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...
