The UK attestation papers for Edward Towlson name his next of kin as "Elizabeth Collingwood Canada". Unfortunately, even close inspection of the image leaves it unclear whether Collingwood is his sister's married name or her place of residence. In either case, I'd like to know of any records that might establish her Canadian history.
She was born in England in 1859 (details below) and must have emigrated between 1871 and 1885. That's because she appears in the English census of 1871 (again, details below) and, since Edward married in 1885 (idem), Elizabeth wouldn't have been named as his next of kin after that date.
(1) Elizabeth Ann Tolson was born on 3 Nov 1859 in Copper House, Phillack, Cornwall, England. Her parents are named as Edward Tolson, stone mason, and Sarah née Honeybone. (Source: birth certificate from GRO, indexed in
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/8912/images/ONS_B18594RZ-0561?pId=55658249 under 1859.4 Redruth, vol 5c p 304.)
(2) She may have been baptised as Elizabeth Tolson at St Peter's, Plymouth, Devon, England on 25 Nov 1860, as the daughter of Joseph (sic), mason, and Sarah Tolson of 106 King (possibly Ring) Street. Her date of birth is given as 24 Dec 1859. This date is at odds with the date in the birth certificate, and the father's name is also different, but the location in Plymouth matches item 3 on my list, for which see below. (Source:
https://www.familysearch.org/search/ark:/61903/1:1:KCS8-79S?cid=fs_copy)
(3) Elizabeth Tolson, along with her brother Edward and their mother, Sarah, appear in the 1861 census as paupers in the Plymouth Workhouse (though these family relationships are my supposition, and not specified in the entry itself). Elizabeth is aged 1, and - like her brother - said to have been born in Chatham, Kent, England. In spite of the place of birth, I'm persuaded of the identification as:
- Sarah Tolson, in the entry, is aged 34 and born in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
- Edward Tolson is aged 4 and supposedly born in Chatham like Elizabeth, but I find a more convincing birth for him in 1856.4 Alderbury vol 5a p 182, where his father is Alfred (sic), blacksmith, and his mother Sarah née Honeybone. (I've seen a copy of the birth certificate; the index is at https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/8912/images/ONS_B18564PZ-0804?pId=55658148.)
- Sarah Honeybone was baptised on 18 Feb 1824 at St Mary's, Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, as the daughter of George and Ann Honeybone. This doesn't quite correspond to her age in 1861, but is close, and the ages of the two children match those of their birth certificates.
(4) Eliza Toulson, aged 11, appears in the 1871 census as an inmate at Union House, Preshute, Wiltshire, England. This institution is just outside Marlborough. Eliza, as in 1861, is said to have born in Chatham. (Source:
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/7619/images/WILRG10_1906_1910-0139?pId=4245058)
Summing up to this point:
- Elizabeth appears as Elizabeth Ann in her birth certificate but nowhere else, and in 1871 she is Eliza. Her last name is mostly Tolson but, in 1871, Toulson (and in Edward's attestation papers he is Towlson).
- Elizabeth's father is given as Edward on the birth certificate but (possibly) as Joseph on the baptismal record - though these two documents differ in her date of birth.
- There are relatively few Tolsons (or variants) in Cornwall, Devon or Wiltshire around this time. The name is much more common in the north. Thus, documents showing Tolsons in 1860 and 1861 in Plymouth, for example, as in items 2 and 3 above, might relate to the same family in spite of the difficulties just listed.
- I've been unable to find any Tolson/Honeybone marriages, or any explanation for Chatham as the children's supposed place of birth.
- Most relevant to this enquiry, I don't know if Elizabeth married before emigrating or, if not, whether she married in Canada. I can't even be sure whether Collingwood was her place of residence, or her married surname.
I've mentioned Edward's attestation papers a number of times; the details they provide were helpfully provided by contributors on another thread (
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=871395.msg7426050#msg7426050). To summarise, Edward enlisted in Wiltshire, England in 1876. Elizabeth's name is shown in his attestation papers as his next of kin, but it's not clear if the entry was made at the time of his enlistment or at some later date. Elizabeth's name is then scored through and she is replaced, as next of kin, by Edward's wife, Harriet(t) Jane Hudson, whom he married in 1885.
I'd be very grateful indeed if you could help me find Elizabeth in Canada, as I've been unable to go any further myself than I've set out above.
