HOW THE WRIGHT FAMILY ARRIVED IN CANADA
Margaret Wright (nee Loudon) died on June 13, 1899 in Mold, Wales. She was living there
with her husband, James Marshall Wright, and their large family. They had originally come from
Glasgow, Scotland and James Wright decided to return there with the family. His oldest daughter,
Jessie, took over the task of raising the children. Not long after returning to Scotland, James Wright left to go to South Africa to seek his fortune in the mining industry. He was accompanied by his
oldest son John, leaving Jessie to look after the family. James Marshall Wright died in South Africa
on June 24, 1906. The family stayed together until December of that year. The Quarrier society
was operating at that time, and still is, as an orphanage, preparing their charges for employment,
usually the girls as maids and the boys on farms. On December 24, 1906 five of the Wright children
were brought to the Bridge of Weir village of the Quarriers for interviews. They had Christmas together
as a family that year and on December 28, 1906, the five children entered the Quarrier orphanage.
The five were Madeline, Margaret, Jeannie, James and Thomas. There they all remained, learning
to prepare for employment in Canada. The first to leave Bridge of Weir was Jeannie, arriving in
Brockville, Ontario at the Quarrier half-way house on July 6, 1908. James was next, arriving
in Brockville on April 18, 1909. Margaret arrived on July 5, 1909. At this time Madeline returned
to live with her sister in Glasgow, and finally Thomas left for Canada on April 2, 1910. They all
left Brockville within a day or two of arriving to live at the home of their sponsors, where they worked
for a year or more to pay for their passage to Canada. Quarrier records of where they worked and
for whom are lost and very little details are known of this working time, but the four children all kept
in contact with each other and ended up in Toronto in a close family relationship.
None of the four children in Canada shared their background with their children so it wasn't
until a few years ago that we discovered the Quarrier connection. We can all be proud of how
they overcame their difficulties as children, and their contribution to the Canadian society they
helped build.
Click here to find out more about the Quarriers Society
The 4 Wright children that came to Canada
Margaret | Jeannie | James | Thomas |
b:1892 / d:1940 | b:1894 / d:1942 | b:1896 / d:1970 | b:1898 / d:1969 |
In Canada: 1909 | In Canada:1908 | In Canada:1909 | In Canada:1910 |
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