Mary Fenton (Paterson) Buchan (1855 - 1926)

Born 24 Feb 1855 in Canada West

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1926 at about age 70 in Ontario, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Fred Nix [send private message]

Biography

Mary Fenton Paterson is born on February 24, 1855 somewhere in Canada West, the daughter of William Goodfellow Paterson (c1829-?) and Eliza Jane McMaster (c1833-1864). Her paternal grandparents had come to Upper Canada from Scotland likely in 1820 and homesteaded on a farm just west of Streetsville in Peel County. Mary’s mother was born in Ireland and at some point her family had come to Upper Canada and settled in or near Streetsville (now a part of Mississauga, Ontario). Her mother, Eliza Jane, is the neice of Senator William McMaster, the person responsible for founding McMaster University in Hamilton.

Her parents show up in the 1861 census in Collingwood and her father is a miller. Mary is not with them and, to date, she has not been found in the 1861 census. Her mother dies in 1864 and, in the 1871 census, Mary is living with Arthur and Mary McMaster in Toronto. These are likely Mary’s aunt and uncle. In census records after 1871 Mary is labelled Irish – her mother and Arthur McMaster were born in Ireland but her father, William Goodfellow Paterson, was born in Upper Canada of Scotch lineage and it is usual for children to take the same “origin” (the term used in the 1871 census) as their father’s. Second in the 1871 census Arthur and Mary McMaster have an 11-year old daughter named “Ida B.” In 1875 Mary herself would have a child and she would name this baby “Ida Beatrice.” The third point to note about these census records is that both of Mary’s parents were Presbyterian. The McMaster’s were Baptists. In the census records that have been found from 1871 on, Mary is also shown as a Baptist. It appears that Mary is raised by Arthur and Mary McMaster.

On September 15, 1874 Mary marries Lawrence Buchan (1847-1909). Lawrence is the son of David Buchan (c1897-?) from Glasgow, Scotland and Jane Griffith (c1809-?) from Chester, England. While the family had lived in Dumfries Township at some point (in or near the modern city of Cambridge, Ontario), in the 1871 census the family is in Toronto and Lawrence is a stock broker. He is listed as a stock broker on the marriage notice in 1874. However two years before the marriage, Lawrence Buchan, who had been educated at Upper Canada College, had become an ensign in the Queen’s Own Rifles. Presumably he quit his occupation as a stock broker at some point after the wedding as his military career thereafter is impressive. He fought in the Northwest rebellion of 1885 and, in particular, participated in both the battles of Fish Creek and Batoch.

The Northwest rebellion which, among other things, resulted in the Canadian government hanging Louis Riel, is not viewed today as it was in 1895 – indeed, Louis Riel, as a founder of the province of Manitoba and a leader of the Métis is viewed more as a hero than a villain. The Battle of Batoch, May 9-12, 1885, on the South Saskatchewan River about 44 kilometres southwest of Prince Albert in what is now the province of Saskatchewan, resulted in the defeat of Louis Riel and the Métis forces. The battle was led by Gabriel Dumont on the Métis side and Dumont today is regarded as a folk hero.

Back to Lawrence Buchan’s military career: by 1899 he is Major Lawrence Buchan, second in command of the Canadian forces landing in Cape Town, South Africa. In July 1908 Brigadier-General Lawrence Buchan is in Quebec City in command of 12,000 troops taking part in ceremonies marking the 300th anniversary of the city’s founding. The Prince of Wales (later King George V) is in attendance. By October of 1909, Lawrence is dead from pneumonia. In one obituary published in the fall of 1909, Lawrence is described as one of the best known soldiers in Canada.

As for Mary Fenton (Paterson) Buchan, not much is known about her after her marriage. She can be found in the 1891 census, living in Winnipeg with Lawrence and her 15-year old daughter. And she can be found in the 1901 census living in London, Ontario with Lawrence and her 25-year old daughter. But she has not been found in the 1881 census, nor can she be found in the 1911 cenus. It is not known what became of her after Lawrence’s death in 1909 although there is one clue: on December 2, 1924 Mary F. Buchan signs a declaration in Toronto about the birth date of her daughter. The declaration gives her address as 504 Sherbourne Street, Toronto.

Mary dies in 1926 and is buried in the Arthur Robinson McMaster family plot in Mt Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.

Mary and Lawrence had one child:

• Ida Beatrice Buchan (1875-?) + (1903) John Henry Kaye (1871-?)

Sources

[1] 1968 Paterson family tree shows Mary as the only daughter of William & Eliza; it shows her spouse Lawrence Buchan; it shows one child, Ida, Ida‘s spouse; and it shows one grandchild of Mary’s (Gail).

[2] 1861 census, Canada West, Simcoe, Collingwood, pg 6, lines 16-19: W.G. Patterson (sic) (34), born U.C. [Upper Canada] 1854, miller; Eliza J (25), born Ireland; Helen or Heber Paterson (sic, one “t”) (21), born U.C. [the columns for “single” and “male” are ticked, so this must be William Goodfellow Paterson’s brother, Heber Paterson]; Mary McDermid (20), born U.C. The point to note is the William & Eliz’s daughter, Mary Fenton Paterson, born in 1855, is not in the household.

[3] 1861 census, Canada West, York, Toronto, St Andrews Ward 106 [not clear if the 106 is the number of the census area or whether it is a page number]: A. R. McMater (33), born in Ireland, merchant; Mary (31), born in England; [several other names that are not very legible]; Ida B (2). This is the McMaster family that Mary Fenton Paterson is living with in 1871. The point to note is that she is not living with them in 1861.

[4] 1871 census, Ontario, Toronto East, 47, St Davids ward, pg 21, household 62 : Mary F. Paterson (16), a Baptist, is living with: Arthur A. McMaster (42) born Ireland, Baptist, a merchant; Mary (40) born England; Ida B McMaster (11) born Ont; Jane Russel (21) born Ireland, C Presby, servant; Thomas G. Stratton (35) born Ireland, W. Meth, servant; Eliza Stratton (30) born Ireland, W. Meth, servant

[5] 1871 census, Ontario, 45, East York, Yorkville, pg 29, household 106: David Buchan (64), born Scotland, occupation appears to be “Business College”; [name not quite legible but ends with “Jane”] (62), born Scotland; Jane (33); Maria (25); Lawrence (24), stock broker; [female name not legible] (20). [there appears to be about a dozen other people in the household, some of whom have the surname Buchan]. The family is Baptist.

[6] http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maryc/tor74p2.htm “11666-74 Laurence BUCHAN, 27, stock broker, Dumfries twp., Toronto, s/o David & Jane, married Mary Fenton PATERSON, 19, Toronto, same, d/o William & Elizabeth Jane, witn: George HOPE of Montreal & A. T. McCLOU-? of Toronto, 15 Sept 1874”

[7] 1891 census, Manitoba, 11, Winnipeg, ward 3, pg 106, household 480: Lawrence Buchan (43), father born Scotland, mother born Wales, occupation is Major; Mary F (34), parents born Ireland [her father was born in Upper Canada].; Ida B (15). All household members were born in Ontario. The family is Baptist.

[8] 1901 census, Ontario, 87 East Middlesex, East London, pg 20, household 224: Lawrence Buchan (54) born Jan 19, 1847, Scotch; Mary (46) born Feb 24, 1855, Irish; Ida (25) born June 23, 1875, Scotch.

[9] Lawrence Buchan: see source notes in the biography for Lawrence.

[10] information on the death of Mary Fenton Paterson and where she is buried is from Joan MacCallum in a Nov, 2015 email.

See Also:

• "Canada Census, 1901," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHLN-HW7 : 23 February 2021), Mary Buchan in household of Lawrance Buchan, Middlesex (east/est), Ontario, Canada; citing p. 20, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Fred Nix for creating Paterson-865 on 26 Oct 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Fred and others.

The current biography was prepared by Fred Paterson Nix on May 31, 2014 (with revisions in November 2015).