John A. Wilson, my great-great grandfather, was born 9 Apr 1833 in Sweden. Family legend says he stowed away on a ship when he was 16 and was “adopted” by the captain who gave the boy his [the captain’s] name. But we all have stowaway stories, right?
Anyway, by 1859 John lived on Amherst Island, Ontario and married Mary Ann Gibson and had a child name Rose.
In the 1871 Canadian Census, the Wilsons’ have several more children and John’s occupation is listed as mariner. According to my great aunt, John was a “lake captain.” Furthermore, Captain Wilson loaded grain on Amherst Island. In 1881, John is listed as a farmer and I have no further information at this time about this mariner in the family.
What a fun subject to research! Good luck.
Regards,
Theresa (Tangled Trees)
Hello Kristy! John Alford is my 3x ggf! His daughter Annie Elicia is my 2x ggm. I have been searching for information on John! The Loyalist Township sent me to your web pages. I’m wondering if you’ve discovered any more information on him since you originally posted this article.
Kind Regards,
Cindy