This letter was written by Helen Rea (Whitney) Meikle, wife of Russell Meikle, who was brother of Dora Lovell (Meikle) Dobie and grandson of Jeanne (Milne) Meikle. The letter is written to Duncan Meikle in response to his request for information about the Meikle family.

408 - 300 St. Clair Ave. W.
Toronto 7, Ont.
June 26th [19]72.

W. D. Meikle
486 Glenlake Ave. Toronto 161, Ont.

Dear Mr. Meikle,

You see I am presuming that you are a male member of the Meikle family.

It was interesting to receive your letter of inquiry this morning and I am sorry that I am not able to give you much information about my husband's ancestry on his father's side but if you would write our son, John James Meikle of 1104 - 1955 Haro St. Vancouver B.C. he could give you what is in the Meikle family bible which I gave him when his father, Russell Meikle passed away Aug. 9th/61 at the age of 76 yrs.

My husband's father was John Lovel Meikle (sic) [correct spelling is Lovell] born in Lachine (sic) [correct town is Lachute] Que., brought up by his grand parents, his mother having died or married again but his father was married twice and he had a half brother and a couple or three sisters all gone now I think. The brother was Dr. Charles Meikle living in the States.

Father Meikle did have cousins in Morrisburg, in fact one time, about fifty years ago, when I visited a school girl friend, Mrs (Dr.) Gorrill, I met Mrs. John Meikle whose husband had been an engineer in Africa at one time. I remember Mrs. Meikle was quite deaf, and I think one of the other Mrs. Meikles was there too, and at that time I understood a brother was in the general store business. My husband had never met these cousins as he was born in Port Arthur and only spent three years in the east when attending St. Andrew's College. His father was in the wholesale fancy goods business after managing a store in Meaford where he also married Jeanie Milne, Scottish also, having come from Aberdineshire Scotland, with her parents and family when a small girl.

When my husband and I went to England, Scotland and France on our wedding tour in June 1911 we thought we'd look up some of the relatives but found so many pages of Meikles in the telephone book decided we'd forget the idea.

I believe father Meikle was an only child of his mother and likely at her death went to live with his grand parents or maybe that was when his father married again.

My husband had a sister, Dora Lovel Meikle, (sic) married to Coat Dobie [Coatsworth Dobie] both gone now, also a younger brother James who died quite young with diptheria.

We had two sons and one daughter, John James of Vancouver and Annah-Jean Whitney - now Mrs. L. W. Henry Beaton of Westmount Que. and a younger son that died at birth, never named.

Dora's daughter, married to Judge Neil Fraser lives here in Toronto at 33 Roxborough St. and the thought has just come to me that if you wrote her she might be able to give you some information. Mothers and daughters often talk more about the mother's relatives.

We all lived in Port Arthur except when we came to Toronto in 1935 when my husband joined the succession duty department of the Provincial Government as an inspector of estates until his retirement in 1957 at the age of 72 years, 13 days. Russell had been carrying on an Insurance and Real estate business since his father sold the wholesale and retired.

Regreting very much, I am not able to do more for you, but best wishes for every success in your project; I am

Very Sincerely
(signed) H. Rhea Meikle.

P.S. - I was Helen Rhea Whitney of Prescott Ont. where we were married May 31st 1911 in the Methodist Church.