Week 31 - Thomas Wilson

Thomas Wilson ( 1876 - 1920)

Online family tree researching has turned up some fascinating stories.  Thomas Wilson is certainly not a close relative, Ancestry calculates he is my first cousin, three times removed.  His is an interesting story including a fair bit of tragedy that makes it worth telling.

Thomas Wilson was born in Perth County, Ontario in 1876, the son of Ellen (Helen) Tait and Robert Saffley Wilson.  He had an elder brother, Robert.  The family of four moved to farm at Hope, South Dakota for a time and in 1898 they relocated to Blanshard Municipality in Manitoba near his mother's sister Mary Tait Henry. Their farm was about 2 miles south of Whitebank Lea School.

In 1903, Thomas married Elizabeth Hayes in Brandon, Manitoba. In the 1901 census, Elizabeth could be found nearby working as a domestic servant in the Glinz household in Oak River. The Glinz family were the storekeepers in Oak River.

In the 1906 census, Thomas and his wife Lizzie along with their 2 young children, John Gordon and Hazel were living with his widowed mother Ellen. In the 1916 census, she was called Helen and is 76 years old and was still living with Thomas and Elizabeth and now their 6 children.

Thomas and Elizabeth eventually had nine children. Thomas is remembered in a local history book as a very athletic man whose nickname was “Blackie” or “Tommy”. He was a member of the C.O.F.- Canadian Order of Foresters.  

Tragically, 3 of their children died in 1919 during the same week in an influenza epidemic.  There are lots of online accounts of what must have been a terrifying time in rural Manitoba as well as in the cities with the Spanish flu of 1918-19.    

Melvin Wilson 1910-1919

Doris Wilson 1917-1919

Irma Wilson 1915-1919

The next year, Elizabeth lost her husband in a terrible accident. The following article from the Oak River Post details what happened.

Clear Day From the Oak River Post, Oak River, MB 12/1/1920 SUDDEN DEATH OF T. WILSON The community was shocked on Thursday last to learn of the sudden death at Elphinstone the night before of Thomas WILSON, one of this district's old-timers. The late Mr. WILSON died in his bed in the basement of his garage from gas poisoning, caused by a leaky exhaust pipe leading from a gasoline engine in the basement close to where he was sleeping. Some repairs had just been made in the basement, including a new foundation and alterations in the exhaust system, and no ventilation had been provided. Mr. WILSON had not slept in the room since the alterations were made until the fatal night, as he had been visiting his family here. The fact that Mr. WILSON had expired was not known until the following morning when C. R. FOWLER, who is employed in the garage, entered the room. Medical opinion is that death took place about 10 p.m. on Wednesday, November 24th. The late Mr. WILSON was born at Cromarty, Ont. When five years old he went to the United States with his parents. He returned to Canada twenty-two years ago, and took up farming in the Oak River district. He married Miss Elizabeth HAYS seventeen years ago. He retired from farming three years ago and bought a garage business at Elphinstone. When younger, he was one of the foremost athletes of the community, and was still an enthusiastic curler and ball player. He leaves to mourn him besides his sorrowing wife, one son and five daughters, all at home, a brother, Robert at Gilbert Plains, and his mother at Brandon. His father died several years ago, and two daughters and a son succumbed to influenza during the epidemic of February, 1919. The funeral was held on Saturday to White Bank Lea cemetery, following a service at his late residence in Oak River at 2 p.m. Rev. MC CARTNEY of Bradwardine officiated. The pall-bearers were Messrs. J. G. BARR, E. H. GLINZ, W. MC KENZIE, JR., J. GREENAWAY, C. G. SPARLING and Thomas BROWN, all members of the C.O.F., of which order deceased was a member. A large concourse of people, including several from Rivers, Bradwardine and other outside points, were in attendance. The community extends sympathy to the bereaved in their grief.

Thomas Wilson gravestone at White Bank Lea Cemetery

Elizabeth remarried William Green in 1926 and moved to Shoal Lake, MB.  From there they moved to Neepawa where William died suddenly in 1936.  Elizabeth then moved to Dauphin where she died in 1944.

Week 29 - Ellen Tait Wilson

Ellen Tait Wilson (1838 - 1930)

 

Robert Saffley Wilson (1843- 1906) and Ellen Tait  were married in Dumfries, Scotland in 1865. Ellen, aka Helen, can be found on the 1841, 1851, and 1861, census of Scotland in Troqueer, Kirkkudbrightshire living with her parents William and Helen Mowbray Tait.  One of her sisters, Jamima was featured in Week 27 of this blog. Robert was born in Holywood, Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland to Robert and Henrietta Beck Wilson.  (August 2021 - Thanks to Find a Grave contributor LD for this information.)   

 

Robert and Ellen's eldest son Robert was born July 3, 1865 in Scotland (according to his death certificate), although some census records say he was born in Canada. The family immigrated to Perth County in Ontario Canada in about 1866, near Ellen’s sister Mary, who had married William Henry in 1856 and immigrated to Canada in about 1858. Mary was my great great grandmother.

Their next son, Thomas was born in 1869. He died in 1873 and is buried in Cromarty, Perth, Ontario.

A third son was also given the name Thomas and he was born in 1876 in Perth County. When he was 5, in 1881, the family moved to  Lyman County in South Dakota, USA. The 1885 Dakota Territory census shows a Robert Wilson, age 45, his wife Ella, 48 both born in Scotland. A 21 year old son, Robert born in Canada (an error?) and a 10 year old son Thomas also born in Canada are living in Steele County, which is located in the mid-eastern part of the present day state of North Dakota.

Sometime around 1894, Robert and Ellen and their sons moved to Blanshard Municipality in Manitoba near Ellen’s sister Mary Henry and her 11 children. In 1894, Robert Jr. married his first cousin, Mary Henry who was the youngest daughter of his mother’s sister, the Widow Mary Henry. Robert Jr. and Mary moved to Gilbert Plains, Manitoba to farm and raised a family of eight children. The 1906 census shows they had 5 horses, 9 milk cows, 16 cattle and 3 hogs on their modest farm. His death certificate from February 4, 1937 states he lived at S.E. 19-25-21 near Gilbert Plains and was a farmer and blacksmith until his death at age 71 of coronary thrombosis. He is buried in Eldon Cemetery, near his home.

In the 1901 census, Robert Sr. and Ellen, 60 and 63 years old respectively are found living with their son Thomas in Blanshard, Manitoba.  In 1903, Thomas married Elizabeth Hayes in Brandon, Manitoba. 
 

In the 1906 census, Ellen is widowed and is found living with Thomas and his wife Elizabeth along with their 2 young children, John Gordon and Hazel. In the 1916 census, she is called Helen and is 76 years old and is still living with Thomas and Elizabeth and now their 6 children.
 

 

Ellen’s obituary from the Oak River Post in 1930 follows. (It seems to have mixed up the dates of death for her son Thomas and her husband Robert.)

2/6/1930 MRS. ELLEN WILSON The funeral of the late Mrs. Ellen WILSON, who died at the home of her son, Robert, at Gilbert Plains, on Tuesday, January 28th, took place on Saturday to the White Bank Lea cemetery, following a service at the residence of her nephew, Edw. HENRY, at 2 p.m. Rev. Mr. WOTTON of Cardale officiated. The pall-bearers were: Messrs Edward, Charles, John, Thomas and William HENRY, and Reeve W. BRAND. A large number of people attended to pay their last respects, and there were many beautiful floral tokens. Mrs. WILSON was 91 years of age. She was born in Scotland, and had lived in Ontario and North Dakota, moving with her husband and family from the latter place to Gilbert Plains 35 years ago, and to Oak River a year later. Her husband died in 1920. Her family consisted of two sons, of whom one, Thomas, died in 1906 at Elphinstone, and the other, Robert, lives at Gilbert Plains, where Mrs. WILSON had made her home for the past seven years.