Great-Grandfather Charles F. Bulmer

 

Charles Frederick Bulmer was the youngest child of Matthew and Aemeile Bulmer. He was born in 1874, shortly before his family moved from Orangeville to Toronto, in the vicinity of Ossington and Dundas streets. He married Mabelle Amelia Chatterson in 1895 when he was 21 years old, and Audrey Bulmer was born the following year. Grandma D told me that her father, who was called "Fred", chose his children's career paths. He worked as a clerk in the Ontario Legislature for many years, and he also managed a number of pavilions in parks in the Toronto and Hamilton areas. I wonder if his older brother was also part of the Pavilion business, but this information is not readily available. As a teenager, Grandma worked each summer at the pavilion on Centre Island in Toronto where ice cream and other treats were served. "Aunt" Minnie, her grandmother, had a cottage on the island at that time. Grandma did talk about her childhood experiences on Toronto Island, and it is another place I would like to explore. Of side interest, here is an article about Bulmer's Glen in the Ancaster area. 

I found this interesting  document in the archives of the Oakville Historical Society. Bulmer's Pavilions had eight locations that are listed in the letterhead. The document is from 1919, the year Grandma D was married, and the explanation for the correspondence is on the left. While it says "Dear Sir", it was actually addressed to Jane Glass, whose identity is important to remember. 

Charles Frederick Bulmer was mentioned in a couple of undated newspaper clippings.

I found records which indicate that Mabelle Chatterson petitioned for a divorce from C.F. Bulmer in 1927. This was undoubtedly due to his ongoing relationship with Jane Glass, whom I knew as "Aunt Jane". My mother gave me an incomplete version of this story a couple of years before she died. Grandma D was very kind to Aunt Jane and took me to visit her several times at her Toronto apartment. I was never aware of what her relationship was to me, but she was my step-great-grandmother. She was only three years older than Grandma D. 

I have no pictures or information on great-grandfather Bulmer after this time. He died in 1955, the year I was born, and is buried in the Bulmer plot with his wife, Jane M. Glass, who died in 1981. Charles F. Bulmer has I.S.O after his name which stands for Imperial Service Order, an honour given to civil servants of the British Empire with "a long and meritorious career".

I have so many questions! I cannot find much information on great-grandmother Mabelle (Maymo) after 1927 either. She, along with Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Eldon, adhered to the Christian Science faith and apparently, she was a Christian Science practitioner. I can find no record of her death anywhere. I wonder if her beliefs included a denial of death as some Christian Scientists did not have funerals or gravestones. I do not recall any family stories about these events. 

I see great-grandfather Bulmer as an ambitious entrepreneur who worked hard to rise in Toronto society. Two of his three children were medical doctors and his youngest daughter married the son of an influential Toronto family. Grandma D was a very gracious person who was resilient and managed to stay in good relationship with all sides of a changing family. I never heard Grandma say a harsh word about any family member. Her motto was "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". 

I wish I could watch CBC's Murdoch Mysteries with Grandma D. It is set in the Toronto of her youth at the turn of the 20th century, and would be a good way to ask questions about family and society in this era. This was a time of great scientific advancement, business expansion and social reform in western civilization. I have to interpret my family history in the context of their time and celebrate the connection of generations that influence who I am today.