Gravenhurst Mayor Clairmont was a Marmora Lumberman
/In 1854, Ely Clairmont and his brother Charles Clairmont Sr. both blacksmiths, came to Marmora from Quebec, to set up shop, attracted by the Ironworks. They built their house and blacksmith shop at the corner of Bursthall & Matthew Streets (site of the Esso), and after a fire, moved the house slightly north. (11 Bursthall opposite the town hall-click for more)
Marmora lumberman, Joseph Clairmont, later Mayor of Gravenhurst, with daughter, Grace
Ely's son, Joseph, born in Marmora in 1855, left Marmora around 1890, and relocated in Gravenhurst, where he was hired by the Rathbun Lumber Co. to manage a sawmill there. He later became Mayor of that town. His house still stands in Gravenhurst on the north-east corner of Bay and Mary Streets. He went on to have nine children.
fmily photo Inside Mayor Clairmont's house in Gravenhurst
Meanwhile, Ely's son, Edmond, who had joined Joseph as a lumberman in Gravenhurst, went on to Ft. Frances, Ontario, where he was hired to oversee the construction of the first saw mill in Rainy River. When Edmond was born on February 2, 1862, in Marmora, Ontario, his father, Ely, was 35 and his mother, Domithilde (Matilda) , was 27. He married Rosellen GILLEN and they had seven children together. He then married Elmire Marie CADOTTE and they had one son together. He died on July 30, 1949, in Fort Frances, Ontario, at the age of 87.
Clarke Callear added: This story is about my grandparents. I am the great-grandson of Edmond Clairmont and the great-great-grandson of the blacksmith Ely (aka Eli, Elie). I have more photos and stories and am happy to share. I also would like to know more about the Clairmonts (aka Clermont, Claremont, Clairmond) of Marmora and surrounding areas.
Of the 7 children of Edmond Clairmont and Rosellen GILLEN only 2 survived into adulthood. They were Hubert and Bernadette (neither of which had any children of their own). As stated above, Edmond then married Elmire Marie CADOTTE (of Massey, Ontario) and they had one child together. This was Joseph Augustus (Gus) Clairmont, my grandfather (born in Gravenhurst 14 Oct 1903) DNA testing shows the Caldwell family (of Hastings County) is also tied in with us.
Edmond Clairmont and 2nd wife Elmire Cadotte
