Today is the 125th anniversary of Audrey Bulmer Devins' birth and the 113th anniversary of her younger sister, Dorothy Bulmer Gibson's birth. They are pictured together in this photo from 1910 when Audrey was 14, Dorothy was 2 and their brother Fred was 11.
Grandma told me that her father chose his children's career paths with Audrey going to medical school, Fred going to dental school, both at the University of Toronto. Grandma said Dorothy was the stylish and artistic child who studied art and music. Dorothy married S. Eldon Gibson and Fred married Rose (? maiden name) but neither couple had any children. My mother and her brother had no first cousins.
Dorothy was a stylish child and lady. When I knew her, she and her husband had retired and travelled during the winter months. They made their home in Willowdale ON in the summer. She had a beautiful grand piano and I had to go to her house to give a recital before my piano exams. Her piano ended up in Mom's home and my nephew now has it in Mexico.
Aunt Dorothy always gave my brothers and I a book for Christmas and I still have her gifts. I also remember the alpaca hats she brought us for winter on one of her trips.
She and her husband Eldon finally moved permanently to Guadalajara Mexico and Dorothy worked hard at learning Spanish. They were very kind people and Uncle Eldon was the first vegetarian I ever met. Dorothy (1990s) and Eldon (1987) both died in Mexico.
Here is another undated photo of Great-aunt Dorothy wearing some type of ceremonial clothing. My guess is that this picture was taken around 1918 when she was 10 years old, but I could be off by a couple of years in either direction.
I am happy to have the picture below of Dorothy (left), Audrey(middle) and my mother Elizabeth (right), along with our daughters. This picture was taken in our home in 1988. This was the last year we all celebrated their May birthdays together at the family farm outside Aurora, with a big picnic of course! Today I celebrate the years these generations overlapped.
Addendum: This is census week in Canada. I found the Bulmer family on the Canada census from 1901. They have Fred Jr's birthday as 1897 rather than 1899. The family are listed a English speaking Methodists with Fred Sr's income as a government clerk being $900 a year. It is easy to see how mistakes were made in dates and spelling with these handwritten records. The name "Audrey" is difficult to read. I also found an item in a government document about a St Lawrence River treaty with the USA where Fred Sr's name was entered.
No comments:
Post a Comment