Matilda Uttley – 1833-1918

Birth

Matilda Girling was born March 12, 1833 in Barsham, Suffolk, the daughter of Charlotte Girling. William Linder's first wife Lucy Haws died in 1834 and William was remarried to Charlotte in 1835. Matilda was adopted into the Linder family but she never stopped using her original maiden name of 'Girling'.

The 1841 British Census includes daughter Matilda Linder, age 8, living at home in Barsham with mom, dad and three siblings -- Sarah, Rebecca and William.

The 1851 census shows the family still living in Barsham with five children, but Matilda is not one of them. It's not surprising that she would have left home by age 18.

As a curiosity, the 1851 census for Suffolk lists Matilda Girling, age 18, born in Ringsfield, Suffolk, residing in Ringsfield which then had a population of 443. Ringsfield is just 1.4 miles west from Beccles and both are just across the Waveney River from Norfolk. The name, the age and the location in Suffolk are cause to wonder how this Matilda might be related, or is this our Matilda?.

• We know that Jonathan's mother was born Ann Girling. Ann Girling was christened on October 16, 1806 in Mendham, Suffolk near Beccles. Matilda's mother, Charlotte Girling, was a younger sister of Ann.
• We know that Jonathan's uncle was George Girling and we know that George was instrumental in bringing the three boys to Canada. As an uncle he was Ann Girling's brother.
• Matilda's obituary lists John Linder of Toronto as a half brother. Indeed, the 1851 British Census tells us of a son John who was five years old at the time.

Marriage and Family

The manifest of the Ship Amazon tells us that Matilda Girling landed in New York on May 20, 1856 and that her future brothers-in-law Nathan Uttley and Samuel Uttley were on the same voyage. The 1901 census confirms that Matilda imigrated to Canada in 1856. Her obituary also tells us that she came in the spring of 1856 and adds the fact that she married Jonathan in the following year. Jonathan must have been the first to come to Canada and Matilda followed in the next year or two. The two could have been betrothed in England on the understanding that they would wed in Canada.

Wellington District Marriage Register of 1852-1857, Vol 9: Part 2, records the marriage of Jonathan and Matilda in 1857. Wellington District at the time included the present day counties of Wellington and Waterloo, so the marriage could have been in Woolwich Township. The marriage was conducted by Rev'd Charles Silvester, a Wesleyan Methodist Minister, based in Elora (but he travelled around):

     Groom:      Jonathan ETTLEY
     Residence:  Woolwich Township

     Bride:      Matilda GERLING
     Residence:  Woolwich

     Witnesses:  Samuel ETTLEY and
                 Hannah BRISTOW

     Date:       23 Feb 1857
     By:         Rev SILVESTER

• We had guessed that Jonathan and Matilda were married in 1857 based on the typo date "1657" in her obituary. This confirms the year and adds a date.
• Jonathan's younger brother Samuel was a witness. I don't know who Hannah was but the BRISTOWs were the founding family of Elmira.
• This puts to rest whether Matilda was a GIRLING or a LINDER. She was raised as a daughter of William LINDER and her half brother was John LINDER, but Matilda's maiden name was indeed GIRLING.
      This can only mean that Lucy HAWS was not her mother and Charlotte GIRLING was. Matilda (b. 1833) would have come with her mother when Charlotte married William LINDER in 1835.
• Too bad that only the minimum of facts were recorded for the marriage.

Following her marriage in 1857, Matilda bore six children with three of them dying as infants. The fact that this pattern was common in this new land doesn't make it easy.

The County of Waterloo Gazeteer and Directory for 1877-8 lists Jutley Mrs as a grocer. The "Jutley" reference is an error and should have read "Jonathan Utley", the same spelling that year as his brothers Nathan and S[amuel]. But the "Mrs" part of the name cannot be a typo. Was it Matilda that lead the way to establishing her husband in the groceries and produce business?

Death

The death of Matilda Uttley was recorded in the Ontario Deaths Archive for 1918, reference #040-172:

     Name:      Matilda Uttley
     Age:       86 yrs
     Date:      Nov 2, 1918
     Born:      England
     Death:     Elmira, ONT (Church St)
     Father:    ----- Girling
     Mother:    not known
     Cause:     Menengitis, one week
     Informant: Menno Wilfong, Elmira [son-in-law]
     Doctor:    W.R. Watson, MD

• Who did they ask for the name of the father and the mother? The mother of Matilda's husband was a Girling and Matilda's mother was a Girling but there was no father named Girling.

Obituary of Matilda Uttley

From the Elmira Signet, Thursday November 7, 1918, page 6:

OBITUARY MRS. JONATHAN UTTLEY     One by one, death calls in the pioneers of this district, one of the best known and most highly respected of whom passed away in her home on Church Street last Saturday. Matilda Girling, relict of the late Jonathan Uttley, was born on the 12th of March, 1833, near Beccles, Suffolk, England, and emigrated to Canada in the spring of 1856. She landed in Preston, and in the year 1657 [1857] she was married to Jonathan Uttley, who later became one of Elmira's most enterprising business men, and to whom she proved to be true helpmeet. The union was blessed with six children, three of whom died in their infancy. The remaining ones were James, who predeceased his parents; Ellen (Mrs. Thomas Hall) and Annie (Mrs. Menno Wilfong), both of whom reside in Elmira. Four grandchildren, one great-grandchild and a half brother, Mr. John Linder, of Toronto, survive. Deceased was widely known and will be greatly missed by all who had the opportunity of coming in contact with her numerous good qualities and her helpful disposition. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church. She was one of the few remaining ones who grew up with Elmira and whose residence here extended considerably over half a century. The funeral was held last Monday afternoon, Rev. Dr. Blair [Presbyterian Church] and Rev. P. Webster [Methodist Church] officiating at the house, whence the remains were taken to the Elmira Cemetery for burial.

• The newspaper picked up on 'Girling' as her maiden name. The birth record shows she was the daughter of William Linder and Lucy Haws. The 'Girling' connection came from her step-mother when her father remarried Charlotte Girling in 1835.
• From entries in Matilda's Bible we know that the three children who died in infancy were: a son David Jonathan 1857-1859, a daughter Emma Maria who was born in 1860 and died two years later, and a daughter Mary Ann 1865-1866.

Following the next week in the Elmira Signet, Thursday November 14, 1918, page 7:

NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE MATTER OF the Estate of Matilda Uttley, widow, deceased. NOTICE is hereby given persuant to the Revised Statutes of Ontario and amending Acts that all persons having claims against the Estate of Matilda Uttley, who died on or about the 2nd day of November, 1918, are required to sent by post prepaid of deliver to the undersigned Executrix on or before the 10th day of December, 1918, their names and addresses together with full particulars of their claims, duly verified, and the nature of the security, if any, held by them.     And notice is further given that after the said last mentioned date, the undersigned Executrix will proceed to distribute the assets of the said deceased among the persons entitled thereto, having regard only to such claims of which she shall then have received notice.     Dated at Elmira this 13th day of November, 1918.       MRS. ANNIE M. WILFONG,         Elmira, Ontario,           Executrix.

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Most recent revision December 2006