Contributor, Kate Andracchio, is a descendent and Hambly family researcher.

The Hamblys were one of the first pioneering families that settled King Township in York Co., Ontario arriving in 1828. But the Hambly Canadian story actually begins with William Hambly, born in 1746, who sailed from Devon, England on the HMS Inflexible. He was
an ambitious 23 year old marine, enlisted to guard the sailors from deserting or attempting mutiny.

Landing in Nova Scotia, William was smitten by Eunice Caulkins, whose family were United Empire Loyalists. They had fled Connecticut fearing the American Revolution. William and Eunice married and had a daughter, Elizabeth, and two sons, John and William Saunders. The elder William was employed by the Crown to survey the unsettled Ontario, and he often extolled the virtues of York county to his family.

Wm. Saunders Hambly married Lydia Allen and they were blessed with three sons and two daughters, but he died unexpectedly
in 1827. This tragedy galvanized his brother John's sons George, William, and Charles Cox, and his son, John Oscar, who decided to follow their grandfather William's advice. So the four young men,
aged 19 to 25, were the first Hamblys to journey to York (Toronto) in 1828.

These young Hambly scions were eager to make new homesteads for themselves and the clan waiting in Nova Scotia, and immediately began purchasing land in King Township from the
Crown-owned Canada Company. John's sons bought Lots 2, 3 & 4 on 9th Concession, 200 acres each. Land was bought on Lot 34, 9th Conc. in Vaughan Twp. where an original stone house built in the 1830's still stands, and John Oscar procured 100 acres on the west side of 9th Conc., lot 8 by 1836. The Nobleton area had few settlers at this time and to start a home required much hard work and perseverance. Taming the bush was not for the faint of heart. Trees must be felled and rocks removed to clear the land for a home and farm.

William Hambly bought 200 acres on Lot 4, 9th Conc., just south of Nobleton crossroads. He died in the prime of life, leaving a young widow, a daughter, Polly, and 3 sons, John, George and Charles.
John farmed his father's land and married Mary Ann Holden from Brampton in 1839. They had 5 sons and 3 daughters. One of their sons was Rev. Milton C. Hambly, ordained in 1893 as pastor of the
Presbyterian Church in Hamden, N.Y. Milton returned to Toronto where he and his wife, Elspeth Butchart and their 7 children were active in Toronto affairs. George was born in Nobleton in 1833 and
was a glovemaker but eventually moved to Wellington Co. where he and his wife, Ann, had 6 children.

William's son, Charles, born in 1835, became one of Nobleton's most successful merchants. He built and operated Nobleton's first General Store on the SE corner of the main intersection, opposite
the magnificent, Victorian brick 'Hambly House' he built as his residence. Charles' first wife was Catherine Lewis, and they were blessed with 4 children. Their first son, Lewis Elwood, taught school in Linton and was the registrar in Nobleton. MacKenzie King was one of his pupils, with whom he kept up a correspondence for years. Elwood married Julia Etta Speers from Palermo and had 3 children, all of whom moved to Toronto. Their second son, George, took over his father's store, married Margaret Reeve, and with
their three children moved into the Hambly House when his father moved to Toronto. He later became a broker. Charles' 1st wife, Catherine, died young and her grave can be seen in the Methodist cemetery 1/2 mile west of Nobleton. His 2nd wife was John Oscar Hambly's daughter, Lydia, with whom he had a daughter, Anna. George and Elwood both eventually moved to Toronto and the Hambly House was bought by the Hills who lived
in it for many years.

The farm at Lot 4, 9th Conc. stayed in the Hambly family for many years until it was sold to Adam Goodfellow in 1898. All that is left is a lane leading into the fields.

William's brother George bought 200 acres at Lot 3, 9th Conc., just south of Wm.'s land. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1805 and lived 99 years. George married Harriet Lewis, Catherine's sister, and they fought their way through the bush to make a good, productive farm. Being Weslayan Methodists, they attended the Church-on-the-Hill, and he was one of the trustees when additional land was purchased in 1874. After having 5 daughters and 3 sons, George and Harriet and their children moved to Wellington County, selling their farm to Alex McTaggart.

This lovely stone bungalow was built for Mrs Sarah Hambly when she moved from the family farm. Mrs Hambly used to rent rooms and to sell home baking that was absolutely incredible, according to my sources.

This is the most famous house in Nobleton. Whenever an article is written, a picture of the house is used to represent Nobleton. Often
referred to as the “Hambly House”, in fact two other families lived in it after the Hamblys. People around town called it the Hill House, because it was home to Ouida and Albert Hill. Also, the architectural style has been called Tuscan Villa or Italianate. It would be more correct to classify the design as “Folk Victorian”
because it combines elements of the various styles popular in the Victorian era.

William's other brother, Charles Cox Hambly, was a strong religious force and a pillar of the Nobleton community. Born in 1808 in N.S., he settled on Lot 2, 9th Conc. adjoining his brothers' lands. Living there all his life, he escaped the wanderlust of many of the Hamblys. By 1885 he owned 800 acres in several lots in King Co., all productive farms. Built at the north end of Nobleton in 1852 stood the 'Rough Cast Church', attended by Primitive Methodists. Charles Cox was one of the trustees and a guiding force in the church. He began and taught the 'United Sunday School' for many years. He never allowed a collection to be taken, paying all expenses himself, including prizes. Serving on the Township Council for years, he was active in Nobleton politics and a Political Reformer.

Charles Cox married Mary Ann Hambly, daughter of Wm. Saunders Hambly, in 1833 and had seven children. Their son David was deaf and met his wife at the School for the Deaf at Belleville. His wife Suzanna Speers introduced her sister to his cousin Elwood and he and Julia Etta were soon married.

The striking Victorian brick home Charles built on his property to replace the original frame house can be admired about 3/4 mile
south of Nobleton on Highway 27, just north of Diana Dr. Most of
his properties unfortunately passed out of the Hambly hands soon
after Charles Cox's death in 1894.

John Oscar Hambly was a cousin to William, George and Charles Cox and accompanied them in the first wave of Hamblys to
reach Nobleton. His father's untimely death was the decisive factor
in the Hamblys' desire to relocate and these four found the land
and built the first homes before sending for the rest of the families.
By 1836 he settled on the west half of Lot 8, 9th Conc. with his wife
Catherine O'Grady of York Co. Their first home, a log house, burned to the ground with all their possessions and the lovely framed wreaths of flowers made of wool Catherine had created. The
second house was solidly made of stone about 1840 and still
endures on the right about a half mile north of the Bolton Highway
off 10th Concession.

John Oscar would walk with a bag of wheat on his shoulders to
the mill in Hog's Hollow, (almost to what is now Yonge St.), to get
it ground, and then trudge the long way back with the flour so they could have bread. Catherine followed a blazed trail for miles
through the woods to Schomberg to buy their supplies. They were
Weslayan Methodists and attended the Church-on-the-Hill with his
uncle George and his family. John Oscar was one of the original
trustees and instrumental in buying the land and building the
church. They had 9 children, some staying to help on the farm until
John Oscar died in 1889, others moving to other parts of York Co.
and as far away as Saskatchewan.

When the three brothers and their cousin had settled on their lands, the rest of John Oscar's family moved from Nova Scotia. His brother Thomas Alan, born in 1819 in N.S., married Ellen Robinson of Nobleton, and with their 3 children lived on Charles Cox's property. Thomas Alan was Nobleton's blacksmith for many years. About 1855 they moved to Winfield, Ont. where they had 8 more children. Another brother, William H., lived near Nobleton a few years before moving away, but his son, Wm. Saunders Hambly
moved back and by 1850 lived on an acre on Lot 1 next to Charles Cox's property and was a carpenter. His grandmother Lydia, John Oscar's widowed mother, lived with Wm. Saunders, his wife Mary Ann, and their children. John Oscar's sister, Mary Ann, married Charles Cox Hambly.

Eunice Hambly, sister to William, George and Charles Cox,
accompanied John Oscar's family in the long trek to King Township, and married Amos Heacock in 1836. They had a happy
marriage in those hard times farming the land on Lot 13, 9th
Concession with their 8 children. Both are buried at Emmanuel
Church in Kettleby.

Many Hamblys came to Nobleton and King Township. They
cleared land for farming, built homes, raised families, and helped to settle a lovely part of Ontario. They played an active part in defining the town, starting enterprises, holding various public offices, starting schools, and building the churches. From the 1830's til the turn of the century the Hamblys were one of the leading families of the community, but the original settlers passed away and it was said that far away fields were green to the Hamblys. By the early 1900's all Hamblys were gone from Nobleton, scattered throughout Canada and the United States, but they left behind their homes and their heritage.