Biography:

Dr. William Henry Oliver was born in England in December of 1824.  He was the son of Nathaniel Oliver.

Dr. Oliver was married to Emma Georgina Ellis on the 22nd of April, 1848 in the City of London, England.  Mrs. Oliver was born in Maidstone, England on the 11th of December 1829, the youngest of 3 daughters born to Alexander Ellis and the former Rebecca Woodhurst.  Her siblings were Helen Marie Ellis and Rebecca Jane Ellis.

At the time of their marriage, Dr. Oliver listed his occupation as a printer.  While living in England, Dr. and Mrs. Oliver had 2 daughters.  Edith Oliver was born in 1849 and Emma Laurence Keay Oliver was born on the 12th of January, 1851.

The Oliver family immigrated to Canada in 1854 and settled in Simcoe, Ontario.  Five more children arrived after Dr. and Mrs. Oliver immigrated to Ontario.  Winnifred Oliver was born in Ontario on the 1st of January 1854, Nathaniel Ellis Oliver was born in Ontario in 1857, Florence Mary Oliver was born in Simcoe in 1859, Bertha Rebecca Oliver was born in Simcoe in 1861 and Edward Oliver was born in 1863.

Dr. Oliver graduated in 1866 from Victoria College Medical School in Coburg, Ontario.  Dr. Oliver’s name appears in the Mitchell and Co. Toronto City Directory in 1866 as being a medical student, residing at 41 Ann Street.

Shortly after graduation from medical school, Dr. Oliver moved his family to Bothwell, Ontario.  Dr. Oliver is listed in the Sutherlands Gazetteer Business Directory for 1870-1871 under the sub-title of Bothwell.  According to the 1871 Census, his daughter Emma was a ‘school mistress’ in Bothwell.

In 1877, Dr. Oliver was licensed to practice medicine in Illinois.  According to the 1880 census, Dr. and Mrs. Oliver were living in LaSalle, Illinois, with their daughters, Winnifred and Bertha.  And by 1900, the Oliver family was living on 103rd Street in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Oliver died on the 9th of November, 1904.  Mrs. Oliver died on the 3rd of May 1922.  Dr. and Mrs. Oliver were buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Chicago.  Their son Nathaniel and their daughters, Bertha, Edith, Florence and Emma are also buried at the Mount Hope Cemetery.

*Dr. Oliver’s son, Dr. Nathaniel Ellis Oliver practiced medicine in Chicago, Illinois.  His daughter Florence, became a pharmacist.