Gladys A. Wilson

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-30845

Other Events:

• Interesting: life story, insurance
• Military: WW1
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-30844
• Residence: 1891, Montreal, Ile De Montreal, Quebec; Church of England

Notes:

WILSON, ERASTUS WILLIAM, businessman and officer; b. 1 July 1860 in Belleville, Upper Canada, son of James Wilson, an iron founder, and Mary Ann Dowser; m. 1887 Sara Etta L. Bricker of Berlin (Kitchener), Ont., and they had two sons and one daughter; d. 15 May 1922 in Montreal.

Erastus William Wilson received his early schooling in Belleville and then went on to secondary school in Oshawa. He chose to enter the business world rather than to attend the University of Toronto, where his application had been accepted.

Wilson moved to Montreal in 1882. Two years later he began working for the Manufacturers' Life Insurance Company [see George Gooderham*], and he would serve as manager of its Montreal office until 1911. After transferring then to the Canada Life Assurance Company, again as manager, he would later be in charge of its operations for the province of Quebec, and he continued in this position for the rest of his life. He would also be a director of Crown Trust Company as well as of Peter Lyall and Sons Construction Company.

In the course of his career, in addition to playing an effective role in the Montreal Board of Trade, Wilson was honoured by appointment as a member for life to the board of directors of the Montreal General Hospital and the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. He also participated as a mason in the activities of Royal Victoria Lodge No.57, of which he would become a past master. In 1895 he rose to the position of provincial grand director of ceremonies. He belonged to several organizations in the Montreal region: the prestigious St James Club and Mount Royal Club, as well as the Forest and Stream Club. In 1917 the king made him a companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. He would live in Westmount and have a summer residence in Dorval.

Wilson's interest in the military life was evident from the time he came to Montreal in 1882, the year he enlisted as a private in the 3rd Battalion of Rifles (Victoria Rifles of Canada). Probably as a result of the quality of his performance and leadership, he rose through the ranks and obtained an officer's commission in January 1892. He assumed command of the regiment on 25 Sept. 1903, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and he relinquished it four years later.

Wilson was promoted colonel on 1 June 1914 with his appointment as acting commander of Military District No.4 (Montreal). When World War I broke out on 4 Aug. 1914, he joined the staff of the minister of militia and defence, Samuel Hughes, in Valcartier, and in October he accompanied him to England as his orderly officer. On 20 November he took command of Military District No.4. He was made a brigadier-general on 1 Sept. 1915. The following year he was given command of the camp at Valcartier, and in June he was promoted major-general. He resumed command of Military District No.4 in 1917. In the summer of 1918 he went to England and inspected Canadian troops on the front lines with Prime Minister Sir Robert Laird Borden* and the minister of the overseas military forces, Sir Albert Edward Kemp. He returned to Canada in August. When the war ended he asked to be relieved of his duties, but the military authorities persuaded him to remain at his post until the repatriation of the troops had been completed. He finally gave up command of Military District No.4 in October 1919. He died less than three years later, on 15 May 1922, at the age of 61. His two sons had both taken part in World War I. Erastus William had enlisted in the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles Brigade and served on its headquarters staff. Bradley Alexander had also joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Wilson made a success of his business and military careers. He even managed to attend to each of them during the war. This was no small task, and he accomplished it at the cost of his health. He performed his wartime duties to the satisfaction of the authorities, as his successive promotions demonstrate. As commander of District No.4, he played a significant role in recruitment. But like many other Montreal businessmen of the time, Wilson did not speak French, and his cultural and social world was an English-speaking one. His lack of sensitivity towards French Canadians hampered his work. He did indeed help Olivar Asselin* in recruiting the 163rd Infantry Battalion, as Rodolphe Lemieux* acknowledged in the House of Commons. On the other hand, on 12 July 1915 he supported the imposition of conscription.

Wilson tried, but failed, to create a strong, vigorous, and active civilian organization in the Montreal area for recruiting French Canadians. For this purpose he got in touch with three soldiers and with three French Canadian civilians, Senator Frédéric-Ligori Béïque*, Sir Alexander Lacoste, and especially Senator Raoul Dandurand*, but they were unable to respond favourably to his request for assistance. They did not find a francophone priest prepared to take charge of recruiting French-speaking volunteers, as Wilson had hoped, nor were they able to establish a fund similar to that of the Citizen's Recruiting League, an English-language organization set up to promote the recruitment of men willing to enlist in the anglophone battalions operating in Military District No.4. On 14 March 1916 Wilson appointed a Methodist clergyman, the Reverend Charles A. Williams, as chief recruiting agent for his district, claiming that he had been unable to find a French-speaking priest to hold this position. Nonetheless, he might have chosen an officer or a layman instead, as was done in Military District No.5, based at Quebec. Lemieux referred to this ill-considered appointment the following year in the course of the debates on the Military Service Act in the House of Commons. During his time as head of the camp at Valcartier, Wilson could not understand the difficult position of the French Canadian commanders of battalions, who were reduced to the role of recruiting officers. This incomprehension became clear in 1916 in his evaluation of the work of Lieutenant-Colonel Hercule Barré, commander of the 150th Infantry Battalion, and his criticism of Lieutenant-Colonel René-Arthur de La Bruère Girouard, commander of the 178th Infantry Battalion.

In spite of these reservations, it must be acknowledged that Erastus William Wilson was a staunch high-ranking officer, dedicated to the cause of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and, as Lemieux said, in his daily life "a real gentleman."
Jean-Pierre Gagnon

LAC, RG 31, C1, 1861, Belleville, [Ont.], dist.1, Sampson Ward: 14; 1871, Oshawa, Ont., div.2: 65-66; RG 150, Acc. 1992-93/166, box 10442-23. Le Devoir, 16 mai 1922. J.-P. Gagnon, Le 22^e bataillon (canadien-français), 1914-1919; étude socio-militaire (Québec et Ottawa, 1986). Nicholson, CEF. The storied province of Quebec; past and present, ed. W. [C. H.] Wood et al. (5v., Toronto, 1931-32), 3.

1aDictionary of Canadian Biography Online 2000 University of Toronto/Université Laval

Erastus — Sarah Etta L. Bricker. Sarah (daughter of Henry Bricker and Agnes Lamb) was born 1866, Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Sarah Bricker
• Name: Sarah Etta L. Wilson
• Eby ID Number: 00016-1309.3
• Residence: 1891, Montreal, Ile De Montreal, Quebec; Methodist

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00016-1309
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1861, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1862, Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1870, Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada; saloon keeper

Notes:

Henry Bricker,"was born November 12th, 1838. He was first married to Agnes Lamb and resided in Hamilton, Ontario, where the following children were born, namely: VI Elnetta, VI Saraetta, VI Madora, VI Henry (dead), and VI Albert (dead). He is again married but name of second wife has not been received. At present he resides in Toronto, Ontario."


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

Henry married Agnes Lamb 1 Jan 1862, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Agnes (daughter of John Lamb and Grace Henderson) was born 1844, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Agnes Bricker
• Eby ID Number: 00016-1309.1
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Free Church
• Residence: 1862, Blair (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00016-1308
• Occupation: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Land: 1861, North Dumfries Concession 12 Lot 39, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Land: 1861, North Dumfries Concession 12 Lot 40, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1861, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1861, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1881, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Gentleman
• Residence: 1881, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1891, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Gentleman
• Residence: 1891, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

David Bricker, "the seventh and youngest son of John and Annie Bricker, was born near Blair, March 30th, 1814. On September 12th, 1837, he was married to Hannah, the youngest daughter of Jacob and Catharine (Clemens) Klob. She was born September 25th, 1818, and died April 10th, 1870. Soon after their marriage they moved on his father's farm near Blair where they resided for five years, then they moved on a beautiful farm about one mile east of Roseville where they resided until 1862, when he sold the farm and moved to Breslau where he purchased from Mr. Joseph Erb, the mills, and farm of 160 acres in connection, for $17000. He continued in business until 1870 when he retired and since then has taken the world easy. On February 6th, 1871, he was married again to Caroline, daughter of James and Salome (Roos) Devitt. She was born January 28th, 1843. They reside in Breslau, Ontario, where they both enjoying good health. To him and his first wife were born ten children, and to him and his second wife was born one child."


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

____________

BRICKER - David Bricker, youngest son of John and Annie Bricker was born near Blair, Waterloo Co., Ont., March 30th, 1814. On Sept. 12th 1897*, he was married to Hannah, youngest daughter of Jacob and Catharine (Clemmens) Kolb, who died April 10th, 1870. The last twenty-seven years of his life were spent in retirement in the village of Breslau. On Feb. 6th, 1871, he was married to Caroline Devitt. With his first wife he had ten children, and with his second wife, one. He died after a short illness, or rather the growing debility of age, on the 4th of April 1897 [sic 1837], at the ripe old age of 83 years, 5 days. Bro. Bricker was a member of the Mennonite church since his youth. Funeral services at the M.B.C. church at Breslau on the 7th, were conducted by S.S. Stauffer and Noah Stauffer. Buried in the cemetery at Blair. In Bro. Bricker's death the community loses another one of the few remaining early settlers, and a highly esteemed neighbor and citizen.


Herald of Truth, Vol. XXXIV, No. 9, May 1, 1897, Page 141, 142

David married Hannah Kolb 12 Sep 1837. Hannah (daughter of Deacon Jacob Kolb, Sr. and Catharine Clemens) was born 25 Sep 1818, Hilltown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania; died 10 Apr 1870, Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Blair Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Hannah Bricker
• Eby ID Number: 00068-4145
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1861, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Hannah Kolb, "was born September 25th, 1818. On September 12, 1837, she was married to David Bricker and resided in Breslau, Ontario, where she died April 10, 1870."



Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00016-1309.44
• Occupation: 1852, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; tailor
• Occupation: 1859, Blair (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; merchant
• Business: 1861, Blair (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer's Inn
• Occupation: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Merchant
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Free Church
• Occupation: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Tailor
• Occupation: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Tailor
• Residence: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; C. Presbyterian
• Residence: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; C. Presbyterian

Notes:

Business:
Farmer's Inn c1861 1635 Blair Rd.,

Historical Significance: High

In 1861 John Lam purchased two small buildings, a house and Blair's first store, and joined them together to form the Farmer's Inn. This hostelry provided affordable accommodations for farmers traveling through Blair. The building later became multiple house know as "The Terrace.

Architectural Significance: Medium

This large and prominent 2-storey inn is now an apartment building. Formerly finished in plaster, it has been recently clad in light blue vinyl sideling with new, smaller vinyl windows install. Any decorative features that may have existed have been removed.

Cambridge.ca

John married Grace Henderson 14 Feb 1840, Jedburgh, Roxburgh, Scotland. Grace (daughter of Henderson and Mary) was born 18 May 1815, Jedburgh, Roxburgh, Scotland; died 29 Dec 1875, Blair (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Blair Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Grace Lamb
• Eby ID Number: 00016-1309.45
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Free Church
• Residence: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; C. Presbyterian