How Is John Bulmer Rutherford Related to James Augustine Rutherford?

John Bulmer Rutherford (known as Bulmer to his family and friends), my husband's grandfather, wrote to his mother, Ida (Bulmer) Rutherford of Montreal, while he was serving during World War I.  We recently found two of his letters among some family papers.  One of them was sent from Highclere Castle in England, where he was visiting relatives. Below is a transcript of the letter, which was only partially dated, but must have been written in 1918.

"Highclere
Oct 13th

Dear Mother, 

As you see I am at Highclere just now and am having a very restful time for a few days.  I received Dad's cable yesterday but it is very late and I am not going to answer it as I know you have the information you wanted by now.  As soon as I arrived in London I went to Mr. Rowson's place to make sure he had the news but I presumed that Mr. Hodgson would have been informed officially some time before.  I wrote to Mrs. Williams at Liverpool and asked her to break the news to Marjorie if she had not already been informed.  It turned out that she was sick at the time and the doctor would not let them break the news.  I went up to Liverpool on Wed. night (I arrived from France Fri night) and spent the day with Marjorie Hodgson.  She was bearing it very bravely, far better than I thought she could stand it considering that she had been ill.  She said that General Dodd's cable had arrived at home in addition to Mr. Rowson's.  It had helped her a lot to know that Sid had not suffered in the least.  I brought her the little personal things that he would have wanted kept.  I also wrote to Mrs. Hodgson and presume that she has received the letter before this one.

Sid and Oliver Becket were both killed instantly by the same shell just two hours after the opening barrage of the battle for Cambrai.  It dwarfed into insignificance everything up till that time but as you have seen the casualty lists you will realize that Canada had to pay the price of her victory.  It was the pivot point of the whole front and all these later victories have come about as a result of what the Canadians accomplished there.  It had to be done and nobody else could do it.  When I came away the greatest part of the battle was over & the city was below and in front of us and within easy reach of our guns though not in our hands.  Of course since then it has fallen. 

I was staying in town with the Blaiklocks or Col Birks  whichever you please.  I told Polly B. that she ought to call it the 16th Canadian Gloucesters (16 Gloucester Sq) as their passing visitors certainly number a battalion.  She was very struck with the idea so it is christened as such.  Geoff Williams and Geordie Nick were both staying there at the time in addition to many others so it was very fine.  Mrs. Blaiklock is a wonderful hostess and Col Birks is fine.  I went up to Liverpool and came back to town for a day and then up here on Sat.  Uncle Jim is away to-day but expects to be back to-morrow.  Kenneth, the youngest boy, a little younger than I am, is here at present.  It was a perfect day to-day the first for some time and we were out on the lake and tramped through the park and incidentally took a few photos, which I will send home if they turn out.  I am feeling very comfortable (sic) arrayed in some of Ken's clothes (civvies).  I am not going to Scotland as I do not particularly want to go alone.  Nick might have gone up but it is too late as he has to report to his depot to-day.  I just missed Fred Peverley by a few days as he went back to France just as I arrived in Eng.

By the looks of things the end of the scrap seems to be in sight now.  This is not the time to talk peace though.  Not when we have him more or less on the run.  The time to talk peace is when he says he surrenders unconditionally, which he will do sooner or later.  I do not understand why they address all their notes to Wilson.  I guess they are afraid of the Americans in the future for they have really had little to do up till now.  I am going up to town for a couple of days before going back which I do on the 18th.  

With love to all the family,
Your Loving Son, 
Bulmer"

The Sid Hodgson that Bulmer discusses in this letter is a fellow Montrealer and McGill student, Sidney James Hodgson, who was killed in battle in September of 1918, at the age of 20.   Bulmer obviously survived the battle.

This letter is particularly important for the light it sheds on relationships between Canadian Rutherfords and those who remained in Britain.  Specifically, who was the Uncle Jim who hosted Bulmer during his stay at Highclere?  I believe "Uncle Jim" was in fact James Augustine Rutherford, the Estate Manager at Highclere.  According to census records, his youngest son, Seymour Kenneth Rutherford, was born around 1900.  Bulmer was born in 1897, and so would have been three years older than Seymour, or Kenneth as he appears to have been called.  However, although James Augustine Rutherford (who was born in 1856) was a generation older than Bulmer, he could not have been Bulmer's uncle.  I believe that they are cousins.  

Bulmer was the son of William Rutherford Jr. and Ida Bulmer, and the grandson of William Rutherford Sr., who immigrated from Scotland, and Elizabeth Jackson.  He would have been the great-grandson of James Rutherford of Jedburgh, Scotland, and his wife Helen Paton.

James Augustine Rutherford, on the other hand, was born in Stallingbusk, Yorkshire, England in September of 1856 to James Rutherford and his wife Ann Foster.  His siblings were Helen (1858), Jane Elizabeth (1861), Ann Isabella (1863), Maggie Laird (1865), John Edward Foster (1869) and William Archbold (1871).   His father, James, was a land agent and later a gardener, and census records consistently show that he was born in Scotland around 1828.   One of his children carried the family name Laird (Maggie Laird Rutherford), and one of James Augustine Rutherford's did as well (Godfrey Laird Rutherford).  (Laird was Helen Paton's mother's maiden name).  I believe that James the father of James Augustine was a son of James Rutherford, forester, and Helen Paton, of Jedburgh.  Their son James, who was William Rutherford's brother, was born on November 9, 1829, in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland.   If I am correct, then William Rutherford Jr., Bulmer's father, would be James Augustine Rutherford's first cousin, and Bulmer would be his first cousin once removed.  I have to say that there are a few genealogies online which state that the James Rutherford who was born in 1829 lived and died in Scotland, but I don't see any sources, and I believe that my theory explains the relationship between Bulmer and the Highclere Rutherfords. 

By the way, Highclere Castle, home of the Earls of Carnarvon,  is now famous as the estate where the TV show Downton Abbey is filmed.  James Augustine Rutherford was the estate manager when the 5th Lord Carnarvon (of King Tutankhamen fame) lived there.

Here is a picture from the book Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey:  the Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by Fiona, Countess of Carnarvon (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 2011).  Major J.A. Rutherford (James Augustine Rutherford) is front and centre. 

Here is some evidence of John Augustine Rutherford's leadership in military matters before the start of the war, from the Reading Mercury newspaper, May 12, 1900.

And here is a death notice for Major Rutherford, from the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer Newspaper, June 11, 1929, p. 10.

John Bulmer Rutherford in "Onward Dear Boys: A Family History of the Great War"

I had a quick look at Onward Dear Boys by Philippe Bieler, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2014.  This book reprints a letter written by Andre Bieler during WWI, in which he mentions seeing his friend John Bulmer Rutherford.

Here's a blurb of the book from the McGill-Queens' University Press Website.

"The Bieler family's vast collection of wartime letters and photographs tell intimate, firsthand stories of five young brothers and their parents. In Onward, Dear Boys, Philippe Bieler skilfully weaves together his own voice with those of his grandparents, his father, and his uncles into a story of war, immigration, and family life.

Settling in the province of Quebec, then divided into French-speaking Catholics and English-speaking Anglicans, was a struggle for these devout, francophone Calvinists, but with the unexpected declaration of war in 1914 came an even greater challenge. In 1915 three of the five Bieler boys volunteered with the Princess Patricia Regiment, and in 1916 the fourth son followed. The eldest, Jean, became an assistant to Colonel Birkett, commander of the McGill-financed Canadian Hospital in Boulogne, and the second-eldest, Etienne, was promoted to lieutenant of an artillery brigade. The other two were privates who fought in battles including Sanctuary Wood, the Somme, Vimy, and Passchendaele, and in 1917, the fourth son, Philippe, died at the front. Upon their return to civilian life, the surviving brothers became leaders in government, science, and the arts : the eldest as Deputy Finance Director of the League of Nations, the second as a colleague of Sir Ernest Rutherford in the research of the atom, and the third as President of the Federation of Canadian Artists. The youngest, Jacques, who was too young to go to war, was an instigator of the CCF party, a precursor to the NDP.

Enlivened by a wealth of family archival material, Onward, Dear Boys is a poignant story of the experiences of war and its impact on a family of new Canadians during the first decades of the twentieth century."

Andre Bieler, who wrote the above letter, was a well-known artist who lived in Montreal for many years and was later connected to Queen's University.  Click here to see his bio in the Canadian Encyclopedia.

1921 Census of Canada

The 1921 census of Canada has recently been released.  Here's what it has to say about our family:

In 1921, Arthur and Minnie Scott, St. Andrew's Ward, Montreal, were living with their very recently widowed 26-year-old daughter, Norton Fry, and her daughter (their granddaughter), the 2-year-old Mary Fry.  Arthur is listed as an import broker making $2,000 (I assume annually).  They are renting a brick home for $150.00/month, and they have two female live-in servants.  I am sooo jealous. 

William Rutherford, Jr (age 56) and his wife Ida (Bulmer) Rutherford (age 54) were living in Westmount, sub-district 62, with several adult children:  John Bulmer Rutherford, age 24, Ida Jean Rutherford, age 22,  Andrew Scott Rutherford, age 20, and E. Marjorie Rutherford, age 19.  Also part of the household is Jane Bulmer, age 50, Ida's younger sister.  They have one live-in servant.  William and his son William Jackson are listed as merchants, while John Bulmer is an accountant (probably of his father's lumber company) who makes $720 annually.  Andrew and Marjorie are students.  They own a brick home with ten rooms (I'm not sure which rooms are included in the count).   It's interesting how many adult children are still living at home, even the men.

John Galloway Scott (age 84) and his wife Mary (Elliot) Scott (age78)  are living in Toronto North, Ward 4, 29 Dunvegan Road.  For those of us in Toronto, 29 Dunvegan is in the St. Clair/Avenue Road region.  Very posh.  With them is their daughter Helen Scott, age 37, "Janey" C. Elliot, Mary's younger sister, age 67, and two female servants, one cook and one maid.  John is retired and none of the three ladies of the household have an occupation.  They own the home.  

Family Photographs

Here are more photos and other images from the personal collection of my mother-in-law.  

 Minnie Scott, wife of John Galloway Scott.
Daughter of William Elliot and Mary Oliphant.
Mother of Arthur Scott.

John Bulmer Rutherford, known as "Bulmer".
 Husband of Edythe "Norton" Scott.

John Bulmer Rutherford.

Harriet Rose Elliot.  Daughter of William Elliot and Mary Oliphant.
Married Thomas Sutherland Stayner in 1880, age 33.
Notation on back of photo,"Harriet Rose Elliot. Wife of Sutherland Stayner. Died 1929."

Notation on back:  "Harriet Stayner.  Dudley's Mother"
Photo taken by Notman Studios.

Back of photo above.  

Charles Fyfe.  Father of Molly McIlwraith, and Hugh, Alec, Stewart and John Fyfe. 

John Fyfe.  Probably taken early in his naval career. 

My husband's mother, Jocelyn, as a young girl. 

Jocelyn Scott Rutherford as a young woman. 

Jocelyn Scott Rutherford.  

Jocelyn as a lovely bride. June 20, 1953. 

Cutting the cake.  Stewart and Jocelyn Fyfe.
Garden reception at Lachute home of  Jocelyn's mother Norton.  

The wedding party.
Row 1:  Jocelyn and Stewart Fyfe.
Row 2:  Mary Rutherford (bride's sister), best man John Chance.
Row 3:  Jean Rutherford (bride's sister), Dr. Bill Young.
Row 4:  Susan Wang, bride's niece (age 8), John Fyfe, groom's brother (age 16).
Margaret Rodger Memorial Presbyterian Church, Lachute, Quebec. 

After the wedding.  Stewart and Jocelyn honeymooned in the New England States. 

Jocelyn and Stewart in Lachute garden.  Undated. 

Jocelyn picnicking at Lachute.  

Edythe "Norton" Scott Fry Rutherford Pentland at Lachute. 

Stewart Fyfe.  Graduation from Queen's University. 

Molly Hunter Fyfe with her grandson Douglas, 1962.  

My exceptionally cute husband Doug. 

Rutherford Family Weddings

Not only are weddings significant family events, they are significant social events as well.  If we're lucky, newspaper accounts can bring to life family weddings long past, giving us a sense of the personalities, aesthetics and social circumstances in our family line.  Here are three generations of  newspaper reports of Rutherford family weddings in Montreal.

Generation 1:  William Rutherford Jr. and Ida Bulmer.
Montreal Gazette, May 17, 1894.  p.3.

"Rutherford-Bulmer.  At 5 o'clock last evening Mr. William Rutherford jr., of Cote St. Antoine, was joined in holy wedlock to Miss Ida Bulmer, daughter of Mr. John Bulmer, and niece to Mr. Henry Bulmer, chairman of the Harbour commissioners.  The ceremony took place in St. George's Church the Very Rev. Dean Carmichael tying the nuptial knot, and although invitations were extended only to the immediate relatives, so popular were the young couple that before 5 o'clock the church was crowded with their numerous friends. Miss Jane Bulmer, sister of the bride, acted as bridesmaid.  Mr. Sept. Fraser played the wedding march as the bridal procession left the church.  The newly married couple, before leaving for New York, were the recipients of many costly presents."  

Here are some images of St. George's Church in Montreal:

Engraving of interior of St. George's Church, Montreal, 1850-1885.  Courtesy of McCord Museum. 

Exterior of St. George's Church, Montreal, 1872.  Courtesy of McCord Museum. 

Modern interior shot of St. George's Church. 

Generation Two:  Their Children 

The first child of William and Ida to be married was their daughter Ida Jean.  Here is the description of her wedding, from the Montreal Gazette, September 18, 1924.

"The marriage took place quietly last evening at nine o'clock, at the residence of the bride's parents 61 Rosemount Avenue, Westmount, of Ida Jean, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Rutherford, to Mr. James Hargrave Drummond Ross, son of the late Dr. and Mrs. James Ross, of Dundas, Ontario.  The bride, who was given away by her father, was gowned in white georgette, with an overskirt of chantilly lace, with a georgette and lace scarf falling from one shoulder.  Her tulle veil was caught with orange blossoms and pearls, and she carried a shower bouquet of sunburst roses.  She was attended by her sister, Miss Marjorie Rutherford, as maid of honour, and by Miss Daintry Notman and Miss Kathleen Darling, as bridesmaids.  All three attendants were gowned alike, in orange shade georgette with petal skirts, and carried bouquets of nasturtiums. Dr. Graham Ross was his brother's best man.  The Rev. Dr. Clark, of St. Andrew's Church, performed the ceremony,  and Mr. E.W. Whitely played the wedding music.  The rooms were decorated with ferns, palms and autumn foliage, interspersed with pink and white hydrangeas and masses of gladioli and dahlias.  Mrs. Rutherford, the bride's mother, wore a gown of grey canton crepe combined with Spanish lace and a corsage bouquet of mauve orchids.  A reception followed the ceremony, and later Mr. and Mrs. Ross left for Lake Placid.  Going away the bride wore a russet brown suit with a tailored hat, suede cloth wrap, and an Isabella fox fur.  They will reside in Larchmount, N.Y.  The out of town guests included Miss Isabel Ross, sister of the groom, of Saranac Lake, and Miss Audrey Fitzgerald, of Winnipeg."

The wedding of John Bulmer Rutherford  to Norton Scott, daughter of Arthur H. Scott and Minnie Davis, is described in the Montreal Gazette on March 27, 1928, p. 8:

"At St. Mark's Chapel, Dorval, the Rev. W.P.R. Lewis officiating, the marriage took place quietly yesterday of Norton Scott, widow of Henry Stephenson Fry, late Lieutenant 42nd H.R.C., to Mr. John Bulmer Rutherford, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Rutherford, Cote St. Antoine Road.  Owing to the absence of her father, Mr. Arthur H. Scott, who is in Italy, the bride was given in marriage by her brother-in-law, Mr. John Fry, and was unattended.  She wore a French frock of pearl grey pussy willow with touches of rose needlepoint, a small rose transparent hat to match, and carried an arm bouquet of Ophelia roses.  Mr. Wilson Dunton acted as best man, and Mrs. Dunton played the wedding march.  The ushers were Mr. Jackson Rutherford, Mr. Andrew Rutherford and Mr. George McTaggart.  Following the ceremony Mr. and Mrs. Rutherford received informally at their residence, 351 Cote des Neiges Road.  Later, they left to spend two weeks in Bermuda and New York.  Among the out-of-town guests were Mrs. Ruggles George and Mrs. F.A. Rolph, both of Toronto." 

John Bulmer Rutherford and Norton Scott are my husband's grandparents.  Jackson and Andrew Rutherford were brothers of the groom, and Mrs. Ruggles George was Helen Elliot Scott, Norton's sister.  According to David Austin Roses, the Ophelia rose is a blush-pink hybrid tea rose with a strong fragrance.  Sounds lovely.  

St. Mark's Chapel, Dorval, date unknown.

1928 was a busy year for the Rutherford family.  William Jackson Rutherford, William and Ida's oldest child, married on October 6th of the same year.


The Montreal Gazette, October 6th, 1928, p. 8.
"The marriage of Katherine, daughter of Rev. Canon and Mrs. Roger Howard, to Mr. William Jackson Rutherford, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Rutherford, of Westmount, is taking place at four o'clock this afternoon at St. Martin's Church.  The ceremony will be performed by the bride's father, Rev. Canon Howard, rector of St. Martin's, and the service will be choral.  The church, which will be lighted by candles, will be decorated with pink lilies, hydrangea and smilax.  Pink lilies will be arranged on the altar, and the chancel rail will be festooned with smilax and banked with hydrangea, the pews reserved for guests being marked with bunches of hydrangea tied with white tulle.  The decoration is being done by members of the chancel guild of the church. The bride, who will be given away by her uncle, Rev. O.W. Howard, will wear a gown of white satin made with a long tight bodice finished by a V. neck, and the skirt, uneven in length, will have a hem of tulle outlined in pearls. Her train, falling from the shoulders, is of the satin lined in pale pink chiffon edged with a circular frill of tulle.  Her tulle veil, pleated in cap effect, will be held by a bandeau of orange blossoms, and her satin shoes matching her gown will have buckles of pleated tulle and orange blossoms.  She will carry a shower bouquet of sweetheart roses and lilies of the valley.  Miss Glynne Howard, sister of the bride, who will act as maid-of-honor, and Mrs. Herbert B. Norris and Miss Marjorie Houson, of Toronto, the bridesmaids, will be dressed alike in gowns of Nile green chiffon in Princess style, the skirts finished with circular flounces short in front, and forming a train at the back.  They will wear large felt hats of a deeper tone, satin shoes with brilliant buckles to match their hats, and will carry arm bouquets of pink butterfly roses.  Little Miss Cherry Riepert, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. O. Vernon Riepert,  will act as flower girl.  She will wear a frock of Nile green georgette, a poke bonnet of felt of a deeper tone, and will carry a tiny bouquet of pink roses.  Mr. Andrew Rutherford will act as best man for his brother, and the ushers will be Mr. J.B. Rutherford and Mr. Hugh Crombie.  During the signing of the register the choir will sing 'O Perfect Love', and Mr. O.W. Rodomar will sing 'Love's Coronation'.  Mrs. Howard, the bride's mother, will wear a gown of goblin blue ring velvet, with a small Reboux felt hat, and suede shoes to match.  Her corsage bouquet will be of pink orchids and maidenhair fern.  Mrs. Rutherford, mother of the bridegroom, will be gowned in black net and silver, with a small black velvet hat with a brilliant ornament, and will wear a corsage bouquet of red roses. 

The reception following the ceremony will be held at the residence of the bride's parents, St. Martin's rectory, where the decorations will be carried out in pink lilies, hydrangea and ferns.  Later, Mr. and Mrs. Rutherford will leave for a motor trip through the Adirondacks, the bride traveling in a French  frock of beige crepe and satin, a beige coat trimmed with wolf and a small brown felt hat.  She will carry a brown bag and wear shoes to match.  They will reside at 465 Cote des Neiges Road.        

Goblin blue, in case you're wondering, is a shade of blue-grey.

In 1929, William and Ida's daughter Elizabeth Marjorie married Reginald Wallace.  Here is a rather short announcement from the Montreal Gazette, September 21, 1929, p. 8.  I miss the descriptions of clothing and flowers.

"The marriage of Elizabeth Marjorie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Rutherford, to Mr. Reginald H. Wallace, of Shawinigan Falls, son of Mr. and Mrs. Reginald Ramsay Wallace, of Halifax, N.S., is taking place this afternoon at half-past four o'clock at St. Andrew's Church, Westmount, Rev. Dr. Clark officiating.  The bride will be attended by her sister, Mrs. Drummond Ross, of Larchmount, N.Y., as matron-of-honor, and by Miss Betty Gordon, as bridesmaid.  Mr. Ronald Irving will act as best man, and the ushers will be Mr. Arthur Wallace, of New York, brother of the bridegroom, Mr. Eric Jones, Mr. John A. Macdonnell and Mr. Andrew S. Rutherford, brother of the bride.  The reception following the ceremony will be held at the residence of the bride's parents, 109 Cote St. Antoine Road, Westmount."    

Generation Three:  Children of John Bulmer Rutherford and Norton Scott.

I could only find an account for one marriage out of the family's two daughters.  I think my mother- in-law has a clipping of an account of her wedding, which I'll ask her about the next time I see her.  I could not locate an account for Mary Fry's wedding either (Mary was the daughter of Norton Scott and Henry Fry, her first husband).

The Montreal Gazette, June 14, 1951, p. 19.

"Stauble-Rutherford.  The marriage of Jean Scott, daughter of the late J. Bulmer Rutherford and of Mrs. Rutherford, of Montreal, to Mr. William John Stauble, son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor J. Stauble, of Port of Spain, Trinidad, B.W.I., took place yesterday afternoon, at half-past four o'clock, in St. Andrew's Church, Westmount, the Rev. D.M. Grant officiating.  Mr. Phillips Motley played the wedding music and white gladioli, peonies and snapdragons were used to decorate. 

The bride, who was given away by her uncle, Mr. W. J. Jackson Rutherford, was in a gown of white lace, the fitted bodice worn with a lace jacket, fastened to the waist with tiny buttons, having a small collar and sleeves ending in points over her hands, and the full flared skirt fashioned with an overskirt of tulle.  Her veil of tulle illusion, extending to the hem of her train, was held by a coronet of orange blossoms and she carried a bouquet of lily of the valley and stephantois.

Miss Jocelyn Rutherford, as maid of honour for her sister, and Miss Rosina McCarthy and Miss Shirley McCall, as bridesmaids, were in frocks of mist green organdy, with bodices having bateau necklines and short sleeves, and very full skirts.  They wore bandeaux of multicolour sweetpeas to match those in their bouquets.  

Little Miss Susan Wang, niece of the bride,  as flower-girl, wore a Kate Greenaway frock of white dotted Swiss organdy with a bandeau of flowers in her hair and carried a tiny nosegay.

Dr. Philip Gofton acted as best man for Mr. Stauble and the ushers were Mr. Alfred Stauble, brother of the bridegroom, Mr. David Blair and Mr. Hugh Miller. 

Mrs. Rutherford, the bride's mother, was in a floor-length gown of French blue crepe with a side panel of matching lace and wore a hat of blue flowers and a corsage bouquet of pink feathered carnations.

Mrs. William Rutherford, grandmother of the bride, wore a gown of navy blue sheer with a hat of the same colour, trimmed with pink and a corsage bouquet of Sweetheart roses.

The reception was held at the Montreal Badminton and Squash club where the bride's table, centred with the wedding cake, was arranged with multicolor sweetpeas.    

Later Mr. and Mrs. Stauble left for Bermuda and Trinidad, B.W.I., the bride travelling in a frock of navy blue and white tie silk, trimmed with red, and wearing a navy blue hat and accessories and a corsage bouquet of white carnations.  They will reside in Montreal.

The bridegroom is a student in the faculty of medicine at McGill University."

A historic photo of St. Andrew's Church in Westmount, circa 1910. The church was destroyed by fire in 1965.  

These kinds of announcements, with their precisely detailed description, are uncommon in newspapers today.  I love reading them, though.  If anyone out there has pictures from any of these wedding ceremonies, I'd love to see them!