William John Moncrief ^81,251

  General Notes:

Notes for WILLIAM JOHN MONCRIEF:
72 yr old Bailieboro Twins are similar in every detail.
Seventy two years ago, in the year of 1854, there was
born to the late Mr. & Mrs. John Moncrief of South Monaghan, twin boys
who were just as much alike as two pins. In fact the brothers were so
much alike that the proud parents could not distinguish one from the
other, & so it was decided they would be called John William & William
John. Their father, John Moncrief had cleared the land upon which he
settled, & erected a splendid home. Their mother's maiden name was Jane
Armstrong.
The boys grew up & always worked on their father's farm,
which is situated about four miles east of Bailieboro, & now occupied by
a son of William's (Harold). From their boyhood days their whole hobby &
pride was to be as much alike as possible, both in appearance & dress,
while nothing pleased them more than to have their friends &
acquaintances mistake one for the other. This was a most frequent
occurrence as the brothers always dressed exactly the same, & even their
closest friends were never sure just which of the gentlemen they were
addressing.
As the twins grew up to be young men & desired a home of
their own, a farm just to the west of their old homestead was purchased
for John, & to this home he took his young bride, Maude Stewart, of
Otonabee. Their family consisted of one daughter & two sons. William
has be en married twice. His first wife was Miss Porter & their family
consisted of one daughter & one son. His second wife was Annie
Hutchinson of Cavan who died several years after their marriage.
About fourteen years ago, when their sons were ready to
take over the farms, the brothers built houses exactly alike on the front
street in Bailieboro, & with their wives moved to their fine new brick
houses, where they have lived since.
The Moncrief brothers were splendid farmers who always took
a keen interest in doing their work well. They were always of a cheerful
disposition & their friendly, sociable manner won them many warm friends,
& they are highly thought of in this whole district, where they are so
well known. They have always been staunch supporters of the Centreville
Presbyterian Church, & winter or summer they attended regularly .
They have a large plot at the rear of their houses & a
splendid barn. The y have always kept a pair of excellent driving horses
& take great pride in keeping them in good trim.
The two gentlemen, now at the age of seventy-two, are
hale & hearty, & above all very happy, which is the fruit of living a
happy, contented life, taking great pleasure from their families, &
life's occupation.
The first separation of their lives occurred a couple of
years ago. William has a daughter in Vancouver & John has a daughter in
Winnipeg, & they decided to visit the west together. John stopped off at
Winnipeg, but regretted it afterwards. "If I had known how much I would
miss William I would have gone on with him," he remarked. " We were
separated for about five months ." "Was I at the station to meet him
when he came home?" he chuckles quietly over the question. "I guess I
was, he drawls."
There was a disconcerting mishap over this journey.
William lost his trunk & had to buy new clothes. The result was that for
over a year the brothers were not dressed alike, & it was the first time
since the episode of the colored beads that this had occurred.
They have more than mere appearance in common. Their
height is exactly the same-six feet; & there has never been more than a
few pounds difference in weight between them. But more remarkable still,
their minds frequently work in unison. "It's the commonest thing in the
world for me to be thinking a thing one moment & hearing William say it
the next," says John. "When we were youngsters we even used to have the
same illnesses together."

William married Elizabeth Porter. (Elizabeth Porter was born on 16 Feb 1864 in Otonabee, Ontario.)

William next married Ann Hutchinson. (Ann Hutchinson was born in 1863 in Ontario ¹⁵⁸⁴.)