Joseph Albert Simpson (1823 - 1907)

Born 6 Aug 1823 in Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Joseph Simpson was born in England.

Joseph Albert Simpson is born on August 6, 1823 in Yorkshire, England and he immigrates to Canada West in 1850, sent by the Primitive Methodist church. It appears that he was ordained into as a full minister after being sent to Canada. He lived for about four or five years in Albion Township, north of Toronto. This is presumably how he met Hannah Woodill who lived in Toronto Gore Township (a bit south and west of Albion). Hannah came from a family that was very active in the Primitive Methodist church.

Joseph and Hannah are married on September 8, 1854. While the exact sequence of events is unclear, it appears that Joseph leaves the ministry and becomes a farmer in East Garafraxa Townhip which, at the time, is in Wellington County (it is now in Dufferin County). The best guess is that they move to East Garafraxa in 1854, shortly after the wedding, and that the farm on which they settle, The Maples, is located at the corner of the 19th line and Side Road 5. This is a few kilometres southwest of Orangeville which, in terms of today’s geography, puts them 50-to-60 kilometres northwest of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. But, and even though they had a child born in East Garafraxa in 1855, they cannot be found in the 1861 census (in Garafraxa or anywhere else in Canada West).

His great granddaughter remembers him as a minister in the Methodist church for 57 years. “My [great] grandfather, Rev. Joseph Simpson (1823-1907), came to The Maples, west of Orangeville, in about 1854. He was one of the longest-serving Methodist church ministers – 57 years. He instigated having the Methodist church built on the corner of the farm at The Maples.” His obituary, however, tells a somewhat different story: he apparently leaves the ministry but remains active in the church. The obituary is probably the correct story as the publication, Canadian Methodist Ministers 1800-1925, does not have a record of a Joseph Albert Simpson. It does have two “J. Simpson’s” but they are located in places that, as far as is known, where not places where Joseph Albert Simpson lived.

In East Garafraxa he is a farmer – this, and not minister, is how he is labelled in the available census records. Hannah and Joseph live on the farm until sometime in the 1870s at which time they move into Orangeville. The son, Joseph Albert Simpson (1857-1931) takes over the farm.

Hannah and Joseph have (at least) three children:

• Robert Pickering Simpson 1855-1866

• Joseph Albert Simpson 1857-1931 + Elizabeth Reid 1856-1947

• Lilly Simpson c1866-?

Hannah dies on June 27, 1902 and is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Orangeville. Joseph dies on January 25, 1907 and is buried with her.

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

Sources

[1] http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cancmhs/j-l.htm (visited July 2016) Canadian Methodist Ministers 1800-1925 There are only 3 ministers listed with the surname Simpson. One, a J. Simpson, was in Talbot in 1851; an other, also a J. Simpson, was in Elizabethtown in 1851; and the third, a James M. Simpson, was born in Ontario in 1834.

[2] 1871 census, Ontario, 34, Garafraxa East, pg 53, household #179: Joseph Simpson (47), farmer; Hannah (41); Joseph Albert (14); Lilly (5). The father was born in England; the mother and children in Ontario. The religion of the family is Primitive Methodist.

[3] 1881 census, Ontario, 152 Centre Wellington, Orangeville, pg 6, household #31: Joseph Simpson (60), born in England, no occupation shown; spouse [no name given] (58), born in England. The family’s religion is P. Methodist [Primitve Methodist].

[4] 1891 census, Ontario, 125 Wellington Centre, Orangeville, pg 5, household #21: Joseph Simpson (67), born in England, parents born in England, no occupation shown; Hannah (61), born in Ontario, parents born in England. The family’s religion is Methodist.

[5] 1901 census, Ontario, 124 Wellington Centre, Orangeville, pg 6, household #48: Joseph Simpson (77), born Aug 6, 1823 in England, immigrated to Canada in 1850, retired farmer; Hannah (71), born Dec 23, 1829 in Ontario. The family’s religion is Methodist.

[6] Isabelle Lightle, “A Farm Memoir,” In The Hills, summer 2005. In the article, Isabelle Lightle refers to the Rev. Joseph Simpson as her grandfather. In fact the best evidence is that he was her great grandfather. Her father was Griffith Joseph Albert Simpson (1884-1974); his father and her grandfather was Joseph Albert Simpson (1857-1931); and his father and Isabelle’s great grandfather was Rev Joseph Albert Simpson 1823-1907.

[7] Obituaries From The Orangeville Banner For The Year 1907 collected by Amy Menary at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onduffer/obituaries/Banner/1907.html#OB19070131jsimpson “Jan.31,p.6: Rev. Joseph Simpson - Orangeville has been bereaved of one of her worthiest citizens, in the demise of Rev. Joseph Simpson. Mr. Simpson was an Englishman by birth, being born in Yorkshire 84 years ago. Yet he spent most of his long life in most hearty identification with the land of his adoption, coming to Canada when he was about 25 or 26 years of age. Early in life he was brought genuinely under religious influences, and was converted to God when he was about 21 years of age. Soon his new-born love began to express itself in little forms of religious service, which, being recognized favorably by his elders, he was pressed into - first the exhorters' and then the local preachers' ranks. After 4 or 5 years of faithful and approved service, he was sent to Canada by the Primitive Methodist Church of England, to be employed in the service of the regular ministry of the church in this country. After serving the regular probation, he was ordained to the full ministry. Mr. Simpson was married to Miss Hannah Woodill, a member of a family of distinguished daughters, three of whom were married to ministers, and of the other two, one was herself a preacher of sweet spirit and winsome power. Mrs. Simpson predeceased her husband 4 1/2 years. There survives them one son, Mr. Albert Simpson, of The Maples, East Garafraxa. After some years spent in the ministry, Mr. Simpson, for reasons which were wise and good, withdrew from active circuit work and was located first in the Township of Albion for five years, then in Garafraxa for 13 years, after which he and Mrs. Simpson moved to Orangeville where he resided in the honor and esteem of his fellow citizens till his end came. Mr. Simpson was one of the pillars of the Methodist church in Orangeville and preeminently in the Providence neighborhood in Garafraxa. In the earliest days, before the union, he was in labors more abundant, preaching, conducting Sunday Schools, visiting the sick, etc. Since the union of the Methodist bodies in '83, he has been acknowledged blessing to the present Methodist church in Orangeville. He was a man whom to know was to love, transparent in character and pure in life. A sanctified man, he had clear views of the fundamental truths of the gospel and had proved and tested them in his own experience. In h is earliest life he was a preacher of power, and many are the souls that he was instrumental in brining to Christ. As a citizen, he always stood for the best interests of his country. As an official in the church, he was liberal, hopeful and strong. As a class-leader, he was helpful, encouraging and inspiring. As a father, he was a wise, true, loving and exemplary. As a neighbor, he was cordial and beautiful. In the quiet hours of Friday night, the 25th inst. his work being done he left church, friends and family, and went home to God and his eternal rest. “

[8] www.findagrave.com Memorial# 129384892 (thanks to Gumboots) Greenwood Cemetery, Orangeville, Ontario: Rev Joseph Simpson, born Aug 6, 1823 in England; died Jan 25, 1907 in Orangeville.