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!

Westmount Soldier's Wives League

I'm always excited when I discover something about the lives of women in our family.  They're more elusive than the men, but no less interesting.  Here's an organization that the Rutherford and Scott women involved themselves with during World War One, or "The Great War" as it was called at the time:  

The Westmount News, November 6, 1914

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN WESTMOUNT WOMEN ENROLL IN SOLDIER'S WIVES LEAGUE

"At the first business meeting of the Westmount Soldier's Wives League held Wednesday morning in Victoria Hall, Westmount, with Mrs. William Rutherford in the chair, the following ladies enrolled in the League:  ...Mrs. William Rutherford....Mrs. A. Rutherford...Mrs. Arthur H. Scott....
It was decided that the League should hold a meeting every Wednesday morning at 10:30 o'clock in Victoria Hall.    Groups of workers were formed to sew and knit for the Westmount Rifles, and it was announced that the Lady Scott chapter of the Daughters of the Empire would make and donate the 'housewives' for the regiment...." 

A "housewife" was a sewing kit that a soldier could carry around with him, with needle, thread, buttons, etc.

An example of a WWI sewing kit or "housewife"--this one is American.

This one is British.

Mrs. William Rutherford (Ida Bulmer) was the chair of the first meeting, although her husband, William Rutherford Jr., would have been 50 years old in 1914, and was unlikely to go to war.  William and Ida Rutherford's son (my husband's grandfather) John Bulmer Rutherford enlisted on March 21, 1916, at the age of 20.  We have in our possession a diary he kept during his training period.  He emerged safely from the conflict. 

Mrs. Arthur H. Scott (Minnie Davis) was not the wife of a soldier either. Her husband Arthur was 49 years old at the time.  She was the mother of Howard Elliot Scott, who did enlist on August 4, 1915.  He died at the Battle of Courcellette, September 16, 1916 (this battle was part of the Somme offensive).

Mrs. A. Rutherford was perhaps the wife of Andrew Rutherford.  Andrew was the brother of William Jr., and married a woman named Florence Mathilda Cornelia Paris on June 7, 1905.   However, their children, born between 1906 and 1910, would have been too young to enlist in this conflict. 

It seems that you did not actually have to be a soldier's wife to join...perhaps just a woman wanting to contribute to the war effort.

A postcard, circa 1910, from the McCord Museum, of Victoria Hall, where the League met weekly.

What was the scope of this organization?  There are a few more mentions of the League in Montreal newspapers over the course of the war.  The Montreal Gazette ran this column on  January 6, 1915:

WILL PAY MONTHLY FEES

MEETING OF WESTMOUNT SOLDIERS' WIVES' LEAGUE

" The Westmount Soldiers' Wives' League held their first meeting of the New Year in Victoria Hall yesterday morning.  There was a lengthy discussion over the question  of monthly fees, with the final decision that each member should pay the sum of twenty-five cents per month.  It was also decided to hold a monthly meeting of a social nature for the wives of the Westmount Rifles men, the first of these to be held from three to six on the afternoon of January 20th in the lodge room of Victoria Hall...The visiting report showed twenty-one families now on the league's visiting list.  A letter received from Major Stewart, thanking the league for the plum puddings supplied for the Christmas dinners for the Army Service Corps,  was read at the meeting.

The ladies will continue their knitting meetings for some time longer, and sewing meetings will be started soon. Mrs. Edmund Sheppard will be at Victoria Hall every Saturday morning from eleven to twelve to give out wool and receive completed work.  At the meeting at half-past ten next Saturday the Rev. A.P. Shatford will give an address."  

On September 15, 1905, the Montreal Gazette ran this notice:

CLOTHING FOR CHILDREN 

WESTMOUNT SOLDIERS WIVES LEAGUE MAKES REQUEST

"A special request was made at the meeting of the Westmount Soldiers' Wives' League yesterday morning for clothing for children about nine years old, and particularly for two overcoats for boys. The Soldiers' Comforts Committee asked for gramophone records, soap, writing pads and envelopes to be sent to the men at the front.

It was decided that instead of the three hundred pairs of socks previously voted for the fifth mounted rifles, that six hundred pairs would be sent. 

Tomorrow is the Red Cross sewing meeting of the League and, while last week's meeting was largely attended, the ladies would like it to be known that others would be welcome.  They have now ten sewing machines for the purpose of Red Cross work."

Sometime during 1915 the League edited and published a fundraising cookbook, imaginatively titled The Cook Book.  Chapters include witticisms such as "How to Preserve a Husband" and advice on "Good Rules for Housekeeping".   I wonder if Ida Rutherford or Minnie Scott contributed recipes?  Unfortunately, I can't find an image of it, but it is described in Culinary Landmarks:  A Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks, 1825-1949 by Elizabeth Driver.

"The Cook Book.

Q86.1 1915

The/ cook book/ edited by the/ Westmount Soldiers'/ Wives' League/ Westmount Canada.

DESCRIPTION:  22.5 x 150 cm... Small tp illustration of soldier (2  cm high)...Thin card, with image on front, drawn in art-nouveau style, of a woman carrying a plate;  stapled...

Notes:  the aim  of publication, according to p 3,  was "to augment [the Leagues'] Treasury and provide further comforts, etc. for "Our soldier boys at the Front."  Arthur G. Racey...who did the cover design, was a cartoonist at the Montreal Star at the time The Cook Book was published.  Albert Samuel Brodeur, Alberic Bourgeois, Georges La Tour...and Napoleon Savard were book illustrators."   

 Towards the end of the year the League tackled another new enterprise.  This is from the Montreal Gazette, December 1, 1915:

FUND FOR WIDOWS

WESTMOUNT SOLDIERS' WIVES' LEAGUE MAKING PROVISION

"The Westmount Soldiers' Wives' League, at their meeting yesterday morning, voted $1,000 of the eighteen hundred of so which they cleared at their bazaar, as the nucleus of a fund for widows and orphans of soldiers.  They hope to add to this fund from time to time.

The sum of $25 was voted to Captain Bateman to be used for tobacco for the officers and men coming aboard the hospital ship of which he has charge, running between France and England.  

Arrangements were made to send five hundred pairs of socks to Lt-Col. Gunn for the men of the twenty-fourth and five hundred to Lt.-Col. Fisher for the twenty-third....as owing to the condition of the trenches a great many socks are required..."

Here's a snippet on the importance of lots and lots of socks in the trenches from the Australian history journal InsideHistory: 

“Woolen socks were vital during the war and had to be hand knitted to exact standards so they were seamless and comfortable. Aussie soldiers in the cold and muddy trenches needed a continuous supply of clean, dry socks to protect them against the debilitating ‘trench foot’ and they were often sent in ‘comfort boxes’ with cigarettes, food and mail. “The Library’s extensive WW1 collection includes over 900 diaries, with many entries revealing how socks were an obsession for many boys, along with letters and their pay.”

The League seems to have been a very business-like organization, whose mandate stretched as the War went on.  It seems that our women threw themselves into the cause within months of the War's declaration.  Ida (Bulmer) Rutherford chaired the first meeting, which suggests that she may have been  a driving force among Westmount society during her time. 

Mrs. William Rutherford Receives On Wednesdays

No telephones, no e-mail--how did ladies manage their social lives during the 1800s?  Anyone who's ever read Jane Austen can tell you--it's all about the "at home" or receiving day and the visiting card.  There was a whole etiquette around women visiting each other at home, which in urban settings involved a social directory such as Dau's Society Blue Book.  Published biannually for many urban centres in Canada and the United States, the primary job of the Dau's Society Blue Book or other social registers was to indicate the "at home" day for the local ladies of a certain class.  Here is the Montreal Blue Book entry for Mrs. William Rutherford Jr. and Mrs. William Rutherford Sr. for the year 1898:

Dau's Society Blue Book for Montreal, Rutherford Listings.

The entry reads:
"Rutherford, Mr. and Mrs. Wm., 61 Rosemount Avenue, Wednesday.
Rutherford, Mr. and Mrs. Wm., 35 Staynor Avenue, Westmount, Wednesday." 

My husband, who is familiar with the etiquette for this period, was able to explain the system to me.  First of all, the listings are by subscription, which means that families must pay to have their name entered.  Although husband and wife are both named in the listings, it would be the wife who would receive at home on the listed day.  Children would only be included in the directory if they were of age, or if the young ladies of the house had "come out" to society.  These were adult, not family, social calls. 

The visits made during someone's receiving day were supposed to be brief, about fifteen minutes long, especially if one was visiting an acquaintance rather than a close friend.  Receiving days were not about extended conversation--a long visit, if desired,  could be arranged on another day.  They were more about establishing and maintaining social ties. Since visitors would be introduced to each other,  the system also allowed women to extend their social circle.

During these visits, ladies would leave their visiting or calling card.  Visiting cards would usually have the person's own receiving day inscribed along with their name.  This allowed women to keep track of who had visited, since not returning a visit would be considered impolite.

The convention of the receiving day was restricted to ladies of the leisure class.  As you can see,  the title page for the Blue Book emphasizes that it is for "elite" families:

Dau's Society Blue Book Title Page, 1898 ed.

Also, the preface defends itself from possible criticisms around the inclusion of "names which may seem unneccesary":

Dau's Society Blue Book for Montreal, Preface.

While the bulk of a social directory consisted of individual listings, at the back there would normally be a section devoted to club membership within the city.  Masculine as well as feminine clubs were listed equally. For example, the 1905-6 Montreal Dau's Blue Book tells us that A.H. Scott, another ancestor,  was a member of the Montreal City Club. 

The convention of receiving days began to fall out of favour during and after World War I, so the Wm. Rutherfords were among the last generation to use social registers and "at home" days to anchor their social lives.  The Blue Book really fills a gap--it's nice to have some material evidence of how the females in our family line lived.  Now, at least, we know what they were doing on Wednesdays!