest son of Richard and Sophia Calnan, John Calnan, was born in 1834. He married Elizabeth Morden in 1860. John owned a well-run and successful farm in Sophiasburgh. John and Elizabeth Calnan were the parents of six children: Richard Herbert, William James, Emma Sophia, Melissa, Annie Gertrude and Stanley. John Calnan died in 1907.

Fanny Calnan, who was born in 1836, was the third child of Richard and Sophia Calnan, and she became the second wife of Charles Fox. Several years after their children, Maggie May and Herbert, were born, Charles and Fanny Fox purchased Lot 64, in the First Concession of Sophiasburgh.

Richard and Sophia Calnan's fourth child, James, became a deputy reeve and then reeve of Hillier Township. He was also a secretary of the Allisonville Cheese Factory and a school board trustee. James Calnan married Susan Morden, parensts of three children: Lanor Maria, Alvert Edward and Margaret Mae.

Hannah, the fifth child of the pioneers, was born in 1840. Hannah and her husband, Anson Mabee, who settled on the upper Massassaga Road, were the parents of William and Wilbert. After the death of Anson Mabee, Hannah remarried, to Philip Haight.

Elizabeth Calnan lived from 1842 to 1922. Elizabeth and her husband, John Colborn Bonter, had one son, Frederick.

William Calnan moved to the Unites States, where he married Rhoda Ellen Weller. The couple raised three children, Estella, Milo and Fred, in New York State. William lived from 1844 until 1914.

David was born in 1847, as the eighth child of Richard and Sophia Calnan. He married Sarah Emily Burley, and the couple settled on the Burley farm. David and Emily had nine children: Rosa, Barton, Niles A., Minnie Bell, Azella, Horace, Dora, Maud and Leonard.

Edward Wesley Calnan lived from 1849 until 1935. He married Mary Elizabeth Burley and settled on the Calnan homestead in Hillier Township. About 1880, they moved to Sophiasburgh. The couple's children were Allen Burton, Freeman and Sherman.

Oliver Denton Calnan, who lived from 1852 until 1932, was married to Helena, or Lena, River Smith. Their children were Arthur S., Frederick William, Lena, and Etna Blanche. Oliver worked as a mason and carpenter, mostly in Hastings County.

Sarah Matilda Calnan, who was born in 1854, was the eleventh child of Richard and Sophia Calnan. Sarah and her husband, John Samuel Young, had six children: William Edward, Lorenzo Stanley, Ona Ethel, John Cromwell, Myrtle Estella and Ray Earl.

Richard Calnan, who was the last child born to the pioneers, Richard and Sophia, lived from 1860 until 1904. He married Jenny Lafferty. The couple had only one child, Ruby.

The Calnan family has, through their generations, made important contributions to Prince Edward County, but one particularly outstanding family member was Albert Edward Calnan. He was born in Hillier Township, May 23, 1867, the middle child and the only son of James and Susan Calnan. A.E. Calnan graduated from the local public school and , at the age of fourteen years, attended the old Picton High School for one winter session. He then worked on the family farm for thirty years, but he was also very active in community work. He was a member of the Hillier Township Council as a reeve, deputy reeve and councillor. He was the secretary-treasurer of the Ben Gill Cheese Factory for twelve years and he later served as president and vice-president of the factory. He was active in the Bowerman Methodist Church as a steward, and he lectured at various farmer's institutes in Ontario.

In 1912, at forty-four years of age Calnan became editor and manager of the Picton Gazette. He knew very little about the technical aspects of the newspaper business, but soon acquired the necessary knowledge and remained the editor of the paper until his death on February 18, 1936.

Albert E. Calnan and his wife, Gertrude Thompson, were the parents of three children: Lindley Bell, Edith Gertrude, and Marjorie Elizabeth. Edith Gertrude died in 1912, at the age of eleven years. Marjorie, who was born August 7, 1903, was married first to Charles Douglas Johns and later to Edward Carley Johns.

Lindley Bell Calnan was the oldest child, and the only son, born to Albert E. and Gertrude Calnan. He was born in Hillier Township, on April 30, 1989. He graduated from public school in Hillier, and he later studied at Picton Collegiate and the University of Toronto. In 1917, L.B. Calnan enlissted with the Canadian Officers' Training Corps, and his commission in the Royal Naval Air Service sent him to the North Sea during World War I.

After the war, L.B. Calnan worked for a bond firm in Toronto, for a year, but in 1921, he returned to Picton to become a partner at the Picton Gazette. In addition to being secretary-treasurer, Lindley also worked as the advertising manager of the paper: he also promoted Prince Edward County's many fine qualities, in an effort to increase tourism in the area.

After A.E. Calnan'a death, Lindley Bell Calnan became the editor and publisher of the Picton Gazette. He was also president and secretary-treasurer of the Prince Edward Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Picton Town Council, the Rotary Club and several other Prince Edward County organizations. Like his father, he was active in the Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association.

Lindley Bell Calnan was married to Frances Elinor Boldrick of Denison, Texas. The couple had two children, Frances Elinor and Patricia.

L.B. Calnan served as editor and publisher of the Picton Gazette until 1971. He died May 2, 1972.