The Wilson Family story

John Wilson - 1880 to 1934.
Emily Mosson Wilson - 1877 to 1980.
Maud Constance Wilson - 1904 to 1965.
Doris Mercy Wilson- 190~ to 1987.
Lillian May Wilson - 1907 to 1983.
Kathleen Anne Wilson - 1913 to 2002?
Edward James Wilson - 191a to t
John Henry Wilson - 1917 to 2000
Arthur Albert Wilson - 1918 to 1983.
Evelyn Mary Wilson - 1920 to 2008

John Wilson and his first wife, Elizabeth May Wilson, were married in England and emigrated to Canada, likely in 1902 or 1903. They settled
in the little town of Alexander, Manitoba, and John worked on the railroad. Four daughters were born between 1904 and probably 1911 or 1912. The 4th, Rose, died when she was 1 year or less. The mother became very depressed after the death of the baby, and she may have had other medical problems too, so when a baby boy was born Dec. 24, 1913, she lived only 2 or 3 days. There were 'no hospital or doctor in that little town, so the neighbors tried to help with the children. Emily had come home to her parents the previous spring, when her husband had died 3 months before the birth of
her daughter in July. She took the baby when his mother died. John had his sister, Polly, come from England to keep house for him, but she would not take the baby, and the girls were not very happy with her either. So John and Emily were married sometime in 1915. Soon after, Emily's parents and brother bought a farm at Deepda1e, Man. and John farmed with them for some years, as well as working on other farms in that area.
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The family was poor - John had a heart problem, even in those early years, and was not trained for anything but physical labor, which was often too hard for his condition. But he was a hard worker and always had a job.
He had a small pension from the English government and in 1920, when he went for his physical for the pension, the doctors told him he should take 6 months off from working. With 8 children, he felt it was impossible. Jack Arthur and Evelyn were born in the first 5 years of their marriage. While Emily's father lived, the 3 men built up a good farm and nice home 2 miles from Deepda1e, but Grandpa died in 1922. Our family moved into the "big" house with Uncle Bert, so that my mother could care for Granny, who had already had a stroke. This lasted until our family moved to Minn., Uncle Bert let the farm go, and got a job in the post office, and Granny, refusing to move to Minn. with us, went to live with another daughter in Sask.

Our childhood was pleasant the years on Grandpa's farm. Grandpa built a very nice home and barn on a rise between 2 ponds. We slid and skated on the ponds in winter and played in the water in the summer. Uncle Bert raised Cocker spaniels, and there were 3 families of cousins living within a few miles, so the huge lawn was always full of children and dogs. We walked 2 miles to a 1it1e 1-room school on the high hill overlooking the little town, tobaggened down the steepest part of the hill into the town on our noons, and really enjoyed life. The first car to come into that area was just before we left in 1926. At one time, for a few years, we took a. horse-drawn van into the town of Roblin, to a larger school. The roads were terrible, deep snow in winter, mud in spring. and fall, so that they had to take the van body off, and we rode on the sleigh runners or ran behind. It was 6 miles' to Roblin. We never went hungry and always had warm clothes. My mother was a good manager, making good meals with what was available; sewing clothes and knitting sweaters & stockings, etc.
We walked many miles in the summer to pick wild berries, always had a big garden, and my mother canned everything that could be canned. We did not have fresh fruit or vegetables in the winter - there was none in the stores, except at Christmas, when we sometimes had an orange each. Our meat was mostly
wild ducks and grouse - no hunting bans - fish, wild rabbits, etc., except when there was a pig or calf that could be killed, usually in the winter,
as no refrigeration.

Maud, Doris & Lil each left home when they got into high school, as we were not on the bus line for the high school in a farther town. They worked for their room and board on farms near the school bus line. Maud went to a year
'of teachers' college and taught country schools a few years before she came
to MN in 1927. Doris came down at the same time, but Lil waited until 1928.

We came to Bemidji in 1926, as Auntie Ede and family lived there then. Dad tried working in the woods with Uncle Frank, but was not really able for it. In 1929 he bought a small farm north of Bemidji - he had always wanted a farm of his own. We all enjoyed the farm, but prices dropped soon after we moved there, we had several years of drought and it was a struggle to keep it going. Dad worked for other farmers, we raised chickens, rabbits, etc., and we 5 children rode the bus to Bemidji schools. The older girls were all in the cities working in hospitals or nursing homes, at very little pay. It was the "Great Depression" those years, and farmers lost crops year after year with so little rain, etc. Dad's health deteriorated over the next few years, and in the fall of 1933, he decided to keep Jack home to do chores, and he could try to rest for the winter months in the hope of being better in the spring. I started work in Bemidji that fall, so was not home; and Ted had dropped out of school and gone to work on farms at a distance. One day in March, Dad was feeling a little better and went out to the barn with the boys. My mother and Evelyn had gone to town with the neighbors, and the house caught fire in some unexplained way, and burned to the ground. The neighbors put up a one-room shack for shelter, and turned out their attics for furniture, so we could use it for the summer. Dad grew worse, and died the end of May.

In the fall of 1934 we let the farm go, sold the stock and got a house in Bemidji, so that the 3 younger ones could finish high. school. The boys graduated in 1936 and Evelyn in 1938. Jack went to work on a farm and saved his money so he could go to Dunwoody for 2 years. Arthur & Evelyn, over the next few years, each went to teachers" college for 2 years. Both Jack and Art were called into the army before they could get established in a career.

When World War 2 was over, in 1945, there was plenty of work, but many bad shortages for some time. Jack was married in 1945; Art in 1947; and Evelyn in 1948. Evelyn had been teaching near St. Paul the few years before that. Lil had been married in 1932, and Maud in 1941. Ted became sick in 1936, and was hospitalized. It seemed the family had a lot of ups and downs but maybe not more than others, and we seem to have found a lot of satisfaction in struggling through difficulties with very little outside help.
 

Emily Mosson Haskins Wilson.

Father -Mother -
Children

Henry Mosson(1856-l922)
Annie Johnson(1855-l928)
- William(1875-l946), 'EmilY(1877-l980), Edith(1879-l972),
Dora(188l-l925), Jeannette(1883-l975), Henry Albert(1885-l978) Annie.(Ciss)(1887-l985). '

Emily was born in the. Cotswold country of England. some villages she talked of were Upper and Lower Slaughter" Stoke, Bournemouth, Chipping Norton and Cheltenham. Her father was a stone mason, but turned to other work as the family grew. At different times, they helped him operate a bakery, general store, post office, etc. in their large homes. He was a great gardener and always had an orchard. They were prominent in the village and in the small church of the Church of England. Emily played the organ at the church, and her folks expected the children to be active in all religious matters.

In 1903 or 1904, Edith went to China with a religious group as a missionary. In 1905, workers came to the village, and Emily and 2 sisters made their choice. There was no fellowship and they didn't understand a lot. Jeannette was married soon after and stayed in England, but Emily and her younger sister and brother came to Canada in the spring of 1906, I believe. They ,were in the east for a while, then their parents came over and settled in Alexander, Man., so Emily, Bert and Ciss joined them there. Workers in that area got in touch, but there were no meetings near and her mother became very bitter toward the truth when she began to understand it a little. She was a very proud woman always and wanted place in the world. Workers advised Emily and Ciss to go down to N. D., where there ".,ere a good many to have
... fellowship ,with.. From ..l91l.7 until 191.J~,Emilv was il} N.D., workin.9 at Hope and Paige, and with friends around Cando and Fargo. She tried 2 different years to be in the work, but was not very well and doctoring a lot. The chiro in Fargo that some went to, told Mrs. Hughes that Emily was not a well person, and would never make old bones!!! She married Lester Haskins from Iowa in 1911 or 1912, but he died with a ruptured appendix in April, 1913. She was 6 months pregnant, so could not work, and went home to her parents'
home at Alexander. .

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John Wilson

Father ~. James Wilson.
Mother - Mary Huschepp(?) - died in 1885.
Children - Margaret, Agnes, Po,~ly, George, James, John(1880-l934), Betty. John was born 1/17/80 in ~ent, England. The family lived in or near Canter-bury. His mother died 'when he was 5 years old. The older girls kept house and cared for the younger ones. When John was' 16, he lied about his age and joined the armed services. He' was in the British Cavalry and was sent to S. Africa during the Boer war. He was wounded, and received a small pension for a service connected heart condition for life. He had very little education and was not trained for anything but physical labor. He was a hard worker, and could always find work, but likely often overworked for his physical condition. He worked on the railroad in Canada, but liked farming best. He and Elizabeth were married in England, and emigrated to Canada before their children were born, likely in 1902 or 1903.
John Wilson and Emily Mosson Haskins were married sometime in 1914, likely
at Brandon, Manitoba. They lived in Alexander, Man. for a time, butmoved
to Deepdale, Man. to farm with EmilY's parents, Henry and Annie Mosson, and her brother, Bert., .probably in 1915. Dad worked for several farmers in
the area of Deepdale and Roblin, but went back several times to the home
farm to help Grandpa and Uncle Bert. In 1922 Grandpa died, and our family moved back so my mother could care for Granny. Dad and Uncle Bert farmed together until 1926, when we moved to Bemidji, Minn. Dad bought a farm 14 miles north of Bemidji in 1929, and we lived there until the fall of 19~. Our house burned to the ground in March, 1934, and Dad died in May, so we
moved into Bemidji. .
,
Maud, Doris and Lilly all worked away from home for their room and board
when they got into high school. Maud and Doris came to Minn. the spring of 1927, worked in Bemidji a while, and then came to the cities. Lil came down the fall of 1928, lived with and helped Auntie Ede and finished high school at Bemidji. She likely came to the cities in 1929 or 1930. The girls all worked in hospitals, but Lil got sick the spring of 1931 and spent that sum-mer at home on the farm. I don't think she worked after that, but married Murl Crum the spring of 1932. In the spring of 1936, Ted got sick while working in southern Minn. The girls brought him to the cities to doctor,
he stayed with ~il & Murl, and Doris quit her job to care for him, but he
had a mental disorder that could not be cured. Maud worked in hospitals untiJ 1940 or 1941, when she married Hilmer Nelson - she died in 1965. Doris was in the cities until 1936, when she went in the work,preached in Minn., Wise., S.D. and Wyoming - a total of 48 years. She died in 1987. Arthur and Lil died in 1983.



I know very little about Elizabeth May Wilson, as I was only 6 mos. old when she died. Pictures show her as a nice looking woman. I believe she was born in England, maiden name was Smith, and likely about the same age as Dad. In the little town of Alexander, Man. where they lived, there was no hospital or doctor, so midwives would be the only help'when children were born. Maud was born in July, 1904, Doris in March, 1906, and Lillian in October, 1907. I dOl don't know when Rose was born, but understood she died in 1912 or 1913, and was likely less than a year old. I believe a neighbor child dropped her and hit her head. The mother was terribly depressed after the baby's death, and perhaps she had some other ailment too, so while she was pregnan~ with Ted, she was not able to care for herself and others very well. She dieQ when he was 2 d~ys old - 12/26/13.

My grandparents were close neighbors, and my mother had come home when my father died 3 months befqre I was born. They took the baby and cared for
him there. The 3 girls were often there too. As soon as he could, Dad got his sister, Polly, to come from England to keep house forhim. She refuseq to care for the baby at all, and was not very good with the girls either, so a year or so later, my mother married Dad and combined their families. It may have been a marriage of convenience at the time, but I believe they had a good marriage, and both did their best for all of us.