Mathieson, Looking for Scottish Roots.

[Will M]

Hello, I am looking for my Scottish roots before my great grandfather came to Canada. My grandfather was William Alexander Mathieson, going through old family photos I found his obituary. Lived at 169 Gough Avenue Toronto, died from ill health at age 53. Born in Belleville, moved to Toronto at age 16, graduated Toronto Dental college in 1908, for seven years practiced in Port Powan, then returned to Toronto and had a Danforth Avenue office. He also was a member of The 48th Highlanders from 1904 to 1908. Grand Superintendent No 8 district, Royal Arch Masons for 1933-34 and District Deputy Grand Master, Toronto, in 1930. His wife was Lily Boyington Mathieson MD, and had two daughters Mary and Violet and a son, my father William Ronald Mathieson. He had one sister, Catharine Farrell of Belleville.

I am interested to find history of my great grandfather who would have came from Scotland to Canada and had my grandfather W. A. Mathieson in Belliville. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I have added a photo of W.A. Mathieson, my grandfather, in The 48th Highlanders uniform.

[SarahND]

Hello Will,
Great picture of your grandfather! Here's a start on tracking down his family:

There is a death certificate for William Alexander Mathieson, dental surgeon, who died in Toronto in 1934. On the death certificate it gives his parents as:

John Mathieson born Scotland
Isabella Leslie born Ontario

They were married in Hastings, Ontario in 1877. On the marriage certificate John states he is 34 years old and his parents were Alexander and Mary. Isabella is 22 years old and her parents are William and Flora.

On John's death certificate (1932) it is further stated that his mother's maiden name was Wilson, so that helps narrow things down. He was a widower by then.

Submitted birth records on the IGI say that John was born in Kirkton of Culsamond, Aberdeen on 22 Oct 1843. Some of the records for his siblings are extracted, however. This looks like the family in 1851:

1851
Wells Side, Culsamond, Aberdeenshire
Alexr Mathieson, 31, Head, born Forgue, Aberdeenshire, Farmer of 2 & Acres Employing No Lab
Mary Mathieson, 26, Wife, born Alva, Banffshire, Farmer's Wife
Mary Mathieson, 5, Daughter, born Culsamond, Aberdeenshire, Farmer's Daur
Agnes Mathieson, 2, Daughter, born Culsamond, Aberdeenshire, Farmer's Daur
John Mathieson, 7, Son, born Culsamond, Aberdeenshire, Farmer's Son
James Riddel, 35, Lodger, born Aberdour, Aberdeenshire, Slate Miner

There are two marriage records for Alexander Mathieson and Mary Wilson- one in Auchterless on 27 Aug 1843 and one in Alvah, Banff on 2 Sep 1843, presumably the calling of the banns in their two parishes. You should be able to follow Alexander and Mary through the years and find their death certificates on Scotland's People, which in turn should give you the names of their parents and allow you to go back another generation.

All the best,
Sarah

[speleobat2]

Hi Will,

The Alvah cemetery MI booklet which is sitting here on my desk has numerous entries for the Wilson families and one for a Barbara Mathieson when you get that far along in your search!

Carol

[Will M]

Thank-you Sarah and Carol, all this info so quickly is great, I must add it to the family tree. It will be interesting to see how far back one can go. I have alot of old family photos, many yet to be identified, but now I can get an idea of who they might be. I know I am also related to the Whitcombs, they were ministers in the 1850's and 60's from the old bibles I have and what is written on them.
This gives me great incentive to look deeper and go through all the old letters, pictures and other articles and try to put faces on the unidentified photos. The old cottage we once had was a great place for the family to store all these old treasures. Sadly, the treasures become less and less as space becomes a premium with moving and having no use for old items. I have tried to keep as much as possible, I just hope my daughter has interest and in future, the room for it all.

[Montrose Budie]

Note that the 48th Highlanders refers to a Canadian regiment.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/48th_Highlanders_of_Canada; linked to The Gordon Highlanders, the 74th of Foot.

mb

[speleobat2]

Hi again,

Here's the 1841 census for Alvah, Banffshire. Looks like the Wilson parents are gone and the children are living together with an Alexander Mathieson, Ag Laborer living with them on the farm!

1841 Scotland Census
Name: Mary Wilson
Age: 15
Estimated birth year: abt 1826
Gender: Female
Where born: Banffshire, Scotland

Civil parish: Alvah
County: Banffshire
Address: Upper Muirden
Parish Number: 146
Household Members: Name Age
John Wilson 20
Mary Wilson 15
Elspet Wilson 15
Isabella Wilson 10
Alexander Mathieson 20
William Keith 20
William Repper 10
John Christie 10

Keep us posted on your progress and don't hesitate to ask questions!

Carol

[speleobat2]

Back one last time for this evening. I don't have any credits left on ScotlandPeople to check Mary Wilson Mathieson's death certificate to confirm her parents names, but Sarah's information looks solid.

Going with that I looked for Wilson's in Alvah and came up with the previous 1841 census. The Alvah cemetery booklet has a John Wilson, d. May 1834 and his wife Elspet Watt d. Dec. 1834. Daughter Isabella d. 1849 age 18 and son John d. 1854 age 34. I took this information to http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp and did a parent/children search by entering the parents names only into the advanced search form and came up with 10 children--eight girls and two boys. John, Mary, and Isabella fit the 1841 census ages. It looks like Elspet Watt Wilson died after giving birth to her last child Barbara who was christened 18 Dec 1834. John Sr. had died the previous May.

Mary's full name was Mary Ramsay Wilson. Much information is available in the census records for several of the children including Mary who marrys Alexander Mathieson. I got my census info from Ancestry.com which is a pay site but might be available through your library for free. Scotsland People is also a pay site and will have extracts for births, marriages, and deaths.

Good hunting!

Carol