This is John Ostle with his second wife, Adelaide Willoughby and their children, Jeanette and James Melvin (Mel). John was born at Great Broughton, Cumberland in 1846. He married a Jane Graham there in 1866; they had five children and left for America in 1872. Jane died shortly after their arrival and John married Adelaide in 1879. He worked as a plastering contractor in Collinsville, Illinois where he was also active in the Temperance Movement. He died in 1932.

John's son, Mel, started a Phamacy business in Collinsville. Here he is behind the counter. The family had two shops: the Ostle Drug Company and The Family Pharmacy but these have now been merged as Ostle's Family Pharmacy.

Mel's grand daughter, Judy Weiss, now runs the business assisted by her dad, Jim Ostle, who claims still to be working forty hours a week at the age of seventy! Jim's other daughter, Jayme, works as a nurse at the nearby Anderson Hospital.

From Aspatria to British Columbia

Jonathan Ostle was born around 1872 and married Sarah Hewitson. They lived in Aspatria and had two children: Nell, born in 1894 and Thomas William in 1896.

Jonathan was killed in an accident during September 1900.

After Jonathan's death, Sarah married his brother, Kitt Ostle.
Here she is with Thomas William as a young man and the two children of her second marriage: Jonathan and Hannah

Thomas William emigrated to Canada where he worked as a miner. He returned to Aspatria in 1918 to marry Jane Ann Nealey, taking her back to settle in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

He is seen here with three of their four children: Sarah, John Clement (Known as Jack), and William Thomas (Bill).

Here is Jack today, with his wife Wilma. Like his father, Jack was a miner but, when the mines closed in the 1950s, he went to work as a Plannerman in the largest sawmill in the British Empire at Chemainus, BC. Wilma has always been active in church and community affairs. She has just completed her year as the Grand Factor of the Native Daughters of British Columbia.

Jack and wilma had three kids, the eldest being Robert John (Bob), this is him at three.

Now he's so grown-up he has his own website!

Pay him a visit and find out more about his family.