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Whistler Family SketchesDestination: Western CanadaA Victorian FamilyWilliam Whistler (1863 - 1940), a son of John and Sarah Ann Whistler, was born on 18 February 1863 in Sherborne St. John, near the town of Basingstoke in Hampshire. William Whistler studied at the University of London and obtained a B.A. in 1887 and a B.Sc. in 1895. In 1883 he was a school teacher in Chertsey (between Basingstoke and London). He continued as a school teacher in the south London communities of Brixton and Peckham in 1886 and 1892 respectively (1). William Whistler married Sarah Kate Ilsley (1868 - 1958) on 9 August 1893 in the parish church of Sherborne St. John (2). Sarah Kate was the eldest child of William and Sarah Ann Ilsley, farmers at Brick Kiln Farm in Sherborne St. John. Her sisters were Mabel Edith, Bertha Elba, Mildred and Winnifred and her brothers were Robert (died in childhood), Horace, Arthur, Stanley, Albert, Alfred and Charles William. As a married man, William Whistler became a teacher of mathematics and science, as well as French, German, drawing and shorthand at the Grammar School in Clee, Grimsby. A daughter Henrietta was born in Grimsby in 1894. In 1895, William accepted a position as Science Master at the County Intermediate School in Narberth, Pembrokeshire, South Wales. Sons Jack and Harold were born in 1896 and 1898 respectively. In 1903, William and Sarah Whistler, with their three children Henrietta (age 9), Jack (age 7) and Harold (age 5), came to Canada under the auspices of the Barr Colony. Sarah's brother Stanley Ilsley came with them. Stanley Ilsley, only 21 years old in 1903, had fought in the Boer War in South Africa (3). The Barr ColonyIn the England of 1902, two clergymen, Isaac Barr and George Lloyd, proposed creating a new settlement of British colonists in Canada. The location of the colony was northern Saskatchewan, then the Northwest Territories, 175 miles northeast of Edmonton. The venture became known as the Barr Colony and the town founded by the colonists was named Lloydminster. The original English settlers of 1903 encountered enormous hardships and their pioneering spirit was severely tested. A letter to the editor printed in The Times of London in 1902 captured the interest and imagination of readers. Lloyd's letter, reprinted in newspapers all over England, became a stimulus for attracting prospective emigrants. The writer Lynne Bowen discusses that ex-Boer War soldiers, and other British families, recognized Canada as a place of opportunity for becoming a landowner (4). The ships of the Elder Dempster Line used by the colonists for the Atlantic ocean crossing were as follows: (5)
The organization of the travel plans for the S.S. Lake Manitoba was fraught with troubles. Isaac Barr was indecisive about the departure date and eventually set a date of 25 March. The sailing was then delayed to 31 March. The number of passengers was uncertain and Barr Colonists holding tickets on the S.S. Lake Simcoe or S.S. Montrose were advised to switch to the S.S. Lake Manitoba (6). The final result was intolerable overcrowding for the Atlantic crossing. The S.S. Lake Simcoe set a speed record for the Liverpool to Canada route. The Barr Colonists that disembarked from this ship made such fast progress with their land journey that they arrived at the colony site ahead of the main group of settlers (7). The progress of the Barr Colony was followed in both the Canadian and British press. Farewell to EnglandThe Whistler family, with Stanley Ilsley, joined the advance party of Barr Colonists that travelled on the steamship the S.S. Lake Megantic from Liverpool to Saint John, New Brunswick. On disembarking, they were allocated a special coach on a train to Winnipeg. The train arrived in Winnipeg on the evening of 6 April. The next day, the front page of the Manitoba Free Press printed an article reporting a very favourable impression about the character of the new settlers. This article was followed by an update on the Barr Colony land grant. The group continued their train journey west to Saskatoon. From here they were faced with a challenging 200-mile trek by covered wagon and oxen to the colony site (8). They spent the winter in the northern prairie. In the spring of 1904 the Whistler family decided to move on to British Columbia. Stanley Ilsley settled in Saskatchewan and established a farm in the Lashburn area, east of Lloydminster. The farm was named Sherborne Farm - most likely after Stanley's English birth place of Sherborne St. John (9). The Canadian Northern Railway came through to Lashburn in 1905 (10). The train brought the Wilson family from Walkerton, Durham County, Ontario. Sarah Ann (Sadie) Wilson and Stanley Ilsley were married on 21 August 1907 in the Anglican Mission Hall in Lashburn (11). Two of Stanley's brothers, Charles Ilsley and Alfred Ilsley, came to Saskatchewan in 1906. The brother Albert Ernest Ilsley was killed in action, on 31 August 1916, at the Battle of the Somme in France (12). British ColumbiaThe Whistler family settled in the Fraser Valley at Cedar Valley, Mission, east of Vancouver (13). Henrietta Whistler became a school teacher at an early age, barely 19 and taught in several communities in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. She married Edward Butler and her brother Harold married Winifred Judd in a double wedding on 1 July 1923 in Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver.
ReferencesThe history of the Barr Colony has been documented in the following sources.
Notes(1) William Whistler's record as a school teacher is documented in a series of testimonials from his employers. The dates given are the dates of the letters and therefore likely refer to the end of his appointment at the school. (2) William's birth certificate records the name William Warhurst Whistler. On the marriage certificate, William's name is now recorded as William Wallace Whistler. So at some point he changed his name. (3) Biographical information about Stanley Ilsley is included in the Lashburn and District History book compiled by the Lashburn and District History Book Committee, page 471. This reference was very kindly provided by Jean Henry, the Reference/Interlibrary Assistant at the Lloydminster Public Library. (4) Lynne Bowen, pp. 7-8 and 43-44. (5)
Web page:
Elder Dempster & Company - company history.
(6) Lynne Bowen, p. 40 and Helen Evans Reid, pp. 57-58. (7) Lynne Bowen, pp. 72 and 213. (10) Web page: Town of Lashburn (12) Web page: Commonwealth War Graves Commission. (13) This section is from the research by Barbara Corker Whistler in Family Chronicles in British Columbia, 1885 - 1999.
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