Margaret England Black

ID # 7016, (1836-1916)
FatherWilliam Black (1801-1863)
MotherMary Cairns (1802-1901)
BirthMargaret England Black was born on 25 September 1836 at Fettercairn, Kincardineshire, Scotland. 
MarriageShe married George Eagle Dalby in 1863 at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Toronto.
Page 10 of the Friday, June 23, 1916, edition of the Toronto Daily Star has an obituary for Mrs. George E. Dalby. This tells that she was married in 1863 in Holy Trinity Church (Anglican) on Yonge Street in Toronto. The clergyman was Rev. Mr. Carruthers. Mention is made that she and her husband were members of College Street Presbyterian Church from its inception. See notes under Margaret.
 
DeathShe died on 23 June 1916 at Toronto, York Co., Ontario, at age 79. 
BurialShe was buried on 26 June 1916 at Prospect Cemetery, Toronto, York Co., Ontario. 
NoteFamilysearch provides a database, transcription only, Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950

Margaret England Black born 25 September, 1836, at Fettercairn, Kincardine, Scotland.

The family of William Black and Mary Cairns, including daughter Margaret, all appear in the 1851 census of Scotland at Fettercairn in KIncardineshire.

(See notes for Margaret's father, William Black. Margaret and George Dalby appear in a Quit Claim relating to her parents' Tosorontio property as recorded on the Abstract Index. )

Some Canadian census years provide a column for entry of the year that a person came to Canada. Margaret's years of immigration are quite varied in different census years and so we may not be sure just when the family came, except it certainly was after 1851.

Margaret is not with her family as of the 1861 census, but she is found in St. Patrick's Ward in Toronto with the family of William Cayley, a barrister. Her status is not shown, though she is likely a servant in the home. She is shown as Margaret Black, age 23, born in Fettercairn.

Whatever Margaret's connection to William Cayley and his family, he was a prominent figure in the government of Canada West, later Ontario, around the time Margaret was present in his family's home. His history appears in the Canadian Dictionary of Biography to be found on the Library & Archives Canada website (LAC). The biography describes Cayley as an adherent of the Church of England; the 1861 census shows him and his family as members of the Church of England.

This is mentioned for no other reason than the fact that Margaret England Black and her husband George Eagle Dalby are said to have been married in Trinity Church, a downtown Toronto Anglican church. This when any other description we have of them shows them to be committed Presbyterians all their lives.

We do not have a date for the marriage of Margaret and George other than it being in 1863. Margaret's father died in 1863. This is entirely a guess, but, especially if Margaret was in fact employed by the Cayley family it may well be that William Cayley was prepared to hold a wedding for Margaret and George, perhaps even a reception.

The pages of the Toronto Globe have been searched for a marriage announcement without success. So, for the moment, the above remains a guess, perhaps little more than a notion.

After their marriage, George and Margaret went to England, perhaps to visit with George's family. The first clue to this information is found in Canadian census enumerations which show their firstborn, Charles William Otter Dalby, being born in England. This report is quite consistent. Charles registration of death - he died in Orillia on June 8, 1931 - shows his place of birth as England and his parents as George Eagle Dalby and Margaret England Black. His marriage registration shows the same information.

We do have Margaret's obituary in the Friday, June 23rd, 1916, page 10, of the Toronto Daily Star. This tells that she came to Canada with her parents (year not mentioned), where they settled on a 'bush farm' in Tosorontio. Shortly thereafter she is said to have gone to Toronto where she made her home thereafter. Mentioned as surviving siblings are Mrs. Hood of Alliston, John Black of Chesley, and William J. Black of Everett.

Death reg. 004234-16 Toronto, York Co.
Margaret England Dalby died June 23, 1916, age 78 yrs., 3 mos., 1 dy. Place of death 373 Augusta Ave. Born Fettercairn, Scotland. Parents William Black and Mary. Physician Isabella Wood, M.D. Informant G. E. Dalby.

Neither Margaret's obituary or death registration show the date of her burial. The Prospect Cemetery's burial pages for 1916, however, dated her burial to 26 June, 1916. These are available via Familysearch. Familysearch and the Toronto branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society cooperated in the digitizing and indexing of these Toronto Trust Cemetery pages. 

Children of Margaret England Black and George Eagle Dalby

Last Edited16 Apr 2019