Margaret Paterson (1825 - 1885)

Born 23 May 1825 in Peel County, Upper Canada

Ancestors

Died 26 Sep 1885 at age 60 in Streetsville, Peel County, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Margaret Paterson is born on May 23, 1825 in Upper Canada (Ontario, Canada), the daughter of James Paterson (1793-1874) and Jane Pigge (1798-1849). Her uncle, William Paterson, arrived in Upper Canada in 1818. The rest of the family from Roxburghshire, Scotland, came in 1820 and, with the exception of Margaret’s parents, they all settled in Scarborough Township (now part of the city of Toronto). For some reason James Paterson decided to settle in Toronto Township -- 60 kilometres away from the rest of the family.

James Paterson, known as Laird of Bonnie Braes, settled in Lot 4, Concession 5 of Toronto Township, the 100 acres immediately to the west of the first house built in Streetsville. The first house, on what would become Thomas Street (named after Margaret’s brother), was built by James Glendinning on the banks of Mullet Creek. The James Paterson farm, Bonnie Braes, was immediately west of this house on what is now Vista Heights subdivision. This, presumably, is where Margaret Paterson is born in 1825. This is “new” land in the sense that it had only been purchased from the Mississauga first nations (Anishinaabe) seven years before the birth of Margaret and had only been opened for settlement in April, 1819.

On August 21, 1848 Margaret marries William Wyllie (or Wylie) in Hornby West. Hornby is just south of Georgetown which in terms of today’s geography is 54 kilometres northwest of downtown Toronto. William is a merchant in Stewartown which today is part of Georgetown. Not much is known about William other than that his surname is sometimes spelt with two “l’s” and sometimes with one “l.” There are possible clues about him. It is known that one of the early pioneers in the Streetsville area had a surname “Weylie”. There was also an Isaac Wylie who owned a farm in Lot 9, Concession 6 of Toronto Township (about five lots north of Streetsville and a little to the northwest). When Margaret’s niece – Agnes Jane Paterson (1849-1899) – is married in 1874, one of the witnesses is a J. A. Wylie. And in the 1870s it is known that one of the people who did business in Streetsville was a “Wilie Mrs Margaret, wid William.” This sounds very much like Margaret Paterson, a widow after William died. It has not been possible (to date) to connect all these dots. From the 1891 census records of one of his children, however, it is known that William was born in Scotland.

William Wyllie (Wylie, Wilie, Weylie) probably dies before 1861 because (a) Margaret has no more children after 1858 and (b) in the 1861 census two of the couple’s children (Jane Agnes age 12 and George age 10) are living with their aunt and uncle – William and Mary Hope – in Streetsville. Neither William nor Margaret, nor the two younger children, can be found in the 1861 census and this might have something to with the spelling variations of the surname. The house that William and Margaret built, at 263 Victoria Street, Streetsville, in about 1860, is still standing. The picture and description of the house on the Mississauga web site spells the name as “Wylie.”

In the 1871 census, Margaret is a widow, living in Streetsville, with her four children. Two of her children, the sons, die young – one at 22 and one at 18.

Margaret and William had four children:

• Jane (or Jean) Agnes Wyllie 1850-1932

• George Wyllie 1851-1873

• Mary Isabella Wyllie 1855-1938 + (1884) William G. Webster 1848-1915

• William J. Wyllie 1858-1876

Margaret marries Adam Simpson (1808-1884) sometime after William dies. Adam is a Justice of the Peace and a court clerk who lives in Streetsville. In the 1881 census, Adam Simpson is listed as a Divisional Court Clerk. Margaret and Adam have no children. In 1881, Margaret and Adam are living in Streetsville with two unmarried daughters: Jane and Mary. Margaret dies on September 26, 1885 in Streetsville and is buried in the Streetsville Cemetery. She is buried with Adam Simpson and Adam’s first wife. Her two sons who died young are buried with her. On the gravestone, her name is “Margaret W. Simpson” and it is surmised that the “W” stands for “Wyllie.”

(One mystery is why Margaret’s father, James Paterson, has a child in 1859 that he names “Adam Simpson Paterson.” Was there some relationship between the act of choosing this name in 1859 and Margaret’s marriage with an Adam Simpson sometime after 1871?)

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Sources

[1] The 1968 Paterson family tree shows Margaret, her 2 husbands and 4 children: Jane, George, Mary & William

[2] http://www.glanbrookheritage.ca/marriages1848.htm (visited Jan 2020) Hamilton Spectator, Marriages 1848 “ August 23, 1848 WYLIE-PATERSON - At Hornby West, on Friday evening, the 21st ultimo, by the Rev. W. Barr, W. Wylie, Esq., merchant, Stewartown, to Miss M. C. Paterson, daughter of James Paterson, Esq., of Bonnybrae, Township of Toronto.

[3] 1861 census, Ontario, Streetsville Village, Peel County Copyright (c)2008, Olga Groves, OntarioGenWeb’s Census Project (http://ontariocensus.rootsweb.ancestry.com), Transcriber: Olga Groves, Copier: Barbara Lewis pg 3, lines 11-18: William Hope (52), born in Scotland, an agent; Mary (42); Jane Agnes (17); Hannah Js. (15); Sadea Sherridan (15); Jas W. Callon (16); Janes Agnes Wyllie (12); George Wyllie (10).

[4] 1871 census, Ontario, District 39, Peel, sub-district Streetsville, pg 5, household 15: Margaret Wyllie (45), widow, Presbyterian, Scotch, born in Ontario; Jane (21) a school mistress; George (20) a labourer; Mary (17) in school; William (15) in school.

[4] 1881 census, Ontario, 140, Peel, Streetsville, pg 4, household 20: Adam Simpson (75) born Scotland, divisional court clerk; Margaret (55); Jane Wyllie (30), Governess; Mary Wyllie (24).

[5] Clues about William Wyllie: (1) Manning, Mary E, A History of Streetsville. pg 9 She lists some of the early pioneer farmers. One of these is “Weylie.” (2) The 1877 historical maps at McGill University: -- http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/ -- the map of “North Part of Toronto” (ie, Toronto Township, Peel County) shows a farm in Lot 9, Concession 6 owned by an Isaac Wylie. (3) a paper in the files of Barbara Paterson 1927-2009 entitled “People who did Business in Streetsville in the 1870’s.” reprinted from the Streetsville Review Dec 17, 1903, there is this reference: “Wilie Mrs. Margaret, wid William.” (4) in the 1891 census, for one of his children (Mary Isabella) the census record indicates that Mary Isabella’s father was born in Scotland.

[6] Mississauga Library System: “Description: 263 Victoria Street. Plan STR, 4, pt. Lot 9, 10, BLK 1. The house was built about 1860 for William Wylie and Margaret Paterson, the sister of Thomas Paterson who lived at 13 Thomas Street. It remained in the family through daughter, Mary, wife of William Webster, until 1938. This is a nearly square plan, two storey building, with a low-hipped roof and a one storey gabled roof extension off the rear face. The original basement was dug out to a full basement in the 1940s by Mr. Couse who purchased the house in 1944. The house is listed on the Heritage Register.”

[7] Canada Gen Web Cemetery project: Streetsville Cemetery: photo by Joanne Krywko (2009): “In memory of Margaret B. Simpson, died Aug 13, 1871/ Adam Simpson, born May 24, 1808 [from the photo, it almost looks like “1868”] died Jan 14, 1884 / Margaret W. Simpson, born May 23, 1825, died Sep 26, 1885” The back side on the stone reads” “In memory of George Wyllie, born Mar ? 1851 [or 1859], William J. Wyllie born ?? 1858 died  ??? 1876” and underneath this: “William (?) J. Wyllie, born on ?? 23 ?? 58, died Aug 18, 1878” The base on the stone is engrave “Simpson” and just behind this gravestone is the stone for Thomas Paterson 1820-1860, Margaret’s brother.

Acknowledgments

This latest version of the biography was prepared on May 24, 2014 (with some editing and up-dates in May 2020)

Thank you to Fred Nix for creating Paterson-810 on 12 Oct 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Fred and others.