Alexander Wilson/ Mary-Anne Reynolds of Ireland

[dwf1313]

I am trying to find out any information on Alexander Wilson born 1825 in Ireland and his wife Mary-Anne Reynolds born 1829 in Ireland. I believe they married in Ireland then came to Canada in or around 1847. I found an immigration record showing a Alex Wilson and Mary-Anne Wilson, with the correct ages, arriving in 1847. They ended up in the Simcoe, Ontario area. They had 14 children.

I do not have any information on them prior to their arrival in Canada. The Canadian Censuses that I have found show their birth years and the approximate time of their arrival but nothing at all from Ireland.

I am their gg-grandson from their son William James Wilson born September 21, 1865 in Simcoe South, Ontario Canada, who married Jane Isabella Knowles Dec 27, 1892. Their son Howard Alvin Wilson in the father of my mother.
Any help or information on them would be greatly appreciated, My grandparents never spoke of any of Howard's family so finding things out has been difficult.
Thank you,
Dwight

[aghadowey]

Welcome to Rootschat. To find any information in Ireland, especially with such a common surname as Wilson, you need to know both the family's religion and where they lived (parish if not actual townland not just a county).

Have a look at Introduction to Irish Records and My Ancestor came from Ireland - where do I start?.

[cosmac]

The 1901 Canadian census shows a couple living in Beeton, Simcoe which I think is yours.  If so Alexander's birth date is given as 16 Mar 1827 Ireland with an immigration year of 1855.   Mary's birthdate is 11 Jan 1829 Ireland and immigration year of 1852. These immigration years are what the indexer has interpreted.  The image, to me, is unreadable as to immigration years. This same family had a son Dixon Wilson.  There is an older Dixon Wilson, also in the Simcoe area (Tecumseh).  His entry in the 1901 gives a birth or 7 Feb 1827 Ire with an immigration year of 1846.  His death at age 88 on 26 May 1915 Simcoe County gives his father as James Wilson (Ireland) and mother not known.  With the coincidence of first names there might be a family relationship.

Debbie

[dwf1313]

Hi Debbie, thank you for this information. On the Ancestry website I have found this information. If you look at the censuses from 1871 to 1901 it shows Alexander and Mary-Anne with different birth dates or approximate birth dates. I have tried to figure out which is which and I think I have figured it out. The unfortunate thing is that this information only show Canadian information and nothing about them prior to arriving in Canada. I am trying to find out about them before they came to Canada.

I am not sure if the Alexander Wilson from Beeton Simcoe is the same one as mine. I have tried searching the Irish records that they have on the ancestry website but no luck. I am hoping that I can find some links here or find someone else working on this line. I appreciate any help I can get.
Thank you again.

I also want to thank the moderator for your articles. I look forward to reading them. I have come quite far since I first started my family tree but searching an area that I have no information on is frustrating. Any advice one gives is greatly taken and used.
Thank you again
Dwight

[aghadowey]

Ancestry have very Irish records. You need to check all possible resources in Canada to find a location in Ireland before you can start searching in Ireland (many church records will not survive for the period you need so you may not be able to go further back).

Have you checked all Canadian census records, births/marriages/deaths for all the children, newpaper obituary, headstone, local church records, etc.?

Also posted here:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=547755.new#new

[cosmac]

In 1861 Alexander and Mary are in Tecumseh with Eliza, Mary, Jane, George, Margaret, John W., and illegible.  In 1871 and 1881 they are still in Tecumseh.  When their son Thomas Dunlop marries Catherine Madill on Oct 4, 1896 the record states he was born in Tecumseh and was living in Beeton.  On the 1891 census for Beeton T. Dunlop Wilson (28 ) along with John Wesley, Ellen, Johnson, Dixon and Alexander (64) and Mary (62) are living in Beeton.  On the 1901 Thomas and wife Catherine are in Beeton - pg. 10 and on the next page is the Alexander and Mary I previously referred to.  Seems like the same couple but you have more information than I do.  Do you have dates of death for Alexander and Mary?g

Have you traced all the children of Alexander and Mary through marriage and deaths?  Sometimes you find information only recorded on one record - such as place of birth of parents with a more specific locale in Ireland.

I'm assuming that Dixon Wilson is one of the children of Alexander.  It is an unusual name that might be worth pursuing.  George Wilson who settled in Collingwood, also born in Ireland of the same generation as Alexander, named one of his children Dixon. 

Debbie

[kQUINN]

Hello Dwight

My name is Kirk Quinn. My great great great grandmother was Mary Wilson.

I believe that you are on the same trail that I have traced and that the recent input from the others to this thread furthers the same argument. I do not have a valid proof for my thoughts but I believe there is a good deal of circumstantial evidence to support the theory of a relatively large Irish immigrant Wilson Family in late 1840's Ontario.

I believe that the critical missing link is the 1851 Census information for the Mulmur / Nottawasaga Township areas. It is lost. I believe that a number of Wilson family members came to this local and were likely still together to some extend in '51 having arrived c 1846 as noted.

I believe that they were all children of James Wilson and Mary Johnson of Ireland. The family included Alexander, Mary, Dixon, George, John, Annabella, and Joseph.

You know the Alexander information. He would be the eldest and seems to have been most separated. Mary is next and married Charles Stewart. They were in Mulmur and later went to McKellar north of Parry Sound. Dixon married Ellen Millie. They stayed in Mulmur. George married Sarah Ann Unknown and was in Collingwood. John married Ellen Unknown. Annabella married Ellen Millie's brother, William. They were in Creemore. Joseph married Esther McLaughlin.

[kQUINN]

I believe that a significant part of the circumstantial linkage is in the distinct names in the families of this proposed Wilson family. Dixon, as Debbie pointed out, but also Annabella. The proximity of some of the Mulmur and Nottawasaga farms in combination to this adds to the argument I think.

Charles Stewart (Mary Wilson), Dixon Wilson, George Wilson, John Wilson, William Millie (Annabella Wilson), and Joseph Wilson all had farms in north Mulmur / south Nottawasaga south of Creemore. Joseph resided with Annabella before marrying a neighbouring widow. Dixon and Annabella married siblings. Dixon's farm was on the next concession east of George and John's adjacent farms. Mary (Stewart) was very near to those farms.

My great great grandfather was John Quinn. He married Annabella Stewart, daughter of Mary Wilson and I believe namesake of her aunt Annabella (Millie). Their children have several links to the proposed Wilson clan. John and Annabella Quinn's children included: Mary, John James, Mary Ann, George, Norman Dixon, and Wilson Stewart Quinn. Annabella's brothers and sisters included George, Ellen Mary, Dixon and Johnson Stewart.

Dwight, your Alexander Wilson also had a son named Dixon. So did George Wilson. These families account for (almost if not) all of the instances of Dixon as a first name in the 61 and 71 Census records for the area.

[cosmac]

Sarah Ann Wilson b. 2 May 1835 London England d/o James Hurry and Ann James
died 29 May 1930 in Grey County.  Her place of residence for the past 21 years was Meaford and she had been in Canada 81 years.  Buried Thronbury.  Her son, Dixon Wilson of Meaford, was the informant.  Seems like a match for George's wife.

Debbie