Elsie Margaretta Pearce

Elsie Margaretta Pearce

b: 27 DEC 1875
d: 19 AUG 1966
Biography
Tom Wright wrote by email on 15 August 2004:

We visited some sites in Toronto, including the house on Tranby Avenue which belonged to Margaretta (Pearce) and Harry Wilson, and in which my mother was born in 1901. It is now a heritage house on a heritage street.


On 28 August 2004 Tom Wright wrote:

Hi Alan,

I recently referred to my Pearce grandmother as Margaretta. She was, of course, Elsie Margaretta Pearce. We called her Nana.

Nana was born in London in 1875, and came to Canada in her teens. She married harry James Musson Wilson (1857-1914) in Toronto, and at the time of my mother's birth in 1901 they lived at 71 Tranby Avenue, a few blocks north of Queen's Park, the provincial legislature.

Harry was a chief telegraph operator on the railroad. He was a militia sergeant-major in 'A' troop of the Governor-General Body Guard at Humboldt, Saskatchewan in the North-West Field Force during the Riel Rebellion of 1885, and later in the 3rd Canadian Mounted Rifles in South Africa, 1902. He later worked for the firm of Sir Henry Pellatt (Pellatt & Pellatt). He died in Toronto on Nov.21, 1914, when my mother was twelve years old.

Harry was the oldest son of James Wilson (1833-1905) and Emmaline (Musson) Wilson (1835-1913). James was the son of John Wilson (1805-1872) and Eliza Armstrong (1810-1881). John was the son of James Wilson (1769-ca.1854) and Anne Wilson (1777-ca.1855) of Derryhillagh, Ireland.

My research began with a letter written in 1855 by Anne Wilson to her son John who had some time before emigrated to Canada. The letter (see below) shows that her husband James had recently died. Anne was then in her late seventies, and it is clear that most of her children had migrated to Australia. The letter was written from Derryhillagh, a townland in Co. Fermanagh. (I'm working on a contact here.)

It seems that her son John and his wife Eliza (Armstrong) Wilson and their children James, William, Ellen and likely other siblings had migrated, probably to St. Catharines, Ont., some time around 1845 or 1850, or perhaps even earlier.

I know that James Wilson (1833-1905) was in St. Catharines by 1854, because he was then gazetted lieutenant of the First Battalion of the St. Catharines Field Brigade, a militia artillery battery. In 1861 he was gazetted captain, and he was still captain of the Field Brigade during the Fenian Raids across the Niagara River in 1866. James was then a railroad agent for the Grand Trunk Railroad. He married Emmaline Musson (1835-1913) about this time, and the first of their many children, Harry (see above) was born in 1857.

The family appears to have moved to Toronto around 1868, I believe, probably to 118 Portland Street. John, then a customs agent, died of stomach cancer on March 22, 1872. His wife Eliza was living with her widowed daughter, Ellen Tenny, in St. Patrick's Ward, Toronto, when she died July 8, 1881.

James and his large family moved into 5 Widmer St. before 1880, but by 1885 moved to 11 Widmer Street. James was then Assistant Superintendent of the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railroad. By 1890 he had risen to be Superintendent then Claims Agent for the CPR which absorbed the TG&B RR., and moved into a large family home at 250 McCaul St. Most of his sons were railroad men in some capacity, and boarded in the family home. James lived on at 250 McCaul St. until his sudden death in 1905.

James's family was as follows:
Harry James Musson Wilson (1857 -1914), my grandfather (see thumbnail sketch above).
Henrietta (Ettie) Wilson (b. ca.1858 m. G.W. Murton
James Gustavus Wilson (1860-1936) car distributor with the CPR and foreman for R.G. Maclean.
William Alexander Wilson (1863-1873). I don't know the circumstances of his death.
George B. Wilson (1866- ?) became private secretary to Mayor Urquhart.
Alice Graydon Wilson (1868-1914)
Robert Wallace Wilson (b. 1870, died of war wounds, Jan. 28, 1918)
Frederick G. Wilson (1873-1937), steam heater car department, G.T.R., married Frances Hyatt.
Phillip Hamilton Wilson (b. 1876, killed in Action, Aug. 10, 1918).

I have some interesting documents regarding James and the St. Catharines Field Battery, including land grants for his military service, obituaries for James and his son Harry, photos of 250 McCaul (no longer there) and 71 Tranby (in 2004). Also photos of James, Emmaline, Harry, Nana, and of course my mother. I am seeking more information on the Irish connection and Derryhillagh. I am also in contact with a cousin who may still have the original of the 1855 letter. If he has the original envelope it may give clues to John and James's address in Canada and their home in Ireland. Here's hoping!

Regards,

Tom Douglas Grant Pearce writes 20 November 2010: "Married Harry John Musson Wilson, a telegraph worker, in 1897, in Toronto. In 1911, they were at 71 Granby in Toronto, with Doris, Harvey, Grace, Phillip, Mavis?, and Ernest. Harry was a stockbroker."

Facts
  • 27 DEC 1875 - Birth - ; London, Middlesex, England (see Family Records Centre London index of births, Lambeth 1d.545 for March 1876 - certifica
  • 19 AUG 1966 - Death - ; Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Ancestors
   
James Pearce , Jr
16 MAR 1806 - 14 MAY 1888
 
 
Henry Edward Pearce
15 SEP 1843 - 7 DEC 1927
  
  
  
Priscilla Susan Callaway
19 NOV 1806 - 25 AUG 1881
 
Elsie Margaretta Pearce
27 DEC 1875 - 19 AUG 1966
  
 
  
James Hurst
- BEF 1881
 
 
Harriet Georgina (Hattie) Hurst
25 AUG 1842 - 11 MAY 1920
  
  
  
 
Family Group Sheet - Child
PARENT (M) Henry Edward Pearce
Birth15 SEP 184317 Hillgrove St (?), St Paul's, Ashley, Clifton, Bristol (Name of road is not very clear on Birth Certificate)
Death7 DEC 1927 Toronto, Canada.
Marriage10 MAR 1863to Harriet Georgina (Hattie) Hurst at Parish Church of St Paul's, Bristol. Henry was living in the parish and Hattie was living in St James's, Bristol
FatherJames Pearce , Jr
MotherPriscilla Susan Callaway
PARENT (F) Harriet Georgina (Hattie) Hurst
Birth25 AUG 1842Bedford View, Registration sub-district Saint James, Registration District Bristol, England
Death11 MAY 1920 Toronto, Canada
Marriage10 MAR 1863to Henry Edward Pearce at Parish Church of St Paul's, Bristol. Henry was living in the parish and Hattie was living in St James's, Bristol
FatherJames Hurst
MotherGeorgina Susan Buckland
CHILDREN
MJohn William Ernest Pearce
Birth4 APR 1864Wellington Place, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England
Death25 JAN 1951South Villa, Vale of Health, Hampstead, London, England
Marriage16 APR 1898to Irene Kate Chaplin at St. Annes? (corner of Church St & Kensington High St.)
MLionel Hurst Pearce
BirthABT 1868Bristol, Gloucestershire, England
Death
MLincoln Buckland Pearce
Birth1869London, Middlesex, England (1881 Census)
Death
MThomas Edward Pearce
Birth1874London, Middlesex, England (1881 Census)
Death
FMabel Clarice Pearce
Birth26 MAY 1871Brixton, London
Death4 AUG 1935Toronto, Canada
Marriage1893to Andrew Reid at Montreal
FElsie Margaretta Pearce
Birth27 DEC 1875London, Middlesex, England (see Family Records Centre London index of births, Lambeth 1d.545 for March 1876 - certifica
Death19 AUG 1966Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Marriage1918to Harry Pearson
Marriage1897to Harry James Musson Wilson
MHenry Edmund Pearce
Birth
Death
MCecil Pearce
Birth9 NOV 1885Chorlton, Lancs, UK
Death7 APR 1909Toronto, Canada
MWilliam Callaway (Billy) Pearce
Birth11 APR 1883Chorlton, Lancs, UK
Death1966
Marriage1913to Ann Haxton Grant
MLeonard Pearce
Birth
Death
MArthur Swinton Pearce
Birth1867
Death
Marriageto Suzanne?
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Harry Pearson
Birth
Death
Marriage1918to Elsie Margaretta Pearce
Father?
Mother?
PARENT (F) Elsie Margaretta Pearce
Birth27 DEC 1875London, Middlesex, England (see Family Records Centre London index of births, Lambeth 1d.545 for March 1876 - certifica
Death19 AUG 1966 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Marriage1918to Harry Pearson
Marriage1897to Harry James Musson Wilson
FatherHenry Edward Pearce
MotherHarriet Georgina (Hattie) Hurst
CHILDREN
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Harry James Musson Wilson
Birth15 JUN 1854Toronto, Canada
Death21 NOV 1914 Toronto
Marriage1897to Elsie Margaretta Pearce
FatherJames Wilson
MotherEmmaline Musson
PARENT (F) Elsie Margaretta Pearce
Birth27 DEC 1875London, Middlesex, England (see Family Records Centre London index of births, Lambeth 1d.545 for March 1876 - certifica
Death19 AUG 1966 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Marriage1918to Harry Pearson
Marriage1897to Harry James Musson Wilson
FatherHenry Edward Pearce
MotherHarriet Georgina (Hattie) Hurst
CHILDREN
FMuriel Doris Wilson
Birth6 NOV 1897Toronto, Canada
Death22 MAY 1981
Marriageto Len Connors
MHarvey James Musson Wilson
Birth1 DEC 1899Toronto, Canada
Death31 DEC 1949Lakeland, Florida
Marriage(1922 (in Spring))to Mabel Finlayson at Kincardin
MPhilip Hurst Douglas Wilson
Birth19 AUG 1901Toronto, Canada
Death9 DEC 1965
FGrace Hurst Armstrong Wilson
Birth19 AUG 1901Toronto, Canada
Death1988
Marriage24 OCT 1927to Thomas Frederick Wright , Revd at Church of the Messiah, Detroit, Michigan, US
FElsie Mavis Wilson
Birth13 MAY 1908Toronto, Canada
Death19 SEP 1990
MJack Ernest Alexander Wilson
Birth25 JAN 1911Toronto, Canada
Death10 JAN 1960Mount Clemens, Michigan
Marriage1936to Jean Ruehle
Marriageto Private
FPeggy (Lesley M) Wilson
Birth10 SEP 1914Toronto, Canada
Death10 JUL 1916After a fall
Evidence
[S1468] Grace Armstrong Wilson by letter to Harvey and Elaine Wilson 18 February 1982
Descendancy Chart
Elsie Margaretta Pearce b: 27 DEC 1875 d: 19 AUG 1966
Harry James Musson Wilson b: 15 JUN 1854 d: 21 NOV 1914
Muriel Doris Wilson b: 6 NOV 1897 d: 22 MAY 1981
Harvey James Musson Wilson b: 1 DEC 1899 d: 31 DEC 1949
Joyce Wilson b: OCT 1924 d: 14 NOV 1974
Joan Wilson b: MAY 1933 d: JUL 1935
Philip Hurst Douglas Wilson b: 19 AUG 1901 d: 9 DEC 1965
Grace Hurst Armstrong Wilson b: 19 AUG 1901 d: 1988
Thomas Henry Wright b: 5 FEB 1929 d: 2010
Nancy (Elsie Ann) Wright b: 12 JUN 1930 d: 17 SEP 2024
Margaret Mary (Molly) Wright b: 14 APR 1932 d: 1983
Wilfred Klein b: 11 OCT 1930 d: 13 NOV 2000
Elsie Mavis Wilson b: 13 MAY 1908 d: 19 SEP 1990
Jack Ernest Alexander Wilson b: 25 JAN 1911 d: 10 JAN 1960
Jean Ruehle b: 1911 d: 1977
Peggy (Lesley M) Wilson b: 10 SEP 1914 d: 10 JUL 1916