THOMSON, Mary Jane [Scott] - Bell Farm employee
Mary Jane Scott (1853-1919) married William Thomson (1849-1936) on Feb. 14, 1873 in the District of Lauder, County Berwick, Scotland. They had three children before moving to Canada: Nannie, John and Maggie.
Crossing the Atlantic Ocean in June 1883, the Thomson family travelled on board the Allan Line steamship: "Buenos Ayrean", built at Liverpool in 1879. That ship left Glasgow on June 7, and arrived at Quebec City on June 19.
Later that month they arrived at Indian Head and settled into one of the Bell Farm cottages, where Mary Jane worked as a dairy maid. Meanwhile, William worked on farms in nearby Wolseley, and at Grenfell, where he worked for the Screen brothers. This arrangement continued until 1885 when they could afford to move to their own homestead in the Rosewood District NE of Ellisboro.
William and Mary Jane had three more children after coming to Canada: Mary (1885 - born on the Bell Farm), Alex (1887 on the homestead), and Ada in 1889, also on the homestead.
During the North-West Rebellion of 1885, William was one of the teamsters who hauled supplies from Swift Current to Battleford. Later, around 1890, he helped to construct the rail line between Regina and Prince Albert.
William and Mary Jane moved into Lemberg in 1910. Mary Jane died there at age 66 during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-19 and is buried at the Ellisboro Cemetery. William died in 1936, and is also buried there.
SOURCES:
Helen Morrison, Regina - interviews with Laura Black, age 104 (granddaughter to Mary Thomson). (Jan. 7 and 14, 2020)
"Lemberg: History of Lemberg and District", p. 687, 688 and 119.
RESEARCH BY:
Helen Morrison, Regina, Sask. and Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Sask