Thompson (family)
https://archives.westvancouver.ca/link/provnc163
- Material Type
- Biographical Sketch
- Date
- 1855-
- Synopsis
- The Thompson family were an active pioneering family who contributed to the development of West Vancouver. The patriarch of the family, W.C. Thompson, served as a municipal Councillor, and was involved in the establishment of the West Vancouver Ferry Company and the West Vancouver Municipal Transportation Department. His children Charlie, Harry, James, William, Robert (Bert), Florence, and their families worked on several projects including municipal electric and water systems, constructing schools and ferry buildings, setting up West Vancouver’s first service station at 14th and Marine Drive, and establishing the West Vancouver Girl Guides. W.C. Thompson was born near Cambridge, England on January 21, 1855. In 1875 he married Rachel Matilda Carr. After suffering the deaths of their first two children in infancy, they immigrated to Canada in 1879 and settled in Ontario. Their third child, Charlie was born in 1880, but sadly Rachel died soon after the birth. W.C. Thompson suffered a profound depression which lifted when he met Grace Lawson who became his second wife in 1881. Between 1887 and 1902 they had seven more children: Harry (1887), Kate (1890), Jimmy (1892), William Nestor (1895), Bill (1898), Bert (1900) and Florence (1902 [adopted]). Kate and William Nestor died in infancy. W.C. Thompson was a successful businessman in Ontario when his wanderlust was reawakened after hearing about the scenic beauty and opportunities in British Columbia from Grace’s brother – John Lawson. He sold his business interests in Ontario, and after a cold and tedious trip he and his family (except Charlie who stayed behind in Ontario) arrived in North Vancouver in March 1909. Delighted with the countryside and climate, W.C. Thompson and his family settled in the “West Capilano” section of North Vancouver. He found that selling land in B.C. was easier than selling lumber in Ontario, and he sold many blocks of land in the area at substantial profits. W.C. Thompson and three other men, including John Lawson, formed The West Vancouver Transportation Company in October 1909 which operated a ferry and later a bus system. He became active in public affairs and was one of the principals in the formation of West Vancouver as a separate municipality in 1912 and in the building of the first Municipal Hall. W.C. Thompson and his family lived in a large and gracious house, which he built himself, at 2058 Argyle Avenue. The house featured a large bay window of curved glass overlooking Burrard Inlet, a large verandah, and hot water heating. He was active in community life, headed Church committees, and was also a member of the first West Vancouver School Board. During World War I, he continued to be very active in the District, managing the construction of roads, bridges. and waterworks, highlighted by the opening of Marine Drive to Caulfeild in 1915. He served as Councillor on the West Vancouver Municipal Council from 1915 to 1917, and again from 1919 to 1920. In 1920, his second wife Grace died, at the age of 63. In 1922, W.C. Thompson married his third wife, Anne (Palmer) Case. A keen motorist since his days in Ontario in the first years of the century, W.C. Thompson enjoyed touring around British Columbia and further afield. In his later years, he and Anne twice drove as far as Mexico. W.C. Thompson died on December 24, 1938, at the age of 83. First wife: Thompson, Rachel Matilda (Carr) (b. 1851, d. March 1880) Child: Thompson, Charles (Charlie) (b. March 7, 1880, d. 1971; married Margaret [Maggie] Currie) Second wife: Thompson, Grace (Lawson) (b. April 19, 1857, d. August 23, 1920; daughter of Robert Lawson and Catherine (McNabb) Lawson) Children: Thompson, Harry Lawson (b. 1887, d. January 15, 1964; married Margaret Sinclair Murray in 1909) Thompson, Kate May (b. September 1890, d. January 17, 1893) Thompson, James [Jim] Donald (b. February 26, 1892, d. April 20, 1984; married Dorothy Vickers 1919) Thompson, William Nester (b. 1895, d. 1896) Thompson, William [Bill] McNabb (b. July 12, 1898, d. August 15, 1991; married Gladys Evelyn Merrick March 9, 1922) Thompson, Robert [Bert] Alexander (b. September 8, 1900, d. April 29, 1981; married Ruth Helen Jackson July 15, 1933) Trussell, Florence Estelle (Thompson) (b. July 13, 1902 - adopted, d. October 1, 1951; married Philip Edgar Trussell January 20, 1925) Third wife: Thompson, Anne Elizabeth Case (Palmer) (b. June 18, 1863, d. August 17, 1938; married W.C. Thompson September 14, 1922)
- Repository
- West Vancouver Archives