William GILBERT (a.k.a. Billy GILBERT, 1839 - 1912),
Eliza Wager TRANTER (1844 - 1928)
& Family

Birmingham, Warwickshire England
& Miramichi, New Brunswick to Ontario, Canada & Beyond

William 'Billy' GILBERT, his wife, Eliza Wager TRANTER & Sarah Winifred GILBERT (a.k.a. Winnie GILBERT)

(Above) William GILBERT,
his wife, Eliza Wager TRANTER,
& their daughter, Sarah Winifred GILBERT (a.k.a. Winnie GILBERT)

Photo courtesy of D. BURNS & A. J. TRELFORD

William GILBERT (a.k.a. Billy GILBERT),
b: 25 Feb 1839 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England,
son of Joseph GILBERT & Mary Ann BIRT (a.k.a. Mary BIRTS),
Christened: 17 Mar 1839
Parish of St. Thomas, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England;
m: Eliza Wager TRANTER,
daughter of Joseph TRANTER (a.k.a. Joseph TRANTOR) & Eliza WAGER;
09 Apr 1863 Southampton, Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada;
d: 04 Apr 1912 Southampton, Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada *
Buried: Southampton Cemetery, N. Patrick St. Lots 45 - 58 &
S. North St. Lots 34 - 38, Saugeen Twp. (row 41?)

* From William GILBERT's Obituary:

"The Beacon", Southampton, Thursday 11 Apr 1912
"a pioneer of Southampton,
much involved with the development of the area . .
well-known as far south as Guelph because of his work . .
respected resident of Southampton since his arrival in 1851 . .
teaming work . . later carried the mails to Guelph & Owen Sound,
first on horseback, & later drove the stage to these places."

* The Day Before the Funeral:

"This Spring's Flood, the worst in Ontario in 50 years . ." Southampton flood began on Friday, 05 April, the day before William's funeral. "The water was three feet deep in places . . On Saturday, at 6:00 a.m., the ice in the Saugeen River broke, & piled up on either side of the river to a height of 30 feet. The power house was damaged & one span of the bridge went into the river. The 'fine new bridge in town' withstood the ice until Sunday afternoon . . when it collapsed without warning." This must have been a very difficult time for the GILBERT family, mourning the loss of husband, father & brother, as well as enduring an ice jam, Saugeen River flood & power outage.

Occupation:

1861 - Innkeeper;
1867 - Mail carrier;
1871 - Stage proprietor (owned 103 acres,
4 town or village building lots, two dwelling houses,
two barns & stables, 23 carriages/sleighs;
3 cars/waggons/sleds; 3 ploughs/cultivators);
1881 - Keeper of livery stable;
1901 - ** Livery, employer;
"Teaming Work, Carrying Mail, Driving Stage"

Organizations:

St. Paul's Anglican Church;
I.O.F.;
Conservative

** Billy GILBERT's Livery Stable:

" . . the old Billy GILBERT Livery Stable, on Albert Street . . north of High . . known as Chantry Chrysler's old garage will be torn down . . one of the oldest buildings in town . . livery stable before the turn of the century . . converted to a garage . . purchased the property in 1912 [the year William "Billy" GILBERT died]. (In 1971) . . still possible to see where the holes that the horses put their heads through to feed have been walled up." (Many thanks to J. ALBRECHTSEN for this information.)

Residence:

1839 - Birmingham, Warwickshire, England;
1848 - 1851 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada ("what is now Toronto");
1851 - 1912 - Southampton, Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada
(1881 - John CLANNIGAN, Irish, age 46, born in Ontario, Labourer,
was residing with the GILBERT's at the time of the Census.
Neighbours were Isaac BROCK, Cooper, & Patrick HEFFERAN, Hotel Keeper.)
Photos of GILBERT Lane, Southampton (Map)

To photo of grave marker > (142 KB)

Eliza Wager TRANTER,
b: 30 Apr 1844 New Brunswick, Canada,
daughter of Joseph TRANTER (a.k.a. Joseph TRANTOR) & Eliza WAGER;
m: William GILBERT (a.k.a. Billy GILBERT),
09 Apr 1863 Southampton, Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada
d: 16 Apr 1928 Southampton, Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada

Buried:

William & Eliza are both buried in the Southampton Cemetery, Patrick Street,
along with son Victor Arthur GILBERT (1878/9 - 1919)
& Victor's wife, Ethel J. WILSON (1884 - 1953).
(Photo of Memorial Windows - 124 KB).
In the same area lie buried William & Eliza GILBERT's daughter,
Eliza Alice GILBERT (1866 - 1928),
her husband, C. R. VANSTONE (1858 - 1912)
& their only daughter, Eliza Marguerite VANSTONE
(a.k.a. Daisy VANSTONE, 1890 - 1925).

William GILBERT's & Eliza Wager TRANTER's Ten Children:

Herbert Joseph "Herb", b: 14 Apr 1864;
Eliza Alice "Lizzie", b: 20 Apr 1866;
William George, b: 24 Jan 1868;
Alfred Charles "Charlie", b: 03 Apr 1870;
Harry Edgar "Henry", b: 15 Apr 1872;
Walter Ernest "Walt", b: 29 Jul 1874;
Birt F. / Fredrick Birt "Bert", b: 30 Oct 1876;
Victor Arthur, b: 15 Dec 1878 (Photo of church windows);
Sarah Winifred "Winnie", b: 29 May 1883;
Josiah Raymond, b: 13 Sep 1885 (Photo of grave marker)

To photo of Eliza Wager TRANTER with her daughters,
Sarah Winifred "Winnie" (HUETHER) & Eliza "Lizzie" Alice (VANSTONE) >

To photo of grave marker > (142 KB)

Links to:
Elora, Ontario, Canada (photos);
Ontario Genealogical Society Cemetery Transcriptions
Bruce County Microfilm Listing;
New Brunswick, Canada;
Parish of St. Thomas, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England;
Saugeen River flood (Ontario, Canada);
Southampton, Ontario, Canada;
TRANTER Surname in Australia & England, also contact
Royston J. TRANTER;
York Co., Ontario, Canada (Toronto)

Maps:
Bruce West (Ontario, Canada) 1901 Census Map;
Southampton, Ontario, Canada, Gilbert Lane Map (MultiMap);
Southampton to Elora, Ontario, Canada Map

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