John, Ella, and Jim, early 1930s?

Ella's early life

Ella was born in Vancouver on October 7, 1913. She was christened as Amy Ella Wighton. The 'Amy' name came from her grandmother, Amy Louisa (Hutcheon) Wighton. The 'Ella' name came from her great aunt Ella Burns Wighton, who was born in 1887. That Ella's middle name Burns was a reference to the child's maternal grandmother, Margaret (Burns) Hutcheon. Ella Burns Wighton died from TB on November 25 1908 in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. She was buried in New Kilpatrick Cemetery Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. John Murray, her father, was serving in the Barlinnie (Glasgow) prison at the time.

Our Ella had the same early history as I described in Harry Latta Wighton's biography. She was born in Vancouver, lived in Scotland during WWI, and returned to Vancouver. Ella's elementary school was Lord Selkirk of South Vancouver, an area distinct from Vancouver at that time. (Point Gray and South Vancouver merged with Vancouver in 1929). The high school serving South Vancouver was South Vancouver High School which became John Oliver High School (530 E. 41st) in the 20s.

It was at this point that the education of the two boys and Ella diverged. John and Jim attended UBC and became a mechanical engineer (John) and an electrical engineer. Ella said that she could have gone to university but couldn't because of weakness in mathematics. There's a story here that many of you might find surprising. Elementary school parents at the time had to buy the textbooks for their children. Harry and Miriam were not well off. They were fortunate that they could afford to give textbooks to John and Jim, but that was because they were in the same class. (Jim skipped a year at Lord Selkirk.) There wasn't enough money for Ella.

Another issue for Ella during her schooling was her choice of careers. At the time, there weren't a lot of career opportunities for women. Ella took a class where she learned how to use mechanical calculators which were called comptometers at the time. Co-incidentally, Jim's wife-to-be (Vera) was in the same class. That career didn't go anywhere. Dianne learned from Ella that she desperately wanted a career in hairdressing.

It should come as no surprise to you that Miriam had certain expectations for her daughter. Acceptable careers for women were nursing or teaching. Miriam also wanted to determine who she could date, if at all. Rebelling against a controlling mother informed much of Ella’s life decisions. Friction between mother and daughter became inflamed with Ella looking for a way to escape. Marriage was the answer.

Jim and Vera leave Vancouver in 1942

In the spring of 1942, Jim and Vera left Vancouver and travelled three days by train to Ottawa where Jim took up a position with the National Research Council where he would be working with the Air Force on developing radar. From left to right: John, Otto holding Marilynne, Jim, Vera, Ella, and Harry. Vera was pregnant at the time. They would return after the war and take up residence on Lulu Island. The (Jim) Wightons and Petersons would socialize from time to time and exchange Christmas gifts for the children. I remember receiving the gift of a year's subscription to a Disney comic book one year which was a big highlight for me.

The 50's and 60's

Family relations repaired

Above left are Miriam, Harry, John, Mary, and Marilynne in 1957. Miriam was 67 and Harry 71. The Jim Wighton family was living in Montreal and we'd spend some time with Vera's family and Jim's family every so often in the summer. This would have been one of those times.

Above right are David, Ella, Otto on the couch, John in front, Miriam, and Jim. I believe that this was taken in the late 50s.

Above left are Harry, Jim, John, and Ella. I believe it was taken in early 1960s. (Harry died in 1965.)

After Miriam and Harry's deaths

As part of Miriam and Harry's will, John received the family home on West 8th in Vancouver. This was because both Ella and Jim had homes of their own. By this time, John had retired from the University of Saskactchewn and was in Vancouver. It didn't make much sense for John to be living by himself in a house with Ella living by herself in another nearby house. So, Ella came to live in the West 8th house and took on housekeeping duties and John paid the bills. (This arrangement has been presumed.)

During her life, Ella worked in several jobs. She sold ice cream or chocolates in a store, and gave out food samples in supermarkets. This was part of being a member of the Demonstrators Guild. These were people who set up positions small display booths were people could taste the foods that the stores were promoting. This is the same work that Miriam had and, it's entirely possible that she introduced Ella into the guild.

John kept himself busy with his investments with one particular investment to note. As part of her will, Miriam had bequethed a certain number of investment that John had made in her name. He took those investments and rolled them into an entity he called the H.L./M.E.W. Trust. From that point on John was investing for the three of them. This was particularly reassuring for Ella who relied on her display duties for income.

It was during this time that Ella began to search for genealogical records of the the Wighton name. This was before computers and websites that held parish birth and death records for anybody to see. She corresponded extensively with other Wighton namesakes in Canada, the UK, USA, and Tasmania.

The 90's

Back row: Marilynne Finlayson, John Wighton, cousins Marj and Art Bradbury, Jim Wighton, Ryan Harding, David Wighton, and John Finlayson. Front row: Ella Peterson, Vera Wighton, and Dianne Harding.

The later years

John and Ella sold the house on West 8th and moved to Surrey where they would be closer to the rest of the family. Dianne recalls that Ella was very curious and intelligent. She devoured the newspaper every day and could talk about nearly anything. John died there in 1998. Ella's failing health necessitated a move into Mayfair Manor in 2000. She died there on March 10, 2004.

Sources

Personal recollections/pictures of Marilynne Finlayson (neé Peterson), Dianne Harding (neé Wighton), and David Wighton.

Vera Wighton's biography of Jim Wighton.

Where to now? To read more about Generation 7, Harry Latta Wighton's immediate family, just click top to make a selection from Generation 7's genealogical table at the top of this page. The navigation buttons just below will give you quick access to biographies in other generations.