Great-great Grandfather Bulmer

Great GF Matthew Bulmer (centre), Grandfather, Charles Frederick Bulmer (far right)- mid 1880s

I continue to research my ancestors and plan to share stories about some of the fathers in my family in the week leading up to Fathers' Day. I unexpectedly found a picture of the Bulmer family tombstone which is located in Park View Cemetery in Toronto ON. There were some surprises when I read the names, but I am beginning to fill in some of the missing pieces from stories I never heard when I was growing up.  

I cropped just the top of the monument over the grave where Matthew Bulmer and his wife Aemeile Bowen are buried, along with other members of the family. Matthew's death was on May 12, 1903.  Aemeile's birth year was 1840, with her death was in 1915. I hope to find this stone soon to verify some of the dates that are hard to read in the photograph, and have contacted the cemetery regarding its location.

I found out more about Matthew Bulmer in a book called The Methodist Churches of Toronto. The book is available in its entirety online and can be downloaded. 

This is all the concrete information I have about my great-great grandfather, but I can read some things between the lines. There is no birthdate on his tombstone and he has a single Christian name so I would imagine these details were not important for an orphan, and that his links to his extended birth family were limited. I am guessing that his wife, Aemeile, my great-great grandmother, is sitting on the right. All the ladies look rather severe and I am not entirely sure which one looks the oldest. I cannot find the names of the sisters, or Charles' older brother anywhere. The only Methodist hymn of this era I can think of with the words "Jesus, Jesus" would be "Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus" and this was obviously important enough to write on his tombstone. (Here is a link to old pictures of the Wesley Methodist Church in Toronto)

I grew up thinking my mother's family was not very religious, in comparison to our upbringing. I did not hear about GGF Matthew Bulmer and his obvious passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I have been reading through the books of Samuel and Kings recently and their stories of good people, bad people, and good people who sometimes did bad things.  We may present a white-washed story, but in truth we are all far from perfect. I like the way the Bible shares the good, bad, and sometimes horrific stories. In my family, we worked hard to present our good side and anything imperfect and scandalous was not talked about. Matthew undoubtedly had a hard life, but his is a good story and I wish I knew more of it. 

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I found some more information on great-great-great grandmother Griffin 

and have updated my Mothers' Day post.