Agnes (Thomson) Muir (1837 - 1865)

Born 25 Sep 1837 in Scarborough Township, Upper Canada

Ancestors

Wife of Alexander Muir — married about 1857 in Canada West [uncertain]

Descendants

Died Mar 1865 at age 27 in Canada West

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

Biography

Agnes Thomson is born in Scarborough Township, Upper Canada on September 25, 1837 and is baptised on October 30, 1837 in St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bendale, Scarborough. She is the daughter of Agnes Paterson (1800-1875) and James Andrew Thomson (1802-1884). Agnes Paterson had come to Canada with the family (the grandparents, aunts and uncles of Agnes Thomson) in 1820 and settled along the east side of what is now Kennedy Road in the city of Toronto between Sheppard and Finch Avenues. James Andrew, or “Springfield Jimmy” as he was known, was a descendent of the brother of the first European settler in Scarborough.

Agnes marries Alexander Muir (1830-1906) probably in about 1858. Alexander was born on April 3, 1830 in Lesmahagow, Scotland. This is roughly 35 kilometres south of Glasgow on the modern M74 highway. Alexander is a school teacher when Agnes marries him. He becomes famous for composing the song “The Maple Leaf Forever.”

In the 1861 census, Agnes and Alexander are living in Scarborough with two children.

The Baptism Register for St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bendale, shows the residence of Agnes and Alexander when their first and second children were born (January 30, 1859 and February 24, 1860) as “Springfield,” so it appears that the couple live with the parents of Agnes for a few years after their marriage.

Agnes dies in March 1865 and is buried in the cemetery of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bendale.

The three children Agnes and Alexander had are:

• John George Muir 1859-1939 + (1883) Mary Elizabeth (Minnie) Ough 1860-1924

• James Joseph Muir 1860>1939

• Colonette [?Colinetta] Campbell Muir 1863-1931 + (1886) Warren Converse Kellogg 1856>1940

Sources

[1] The 1968 Paterson family tree shows Agnes, her spouse, 3 children and descendants.

[2] Scarborough Birth Register (poor photocopy of transcript): Agnes born Sept 25 1837, baptised Oct 20 1837.

[3] St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bendale, Baptism Register: John George Muir born 30 Jan 1859, baptized 1 May 1859; James Joseph Muir was born on Feb 24 1860 and baptized in Feb 1861; Colonette [not sure of spelling] born 6 July 1863, baptized July 1864. For the first two children, the residence is shown as “Sprinfield” (nothing is shown for the 3rd child).

[4] 1861 census, Ontario, York, Scarborough, pg 73, lines 7-10; Alexander Muir (30), born Scotland, [cannot read occupation, it is clearly not “farmer” and may be anything from “Icailar” to “Jailar” – can’t read it]; Agnes, (36), born Upper Canada, ; John G. (3); James (1).

[5] St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bendale, cemetery, headstone: “Agnes THOMSON wife of Alex Muir died Mar. 1865 in her 28 yr. by her brothers to gether (sic)” [row 24.9] Alexander Muir’s father is also buried at Bendale but there could be some confusion in identifying him because the there are two “John Muir” headstones. One is for a John Muir c1817-1899 who was a native of Lesmahagow, Scotland. Since Lesmahagow is where Alexander Muir was born, it might seem logical to conclude that this is his father. But it is not. The correct John Muir is this one: “To the memory of John Muir; a sincere Christian & estimable member of society, for 22 y’rs a teacher in this township and in his native land. Born in Crawfordjohn, Lanarkshire Scotland, July 5, 1802, died July 2, 1865 emigrated to Canada 1833 erected by a number of his grateful pupils in 1868, The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.” [row 23.8] There is also a report that Alexander Muir’s mother is buried at Bendale but, to date, no gravestone confirming this has been found.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Katharine E for creating WikiTree profile Thomson-2084 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 (Nov 11, 2013) was prepared by Fred Paterson Nix (up-dated in March 2020)