Louisa Tilk
ID # 7917, (1859-1936)
| Birth | Louisa Tilk was born on 26 October 1859 at Town Of Waterloo, Waterloo Co., Canada West. |
| Marriage | She married John Wight, son of Adam Wight and Helen Elliot, on 23 May 1882 at Galt, Waterloo Co., Ontario. Mrge reg. 012438-83 Galt, Waterloo Co. John Wight, 36, bachelor, farmer, Presbyterian. Born Scotland, residing Beverly Twp. Parents Adam and Ellen Wight. Louisa Tilick, 23, spinster, Lutheran. Born Waterloo, residing Beverly. Parents John and Annie Tillick. Witnesses Geo. Telfer and Mrs. A. E. Duff, both of Galt. On 23rd May, 1882, at Galt, by Rev. D. A. Duff This was a very late filing of the marriage record by Rev. Duff. These were entered three to a page and the other two were in January of 1883. Hence, the Galt registering clerk did not return the page to his higherups until July of 1883. Dykes' handwriting has broad flourishes, at times making it quite difficult to read. It took a bit of time to realize that the brides name was Tilick (or more correctly Tilk) and not Glick. There was a Louise Glick in Waterloo in later years, but she was not the bride of John Wight. Rev Duff was minister at First Church in Galt at the time and he did enter the marriage in the church's records, though it may have been done rather later. His entry for John and Louisa is much more minimalist than that for other marriages. The date of marriage for the couple is smudged, but in any event does not resemble the date of 23 May, 1882, as appears of the marriage register. One wonders if the date shown here is actually correct. For more comments as to Louisa's correct maiden name see the comments for herself. |
| Marriage | She married George Hunt on 18 October 1906 at Galt, Waterloo Co.. Mrge reg. 019520-06 Galt, Waterloo Co. George Hunt, 57, bachelor, engineer, Methodist. Born and residing Preston. Parents Robert Hunt and Viena Claffain. Louise Wight, 47, widow, Canada Presbyterian. Born Waterloo, Ont., residing North Dumfries, Waterloo Co. Parents John Tilk and Anna Grieve. Witnesses Anna E. Macdonald of Hamilton, Ont., and Ada C. King of Galt. On October 18, 1906, at Galt, by Rev. Adam G. King, D.D. The handwriting is such that the clergyman's name looks to be Aden G. King. Andrew Taylor's Banners Unfurled, published in 1949 on the 125th anniversary of First Church, shows his name as Adam and tells that he liked to call himself a man without a country, for he was born at sea when his parents were en route to North America. The 1901 census at Galt confirms this, for it shows his name as Adam and tells that he was born on the Atlantic Ocean. |
| Death | She died on 4 August 1936 at Galt, Waterloo Co., at age 76. |
| Burial | She was buried at Sec. 7, Preston Cemetery, Preston, Waterloo Co.. |
| Note | Louisa Tilk Wight's date of birth is taken from the 1901 census in North Dumfries Township. We have enough information from Louisa's marriages to say that her parents were John Tilk and Annie Grieves. They appear in Waterloo Township as of the 1861 Canada West census. The child who should be Louisa is shown as Elizabeth, yet when we look at the 1871 census in Beverly Township, where the family has by this time located, Louisa is there in the same birth order as the 1861 census and with her two older brothers with the names they had in 1861. We must believe that her name, entered as Elizabeth in the 1861 census, was an enumerator's error. The 1871 census shows Louisa as age 11. The family name is shown as Tilk in both the 1861 and 1871 censuses. In the 1881 census, the family is still shown as being in Beverly, though here the surname is rendered as Thilck. Louise is with her mother, brothers, and perhaps her grandfather, Louie Grieve. John Wight and Louisa were married in Galt by Rev. Duff of First Church. Mrs. Duff was one of the witnesses and George Telfer the other. Betimes the clergy at First Church would draw on members who lived nearby to do witness duty when the minister performed a marriage, say by license. George Telfer does not appear on First Church's list of communicants, so he was likely a friend of John Wight. (Interesting, a list of communicants from approximately the 1890s, shows a Mrs. Anna Tilke, Louisa's mother. As well, First Church death records show the passing of Mrs. Anna Tilke on April 29, 1902. There is no other comment, but the date shown does agree with the inscription of her family gravestone in Preston Cemetery.) |
| Last Edited | 23 Mar 2020 |