Version 6.01

11 February 2025

David March © 2014

Minnie “Ruth” Oakley was born on 21 May 1884 in Toronto, York County, Ontario to Cornelius Oakley (1840-1889) & Frances Green (1842-1927). Ruth had two brothers, William John (1865-1940) & Herbert C (1867-1941) and one sister Elizabeth A (1870-1922) who were born in England before the family came via the US to Canada in 1871. The family settled in Toronto where two further brothers, Frank (1872-1938) & Harry (1874-1953) and another sister Helen (Nellie) F (1876-1950) were born prior to Ruth in 1884. Her father Cornelius died in 1889 when she was just five years old.

On 7 July 1903, Ruth married John Thomas “Jack” Brownrigg in Toronto. Jack was born on 15 December 1880 in Toberpatrick, Wicklow, Ireland to William John Brownrigg (1847-1923) & Jane Collins (1854-1928). Jack had three sisters, Margaret (b 1885), Mary F (b 1887) & Sarah (b 1890) and two brothers William Hobson (1885-1923) & Arthur Wellington (b 1897). Ruth & Jack had two daughters, Dorothy Frances (b 1904) & Aileen Marjorie (1908-1977).

Jack worked as a stenographer for a cash register company in Toronto in 1901 which was the beginning of his lifetime career with the National Cash Register Co. He progressed through salesman and agent to become a manager in 1927 in Vancouver.

The family lived for a couple of years, 1910-11, at #18 Mansfield Ct, 626 Ellice Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba before coming to Saskatoon where they lived at 829 Temperance St for many years before the move to Vancouver where Jack died on 1 April 1952. Ruth also died in Vancouver, on 6 February 1963.

Their family tree can be found on Ancestry under the title 3rd Ave Brownrigg Tree.

 MINNIE “RUTH” BROWNRIGG (OAKLEY)