Wastle family line

The Wastle family line originates in Scotland and England, but I have not yet traced them further back for more than a few generations.

William Wastle (1811-1903)

The date of birth of William Wastle differs from source to source, but 1811 is the year shown on his gravestone in a cemetery in Oak Bluff, Manitoba. On the 1901 census of Canada, his date of birth is shown as being 22 November 1810.

In the 1841 England census, William lived with his wife and, at that time, two sons. His occupation was stated as being an “agricultural labourer”,

Ten years later, the 1851 census shows them living in Berwick-upon-Tweed, in Northumberland.

In the 1861 England census, William gave his place of birth as simply being “Scotland”. At the time, he was already married to Isabella Percy and had two sons – Gilbert, aged 20, and William, aged 13, and a daughter, Ann, aged 3. They were living at that time in Kyloe.

In 1871, William and Isabella were living at Tweedsmouth, in Northumberland, and their daughter Ann (or Annie) was living with them. Gilbert Percy Wastle, now aged 30, was working as a boot and clog maker (employing six others) and was married to Margaret.

William, now aged 60, was presumably one of the employees of his son, as his occupation is noted as being a “clog maker”. Young Annie, now 13, was still a student.

There is a record of the following persons arriving on the S.S. Norwegian (departed Glasgow 23 May 1889, arrived Quebec 3 June 1889).

1. W. Wastle, age 65, farmer
2. G. Wastle, age 45, farmer
3. W. Wastle, age 20, shoemaker
4. J. Wastle, age 17, shoemaker
5. G. Wastle, age 13
6. R. Wastle, child

According to the 1901 Canadian census, the following persons immigrated to Canada in 1889 – so William would have been 78 at the time he arrived in Canada.

1. Gilbert Percy Wastle (son of William), born 1 October 1839, then 61 years of age, occupation: farmer (49 at time of immigration)
2. A. Margaret Wastle (wife of Percy Gilbert), born 10 May 1841, then 59 years of age (47 at time of immigration)
3. William Wastle (son of Percy Gilbert and A. Margaret), born 23 August 1868, then 32 years of age (20 at time of immigration)
4. James Wastle (son), born 24 November 1871, then 29 years of age (17 at time of immigration) – died 1962
5. Gilbert Wastle (son), born 2 May 1874, then 26 years of age (14 at time of immigration)
6. Robert Wastle (son), born 15 November 1878, then 22 (10 at time of immigration)
7. Isabella Wastle (daughter), born 6 August 1880, then 20
8. Percy Wastle (son), born 2 May 1874 (“Uncle Percy” to my maternal grandmother)

1. William Wastle (father), born 22 November 1810*, aged 90 (age 78 at time of immigration in 1889)

On the same page of the 1901 census return, the Russell family is also shown:

1. Lewis Brickman Russell, born 6 April 1867 – farmer
2. A. Katherine Russell, born 5 September 1869 (she was also a daughter of Percy Gilbert, born at Tweedsmouth, England)
3. Deborah Russell, born 10 April 1895 – my grandmother
4. Jessie Russell, born 4 July 1896
5. Deborah A. Russell, born 23 April 1828 (Lewis’s mother)

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Gilbert Percy Wastle (1839-1931)

My 2x great-grandfather was born on 1 October 1839 in Langton, Northumberland, England.

He married Margaret Anne Thompson on 23 October 1867 (one source indicated 10 May 1867, though the October date is more likely) in Berwick, England. The 1871 census gives a snapshot of their housefold at that time.

It appears that while originally a farmer, he became a boot and clog maker, employing several workers (including his own father).

In 1889, a load of Wastles immigrated to Canada. Gilbert Percy Wastle was already 49 at that time, hardly the typical age of a new arrival, and he brought six children with him (ranging in age from 8 to 20). It appears that the women might have traveled separately. This image is from the arrival record of their ship (the “Norwegian”) in Quebec on 3 June 1889. They had departed from Glasgow on 23 May 1889.

They settled in the Oak Bluff area, which is just south west of Winnipeg. I made a few trips there with my mother and grandmother to visit cousins that still lived there, and I imagine that there are still Wastles in the community. There was a tendancy among them to have large families, and much time could be spent in exploring the connections to various cousins.

My maternal grandmother referred to Percy Gilbert as “Grandfather Wastle” and there are a number of photos in the family archives that I can positively identify as being of him.

Shortly afterwards, the couple’s home in Rapid City was lost in a fire. The article below is from the Rapid City Reporter, 20 December 1917, p.1. (click to englarge)

This article appeared in the Free Press Evening Bulletin on Wednesday, October 26, 1927 (page 23). It does not mention their daughter, Katherine Russell (nee Wastle) because she had died two years before.

Gilbert Percy Wastle died on 23 November 1931, in Mayfield Station, Manitoba (Mayfeld was sometimes known as Mayfield, and is a farming community south of Gladstone, Manitoba), at the age of 92. Margaret Ann Wastle died in Oak Bluff, Manitoba, on 10 February 1933, at the age of 91.

Catherine Anderson Wastle (1869-1925)

Also known as Katherine, or Katie, she was born in Berwick, England, on 5 September 1869 and immigrated to Canada with her entire family in 1889, settling in the Oak Bluff area.

She first appears in the Berwick census record of 1871, when she is recorded as being one year old.

She married Lewis (or Louis) Brickman Russell on 6 June 1894, in Macdonald, Manitoba.

At this point, the Wastle family line merges with the Russell family line.

Catherine and Lewis had the following children:

1. Deborah Lorraine Russell, born 10 April 1895 in Winnipeg (later married Alexander McIntyre)
2. Jessie Margaret Russell, born 4 July 1896 in Winnipeg (later married Arthur Day and resided in The Pas, Manitoba)
3. Gilbert Percy Russell, born 14 December 1905, died 29 March 1907

Catherine died on 30 November 1925, at Virden, Manitoba, at the age of 56. Both of her parents survived her. Lewis married for a second time and died in May 1933 (see the Russell family line page)