Hopper Toronto brick wall

[action49]

I dont have access on ancestry to Canadian records but was wondering whether anyone would be able to shed any light on a distant relative George Hopper (bap 1843) son of Thomas Hopper and Mary Palmer from Durham.  George was living at 24 St Lawrence Arcade, Toronto, in 1873 according to a letter from his brother to his sister (my ancestor) and I havent been able to find anything further about him since then.  If anyone could give me some clues what happened to George I would be immensely grateful!

Thanks
Angela

[Jacquie in Canada]

Do you have any other information about George like what his occupation was or whether he married?

There is a marriage for a George Hopper, son of Thomas and Mary Hopper who married Mary Edith Falstead, daughter of George and Annie Falstead on 11 Nov 1873 in Toronto. His age is out as he says he was 23. His occupation was butcher and he was born in England.

I found a George Hopper who was a butcher in York Twp, Ontario (now part of Toronto) on the 1871 Canada census. He is listed as being 27 and born in England which is in line with a baptism in 1843. George is in the household of Garrett and Jane Frankland. Garrett Frankland is listed as a cattle dealer and butcher so he may have been George's employer.

Jacquie

[Lisa in California]

Someone posted information about George Hopper and Mary Falstead/Felstead.
http://boards.ancestry.com.au/surnames.felstead/19.3.1/mb.ashx

[Jacquie in Canada]

I found a family tree and message board post (the one Lisa provided a link to) at Ancestry regarding George Hopper and Mary Felstead. The information in the message board post on Mary Felstead/Falstead indicates she was born Jul 1854 in York Twp. and died 29 Jun 1878 in Leslieville, York, Ontario. They had two children - a son named George and a daughter named Annie. I haven't been able to find birth records for either child.

I have found these Hopper children - George (5) and Annie (4) - on the 1881 Canada census in the household of Ann Felstead in East York but I can't tell whether it says she's married or widowed. Since her husband isn't listed with her and the message board post indicates that George Felstead died in 1875, it is likely a "W" in the married or widowed column.

On the 1891 census, Annie Felstead is in the household of her sons' John and William. George Hopper (14) and Annie Hopper (12) are also with them.

In 1901, George Hopper is in the household of Albert and Catherine Schmidt in Toronto. He is listed as being their nephew. He is listed as 23 with a birth date of 10 Aug 1877. William Felstead (brother-in-law) is in the same household and there is a marriage for a Catherine Felstead to Albert Schmidt.

I've also found a marriage for Ann May Hopper, daughter of George Hopper and Mary Falstead to Charles Hamilton, son of John Hamilton and Mary Sparkhall in Toronto. They married on 19 Mar 1901. I haven't found them on the 1901 census but there is a birth for a Norman C. Hamilton who was born 19 Aug 1903 to Charles Hamilton and Annie May Hopper in Welland County, Ontario. The 1911 census for Windsor, Ontario has a Hamilton family with Annie and Norman but I can't make head nor tails out of what the enumerator has written for Annie's husband's name.

Jacquie

[Lisa in California]

Photo of Newton Tanning Company employees, Richmond Hill, 1898.  Includes a George Hopper.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0c91/
 

[action49]

Oh wow, thank you!  You guys are amazing!

I am still searching for George in the 1861 census - he isnt with his sister Margaret although his brother, Henry (a coal miner) is.  If I can find him, it might give me a clue about his butchering background.  I would think, though, that if he listed his parents as Thomas and Mary at his marriage and he was born in England (Durham if that is listed anywhere) and I do know he was in Toronto in 1872/3 that this has a better than average chance of being my man!

Looking at the tannery picture, I wonder if that might have been George Jnr as it looks more like a 20 something than a 50 something chap.  I wonder why the kids referred to themselves as Felsteads - wonder if their maternal grandparents looked after them because George was unable to care for them once his wife died.  Or maybe he died young as well!  His older sister, Margaret died in 1905 and was quite a bit older than George.  Or, less than pleasant thought, maybe he deserted them!

Thanks!

[Jacquie in Canada]

I wonder why the kids referred to themselves as Felsteads

Personally, I would ignore that information for now as I find it really suspect. As I mentioned, both George and Ann are listed as Hopper on the 1881 and 1891 Canada census with George also listed as Hopper on the 1901 census.

Also the person in that post claims that George married Helen Ivy Jackson but from looking at the marriage registration and the 1911 Canada census I have serious doubts they are the same George. For example, the marriage registration indicates George Felstead was 26 when he married Helen Jackson in 1910 which would be a birth year of about 1884. The information we have on George Hopper is he was born about 1876 or 1877. The marriage registration indicates George Felstead's parents are George Felstead and Ann Dufrese which matches neither George Hopper's parents or grandparents names - George Hopper's grandfather was apparently named George but the people in that thread say his grandmother was Ann Kingston. Top that off with the 1911 Canada census entry which has George Felstead listed as being born in Oct 1886 in the United States and an immigration year of 1889 whereas George Hopper's 1901 census entry says he was born 10 Aug 1877 in Ontario. I've posted in that thread at Ancestry asking about this so I guess we'll have to see if she answers.

Jacquie

[action49]

Just seen George and Annie on the 1881 census - their grandmother listed them as Irish which is interesting!

I wonder where George snr was in 1881, maybe he was dead by then too.

[Jacquie in Canada]

By the way, here's a link to the 1881 census image:
http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e328/e008183451.pdf
and the 1891 census image (there are 2 pages per image - they are on the bottom page):
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0c93/
and the 1901 census image for George:
http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/ViewFrame.jsp?id=105447&highlight=43

Here's a link to the 1911 Canada which has very different information for George Felstead (line 11):
http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/1911/pdf/e002038694.pdf

I couldn't find Ann Hopper Hamilton on the 1901 census. She was married a couple of weeks before the census so it's possible they may have been away (honeymoon?) at the time the census was taken.

Jacquie