crerar file part 2 of 4  

Square - Rigged Ships









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Above: Crerar houses in Pictou: Top: 16 Willow Street, in the nineteenth century, and today. Bottom: 92 High Street today.
 

D. Capt. WILLIAM GRANT CRERAR (b.12 August, 1821 Pictou - d.2 April 1898 Glenalmond, Pictou)
= Mary FENNELL (b.1819 - d. 26 May 1856)

William Grant was likely named after a maternal relative living in Speyside, Scotland, which abounds with Grants. He lost his wife and children to early deaths, and dedicated his life to the sea. His wife Mary Fennell, about whom nothing is known, died at age thirty-five and his two children didn’t survive their first years [Presbyterian Witness, 14 June 1854]. Some notes on his ships:

1851 Pathfinder Barque built by John and W.G. and Peter at Pictou 421 tons
1855 Glenalmond Barque built by William at Merigomish 28 April; 288 tons * [see John Crerar]
1858 Ewan Crerar Brigantine built by John ?? at River John 23 April; 250 T * [see John Crerar]
1861 Pathfinder Barque built by W.G. Crerar at New Glasgow, 506 tons.
1864 J.M.Morales built by Peter at New Glasgow 21 May 1864; 513 tons [see D.S. Crerar]
1868 Peter Crerar Barque built by John and W.G. at Pictou; 628 tons [see John Crerar]
1870 Rio de la Plata barque built by David and W.G. at River John 2 July; 648 tons [see D.S. Crerar]

Towards the end of his life William followed a more sedate mercantile and agricultural existence. In 1876, received prizes (Premium and Second) for wheat he sent to Philadelphia Centennial Celebrations [E.Chronicle, 9 Nov., 1876].

William was the last Pictou Crerar, residing from approximately 1868 at the Crerar estate of Glenalmond. In 1876 he was living on Halifax [now Haliburton] Road, Pictou [1879 Pictou County Directory, and in 1896 he was still living in Pictou [McAlpine’s 1896 Directory, 1283].

Glenalmond first came into the Crerar family around 1858 when James Crerar purchased it from James Dawson, apparently at a good price. After Catherine (MacIntosh) Crerar’s death the property passed to William Grant Crerar. The property at the time comprised 24 acres which was farmed. The stone house of Glenalmond stood at the end of a long land sloping upwards from the Road to New Glasgow [now Haliburton Road]. The long lane was lined by linden trees which were likely imported from Germany on one of the Crerar ships.

The original stone building consisted of eight rooms, to which a nine-room white-washed wooden addition was added to form a ‘t’ shape. Along the roof ran ornamental cresting. The sides of the original stone house were bare, with one window each. The thick stone created very deep-set windows. To the left of the foyer was the kitchen, to the right, the living room. Upstairs were three bedrooms, a dressing room and maid’s room. In his Memoirs the prominent Pictou detective Peter Owen “Peachie” Carroll, whose family owned land adjacent to the Glenalmond estate, listed Glenalmond among the most beautiful buildings in Pictou.

After William’s death Glenalmond was left to John, J.P., and Harry Crerar, but was soon sold to Mr. Archibald McKenna of Pictou for $2,000. McKenna was of the family which produced one of Canada’s leading brand of chewing tobacco, the Pictou Twist [K.M. Newman, “The Story of McKenna’s Pictou Twist”]. McKenna planted English brier bushes which supplied the wood for the bowls of smoking pipes which McKenna also manufactured. Glenalmond was deeded to Henry and Florence MacDonald on April 29, 1916. Henry was a carpenter, who soon sold it to William Albert Clarke in 1920. Clarke came from the Magdalen Islands where he owned a lobster factory. For the next 40 years to 24 acres of land was farmed, with adjacent property added to bring it up to 45 acres. The farming aspect of Glenalmond was phased out, and it was operated as the Glenalmond Tourist Home. The property was then sold to Charles Holmes of River John who operated the home as a restaurant, the Tyrol Inn. In order to convert the home into a restaurant, the supporting walls were removed. The building began to decay, eventually culminating with the caving in of the roof.

William Clarke deeded the property to his son Byron Clarke, who returned to farming the land. Later, the Foord Construction Company of Stellarton purchased the property with a plan to develop it as a housing project; this project was abandoned due to the high cost of servicing the hill. The final attempt to restore the property came when William Sinclair purchased the four acres containing the stone house. This plan was stymied when he discovered that the mortar used on the stone, said to have been brought as ballast, was of poor quality. After a fire in 1968, the house was demolished. The stone from the house was used as a retaining wall on the Mountain Road in River John. Today a modern home stands on the site, owned by Rollie MacDonald [see generally, R.H. Sherwood’s article; supplemented by interview with Beth Henderson].

Like his brothers, he was a benefactor of St. Andrew’s Church, donating $250 to the Kirk Building Fund in 1895 [letter, with family]. In 1869 he paid $125 for pew #47 in the Kirk.

William died at Glenalmond on 2 April 1898, at the age of 67, and was buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery [Pictou Advocate, 8 April 1898, p.7: obituary]. In his will he was generous to his relatives, exonerating John Crerar of Chicago of his debt incurred, and giving copious amounts of money to family members, especially to his niece Annie Clarke (Crerar) DeWolfe. He left his faithful housekeeper Catherine McQuarie, spinster, who had also been left money by his brother John, $200 per annum and “all the bedding and furniture in her bedroom at Glenalmond” [1889 Will of John Crerar I #2146; 1891 Will of William Grant Crerar #2724]. He also left money to his nephews James Peter, Henry Hatton and John Crerar, who were the losing defendants in a 1898 lawsuit [#1239] brought by John McMillan arising from proceeds of the will.

The two children, both of whom died in infancy, of William Grant Crerar and Mary Fennell were:

1. JANE STIRLING CRERAR (dii) (b.14 May 1854 - d. Tuesday, 16 May 1854) She is buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery [Presbyterian Witness, 27 May 1854]. 2. PETER CRERAR (dii) (b.c. 14 November 1855 - d.14 July 1856) (9 months old) He is buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery. E. Dr. JAMES PETER CRERAR (b.15 September 1823 Pictou - d.23 April 1885, Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, England) = ‘Susy’ Susan Jeanette YOUNG (d. after 1885)

James Peter Crerar, the only non-seafaring brother, distinguished himself overseas as Deputy-Surgeon General of the British Army. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, where future Canadian Prime Minister Charles Tupper was a classmate. He evidently was a good pupil, as a newspaper in his native province boasts:

NATIVE TALENT: It gives us sincere pleasure to notice instance of our Nova Scotia youth distinguishing themselves in the various walks of life…we were much pleased some time ago to observe in an Edinburgh paper, that a native of Pictou, Mr. James Crerar, had gained, with marked distinction, the second prize for proficiency in Midwifery, at Queen’s College -- we hope he will gain the same enviable distinction in every branch of the profession on which he had entered.
[The Guardian, Dec. 1, 1841, p.225, col.2].
 In his letter of 24 April 1840 he is chagrined that he did not walk off with any prizes in his first year: … I did not get the opportunity of trying for a prize________________ given to the junior students. Therefore it was a fourth year student that carried off. R ______ page but I expect that there is not much left and I think that the doctor will tell you that they will try for prizes _____ ______ my letter if they’re [sic] professor heard they generally make up their mind at the beginning of the session to have a prize night ________ therefore they lay the whole of their service on one subject and lose all the rest of their classes for the sake of a single gold medal. [Letter] In 1843 he qualified as a licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons [records, Edinburgh University Library].

While he was in Edinburgh he had the opportunity to meet some of his relatives, although these seem to be all on his mother’s side, in the Speyside district. Perhaps the relatives on his father Peter’s side had by this time died (Peter married relatively late in life) or had been cleared from Perthshire (clearances having taken place in the 1830’s and 1840’s). In his letter he talks about meeting Clarkes and McPhersons of Nuide, who must be siblings or other close relatives of his mother.

After receiving his licence, he returned to Nova Scotia and set up practice in River John, west of Pictou: “Mr. James Crerar: Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, respectfully acquaints the inhabitants of the West River and adjacency that he has commenced the practice of his profession amongst them, and trusts that by assiduous attention to his professional duties he may merit and be favoured with a share of patients. Residence: 10 Mile House, West River [E.Chronicle 18 January 1844]. He would stay for just over two years, and in 1846 Dr. James announced that he about to leave the province and requests that all bills be paid [E.Chronicle 9 April 1846]. It is possible that the community at River John would not support a medical practice of the size he had hoped.

In this brief sojourn in Nova Scotia, Dr. James showed himself to be a zealous Tory. The following account recalls the bitter election to succeed Henry Hatton as representative of Pictou:

The contest between Martin I. Wilkins and J.D.B Fraser for the vacant seat was violent. Before 8 o’clock in the morning supporters of both parties began to pour into town. The inhabitants of Garloch, New Larig, etc., had assembled at West River and had stopped at the Three Mile House for a grand rendezvous. Then about 300 supporters of Mr. Fraser [n.b. should this read “Wilkins,” the Tory candidate?] marched into town “with flags flying and the bagpipe drawling forth its unearthly tones”, and headed by Dr. Crerar, Hugh H. Ross, Conservative Magistrate from the West River, and A.D. Gordon mounted on a spirited charger. The crowd marched along Water Street, stopped to give three cheers at the residence of Henry Hatton, and proceeded up Market Lane along Church Street towards the Court House.

Here they met small parties of Liberals who asked them to lay aside their bagpipes. The Eastern Chronicle reported that Mr. Gordon gave the word of command in Gaelic, and the party drew forth sticks concealed under their clothes “in a manner which did not in the least resemble the drawing of sabres by a regiment of Dragoons.” The Liberal retreated, but were soon reinforced, and “ there ensued an engagement which can only be described as the battle of Waterloo in miniature.” A few of the knobby sticks of green wood changed hands. Mr.Wilkins’ flag staffs were converted into weapons of war, and the Conservative mob fled .”

[The Pictou Book, 193]
 Dr. James evidently had martial aspirations, and thus returned to Britain to join the army. No doubt the commissions must have been costly to his family, which was happily growing wealthier and wealthier thanks to trade. His first post was as an Assistant Surgeon to the 76th Foot Regiment (3 Sept 1847) and then the 60th Foot Regiment (23 Jan 1852) . With one of these regiment he went to the West Indies, but he returned to Britain because of poor health. From 1853 to 1856 the Crimean War raged in Russia, and Dr. James was sent East. On 6 April 1855 he was promoted to staff surgeon of the 60th Regiment [E.Chronicle, 2 May 1855, p.2]. In August the Eastern Chronicle reported that “James Crerar, son of Peter Crerar, Esq., is staff surgeon to the 17th Regiment serving at Sebastopol, received staff appointment to Malta after returning to England because of poor health. He proceeded to Malta on the ship Great Tasmania commanded by Capt. George B.Crow, formerly merchant of Pictou” [E.Chronicle, 23 August 1855, p.3]. He finished the war in Malta, and thus perhaps can be exonerated of partial blame for the notoriously poor medical practices during the Crimean War . For these years he received the Turkish and Queen’s Medals [Crerar, Owens, and Allied Families]. After the war he served with 50th Foot Regiment as Staff Surgeon, (15 May 1857; (full Staff Surgeon 24 May 1859); the 60th Foot Regiment (7 Oct. 1859), and the 106th Foot Regiment (28 June 1864), with some of whom he probably saw service in India and Corfu [Colonial Standard, 12 May 1885, 3]. He continued to rise through the ranks, eventually retiring with the honourary rank of Deputy Surgeon General 23 January 1878. He was then appointed as Medical Officer at the Military Asylum at Chelsea, London, England 1 September 1881 [Col.William Johnston, Roll of Commissioned Officers in the Medical Service of the British Army 1727-1898 #4940; p.341]. The site, also known as the Duke of York’s School, was built in 1824 to provide education for the children of soldiers’ widows, and still stands, off King’s Road.

On 22 June 1861 Dr. James married an Irish widow, Susan Jeanette Young, the daughter of General Frederick Young of Fairy Hill, Bray, County Wicklow, and his wife, who was a Jenkins. Her first husband had been an officer (named MacTeir ?) in the East Indian Company service. The service took place at St. James’ Church, Bray, Wicklow, and was performed by the Ven. Edward Whately, the Archdeacon of Glendalough [Acadian Recorder, 20 July 1861]. Harry Sparkes, James’ brother-in-law, figures in some of the correspondence and must have married a sister of Susan.

Susan Jeanette and Dr. James travelled around England on their various postings. In 1868 they were living at Winchester, where James was Staff Sergeant Major [letter, 16th June 1868] and at Hythe in 1871 when his nephew John was at the King’s School. They had a “most faithful good servant” named Caroline Lewis, to whom he left money in his invalid will. Their lawyer was Sir Charles R. MacGrigor of 25 Charles Street, St. James Square, London. One of James’ friends in Britain was the Col. John Gammell of Lethendy. Susan’s godchild and namesake was her niece Susan Jeanette Crerar, the daughter of David Stewart Crerar.

Despite living most of his life in Britain, he maintained business interests in Pictou. In August 1869 James Peter granted power of attorney to his brother John. Susan would later grant John power-of-attorney to John over her Canadian affairs after James’s death. In 1874 James Peter took out fire insurance on a three-story building at the corner of Water and South Market Street owned by Isaac A. Grant and others to whom he had granted a mortgage.

Towards the end of his life, James was melancholy. As his wife wrote to John Crerar in 1884,

…He lies on the sofa in front of the fire very fagged. He came in at 1/2 past 12 after being out since 9 1/2. After his lunch with a glass of champagne has now soused himself sufficiently to muddle his thoughts…He has not been outside the gates since I last wrote and he only hopes he may be able to do his duty in a perfunctory way until the summer weather lets in… He still dreams and often of a comfortable home on the other side of the Atlantic were he could spend his latter days in safety …he no longer dreams as he dreamt… [letter, Susan J. Crerar to John Crerar, 16 December 1884, from Liverpool and Chelsea]. On 23 April 1885 he died at the Military Asylum [D. Exam. 11 May 1885, pg. 2; Novascotian, 23 May, 1885, p.7], and was buried in Brompton Cemetery, London. He died intestate, leaving £1224 in his estate [Pictou, #1920], but apparently a invalid will existed. His brother John was the administrator of his estate.

Susan Jeanette survived her husband, living at Holton Lodge, North Cheriton, Somerset, England (a village south of Wincanton, and farther south of Bath). It is not known when or where she died.
 

F. Capt. DANIEL CRERAR (b.19 January 1826 Pictou - d.c. 18 January 1859 Shanghai, China)

Like his younger brother Peter, Daniel had a short but adventurous seafaring life, dying in a foreign port. In 1853, at the age of 27, he captained the Atholl, the brigantine built by his brothers John and Peter [E.Chronicle, 10 May 1853]. The ship made regular voyages to Boston [E. Chronicle, 31 July 1856]. It was the Atholl that accompanied, and then was separated from the Wolfe, en precarious route to a fortune in Liverpool [Sherwood, Pictou Parade, 27-29]. While in China in 1858 he was overcome by a disease of the lungs and an abscess of the liver. After a protracted illness he died 18 January 1859 in Shanghai, China at General Priest’s Hospital. In his last hours he was attended by John Hobson, British Chaplain [personal letter; E.Chronicle, 14 April 1859, p.3; Colonial Standard, 12 April 1859]. After his death his brother John wrote to thank Hobson:
 
 

…the God of all Grace and consolation may confer on you the benefits of ________ which I trust you have been the honoured instrument in the hands of God in administering to my dear brother during his illness. The intelligence was unexpected but when I read your letter, I can with some degree of resignation to the Divine Dispatch of all things say “Thy will be done.” His aged mother wishes particularly to convey to you her heartfelt gratitude for your attention, and wishes your prosperity both in this world and in the world to come. It is my intention at no distant date to send a small slab if an opportunity should offer to perpetuate his memory____ in a foreign land and should I will take the liberty of sending it to your address.
I remain, Yours very truly, John Crerar
[letter to Rev. John Hobson].
In a letter dated 19 April 1959 to his brother James, John reported that the death had anguished the family: “My own situation at the time was bad enough but our poor Mother ones heart would really bleed to see her. I think it made her ten years older…”

G. Capt. PETER CRERAR (b.10 July 1828 Pictou - d.4 May 1868 Cardiff, Wales)

Peter Crerar had a varied career, but all his jobs centred on the sea and its mercantile possibilities. For a while he “kept store in Pictou, but had a farm at Roger’s Hill,” [10 km southwest of Pictou; Pictou Advocate, 16 March 1939]. He was one of the builders of James Kitchin’s shipyard at River John and seems to have been a close friend of Duncan [Johnson], Kitchin’s leading shipbuilder, as Johnson named both a ship and a son for him [Johnson file, Hector Trust Centre]. Until 1860 he built ships in partnership with his brother John (these ships included the 1851 Ellen Oliver, the 1851 Pathfinder (with John and W.G.), the1852 Polynesian , the 1853 Atholl , the 1854 Susan , the 1854 Glen Tilt , the 1854 Cluny Castle, the 1855 Wolfe (2) , the 1856 Jane, and the 1858 Ewan Crerar: see John’s notes for details). On 20 January 1860 Peter and John dissolved their partnership [Deed with family].

In 1860, he built his first ship independently, the Wolfe of 337 tonnes, the third boat of his to bear the lucky name. His other ships included:

1860 Blink Bonnie built by Peter at Pictou; 130 tons; in 1860 upon the dissolution of his partnership with his brother John, Peter Crerar became the sole owner of the ship, as she lay at Arichat;

1861 Minnie Gordon Barque built by Peter at River John 16 July 1861; 322 tons and captained by famed captain Thomas Archibald MacKenzie (son of Contin-Pictou shipbuilder Alexander MacKenzie; b.1843);

1862 Wolf (4) Barque built by Peter at River John 10 May; 507 tons;

1864 J.M.Morales built by Peter at New Glasgow at the yard of D. McDonald, 21 May 1864; 513 tons

1867 Alonzo, barque

In 1864 Peter was listed as a merchant trading at South Market and living at Westend, near the Gas Works [Hutchinson’s Nova Scotia Directory 1864-65]. In 1866 he was appointed by the Governor and Council as one of the Commissioners to construct a public wharf in the harbour of Pictou on the Public property to the eastward of the wharf of the General Mining Association, but the next year wrote to the Lieutenant-Governor asking to be relieved of these duties, as “early in January A.D. 1866 I left this province as my place of permanent abode and continued absent till June last” [letter To his Excellency Lieutenant General Sir William Fenwich Williams of Kars, Baronet and Lieutenant Governor etc. of Nova Scotia, Pictou 21 October 1867]

Death came unexpectedly, on 4 May 1868. In late April while in the Royal Hospital in Cardiff and contemplating death, he wrote a will of sorts: “give to my cousin Jessie Patterson £40 ($100) as a strong mark of respect for her true unswerving friendship.” On April 29, in the same packet of letters he wrote to his brother John in struggled prose: “You better come over by the very first steamer. Come direct. Peter Crerar”. His brother James Peter and Susan hurried down to Cardiff from London to attend to the dying Peter. His death was announced as follows:

It becomes our melancholy duty to record in our obituary today the death of Peter Crerar, esq., of this place who died yesterday at Cardiff, Wales. The mournful intelligence was transmitted by cable telegraph to his brother John Crerar, esq., and had thrown the family into deep distress, and cast a gloom over the entire community in which he was highly respected and esteemed for his many amiable qualities. The deceased was the son of the late Peter Crerar, esq., and was known as an upright and energetic merchant and ship owner, in the extensive commercial circles into which his business led him. his remains will be conveyed by steamer, for internment in his native place - Pictou Standard Tuesday.
[British Colonist, 7 May 1868, p. 3, col.1]
 He was buried with his family in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Pictou [Halifax Reporter, 28 May 1868]. His is the tall obelisk monument, made of pink Scottish granite, in the Laurel Hill Cemetery. In his will he left… to my brother Captain David Stewart, my barque Alonzo, now at Cuba, or on its passage from there to Falsmouth. The probable weight of the homeward freight will be one thousand seven hundred pounds, this freight I direct my said brother David to collect and pay thereon all the bark’s disbursements and to pay the London and Westminster Bank to be placed to the credit of Messieurs Duffus and Company, Bankers, Halifax…I give to my brother William Grant Crerar my bark I.M. Morales, now at Cardiff or on her passage to River Pictou and from there to Chinchas Island. I direct the amount of freight to be directed from Monte Video…I give the homeward freight from Chinchas (after paying all the necessary charges thereon) unto my brothers the said David Stewart Crerar and William G. Crerar…I give to my brother Doctor James Crerar, seventy shares in the Bank of Halifax, £800 Nova Scotia paid, up valued at £1000; the mortgage of £1000 on the South Market Street Building, signed by Copeland and Grant, also eight hundred dollars stock paid up in the Marine Railway. Also a bequest of four thousand dollars to be paid by my residuary legate John Crerar to my said brother James out of my remaining estate…I leave to the Building Committee St. Andrews Congregation at Pictou, in connexion with the Established Church of Scotland one thousand dollars to help pay for finishing the Church. Also two hundred dollars to help finish the Sabbath School. I leave to my nephew John Crerar Jr. my gold watch. I leave to Susan the wife of my brother James all of my jewellery. [The remainder]… to my brother John Crerar for his own use and benefit absolutely. His executors were his brothers John, James, David Stewart and William Grant. The will was dated 24th April 1868 and witnessed by John P. Ingledin, Attorney-at-Law, and John Robert Reese, Surgeon, Cardiff [Pictou #1019]. As with many of his brothers, the family was sent a lock of his hair as a memento mori.
 

H. Capt. DAVID STEWART CRERAR (b.13 August 1830 Pictou - d.2 June 1893 Pictou) = “Olive” Olivia Edwina ACKLEY of New York (b.22 Sept. 1842 Maine - d. 22 October 1898 Pictou)

Captain David Stewart Crerar was the last great Crerar seafarer. The youngest of Peter Crerar’s seven sons, he was born 13 August 1830 in Pictou. It is likely that he was named after Colonel David Stewart of Garth, who had gained fame in 1821 with his Sketches of the Character, Manners, and Present State of the Highlanders, praising the loyalty and ferocity of Highland soldiers in the Napoleonic Wars. There is also a possibility that David Stewart of Garth was more than a mere object of admiration of the Crerar family; a persistent family rumour has Peter Crerar, or his wife Anne Stewart, related to a prominent historian of the Scottish Highlands.

Like his brothers, he was famed locally for his tall stature. He first took to the sea at a young age, captaining the 369 tonne Wolfe, owned by his brothers John and Peter, at the age of 26 in 1855. The Eastern Chronicle of 31 July 1856 reported that “the barque Wolfe owned by J & P Crerar, and commanded by Capt. David Crerar left Pictou on the 14th and made the run to Liverpool in 14 days.” This Wolfe was the second boat thus named, commemorating their Wolfe of 1853 which originally netted their fortune. In 1861 David became a shipbuilder himself, collaborating with his brother John in building the 507 tonne Kenmore at New Glasgow. The ship, named after the parish whence their father came, was unfortunately abandoned six months later. Other references to his seafaring life include:

1862 Dunkeld built by John and David Crerar and Donald MacDonald at New Glasgow 23 Oct.; 378T

1863 Alonzo , barque

1864 J.M.Morales built by Peter at New Glasgow 21 May 1864; 513 tons 186? Iona Munro barque 1870 Rio de la Plata barque built by David and W.G. at River John 2 July; 648 tons 1881 Wolfe: three-masted barque built of oak and pine in 1881 by James Kitchin Jr. in St. John, New Brunswick. It was copper-fastened below, with galvanized iron of the upper works. David married Olive Edwina Ackley in 1865 in New York, departing soon afterwards for England, where their first son Ewen was born the following year. Little is known about his wife, but that she was an American of Scottish descent, born in Maine. The next year he purchased 84 (now 220) Faukland Street, Pictou (built c.1854) from a local tailor, Robert Tanner, for £300. They would live there until 1882. In 1882 they moved to the family home, at 16 [now 48] Willow [or College] Street (and High or Spring Street), living there until his death. He also held land located on what is now the south end of the Pictou race track.

With the rest of his family, he was devoted to the local Presbyterian Church, St. Andrew’s. The Eastern Chronicle of 16 Nov. 1871 reported that:

We learn from the Colonial Standard that St.Andrew’s Church, Pictou, has been cleared from debt. John Crerar, William Crerar, and William Gordon and Roderick McKenzie, esqs. each paid the handsome sum of $1000 towards liquidating the debt, the balance being subscribed by the Congregation. Last Thursday evening a small balance due was paid and the church declared free of debt. On this announcement being made the new bell presented by David S. Crerar was rung for the first time by the Rev. Mr. [A.W.] Herdman. Unfortunately, on 7 November 1893 the old gothic structure of St. Andrew’s was razed by fire. The present building dates from 1896.

He predeceased his wife by five years. His obituary read:

Died: 2 June 1893 (Friday) at Pictou: Capt. D.S. Crerar, well-known to the older residents of the county, died last Friday morning. He had been a sufferer for many years, and has been confined to his house for some time past; yet his death was sudden, in as much that he was able to take a drive on the Monday previous. Wednesday, he was taken ill suddenly, and he never regained consciousness. His funeral took place on Saturday and was largely attended.
[Eastern Chronicle, 8 June 1898].
 On Saturday 3 June, 1893 he was buried in the plot he purchased at the new Haliburton Cemetery, away from his brothers and parents [Crerar plot is located at the end of the central west drive just before it bends towards the river drive]. In his 28 Dec. 1892 will he left all to his wife and after her death to be divided equally among his children and grandchildren [Pictou 2390].

David was joined in Haliburton by his wife in October 1898:

Many readers of the Pictou Advocate will learn with sincere regret of the death off Mrs. Crerar, widow of the late Captain David Crerar, which took place Saturday evening. She had not been in good health for some months, but her condition was not considered serious, and upon her return from Halifax a few weeks ago, where she had gone for medical advice, she went to spend a short season with her daughter, Mrs. Edward Carson. Here she was taken ill and passed away three days later. Mrs. Crerar was dearly loved by a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and the esteem in which she was generally held in the community was evidenced by the large concourse of people that gathered on Monday afternoon to attend the last rites. The deceased leaves one son Peter, member of the Northwest Mounted Police, two daughters, Mrs. Thomas Hudson and Mrs. Edward Carson of Pictou, who have sincere sympathy in their sad and sudden bereavement.
[Pictou Advocate, 28 October 1898, p.1]
 She died intestate [Pictou #2775].

David Stewart Crerar and Olive Edwina Ackley had five children:

1. (Owen) EWEN CRERAR (b. 2 April 1866 Liverpool, England - d. 25 December 1885 off Sandy Hook, Pictou)

Ewen was named after his uncle Ewen Clarke Crerar, who secured the family fortune by piloting the original Wolfe across the Atlantic, and who would later drown near Grand Manan Island. In a tragic irony this namesake youth suffered a similar fate on a namesake ship. He drowned 25 December 1885 from his father’s barque Wolfe, off Sandy Hook, when leaving for a voyage to South America. Like the rest of his immediate family, he was buried in Haliburton Cemetery. His gravestone reads “The sea shall give up its dead”. Robert Murdoch, the “Poet-Laureate” of Pictou was moved to write a poem, In Memoriam for Ewen:
  Dear mother, weep no more for me,
My body rolls amidst the deep,
My soul’s at rest with Christ above
And Him, He safely will it keep.
When last we parted, mother dear,
You fondly pressed me to your breast;
Now, I am in the arms of Christ
Forever to remain at rest. 2. ANNIE CLARKE CRERAR (b.21 March 1868, N.Scotia - d.25 June 1892 Halifax) = Fred T. DE WOLFE Annie had a short and sad life. On 17 September 1891, she married Fred T. De Wolfe, “In the St.Andrew’s Church (Kirk) in Pictou, on the 17 inst. by Rev. R. Atkinson, assisted by Rev. W.Calder, uncle of the groom,” [The Enterprise, 19 Sept. 1891]. In 1894 Fred was a coach salesman for De Wolfe, Son & Co., N.W. Common, Halifax. In 1892, they had their only child, “Nan” Ann Clark Crerar DeWolfe, who died at a young age of a medicinal overdose. Ann herself would perish in childbirth, in Halifax in 1898. She was buried in the Haliburton Cemetery Crerar plot under a small headstone marked “Annie 1892”. Her grave inscription reads “We shall meet over the river.” Her widower husband would later marry again, and is buried elsewhere. In 1921 Fred lived at 3543-8th West Avenue, Vancouver, and was the informant for J.E. Carson’s death.

a. “Nan” Ann Clark Crerar DeWolfe (b. 1892 - d. after 1923) = _______

A 1923 letter from J.P. Crerar to Olivia DeWolfe makes clear that Nan was alive and married at that time. 3. “Olly” OLIVIA EDWINA INEZ CRERAR (b. February 1869 Nova Scotia - d. 26 Jan. 1952 Vancouver) = Thomas Emerson Foster HUDSON (b. 9 June 1868 Albion Mines, Nova Scotia -d. 31 Dec. 1946 Vancouver) After her father’s death she lived at 16 [now 48] Willow [Academy] Street until her marriage to Thomas E.F. Hudson, then a traveller for G.H. Hamilton and Sons, on 5 June, 1895 at Pictou [E.Chronicle, 13 June 1895]. The background of her spouse had many parallels with Crerar and related families: Thomas Hudson was the son of Margaret Ann Smith of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and James Hudson (b.1812), who had been the General Manager of the Albion Mines. Hudson had attended Dalhousie University, where he met his friend who would become Chief Justice Morrison; later in life in Vancouver, they would often share a drink.

In the 1889 will of John Crerar [Pictou #2146] Olive and her siblings received the Crerar homestead on the east side of Willow, and presumably tore down whatever structure existed to replace it in 1889. From 1899 to 1921 Olivia and Thomas lived at this location, with the address of 92 High Street (now 226 High Street), Pictou, a property which had been owned by her father and grandfather. The family seemed to have followed their cousin Crerars to Vancouver in 1921. From 1923 Thomas was a salesman for the National Biscuit Company. The family lived at 2725 West 42nd Avenue. Thomas died of a heart attack at the corner of West 41st Avenue and McDonald in 1946 [Reg.#1946-09-013906] and Olive died in 1952 at Hawthorne Private Hospital. She was a large women and deaf [Reg.#1952-09-001720]. They were both buried in Ocean View Burial Park, Burnaby (graves 3&4, Plot 230, Heather). They had one child:

a. “Jack” James Crerar Hudson (b.21 Nov. 1899 - d.20 April 1945 Vancouver) = Dorothy Florence (Emily?) MAHONEY (b.c.1904 - d.27 January 1973 Vancouver?)

Jack was of small stature, in contrast to his mother. He lived with his parents until 1924 and then at 2990 West 39th, Vancouver [Interview, Margaret Evans]. He married late in life. The 1939 telephone directory, lists his wife as ‘Dorothy F.’, but her middle name was likely Emily, as a Dorothy Emily Hudson died in 1973 [Reg.#1973-09-001892]. Jack worked as a shipper for Morrison Steel until his death of lung cancer in 1945 [Reg.#1945-09-660790]. He was buried at Ocean View Cemetery in Burnaby (grave 1, Plot 230, Heather). Upon Jack’s death, Dorothy moved in with her parents-in-law. In 1952 Dorothy lived at 1617 Colman Road, Lynn Valley, North Vancouver. 4. PETER DAVID STEWART CRERAR (b. October 1872- d.3 May 1943 Calgary, Alberta) = “Maggie” Margaret __?___ (d.18 May 1955 Calgary) Peter had a frustrating but adventurous life. He at first sought to follow the maritime career of his family but, probably sensing the dissolution of that livelihood, joined the North-West Mounted Police in 1898. He engagement papers list him as “5 feet, 11.5 inches; 174 pounds; boiler-maker and teamster; intelligence appears to be good; sanguine temperament; fair complexion; light brown hair; blue eyes.” He was stationed in Fort McLeod (Calgary) in what was then called the North-West Territories and assigned the number of Reg. #3295. He soon sought a discharge, which was rejected. He was, however, granted a “furlough” of leave, and while in Nova Scotia, requested to purchase the remainder of his contract with the NWMP. He gave two reasons for this request, his business affairs, and his desire to marry. It was at this time presumably that he married Margaret, who would remain, miraculously, his wife through all of his travels. This purchase was granted, costing him $51.00, and on 8 February 1901 he left the Force. He remained restless, however, and on January 11 1902 enlisted in Halifax to serve in the Boer War with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. He returned with Cape, Transvaal, and South Africa medals [Private #860]. Upon return, however, he languished in Pictou and Amherst, Nova Scotia. In 1909 his solicitor friend John Ralston, solicitor in Amherst, N.S. wrote to Lieut. Col.Fred White, Comptroller of North West Mounted Police: There is a good friend of mine in this town named Peter D.S.Crerar, who was formerly of the North West Mounted Police and afterwards went to South Africa. He has been living here for the last two or three years working for the Robb Engineering Co.,Ltd., but during the last eight months he has just got two months work…He is a first class man in every way and his experience ought to eminently qualify him for any position similar to those I mention…He is simply in position now that he must leave town as things are very dull here, and I am anxious to do everything I can… While this letter was unsuccessful, he embarked once again to what was now the infant province of Saskatchewan. He worked for several years in the west as a commercial traveller, carpenter and then police constable in Brandon. Finally, in 1914 he was reengaged by the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, being stationed to Lethbridge, and then to Expanse, Saskatchewan. There his ambivalent relationship with the force continued, as he was reprimanded first for not keeping this office in order, and then in bringing his family to Expanse without permission. To these reprimands, the citizens of Expanse District signed a petition attesting that “we have never had a Police Officer in Expanse district who has carried out his duties in such a satisfactory manner…” which seemed to gain him some reprieve. In 1915 he requested leave to care for his ailing wife, and in 1916 finally himself requested a full leave from the force due to rheumatism. This was readily granted and he left with the rank of Constable. For the next sixteen years nothing is known of his life, except for a stint in the Saskatchewan Police Force. His final years appear to have been difficult. In 1932, living in Calgary, his wife Maggie wrote to Prime Minister Bennett, requesting a pension for her husband: His injuries were when he was ordered to break remounts by Sergeant Major Turner. My husband informed him at the time that if he was injured he would hold him responsible. He was detailed to ride one of the worst remounts the Force had at that time with the result he got thrown on the frozen ground injuring his knee cap badly…” This letter was unsuccessful so in a second letter she recounted some of his exploits: “…He was with them in Southern Alberta also the Yukon in 1898 leaving from Fort McLeod where he had been stationed for some time previous and was in charge of Little Salmon detachment in the Yukon Territory and for two winters owing to the shortage of men drove dogs daily carrying mail and provisions , and at one time owing to sickness among the men averaged 30 miles over the ice for thirty days in succession the last day of the thirty days he covered 62 miles with a doctor… She claimed that he was forced to sign a statement that the contraction of his rheumatism had no relation to his service in the N.W.M.P., but to no avail. In 1943, living at 303 25th Avenue W., Calgary Peter David Stewart Crerar died. He obituary noted that he was a member of the Canadian Legion, South African Veteran’s Association, Arctic Brotherhood, and urged like veterans to attend his funeral, at the Field of Honour Plot, Burnsland Cemetery [Sec. G, Block 8, Lot 62 (photo)], in south-east Calgary. Funeral arrangements were made by Last Post. He was survived by his two sisters in Vancouver, his widow, his daughter of Sylvan Lake, and his three grandchildren. In 1954 Margaret still lived at 303-25th Avenue West. She died on May 18, 1995 and on May 21th was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery [Sec. K, Block 2, Lot 140 (photo)], near Burnsland Cemetery. Peter and Margaret had at least three children: a. PETER CRERAR IV (predeceased his father)
b. OLIVE CRERAR (died young)
c. ________ CRERAR = Melvin BARRY (of Sylvan Lake, Alberta)(near Red Deer) 5. SUSAN JEANETTE CRERAR (b.11 Dec. 1875 Pictou - d. 8 June 1951 Kelowna) = ‘Ned’ James Edward CARSON (b. May 1873 - d. 26 Feb. 1921 Vancouver) Her godmother and namesake was Susan Jeanette Crerar, wife of Dr. James Peter Crerar I. She married on 29 October 1897 ‘Ned’ Carson, the son of James Carson (b. Scotland) and Ellen Johnson (b. Scotland). Ned worked for an automobile company, and may have been a harbour clerk. In Vancouver he worked as an automobile salesman. It is likely that they maintained a Pictou residence from 1907 to 1920 at 9 Kinnear Street, Pictou [Inventory Site Form]. They moved to Vancouver around 1908. Ned died at age 48 in 1921, of kidney cancer [Pictou Advocate 5 Nov., 1897, p.6; reg.#1921-09-279600]. He died at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver and was buried in Ocean View Burial Park, Burnaby (Grave 3, Plot 96, Empire).

Susan lived at 1031 West 10th Avenue in 1921 and 1923, and at 1702 West 35th Avenue in 1933. In 1943 she was listed as the widow of J.E. Carson, living at 4396 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. Toward her death in 1951, she was living at 7375 Granville, Vancouver [Reg.#1951-09-005862]. Six months before her death she moved to Kelowna and lived at 421 Cadder Avenue, the home of her son. She died in the Kelowna Hospital of cancer.

Susan and Ned had two children:

a. Olive Crerar Carson (b.c.1900), who lived in Kelowna, B.C., and never married.

b. Edward Carson II

Edward moved to Kelowna and never married. In 1951 he lived at 421 Cadder Avenue. [IMAGE OMITTED]
Above: John Crerar and Jane Kate Hatton in 1880. A. John Crerar and Jane Kate Hatton

A. JOHN CRERAR (b.18 August, chr. 13 Sept 1815; Cuiltrannich, Lawers, Kenmore -d.26 December 1889 Glenalmond, Pictou) = Jane Kate HATTON (b. 6 January 1833 Pictou - d. 29 June 1896 Edinburgh)

John was the last link to Scotland, being born 18 August 1815 in Kenmore Parish, Perthshire [Kenmore OPR]. Nothing is known of his education or upbringing in his early years in Canada.

He made at least one early trip to Scotland, as his brother James Peter, then a medical student in Edinburgh, mentions in an April 1840 letter to their parents that John had just sailed back to Nova Scotia.

Like most of his brothers, the sea was his road to relative fame and wealth. He built ships with his brothers Peter, David Stewart, and William Grant, in that order. His first ship on record was the barque Perthshire, built for him by Donald MacKay, in the Pugwash-Wallace area [S.T. Spicer, Masters of Sail, 52]. It was apparently a fine craft: “The Perthshire admeasures per register 459 tons, old and 536 new measurement, is built of the best materials which the country could furnish, and in beauty of model and faithfulness of construction, cannot be surpassed.” [The Guardian, 29 Sept 1841, 103]. Five years later, however, en route from Charlestown to Pictou, it was cut through by ice, and went ashore at Isle Madame” [E.Chronicle, 6 May 1846, 3]. After a series of other independently-built ships, he entered into partnership with his brother Peter and built at least seven vessels. On 20 January 1860 they dissolved their partnership, with Peter Crerar becoming the owner of the barque Wolfe, then in London, and the Brigantine Blink Bonnie, at Arichat [agreement in file]. In that decade the brothers increased their wealth with their speedy crafts. Family legend has it that they also made a tidy profit out of running Union blockades of the Confederate States during the American Civil War. Looking at the ports visited during this period, this legend would seem not improbable.

In 1851 the Crerar brothers introduced a new procedure of fully rigging ships before they entered the water; before rigging occurred after they were launched [J.M. Cameron, Ships…Pictou at 133].

John and his brothers flourished at the crest of prosperity and fame of Nova Scotia shipbuilding. A contemporary newspaper describes the boom:

Our harbour has not been presented with such a beautiful picture for many a day as it does at present. The broad expanse of water is dotted with crafts of every description -- from the tiny shallop to the full-rigged ship. The little forest of masts opposite our sanctum window, as well as that which lines the wharves all along the town, shows that there is a great demand for our staple export -- coal; while the constant click of the caulker’s hammer, and the fuming of the coal tar, and the rattling of chains, and the creaking of the halliards as the balsst tub is swung to and fro -- all indicate an unusual degree of activity in this branch of the business. Ass to this the sturdy notes of the ship’s crew as they hoist and sing, for the sailor makes work a pleasure, and a slight idea may be formed of the sights and sounds that greet us all day long .
[9 Sept.1862 Colonial Standard]
 Timber production and agricultural surpluses in the 1830’s fuelled the shipbuilding boom in the 1840’s In the 1850’s the trade fell off, but resurged in 1860’s. In the 1870’s a gradual decline started, with competition from steamships, and an economic slump. In the 1880’s and 1890’s the decline was rapid and permanent [see generally, J.M. Cameron, Ships…Pictou at 12]

Some notes on John’s ships:

1841 Perthshire, Barque built by Donald MacKay, in the Pugwash-Wallace area [Stanley T. Spicer, Masters of Sail, 52].

1845 Taymouth Castle Brig built by John in the Smith Yard in Pictou, 300 tons

1847 John Duffus Barque built by John at the W. Henderson yard in Pictou, 640 tons

1848 Ann Clark Brig built by John at Pictou 1849 Bessie Brig built by John at New Glasgow, 236 tons, R. Crawford, master.

1850 Breadalbane Brig built by John and Peter at the Crerar yard in Pictou, 527 tons

1850 Ailsa Barque built by John at Pictou; 613 tons

1850 Balmoral brig built by John in Pictou; 216 tons 1850 Pathfinder , barque built by John and W.G. and Peter at the Crerar yard in Pictou, 421 tons

1851 Ellen Oliverr, barque built by James Kitchin, Sr. in West River, 586 tons, purchased by John and Peter Crerar and launched 15 May 1851 [E.Chronicle 22 May 1851, p.3]

1852 Polynesian,, 731 tons, “a fine ship” built by Donald McDonald in the shipyard of John and Peter Crerar [E.Chronicle 28 Sept. 1852, p.3]

1853 Atholl Brigantine built by John and Peter at Pictou ; 234 tons.

1853 Wolfe (1) 1853 ???? built for the coal trade by John and Peter Crerar at the Crerar yard in Pictou

1854 Susan Brigantine built by John and Peter at Pictou , 212 tons.

1854 Glen Tilt Brigne built by John and Peter at Pictou 20 June, 291 tons.@ 1854 Cluny Castle Barque built by John and Peter at the Crerar yard in Pictou 29 June; 303 tons@ 1854 or 1860 White Star built by John at Pictou; 303 tons; built in Pictou [Public Archives: RG 42, Vol.1510 orig. vol.297, C-1720, p.94; Rg.42, Vol.1515, orig.vol.302, reel £C-1722, p.43]

1855 Wolfe (2) Barque built by John and Peter at Pictou 28 April; 369 tons @

1856 Jane Barque built by John and Peter at River John 20 May; 378 tons @ 1858 Ewan Crerar Brigantine built by John at River John 23 April; 250 T (or 350 T?)(W.G. & J.)* 1861 Kenmore built by John and David at New Glasgow, 8 July; 508 tons 1862 Dunkeld built by John and David and Don. MacDonald at New Glasgow 23 Oct.; 378T

1863 Iona built by John Crerar and Donald MacDonald at New Glasgow 16 June; 367 tons

1868 Peter Crerar barque built by John and W.G. at River John; 628 tons In the tradition of Crerar bachelors, he married late in life, at age forty, to Jane Kate Hatton. The service was performed on 10 January 1855 by the Reverend Charles Elliot. Elliott was the first Rector of St.James’ Anglican Church, Pictou, a church designed by John’s father, and built by Jane’s father. In spite of his friendship with the Church of England, he remained a staunch Presbyterian. In 1871 John, along with William Grant Crerar, William Gordon, and Roderick McKenzie, esqs., paid $1000 each to liquidate the debt held by St.Andrew’s Kirk, Pictou [E.Chronicle, 16 Nov. 1871].

He was also civic-minded. In Laurel Hill cemetery there rests the Honourable William A.H. Villiers Mansel (d.1814), who was apparently a natural son of George IV. His tomb had fallen into disrepair, so in 1845 John wrote to England seeking funding. A Lady Jersey sent £30 to have it put to repair [John Patterson, 37]. The next year, John lobbied Halifax to send more money to combat smallpox at Pictou [letter to Sir Rupert D. George, Provincial Secretary, PANS, RG5, series P (D?), v.44, #159]. He served for several years as a trustee of Pictou Academy [Hutchinson’s Nova Scotia Directory 1864-63], and as a justice of the peace. John was also apparently generous to the local poor.

On 26 September 1853 he purchased from the Honourable James B. Uniacke, then Attorney-General of Nova Scotia, the property at 16 [now 48] Willow [also known as Academy or College] Street: “the property beginning at the North side of Spring [now High] Street at angles with the east side of Willow Street, formerly owned by Thomas Dickson [Deed]. The map on the deed was drawn up by Peter Crerar Sr. It would remain in John’s possession until 1882, when it passed into the family of David S. Crerar. It left the Crerar family in 1895. From 1916 to 1920 the house was owned by Daniel A. Barry, a manufacturer, who was there murdered. Some Pictonians claim that the house, now divided into apartments, is haunted by his ghost [Bud White letter].

The Crerars appear to have had many residences. A few years after purchasing the Willow Street property, John seems to have moved to Halifax as his permanent residence, living at 66 Spring Gardens Road in that city [currently at 5682 Spring Garden Road?: demolished 1988 at which time a cannon muzzle was found in the foundations of the building: [Peter Moreira letter]. He apparently served as president of a bank during his Halifax stay [COAF], and was one of the major shareholders in the People’s Bank of Halifax in 1882 [List of Stockholders]. All the time he kept 16 Willow Street as a cottage, and retained his business on South Market Street, Pictou [Hutchinson’s Nova Scotia Directory 1864-63 ; 1871 N.S.Directory, 196]. The 1871 Census found him in Pictou, with four children, and their Irish Catholic servant John Collity (b.1841). He also owned property located at what is now the northwest side of the Pictou Rotary, but this appears to have never been developed; he obtained this land from his mother-in-law Mary Ann Hatton [1872 Deed (with family); 1879 Pictou Atlas].

The primary solicitors for John and the Crerar family was the firm of Graham Tupper Borden and Parker which produced a prime minister and a judge among the named partners.

In later years John and Jane Kate spent most of their time in Britain. In 1874 John announced that he would leave Pictou for Edinburgh, prompting an outpouring of sadness and good wishes from the townsfolk. An address signed by eighty citizens of Pictou was delivered:

Dear Sir, We the undersigned inhabitants of Pictou having learned that you are about to take up your residence in Britain desire to convey to you our regret at the prospect of your early removal from among us a regret which we feel assured is shared in by the entire community in which your life to the present time has been spent.

From our association with you in the several relations of life whether of business or social intercourse, we cannot allow that you should leave us without expressing our high appreciation of your many estimable qualities as displayed in your work and conduct during the many years you have resided in this community.

In the commercial history of this town during the past quarter of a century your name will always be associated with the development and progress of its trade to the prosperity and growth of which your exertions and enterprise as a merchant and ship owner have materially contributed. As a member of society, we have at all times recognised and will undoubtedly miss the valuable and material aid which you have at all times freely given to promote the social, moral and religious interests of the community.

Please convey to Mrs. Crerar and family our sincere wishes that health, happiness and prosperity may be vouchsafed to you all during your residence in your native land. We also beg to express the hope that your sojourn there will not be permanent and that you may again return to live in the country in which the more active part of your life has been spent and where we can assure you will always find the friends of your life time-ready to welcome and rejoice at the prospect of having you again among them.

 This was accompanied by an address from the St.Andrew’s Kirk Session: Sir, The Session of St.Andrew’s Church, Pictou, with which you have been so long and so intimately connected, having heard of your intended departure from your native country, cannot let you withdraw without expressing their regret at your removal attachment to your person and family, and best wishes for your health and happiness in the land to which you are about to proceed.

This Session calls to remembrance your steadfast attachment to the Church of your Fathers, your constant attendance upon her ordinances and your deep interest in all that concerns her welfare; more especially, they cannot soon forget how much this New Church owes to your counsel and liberality that you were one of four who so largely contributed to the extinction of original debt, and that your advice has mainly directed and means contributed towards the present improvement in the building and surroundings whereby eventually the Church will become an object of attraction to every beholder.

But it is not in the Congregation alone but in the Community also you will be missed: your public spiritedness, your efforts for the enlargement of trade and commerce all testify to your patriotism and worth.

In fine, we desire the expression of our regard to Mrs. Crerar and family and pray God to conduct you all in safety across the deep to the land of your destination, and, if it is at all consistent with His will and your intentions, to restore you at length to your native land Congregation and Townsmen, in whose Cemetery slumber the bones of your parents and also some of your children.

[August 1874]
 On 28 August, 1874 John gave power-of-attorney to his brother William and left for Edinburgh: John Crerar, esq. and family left Pictou on Saturday for Halifax on their way to Great Britain where they intend to reside for the future. They were passengers on board the Caspian which sailed from Halifax for Liverpool on Tuesday. They carry with them the good wishes of a numerous circle of friends and acquaintances in Pictou County and elsewhere.
[E.Chronicle 27 Aug. 1874, p.2]
 He retained his address in Pictou and his address in Halifax (letters addressed to 66 Spring Garden Road in 1885 and 1887), but would only visit [Bradstreet’s Reports of the Dominion of Canada, 1878: 59; 1879 Pictou County Directory ]. While in Britain, they spent a great deal of time with their daughter Laura Boyd in Edinburgh, and would often go down to London to see the Browns, to whom Jane Kate was related [letter from Emily Brown to Jane Kate Hatton (probably her niece); 15 April 1882].

During a visit to Pictou in 1889, John suddenly took ill. His son John, who was up from Chicago, quickly telegrammed James Peter Crerar, then an accountant in Halifax: “father failing very fast may live till tomorrow if you can arrange better come on morning train.” [telegramme from John Crerar Jr. to J.P. Crerar, 25 Sept 1889]. John apparently recovered from this spell, but died three months later, on 26 December 1889 at Glenalmond Cottage, Pictou, the home of his brother William. The Eastern Chronicle [3 Oct. 1889, p.3] reported:

Mr. Crerar had been an ailing man for many years, being afflicted with a stubborn chronic rheumatism, yet he had been able to be about until a few weeks ago. More aggravated symptoms of disease set in, and on Thursday last he succumbed, in the 74th year of his age. Mr. Crerar was a man of active business habits, and was allowed to be an excellent expert in financial matters whether in public or private capacity. Kindness of heart characterised his social qualities, and tenderness of feelings his affections. Another obituary stated that “His life was filled with effort splendidly directed. Those who knew him in many of the various paths that he trod testified to the high motives that actuated him at all times. He was in all respects an ideal citizen and in a very real sense the poor and friendless were his friends.” [COAF]. His is the large fenced grave in the Laurel Hill Cemetery, Pictou. It is and obelisk made of pink granite imported from Scotland.

His beautiful will still survives [Pictou #2146]. In it, he left to the children of David S. Crerar, “the old Crerar homestead, being that lot of land situated on the west side of College [now Willow Street] Street, in the town of Pictou, formerly the property of my late father, Peter Crerar…” He was generous to his other relatives, leaving them with money, stocks and bonds.

Jane Kate Hatton passed away 29 June 1896, while visiting her daughter Laura in Edinburgh. A sufferer of asthma, she had spend some time before at a sanatorium in Switzerland, as well as several spas in England, such as Harrowgate, and Bournemouth [letter, William Boyd to J.P.Crerar II, 25 June 1890]. In late July 1896 her remains returned to Pictou from Edinburgh [E.Chronicle 23 July 1896, p.1]. She is buried beside her husband and infant son in Laurel Hill Cemetery. In her 1895 will he left the bulk of her estate to her daughter Laura in Edinburgh, with family mementoes to her three surviving sons [Pictou 2595].
 
 

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