Name:
Frederick Harold Wilson 
Location served:
Chatham  
Years in Practice:
1921 to 1951
Area of Specialization:
Public Health  

Biography:

Dr. Frederick Harold Wilson was born in Stouffville, Ontario on the 22nd of September, 1895.  Dr. Wilson was the 3rd of 4 children born to Frederick Theodore Wilson and the former Fannie Lehman.  Dr. Wilson’s father was a mason and his siblings were; John “Arthur” Bruce Wilson who was born on the 28th of November, 1890 and died on the 13th of December, 1890.  His sister Rhea Bernice Wilson was born on the 31st of July, 1893.  She died of ammonia poisoning on the 10th of October, 1894.  His younger brother Murray Cecil Wilson was born on the 8th of May, 1897 and died of pneumonia on the 10th of July, 1900.  All of the children were buried at the Stouffville Cemetery.  Dr. Wilson was the only child to survive into adulthood.

Dr. Wilson was educated in Stouffville and matriculated at Stouffville Continuation School.  He entered The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, but his studies were interrupted by WWI.

Dr. Wilson enlisted in Toronto, Ontario on the 13th of October, 1917.  He was described as being 5’6″ tall, 148 pounds with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.  Dr. Wilson was attached to the 1st Depot Battalion of the 1st Central Ontario Regiment.  He was discharged from the army and joined the Royal Canadian Navy on the 14th of May, 1918 where he held the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

After the war, Dr. Wilson returned to Toronto and he completed medical school graduating from The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 1921.

Dr. Wilson married Ethel Gertrude McRorie in Timiskaming, Ontario on the 13th of August, 1923.  Mrs. Wilson was born on the 8th of February, 1894 in Chesley, Ontario.  She was the eldest of 6 children born to John McRorie and the former Margaret Alice Fortune.  Her father was listed as a blacksmith when she was born but he would also work as a mason until he moved his family to Durban, Manitoba and took up farming.  Mrs. Wilson’s siblings were; Albert John McRorie, Stuart James McRorie, Evelyn Marguerite McRorie, Ruby Elizabeth McRorie and Dorothy Harriett McRorie.  Mrs. Wilson was a nurse.

Dr. and Mrs. Wilson had a son Murray Stewart Wilson who was born in Toronto, Ontario on the 24th of October, 1924.  Dr. Murray Stewart Wilson graduated from The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 1948.

Mrs. Wilson died on the 2nd of November, 1928 in Englehart, Ontario.  She was buried at the Birchwood Cemetery in Swan River, Manitoba.  She was 33 years old.

Dr. Wilson married Gertrude Mary Hodgson in the Village of Swansea (now part of Toronto) on the 15th of June, 1937.  At the time of their marriage, Dr. Wilson lived on Cockshutt Street in Englehart and Mrs. Wilson was a nurse at the Red Cross Hospital in Englehart.  Mrs. Wilson was born in Preston-Patrick, Westmoreland, England in 1898.  She was the youngest of 12 children born to Joseph Hodgson and the former Isabelle Philips.  Her father was a cooper and her siblings were; Thomas Earl Hodgson, George Herbert Hodgson, Joseph Clarkson Hodgson, Frederick James Hodgson, Robert Hodgson, Walter Hodgson, Sarah Hodgson, John Hodgson, Adam Hodgson, Edward Hodgson and Victor Hodgson.  Her father died in 1901.

Dr. Wilson practiced medicine as a general practitioner in Englehart until the summer of 1946 when he moved to Shelburne, Ontario to assume the responsibilities as the Medical Officer of Health for Dufferin County.  While living in Shelburne, Dr. Wilson was also the Head of the Health Department.

Dr. Wilson was a member of the Rotary Club and the Masonic Order.

In early December of 1950, Dr. Wilson was appointed as the Medical Officer of Heath for Kent County.  He died suddenly of a heart attack at his residence which was located at 111 St Clair Street (in Chatham) on the 23rd of January, 1951.  An article that appeared in the Chatham Daily News on the 24th of January, 1952 indicated the Dr. Wilson was a “fine, energetic and co-operative man” and that he “had the ability of applying good common sense.”

Mrs. Wilson died in 1992. Dr. and Mrs. Wilson were buried at the Stouffville Cemetery.

Dr. Wilson’s son, Dr. Murray Stewart Wilson M.D. died in 2009 and he was buried with his grandparents and his father’s siblings at the Stouffville Cemetery.

*Mrs. Ethel Wilson’s brothers Albert John McRorie and Stuart James McRorie both served with the Canadian Armed Services during WWI.  Pte. Albert John McRorie, was killed in action at Vimy Ridge in France on the 11th of April, 1917.  He was 21 years old.