Nina Alberta Bishop (52 Ancestors #12)

5 August 2015, Chriss Coleman

Born on 13 Jun 1874,1 Nina Alberta Bishop was part of a large business- and civic-minded family. Her father, John Bishop, was not only a business man but managed many civic duties for decades2 whilst his wife, Maria Davey, raised Nina and her eight siblings. The family was a member of St Mark’s Anglican Church, Niagara-on-the-Lake.

St Mark's Anglican Church, NOTL
St Mark’s Anglican church, photographed by William Quinn (c1833-1900), Niagara.3

Nina, like most Canadian children, was formally educated throughout her childhood. At the age of 19, she married Arthur Herbert Walsh,4 a young man from another Niagara business- family who lived just down the street.5 It was likely that the families knew each other well, and even did business with each other. In addition, Nina’s cousin Charlie Bishop played hockey with Herb’s brother Frank Walsh on the local Niagara team.6

Nina Alberta Bishop and Arthur Herbert Walsh
Nina Albert Bishop, age 16, and Arthur Herbert Walsh, age 22. This photo was taken 3 years before their marriage. 7

Nina and Herb had six children:

  • 1. Herbert Lawrence Walsh (18958-19699)
  • 2. John Francis “Jerry” Walsh (190010-196811)
  • 3. Mary Agnes Walsh (190312-198213)
  • 4. Ida Alberta Walsh (190714-197715)
  • 5. Catharine Bishop Walsh (191016-199817)
  • 6. Hugh James Walsh (191418-after 198219)

Nina and Herbert Walsh with their children Jerry and Herbert. Back of photo of Nina, Herb, and their two eldest children
Nina Alberta Bishop and Arthur Herbert Walsh with their children Jerry Francis Walsh (baby) and Herbert Laurence Walsh. According to the inscription on the reversse, it was taken August 1900 by Nina’s brother Peter Paynter Bishop.20

In June of 1931, Nina fell ill for several weeks. Her illness was not considered serious until things took a turn for the worse and she came down with pneumonia on July 19th. She was under medical supervision, but Nina succumbed to her illness, passing away on the 23rd July 1931 at the Niagara Cottage Hospital.21

Two death announcements appears in the local Niagara Evening Review paper, as well as two announcements in the Canadian Section of the Niagara Falls Gazette in nearby Niagara, New York.

Nina Alberta Bishop Walsh obituary
Nina Albert (Bishop) Walsh obituary, the first of two that appeared in the Niagara Falls Gazette. 22

Old Resident of Niagara Is Dead, Friends, Relatives Mourn Death of Mrs Nina Walsh – Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., July 24 – Deep regret is felt in Niagara in the pasing of Mrs Nina Alberta Walsh, wife of A.H. Walsh of Niagara-on-the-Lake, who died at the Niagara Cottage Hospital yesterday.

Mrs Walsh had been ill for the past five weeks but was not considered seriously ill until Sunday when serious complications developed, resulting in her death. She was in her 57th year and was the daughter of the late John Bishop and Maria Davey. She was born in Niagara-on-the-Lake, of which place she was a life long resident, where she was much respected and greatly beloved by all who knew her.

She is survived by her husband and three sons and three daughters, Herbert of Niagara Falls, Ont., John and James of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Mrs Russell Carr of Niagara Falls, Ont., Agnes and Katharine, at home. Three sisters and three brothers also survive: Mrs M.J. Green, Mrs R.J. Cupson, of Niagara-on-the-Lake; Mrs John Pickwell of Niagara Falls, Ont., James Bishop, Thomas Bishop and Peter Bishop, all of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Funeral services will be held from the home in Regent street on Monday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock and from St Mark’s church at 3 o’clock. Interment will be in St. Mark’s cemetery.

Nina was buried in St Mark’s Anglican Cemetery – the same cemetery that her parents and siblings attended.

Nina Alberta Bishop Walsh gravestone
Nina Albert (Bishop) Walsh gravestone, St Mark’s Anglican Cemetery, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.23

Nina Alberta Bishop is my husband’s 2nd great-grandmother. Our ancestral line:

  • 5. Nina Alberta Bishop (1874-1931)
  • 4. Herbert Lawrence Walsh (1895-1969)
  • 3. James Francis Walsh (1931-2001)
  • 2. My husband’s mother (living)
  • 1. My husband (living)

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a blogging prompt started by Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small. My stories will include both sides of our family, including collateral lines.


  1. “Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938”, index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Mar 2014), Niagara, Lincoln, record of Nina Alberta Walsh, 23 Jul 1931, register 022315; citing Archives of Ontario, Toronto, “Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938”, MS935, reel 420. 

  2. Joseph Edward Masters, “Niagara Reminiscences: A Personal Recollection of Niagara-on-the-Lake”, personal narrative, transcribed by Maggie Panrall, ARS Historica (http://web.archive.org/web/20130511002901/http://historyniagara.niagara.com/Marshall/MHTMLFolder/Famframe.htm : accessed 8 Mar 2014). 

  3. St Mark Anglican Church photograph, c1890s; digital image, Niagara-on-the-Lake Heritage Portal (http://vitacollections.ca/notlheritage/2514075/data : accessed 31 Jul 2015); citing Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library, Niagara, Ontario, reference number SMC00007. Cardstock photograph, inscribed “St Mark’s Church, Niagara-on-the-Lake. Stamped: Wm Quinn, Photograph, Niagara, Ont.” 

  4. “Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923”, images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 23 Apr 2014), Lincoln > Niagara > St Vincent de Paul > Marriages, 1858-1903, image 9; Catholic Church parishes, Ontario; marriage entry for Herbert Arthur Walsh and Nina Bishop, 13 Nov 1893. 

  5. “1901 Census of Canada”, database and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Mar 2014), entry for household of Arthur H Walsh, Niagara, Lincoln; citing RG31-C-1, Ontario, district 85-Lincoln, subdistrict H2-Niagara Town, page 3, dwelling 39, family 40. 

  6. Niagara Hockey Team photograph, “Hockey Team”, c1890s; Niagara Historical Society Museum, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, reference 989.5.407.1. Photograph mounted on cardstock frame, with all individuals identified. 

  7. Nina Alberta Bishop and Arthur Herbert Walsh photograph, November 1890; digital image 9 Sep 2014, privately held by Chriss Coleman [address for private use], York, Ontario, Canada. Original photo is a tin-type photograph, photographer unknown. Original privately held by Joan, [address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, 2014. [The photo appears in a photo album designed for cabinet cards, on the sleeve of which is written “I’m his ’n she is mine. November 1890.” in pencil, in the handwriting of Mary Alice Walsh. The album belong to Herbert’s sister Mary Alice Walsh, and was passed on to her nephew Herbert Laurence Walsh, then inherited by his son James. Subjects are not identified in album, but rather were identified by Chriss Coleman based on other identified photos of the subjects.] 

  8. Canada, “Ontario, Canada, Births, 1869-1913”, digital image, Ancestry (), entry for Herbert Laurence Walsh, 28 Oct 1895, Lincoln, Niagara, registration 017981; citing Ontario Registrations of Births and Stillbirths - 1869-; microfilm MS929, reel 127, Archives of Ontario, Toronto. 

  9. “Arthur Herbert Walsh, Niagara-on-Lake, Dies”, obituary, The Niagara Falls [NY] Gazette, 10 Jan 1947, page 10, column 6; digital image, Fulton History (http://fultonhistory.com : accessed 28 Mar 2014), Newspaper Archives, 1795-2007. 

  10. Canada, “Ontario, Canada, Births, 1869-1913”, index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Mar 2014), entry for John Francis Walsh, 15 Jun 1900, Lincoln, no registration number; citing Ontario Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-; microfilm MS929, reel 150, Archives of Ontario, Toronto. 

  11. “Canadian Headstones”, indexed database, Canadian Headstones (http://www.canadianheadstones.com/on/view.php?id=127152 : accessed 12 Mar 2014), John F Jerry Walsh (1900-1968) and Kittie A Walsh (1902-1997), created by Niagara OGS, citing St Vincent de Paul RC Cemetery, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada. 

  12. Canada, “Ontario, Canada, Births, 1869-1913”, index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Mar 2014), entry for Mary Agnes Walsh, 7 Feb 1903, Lincoln, line 2, no registration number; citing Ontario Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-; microfilm MS929, reel 164, Archives of Ontario, Toronto. 

  13. M. Agnes Walsh obituary, undated clipping from unidentified newspaper, in Walsh family bible, ca. 1953-1985; digital scan by Chriss Coleman, [address for private use] York, Ontario, Canada, 10 Sep 2014; original privately held by Joan [address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada, 2014. 

  14. Canada, “Ontario, Canada, Births, 1869-1913”, index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Mar 2014), entry for Ida Alberta Walsh, 1 Mar 1906, Niagara, Lincoln, registration 029370; citing Ontario Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-; microfilm MS929, reel 180, Archives of Ontario, Toronto. 

  15. “Canadian Headstones”, indexed database, Canadian Headstones (http://www.canadianheadstones.com/on/view.php?id=127255 : accesed 13 Mar 2014), Russell Carr (1905-1964) and Ida Walsh (1906-1977), created by Niagara OGS, citing St Paul RC Cemetery, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada. 

  16. Canada, “Ontario, Canada, Births, 1869-1913”, index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Mar 2014), entry for Catherine Bishop Walsh, 22 May 1910, Niagara Town, Lincoln, registration 028825; citing Ontario Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-; microfilm MS929, reel 210, Archives of Ontario, Toronto. 

  17. “Canadian Gravemarker Gallery”, photographic database, Canadian Gravemarker Gallery (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cangmg/index.htm : accessed 24 Jul 2014), Catherine B Walsh Stuart (1910-1998), citing Barrie Union Cemetery, Block E, Barrie, Ontario, Simcoe, Canada. 

  18. Cath Coleman, Coleman Family File, GEDcom, c.1990s, Simcoe county, Ontario Canada, 2014. This GEDcom offers only a generic list names and dates, with no specific documentation for any piece of data. 

  19. M. Agnes Walsh obituary, Walsh family bible, ca. 1953-1985. 

  20. Arthur Herbert Walsh and family photograph, Aug 1900; digital image created 9 Sep 2015, Chriss Coleman, [address for private use], Århus, Denmark; original privately held by Joan [address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada. [Original photo inlaid in card stock embossed frame. The reversed is inscribed “ This Photo was taken by Peter P. Bishop. Aug 1900. Mr & Mrs A.H.Walsh, Herbert L Walsh and John F. Walsh.” by unknown author. The photo was passed from Arthur Herbert Walsh to his son Herbert, and then to Herbert’s descendants.] 

  21. “Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938”, record of Nina Alberta Walsh, 23 Jul 1931. 

  22. “Old Resident of Niagara is Dead, Friends, Relatives Mourn Death of Mrs Nina Walsh”, obituary, The Niagara Falls [NY] Gazette, 24 Jul 1931, page 14, column 7; digital image, FultonHistory (http://fultonhistory.com : accessed 24 Mar 2014), Newspaper Archives, 1795-2007. 

  23. Nina A Walsh gravestone photograph, unknown date, unknown photographer; digital image September 2014, privately held by Chriss Coleman [address for private use], York, Ontario, Canada. Original held by Joan [Surname withheld for privacy], [Address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario.