Rev. Thomas R. Peacock 1867-1958

Click on the above title for information about Dorothy Dickson Peacock,
the eldest daughter of Rev. Thomas R. Peacock.

Thomas Robert Peacock was born September 30th, 1867 in King Township, York County, Ontario. He was the sixth child and the third son of Hugh and Ellen. He appears in the census in 1871 in King Township and in 1881 with his family in Bruce County near Walkerton. I have been unable to find him in the 1891 or 1901 Canadian census records.

The 1958 death certificate of Rev. Peacock (died Langlely, British Columbia) states that he was a retired United Church minister, had last practised his profession in 1933, and that he was a minister for 31 years. We can therefore conclude that he became a minister in 1902 at 35 years old when he was living in Manitoba. His death certificate also states that he had lived in BC for 52 years which would make his arrival 1906.

Thomas Peacock married his first wife, Minnie Hattie Dickson, on September 30, 1903 in Brandon, Manitoba. Their daughter, Dorothy Dickson Peacock was born June 15, 1904 in Brandon; however, her mother died when Dorothy was just an infant. In 1906 Dorothy was living with Thomas and Annie Dickson, her maternal grandparents in Brandon. Her father was in Miami, a small community 100 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg. His occupation is not given but he is 38 and widowed. According to his death certificate, he was a minister at this time.

Thomas Peacock probably migrated to British Columbia in 1906 to a Presbyterian Church. We know that he was in Murrayville at the Sharon Presbyterian Church (later United) for 5 years from 1920 -1925, but his earlier churches are not known. His first church might have been in Miami, Manitoba and he may have gone to Agassiz, BC before Murrayville. He was in Wonnack, his last church, from 1930 to 1933.

He married his second wife, Helen Banks Todrick January 12, 1910 in Central Park, Vancouver. Helen had been born in Wawanesa, Manitoba. To this union was born a daughter, Kathleen Isobel (Kay), on August 5th, 1911. The 1911 census gives their address as James Street, South Vancouver when Thomas was 43 years old and Helen 23. Helen died a few years later on July 10, 1914. Her burial record states that she died of tuberculosis. Helen is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver (Grave No. - Jones*15/016/009) but there is no grave stone. Rev. Peacock married a third time to Hectoria McLean in 1921 in Burnaby.

For an interesting article about Thomas' eldest daughter, Dorothy Peacock, click on the title of this post. There is an elementary school in Langley, B.C. named after Dorothy. There are also photos of Dorothy, her sister, and a cousin.

I spoke to the gentleman who wrote the family history for the website. Dorothy taught him as a boy, and much later, she worked for him when he was a school principal. He said she was moved around as an elementary school teacher because she was able to control the students. In later years, she took courses to become a high school teacher and taught home economics. He described her as tall and thin, out-going, vivacious and with a sense of humour that could crack up a school staff meeting.

Rev. Peacock died in 1958 and is buried in the Murrayville Cemetery in Langley. His daughter, Dorothy, continued to live in the family home until her death in 1997.