My Family Tree

Levi Dyment was the eldest son of Charles Dyment and Elizabeth MacDougall. His birth on 24 March 1855 was recorded in the PEI Baptismal Index. He was baptized in the Bible Christian Chapel called O'Leary in August of that year.

In his grandfather's will of 1878, Humphrey left a 40 acre farm to his Levi, who was described as the son of his daughter-in-law Elizabeth, which I took to be an indication that his father Charles had predeceased Humphrey. This was the farm that had been carved out of Humphrey Sr.'s 100 acres on the Trout River, shown under Charles' name on maps from 1862-1880, although a land conveyance from Humphrey Dyment to Samuel McArthur dated 1878 identified one border of the property as the farm occupied by Levi Dyment.

Levi would have been in his early twenties when he took over responsibility for his family, and was the head of household in the 1881 census.

Levi married twice. His first wife was Ann Pickering, daughter of Alexander Pickering and Janet Brown from New London, and widow of John Ramsay who had died in 1881. Annie was about 20 years older than Levi. There was a farm in the name of John Ramsay on the Trout River in Lot 13, close to that of Charles Dyment, in the 1880 PEI Atlas. Ann Ramsay, age 48 and a widow, was listed just before Levi Dyment, age 25 and single, in the 1881 census. No children were listed for Ann. After her husband's death, Ann must have needed someone to manage her farm, and again the young Levi took on the responsibility. The date on the marriage bond was 14 December 1883, and the bond was taken out by Levi Dyment and his brother in law Albert J. Phillips, both of Tyne Valley. Annie gave her maiden name, Pickering, but indicated that she was a widow.

Levi's mother Elizabeth died in 1890. His sisters married and left home.

In the 1891 census, Levi and Annie were living with their adopted daughter Milcey. Levi's entry was at the bottom of the page and gave no indication of his marital status; Annie was at the top of the next page as the wife of the head of household. (Ann's family can be found on the Island Register, The Descendants of William Pickering and Mary Jane Anderson.)

In the 1901 census, Annie's date of birth was smudged (8 June 18?), and her age was recorded as 36. Jane Ramsay, her niece, was also living with the family. Levi was a farmer.

Ann Dyment died of old age in Port Hill on February 8 1907 at the age of 85. (Church records; death notice, Summerside Jnl, 20 February 1907, page 5, col. 4; and gravestone of John Ramsay and Ann Pickering, accessed on PEI Ancestry). In her will, she left the Ramsay farm to Levi, and made a bequest to her daughter Milcey. Milcey died a year later at the age of 24.

In July 1907, Levi's house was destroyed by fire. "Mr. Dyment, who was alone in the house, put on the fire in the stove and went out as usual to attend to his stock. About an hour later when returning from a distant pasture field he saw the roof around the chimney in flames...Mr. Dyment is one of the most industious farmers in this section and his loss is a heavy one, but as he possesses a good share of pluck and bustle he will no doubt soon make it good." The article doesn't say if this house was on the old Dyment homestead, or if it was a Ramsay house.

Levi married again, to Lottie Ann Hutchinson and they had three children: Orvell Levi, born in Tyne Valley in 1909, Dora Belle in 1911, and Mabel Alecia in 1913.

Groom's Name Levi Dyment
Groom's Residence Tyne Valley
Groom's Status Widow/Widower
Bride's Name Lottie A. Hutchinson
Bride's Residence Stanley Bridge
Bride's Status Spinster
Source RG19/s3/ss3: Marriage registers, 1906-1914

 

In the 1911 census, Levi and Lottie A were living in Tyne Valley with their son Orville (age 1) and Martha Dyment, age 17 (b. May 1894), described as a domestic. By the time of the 1921 census, Levi (60) was working as a labourer; his wife Lottie was 45, and their children Orvell (11), Dora (9) and Mabel (7) were going to school.

Orvell and Mabel died young. A year after his death at the age of 20, his parents and sisters placed a poem in memory of Orvell in the local paper. "In loving memory of Orvell Dyment, who died May 18 1929: One sad year since you left us Orvell, whom we cherished, loved so dear." According to Bev Millar's research for a book on the Hutchinson family, Orville died of galloping consumption. Mabel died 2 years later, just before her 18th birthday.

From a local history: "In 1909 the first telephone office in Tyne Valley was located in the home of Mrs. John Forbes. The house was bought in 1922 by Levi Dyment. His wife became agent and operator. In 1943, their daughter Dora became agent until 1948 when the office was moved." This information was confirmed in the history of the telephone on PEI, Voices of the Island by W. Auld.

Dora Dyment, Levi and Lottie's only surviving child, accepted a position in the central teiephone office, Southport, P. E. I. in 1926. She married in 1928.

In June 1933, the Guardian noted that the barns of Levi Dyment of Tyne Valley were struck by lightning and burned. Levi may have given up farming around this time. In the voters' lists of 1935 and 1940, his occupation was labourer.

Levi died in 1945. There was a death notice in the Guardian, but no obituary. He doesn't seem to have a death record in the PEI Archives.

The Guardian noted in 1948 that "Mrs. Dora Dyment" of Tyne Valley would be taking a position in Charlottetown - this must be either Mrs. Lottie Dyment, or Mrs. Dora Woods. It was around this time that Lottie moved to Rustico to live with a niece.

Lottie Ann's obituary in a Summerside Paper stated that she was survived by one daughter, Dora Wood of Ontario.

The pictures of Levi and his children were taken from the book KEEPING IN TOUCH - A History & Genealogy of Samuel Hutchinson and his Family 1790 to Dec. 31, 1986 by Bev Millar. They came from the Crumb family, descendants of Dora Dyment Wood. I'm using them without asking for permission, mainly because I couldn't resist showing the strong resemblance between Levi and his double first cousin, James Dyment.