Thomas Fawcett
ID # 2809, (1808-1859)
| Birth | Thomas Fawcett was born in February 1808 at Scarboro, Yorkshire, England. |
| Marriage | He married Margaret C. Shaw on 25 April 1837 at Holland Landing, Home District, Upper Canada. For the following, refer to Vol. 2, Death Notices from the Christian Guardian, 1851 to 1860, Rev. Donald A. McKenzie, Global Heritage Press, 2011, pages 95 and 96. The death notice for Rev. Thomas Fawcett, as it appeared in the Christian Guardian, April 6, 1859, states that Thomas Fawcett was ordained in 1837 (in Canada) and married Margaret Shaw the same year. This does not tell us the date or location of the marriage. We have, however, a record of Thomas and Margaret's marriage from the Home District marriage register. MS248 reel 2, Vol. 10, page 299 Home District Marriage Register Thomas Fawcett of Markham and Margaret Shaw of Holland Landing were married by license at Holland Landing on April 25th, 1837, and solemnized by Robert 'Carson' of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Witnesses Benjamin Hoseal and Sarah Hoseal. See Ontario Marriage Notices, Thomas B. Wilson, 1982m Hunterdon House, Lambertville, NJ, page 36. This provides an extract from the Christian Guardian of 24 May, 1837. This properly identifies the clergyman as Robert Corson. It also shows Thomas Fawcett as being of Yonge Street. The cleryman's name, Robert Corson, will be correct. He was a noted Wesleyan Methodist minister of the day and the son of Daniel Corson and Rebecca Lawrason, all of whom appear in this tree. |
| Marriage | He married Jane McLaren on 12 August 1847 at Gore District. See The Marriage Registers of Upper Canada/Canada West, Vol. 13: Gore District, 1842-1856 Compiled by Dan Walker & Fawne Stratford-Devai Global Heritage Press, 2000, page 78 Marriages of Rev'd Roxley Heyland, (Wesleyan Methodist) Minister, p. 86 & 87. Thomas Fawcitt, to Jane McLarren, both of Brantford. 12 Aug. 1847, by Licence. Rev. Heyland. Wit. Richard Rawling and Christophere Armstrong. The place of marriage is unstated, but was likely in Brantford. Examining the image of the page, as provided by Ancestry, shows that the month of marriage is badly smeared and that the transcription, August, failing any other source is probably a guess. The day the 12th and the year, 1847, are shown clearly enough. |
| Death | He died on 20 March 1859 at Copetown, Beverly Twp., at age 51. |
| Burial | He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Brantford, Brant Co., Ontario. |
| Note | Much of what we know of Rev. Thomas Fawcett, Wesleyan Methodist Minister, is taken from his obituary as it appeared in The Christian Guardian, April 6, 1859. This is provided by Donald A. McKenzie in his work, Vol. 2, Death Notices From The Christian Guardian, 1851-1860, Global Heritage Press, 2008, pp. 95-96. It reads as follows: Fawcett, Rev. Thomas, son of James and Ann Fawcett, was born in Scarboro, Yorkshire, England in Feb., 1808, and placed on the plan as a local preacher at age 18. In 1831, he came to Canada, settling in Bayham twp. He was ordained in 1837, and married Margaret Shaw the same year. She died on the Brantford District Circuit in 1846, and subsequently he married Jane McLaren. On March 18th, while serving on the Grand River Mission, Thomas had to travel by train to visit his brother, Rev. M. Fawcett, of Grimsby, who was dangerously ill. The train plunged into a chasm created by heavy rain washing out an embankment. 7 were killed, and Mr. Fawcett was seriously injured, and died subsequently. His body was sent to Brantford, in company with his brother-in-law, Mr. Crook, where, on Mon., he was laid beside his first wife. He is survived by his second wife and 8 children, 4 by his first wife, 4 by his second wife. -March 23, 1859, p. 47, N.I; April 6, 1859, p. 54, Correspondence from S. Rose; April 20, 1859, p. 62-63, O. We find more information on page 2 of The Daily Globe (Toronto), Monday, March 21, 1859, which tells that the washout occurred about a mile west of Dundas. The story as it appears on page 2 has two immediate followups. The first portion of the story indicated that some of the injured had been removed to a tavern in Copetown. The last portion which is headed The Wounded at Copetown, in part reads thus: Rev. Thomas Fawcett, Indian missionary, from Brantford; three ribs, shoulder-blade and hip bone broken; in very low and dangerous condition. While Thomas lay dying, he managed to arrange the writing of a brief and basic last will and testament, which he was then able to sign. His wife Jane and brother Michael were made executors and they applied to the surrogate court for Letters Probate. (See microfilm GS2 reel 1, Brant County Surrogate Court, Thomas Fawcett.) This document places Thomas' death at Copetown on or about the 20th March, 1859. The actual will is to be found on microfilm GS1 reel 274A, Brant Co. The witnesses to the will probably wrote it for Thomas, but their names are faint to the point of illegibility. (They were copied onto the will as it appeared written into the application for Letters of Probate and appear as J. Rose and illeg. Pegley.) Thomas Fawcett's signature is quite clear. In his will, Thomas leaves his estate in its entirely to his wife Jane and advises his children to view her as their best friend. (The application for letters probate locates Thomas' residence at the time as Tuscarora Township.) We have a bit more information from The Daily Globe's Tuesday, March 22 edition, which states that Thomas Fawcett died at 10 minutes past 2 o'clock on Sunday morning. This same edition also carries the lengthy story of the evidence given to the coroner's jury. The jury's deliberations are continued in the Thursday edition of the Daily Globe, page 3. The transcription of the stones at the family plot in Greenwood Cemetery, Brantford, do not show Thomas' name directly and, evidently, his own stone has not survived. Still, there is enough information in obituaries, such as the one above, to say that he is indeed in Greenwood. At the time of the 1851 census (actually January 1852), Thomas and Jane are in Blanchard Township, Perth County. With them are children Matilda Ann, age 14; Thomas, age 12; Elizabeth, age 10; Sophia, age 7; David, age 3; James Fawcett, age 1. By 1861, Thomas is deceased and Jane is in Brantord. With her are children Elizabeth, age 19; Sophia, age 17; David, age 12; James, age 9; Michael, age 7; John, age 5. |
Children of Thomas Fawcett and Margaret C. Shaw |
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Children of Thomas Fawcett and Jane McLaren |
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| Last Edited | 6 Apr 2022 |