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Record #17345
Name :
: Jane COLLIS ( - 1911)


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
:

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 23 Dec 1911   Notes : tuberculosis
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialCanada
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 17 May 1887
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Corean

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Charlotte Alexander
NotesName:Jane Collis
Age:11
Estimated Birth Year:abt 1870
Relation:Scholar
Gender:Female
Where born:London, London, Middlesex, England
Civil parish:Epsom
County/Island:Surrey
Country:England
Street Address:"Kindergarten School" East Street
Education:
Employment status:View image
Occupation:Scholar
Registration district:Epsom
Sub-registration district:Epsom
ED, institution, or vessel:7

When Jane was 17, she emigrated to Canada aboard the ship Corean in May 1887.

It is not clear who her first employes were, but the essay quoted below states she had been in ELEVEN different positions by 1892.

but her 1887 'mistress' is quoted as saying:
"I am exceedingly sorry to tell you that Jane has greatly disappointed me, and I told her when I paid her that unless she made a great change, I could not keep her longer than this month. I have proved her to be quite the reverse of what I expected when I last wrote to you. Most of the the time she is utterly useless, wild as a hare, saucy and quite disregarding my wishes. I have reasoned with her, endeavoring to show her that it was in her own interest to try and remain with me - that I would be very patient if only I could see she wished to do what was right. I hope you won't think I am unreasonable and expect too much, I don't. I don't never make many demands, but when I do, I expect them to be attended to."

"Three years later another employer admitted that she, too found it difficult to handle Jane, explaining' she improved very much in the time she was with me, and was getting to be a nice tidy servant but she said she would not stay with me because she could not go out at nights, I could not spare her more than two evenings a week, and I had a lot of trouble about getting her to come in on time, so thought it best to let her go....."

.....this employer also stated she did as much work around the house, or more, than Jane. (this may have been the Stuarts, with ten children there WOULD be lots of work!)
....(source: Ruffled Mistresses and Discontented Maids: Respectability and the Case of Domestic Service, 1880-1914, by Magda Fahmi NAC CAAP MG29 C58 Volume 1 Cases of Amelia Fairbank and Jane Collis)

"Jane Collis's employer, however, acknowledged in 1887 mat the mistress role was not always one that came naturally, writing of Jane, "She is doing very well, with the children and, I think with training will make a good servant She does not appear to understand much about housework. I hope I will have patience to teach her. It is always easier for me to do myself than instruct others."37 Yet most employers accepted the task as their duty."

"Likewise, mistresses deplored the alleged thriftlessness of their maids. As Jane Collis's mistress noted, "I think if Jane could get in a place where they would look after her money it would be better for her, when she has it she spends it all at once."

Jane Collis's employer, for instance, complained in 1891 that she herself did as much (or more) work around the house as Jane.

Canadian Census clues about Jane........
...in 1891 she is working for the Stuart Family, with their TEN children aged 2 to 22 (!!!)..Francis Stuart, head of household, is listed as a 'wholesale druggist'....they lived in St Davids Ward, Toronto (boundaries of the ward were Bloor to the north, King to the south, Jarvis to the west and the Don River to the east).


...in 1901 she is an inmate at the Brockville Asylum for the insane.

...in 1911 she is an inmate at the Brockville Asylum for the insane. (shown in error as collAs)

....Jane died of tuberculosis at the Brockville hospital on December 23, 1911. She was 42. I wonder if she is buried in Brockville?


died age 42 tuberculosis dec 23, 1911, at the hospital in Brockville, Ontario. 
ContributorsCreated : 2012-10-13 08:51:14 / From original database

Last Updated : 2012-10-13 09:56:07 /

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Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  5 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
7269 COLLIS, Edward Alex1914ENG, LDN, London Sep 1929 : Duchess of Atholl CAN Catholic Emigration Association  
17345 COLLIS, Jane ENG,     May 1887 : Corean CAN Charlotte Alexander  
15715 COLLIS, Mary Jane1900ENG,     May 1914 : Virginian CAN MacPherson Homes  
26700 COLLIS, Rebecca1900 Oct 1910 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
12880 COLLIS, Walter1886ENG,     Jul 1901 : Numidian CAN Barnardos