Arthur Dyson ^{5,8,9,25,26,29,50,51,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62}

   Cause of his death was burst appendics?.²³

  General Notes:

On August 6, 2010, I had the pleasure of visiting with Robert Dyson in Kelowna. Bob's father, Spencer, and my Mum's mother, Muriel, were brother and sister. Bob told us he was born in 1929 on the Hudson Family Ranch in Midnapore, Alberta.

It is obvious that he has a deep appreciation of history, and as a youngster, spent time with older members of the Dyson family asking questions and finding out as much as he could about their years in South Africa.

Granny had many stories to tell. She told him about where they lived in Zeerust in the Transvaal, and how the ladies could sing just like Marion Anderson. She said they always seemed to finish the height of the song just as they rounded the corner of the police house that she, Arthur and the children lived in.

And when any of the prisoners escaped - the local gaol must have been attached to or very close by the police house - the guards had ropes that were about 4 feet long with large ball-shaped rocks attached at each end. The guards threw these ropes in such a way that they wrapped around the escapees legs and pulled them to the ground. This is how they were captured.

One of the aunts told Bob that there were men's clubs in Zeerust and ladies were not allowed in. Arthur liked to go to the club after work where the men would gamble and partake of the liquor. However, Granny didn't put up with that too much; she'd walk right inside the club and he was soon on his way home!

Arthur's father, Thomas Dyson, was a manager of the Bank of Bengal in India, and sent him to a private school to be trained as an accountant. The intention was that he would work in a bank as well. However, Arthur it seems was interested in a more adventurous life. Unfortunately, he did not live to a ripe old age. According to Granny Dyson, the family was walking down the gangplank to board a ship in Johannesburg when Arthur suddenly collapsed with what turned out to be a ruptured appendix. She said he was in such pain, it took 12 men holding him down for nearly an hour before he died. Granny left South Africa with the children and arrived back in Canada in July of 1910.

Maureen Lussier, 2010
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Pioneer Families of Southern Alberta, book, 1993 publication, Pioneer Families of Southern Alberta produced under the direction of the Historical Book Coordinator, Jacob Lionel (Jay) Joffe and the History Committee at that time.

"Dyson, Arthur Arthur was in Calgary in 1887. He was born in 1869 in India, and died in South Africa in 1910. He was married in Calgary, in 1892 to Florence Hudson, who was born June 19th, 1865 and died October 23rd, 1957, at Kelowna, B.C." submitted by daughter Mrs. Ella Ruth Cherer in the 1940's.

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1891 census, Calgary Alberta, district 23B, NAC film T-6425, enumerated 6 April 1891,
page 5

North West Mounted Police Barracks

Dyson, A, male, age 23, single, place of birth: Eng., place of birth of father: Eng, place of birth of mother: Eng, religion: Church of England, profession: Corp N.W.M.P., wage earner, can read and write _______________________________________________________________

I have managed to get quite a listing of Arthur Dyson's siblings through the Ecclesiastical Records of the Bengal Presidency (India) but cannot find out anything on Arthur himself. His mother, Emily Henty was born in India and apparently his father, Thomas Dyson went over as a single man and met her there. He was quite a bit older than her. The RCMP have confirmed when he joined the NWMP, where he was stationed, and when he left the force but I have to go to the National Archives to get anything further.
Maureen Lussier, August, 2003

Arthur Dyson: (Mum's notes)
U of Dundee (Scot.)
Worked in New Zealand @ bank
Joined NWMP 1887 age 19
1893 Auditor H/Bay Co. age 23
1900 Boer War w/Col. Steele

NOTE: as per RCMP info
Joined NWMP Sept 9, 1887
in Calgary, AB
Served at Ft. Calgary and Banff
Left the force Sept 8, 1892
estimated birth as 1868
File @ National Archives

_____________________________________________________
"From January 20 1899 of Inland Sentinel page 4" (Kamloops, B.C.)
Arthur Dyson is transferred to Shoal Lake, Manitoba.
_____________________________________________________

  Research Notes:

(May 8, 2010)
Hi James ,I was talking with my brother Bob today and he tells me that Arthur worked for 1st Viscount Alfred Milner after the Boer War in South Africa. There is a record of him going to the Transvaal and to Zeerust. Apparently Arthur, who lived in Zeerust at least when my father was born, also worked and/or lived in the Transvaal. We had always been told that grandfather worked as an administrator after the war and so perhaps there is something to this.
Because Transvaal was a separate Boer state for a time this could be why we have had much difficulty locating records for Arthur. Ruth (Dyson)
__________________________________________
March 8, 2005
Re Arthur Dyson, death abt 1910, South Africa

I have spent several hours searching for your man with no luck. I have been through all the records at both the Archives in Pretoria as well as those at the Master of the High Court. If he died in the Transvaal, there would had to have been a file on him, even if just recording his death. I checked for a misspelt name under Dyason, Dyzon, Dison - all to no avail. There is a possibility that he was not living under his proper name or that he died outside the Transvaal and was buried in Zeerust or that the date of death is incorrect. The last is unlikely in the Transvaal as I enlisted the help of one of the senior officials in the offices and we covered the period 1874 to 1959 with those optional spellings but couldn't find him. If he had been ill and taken to hospital in Mafeking (which is not too far from Zeerust and is a larger centre), and died there, his death would have been recorded in the Cape Province. I can check their records when I get to Cape Town later this month. I guess he may also have died across the border in present day Botswana which is also very close to Zeerust. Sorry I don't have better news for you at present.

Mervin Watson, Kelowna, B.C.
____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

LDS FHL index to Baptisms, Surnames (A-K) , Bengal Presidency, 1868- 1875, Vol 8. LDS FHL film 498516

1868, Vol 125, Dyson, Florence J, Folio 37
****1868, Vol 129, Dyson, Arthur, Folio 15
1869, Vol 128, Dyson, Robert R, Folio 11
****1870, Vol 134, Dyson, Violet, Folio 47
1871, Vol 135, Dyson, Mary R, Folio 27
1872, Vol 139, Dyson, Alice R, Folio 28
1873, Vol 146, Dyson, Cecil V, Folio 41
****1874, Vol 150, Dyson, Nina, Folio 28
1875, Vol 334, Dyson, Henry E, Folio 82

________________________________________________________
October, 24th, 2004

South African National Archives On-line for Transvaal Province govt. documents ..
<http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za/sm300cv/smws/sm300gi?20041025033037B3194000%26DB%3DTABE>
searched for "Arthur Dyson"
found:
Document 1 of 1
DEPOT TAB
SR/SN 000/00
SOURCE GOV
TYPE LEER
VOLUME_NO 1134
SYSTEM 01
REFERENCE PS 13/265/08
PART 1
DESCRIPTION EMPLOYMENT ARTHUR DYSON
STARTING 1908
ENDING 1908

(This file obtained from the S. African Archives and it contained a letter from the govt. to Arthur Dyson of Zeerust, responding to a request from him for employment or assistance)

Governor's Office, P.S. No. 13, /265/1908
Governor's Office, Johannesburg,
28 December, 1908

Sir,
I am desired by Lord Selborne to acknowledge the
receipt of your letter of the 24th. December, and to
express his regret that, while he has every sympathy
with you in the circumstances in which you find your-
self, it is not possible for him personally to assist
you. He has, however, forwarded your letter to his
Ministers who will no doubt consider whether it is
possible to take any steps with regard to your case.

I have the honour to be,

Sir, Your obedient Servant
D.O. Malcolm

Private Secretary

____________________________________________________
ZEERUST, a town of the Transvaal, 149 m. by rail, via Krugersdorp, N.N.W. of Pretoria and 33 m. N.E. of Mafeking. Pop. (1904) 1945. It was founded in 1868 and is the chief town of the Marico district, one of the most fertile regions of South Africa. In the neighborhood are lead, zinc and silver mines, and some 20 miles S. are the Malmani goldfields. The Marico Valley was occupied early in the 19th century by Mata-bele, who had come from Zululand. They were driven out by Boer trekkers in 1837. To Boer cultivation the valley of the Marico river owes its fertility. Wheat and oats are largely cultivated and almost all sub-tropical fruits flourish. Following the relief of Mafeking, 17th of May 1900, Zeerust was occupied by the British under General R. S. S. Baden-Powell. Railway connection with Pretoria was established in 1907.

(see application by Arthur Dyson for a Canadian land grant that he applied for from Zeerust in 1909. jca)
___________________________________________________________

current ? address in Zeerust where perhaps information of newspaper articles or cemetery listings might be obtained??
Zeerust Local Municipality
P O Box 92
ZEERUST
2865
_______________________________________________

Henderson's Directories, Northwest Alberta, 1896
Arthur Dyson, HBC Calgary, (editor's note: = Hudson's Bay Company)
Henderson's Directories, Northwest Alberta , 1897
Arthur Dyson, HBC Calgary
Henderson's Directories, 1913
F. Dyson, (wid. Arthur) 1728 32nd Ave. W. Calgary
_____________________________________________________________________

Oct 23, 2004
The Dyson family and the Norwood, London connection (1886-1887)
The very recently acquired birth registration of the 1886 birth of Amy Frances Ellen Dyson is more important that it initially appears as it further ties the elusive Arthur Dyson to the family of Thomas Dyson and Emily Henty..
The birth registration of Amy Dyson , which names the parents as being Thomas Dyson and Emily Henty, also states that Amy was born in "Norwood, Surrey"
"1886 Birth in the Sub-district of Norwood in the County of Surrey"
(Norwood seems to be located in the south part of Greater London near the famous Crystal Palace. jca)
On the 9th of December, 1897 , Arthur Dyson stated on his application to join the N.W.Mounted Police in Calgary Alberta that :
"Next of kin: Father, T. Dyson, Carberry House, Norwood, London, England"
This doesn't seem like much, but Arthur's links to the rest of the Dyson family have not been easy to document.
james anderson
______________________________________________________________________
Government of Canada Files
Search terms : " : 3=1 AND 2 : 2="18".A050. : 1=DYSON : " References: 1 - 1 of 1


Reference: RG18 , Royal Canadian Mounted Police ,
Series G , Volume 3375 File : 2063

File Title: DYSON, ARTHUR
Keywords: DYSON ARTHUR
Finding Aid number: 18-25

NOTE: This file ordered and received from the National Archives copy centre...______________________________________________

Since Arthur Dyson certainly isn't with his sisters at their private school, the question of where young Arthur Dyson is in 1881 has yet to be determined. He is likely around 12 years old and one would think that he would be in England near his sisters.

It was common for children to safely reside in England to get a "proper" education while the parents remained in the British colonies.

Keeping that in mind, the following 1881 south London census record is very interesting in spite of the unusual birth place for this Arthur Dyson. Note that the family that this Arthur Dyson is with are all from India... jca

A search for any Arthur Dyson on the England 1891 census that was born in France doesn't turn up anyone....This makes for a stronger case that this 12 year old Arthur could possibly be the one who turns up in the NWMP in Calgary, Alberta in their 1891 census. Also note that this entire Windle family seems to have left England by the 1891 census taking.. jca

Also, a search for this French born Arthur Dyson in the 1901 census doesn't turn him up in England. (our Arthur Dyson is somewhere between Canada and South Africa in 1901 , so this certainly could be our Arthur Dyson in 1881.... jca

1881 Census, Dwelling: 13 Acacia Grove

Census Place: Camberwell, Surrey, England
Source: FHL Film 1341155 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 0669 Folio 108 Page 15
Marr Age Sex Birthplace

Anna M. WINDLE W 32 F Ireland, Rel: Head, Occ: Pensioner Indian
Charles H. WINDLE 14 M India, Rel: Son, Occ: Scholar
Harry W. WINDLE 13 M India, Rel: Son, Occ: Scholar
Mary WINDLE 11 F India, Rel: Daur, Occ: Scholar
Whetfield WINDLE 6 M India, Rel: Son, Occ: Scholar
Ethel WINDLE 2 F London, Middlesex, England, Rel: Daur
Henriette E. WINDLE U 28 F India, Rel: Sis In Law, Occ: Visitor
Arthur DYSON 12 M (Btsh Subject), France, Rel: Boarder, Occ: Scholar
Emily MACDONALD U 22 F Bethnal Green, Middlesex, England, Rel: Serv, Occ: Gen Serv

A search through the indexed list of marriages in India on the following web site ( http://users.rootsweb.com/~indwgw/Bengal/BM6573W.htm) turns up the following marriage record :

Index to Bengal Marriages 1865-1873
Windle Joseph A./ Walshe Anna M./ year: 1868 vol 124 , page 98

which would appear to be the marriage record for the above widow: Anna M Windle. So it is very reasonable that the Windle family knew the family of Thomas and Emily (Henty) Dyson in India and is caring for Arthur Dyson in 1881 in England. Examination of the marriage record of Joseph Windle and Anna Mary Walshe shows that Anna's father was a Minister of the church in Midnapore, Bengal India in 1868 and actually married the couple in the St. John's Church in Midnapore. Midnapore is located approximately 70 miles west of Calcutta.

A search for church records in India turns up the christening record of Ethel Windle, daughter of Joseph Allen Windle and Anna Mary Windle for the 17th Dec, 1878 on the transcript of parish registers for the Presidency of Bengal. Which points out the mobility of these British colonists to India. Ethel is born in London, christened in Bengal India in 1878 and is back in London again in time for the 1881 census. In the meantime the husband Joseph Allen Windle dies prior to the 1881 census.
______________________________________________
I suspect that the William Dyson shown below on the 1891 census in Alberta is likely some relative of our Arthur Dyson as the daughter of his close neighbor (Florence Hudson) soon marries Arthur Dyson in Calgary in 1892. Perhaps Arthur was visiting William and met the 21 year old Florence Hudson. note by jca. so who was William Dyson, here age 49 and a Wool Factory employee.??
Was he perhaps the same person as William Dyson on the 1881 census in Kingsey, Drummond & Arthabaska, Quebec, described as a cloth manufacturer, age 39?? sounds convincing.. jca
________________________________________________________

1891 census, Pine Creek, Alberta, census film T-6425, page 10 and page 11
page 10, family 66

William Dyson, male, age 49, married, born England, parents born England, Church of England, occupation: Wool Factory Emp.
", Sarah, female, age 38, wife, born Quebec, parents born Quebec
", Maud, female, age 8, daughter, born Quebec, parents born Quebec,

(Sarah Dyson shows up again on the 1901 census as follows:
film T-6550, Calgary East, page 5
Dyson, Sarah, female, white, Domestic, married, born Jan 1858, age 48, born Quebec, French origin, R. Catholic)

Maud shows up getting married in 1905 to Robert George Eve.
DYSON, Lillie Maud sp. Robert George EVE, F, marr:25 Nov 1905, Age 22, Calgary Reg 18-1971-0867H.
A possible current lead is:

Robert Eve
24 SW Kingsland Place, Calgary, AB
T2V2J9
(403) 253 - 3986
(an interview proves that this Robert Eve in Calgary in 2003 was a son of Robert George Eve and Lillie Maud Dyson and was alive and well at this time)


_______________________________________

1901 census for Calgary North shows:
Robert Eve - Calgary North. Age 29, born 1872 in England.
Birth records in England show a Robert George Eve, registered on the yearly quarter of March 1871 ,in Croydon. There is a record of a Robert Eve aged 14 who arrived in Canada in 1885. Details can be found on the 'Peruvian' Passenger List: Port of Halifax National Archives of Canada: Microfilm Reel No. C-4512 page 2
________________________________________

1891 census, Pine Creek, Alberta, census film T-6425
page 11, family 71
Hudson, Mary, female, age 52, widow, born England, parents born England, Church of England, occupation: Rancher
", Marion, female, age 23, daughter, born England, parents born England, Church of England
", Florence, female, age 21, daughter, born England, parents born England, Church of England
", Ada, female, age 19, daughter, born England, parents born England, Church of England
", John, male, age 17, son, born England, parents born England, Church of England, Farmer
", Frank, male, age 14, son, born England, parents born England, Church of England
", George, male, age 12, son, born England, parents born England, Church of England
__________________________________________
Info from www.saskhomesteads.com where I found if I entered "Dyson" in the "remarks" section, it came up with 3 documents of interest.
This shows that Arthur Dyson and Gerald Hope Dyson were both successful in getting the land grants they applied for but it looks like neither intended to come back to Canada anytime soon as they sold them.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: Rancher, Bef 1887, Elbow River, Alberta. ⁶⁴

• Occupation: North West Mounted Police, 1887-1892, Calgary, Alberta. ⁶⁴ 9th December, 1887 - 8 December 1892

• Residence: NWMP Barracks, 1891, Calgary, Alberta. ⁵⁴

• Occupation: Constable, NWMP, 1891. ⁶⁸

• Occupation: Corporal, NWMP, 1891, Calgary, Alberta. ⁵⁴ North West Mounted Police

• Religion: Church of England, 1891, Calgary, Alberta. ⁵⁴

• Residence: N W M P, 8th December, 1892, Calgary, Alberta. ⁵¹

• Occupation: Hudson's Bay Company, 17th December, 1892, Fort Qu' Apelle, Saskatchewan, Canada. ⁶⁴ letter from Arthur Dyson to Inspector Cuthbert, NWMP, Calgary
detailing his claim to his NWMP Buffalo Coat.

• Occupation: Hudson's Bay Co, 4 Sep 1895, Calgary, Alberta. ⁶⁴ A further request to the NWMP, Regina, from Arthur Dyson to receive his official discharge papers from the North West Mounted Police. Request was written on Hudson's Bay Co. letterhead, and address shown as Calgary.

• Occupation: Hudson's Bay Co, 1896-1897, Calgary, Alberta. ^9,69

• Occupation: Accountant, Hudsons' Bay Co, 1898, Kamloops, B.C. ^70,71

• Residence: clerk, Hudson Bay Co, 1899, Kamloops, B.C. ⁷¹

• transfer, Dec 1899, Kamloops, B.C.- Shoal Lake, Manitoba. ⁷²

• Residence: 278 Garry Street, 30 Dec 1900, Winnipeg, Manitoba. An additional request from Arthur Dyson to receive another copy of his NWMP discharge papers as he had in some way mislaid the original. Letter sent ot the Commissioner, NWM Police, Regina, NWT. (note letter not written on Hudson's Bay Co. stationery, so presumably no longer working for The Bay. jca)

• Residence, 1901, Shoal Lake, Manitoba. ⁷³

• Military Service: South African Constabulary, 26 Apr 1901-24 Jun 1903, South Africa. ^74,75

• Occupation: South Africa Police, 23 May 1901. ²⁹

• Military Service, 1901, Krugersdorp, South Africa. ⁷⁶

• Occupation: Clerk, District Inspector of Roads, 1903-1904, Zeerust, Transvaal, South Africa. ⁷⁷

• Residence: P.O. Box 76, 28 Dec 1908, Zeerust, South Africa. ⁷⁸

• Occupation: Accountant, 1 May 1909, Zeerust, Transvaal, South Africa. ⁷⁴

• Land Applications: Land Applications, Soldiers of the South African War (1899-1902): Canada. ⁷⁹

• Land Applications: Saskatchewan. ⁸⁰ Sold South African srip land grant to Reuben John Arnold.
E Part , Section 17, Township 14, Range 26, Meridian W3
File # 1888308, www.saskhomesteads.com

Arthur married Florence Hudson, daughter of John Robert Sutton Hudson and Elizabeth Mary Ellis, on 26 Sep 1892 in Cathedral Church of the Redeemer, Calgary, Alberta ^50,51,52.^,53 (Florence Hudson was born on 13 Jun 1866 in Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales,^{7,8,14,21,25,50,58,61,81,82,83,84,85,86,87} died on 23 Oct 1957 in Kelowna , B.C. ^53,82 and was buried on 26 Oct 1957 in Kelowna Cemetery, Kelowna , B.C. ^53,82.) The cause of her death was myocardial degeneration.²³