Pearson, Edith Eleanor

1867-1959

Edith Eleanor (Major) Pearson was born on November 4, 1867, the eldest daughter of Charles George Major and Mary Elizabeth (Clarkson) Major, both of New Westminster. In 1887, she married Thomas Robson Pearson, a prominent New Westminster businessman and her father's partner in Major and Pearson, a real estate company. Major and Pearson was incorporated with the Dominion Trust Company in 1906, and Thomas became a director and local manager of the firm's New Westminster office. He was also a director of several other businesses on the Lower Mainland, including the Pacific Loan Company, the Royal Agricultural and Industrial Society, the Pretty Timber Exchange, and the Vancouver Harbour and Dock Company. Edith and Thomas R. Pearson had three children, Thomas Roy, Leslie, and Geoffrey. The family lived at 715 Royal Avenue in New Westminster until 1920, when they moved to "Hillside", a rural property in South Westminster. The Pearsons were active in the Methodist Church in New Westminster and in musical and community organizations. Thomas was for forty years the leader of the Queen's Avenue Church choir; he was also secretary of the Choral Union and honorary president of the Choral Society. He served the City of New Westminster as alderman for two years. Edith was a talented pianist who taught music for fifty years and served as the organist of the Queen's Avenue Church for forty years. She was a life member of Post Number 4 of the Native Daughters of British Columbia. Edith was an enthusiastic amateur photographer, developing and printing her own photographs of her family, friends, and community events. Thomas died November 24, 1947, four months after he and Edith celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary. Edith died Aughts 14, 1959, at the age of 92.