52 Ancestors - Johnston Cumberland Paterson

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small issued the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. This is a great way to get back into blogging. Each week focus on one ancestor and write something about him or her.  I may be a little late in getting started, but better late than never.

Johnston Cumberland Paterson was my paternal grandfather. Johnston was born July 11th in 1889 at 8:30 in the morning at 18 Commonside Street in Airdrie, Scotland. His parents were Francis Paterson and Elizabeth Danskine. His first name, Johnston was a recycled name, his grandfather being Johnston and an uncle Johnston. His middle name of Cumberland probably has some meaning as it was my father's middle name, as well.  Not sure of the significance.

Johnston was born surrounded by females.  He had one older stepsister,  three older sisters and when he was born his widow grandmother, Agnes Findlay Danskine was living with them.  Later, four more girls would follow, one dying at age 2. By the time Johnston was 8, all of his grandparents and his stepsister would have past away.

In the 1891 census Johnston and his family are living at Southfield house in Airdrie which is listed has having 5 rooms with one or more windows.  By the 1901 census, the family has moved to the much larger Monkland House which has 21 rooms with one or more windows. Somewhere between 1905 and 1907 the family losses all the money and make the decision to start anew in Canada.

On March 2nd, 1907 the family leaves Scotland headed for Canada aboard the S.S. Mongolian. Their destination was Edmonton, Alberta. Not long after their arrival in Edmonton, his oldest sister, Agnes dies of typhoid fever.

Johnston was  mechanically inclined and a "Jack of all Trades".  His occupation listed on the passenger list of the Mongolian is  engineer and in the Henderson's Edmonton directory of 1908 he is listed as a machinist. These jobs would be useful when he took up homesteading in 1909.   

At the age of 19, Johnston moves to his new homestead the SE1/4 of section 5, township 51, range 22 of the 4th meridian. Life on a new homestead would have been quite different from the large home they had in Scotland. There were shelters to build, crops to plant, and day to day living. Perseverance would pay off and in 1912, Johnston meets the Western Land Grant requirements. During 1912 Johnston would lose another sister, Janet to appendicitis. 

In 1919 Johnston loses his mother to the Spanish Flu and marries Vera Ellen Marsh Seaman. On November 3rd, 1920 Vera gives birth to a little girl. Tragically Vera dies shortly after and Johnston makes the hard decision to  give up his little girl to be adopted by Vera's brother, Kenneth.

On January 24, 1922, Johnston marries my grandmother, Dorothy Eleanor May Warry. Together they have four boys and a baby girl (who died shortly after being born). It would have been a change for Johnston to have all boys around after growing up in a very female environment. 

My grandmother, Dorothy, dies in January 1956 at the age of 57. Johnston spends the rest of his life on the homestead, passing away at the age of 79 in 1969. His grandson is still on the farm.

In 2010, the province of Alberta presents a plaque to the Paterson family commemorating the farm's 100th year milestone. 

Johnston with his sisters Lizzie & Edith and their children

 

Paterson Threshing Crew

Posts with more of the Paterson family

 Sentimental Sunday - Janet Danskine Paterson Abbott

 Fearless Females - Tragic Circumstances

 My Best Discovery in 2011 

 My Scottish Roots

Henderson's Directory page with Johnston (listed as Patterson, Johnson)

Land Grants of Western Canada, 1870 - 1930 Info

Monkland House Info

My Best Discovery in 2011

My best discovery in 2011 would have to be finding Aunt Betty.  In March of 2011, I posted the tragic circumstance of Vera Ellen Marsh Seaman dying shortly after giving birth to a baby girl.  Her daughter, Elizabeth Mary Seaman, was born November 3, 1920. I began my search by ordering records from Ontario, to discover the death date of the grandparents that may lead to an obituary. In the meantime I thought I'd look into Vera's brothers.  Causally looking through records online, I come across a border crossing record from Canada to the U.S. for her brother, Kenneth.  This is an amazing source, full of information.  It has dates of births, wife's name and maiden name, when and where married,  names of who is the travel party, why they are traveling, address of residence, name of his business and so much more. But most important his daughter's name and birth date. Mary Elizabeth born November 3, 1920. This has to be her.  Looking through more records, I discover that Kenneth ended up in Victoria, British Columbia and Mary Elizabeth Seaman marries Arthur Turner.  So I order death records and obituaries for Kenneth Seaman and John Turner.  After going over and over the information, I'm convinced that this is Aunt Betty.  But to really know, I'll need to talk to someone who knew her. I decide to make some cold calls.  Since there seems to be too many Turners in the area, I settle on calling the eight Seamans.  Prepared with a written prompt of what to say and encouragement from my husband, I begin to call.  The first Seaman is a very nice gentleman, who tells me a Seaman website. On to the next. After going through my prompt, I hear an elderly lady inform me that she knew Betty.  What excitement, someone who knew Betty. She is Betty's sister-in-law. She is kind enough to tell me all about Betty. Not only that, her husband (Betty's brother) calls me later to talk about Betty. Now the bittersweet part, that had us in tears.  Betty had just recently past away, while I was building up the courage to make the phone calls. She was 90 years old. 

Fearless Females – Tragic Circumstances

As I look at my female ancestors, many of them lived through tough times. Some of them lost husbands, leaving them to raise a family alone and some lost their children before they were even grown. But one of the most tragic circumstances is the death of a young mother after the joyous occasion of the birth of a child. It’s truly sad to see how many of these women passed away. Really makes you appreciated the advances in modern medicine. 

Both my grandfather, Johnston Paterson, and my great grandfather, Francis Paterson lost their first wives shortly after the birth of their first child. 

Johnston Paterson lost his young wife, Vera Ellen Marsh Seaman, on January 19, 1921.  Their daughter was only two months old. This was a tragic loss for both the Paterson and Seaman families. The baby girl was raised by the Seaman family, since she was so young and my grandfather a single man starting a new homestead.  This was something I only found out about when I started researching. My father and his brothers knew about their half sister. They had even tried to find her, but didn’t know where to begin. I’m hoping that I can find out what happened to her, maybe fill a void in the tree. 

Francis Paterson lost his young wife Ewenina Kennedy in Airdrie, Scotland on March 24, 1882.  She was only 19 years old and her daughter, Mary Paterson, was a month old. I’m not sure how my great grandfather managed a young daughter (maybe help from family). Francis remarried a year later to my great grandmother, Elizabeth Danskine. Ewenina’s daughter Mary never made it to adulthood, dying of a tragic accident at 14 years old.