Name/Title
"Eliza Matheson"Entry/Object ID
Matheson,Eliza1Description
Eliza Jean Matheson
Top photo #1:
Black and white. Beige tinge. Off white cardboard with green oval borders around the photo.
Photo depicts Eliza standing facing right with her hand on the back of a chair. She is wearing a white blouse with a dark skirt and a dark jacket. At the top in black ink it says Aunt Eliza.
Middle photo #2:
Two photos, first photo the same as the one above. Second photo is black and white. Beige tinge. Off white cardboard with green oval borders around the photo.
Photo depicts Eliza is standing with her arm resting on the back of a chair. She is holding a white piece of paper rolled up. She is wearing a dark jacket and dark skirt and looks like she is wearing a white blouse. At the top left side in red pencil it says May 1862 and in the middle in black ink it says Aunt Eliza.
Bottom photo #3:
Black and white. Beige tinge. Off white cardboard with green oval borders around the photo.
Photo depicts Eliza sitting in a chair with a book in her lap. She is wearing a dark jacket and skirt with a white blouse underneath. There is an unknown woman standing beside Eliza. At the top in black ink it says Aunt Eliza.
Eliza Jean
born: January 19, 1841, Perth.
died: December 3, 1929, Perth.
buried: Elmwood Cemetery.
· Did not marry; dedicated her life to church (St. James’ Anglican) and charity work.
· Last surviving offspring of Honourable Roderick Matheson.
· “Of a quiet and refined disposition and the embodiment of a true Christian women.”
Note: After her death, the Matheson home at 11 Gore Street East was rented in 1930 to William Kinloch, who converted it to the Birkacre Tea Room and Inn. Two families lived upstairs and ran the establishment. The house was sold in 1938 to Joseph Clifford Carr for $5,000, and he operated it as the Vanity Fair Tea House. In 1948, with the help of a town grant, the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch No. 244, purchased the house from Carr’s widow for $15,750. It was again offered for sale in 1963, and finally bought in 1966 by the Town of Perth for $55,000 for the Perth Museum, which was opened in 1967 as a Centennial project.