Leila Margaret Borthwick was William Jardine's eldest sister,
making her Lillie's aunt.
From the personal albums of Lane Lythgoe,
inherited from Lillie Jardine, scanned April 2013.
According to the most reliable sources, the following dates apply:
BIRTH: 15 Jan 1877, Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
DEATH: 21 May 1941, Fort William, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
It appears she was born 2 years before her mother married John Jardine, so many records show her surname as Borthwick, although some show it as Jardine.
What was her mother doing in Ireland at age 23? My assumption is working. Not aware of what means she became pregnant with Leila, but it appears Leila considered John as her father figure, as far as the paper trail goes.
Her younger years were assumed spent on the Isle of Arran as her father attended to sheepherding business there, but she is listed in 1881 (age 4) living with her maternal grandparents and other cousins (Lawrence and Joan Borthwick)... why not with her parents?
After her mother died in 1888, and her father died in 1890, the children were divided among relatives. Leila appears to have stayed on with the maternal grandparents in 1891 (age 14), and in 1901 is still living with her aged grandmother and uncle (Joan Borthwick and Uncle Walter) at age 23, working as a domestic servant in the area.
Screenshot of "Lily M" in 1881 Scotland census:
Screenshot of Leila in 1891 Scotland census:
Screenshot of Leila in 1901 Scotland census:
Leila immigrated to the Ontario, Canada area sometime between 1901-1907... there are vast discrepancies with those dates, and no immigration paperwork has been found, but at least we have a ballpark. We also have this letter from her to her brother Bill dated 1906. Bill immigrated in about 1904, and the letterhead here is of scenes from Kenora, so sometime around 1905 is a safe guess.
Letter from Leila to brother Bill (Lillie's dad)
From a family envelope with Shirley Lythgoe, scanned July 2014.
*Letter transcription:
Kenora, Ont, March 22, 1906
Dear Brother
I have been waiting for a letter from you this long time I got a letter back that I wrote to you about two months ago I also wrote to J Blyth to know if you were dead or alive if you are alright I wish you would write (p2) and let me know if you are well. Bill we are having pretty cold weather here yet but it wont last much longer spring is getting pretty close. I am firing yard engine In [Ignnue? likely name of town] but I intend going back to Kenora pretty soon to fire (p3) a main line engine there is going to be all kinds of water here this summer on the CTR I hope is last for two or three as we think it will. Bill I intend sending you that $$50 dollars back this summer so [don't] be afraid that I am not sending it to you-- (last pages likely lost).
Leila was listed as a housemaid at the time of her marriage to William John Storoch (a fireman, age 25) 31 March 1910 in Kenora, Ontario, Canada. The math here doesn't add up because she lists her age as 29, but based on the year she was born she would have actually been closer to 33... hmm...
Marriage register:
Her daughter Helen Eileen Slorach was born about 5 months later on 5 Sept 1910 in Kenora, Ontario, Canada.
Leila gives birth to a daughter:
SOURCE: ancestry.com
Ontario, Canada births, 1858-1913
It appears they spent their whole life in the Kenora area.
Their daughter married in 1937, and Leila developed complications from Pulmonary tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus, after a 17-day stay at the Fort William Sanitarium in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Helen Eileen's wedding notice:
SOURCE: Kenora Miner and News 1937, May 25, p6.
Fort William Sanitarium, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
SOURCE: found online via google search.
Newspaper death notice:
SOURCE: Kenora Miner and News 1941, May 23, p1
Death certificate:
SOURCE: ancestry.com
There are many discrepancies on these records
(Note: It shows her parents were from Ireland? And her birthdate is listed as 17 March 1885 (St. Patricks Day) although the 1901 Scotland census shows her birth year as 1878, and the Ireland birth register index shows her birth date as 15 Jan 1877.
