David Ritchie Clazie (1875 - 1949)

Born 10 Apr 1875 in Percy Township, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Cassie Mary Carruthers — married 27 Jan 1904 in Campbellford, Ontario, Canada

Died 10 Aug 1949 at age 74 in Rochester, New York, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Paul Fergie [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Clezie Name Study.

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Clezie_Name_Study

David was born in 1875 at or near the village of Warkworth, in Percy Township, now called the Municipality of Trent Hills, Ontario. He is a prime example of how names get mangled and confused!

- His Ontario birth registration showed "David Richard Clazy" but the middle name was a complete misunderstanding! It was intended to be "Ritchie", after his maternal grandfather, David Ritchie. (The surname was usually written "Clazie "in Ontario but later "Clazey" in New York; occasionally it became "Clazy".

- 1881 Canada census has been poorly indexed at www.familysearch.org due to bad handwriting! It shows the family surname as "Clorzie" when it was actually "Clazie"! A correction was submitted in September 2021. Have they corrected it?

- 1891 Canada census mistakenly showed: "Archie Clorzie", 16, a domestic servant. (Maybe it was the same census-taker as in 1881, still with bad handwriting, or bad hearing? How did "David Ritchie Clazie" transform into "Archie Clorzie"?

- His marriage record in 1904 finally showed his correct name: "David Ritchie Clazie".

David seemed not to care; he rarely used his middle name anyway - just the meaningless initial R.

In 1904 he married Cassie Carruthers, who loved to amuse herself by inventing novel spellings! "Cassie" began to write her name "Kaziah" and "Keziah".

This family moved to Rochester, New York in 1922, where the surname spelling changed from "Clazie" to "Clazey". Why? There was at least one prominent Clazey familiy in that area. But the 1930 U.S. census showed "Clazy". Another inattentive census-taker?

David's occupation changed almost as often as his name: he was shown in records variously as a domestic servant, a baker, a harness-maker, a leather-worker.

His daughter, Jean Margaret Clazie, born 1906 at Campbellford, Ontario, acquired her mother's penchant for changing names. She later called herself "Jean Mason Clazey" but in one directory was shown as "Gene M. Clazey".

David died in 1949 at Rochester, age 74, and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Sources

• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNLL-V8S

• 1881 Canada census, Percy Township, Ontario: "John Clorzie"

• 1891 Canada census, Percy Township, Ontario: "Archie Clorzie", domestic servant

• 1901 Canada census, Campbellford, Ontario: "David Clazie", harness-maker

• Marriage registration, 27 Jan 1904, Campbellford, Ontario

• 1906 birth registration of daughter Margaret Jean Clazie showed David's occupation as baker

• 1911 Canada census, Campbellford, Ontario, "David R. Clazie"

• 1923-29 Rochester directory, "David R. Clazey"

• 1930 U.S. census, Rochester, New York, "David R. Clazey"

• 1935 Rochester directory, "David R. Clazy", leatherworker

• 1938 Rochester directory, "David R. Clazie", leatherworker

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Rick Heiser for starting this profile.

Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Rick and others.