One hundred years ago today, my maternal grandparents, Myrtle and Edison, were married. This is their wedding photo, although it was not taken on that day, but several weeks later as far as I can tell. She was the youngest of five girls, and only seventeen when she married, he was twenty-two. Wasn't he handsome - look at that wavy hair. (I only remember him as a bald man.) He was the second youngest of seven. How times and families have changed!
As I've said before, I guess one has to reach a certain maturity before you appreciate and take an interest in family history, sadly often too late to get answers to your questions. I know very little of their early years. I think my grandfather was trained as a machinist. As far as I can find out, in 1916 he was working at a factory in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Robb Engineering Co., which manufactured woodworking machinery and steam and gas engines. My grandmother was born and raised in Amherst so I am assuming that is where they met. (I know nothing of her family other than names... her four sisters were Alice, Sadie, Minah and Grace - don't you love those "old" names... they're becoming popular once again... Her parents were Mary and Joseph! Seriously! Her father was a Smith, and her mother was a Pugsley, a common name in Amherst. I only ever knew one of my grandmother's sisters, Aunt Grace. The other three sisters moved west when they were young, and never came back.) Shortly after they were married, they moved to the Miramichi (my grandfather's home) and then in later years to Moncton. After retirement, they moved here to Fredericton.
I was only fourteen when my grandfather died but I still remember him well. He loved music and doing puzzles and crosswords, he was good with his hands and loved building and fixing things. He loved telling stories and a good joke, and he loved nature... my mother would tell me how she loved as a child to go for walks with her Dad in the woods- "He always knew where to find the Lady's Slippers." Perhaps that's where my love of nature and wildflowers comes from....
I was 31 when my grandmother died, so I had many more years to get to know her. She was a fine lady, a hard worker, dedicated to her family. She raised six children in the 20's and 30's when times were hard and money was scarce. I am told she was a beautiful seamstress, and made all her children's clothes, not to mention quilts to keep them warm... Perhaps that's where my love of sewing comes from...?
It seems my grandmother "got in a family way" very shortly after they were married because
my mother came along just slightly over 9 months later... I cannot believe both my parents would be turning 100 this year..... How I miss them both. I'd give anything to have them back, even just for a day or two...
Peace,
Linda
Family... where life begins and love never ends...
9 comments:
What a beautiful photo and family history Linda. I know ... so many times I wish I could have known so much more about my grandparents and family background. I didn't get to spend very much time with them because they died when I was very young...but I do have a few fond memories of times that we did spend together in New Bedford. My grandmother was French Canadian and moved to the United States from Prince Edward Island after she was married. Thanks for sharing part of your family. Love and Hugs, Kathy
What a lovely young couple......and they were, weren't they.....so young! Not many people are interested enough to ask questions when 'the oldies' are still around, and of course when they go so much goes with them. I'm the oldest generation in my family now so there is no one to ask questions of any more.
You look like your grandmother in that picture! My Gram is named Myrtle too; we were honoured to have her as part of our household when I was growing up and I've always considered it a gift to be able to get to know her so well.
Lovely old photos . My maiden name is Smith and my teacher who I had in grade school was Mrs Puglsy how odd is that . My dad had wavy hair like that , my parents were from England so my family's heritage is from that side of the world . but my I found out that some of my ancestors from the 1600's were of french decent . I find family history so interesting . All I know is I have relatives still in England , Scotland and possible our Canadian east coast and my sister and brother are here in Ontario .Thanks for sharing , lovely post . Have a good day !
Darling photo! They are a very nice looking couple.
Not only are you lucky to have that photo, but you also have memories of your grandparents as people. All four of my grandparents were long gone before I arrived. How I would have loved to meet them! Someone once said "if you could meet one of your ancestors who would it be?" Well for me, it would be my paternal grandmother. She died when my father was 17 and I don't know too much about her. She seems to have wanted her past to be kept a secret, and my digging has not revealed much. To make matters worse her maiden name was Smith and she was born in London.
What a wonderful post Linda. I enjoyed reading about your grandparents and their lives. I'd say you got some gifts from them through the genes - love of nature and sewing. :) I only knew one grandmother until I was 19 and she was so 'old' and proper that we couldn't have any fun when we visited. I am grateful that my mother dug around and shared family history and I have family trees on both sides that are quite extensive and tell a lot about their lives. On my father's side there is a lot of history in Moncton of ship building and entrepreneurial endeavours. There are even streets, Harris Ave. and John St., named for my great grandfather. Thanks for sharing such an interesting post. Enjoy the weekend. It is warming up a bit. :)
What a lovely photo. I love genealogy and loved hearing about your family. I only knew 1 grandmother and she died when I was 10. I was lucky enough to be very close to her sister though and she became my grandmother. I would so love to have met all my grandparents. Nice to see how their interests and yours are so much the same.
What a beautiful and interesting post, Linda! It's lovely that you know something about your grandparents' life. Both Myrtle and Edison are beautiful names. By the way, not being a native (speaker), I wouldn't have known Alice, Sadie and Grace are "old" names. Minah does sound less common.
I was thinking of you today. I was googling lupin photos and many of the most beautiful images came from "Stitch Lines". :)
Enjoy spring coming every day a bit closer! xx
Post a Comment