Editing William Osler (section)

===Family===
William Osler's great-grandfather, Edward Osler, was variously described as either a [[Merchant shipping|merchant seaman]] or a [[pirate]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bryan|first1=Charles|last2=Fransiszyn|first2=Marilyn|title=Osler usque ad mare: the SS William Osler|url=http://www.cmaj.ca/content/161/7/849.full.pdf|journal=CMAJ|volume=161|issue=7|pages=849–852|pmid=10530306|pmc=1230661|year=1999}}</ref> One of William's uncles, [[s:Author:Edward Osler|Edward Osler (1798–1863)]], a medical officer in the [[Royal Navy]], wrote the ''Life of Lord Exmouth'' and the poem ''The Voyage''.<ref>Osler, Edward (1798–1863). ''The Voyage: a poem, written at sea, and in the West Indies, and illustrated by papers on natural history.'' London: Longman, 1830.</ref>

William Osler's father, the Reverend Featherstone Lake Osler (1805–1895), the son of a shipowner at [[Falmouth, Cornwall]], was a former lieutenant in the Royal Navy who served on {{HMS|Victory}}. In 1831, Featherstone Osler was invited to serve on {{HMS|Beagle}} as the science officer for [[Charles Darwin]]'s historic voyage to the [[Galápagos Islands]], but he turned it down because his father was dying.  In 1833, Featherstone Osler announced that he wanted to become a minister of the [[Church of England]].<ref>Bliss, Michael (1999). ''William Osler: a life in medicine.'' Oxford, New York: [[Oxford University Press]]. p. 12 {{ISBN|978-0-19-512346-3}}. {{OCLC|41439631}}.</ref>

As a teenager, Featherstone Osler was aboard {{HMS|Sappho|1806|6}} when it was nearly destroyed by Atlantic storms and remained adrift for weeks. Serving in the Navy, he was shipwrecked off [[Barbados]]. In 1837, Featherstone Osler retired from the Navy and emigrated to Canada, becoming a "saddle-bag minister" in rural [[Upper Canada]]. When Featherstone and his bride, Ellen Free Picton, arrived in Canada, they were nearly shipwrecked again on Egg Island in the [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]]. Their children included William, [[Britton Bath Osler]] and [[Edmund Boyd Osler (Ontario politician)|Sir Edmund Boyd Osler]].