Albert George Whitson

Other Events and Attributes:

• FindaGrave Memorial ID: 29629231
• _UID: 38319796945243D6A28F0625DAA73A29D5A9

Notes:

FindaGrave Memorial ID:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29629231

Died:
History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Instutions, Ed. John W. Mason. Vo l I. 1916, Indianapolis, Ind.: B. F. Bowen & Co., Inc. p. 125-127.

Albert G. Whitson

Numbered among those who have stood representative of marked progressiveness and civil loyalty in Fergus Falls and who have contributed a large share to the industrial and civic advancement of the community is Albert Whitson, who is one of the prominent business men in that section of Minnesota in which he lives. In his chosen field of endeavor he has accomplished most valuable results through his earnest and well-directed business policies. A man of recognized ability and judgement, he is regarded as an authority on questions of civil importance, and as a consequence of his admirable traits of character has reached a position of distinction in his chosen field of industry.

Albert G. Whitson was born near Smith Falls, Canada, on April 18, 1867, and is a son of John and Jane (Lawson) Whitson, representatives of an honored family, known in Minnesota for almost fifty years. His father was a farmer and miller by vocation and the family were in modest financial circumstances during the early years of the subject of this sketch. The parents left Canada in 1868 and moved to Granville Mills, Minnesota, where the father engaged in the milling business for ten years. The family then moved to Owatonna, Minnesota, where Mr. Whitson returned to the occupation of farming, until the year 1884. In the spring of that year he came to Otter Tail county and settled in Aastad, six miles from Fergus Falls. Shorty after his arrival in that township John Whitson was made foreman of the waterworks, which was in the course of building at that time.

As a boy Albert Whitson received his educational advantages in the schools of Northfield and Owatonna. The career of the subject of this sketch has been one of various occupations, the first of which was railroading. Later he engaged in farming in Orwdl and the wide experience gained in these two fields proved to be extremely valuable to him later in life. In 1904 he moved to Fergus Falls and engaged in the livery business. Later he was associated with a Mr. Elliot, and took over the control of the ice plant on Stanton avenue. They sold out to John W. Campbell in July, 1912.

The business of Elliott & Whitson was opened in the same year, when they bought out F. H. Gary, dealer in coal, lime, and cement. Since that time the firm of Elliott & Whitson has been doing an unusally successful business. In his chosen field of work, Mr. Whitson has made a large circle of friends, his ability and thorough business methods have won for him a place of distinction.

The marriage of Albert Whitson to Mary Elliott, the daughter of John Elliott, was solemnized on January 9, 1891. They are the parents of the following children: Elsie and Emile, who are teaching school at Western; George and Sidney, who are at home with their parents. In fraternal affairs Mr. Whitson has always taken an active interest. He is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge and the Modern Woodmen of America. In his political relations he is affiliated with the Republican party.

Family/Spouse: Mary Emma Elliot. Mary (daughter of John Elliot and Charlotte Ginn) was born on 10 Jul 1869 in Lindsay, Kawartha Lakes Municipality (Victoria County), Ontario, Canada; died on 13 Jan 1951 in Lake County, South Dakota, United States; was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FindaGrave Memorial ID: 29627272
• _UID: D4319259F503428999699CE37414D227B537

Notes:

FindaGrave Memorial ID:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29627272

Died:
See http://www.randolphhistory.org/html/cas_history_1.html

History of Cascade (from the Randolph Historical Society, 1976)

"Cascade had its origins in the Granville mills, erected in the 1860's. In an old history there was mention of a mill operated by Bailey and Collins on the Cannon River in Stanton Township "in the early days". An industrial census of 1870 included a firm run by Whitson and Byrnes. It was a three-run mill with an investment of $35,000, generating forty-five horsepower, with an annual output of 13,000 barrels of flour. John Whitson, then forty-six, was a native of Scotland, as was his brother, William, eight years younger. John and Thomas Burns (Byrnes), age thirty-five and thirty, were natives of Ireland. The younger Whitson and Herman Metz, a Prussian immigrant age forty, were listed as coopers. They made barrels for the mill for 164 per barre1. Another Irishman, John Keyes, was a blacksmith. Two teams also belonged to John Whitson, who was evidently head of the mill." [continues . . .]

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See Find A Grave Memorial# 167969863 for more information

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By 1880, John and Jane had moved to Owatonna, Steele County, Minnesota, where he returned to the occupation of farming. In the spring of 1884, they moved again, setting in Aastad, Otter Tail County, six miles from Fergus Falls. Shorty after his arrival in that township, John Whitson was made foreman of the waterworks that was being built at that time. He was a skilled cabinet maker and also taught singing. He died in 1883 and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail Co., Minnesota. On the 1885 census, Jane is living with her sons John, William, and Russell in the city of Northfield, Rice County, Minnesota. She continued to live with Russell?renting a house on 105 E. 5th Street and then on Union Street--until her death in 1917, in North Dakota. She is buried with her husband in Oak Grove Cemetery.

John married Jane Lawson. Jane (daughter of Walter Lawson and Margaret Lowther) was born on 12 Mar 1827 in Ontario, Canada; died on 1 Sep 1917 in Ward County, North Dakota, United States; was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FindaGrave Memorial ID: 29627227
• _UID: 8519809989774C23ABC6BD8615396C891D76

Notes:

FindaGrave Memorial ID:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29627227

Died:
Northfield News, Friday, September 7, 1917, page 8

Mrs. John Whitson

Mrs. John Whitson died Saturday at the home of her son, William, at Berthold, North Dakota. The body was brought to Fergus Falls, Minn., for burial, the funeral being held Monday. Her son, Russell, of this city, attended the funeral. Mrs. Whitson was ninety years of age March 12th, last. She was a resident of Northfield until six years ago when she went to Berthold to live with her son.
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The Ward County Independent, Minot, Ward County, North Dakota, Thursday, September 13, 1917

Berthold Woman Died at the Age of 90 Years.

Berthold Tribune: Mrs. Jane Whitson, who has been making her home in this city for several years, died early Saturday Morning, September 1, at the home of her son, William A. Whitson, at the advanced age of 90 years. While the deceased had been a partial invalid for some few years past it was not until about a year ago that she became bedridden. She was a woman of wonderful vitality and her mental faculties were unimpared almost up to the end. In spite of her pain and helplessness she has always been as patient and cheerful as could be expected when her age and condition is considered.

Private funeral services, conducted by Rev. M.W. Hiner, were held at the residence Saturday afternoon and on the following morning the remains were shipped to Fergus Falls, Minn., for interment.

The deceased was born March 12, 1827, near Smith's Falls, Can., and was married Feb. 28, 1850. Nine children were born to this union, seven of whom survive her, namely Robert and Russell of Northfield, Minn., Mrs. Jas. Thompson, of Fort Recovery, Ohio, John of Sauk Center, Minn., Albert of Fergus Falls, Minn., Mrs. Thomas Nephew of Sawyer, N. Dak., and William of Berthold, N. Dak.

Other Events and Attributes:

• FindaGrave Memorial ID: 28021177
• _UID: 04B6E1FBBBA54E388FDFF20E0287B5EF174F

Notes:

FindaGrave Memorial ID:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28021177

Died:
Robert Whitson, possibly the son of John Whitson, was born about 1798 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. Records suggest that he was married twice, first to Ann Alexander on January 19, 1823, at Saint Cuthberts in Edinburgh and second to Isabella Alexander on March 25, 1825, at Canongate in Edinburgh. Both women are probably daughters of William Alexander, who was either a watchmaker in Edinburgh. It is likely, then, that Robert's first wife died, possibly in childbirth with John Alexander Whitson (born late 1823), and he married her sister to help raise the child. Four children were born to Robert and Isabella while still in Scotland--Robert, Ann, James, and William.

In late 1835, the Whitson family immigrated from Scotland to Canada, where they resided for a few years in Lanark County. They had two more children in Canada--Andrew G. and Mary Isabella. The Whitsons next appear on the 1839 census for Kitley Township, Leeds County, Ontario, where they lived close to the town of Smiths Falls.

On February 23, 1850, Robert's oldest son John married twenty-three year old Jane Lawson, daughter of Walter Lawson and Margaret Lowther, in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Perth, Drummond Township, Lanark County, Ontario. Her father was a native of Dumfrieshire, Scotland, and her mother was from Newcastle on Tyne, Northumberland, England. The Lawsons had migrated from Scotland to Canada about 1824, and were living in Elmsley Township, Leeds County, Ontario, where Jane herself had been born. John and Jane settled close to his parents, and on the 1851 census for Kitley, both Robert and John are listed as farmers and as Presbyterians. Robert's family was living in a one and a half story stone house, and John and Jane were living in a one-story log house, along with their one-year old son Robert.

In 1863, much of the Whitson family--Robert, his sons' families, and several of his grandchildren's families as well--made the decision to migrate to America. Possibly this was because of tension between the Catholics and the Protestants in Canada at the time. They settled in Minnesota, and John and Jane soon decided to join them, moving to Granville Mills in Lillian Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota, in 1868.

In 1875, Robert Whitson died and was buried in Oaklawn Cemetery, Northfield Township, Rice County, Minnesota.

Robert married Ann Alexander in 1823. Ann was born in 1805; died in 1824. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 496AF8228FB142F1BDCB14224AFD3231A8B7

Notes:

Died:
Daughter of William Alexander (Occupation: watchmaker. b. abt. 1768, Hull, Yorkshire, England and d. Sep 1822, Bilston, Morningside, Midlothian, Scotland) and Frances Nicholson (b. abt. 1771, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland and d. bef. 1822)

--Anne, Isabella, and Frances named as daughters when William's will was written on 25 July 1822. Only Isabella and Frances named as executrixes in 1825 since Anne had died. Inventory included a house in Leith, which Robert Whitson advertises for sale in Nov 1824.

Married Robert Whitson on 19 Jan 1823, Saint Cuthberts, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland

--1823, Jan 19 - The marriage record reads: Robert Whitson, Victual Dealer, No 143 Causewayside and Ann Alexander, daughter of the late William Alexander, residing at No 148 Causewayside have been three times proclaimed in order to marriage and no objections

Died 1823-1825, probably Edinburgh, Scotland. Perhaps in childbirth.

Other Events and Attributes:

• FindaGrave Memorial ID: 29627400
• _UID: FD57A2280405446E8D750AC8AB2096556306
• Religion: 30 Mar 1824, Castleton Parish, Roxburghshire, Scottish Borders, Scotland; Disjunction letter

Notes:

FindaGrave Memorial ID:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29627400

Religion:
Castleton March 30th 1824
This certify that the Bearer Walter Lawson a married man has resided in the parish for eighteen years and has conducted himself with decency and propriety. Both he and his wife margaret Lauder are free from all public scandal or grievance or grounds of Church censure and in full communion wht the Established Church here; and may be admitted as members into any Society or Christian Congregation wherever providence many order their lot.

Given by order of the Session
Alexander Fisher (clerk)
A Banton Minister
Peter Robson Elder
John Douglas Elder


Died:
Son of Walter Lawson and Margaret Laing?

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Perth Courier, December 5, 1873

Lawson? Died, at Perth, on Monday, 1st Dec., Walter Lawson, Sr., aged 86 (or 88?) years, a native of Dumfrieshire, Scotland.

Last Will and Testament Doc. G R 1-235 Brockville Land Office

This is the last will and Testament of one Walter Lawson formerly of the township of Elmsley in the County of Leeds, but now of the town of Perth, in the County of Lanark, Yeoman.

In the First Place; I give and bequeath unto my dearly beloved wife Margaret Lawson, the sum of One Hundred Dollars to be paid to her by my executors herein after named immediately after my decease.

In the Second Place; I give devise and bequeath all the rest residence and remainder of my estate both real and personal of which I may die possessed unto my executors herein named. Upon Trust that any said executors or the survivors or survivor of them or the heirs executors or administrators of such survivor shall as soon as conveniently maybe sell the same either by public auction, or private contract and execute and do all such assurances and acts for effectuating any such sale as they or he shall think fit and shall invest proceeds of such sale on the security of mortgages of real estate or upon such other security as they or he may deem advisable and shall pay the income thereof at least once in each year to my dearly beloved wife Margaret Lawson during her life and after the death of my said wife Margaret Lawson in trust todivide said principal monies as follows thats to say;

First; One seventh of my said principal monies shall be given to my daughter Margaret Lillie.
Second; One seventh of my said principal monies shall be divided equally amongst my grandchildren; John Ferrier, Walter Ferrier, William Ferrier, Christina Ferrier, Margaret McCormack wife of Joseph McCormack, and Jane Gibbons wife of Thomas Gibbons; sons and daughters of my daughter Susan Ferrier share and share alike.

Third; One seventh of my said principle monies shall be given to my daugher Jane Whitson wife of John Whitson of the state of Minnesota one of the United States of America.

Fourth; One seventh of said principal monies shall be given to my son Walter Lawson.

Fifth; One seventh of said principal monies shall be given to my son Adam Lawson.

Sixth; One fourteenth shall be given to my granddaughter Margaret Harris wife of John Harris and daughter of my son Andrew Lawson.

Seventh; One seventh of said principlal; monies shall be given to my grandchildren Martha Templeton, Rebecca Allan, Margaret Baillie, and William lawson, to be divided equally amongst them, share, and share alike.

Eighth: All the rest residence and remainder shall be given to my daughter Margaret Lillie.

And lastly I nominate constitute and appoint John McTavish of the Township of Elmsley in the County of Leeds, Yeoman; James Millar of the same place Yeoman; and John Ferrier of the town of Perth in the County of Lanark, Saddler, to be the Executors of this my last Will and Testament.

In Witness Whereof I the said Walter Lawson the Testator have here unto set my hand and seal this twenty-third day of September in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight hundred and seventy three.

Signed Sealed and Published and declared by the said testament in the presene of us who at his bequest in his presence and in the presence of each other have here to subscribed our names as witnesses. Being furst read over to the said Walter Lawson.
F.A. Hall of Perth, Barrister at Law.
A. Greig, of the same place, student at Law.

Walter married Margaret Lowther. Margaret was born in 1784 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, England; died on 14 Jan 1875 in Perth, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada; was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Beloit, Mitchell County, Kansas, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FindaGrave Memorial ID: 29627515
• Name: Margaret Lauder
• _UID: 5B4A0D67A2C34586BEA04DAD5D1423D80DA5

Notes:

FindaGrave Memorial ID:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29627515

Died:
Lawson-Died, at Perth , on Thursday, 14th Jan., Margaret Lowther (Lawson), relict of Wm. [sic] Lawson, Sr., age illegible.