George Herbert Thomson (1868 - 1941)

Born 21 Jul 1868 in McGillivray Township, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Died 17 Jan 1941 at age 72 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

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Biography

George Herbert Thomson is born in on July 21, 1868 in McGillivray Township, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada. This is north and west of London, Ontario. The family had moved from Scarborough Township (now part of Toronto) to McGillivray prior to 1865. The land making up McGillivray had been conveyed to the British Crown in 1825. The Canada Company was formed in London, England in 1824 with the purpose of purchasing crown land in Upper Canada and then selling it to settlers. (Upper Canada becomes Canada West in 1841 which, in turn, becomes Ontario in 1867.) One of the directors was Simon McGillivary, and this is where the township derived its name.

George is the son of Robert William Thomson (1835-1877) and Helen Jane (or Jane Helen) Tindill (1840-1919). His father was born in Scarborough, descended from the brother of the first settler in the township. Both of his paternal grandparents were among the earliest Scotish settlers in Scarborough. His mother was born in England and had come to Canada West with her family in 1850.

Although George was born in 1868, he is not shown with his family in the 1871 census. Presumably someone who gave the census taker the information forgot about the three-year old baby. George’s father dies in 1877 and his mother leaves the farm to move into the village of Parkhill. The village is in West Williams Township, about on the border with McGillivray. George is in Parkhill with his mother and five siblings in the 1881 census. He is now 12-years old and in school.

Sometime after 1881 his mother and some of his brothers and sisters move to Winnipeg, Manitoba. George is 22-years old living with his mother and two unmarried siblings in Winnipeg in the 1891 census. He is a grocer’s clerk. His oldest sister, Elizabeth, is now a widow and she and her daughter, Ella Sinclair, are also living in the household.

The 1901 census shows George still living in Winnipeg. He is now 31-years old and the census taker lists him as the head of the household. The census taker also mistakenly lists his 61-year old mother as his wife. George’s occupation is shown as a grocer. George’s niece, Ella Sinclair, is still with the family. The three of them – George, Helen, and Ella Sinclair – are living together in the 1906 census at 269 Young Street. This is just south of Portage Avenue and only a couple of blocks from Furby Street where his sister, Hester Thomson (1866-1942) and her husband, Thomas Gregg, live.

In the 1911 census, George is still living with his mother and his niece at 269 Young Street. In addition, a nephew and niece from Ontario are also living with them. In the 1916 census, the three of them are living together at 726 Banning Street. This is just south of Sargent Avenue, three or four long blocks north of Portage. George can be found in the 1921 census records, living at 726 Banning Street, with his niece, Ella. But now his brother-in-law and sister – Thomas and Agnes Gregg – are shown as the head of the household. George’s mother dies in 1919 and the assumption is that this house, at 726 Banning, was her house. It is not known who owns the house in 1921 but two of her children (Agnes and George) are living in it as his one granddaughter (Ella).

In the 1926 census records, George is now living at 616 Furby Street. He is living with his older sister, Hester Gregg, who is now a widow. His niece, Ella Sinclair, is also living with him. In the house next door, 618 Furby, his younger brother, David Thomson, and his family live. And a few houses further on, at 625 Furby, his sister, Agnes Meggs, and her husband live.

George dies on January 17, 1941 at the age of 72. He is buried on January 20th in Elmwood Cemetery in Winnipeg. His mother, several siblings and other close relatives are also buried in Elmwood.

Sources

[1] The 1968 Paterson family tree shows George as the 5th child of Robert Thomson and Helen Tindall [Tindell]. It shows no spouse or children.

[2] Ian Glendinning’s web site - http://www.glendinning.name/ancestry/thomsfam/pafg15.htm shows George Herbert Thomson born 21 July 1868 in McGillivray, Ontario and dying on 8 Dec 1942 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

[3] 1871 census, Ontario, Middlesex North, 8, McGillivray, e, pg 16, household 58. Robert Thompson (sic) (36) farmer; Ellen (30) born in England; Elizabeth (10); Agnes (8); James (6); Esther (4). The family is “Scotch” and “Presbyterian.”

[4] 1881 census, Ontario, North Middlesex, Parkhill village, pg 37-38, household 174: Mrs Ellen Thompson (sic)( 40), born England, widow; Elizabeth M. (20), [occupation appears to be “servant”]; Agnes P. (18); James A. (16), blacksmith; George H (12), in school; Esther A. (14), in school; David C. (7), in school; Thomas Hamilton (22), painter, Ch of Eng, Irish All the children were born in Ontario and they are all labelled “Scotch.” The Thompson [Thomson] family’s religion is C. Presb [Canadian Presbyterian].

[5] 1891 census, Manitoba, Winnipeg, 10, Ward 4, household 377. Helen Thompson (sic) (50), widow, born in England; Hister [? Hester] (24), dry goods clerk; George (22); grocers clerk; David (17), printer; Elizabeth (?) Swalar (30), widow; Ella Swalar (7). All children born in Ontario. Helen’s parents were born in England; the children’s mother was born in England, their father, in Ontario. [“Swalar” is most likely a mis-spelling of “Sinclair.”]

[6] 1901 census, Manitoba, 12 Winnipeg, Ward No. 3, pg 1, family #4: G. H. Thomson (31) born in Ontario July 21 1869, grocer; Mrs Ellen Thomson “wife” (sic) (61) born in England Jan 24 1840; Ella Sinclair, niece (19) (?or 18) born in London Ontario Mar 16, 1883, in school. While Mrs Ellen Thomson is labelled a “wife” she is also labelled “w” – ie, widow – in the marital status column. G. H. Thomson is labelled “S” – ie, single, in the marital status column. Mrs Ellen Thomson came to Canada in 1850. Mrs. Ellen is “English,” the other two are “Scotch.” The religion of the family is Baptist.

[7] 1906 census, Manitoba, Winnipeg 3g, pg 51, household 403: Geo H. Thompson (sic) (37), born Ont; Helen (65), mother, born England, immigrated to Canada in 1856 [?1850?]; Helen Sinclair (28), born Ont, niece; Helen Smith (28), born Scotland, boarder. The household lives at 269 Young (?St) and has 3 horses.

[8] 1911 census, Manitoba, Winnipeg, pg 12, family #93: [the writing is so bad that there is some guesswork in what follows] Ella [?Eileen] Thompson (70) born June 1840 in England; Geo H. [looks like “Gro H.”] , (44), son, born June 1866 in Ont., grocer; Ella Sinclair [last name is not legible] (26), granddaughter, born March 1884 in Ont., school teacher; Milton G. Meggs (23), grandson, born Nov 1887 in Ont, book keeper; Helen Meggs, (22), granddaughter, born May 1888 in Ont., book keeper; in addition, there is one roomer with the surname (?) “Moshey” in the house. The street address is 269 Young. The religion of everyone is Baptist except for George who is Congregationalist and the roomer who is Presbyterian. There is a note at the end of the line for Milton Meggs that reads “sick last year.”

[9] 1916 census, Manitoba, 13 Winnipeg, pg 13, household 141: Helen Thomson (75), widow, born England, 726 Banning Street, Baptist, came to Canada in 1851; George H (48), son, single, born Ontario, Baptist, occupation shown as ?”Farmi??”; Ella Sinclair (30), grand daughter, single, born Ontario, Baptist, teacher, employed by Public School.

[10] 1921 census, Manitoba, 38 Winnipeg Centre, pgs 6-7, family #64: George Charles Meggs (61), born Ont, parents born England, machinist ; Agnes Meggs (58) , born Ont, father born Ont, mother born England; [next name difficult to read, could be Hester] Meggs (29), daughter, born in Ont., no occupation; George Frederick Meggs (27), son, born Ont, occupation not legible; George Thomson (52), brother-in-law, born Ont, father born Ont, mother born England, occupation not legible; Ella Sinclair (37), niece, born Ont., occupation not legible. The religion of everyone in the house is Baptist except for George Thomson who is Congregationalist. Everyone identifies their racial origin as English except for George Thomson who is Scotch. Everyone in the house is “S” (single) except for George & Agnes Meggs who are married. The address for the house is 762 Banning Street. It looks like a 6 or 7-room house that the family owns.

[11] 1926 census, Manitoba, North Centre Winnipeg, pg 29, family #330: Hester Gregg (59), widow, born Ont., father born Ont, mother born England; George Thomson (57), brother, born Ont., father born Ont., mother born England, Ella Sinclair (42), niece, born Ont. There is also a lodger in the house. The address is 616 Furby. The next house is David & Alice Thomson. David is the brother of Hester Gregg and George Thomson.

[12] Manitoba Vital Statistics -- https://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/ListView.php George Herbert Thomson died on 17 Jan 1941 in Winnipeg at the age of 72. His birth date was 21/07/1868.

[13] http://historicelmwoodcemetery.ca/interments.php George is buried in Section 12-G0455

[14] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 April 2020), memorial page for George H Thomson (unknown–Jan 1941), Find a Grave Memorial no. 123089033, citing Elmwood Cemetery, Winnipeg, Greater Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada ; Maintained by Christina (contributor 46772328) .

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Katharine E for creating WikiTree profile Thomson-2132 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.

This biography was prepared by Fred Paterson Nix on Nov 14, 2014 (with up-dates in May 2020)