Elford Family Foliage | familyfoliage

Sarah Thomasine Vanstone (1846 ~ 1908)

4.5.2. Second child of Elizabeth Elford and Samuel Vanstone, Sarah 'Thomasine' Vanstone, was born May 30, 1846, in Tyrone, Darlington Twp., Durham Co., Ontario.

She married Thomas James Mason, son of John Mason and Elizabeth Ashton, May 30, 1878, in Tyrone, Ontario and had one child:

(4.5.2.1) Harold Ross Vanstone (1879 ~ 1896)

S. Thomasine Vanstone Mason died February 4, 1908, aged 61 years, and Thomas J. Mason died February 13, 1887, aged 38 years in Toronto, Ontario and are interred at Bowmanville Cemetery.

----- MARRIAGE -----

Vanstone—Mason

On May 30, 1878, at the residence of the bride’s father, by the Rev. W. Joliffe, Mr. Thomas J. Mason, of the Town of Bowmanville, to Miss Sarah T. Vanstone, eldest daughter of S. Vanstone, Esq., of Tyrone, Darlington, Ont. Bowmanville Statesman & Merchant, June 6, 1878.

----- OBITUARIES -----

S. Thomasine Vanstone Mason

May 30, 1946 ~ February 4, 1908

The following tribute from a private letter to the editor from one who knew the above deceased lady, both being former residents of Tyrone, is a tribute worthy of re-producing and we give it in her own words:

It came to me that I must write a word in grateful memory of the late departed Mrs. Mason. Though my knowledge of her was not so intimate as those who met her often, I have it to say truthfully that merely to be in her society a few moments at a time gave one an impetus to the higher and holier things of life. The last time I saw her she had but a few hours previously passed through terrible agony with the disease which made her later life one long misery, andyet the same cheery word and smile greeted one as ever. Her conversation far from resting on herself, took a tone of genuine interest in myself and family from that to her girlhood friends and from thence to the great seething world of restless turmoil and unrealized ambitions. An abounding faith in perseverance was a most marked characteristic of her conversation throughout. A feeling of awe crept one insensibly at this close contact with such a heroic soul walking unhurt in its fiery furnace of pain. But all that is over. What I like to think of best is her unostentatious work of love among the poor of Toronto, her brave battle with loneliness—bereft of both husband and son—and best of all the captivating cheeriness of manner which endeared her not only to nurses, and friends but even to casual acquaintances. How much richer the world is because of her beautiful life. The one thought—“she is at rest”—is the all encompassing one at present. In the accompanying lines, though very inadequate to the subject, an attempt has been made to voice the feelings of many by whom Mrs. Mason is revered. Bowmanville News, Feb. 13, 1908.

Thomas J. Mason

June 3, 1848 ~ February 13, 1887

MASON.—In Toronto on February 13, 1887, Thomas J. Mason, aged 38 years, 8 months.

We regret to have to announce in this issue, the death of Mr. Thomas J. Mason, of Toronto, which took place on Sunday afternoon last. Mr. Mason was a resident of Bowmanville for some years, and was highly respected by all who knew him. He leaves a wife and child to mourn his loss. The body will be brought to Bowmanville for interment. The funeral will take place from the residence of his father-in-law, Mr. S. Vanstone, this Wednesday afternoon. Service at 2:30, funeral at 3 o’clock. Bowmanville Statesman, Feb. 16, 1887.

Harold R. Mason

March 14, 1879 ~ March 6, 1896

On Friday afternoon [March 6, 1896] there died at his mother’s home, 98 Bellevue Avenue, Harold Vanstone Mason in his seventeenth year, after an illness of about 40 hours, only child of Mrs. Thomasine Mason, widow of the late Thomas J. Mason. The deceased was an exemplary young man and in the course of this year would have completed his studies at the commercial college he was attending. On leaving the Public School last year he was the recipient of the silver medal for general proficiency. He was a member of Broadway Methodist Tabernacle and Sunday School, being a member of the orchestra of the latter, and was highly respected by all who knew him, and his sudden demise is a sever affliction for the bereaved mother and a shock to his many friends.—Globe. The interment took place at Bowmanville on Monday when a large number of sympathizing relatives and friends followed the remains from the station to the cemetery. Deceased was grandson of Samuel Vanstone, Esq., of George St., Bowmanville. Bowmanville Statesman, Mar. 11, 1896.