Samuel Billings, 1821-1910

Second Generation

Samuel Billings was the third son born to Braddish and Lamira Billings. He was well educated like his brothers, yet he chose a private life, in which he lumbered on the Ottawa River, farmed on the family estate, and ran the family sawmill.



TITLE Samuel Billings DATE 18-- ITEM NUMBER CA-000433 MG001-17-029 DESCRIPTION Formal bust portrait of Samuel Billings extracted from an original family sitting.

He met Caroline LaCompte, a French Catholic divorceé employed by the Billings Family, and the two were married in 1841. They adopted a boy, but the child passed away at a young age. Samuel suffered greater losses when both his wife and his father died in 1864; Samuel was excluded from his father’s will. It is unclear why Samuel did not inherit; nevertheless, the day after Braddish died, Sabra and Sally wrote a life estate agreement with Samuel, which ensured he would be provided for.

Four years later, Samuel married his cousin Amelia Traveller. They had two daughters together:

Amelia Celeste and Mira Dow.



TITLE Samuel Billings and Amelia Traveller Billings Family DATE ca.1876 ITEM NUMBER CA-002094 DESCRIPTION Formal portrait of Samuel Billings, Amelia Traveller Billings, and daughter, possibly Amelia Celeste.

Samuel’s life was not well documented, but records show that he became

A successful farmer
A Major in the militia
Treasurer of Gloucester Township

He was diagnosed with cancer in 1902 and spent the remaining eight years of his life in constant pain. Samuel Billings passed away on June 26, 1910 at the age of 89.

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