Agnes Wakefield (1856 - 1926)

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 17 Jan 1926 at about age 70 in Lambton County, Ontario [uncertain]

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Biography

Agnes is born on October 11, 1856, the daughter of Hannah Jane Thomson (1833-1905) and John Wakefield (1828-1909) [1][7]. She is likely born in Markham Township as that is where her parents live on a farm, although the death record indicates she was born in Scarborough, which is next door to Markham. She is in the 1861 census as a five-year old girl living with her family in a log house in Markham [2]. She (“April”) is living with her family as a 14-year-old girl in the 1871 census [3]. The family has now moved to Scarborough Township, the township to the south of Markham (Scarborough, today, is a part of the city of Toronto).

Her parents move to Vaughan Township at some point. Vaughan Township is to the west of Markham. Agnes marries Robert Luallen Oliver (1851-1942) on December 15, 1876 in Toronto [4]. The marriage record shows her place of residence as Vaughan, which suggests the parents moved to Vaughan sometime between 1871 and 1876. Robert Oliver, a 22-year-old farmer in Vaughan, was born in Scotland and came to Canada in 1873. The birth notice for their first child shows that they live in Lot 39, Concession 1 of Vaughan which puts them either on, or very close to, Yonge Street about halfway between the villages of Thornhill and Richmond Hill.

Agnes and Robert have five children:

• May (Mary) Edith Oliver 1877-1932 + (1903) Albert Nelson Duncan 1879-1959

• William Alexander Oliver 1880-1950 + (1926) Kathleen Lindfield 1908-1978

• John Paterson Oliver 1886-1902

• Hannah Jane Ettie Oliver 1888-1888

• James Luallen Oliver 1889-1889

Their second child is born in 1880 in Markham Township even though the 1881 census record shows that the family still lives in Vaughan [5]. They live so close to the border between the two townships that it could be Agnes gave birth at a midwives’ home close to their farm. Sometime after 1881, Agnes and Robert move to Bosanquet Township in Lambton County. Bosanquet no longer exists having been incorporated into a new municipality of Lambton Shores in the 1990s. Bosanquet hugged the shores of Lake Huron, northeast of Sarnia, Ontario, with the Grand Trunk Railway bisecting it at an angle. The township was named after Charles Bosanquet, the first chairman of the 1824 Canada Company – a land development company formed in London, England. Agnes and Robert have close relatives who also move to Bosanquet although it has not been determined who moved first: Agnes Hood Thomson (1857-1935) and her husband Richard David Thomson (1850-1934) also live in Bosanquet and Agnes Hood and Agnes Wakefield are cousins.

The farm Agnes and Robert move to in Bosanquet backs onto the Auxsable River and is just to the north of the village of Arkona. This is about 12-13 kilometres south of Thedford [6].

Robert and Agnes are found in the 1891 census, in Bosanquet with three children: the 13-year-old Edith, 11-year old William and 5-year old John [7]. They have one farm labourer living with them. The 1901 census shows the family on the farm with three children [8]. The family is still on the farm in the 1911 census and there now is only one child, William, left at home [9]. In addition, the family has a 13-year-old nephew living with them – the census record shows Robert Wakefield immigrating from the United States to Canada in 1909, so presumably his parents, James Wakefield and Lydia Brandt had left Ontario and moved south. There is also a 22-year-old niece, Jenny Oliver, living with the family. Jennie was born in Scotland and came to Canada in 1910. The 1921 census record shows Robert and Agnes on their farm and only one son, William, is left with them [10]. William, who is 40, will take over the farm after his parents are gone.

Agnes dies on January 17, 1926, at the age of 69. She is buried in the Pinehill United Cemetery which is near Thedford [11] [12]. Robert dies in 1942 and is buried with her. Their son, William and his wife are buried with them.

Can you add any information on Agnes Wakefield? Please help grow her WikiTree profile. Everything you see here is a collaborative work-in-progress.

Sources

[1] The 1968 Paterson family tree by Marjorie Paterson: shows Agnes as the 3rd child of Hannah & John . It shows her spouse as Robert Oliver and it shows three children: (1) William + Kathleen Lindfield; (2) Edith + Albert Duncan; and (3) John.

[2] 1861 census, Ontario, York, Markham, pg 3-4, lines 49-50: John Wakefield (32) born England, farmer; Hannah (28), born Canada; Joseph (8); Mary (6); Agnes (5); James (3). They are Presbyterian and they are living in a log house. Joseph & Mary are in school.

[3] 1871 census, Ontario, 45 East York, Scarboro Div 1, pg 72, household 265: John Wakefield (42), born England – farmer; Hannah (38); Joseph (18); Martg (16); April (14), [presumably Agnes]; ?as J (12), [presumably James]; John (10); John Robt (8); Andrew (4); Family is Presbyterian & English [it is pretty certain that 2 of the boys – Andrew and Robert, or John Robt (Robert G on the cemetery headstone) – have been mixed up in this census record as Andrew was actually the older of the two.]

[4] "Canada, Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FMJ9-DCM : 8 March 2021), Robert Oliver and Agnes Wakefield, 15 Dec 1876; citing registration , Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,863,651. Agnes Wakefield (20) married Robert Oliver (22) in Toronto, on 15 December 1876. Robert was born in Scotland and was residing in Vaughan Township at the time of the wedding. His parents are William and Isabella Oliver. He is a farmer. Agnes is residing in Vaughan and her parents are John and Hannah Jane Wakefield.

[5] 1881 census, Ontario, 136 West York, Vaughan, pg 25, family #117: Robert Oliver (26), born in Scotland, farmer; Agnes (23); May (3). Robert and May are labelled “Scotch,” and Agnes is labelled “English.” The family’s religion is Presbyterian.

[6] The location of the farm is given in the wedding record for William Alexander Oliver (Lot 2, Concession 1 of Bosanquet Township).

[7] 1891 census, Ontario, Lambton East, 81, Bosanquet, family 214: Robert Oliver (36), born in Scotland, farmer; Agnes (31), father born in Eng, mother born Ont; Edith (13); William (11); John (5); + one farm servant. The family is Presbyterian

[8] 1901 census, Ontario, 78, Lambton, Bosanquet, pg 7, household #66, Robert Oliver (49), born July 9, 1851, farmer; Agnes (44), born Oct 11, 1856; May E (23), born May 18 1877; William A (20), born Apr 24 1880; John P (14) born Aug 18, 1886, in school. Robert immigrated to Canada in 1873. The whole family is “Scotch” and “Presb” (Presbyterian).

[9] 1911census, Ontario, Lambton East, 2, Bosanquet, pg 5, household #51: Robert Oliver (60), born July 1851; Agnes (53), born Oct 1858; William (31), born April 1880; Jennie Oliver (22), niece, born Jan 1888; Robert Wakefield (13), nephew, born Dec 1897. Jennie was born in Scotland and came to Canada in 1910; Robert Wakefield was born in “W.S.A.” (sic) and came to Canada in 1909. Agnes and Robert Wakefield are labelled “English” and the rest of the household is labelled “Scotch.” Robert is a farmer; William is a labourer, making $300/yr.

[10] 1921 census, Ontario, Lambton E, Bosanquet, pg 4, family #39: Robert Oliver (67), born in Scotland, came to Canada in 1873, farmer; Agnes (63); William (40), farmer. There is one servant in the house. The family’s religion is Presbyterian.

[11] "Canada, Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JFYM-BDF : 2 March 2021), Hanna Jane Thompson in entry for Agnes Oliver, 19 Jan 1926; citing Ontario, 30, Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,079,877. Agnes Oliver died on 19 Jan 1926 in Bosanquet, Lambton County, Ontario. She was 68 years old and the estimated birth year was 1858. She was born in Scarborough. Her parents’ names were John Wakefield, who was born in England, and Hannah Jane Thompson (sic), who was born in Scarborough.

[12] Pinehill United Cemetery, Bosanquet Township, Lampton County, Ontario, headstone: “Agnes wife of Robert Oliver died Jan 17, 1926, aged 69 years. Robert Oliver 1843-1942, William A. Oliver 1880-1950, Catherine Lindfield 1908-1978” [the birth date for Robert, 1843, is not a transcription error as the numerals are clearly visible in the photograph of the headstone. Since there are two census records showing his birth date as July 1851, the assumption here is that

Acknowledgments

The current biography was prepared by Fred Paterson Nix on Dec 2, 2013 (up-dated and revised in Jan 2022).

Thank you to Fred Nix for creating Wakefield-616 on 10 Nov 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Fred and others.