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A. A. Bartlett
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A. A. Bartlett (1852-1920)
Arthur Alison Bartlett was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, on 5 Nov 1852, to Charlotte and James H. Bartlett. He had at least three sisters: Charlotte, Elizabeth, and Kate. In the 1871 Census he is eighteen, working as a shop clerk, and living at home with his Mother, Father and three sisters in Saint John. At a later point Arthur moved to Prince Edward Island.
In August 1882 he married Margaret Scott Rankin (1862-1954), the daughter of the previous Charlottetown Mayor Neil Rankin, (Mayor from 1872-1875).
Arthur was a commercial agent specializing as a stamp collector and a stamp dealer. He is famous among stamp circles as the proprietor of the largest collection of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island remainders. He is also known for his unique business letter-head which were printed in Hamburg, Germany. The stamp facsimiles on the letters were so accurate that the Ottawa Postal authorities, worried that they would be used as forged stamps, banned him from using the letterhead. He fought their proclamation and eventually he was allowed to use what he had printed, but was not allowed to print any more. Today one of the letterhead sheets sell for about $100.
In October 1895, Bartlett wrote an article in the Stamp News publication. In it he highlights the virtues of the Prince Edward Island stamps:
If I have succeeded in making out a good case for the stamp of this beautiful little island, rightly called “the Garden of the Gulf,” and which is undoubtedly the fairest portion of all Canada – the little gem set in a silver sea, which the aboriginal Indian called “Abegweit,” meaning “anchored on the wave” – then has my object been accomplished.
Arthur was largely involved in the military. In 1897, Arthur was a lieutenant in the 82nd Regiment (Abegweit). In June 1902 he was involved in the Royal Salute of 21 guns to honour the end of the Boer War. He obtained the rank of Major. At the outbreak of WWI, when Arthur was in his 62nd year, he was put in charge of transportation and supplies for Charlottetown, District 6.
Arthur also was the A.D.C (aide de camp) to two of Prince Edward Island's Lieutenant Governors: the Honourable Augustine Colin Macdonald and the Honourable Murdock MacKinnon.
Arthur was involved in many aspects of community life on the Island. He was the secretary of the Provincial Rifle Association, director of fox farming industry, John R. Dinnis Foxes Ltd, and board President of the Charlottetown Guardian.
According to his obituary in the Charlottetown Guardian, Arthur had a “magnificent library which he was constantly adding to... and had a birthday book containing the signatures of many men of distinction in the world of politics and letters". Many books from Arthur's library made their way to UPEI's Robertson Library's shelves.
Arthur, Margaret and their only child, Mary Florence lived in an elaborate house on 175 Fitzroy Street, in Charlottetown.
On Saturday, 11 December 1920 Arthur was stricken with a fatal seizure. His wife, traveling in Toronto, was immediately called home but she was waylaid in Sackville, NB and did not make it back before her husband's passing. Arthur Alison Bartlett died on Tuesday, 14 December 1920, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Two books from Arthur's collection: The Lays of Ancient Rome, with his signature, and The Story of Venice from the series “Medieval Towns", which he signed and dated Sept. 9, 1907, are in the UPEI's Provenance collection.
Sources:
1871 Census of Canada. Census Place: Queen Ward, Saint John, New Brunswick; Roll: C-10373; Page: 67; Family No: 258
1901 Census of Canada. Census Place: Charlottetown, Queen's (west), Prince Edward Island; Page: 4; Family No: 30
1911 Census of Canada. Census Place: 50 - Charlottetown, Queens, Prince Edward Island; Page: 8; Family No: 92
Carr, Dr. Robert V.C., “A Short Biography of A.A. Bartlett", BNA Topics. Official Journal of the British North America Philatelic Society 23, no.2 (February 1966): 39-41.
“The Late Major A. A. Bartlett". The Charlottetown Guardian, 15 December 1920, p.1. Accessed from IslandNewspapers on 16 April 2016.
“Mourning Cover to Arthur A. Bartlett, Prince Edward Island [Canada]" Australian Postal History & Social Philately
Prince Edward Island Marriage Registers. Prince Edward Island Provincial Archives; Prince Edward Island, Canada; Marriages 1878-1888; Series Number: 14-0307; 2015-02-26 14:44:26; dsclark; Prince Edward Island Marriage Registers, 1832-1888 - FSI; DGS: 004146270; FHL Roll: 001630095
Photo:
Photo of A.A. Bartlett, with kind permission, from Prince Edward Island Public Archives and Records Office.
Accession number: 4240/10
Description: Major A.A. Bartlett, 21 August 1915, James Bartlett, Charlotte [unknown], Margaret Scott Rankin, Mary Florence Bartlett
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A. Clarice Tuckwell
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Annie Clarice Tuckwell (1886-1974)
Annie “Clarice" Samson was born on 5 March 1886 in Streatham, London, England. She was the daughter of solicitor Samuel George Claydon Sansom and Annie Freeman.
On 25 September 1906, she married Edward Henry Tuckwell, a stockbroker from her neighbourhood. Together they had eight children: Betty (who died before the age of one), Ruth, Edward, Paul, David, Margaret (Peggy), Esther, and Michael.
Clarice's oldest son, Edward George, studied at Magdalen College, in Oxford, and became a surgeon. During the war, he worked in a field surgical unit in Normandy as a Major. Later, in Burma and Sumatra, he was a Lieutenant-Colonel in charge of a hospital surgical division. In 1964, he became surgeon to the Royal Household and in 1969, he became surgeon for HM Queen Elizabeth II. From 1973-1975, he was Sergeant-Surgeon and appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
Clarice's youngest son, Michael, was killed in action on 27 April 1943, at the age of twenty-one. He was a pilot with the 458 R.A.A.F. Squadron. On the night of his death, Michael reported back to base that they had discovered, by air, two merchant ships escorted by a destroyer. Michael and his crew never made it back to base after the report. He is buried in the Catania War Cemetery in Sicily.
The Spring of 1943, would have been a difficult season for Clarice and the family. Michael died in April and the following month, on 30 May, Clarice’s husband, Edward Henry Tuckwell, died at the age of 61.
The UPEI Provenance copy of At Large, by Arthur Christopher Benson, has both the signature of A. Clarice Tuckwell, dated June 1909, and her personalized bookplate. The bookplate is a drawing of a birdhouse with eight entrances (possibly representing the number of Clarice's children).
A. Clarice Tuckwell died in 1974 in Surrey, England.
Sources:
1891 England Census. Class: RG12; Piece: 458; Folio: 146; Page: 57; GSU roll: 6095568.
1911 England Census. Class: RG14; Piece: 3090; Schedule Number: 103
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966. Year: 1943, page 704.
London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906, for Annie Clarice Sansom, 1886. London Metropolitan Archives, Lambeth St Mary, Register of Baptism, p85/mry1, Item 377.
London, England, Church of England Marriage and Banns, 1754-1921, for Annie Clarice Sansom, 1906. London Metropolitan Archives, Immanuel, Streatham Common, Register of Marriage, P95/IMM/A/02/008.
UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947 [database on-line]. Peter Singlehurst; The War Dead of the British Commonwealth and Empire Catania War Cemetery, Sicily Part 2.
Notes:
Some information was provided by Richard Somerset, grandson of A. Clarice Tuckwell., Edward Henry Tuckwell, Betty, Ruth, Edward, Paul, David, Margaret, Esther and Michael., Samuel George Claydon Sansom, Annie Freeman
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A. Edwin Priest
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A. Edwin Priest (1892-1972)
Alfred “Edwin” Priest was born 9 August 1892 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to Sea Captain Reuben Priest and mother Minnie Estelle McDaniel. Edwin’s family lived in 23 Moran Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He had 2 siblings, an older sister Sarah Estelle, and a younger brother Arthur Seymour.
Edwin became a prominent architect in Halifax and was known to be a major contributor in restoring the city after the Halifax Explosion of December 1917.
He graduated from the Victoria School of Art and Design and upon graduation, he worked as a draftsman and assistant to architects R.A. Johnston, and Herbert E. Gates. Later, Edwin would move to New York City to further his skills. He worked with prominent firms, Henry Pelton, office of Trowbridge and Livingston, and Edward Shire. After New York, Edwin moved back to Halifax to assist his father and brother with their business, Priest and Sons, a drafting and blueprinting company.
For a three year period (1923-1926) Edwin left his practise in Canada. He moved to Miami Florida to work with esteemed architect August Geiger. By 1927 he returned home.
Edwin was one of the founding members of the Maritime Association of Architects which began in 1927. In 1939, he helped organize a professional group the Nova Scotia Association of Architects, which he served as President in 1947.
In the Nova Scotia Archives you can view floor plans by Edwin for A.A. Thompson Residence on Black Street, Halifax in 1908, as well as a House Design from 1909.
Edwin was married to Katherine Elizabeth Lavers (1896-1978) also from Nova Scotia. Together they had 2 children, Bernice Elizabeth (1918) and Helen Estelle (1920). On 9 February 1923, Edwin left, on the ship Caraquet, for a visit to Bermuda. His wife Katherine was stated as living at 441 Brunswick St., Halifax, Nova Scotia and Edwin’s practice was located at 423 Robie Street, Halifax.
At the age of 80, Alfred Edwin Priest died on 26 December 1972 and he is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia along with his wife Katherine.
In UPEI’s Provenance collection, the book Blue Water, by Frederick William Wallace features a stamp “A. Edwin Priest registered Architect 423 Robie Street, Halifax, N.S.” On the inside cover is pasted a small Christmas greeting card with the words, Best Wishes for a Joyous Yuletide, from Father (Reuben) to Edwin, Dec 1922.
Sources:
1891 Census of Canada; Census Place: Sherbrooke, Guysborough, Nova Scotia; Roll: T-6313; Family No: 73
1901 Census of Canada; Census Place: Halifax (City/Cité) Ward/Quartier No 5, Halifax (city/cité), Nova Scotia; Page: 19; Family No: 194. Library and Archives Canada. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2004. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1901/Pages/about-census.aspxl. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels: T-6428 to T-6556.
1911 Census of Canada. Census Place: 78 - Ward 5, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Page: 5; Family No: 52. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2007. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1911/Pages/about-census.aspx. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels T-20326 to T-20460.
1921 Census of Canada. Census Place: Halifax (City), Halifax, Nova Scotia; Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 44; Page Number: 14. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2013. Series RG31. Statistics Canada Fonds.
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897. Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867. Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. National Archives at Washington, D.C.
Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957. Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls. NAI: 300346. Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives at Washington, D.C.
Supplemental Manifests of Alien Passengers and Crew Members Who Arrived on Vessels at New York, New York, Who Were Inspected for Admission, and Related Index, compiled 1887-1952. Microfilm Publication A3461, 21 rolls. NAI: 3887372. RG 85, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Index to Alien Crewmen Who Were Discharged or Who Deserted at New York, New York, May 1917-Nov. 1957.Microfilm Publication A3417. NAI: 4497925. National Archives at Washington, D.C.
Passenger Lists, 1962-1972, and Crew Lists, 1943-1972, of Vessels Arriving at Oswego, New York. Microfilm Publication A3426. NAI: 4441521. National Archives at Washington, D.C.
Library and Archives Canada. Form 30A, 1919-1924 (Ocean Arrivals). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, n.d.. RG 76. Department of Employment and Immigration Fonts. Microfilm Reels: T-14939 to T-15248.
Voters Lists, Federal Elections, 1935–1980. R1003-6-3-E (RG113-B). Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Priest, Alfred Edwin. Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950. Accessed June 2017.
Alfred Edwin Priest. Billion Graves. Accessed June 2017.
Archives, N. S. (2008, January 25). A. Edwin Priest. Accessed July 11, 2017., 9 August 1892, 26 December 1972, Katherine Elizabeth Lavers, Minnie Estelle McDaniel, Capt. Reuben Priest, Bernice Elizabeth (1918),
Helen Estelle (1920)
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A. J. Alexandor
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Alex Jacob Alexandor (1880-1973)
Alex Jacob Alexandor was the son of Joseph Alexandor Ginsberg and Fannie Bach, who was apparently a descendant of Bach, the musician. Alex was born on 1 January 1880 in Liverpool, England and was descended from three generations of furriers. His early education was at St. Peter's School in Wolverhampton, England. Later, he apprenticed with the furriers J. Marx and Sons of Birmingham, England, and the International Fur Stores on Regent Street, in London, which was also the preferred furriers of Queen Victoria. When his training was complete Alex decided to take his chances on becoming a furrier in the New World.
At least two of his siblings had the same plan of moving to Canada, as furriers. Abraham Ernest Alexandor became the owner of Foster's Fur store in Victoria, British Columbia and Isaac Ginsberg Alexandor was a fur merchant who lived in Hamilton, Ontario, before moving to Oakland, California.
For Alex, in his late teens, he left Liverpool with the equivalent of $18 Cdn in his pocket and headed to Montreal, Canada. He immediately took a job as a sweeper in a local fur factory but within a year and a half, he opened up his own fur business on rue St. Paul, in 1899. This location was previously occupied by early fur-trader, John Jacob Astor, and his business with the Northwest Fur Trading Company. Alex remained at the St. Paul premises until 1925, where a fire forced him to move locations.
Alex married Bessie Morris on 8 June 1904 in Montreal, under the direction of Rabbi Herman Abramowitz. Bessie was the daughter of Moses L. Morris, a clothing merchant from Russia. Bessie's sister Beatrice married Alex's brother Abraham.
Alex and his father-in-law, Moses, seemed to have worked together, a natural fit for a clothing merchant and furrier. On 6 February 1909, they travelled together from Liverpool, England to New York, arriving on 15 February 1909, aboard the Lusitania. Their joint destination was to return to Montreal.
Alex's fur business appeared to be booming. An advertisement in a concert programme souvenir dated 16 November 1913, expressed that A.J. Alexandor furs were manufactured in Montreal and Ottawa. They had a West End Branch at 412-414 St. Catherine West and a Head Office and Show Room at 504-506 St. Paul St. The advert promoted Ladies Finest Quality Hudson Seal Coats in the Latest Models for $100.00.
By 1923-24, Alex had retail businesses at: 412 St. Catherine St. W., Montreal, PQ; 67 Sparks St. Ottawa, ON; 22 King St. W., Hamilton ON; and 561 Barrington St., Halifax, NS. He also had furrier agencies in London, England, Paris, France and Moscow, Russia.
Alex was a frequent traveller for business. There are records showing him travelling to England, Germany, Miami, U.S.A., and the Bahamas, where he would procure pelts for the business.
In the 19 August 1927 edition of the Canadian Jewish Review, we read:
A.J. Alexandor, who returned from Europe on the “Empress of Australia", was presented to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. Mrs. A.J. Alexandor, Miss Huldah, Felix and Bernard Alexandor, who are in Grenoble, France, will be home in September.
The Prince of Wales, at the time, would become the future King Edward VIII, before he abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson. It would have been quite an honour to have been presented to the future King of England!
After the fire in 1925, Alex's manufacturing plant and store was moved to 464 rue McGill in Montreal, where Alex worked until he retired in 1946. His son, Felix J. Alexandor, took over as President of company and founded Alexandor Furs (Canada) Ltd; a wholesale and export business.
In 1949, the business was moved to 1316 rue Sherbrooke, where they renovated to include cold storage vaults, showrooms, designing rooms and office spaces.
Coats made by Alexandor included a label reading “A. J. Alexandor Furs" or “A. J. Alexandor, Montreal".
According to an A.J. Alexandor Furs Limited post card, held in the Bibliotheque et archives Nationales du Quebec, the company also had branches in Halifax, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Windsor and Quebec [city]. The company is still operating today under the name Alexandor Furs and they proudly claim to have been in business since 1899.
Alex was very involved in his community. He was a member of numerous business-based associations, including the Montreal Board of Trade, the Canadian Reconstruction Association, the Canadian Manufacturers Association, and the Fur Manufacturers Association. He was also a Governor of the Montreal Jewish General Hospital, and a long standing member of the Ashkenazi Jewish synagogue, Shaar Hashomayim, in Westmount, PQ. He also belonged to the Canadian Club, the St. James Literary Club, and the Royal Empire Society.
The UPEI Provenance book, The Working Faith of the Social Reformer, by Henry Jones, was given to Alex, as a twelfth anniversary present, by his wife Bessie. The inscription, in Bessie's handwriting, reads:
Love from Bessie. June 8th, 1916
Below that, A.J. signs his own name, and location:
A.J. Alexander
Montreal
The signatures can be proven by their marriage registration, Register of Marriages of the Corporation of English, German and Polish Jews of Montreal, dated 8 June 1904.
Bessie died in 1930 and Alex remarried Kathleen “Kay" McCormack, who was thirty-two years his junior. In 1960, they moved to 148 Portland Ave., Mont Royal, PQ, the home previously owned by Kay's mother.
The only information found, regarding Alex's death was Kay Alexandor's obituary, which mentioned that her husband, Alec J. Alexandor, died in 1973. He would have been 93 years old. Kay lived to be 100 years old and died on 6 March 2013, in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Sources:
Ocean Arrival to Quebec Port; Date August 1924 aboard the Megantic. Library and Archives Canada; Form 30A Ocean Arrivals (Individual Manifests), 1919-1924; Rolls: T-14939 - T-15248.
Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935. Microfilm Publications T-479 to T-520, T-4689 to T-4874, T-14700 to T-14939, C-4511 to C-4542. Library and Archives Canada, n.d. RG 76-C. Department of Employment and Immigration fonds. Library and Archives Canada Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Canadian Jewish Review, 19 August 1927, p.2.
“Kathleen “Kay" Alexandor,” InMemoriam.ca, accessed April 12, 2016.
“Old Firm Now in New Premise Emerged From Small Beginnings", The Montreal Gazette, 22 October 1951, p.11.
“Our Tribute Everlasting". 12th Annual Report of the Jewish General Hospital, 1945., p.25.
Prominent People of the Province of Quebec, 1923-1924, Montreal, Biographical Society of Canada, Limited, undated and unpaginated.
Register of Marriages of the Corporation of English, German and Polish Jews of Montreal, dated 8 June 1904. From Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 [database on-line].
“Welcome to our Town. Items of Interest about Newcomers: 23 Years in the Same House.", Town of Mount Royal Weekly Post, 14 April 1960, p.8, 25.
“Vieilles Pubs!” Accessed April 6, 2016., Joseph Alexandor Ginsberg, Fannie Bach, 1. Bessie Morris, 2. Kathleen "Kay" McCormack, 1. Bernard M. Alexandor, 2. Huldah Alexandor, 3. Felix J. Alexandor
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A. St. John Adcock
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A. St. John Adcock (1864-1930)
Arthur St. John Adcock was born on 17 January 1864, in London, to parents William and Eliza Adcock. A. St. John was the second oldest child of the six Adcock siblings, which included William, Edward, Samuel, John, Fanny, and Frederick.
Even though A. St. John was most known for discovering the poet W.H. Davies, he started work as a law office clerk in London. He would not being writing full time until 1893.
In 1887, A. St. John married Marion Louisa Taylor. They had two children, daughters Marion St. John Webb (1888-1930) and Almey. Daughter Marion was also a published poet and author. She married amateur actor and playwright Sidney Hastings Webb on 11 May 1912.
When A. St. John, started writing he was also working as an assistant editor for a trade journal part time. He was very persistent when trying to publish his writing and his first published novel was An Unfinished Martyrdom in 1894.
A St. John was also known for being the editor of the magazine, The Bookman from publishers Hodder & Stoughton. The magazine, published monthly, contained reviews, illustrations, and advertising.
In 1920, A. St. John wrote an introduction to a collection of poetry, The Calling of the Sea by good friend William Hope Hodgson. The collection was published after W.H. Hodgson’s passing by the actions of his wife.
Sadly, on 2 May 1930, A. St. John’s daughter Marion passed away in London, and it would be a month later on 9 June 1930, that Arthur St. John Adcock passed away in Richmond Surrey.
In 1974, his daughter Almey gave the Bodleian Library papers of A. St. John; some of the records include correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks, an album from his wife Marion with photographs, and more.
In UPEI’s Provenance collection the book, Men of Letters by Dixon Scott has the inscription Captain Cyrus MacMillan with kind regards from A St. John Adcock 1917 and in Cyrus MacMillan’s writing Editor “Bookman” is written below.
Sources:
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1881.
General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office. © Crown copyright. Published by permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Office for National Statistics. You must not copy on, transfer or reproduce records without the prior permission of ONS. Database Copyright © 1998-2003 Graham Hart, Ben Laurie, Camilla von Massenbach and David Mayall.
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1891.
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives, 1901. Data imaged from the National Archives, London, England. The National Archives gives no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for the purpose of the information provided. Images may be used only for purposes of research, private study or education. Applications for any other use should be made to the National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU.
Genealogical Society of Utah. British Isles Vital Records Index, 2nd Edition. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, copyright 2002. Used by permission.
Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England © Crown copyright.
Bodleian Library, (2001). Collection Level Description: Papers of (Arthur) St. John Adcock. Retrieved from
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/online/modern/adcock/adcock.html
Gafford, Sam. (2013). Introduction by A. St. John Adcock. Retrieved from
https://williamhopehodgson.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/introduction-by-a-st-john-adcock/
March of Time Books. (2014). Marion St John (Adcock) Webb. Retrieved from
https://marchhousebookscom.blogspot.com/2014/03/marion-st-john-adcock-webb.html
Photo:
Benington, Walter. 1920’s. Portrait of Arthur St. John Adcock (1864–1930), English novelist and poet. http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw101682/Arthur-St-John-Adcock?LinkID=mp75013&role=sit&rNo=1, Eliza Adcock, William Adcock, Marion Taylor, Marion St. John Webb, Almey
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A.J. Bell
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A.J. Bell (1856-1932)
Andrew James Bell was born on 12 May 1856 to George Bell and Jessie Fleming. He had, at least, four younger siblings, Robert Fleming, George Walter, Isabella Anne, and Alexander.
In 1878, he received a B.A. from University College, University of Toronto. He taught for three years at St. Thomas Collegiate before becoming a Latin instructor at Victoria College in Cobourg, Ontario. He took a leave of absence from Victoria College in order to obtain his Doctorate at the University of Breslau, in Germany. He returned to Victoria College (with the new name of Victoria University) in 1889, just a few years before it would join with the University of Toronto and move location. He taught there from 1881-1921.
In 1900, A.J. would take a cross-appointed position at the University of Toronto, as a Professor of Comparative Philology and he continued to teach there until 1922.
A.J. was married twice. First to Martha Whitwam on 9 August 1882 (who died sometime before the 1901 Census was taken), and next, to Martha Anne Sneath on 22 April 1903. The 1921 Census, shows A.J. and second wife, Martha, had one son George, born in 1921. A.J. would have been 64, and Martha 57, at the time of his birth. This seems unlikely, but at this time no other record has been found to prove or disprove young George's heritage.
Alongside academia, A.J. was well known for his extensive book collection. His personal library consisted of 30,000 volumes of books, many of them quite rare, which was bequeathed to the Victoria College Library after his death, in 1932. Ten rooms in his house, at 17 Avenue Road, Toronto, were overflowing with books. Victoria College rented the house to begin organizing the collection in May 1933. Douglas Bush, one of Bell's students, claimed in Bell's house, one had “to thread one's way dextrously over floors almost covered with tall piles of books which frequently tottered, but by a miracle never fell”.
The books were sorted and about 7,000 were set aside as exceptional and rare, including the acclaimed Erasmus Collection, now housed at the E.J. Pratt Library, Victoria University Campus, in Toronto. The other 23,000 books went into the Victoria University Library basement and remained there for thirty years. Around 1966, the books were sorted, the rare ones put aside and the remainder were sold in an auction in 1969. University of Prince Edward Island has a number of A.J.'s books, including Florence Attenborough's Cameos and other Poems which he likely received from the 1912 Sotheby auction, of Andrew Lang's book collection.
Andrew James Bell died on 24 December 1932 as a result of bronchio-pneumonia complicated by influenza. He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario.
Sources:
1861 Census of Canada. Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Census Returns For 1861; Roll: C-1012-1013
1871 Census of Canada. Census Place: Nepean, Carleton, Ontario; Roll: C-10015; Page: 5; Family No: 17
1901 Census of Canada. Census Place: Toronto (City/Cité) Ward/Quartier No 3, York (east/est), Ontario; Page: 16; Family No: 168
1911 Census of Canada. Census Place: 31 - Ward three, Toronto North, Ontario; Page: 10; Family No: 109
Ontario Registration of Death. Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Series: MS935; Reel: 436
Ontario Registration of Marriage. Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928
Pfaff, Larry. “Andrew James Bell: A Great Toronto Book-Collector”. Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 15, no.1 (1976):49-60.
Photo:
Photo, with kind permission, from Victoria University Archives, Toronto Ontario.
Catalogue number: 1991_161
Title: Dr. A.J. Bell, 1. Martha M. Whitmam, 2. Martha Anne Sneath, George Bell ?
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Addison Peale Russell
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Addison Peale Russell (1826-1912)
Addison Peale Russell was born on 8 September 1826 in Wilmington Ohio.
At the age of 16 he took a job as a printer for a local newspaper, by 19 he was the editor and publisher of the Hillsboro News. His youthful years in journalism brought out his interest in politics and by 1850 he is involved, as a clerk, in the Ohio Senate.
In 1856 he became a Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives in the 52nd General Assembly. Two years later, in 1858, he became the Ohio Secretary of State. He remained in that position until 1862.
During the American Civil War, A.P. Russell worked as the financial agent for Ohio. He was stationed in New York.
According to Henry Howe in his Historical Collections of Ohio, [Russell] “fills out a big suit of clothes, topping off with a high, square collar, well laundried, and white cravat around a plump, full neck, like a gentleman of “ye olden time””.
Addison Peale Russell retired from politics and decided to focus his talents on writing literature. He wrote seven books: Half Tints (1867), Library Notes (1875), Thomas Corwin (1882), Characteristics (1884), A Club of One (1887), In a Club Corner (1890), and Sub-Coelum (1893).
Sub-Coelum, an anti-materialistic Utopian novel, was probably his most admired book.
Within our copy of his book, Club of One, Addison wrote a whimsical poem while waiting for his breakfast:
Mr. Thomas Hutchinson with best wishes of A.P. Russell, the author.
Wilmington Ohio, U.S.A.
June 16, 91.
Letter pasted in after “Editor’s Preface”…
A Leap Year’s Song.
Air- Betsey Baker.
The birds did sing, and as did I,
As I did overtake her,
Determined I would show my love
Straightway to Betsey Baker
Ri too rah loo rah, etc.
I seized her round (sound?), I pressed her lips,
She struggled as expected,
Then sweetly cried, “Oh, let me go!”
I did as she directed.
Ri too rah loo rah, etc.
“You’ve broke my stays?, you’ve won my heart,
I care not for another;
Now, turn you back, my ? dear,
And ask me of my mother.”
Ri too rah loo rah, etc.
Full fast I flew. Good mamma said
“You love her- pray do take her”;
And ever since I’ve happy been;
Thank God and Betsey Baker.
Ri too rah loo rah, etc.
20 May, ’92 [1892]
Dear Mr. H.
These are my last nonsense verses- written this very morning, while waiting for my breakfast. They may amuse you and Mrs. H.
Your epistolary prose? gave me very great pleasure. You are a poet; I am only something of a rhymester. Pardon!
A.P.R.
Addison never married. For many years he lived with his sister, Amanda, and her husband William Marble and their two youngest children Catherine and Fanny. At the age of 73 he was living with Amanda's daughter, Catherine [Ralston]. Ten years later he was living with his 67 year old widowed niece, Clara Burns.
Addison Russell Peale died on 24 July 1912, at the age of 85, in Wilmington Ohio, the town where he was born.
Bibliography:
Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of Ohio: an encyclopedia of the State, Vol.1. (Columbus: Henry Howe & Son, 1889), 429.
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Adèle Newbery
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Adèle Newbery (1890-1962)
Adèle Whister Newbery was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on 5 November 1890. Her parents were Arthur Newbery, (born in Italy and raised in Charlottetown) and Ellen (Ella) Newbery, née Malcolm. Arthur was the Provincial Secretary of PEI for over 50 years, and a significant contributor to the development of Charlottetown’s Queen Square gardens, in 1884, in collaboration with the Charlottetown Arbor Society. Arthur and Ella had three daughters: Adèle, Marion (b. 1893) and Florence (b. 1895).
In July 1902, Adèle and her family travelled to Boston, Massachusetts to visit her maternal grandparents, James and Susan Malcolm.
In 1911 Arthur, Ella and their three teenage daughters continued to live at 12 Haviland Street, in Charlottetown. The home that they lived in was designed by PEI architect, William Critchlow Harris, brother to artist, Robert Harris. The home still stands today.
Adèle's mother, Ella, died on Valentine's Day, February 14th, 1920. In the following year's Census, Adèle was working as a clerk in Charlottetown.
At some point between 1921 and 1925, Adèle married Percy Daniel Williams. Their daughter, Ella Joan Williams, was born on 28 June 1925. Her name honours Adèle's recently deceased mother.
Percy passed away on 5 December 1945, leaving everything to his widow, Adèle. Three years later, she became the first secretary-manager of the Charlottetown Bible House; a position that she held for the next twelve years.
At 3:15pm, on Sunday, August 21st, 1962, Adèle passed away as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident. The accident occurred on the corner of McGill Avenue and North River Road in Charlottetown. She was 71 years old.
Within UPEI’s Provenance Collection is the Harper School Classic book, Lord Bacon, by Lord MacAulay. “Adèle Newbery” is inscribed on the inside cover.
Sources:
10-12 Haviland Street, Charlottetown. Canada's Historic Places.
1891 Census of Canada. Census Place: Charlottetown Royalty, Queens, Prince Edward Island; Roll: T-6383; Family No: 287. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2009.
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1891/Pages/about-census.aspx. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels: T-6290 to T-6427.
1901 Census of Canada. Census Place: Charlottetown (City/Cité), Queen's (west/ouest), Prince Edward Island; Page: 2; Family No: 13. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2004.
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1901/Pages/about-census.aspxl. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels: T-6428 to T-6556.
1911 Census of Canada. Census Place: 64 - Charlottetown, Queens, Prince Edward Island; Page: 7; Family No: 64
1921 Census of Canada. Adele Newbery. Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 105; Census Place: Charlottetown (City), Queens, Prince Edward Island; Page Number: 1. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2013. Series RG31. Statistics Canada Fonds.
Adele Newbery. Boston, Massachusetts. Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1891-1943. Micropublication T843. RG085. 454 rolls. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Adele Whister Newbery. Baptismal Record. PEI Public Archives and Records Office. St. Paul's Anglican Church, Charlottetown. Record Book Number: 1. Record Book Page: 168.
Arthur Newbery Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
“City Woman Dies After Car Accident”. The Guardian. Accessed May 17, 2017.
Ella Joan Williams Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007.
Ella Newbery. Death Record. PEI Public Archives and Records Office. Source: RG19/s2/ss6: Death registration books, 1920.
“Jury Suggests Change of Signs.". The Guardian. Accessed 27 July 2017.
“Memory PEI." Charlottetown (P.E.I.) - Photographs. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2017.
Percy Daniel Williams Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England © Crown copyright.
Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. “Community, Cultural Affairs and Labour." Province of Prince Edward Island: Community, Cultural Affairs and Labour. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2017.
Photo:
Shared, with kind permission, from the Public Archives and Records Office of Prince Edward Island, [Adele Newbery (cropped) from photo captioned Florence & Adele Newbery, Acc3885/39]., 5 November 1890, Ellen “Ella" Malcolm, Arthur Newbery, Percy Daniel Williams, Ella Joan Williams
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Agnes Knox Black
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Agnes Knox Black (1864-1945)
Agnes Knox was born in March 1864, in St. Marys, Ontario. Her parents were Andrew Knox and Margaret Hunter. Agnes had four siblings: an older sister, Jeannie, and three younger brothers, Andrew, Robert and William.
Agnes' early career started as an Instructor of Elocution at the Ontario School of Pedagogy, which was associated with the University of Toronto.
Her fame as a celebrated elocutionist is notable. In 1893, Agnes gave dramatic recitals at the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution. She continued to give dramatic readings across the globe.
In the 7 November 1896 edition of the Cambridge Tribune, it was noted that Agnes gave a recitation at the Cantabrigia Club on Friday, November 13th:
at Epworth Methodist Episcopal church. Meeting In charge of Home department. Mrs. E. H. Cobb, chairman. Recitations by Mrs. E. Charlton Black (Miss Agnes Knox), professor Of elocution at Ontario School of Pedagogy, and dramatic reader to the Edinburgh Philosophical Institute. A "choice mosaic of unhackneyed selections will be given."
A review of her talent as an elocutionist was recorded in the October 1904 issue of Bostonia:
She appeals to the finest and most cultivated audience. An interpretation so intellectual, a voice so sympathetic, a manner so refined and winning, lift Mrs. Black's readings out of the plane of elocution into the higher regions of an art so perfect that it conceals all traces of the process by which that excellence was acquired.
Agnes married Ebenezer Charlton Black in abt. 1894. They had at least 3 children: Margaret Charlton Black was born on 5 November 1895 and John Gavin Black was born on 13 May 1901. Little John died on 4 November 1903 at the age of two. The cause of death was exhaustion from spasmodic croup. The following day would have been his big sister's 8th birthday. A year and a half later, Agnes' third child, Knox Charlton Black, was born in 23 April 1905.
Eventually, Agnes moved to Boston and became the head of the School of Elocution of the New England Conservatory of Music, which later evolved into the Emerson College of Oratory. She remained at Emerson until accepting the Professorship at Boston University.
Agnes took her first teaching position at Boston University, in the 1904-05 year, covering a leave of absence of Professor Bennett. In 1908, she was officially the first woman to be awarded the title Professor at Boston University. She eventually became the Dean of Women at B.U.'s College of Arts.
In 1921/22 she garnered some national attention when she boldly stated that she believed it was every woman's right to “bare knees". She was loosely “quoted" in syndicate newspapers across the U.S., under the headline “A Liberal Lady's Logic" for the audacity of suggesting that “there's nothing wrong with short skirts or bare knees except the person who notices them". The article mocked Agnes' “flawed" logic as such:
“...even if women reverted all the way back to the traditional fig-leaf fashion of Eve's time, they [women] would still be blameless, the only fault being committed by the men who wickedly persisted in employing the eyes nature gave them instead of high-mindedly going about blindfold".
Although Agnes' argument focused more on the objectification of women (rather than the nature of men's eyes), news, at the time, was unable, or unwilling, to support Agnes' point of equality.
These reflections of strong-mindedness certainly add leverage to legends surrounding Agnes, including the suggestion that Agnes was the first woman to climb the Rocky Mountains.
It has also been suggested that famous stars, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, were guests at Agnes' St. Marys, Ontario farm, thanks to an invitation from Agnes' actor nephew, Alexander Knox.
On 5 July 1945 Agnes passed away the Strathroy Hospital (Ontario) as a result of coronary artery disease. She was buried in the Ivan Cemetery in Middlesex County, Ontario.
UPEI's Provenance collection copy of The Goddess of Reason, a play by Mary Johnston, is signed on the inside cover, by Agnes, with the date of Summer 1907. There is a lovely inscription, pointed to Agnes, a few pages further in:
Shortened to a [unidentified French script] reading at Mrs. Black's suggestion, and given to her by her admiring pupil, in token of her very great help and inspiration.
Blanche Morton Howard
At the beginning of each Act (and there are five), Blanche added these “readings" and passed the work on to her professor.
At the present time Blanche Morton Howard has yet to be identified.
Sources:
1871 Census of Canada.Census Place: St Marys, Perth South, Ontario; Roll: C-9938; Page: 33; Family No: 128
1881 Census of Canada. Census Place: St Marys, Perth South, Ontario; Roll: C_13270; Page: 10; Family No: 47
1891 Census of Canada.Census Place: St Marys, Perth South, Ontario; Roll: T-6363; Family No: 82
1900 United States Federal Census.Census Place: Cambridge Ward 1, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0681; FHL microfilm: 1240656
1910 United States Federal Census. Census Place: Cambridge Ward 8, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_596; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0771; FHL microfilm: 1374609
1911 Census of Canada. Census Place: 12 - Lobo, Middlesex North, Ontario; Page: 2; Family No: 11
1920 United States Federal Census. Census Place: Cambridge Ward 8, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_707; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 79
Bostonia, October 1904.
Bostonia, July 1908, p.26.
“Cantabrigia Club Calendar", Cambridge Tribune, 7 November 1896, p.4.
Death Record for John Gavin Black, 4 November 1903. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840-1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
“A Liberal Lady's Logic." The Kingston Daily Freeman. Kingston, New York, Wednesday, 28 December 1921, p.4.
“A Liberal Lady's Logic." The Taylor Daily Press Taylor, Texas, Wednesday, 11 January, 1922, p.2. https://newspaperarchive.com/taylor-daily-press-jan-11-1922-p-2/ (Accessed 16 July 2018).
Morgan, Henry James (editor), Types of Canadian Women and of Women Who Are or Have Been Connected with Canada. Vol. I Toronto: William Briggs, 1903, pg. 28.
Ontario Canada Deaths. Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Reference Number: RG 80-08-0-2428, Andrew Wright Knox, Margaret Hunter, Margaret Charlton Black (b. 1895), John Gavin Black (1901-1903), Knox Charlton Black (1905-1973)
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