Mary Ann GRUER-SIM
Photo courtesy cousin Sherry T.
George SIM's grand aunt, paternal line
Mary Ann was the twin sister of our ancestor Elizabeth GRUER (1832-1907). We do not know if they were identical or fraternal twins. They were born 12 May 1832 in Hastings, Sussex, England and were christened 17 March 1833 at St. Clements Croft Congregational Church in Hastings.
Mary Ann had a relationship with William ANDERSON that produced a son, William Gruer ANDERSON in 1855 Scotland. This child remained in Scotland and was reared by his father. The photos of Mary Ann were obtained from William's descendants. On the back of the photo #1 (above) is written, "To my dear Willie from his dear mother, Mrs. Wm Sim, Trinity Square, Toronto, Ontario, December 22, 1879" according to cousin Sherry T. Photo #2 (left) was dated 12 May 1892.Mary Ann married William SIM (1823-1881) who was the younger brother of our ancestor James SIM (2 brothers married twin sisters). By 1861, they moved to Colborne, Northumberland, Canada. (James and Elizabeth moved there about 1855-56.) William was a baker/confectioner and a tea merchant.
In the 1861 census, they had one child, Sarah Ann SIM-CROWDEN (1853-1886). If this date of birth is correct, she is likely not the biological daughter of Mary Ann.
Between 1861 and 1870, the family had returned to Aberdeen. Sarah married in 1870 in Aberdeen and remained in Scotland.
By 1881, William and Mary Ann were living in Toronto, Ontario. Elizabeth’s daughter Maggie SIM was living in their home in 1881. In August of that year, William passed away of "uremia" or "disease of the kidneys". On his death registry, he was listed as a commercial traveler, so he must have continued with his tea trade while in Canada. He is buried in the Necropolis Cemetery in Toronto and interestingly, the plot was owned by “J SIMS”. James must have helped pay for his burial.
William's obit from the Sim Scrapbook
Mary Ann was still in Toronto for the 1891 census. In 1911, she was living in Elizabeth’s daughter’s (Sarah COX) home in Northumberland.
Mary Ann died 24 November 1916 in Wooler, Ontario, age 84, due to old age and myocardiac gastritis. She is laid to rest next to her twin sister in Salem Cemetery in Colborne. James, Elizabeth and Mary Ann share a gravestone.
Visit her on-line memorial:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=153020327
