The family of Sophia Watt Elliot and James Watson

Sophia Watt Elliot was the daughter of William Elliot and Mary Oliphant.  She was named after Mary Oliphant's mother Sophia (Watt) Oliphant.  She was born in Dundas, Ontario, about 1839.  Her siblings were Robert Watt Elliot, Cynthia Elliot, our ancestor Mary Elliot, and Violet Rose Elliot.  She married James Watson, son of David and Ann Watson,  in Toronto on January 4, 1858. He was born in Scotland circa 1825.

The Toronto Globe ran this wedding announcement, on  Tuesday, Jan. 5, 1858.  p. 3.
"Married.  By the Rev. A. Fyfe, at the residence of the bride's father, William Elliot, Esq., of this city, SOPHIA WATT ELLIOT, to JAMES WATSON, esq., merchant, Dundas."

The 1861 census shows the family living in Dundas, Ontario.  David Watson is again described as a merchant, age 34, Sophia Watt is 26, and they have a son, W.E. Watson ( the W. E. stands for William Elliot;  he is named after his maternal grandfather).  They also have two servants, Jane and Mrs. Hope.  The family are Baptist.

By the 1871 census, the family has moved to Yorkville, Toronto, and greatly expanded.  James Watson is now a druggist (which makes sense considering William Elliot's business connections).  Children are William, age 10, Ada, age 7, Clara, age 5, and Florence,  age 3.  There is an Alexander Watson, age 22 and a book keeper, living with them, another book keeper named Abraham Alexander (age 17), and two servants. They are still Baptists.

In the 1881 census, James and Sophia's household now consists of William, 20, Ada, 16, Clara, 14, Florence, 12, and Hubert, 8.  (Birth records show that "Hubert"  is actually James Herbert Watson, born August 22, 1871).  Son William is an accountant.  They no longer have live-in servants. They are still living in the "Village of Yorkville" in East York.

On September 18, 1889, daughter Clara marries Frederick Collin Hood, a doctor from Lindsey, Ontario.  The wedding record refers to her as Clara Sophia Watson (the name Sophia is coming down in the family). She is 24 and he is 26.  They marry in Toronto, but move to Lindsey where they are found on the 1891 census.  However, the 1901 and 1911 census records place them in Toronto.  They remain childless, and Clara dies in 1917 at age 51.

In the 1891 census, James and Sophia are heading a household consisting of Ada, Florence, and Herbert, ages 26, 22, and 19, and are back to having two servants.

In 1896 James and Sophia's oldest child, William Elliot Watson, died of "la grippe" at the age of 35.  He leaves behind a wife, Hattie Badgely.

In the 1901 census, the aging James and Sophia (76 and 62) are living with two daughters, Ada, 30, and Florence, 25, and one servant. James' occupation is given as "Gentleman", probably indicating that he has retired from business.  The next year, on December 21, 1902, Ada Watson, age 38, marries Alfred Bryant, age 44, son of John Bryant and Susan Hillwood, in Toronto.  Alfred is a farmer living in Russell, Manitoba.  I wonder how they met?  Ada's full name is given here as "Ada Annie Watson".   In the 1911 census Florence, Ada and Alfred are all living together in Toronto with one servant.  Florence is referred to as the head of the house, and Alfred is working as a real estate agent.  There are no children.

The 1920 census is startling.  Ada A. Bryant is a patient in Whitby, Ontario.   The only hospital I can find in Whitby during this period is the Ontario Hospital for the Insane, a psychiatric facility.  According to the website Ontario Shores, in 1920, the year before the census,  this hospital had 917 patients and 141 staff.  This is in line with the census records for the institution where Ada is a patient, which lists 21 pages of patient names.

Since the 1930 census is not available, it's not possible to find out how long Ada stayed here, or what her diagnosis was.  Did she end her days there, or was it just a short stay?  According to Wikipedia, this hospital, which was relatively new when Ada stayed there, was "a model of mental health care for its era."

"Patients were housed in a cottage setting in an attempt to provide a home-like atmosphere to those undergoing treatment. The lakeside fresh-air environment was also seen as beneficial, as was the attached hospital farm. The farm was intended to make the facility self-sufficient in meat, milk and vegetables. It was operated until 1969."

Some of the cottages where patients lived, Ontario Hospital for the Insane, 1920.

We know that Ava died in 1947 and was buried in the family plot at the Necropolis in Toronto.

James Watson died on February 26, 1911, at the age of 86.  His death record places his address at 54 Howland Avenue, Toronto.  Sophia predeceased her husband by six years.  Her obituary in the Toronto Globe newspaper reads:

"WATSON.  On Wednesday morning, at 726 Spadina avenue, Sophia W. Watson, wife of James Watson and daughter of the late Wm. Elliot, age 63 years.  Funeral private.  Friends will kindly not send flowers."  (November 16, 1905, p. 14). 

Sophia and James are buried in the Necropolis Cemetery, Toronto.  Despite their five children, they had no grandchildren that I could find. 

 

The inscription reads:

JAMES WATSON

Of Caithness

BORN 1825, DIED 1911

"We sorrow not even as others which have no hope"

SOPHIA WATT ELLIOT

Wife of 

JAMES WATSON

Died November 15, 1905 

In her 69th year.

He being dead yet speaketh" 

Here's another view:

And a close-up of the 2nd inscription:

CLARA S. WATSON

WIFE OF 

FREDERICK C. HOOD M.D.

Died Jan. 15, 1917

FREDERICK C. HOOD M.D.

Died Nov. 14th, 1927.

And another side:

ADA BRYANT

Died Feb. 5th 1947.

FLORENCE H. WATSON

Died May 15th 1958.