Camille Winnifred (Johnston) Thomson (1890 - 1973)

Born 19 Oct 1890 in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Daughter of Samuel Francis Johnston and Elizabeth (Howard) Johnston

Wife of Kenneth Bown Thomson — married 1 Oct 1919 in Peace River, Alberta

Descendants

Died 15 Jul 1973 at age 82 in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Judith Chidlow [send private message]

Biography

Camille Winnifred Johnston was born 19 October 1890 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada. ^[1] She lived with her parents when the 1891 and 1901 censuses were taken. By 1911 she was enumerated at the home of her sister Frank in Victoria. ^{[2] [3] [4]} By 1916, she lived with another sister, Anna in a short-lived community called Bear Lake, in northern Alberta. ^[5] There she met K.B. Thomson. Winnie christened the [1], then the largest steamship between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean in May 1916. ^[6] Miss C.W. Johnston was a teller for the Royal Bank in Peace River.^[7] Winnie and Kenneth Bown Thomson were married 01 October 1919 in Peace River, Alberta, Canada. ^[8] They lived in Peace River. ^[9] She worked for the Peace River Drug Co. About 1919, she was appointed President and Managing Director. She carried on until about 1928. There were chocolates and an ice cream parlor in the back, and the smell of the chocolate pervaded the place. ^[10] From 1920 to 1950, K.B. worked in Driftpile and Faust for Anna's husband, George McRae. At first Winnie stayed in Peace River. She was active in sports and church. She played tennis and golf in the summer and curled in the winter. She also played badminton. Her best sport was golf. Winnie and the children stayed at Driftpile with K.B. about 1926, but returned to Peace River when Marg started school. K.B. came home at Christmas and met the family at a cottage at Joussard in the summer.

Kate Brighty visited Peace River and was invited for tea at Winnie's home. She wrote: "The walls were of rough logs, and none too tight either, chinked with mud and moss. There were two corner cupboards ... [the china in them was] beautiful in coloring and quaint in design - and what quantities - whole dinner services, with odd-shaed tureens and ramekin dishes - a tea set, a dessert service; all sorts and sizes, shapes and designs of cups, saucers, plates and dishes. At that moment my hostess came in with tea and, drawing our chairs up to the tea tray, I saw that it too was set with quaint and lovely china." She asked about the china and learned that it came from her husband's family and "travelled all the way packed in barrels without mishap." "The tea was hot and the scones just right and what a feast it was for one interested in china. Mrs Thompson (sic) let me open the cupboard doors andexamine peices I fancied. Much of it made before the days of manufacturers' trade marks - but the colors of our early potters were still there, rich and soft. There was Spode in deep old blues and terra cotta - a dessert service in paintted flowers; a dinner service in pink and gold - Crown Derby in a design I had not seen before." "What an array and if only they could only talk what tales they could tell of graciousness and dignity..."

Then Mrs Thomson showed her "a book bound in red marocco. 'We've had it a good many years in the family. Most of the contents were collected by Sir H. Holland, physician to Queen Victoria.' Turning over tha pages I found an extraordinary collection of original letters and signatures. There was the find handwriting of Queen Victoria and Florence Nightingale, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William the Fourth and his Queen Adelaide; then came that sweet singer Jenny Lind, followed by Sidney Smith, founder of the Edinburgh Review; Lord Shresbury was there too, and Mrs. Gaskell and many, many others. Of course, coming out of Halifax sucha collection would not be complete without the signatures of "Sam Slick." There it was, as legible as the day it was written. ^[11]

Winnie and the children moved to Edmonton in September 1939 when it was time for them to go to high school. She went to live with K.B. in Faust in 1944. They moved from Faust to Summerland, B.C. when K.B. retired in 1950. She enjoyed her church, gardening, and the fruit grown there, calling the area "God's country." In the summer, family gathered at her home, and it was a great joy to all of us. On 15 July 1973, Winnie died at the Century House Rest Home in Summerland, British Columbia. ^[12]

Mary (Carlisle) Rooney recalls "Often on summer weekends I would go to Margaret's house for cake and ice cream. Her mother, Mrs. Thomson, made the most delicious angel food cake I have ever tasted. She used 13 egg whites for the cake, and then made custard with the egg yolks. This custard went into the interior of and ice cream freezer, which was sealed and surrounded by ice. Then Margaret, her brother, Peter, and their friends who had gathered would take turns with the handle of the freezer, turning and turning and turning for what seemed like hours until the handle would barely turn at all. When the freezer was opened we would have ice cream! Finally we were rewarded for our hard work: each of us would get a plate with a large slice of cake and a big scoop of ice cream covered with Mrs. Thomson's freshly made hot chocolate sauce--ambrosia! ^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ Ontario. Birth registrations, Camille Winnifred Johnston
2. ↑ 1891 Census of Canada, Ontario, Lincoln, St Catharines
3. ↑ 1901 Census of Canada, Ontario, Lincoln, St Catharines
4. ↑ 1911 Census of Canada, British Columbia, Victoria District 24
5. ↑ 1916 Census of Canada, Alberta, Edmonton, 84, 22, W5.
6. ↑ Peace River Museum, article transcribed from the Peace River Record.
7. ↑ Mary H. Dixon (Grimshaw T0H 1W0, Alberta) to Margaret Johnstone, letter, 20 Mar 1979, citing Peace River Record, Sept 12, 1919; privately held.
8. ↑ Peace River Record, Friday, October 3rd,1919
9. ↑ 1921 Census of Canada, Alberta, Edmonton West, Peace River (town).
10. ↑ Sir Alexander Mackenzie Historical Society, Peace River Remembers, p. 365
11. ↑ Kate Brighty Colley, While Rivers Flow : Stories of Early Alberta (Saskatoon, Prairie Books, Western Producer, 1970), page 84
12. ↑ British Columbia Registrations of Deaths
13. ↑ Mary E. Rooney, Peace River Years, (privately published, no date), pp. 53-54.

• Paternal and maternal relationships are confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Judith and 3 of her second cousins. Their most recent common ancestors are their great grandparents, Samuel Francis Johnston and Elizabeth Howard.

Predicted relationship between Judith and Julie Irwin from AncestryDNA: 2nd-3rd Cousins, based on sharing 265 cM across 14 segments. Predicted relationship between Judith and LJB from AncestryDNA: 2nd–3rd Cousins based on sharing 262 cM across 14 segments. Predicted relationship between Judith and her second cousin, SJG from AncestryDNA: 2nd-3rd Cousins, based on sharing 206 cM across 11 segments.