Thomas Ray Craven

1924 - 2010  (86 years)

• Name	Thomas Ray Craven
  Birth	30 Sep 1924	Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	1944
  Tobacco farming
  Occupation	Between 1949 and 1999
  Commercial Agricultural Pilot
  Death	2 Nov 2010	Woodstock, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada
  Burial	Tillsonburg Cemetery, Tillsonburg, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I423	Weeks
  Last Modified	23 Feb 2017

  
  

  Father	Thomas Freeburn Craven,   b. 27 Mar 1879, Toronto, York County, Ontario, Canada d. 6 Dec 1945 (Age 66 years)
  Mother	Mamie Elizabeth Rouse,   b. 8 Oct 1887, Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada d. 23 Jun 1968 (Age 80 years)
  Marriage	17 Nov 1920	Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	Marriage Certificate: OVS Reg # 021264 Bridegroom: Thomas Freeburn Craven, Farmer, Bachelor Age: 41 Birthplace: Toronto Father: Lazenby Craven Mother: Ann Leece* (hard to read surname) Bride: Mamie Elizabeth Rouse, at home, Spinster Age: 32 Place of Birth: Delhi Father: Edward Rouse Mother: Charity Weeks Witness: Harry Rouse, Tillsonburg Witness: Mrs Harry Doyle * (Hoyle), Tillsonburg Place: Tillsonburg, Oxford Cty., Ontario Date: 17 November 1920 Clergyman: Thomas N. Bole, Tillsonburg, Methodist
  Family ID	F115	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Mamie Ann (Rouse) Allen,   b. 15 Sep 1939   d. 1996 (Age 56 years)
  Children	+ 1. K. Allen - Craven
  Family ID	F141	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Nov 2006

  
  

• Notes

  Thomas married his cousin Mamie Ann (Rouse) Allen, and subsequently adopted her son Kenneth George Allen; thus Kenneth George Allen and Kenneth Allen Craven are the same individual. Thomas Ray Craven is an experienced pilot, flys all over Canada, has done spraying, fire fighting, transporting of oil people to the North, much of this he has done in his middle years. He has maintained ownership on part of the 'farm', but sold portions of the lot as well. Ray Craven marks 50 years as a Commercial Ag. Pilot Ag. Pilot is Agricultural spraying, seeding and fertilizer applications; at one time employed by Can Ag Applicators, located Northeast of Delhi * Marg Craven (Sister) says "Thos. Ray sprayed the newly planted trees in N. Ontario with spray to kill weeds and brush to let the new trees get a good start." Thomas was forced to drop out of high school late in his final year to take over the family's farm after his Father took sick. He took his flying lessons in London, Ont. He was able to take his first solo flight after just four hours with an instructor. Craven credits his instructor, a pilot trainer during the Second World War and later commanding officer of London's Reserve Squadron for teaching him all the right things. Ray obtained his private pilots license in 1947. Three years later, 1950 he obtained his commercial licence, and all the while, he contd working as a tobacco grower on what had now become his farm. For a few years he contd. farming and flying, doing mainly crop dusting jobs, but in time it became too much and his sister and brother -in-law started looking after the farming operations. His work experience was crop dusting, spraying against spruce budworms in NB, tobacco spraying, pea crop spraying and mosquito spraying in Moncton and Dorval Airport. Later he was involved in aerial seeding and fertilizing; crops such as wheat and ginseng. Source: Excerpt from The Tillsonburg News, Friday, October 22, 1999; page 3

  
  

• Sources

  [S111] OVS Marriages 1920 Mamie Rouse & Thomas Craven, Reg # 021264. MS 932, 632 reels (Reliability: 3).