52 Ancestors in 52 weeks - Week 4 (Invite to Dinner)

Who would I want to invite to dinner?

By the time I actively got interested in my family history, all of my grandparents were deceased as well as my father.  My mother has been, and continues to be, a good source for family stories.  However, for a dinner date, I think I would select my father's mother: Gertrude Georgina (nee Cooper) Allen.  Or as I knew her Grammie or Gramma.  Why?  I feel that her life changed the most and maybe would answer some of the mysteries I have not been unable to resolve in my research.

Gertie may not be able to provide all of the answer I have as she must not have had much recollection of her early life.  To apply to the Canadian government for her Old Age Pension, she had to obtain her birth certificate from the government in Wales.  When she received the document, she discovered she was three years older than she had always believed.  According to the ship manifest from when the family sailed to Canada in August 1902, aboard the Tunisian, Gertie was 7 years old - which coincides with her documented birth year of 1894.  I have memories of when I was 7, and earlier, so I'm not sure why she lived her younger life based on a 1897 birth.

She was born in Wales, emigrated to Canada as a child and lived through the Great Depression and two World Wars.  She grew up in an urban area (now part of the Greater Toronto area) but married a farmer and raised their family in rural Ontario.  In her urban life, she was an accomplished pianist, but there was no evidence of a piano in the home when I was a child.  However, she apparently was the organist at the Brentwood United Church at one point.

Gertie with oldest sons (toddler Albert and infant Jack) c1923

Over a period of 17 years, she gave birth to eleven children, but Edward Lorne died within hours of birth in June 1931.  I've been told that Edward was born with the same deformed ear as the oldest son, Albert (aka Ab).  When Ab was born, the doctor did not think that he would survive and told Gertie to continue whatever it was she was doing.  I do not know if the sickliness and ear deformity were connected or not.  I have to assume that as Ab was the oldest, the young mother was able to devote her time to doing whatever possible for her sickly child.  How did she feel as a mother caring for a sick newborn and ten years later experincing the death of a newborn?

She raised ten children through the Great Depression and the food rationings for the Second World War.  Living on a farm would provide most food, but the Allens were known for their love of black pepper on food and drinking tea, so ration coupons were needed.  How did she manage to feed that many mouths? 


Another question I would have for my grandmother would be if she knew what had motived her parents to relocate their family from Herefordshire, England to Blaeavon, Wales in the early 1890s.  According to census records, John Albert Cooper was a domestic gardener in Herefordshire in April 1891.  However, the census in March 1901 lists him as a railway drayman in Blaenavon, Wales.  A drayman is reportedly someone who drives a long strong cart with heavy loads.  John Albert's father, John, was also listed in the 1901 household and working as a railway drayman as well.  His occupations in earlier census (also in Herefordshire, England) were agricultural labourer or groom.  Why the relocation?  Why the change in occupation?  The elder John Cooper did not emigrate to Canada with his son and family.  The younger John Cooper was a green grocer once he relocated to Mimico, Ontario - so obviously agriculture was still in his blood.  So why the change in occupation?  Or was that the only employment available after moving?

The 1901 census also raises another mystery I would love to be able to discuss with my grandmother in the hopes that she could provide me with more information.  Gertie had been the youngest child of John Albert & Annie (nee Kyte) Cooper immigrating to Canada.  However, the 1901 census lists a 3 month old son, Reginald, in the household.  Was Reginald really a son of John & Annie or could he have been an illegimate son of their 15 year old daughter Florence? I did ask my Aunt Dora (the oldest daughter of Gertie) if she was ever aware of her mother having a younger brother.  She was unaware of this uncle.  Subsequent research did locate a birth registration for Reginald George Cooper who's mother's maiden name was Kyte.  He died in January 1902 at the age of 13 months and was buried January 25 1902 in Blaeavon, Wales.  Did his death have any bearing on the family's decision to move to Canada a few months later?  What, if anything, did Gertie remember of her younger brother?

I grew up visiting my grandparents every holiday weekend, but as one of over thirty grandchildren, there was rarely opportunities to have deep discussions.  In reflecting back over the years of what I remember of comments, or stories from others, I feel that my outlook on life came from her.

Over the years, my mother has made comments that her mother-in-law's philosphy on cooking was to substitute ingredients with what was on hand rather than abandoning a recipe if missing an ingredient.  In other words, make use of what you have.  Another comment my mother has made was that Gertie was accepting of the spouses of her sons and daughters.  Her philosophy was if her son or daughter chose to live with the individual, she could sit at the same dinner table with the person.


Although she was apparently a very adapting and forgiving individual, Gramma did have some negative views.  The only time I can remember her saying anything negative was a reference to having worked as a waitress at Camp Borden for formal dinners of high ranking officials and encountering attitudes of superior hierarchies.  I guess I get my socialist views from my grandmother.

I do not know if a conversation over dinner with my Gramma Allen would answer the questions I have or not.  But it would be interesting to hear about her life: a young child at the turn of the century in Wales, a 2 week sailing across the Atlantic Ocean with her parents and siblings and then adapting to life in her new country.  And then as an adult, moving from the city to the country and enduring the hardships of raising a large family during the Great Depression and war time.