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People and organizations
Becher Family
Family · 1835 -

Henry Corry Rowley Becher immigrated to London in 1835. The Becher family was prominent in the legal profession, political and community activities, and military service. Henry C.R. Becher was a prominent attorney and active in politics. Henry Becher was a lawyer and active in London politics. Katharine Becher was active in community affairs. Henry Campbell Becher was a lawyer and stockbroker who served in World War I. Archibald Valancey Becher, a physician, also served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Thornwood, the Becher family home, was designated as a heritage building by the City of London in 1992.

Complin family
Family · 1773-1870

Edward Complin was born in 1773 in London, England. In 1789 when he was 15, he began an apprenticeship with Joseph Adcock, a chemist in Bishopsgate-Within, London. His first apothecary was located at No. 181 Bishopsgate-without, London in 1797. Around 1798 the apothecary was moved to No. 41 Bishopsgate-within, where he continued to practice as a chemist and druggist.
He married Elizabeth Harris on November 3, 1797 in St. Olave’s Church, Hart Street in London. They had five children together: Elizabeth Ester (1798-1864), Edward Thomas (1799-1892; married to Catherine York in 1829), Dorothea Margaret (1800-unknown; married to Miles Beale in 1824), Henrietta Ridout (1801-1842), and Leitita Wedale (1804-unknown). When Complin’s father, William, died in 1808, he left Edward “all books of Herbals and dispensarys (sic)” as well as his largest silver tankard, gold watch and seal.
Complin’s son, Edward Thomas, began to apprentice with him in 1815 before continuing his education at Guy’s Hospital in London and then in Edinburgh. Edward Thomas Complin was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons in 1820. He began practicing medicine at his father’s apothecary. Miles Beale, who had studied with Edward Thomas Complin at Guy’s Hospital, also became a partner at the apothecary and married one of Edward Complin’s daughters, Dorothea, in 1824.
The apothecary’s most widely-advertised product was Complin Specific, which was marketed as an immediate and safe cure for toothaches, swelled faces and other “complaints in the face.” Advertisements for the remedy ran in the London Times and was sold at various apothecaries throughout London, aside from just the Complin’s. It was also included in a British House of Commons list of medical drugs in 1830.
Edward Complin died in 1833 and was buried in Clapham Cemetery, London. Charles Frederick Complin (1840-1930), Edward Complin’s grandson through Edward Thomas, moved to Canada in 1862. He returned to London, England in 1867 to marry Lucy Skey, then settled in London, Ontario, Canada to farm.

Family · 1794-1959

John Harris and Amelia Ryerse met and married, moving to London, Ontario in 1834 to built Eldon House as John became Treasurer of the London District until his death in 1850. The Harris's were prominent in London elite and the social scene. Other family members include the Ronalds, Robertson and others as the Harris daughters got married.

Mahler Rosé Families
AFC 382 · Family · [18-?-]

The Mahler family includes the children of Bernard and Marie Mahler, their spouses, and their children. The children of Bernard and Marie include: Isidor, Gustav, Ernst, Leopoldine, Karl, Rudolf, Alois (Louis), Justine (Ernestine), Arnold, Friedrich (Fritz), Alfred, Emma Marie Eleanor, and Konrad Mahler. Most notably, Gustav Mahler, was the eldest surviving Mahler sibling and was also a famed conductor and composer in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Rosé family includes the children of Herman and Maria Rosé, their spouses, and their children. The children of Herman and Maria include: Alexander, Eduard, Arnold Josef, and Berthold Rosé. Both Alexander and Arnold were members of the well-known 19th and 20th century musical ensemble, The Rosé Quartet.

Several relationships and marriages connected these families. Gustav Mahler and Arnold Rosé were musical contemporaries and friends. In 1898, Emma Marie Eleanor Mahler married Eduard Rosé. And in 1902, Justine Mahler married Arnold Josef Rosé. As a result of Justine and Arnold's union, they had two children. Their eldest child was named Alfred Rosé. Alfred Rosé established himself as a musician, musical therapist, professor, and composer. He eventually immigrated to London, Ontario in 1948. The connections between the Mahler and Rosé families resulted in the records, files, letters, photographs, memorabilia, and artifacts that make up The Gustav Mahler Alfred Rosé Collection.

For more information on The Gustav Mahler-Alfred Rosé Collection see "The Gustav Mahler-Alfred Rosé Collection: An Inventory" and "The Mahler Family Letters" by Stephen McClatchie.

Vidal Family
Family · 1789-1948

The Vidal family descends from Spanish and French origins. The family settled in London England in 1685. Emeric Vidal, a British Royal Navy Captain, lived from 1751-1811 and resided in Bracknell, Berkshire England for the entirety of his life. He married in 1783 to Jane Essex and they had 4 children together named Emma Vidal (1783-1844), Captain Richard Emeric Vidal (1789-1854), Emeric Essex Vidal (1791-1861) and Vice-Admiral Alexander Thomas Emeric Vidal (1792-1863). Like their father, all three brothers entered the Royal Navy and became officers in active service. Captain Richard Emeric Vidal was a Naval Officer who voyaged around the world and kept detailed and thorough diaries throughout his years at sea. After retiring from the navy in the 1830’s, he emigrated from Bracknell, England to Sarnia, Ontario (then called ‘Les Chutes’ or ‘The Rapids’) in 1834. With him he brought his wife, Charlotte Penrose Mitton (1789-1873) and four children, including son Alexander Vidal (1819-1906). However, there was a fifth child who died before the family immigrated. They had one more child after moving to Canada. Captain Richard Emeric Vidal was among the first pioneers of Sarnia and was active in changing the name of the town from The Rapids to Port Sarnia. Alexander Vidal was 15 when he moved to Sarnia with his father Richard Emeric Vidal and family. He went on to be an important figurehead in the Sarnia community, having experience being a surveyor, a banker, and a politician. Alexander Vidal eventually became a conservative member of the Senate of Canada for the Sarnia division from 1873-1906. He married Catherine Wright (daughter of Captain William Wright) and they had seven children together. One of those was Charlotte Vidal Nisbet (1855-1948), or ‘Chattie’ as her friends and relatives often called her, who would become a local Sarnia historian and author. Her husband, Thomas Nisbet was the originator of the Boy’s Brigade in Sarnia. Charlotte Nisbet provided weekly contributions to "The Sarnia Canadian Observer" starting in 1935. Her columns were based on daily happenings for the corresponding days one hundred years before which she extracted from her grandfather’s and other family member’s diaries and letters.