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William James Thomson (1863 - 1922)

William James Thomson
Born in Scarborough Township, Canada Westmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1896 [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at age 59 in Toronto, Ontario, Canadamap
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Profile last modified | Created 7 Jun 2013
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Biography

William James Thomson is born in September 1863 in Scarborough Township, Canada West, the son of James George Thomson (1839-1917) and Agnes Glendinning (1840-1916). He is baptised in St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bendale, Scarborough in October 1863 [1][2]. Scarborough Township is now a part of the city of Toronto, in the province of Ontario, Canada.

On his father’s side, William is descended from two of the earliest Scottish families to settle in Scarborough – the Thomson’s who were the first European settlers in Scarborough in 1799 and the Paterson’s who settled in 1820 along what is now the east side of Kennedy Road between Finch and Sheppard Avenues. His Thomson ancestor was the brother of the first European settler in Scarborough. On his mother’s side, the Glendinning’s also were among the first settlers in Scarborough and are so inter-married with both the Thomson family and the Paterson family that it is sometimes difficult to keep relationships straight.

William is in the 1871 census, as a young boy, living with his parents and five siblings on the family farm [3]. The farm, Springfield Farm, is in Lot 23, Concession 1 of Scarborough. The West Highland Creek runs through the middle of the farm. In today’s geography, this is on the north side of Lawrence Avenue, west of McCowan Road in Toronto. The original farm which would be at 142 St. Andrew’s Road., now sits beside the Thomson Memorial Park. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bendale, was built on the northern part of the farm.

William is still with the family at age 17 in the 1881 census [4]. In 1890 William moves to the United States – as far as is known to New York city. While his reasons for moving to New York are not known, he is involved in some sort of business with wholesale, dry goods. He will remain in this business until his death in 1922. He has not been found in either the 1890 US census records or the 1891 Canadian census records.

On August 25, 1896, William marries Louisa (or Louise) Maria Closson (1861-1933) in Toronto. Louisa was born in Pickering Township, the township to the east of Scarborough, although she spent much of her early years growing up in Scarborough. The marriage record shows William to be five years older than Louisa. Later census records will show Louisa to be two years older than William, or, the same age as William. In fact, Louisa is two years older.

William and Louisa move back to New York City sometime after the wedding. They are found there in the US 1910 census with an eight-year-old child [6]. This is the only child the couple has:

• Goldwin Closson Thomson 1902-1989 + (1920) Anna Doris Marshall 1902-?

The family moves back to Canada at some point and can be found in the 1921 census records, living in Toronto [7]. William’s son, Goldwin, is just married (December 1920), and the young couple are living with William and Louisa with their one-month old child, Gwendolyn. The family is living at 133 Pacific Avenue, which is in the west end of Toronto, just north of High Park.

William dies in Toronto on December 6, 1922 [8]. He is buried on December 8 in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. The death record shows that his address is still 133 Pacific Avenue and that his occupation is still in the wholesale dry goods area. Louisa dies in 1933 and is buried with him.

Sources

[1] 1968 Paterson family tree by Marjorie Paterson shows William as the 2nd child of James & Agnes Thomson. It shows his spouse, Louisa Closson, and it shows one child: Closson + Anna Marshall.

[2] St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bendale, Baptism Registery: William James born Sept 1863, baptised Oct 1863.

[3] 1871 census, Ontario, 45 East York, Scarborough, pg 48-49, household 180: James G. Thomson (31), farmer; Agnes (31); Eliza Jane (9); William (?) James (7); Andrew H. (5); Oliver (3); Agnes Ida (1). All members of the household were born in Ontario; their religion is “Presbyter” [Presbyterian], and they are “Scotch.” Eliza Jane is in school. The next household (#179) is James A. Thomson (69) & Agnes (70). These are the parents of James George Thomson.

[4] 1881 census, Ontario, 135 East York, Scarborough, pg 1, household 3: James G. Thomson (41), farmer ; Agnes (40); Eliza Jane (19); William James (17); Andrew H. (15); Oliver (13); Agnes Ida (11). All family members were born in Ontario, their religion is shown as “Can Presb” [Canadian Presbyterian]; and their origin is shown as Scotland. The 3 youngest children are in school.

[5] "Canada, Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSZ3-4W4 : 8 March 2021), William J Thomson and Louise M Closson, 25 Aug 1896; citing registration , Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,870,916. William J. Thomson (32) married Louise M. Closson (27) in Toronto on 25 Aug 1896. William was born in Scarborough and currently lives in New York. He is in the wholesale, dry goods business. His parents are James G. and Agnes Thomson. Louise was born in Pickering and currently lives in Toronto. Her parents are Lorenzo D. and Mary A. Closson. The witnesses are Andrew H. Thomson of Montréal and Allis Hawdon of Whitby. The groom is Presbyterian; the bride is Methodist.

[6] United States Census, 1910, index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M5S8-SJW : accessed 09 Oct 2014), William J Thomson, Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 529, sheet 6B, family 108, NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1375034. The census record shows William J. Thomson (46), born in Canada in 1864, married to Louise M Thomson (48), also born in Canada. They have one child, Closson G. Thomson (8), who was born in New York. The year of immigration for the parents is shown as 1890.. The census record also shows Louise’s father as born in New York.

[7] Canada 1921 census, Ontario, 145 York West, Toronto, pg 1, family #1: William J. Thomson (57), born Ont, parents born Ont; Louise M. (57), wife, born Ont, father born U.S.A., mother born Ont; Goldwin C. (29), son, born U.S.A., came to Canada in 1904 ; Anna D. N. (19), daughter-in-law, born New Brunswick, parents born New Brunswick; Gwendolyn L. (1 month). The family lives at 133 Pacific Ave., Ward 7. William J.’s occupation looks like “manufacturers’ agent.” Goldwin has an occupation, but it is not legible. The religion of William, Louise and Goldwin is Presbyterian. The religion of Anna and the baby is Methodist. The family appears to own its own 6-room house.

[8] "Canada, Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JXXK-77J : 2 March 2021), William James Thomson, 06 Dec 1922; citing Toronto, York, Ontario, yr 1922 cn 6815, Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,907,002. William James Thomson died on 06 Dec 1922 in Toronto at the age of 57. His address at the time was 133 Pacific Ave. His occupation was “wholesale dry goods.” The informant was Goldwin C. Thomson, his son, who had the same address as his father. He was to be buried in Mount Pleasant cemetery on 08 Dec 1922,.



Acknowledgments

Thank you to Katharine E for creating WikiTree profile Thomson-2056 through the import of andrew thomson.ged on Jun 7, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Katharine and others. The current biography was written by Fred Nix in Feb 2022. Fred and William are second cousins, three times removed.






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It may be possible to confirm family relationships with William by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with William:

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