Edward Francis Wilson
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Edward Francis Wilson (7 December 1844 – 11 May 1915) was a prominent
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
and
clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
in the second half of the 19th century.


Life

Edward Francis Wilson (also known as E.F. Wilson) was born in
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
on December 7, 1844 to Daniel Frederick Wilson and Lucy Sarah Atkins. His grandfather was Daniel Wilson the Church of England Bishop of Calcutta. Wilson was born into the British upper-middle class and was well acquainted with the Evangelical community in England. Three of his sisters married clergymen and one of his brothers also served as a member of the clergy. Wilson emigrated to Canada in 1865 with ambitions of becoming a farmer. However, upon his arrival he studied at Huron College in
London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...
with the ambition of becoming a missionary in Canada. He was ordained as a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
on December 22, 1867 by the Bishop of London at the Chapel Royal in England. He returned to Huron as part of the
Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...
. Wilson met his wife Frances (Fanny) Spooner in 1863 and they were married on June 3, 1868. They went on to have eleven children. Wilson's early missionary work under the Church Missionary Society was focused on conversion of Indigenous peoples in Southwestern Ontario to the Anglican faith. This work was with Indigenous communities in
Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...
, Kettle Point, and Saint Claire First Nation. He also worked with the communities at Sauble, Cape Croker, and
New Credit Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (, ''meaning: "Mississauga people at the Credit River"'') is a Mississaugas, an Ojibwe sub-group, First Nation located near Brantford in south-central Ontario, Canada. In April 2015, MCFN had an enrolled ...
. While working in this region Wilson established a network of Anglican
catechists Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the r ...
to help him with his work. He also established a sewing circle focused on using English fabrics and patterns. In 1871 Wilson moved to the Sault Ste. Marie and
Garden River First Nation Garden River First Nation, also known as Ketegaunseebee (''Gitigaan-ziibi Anishinaabe'' in the Ojibwe language), is an Ojibwa band located at Garden River 14 near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The Garden River reserve consists of two non ...
region. He was the founding principal of the Shingwauk Indian Residential School from 1873 until 1892 when he retired from missionary work and moved to British Columbia. He was also responsible for the construction of schools in
Batchawana Bay Batchawana Bay is a small bay in Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Superior, approximately north of Sault Ste. Marie. The name "Batchawana" is derived from the Ojibwe word ''obatchiwanang'' (o ...
,
Nipigon Nipigon () is a township in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located along the west side of the Nipigon River and south of the small Helen Lake running between Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior. Lake Nipigon is located approxima ...
,
Elkhorn, Manitoba Elkhorn is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Wallace – Woodworth within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held village status prior to January 1, 2015. It was originally incorpo ...
(Washakada Home for Girls and Kasota Home for Boys), and
Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...
. In 1894 he moved to
Salt Spring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled ...
and worked as a pastor to the white local community. He died in
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...
in 1915. A cairn commemorating Wilson and his work with the Shingwauk Home currently sits on the front lawn of
Algoma University Algoma University, commonly shortened to Algoma U, is a Canadian public university in the province of Ontario, with campuses in Brampton, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, and Timmins. Algoma U offers bachelor's degrees, master's degre ...
.


Publications

In addition to his missionary work Wilson was a prolific writer and was also responsible for the publication of a number of missionary journals. His work typically appeared under his own name. However, in the 1890s articles appeared in the ''Canadian Indian'' under the pen name Fair Play which are believed to have also been written by Wilson. * * * * * * '' Our Forest Children'', contributor and publisher (1887-1890) * '' Canadian Indian'', editor and contributor (1890-1891) * '' Algoma Missionary News and Shingwauk Journal'', editor and contributor (1876-1889) * * * ''The Object of the Bible'' (1914)


Notes


External links


Edward F. Wilson fonds

Shingwauk Indian Residential School fonds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Edward English Anglican missionaries Anglican missionaries in Canada 19th-century Canadian Anglican priests 1844 births 1915 deaths 20th-century Canadian Anglican priests