William John Canton (1861 - 1938)

Born 5 Nov 1861 in Ontario, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Lillian Margaret (Reynolds) Canton — married 1888 (to Jun 1915) in Nebraska, United States

Descendants

Died 24 Oct 1938 at age 76 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Major William Canton served with the United States Army during the Spanish-American War.
Service Started: 1 Dec 1898
Unit(s): Co. D; 1st Regimen; Wash. Inf.
Service Ended: 1 Mar 1899

Major William J. Canton was born in Ontario, Canada in 1861 to John and Mary (Noonan) Canton.^[1] He grew up in South Burgess, Canada West with his parents and eight siblings.^[2] He immigrated to the United States in 1883.^[3] He became a legal citizen of the US in Holt County, Nebraska on October 18, 1888.^[4]

He married Lillian Margaret Reynolds in 1888. They had two children together:

1. William Reynolds (b. 1889)^[5]
2. Florence Josephine (b. 1891).^[6]

While William Jr. was born in O'Neill, Nebraska, by the time Florence was born, the family lived in Waterville, Washington.

Towards the end of 1892, William joined the National Guard in Washington.^[7] William served as Adjutant General of the Washington National Guard before the Spanish-American War. On July 22, 1898, he re-established a state Force for the state of Washington, which became the 1st Volunteer Washington Infantry.^[8] He officially enlisted on December 1, 1898; he was discharged on March 1, 1899.^[9]

In 1900, William lived in Winthrop without his family, working as a lawyer.^[3] In 1910, he lived with his wife and children in Waterville.^[10] However, by 1912, he worked as an attorney in Medford, Oregon.^[11]

In June 1914, he was charged with committing "an unnatural crime" against 18 year old Richard Coffman and arrested.^[12] His arrest escalated to a case in the supreme court of Washington known as State v. W. J. Canton which affirmed the conviction in April 1915.^[13][14] However, he was pardoned in May.^[15]

After he was pardoned, he left behind the state of Washington and his family.^[16] In March 1917, he was bitten by a coyote, along with two other men, in Mason, Nevada.^[17] In November 1917, he was arrested in San Jose, California for forgery.^[18] In 1920, he lived at the National Military Home in Malibu without his family; he worked as a clerk.^[19] He began drawing his military pension on November 12, 1923.^[20]

By 1930, he was an inmate at the National Military Home in Los Angeles.^[21] He passed away there in 1938.^[1] He was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.^[22]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG2R-S9D2 : 1 March 2021), William J Canton, 1938.
2. ↑ "Canada Census, 1871," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M473-2SV : 7 April 2022), William Canton in household of John Canton, South Burgess, Leeds, Canada West, British Colonial America; citing 1871; citing National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMP2-BRS : Thu Aug 03 21:39:37 UTC 2023), Entry for Davis Gamble and Cora Gamble, 1900.
4. ↑ "Nebraska, Naturalization Records, 1855-1989", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:C3QH-KS2M : Fri Aug 25 14:25:04 UTC 2023), Entry for William J. Canton, 18 Oct 1888.
5. ↑ "Oregon, World War I, County Military Service Records, 1919-1920," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q5SQ-P4V6 : 25 August 2019), William J Canton in entry for William Reynolds Canton, 8 May 1918; citing Military Service, Fort Winfield Scott, San Francisco, California, United States, Oregon State Archives, Salem; FHL microfilm 008435596.
6. ↑ "Washington Birth Records, 1869-1950", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q237-M6XF : 8 March 2021), William J Canton in entry for Florence Josephine Canton, 1891.
7. ↑ "General Military Orders." Seattle Post-intelligencer, October 23, 1892. Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045604/1892-10-23/ed-1/seq-13/
8. ↑ Washington National Guard Pamphlet: The Official History of the Washington National Guard Volume 5: Washington National Guard in World War I. Washington National Guard State Historical Society, p. 1, https://mil.wa.gov/asset/5ba41fe34d7a5. Accessed September 3, 2023.
9. ↑ "United States National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8M9-H2J : 12 March 2018), William J Cantan, 1918; citing p. 15249, Sawtelle, California, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1749 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 204; FHL microfilm 1,577,824.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGVZ-1BW : Wed Jul 19 11:48:43 UTC 2023), Entry for William J Canton and Lillian M Canton, 1910.
11. ↑ "W. J. CANTON." Medford Mail Tribune, November 20, 1912. Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/97071090/1912-11-20/ed-1/seq-5/
12. ↑ "Major Was Arrested." Daily Star-mirror (Idaho), June 11, 1914. Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89055128/1914-06-11/ed-1/seq-1/
13. ↑ "Canton Case Affirmed; Carkin Law is Invalid." Medford Mail Tribune, April 20, 1915. Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/97071090/1915-04-20/ed-1/seq-1/
14. ↑ "Conviction is Affirmed." East Oregonian, April 20, 1915. Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88086023/1915-04-20/ed-1/seq-1/
15. ↑ "W. J. Canton of Medford..." Ashland Tidings, May 20, 1915. Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042399/1915-05-20/ed-1/seq-5/
16. ↑ "Canton Secured Sutton's Money, Tragedy Resulted." Medford Mail Tribune, February 22, 1916. Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/97071090/1916-02-22/ed-1/seq-6/
17. ↑ "Inland Northwest." Idaho Recorder, March 9, 1917. Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86091188/1917-03-09/ed-1/seq-6/
18. ↑ "In and About the City." Coulee City Dispatch, November 29, 1917. Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89079026/1917-11-29/ed-1/seq-3/
19. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH7H-SGX : Fri Sep 01 20:40:47 UTC 2023), Entry for William J Canton, 1920.
20. ↑ "United States Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NHS4-M6N : 24 March 2016), William J. Canton, 1923.
21. ↑ "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCJY-6M9 : Thu Aug 03 12:57:34 UTC 2023), Entry for William G Canton, 1930.
22. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3391062/william-j-canton: accessed 03 September 2023), memorial page for William J Canton (unknown–24 Oct 1938), Find a Grave Memorial ID 3391062, citing Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, San Diego County, California, USA; Maintained by Bill Hart (contributor 47578214).