Daniel Willson (1841-1909) and Catharine McKinlay (1846-1923) grew up in close proximity in Ridgetown, Howard Township, Kent County, Ontario. In addition, Catharine’s father had been married to Daniel’s maternal aunt, so we can presume that the two knew each other very well from early childhood. Nevertheless, the couple was married relatively late for the custom of the times, in 1869, when he was 28 and she was 23. Subsequent census records show their occupation as farmers.
Daniel Willson’s great grandfather Benjamin Willson, UELAC, was a Loyalist during the America revolution. After the war Benjamin moved to Ontario. Read about Benjamin’s life in A Quaker Loyalist Moves to Canada. For proof of the lineage of the Willson family through Daniel Gilman Willson to the Bonner family, see the article about Daniel’s father, John Willson.