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The Elusive William Willson!
Gene recommended that I set up a separate discussion topic for my "most wanted" ancestor. So, here he is...the elusive, mysterious, slippery and tricky William Willson!
What I know:
William Willson [original spelling...the name later became Wilson] was born in March 1822 in the state of New York. William had a brother, Alexander (b. 1821, New York state), and a sister, Elizabeth (b. 1833, New York state).
William married (1st) Diana M. UNKNOWN (b. 22 Jun 1823, New York state) about 1842, probably in Monroe county, New York (possibly in the town of Sweden). The couple had four children that survived to adulthood:
1. Susan Willson, b. 1844, New York.
2. Eli Dennis Willson, b. 1848, Tillsonburg, Oxford County, Ontario
3. Elizabeth Willson, b. 1849, Oxford County, Ontario
4. Roscoe Elisha Willson, b. 16 Aug 1856, Dereham, Oxford County, Ontario
Alexander Willson immigrated to Ontario in the early 1830's, and in 1834 married his first wife, Katherine Edwards. They had one child, Elizabeth Sarah Willson, in 1836. Katherine died by 1847, and Alexander married (2nd) Freelove Patricia Sud on 18 Mar 1847 in Oxford County. Some of their descendants are still living in Oxford and Elgin counties, and also in Michigan.
William, Diana and daughter, Susan, and sister, Elizabeth, immigrated to Ontario in the mid-1840's, also settling in Oxford county. Diana died in Tillsonburg in 1862, and we've been unable to find any further record of Susan beyond the 1861 census, or sister, Elizabeth, beyond the 1851 census. Nor do we know what became of William and Diana's daughter, Elizabeth, and we presume that they married, although we've found no record in Oxford county or elsewhere.
In 1868, William married (2nd) Ellen Gilmore (b. 1844, Ontario). The couple had no children. Strangely, Ellen died on 18 Feb 1893 of a terminal illness. She died in jail, two months into serving a six month sentence for vagrancy.
William left Canada and moved to Ingham county, Michigan, where he lived out the rest of his days with his son, Eli, and his family. He died in Meridian, MI in 1901.
What we know of William based on census and other records:
1. Both of his parents were born in New York.
2. He states his family is of Scottish descent.
3. His lifetime professions were butcher (also Alexander's profession), and wagon wheel-maker. We believe that their father may also have been a butcher.
4. His son, Roscoe, from whom I'm descended, also immigrated to Michigan. We do not know if daughters, Susan and Elizabeth, remained in Ontario.
If anyone has any info on William, Alexander or their origins, your help would be very much appreciated!
What I know:
William Willson [original spelling...the name later became Wilson] was born in March 1822 in the state of New York. William had a brother, Alexander (b. 1821, New York state), and a sister, Elizabeth (b. 1833, New York state).
William married (1st) Diana M. UNKNOWN (b. 22 Jun 1823, New York state) about 1842, probably in Monroe county, New York (possibly in the town of Sweden). The couple had four children that survived to adulthood:
1. Susan Willson, b. 1844, New York.
2. Eli Dennis Willson, b. 1848, Tillsonburg, Oxford County, Ontario
3. Elizabeth Willson, b. 1849, Oxford County, Ontario
4. Roscoe Elisha Willson, b. 16 Aug 1856, Dereham, Oxford County, Ontario
Alexander Willson immigrated to Ontario in the early 1830's, and in 1834 married his first wife, Katherine Edwards. They had one child, Elizabeth Sarah Willson, in 1836. Katherine died by 1847, and Alexander married (2nd) Freelove Patricia Sud on 18 Mar 1847 in Oxford County. Some of their descendants are still living in Oxford and Elgin counties, and also in Michigan.
William, Diana and daughter, Susan, and sister, Elizabeth, immigrated to Ontario in the mid-1840's, also settling in Oxford county. Diana died in Tillsonburg in 1862, and we've been unable to find any further record of Susan beyond the 1861 census, or sister, Elizabeth, beyond the 1851 census. Nor do we know what became of William and Diana's daughter, Elizabeth, and we presume that they married, although we've found no record in Oxford county or elsewhere.
In 1868, William married (2nd) Ellen Gilmore (b. 1844, Ontario). The couple had no children. Strangely, Ellen died on 18 Feb 1893 of a terminal illness. She died in jail, two months into serving a six month sentence for vagrancy.
William left Canada and moved to Ingham county, Michigan, where he lived out the rest of his days with his son, Eli, and his family. He died in Meridian, MI in 1901.
What we know of William based on census and other records:
1. Both of his parents were born in New York.
2. He states his family is of Scottish descent.
3. His lifetime professions were butcher (also Alexander's profession), and wagon wheel-maker. We believe that their father may also have been a butcher.
4. His son, Roscoe, from whom I'm descended, also immigrated to Michigan. We do not know if daughters, Susan and Elizabeth, remained in Ontario.
If anyone has any info on William, Alexander or their origins, your help would be very much appreciated!
Views: 33
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Karyn Van Kainen on
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Thanks so much for the info, Gene. I really appreciate you taking the time to find it. It's nice to have something new to explore on my Willson line!
On the significance of the Willson to Wilson evolution...I believe in this case it's more a matter of a gradual and persistant mis-spelling of the name that eventually stuck. But I have learned that the use of the suffix "son" was one of the name variations favored by Scots as the use of surnames evolved in western Europe, and it identified a child as "son of Will." This, in turn, may have originally been Williamson, or "son of William" (this version often evolved into the surname Williams). Since William was a very common name in that part of the world, one can see why Wilson has become one of the most common surnames among English-speaking folk...it is currently the 3rd most common name in Scotland; 7th most common in England; 10th most common in both Canada and the U.S. (Williams is #3 in the U.S.).
Surname evolution...another element of genealogy that causes ulcers and gray hair! -
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