Tag Archives: Hill

1931 Census and a Scandal

Canadian family history enthusiasts were a buzz on June 1, 2023 when the 1931 Census became public. Let’s face it, so was I. In the days leading up to it being indexed I could feel a little bubbling under the surface.

Census records are a huge deal. They are a snapshot in time that shows where someone lived, who they lived with, what their ages are, education level, marital status. It will often indicate where someone was born, along with both of their parents. It will tell you what year someone emigrated to the country, what languages they speak and their occupation. I find them fascinating.

There has been a huge jump in technology since the 1921 census was released. 10 years ago the 1921 census took months of people painstakingly going through every record trying to decipher what was written. This year, Ancestry believes they’ll have it indexed within a couple weeks.

But was I going to wait a few weeks? No. No I wasn’t.

Searching the 1931 census

I’ve been logging in every night to check Waterloo Region first. I was hoping to find my father’s mother – Margaret Porter along with her parents. I knew from other records I have that they had lived in the city of Galt and just outside the village of Hespeler during different periods. I started my focus there.

Galt had 14 different sub districts, each with approximately 22 pages of names. Each page has around 50 names. I decided to start there. I looked for common names in my family that lived in the area: Porter, Dryden, Hyde. I didn’t find any Porter family but I did find some of my extended cousins on the Dryden side, and a great-uncle on the Hyde side that was living as a boarder.

I didn’t let that hold me back and quickly found myself going through Hespeler. It was much smaller with only 3 sub districts. Saw some last names I recognized, but none of my direct relatives.

Next I went through page by page for North Dumfries – as I know that I have Dryden’s that lived in North Dumfries over generations. Found one or two, but they weren’t my direct relatives and there weren’t any Porter’s.

A Hill is coming

On a whim, I logged into the South Dumfries 1931 census. I went through the first sub-district and didn’t find anyone. Then opened the second one. I scanned line by line and then saw a familiar name on line 49 of page four.

Hill, Albert, hired help, Male, Single, Aged 29, he and both of his parents listed as born in England. He emigrated to Canada in what could be 1906 or 1908. His citizenship is listed as Canada, nationality English, religion Anglican. He states he can read and write English. His occupation is farm laborer on a general farm. His class of worker is “W” and he made $350 in the past 12 months. They even verified that he was at work on June 1, 1931.

Hmmm…. Albert Hill is the name of my grandfather. The information matches. I wonder if he came to South Dumfries to find work on Archie Ferguson’s farm? The farmhouse is a single detached home made of brick veneer. It has 9 rooms and they even have a radio according to the census.

1931 census record - part one for: 1931 Census record for Archie Deans Ferguson, Lily Ann Rebecca Ferguson, Helen Ann Ferguson, Roert Duncan Ferguson, Albert Hill and Ruth Elizabeth Hodgson
1931 census record - part two for: 1931 Census record for Archie Deans Ferguson, Lily Ann Rebecca Ferguson, Helen Ann Ferguson, Roert Duncan Ferguson, Albert Hill and Ruth Elizabeth Hodgson
1931 Census record for Archie Deans Ferguson, Lily Ann Rebecca Ferguson, Helen Ann Ferguson, Roert Duncan Ferguson, Albert Hill and Ruth Elizabeth Hodgson

I flagged it as a document under Albert Hill and decided to look further onto the next page.

Picking out the Porters

Imagine my surprise when I found my grandmother, her twin brother and their parents only 9 houses away from Albert!

My grandmother Margaret and her brother Walter Porter were both 13 at the time of the census. They are students, who upload the Presbyterian faith. Their home is a single detached home with 9 rooms made of wood. The home does not have a radio but it has been valued at 2000.

My 56-year-old great-grandfather William (which I wrote about here and here) has a father born in England and a mother born in Ontario. He can read and write English, not French and works as a Farmer on a general farm that he owns.

My 46-year-old great grandmother Margaret (Maggie) is a homemaker at this time. Both her parents were born in Ontario, as was she. Her racial origin is listed as “Scotch” but she is a Canadian citizen.

1931 Census for William Porter, Margaret Porter, Walter Porter and Margaret Porter
1931 Census for William Porter, Margaret Porter, Walter Porter and Margaret Porter
1931 Census for William Porter, Margaret Porter, Walter Porter and Margaret Porter

A love story or a scandal?

So what makes this scandalous? My grandmother Margaret was only 13 when she met my 29 year old grandfather. That’s one heck of an age gap!

Oh sure, she could’ve just been a school girl living in the same area he was working, but they were married within the next 3 years. My grandmother was 16 and lied to say she was older so they could get married.

marriage record for Albert Hill and Margaret Porter
Marriage certificate for Albert William Hill and Margaret Porter on June 23, 1934.

And as a further scandal – my oldest uncle was born 5 months later!

Having known my grandmother and her fun personality, I can picture her falling in love with Albert and not taking no for an answer. I picture her wearing him down until he finally agreed to marry her. He was a handsome man after all – who can blame her?

Albert Hill and wife Margaret Porter along with their three oldest children - Arnold, George and Jessie on the hood of their car in the early 1940s.
Albert Hill and wife Margaret Porter along with their three oldest children – Arnold, George and Jessie on the hood of their car in the early 1940s.

I don’t hold their ages against them. From everything I’ve been told, my grandmother was smitten with her husband Albert. They had 9 living children and stayed married until his early death in 1960, long before I was even born.

They had a family and a farm with lots of animals – every kind if you talk to my father. There was love there. I’m sure of it.

Today, I salute the scandal that helped shape my family and the love that brought these two together. Much love to Albert and Margaret whose spirits are together again.

Black and white photo of a couple holding a cake - Margaret Porter and her husband Albert Hill
Margaret and Albert Hill on their 25th wedding anniversary – June 1959.

12 Months, 12 Ancestors – Ada Elizabeth Woolgar (Hill)

Note: this is the fourth installment in my own version of #52ancestors where geneabloggers have been asked to write about a different ancestor every week for a year. To understand the concept, read my blog entry from January 19, 2014.

My April Ancestor as part of my 12 Months, 12 Ancestors project is Ada Elizabeth Woolgar.

Great-Uncle Ed shares a chat with my great Grandmother Ada Elizabeth Woolgar
Great-Uncle Ed shares a chat with my great Grandmother Ada Elizabeth Woolgar

Woolgar.

What kind of bad ass name is that?

My great grandmother Ada Elizabeth Woolgar came from England. In England, the name goes back to the Doomsday Books, or so it says here:

WOOLGAR, or rather the original spellings of Wulfgar, Wlgar and Vlgar, is a Saxon name meaning ‘wolf-spear’. According to “A Dictionary of English Surnames” by P. H. Reaney & R. M. Wilson (Pub Routledge 1991 ISBN 041505737X), the earliest references to WOOLGAR are:

  • Domesday 1086 in Sussex and Hampshire
  • Wlfgarus de Cokesale 1252 in Colchester, Essex (Cartularium Monasterii S. Joh. Bapt. de Colecestria)
  • Brixi Wulgar 1188 (Pipe Rolls, Norfolk)
  • Teobald Wolgar 1250 Cambridge (Cartularium Monasterii Rameseia)

How amazingly awesome is that?

From tales I have been told, my great grandmother Ada was a strong woman. She was tall, well at least taller than her husband Charles. She was born in April 6, 1884 in the hamlet of Hersham, in Chertsey County, Surrey, England. She was the youngest child to Richard Woolgar and Esther Cannon and by the age of 8 had received a bible from her uncle. She kept this bible for her entire life and used it to record major milestones in her life from her marriage, to coming to Canada and the birth of all 13 of her children and even some of her grandchildren.

According to her bible, Ada Woolgar married Charles Edmond Hill on September 1st, 1900 in Pyrford, village also in Surrey. She was 16 years old at the time of their marriage. Young for our time, but not back then. By 1901, Ada and Charles were living in Long Ditton, Surrey, England in little place called “Moon’s Cottage.” Something about this place draws me in every time. I want to go there and find Moon’s Cottage. I want to see where it was Charles and Ada lived when first married, and where they started their family.

Kate, Ada and Amy, Taken July 1954
Kate, Ada and Amy, Taken in Ontario July 1954

In 1908, with Kate, Albert, little Charlie and baby Lily in tow, Charles and Ada packed it in and made their way to Canada. On the ships manifest she is listed as “wife” and no other occupation has been listed for her in any of the census records I’ve been able to uncover. However, family lore has indicated she was a midwife. I have been told they were allowed to come to Canada despite my great-grandfather having a hump on his back because of her much needed skill. However, I haven’t been able to substantiate this. As British citizens, they should have been able to travel anywhere in the dominion without any issue.

My great-grandparents Charles and Ada Hill with my great-uncle Ed
My great-grandparents Charles and Ada Hill with my great-uncle Ed

The Hill family settled in the Eramosa township area of Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. They rented a farm and had horses and chickens and grew their own food. From what I have been told, Ada was the backbone of the family and worked as hard or harder than anyone else . She doted on her children, in particular her youngest “Eddie” whom became one of my favourite great-uncles even though he lived in Manitoba and we would only see him once a year.

Ada died in 1962 and was buried in Johnston Cemetery, Eramosa Township, Wellington, County, Ontario, Canada. With incredible luck, I found her funeral card while visiting my Great-Aunt Margaret. The font is pure 60’s and the card was in fantastic shape. Here is a breakdown of the details:

In Memory of Mrs. Charles E. Hill
Passed Away
At the Palmerston Hospital on Wednesday October 17, 1962
Ada Elizabeth Woolgar
Widow of the late Charles Edmund Hill in her 81st year.
The Funeral
Resting at the Hardy Funeral Home, Harriston, on Thursday, then to McIntyre and Wilkie Funeral Home, Guelph on Friday where funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 20, at 2:00 pm. Internment in the Johnston Cemetery, Eramosa

The funeral card for Ada Elizabeth Woolgar, wife of the late Charles Edmund Hill
The funeral card for Ada Elizabeth Woolgar, wife of the late Charles Edmund Hill

Ada Elizabeth Woogar Hill is to me someone who I would like to have gotten to know. She could be tough when needed, but also had a good sense of humour and supported her own. I’ve been told my sister Heather resembles her in height, looks and attitude. I think this is a fantastic compliment.