Biography of William Rutherford Jr., or, Don't These Men Ever Sleep?

This biographical sketch is from Montreal 1535-1914 Vol. 3 by William H. Atherton.  The S.J. Clark Publishing Company, Montreal, 1914. p. 245.  It summarizes the life of an extraordinarily busy man!  I also like that it gives us some extra information about William Sr. as well. 

"WILLIAM RUTHERFORD.  The steps in the orderly progression of William Rutherford whereby he has reached his present advanced position in business circles of Montreal are easily discernible and each forward step has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities.  Born in Montreal, April 22, 1964, he is a son of William and Elizabeth (Jackson) Rutherford, both of whom are of Scotch birth, the former coming from Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, and the latter from Biggar, Lanarkshire.  They were representatives of the excellent Scotch type that has done so much for Canada and its substantial upbuilding.  The father was a member of the first council of Cote St. Antoine, which afterward became Westmount.  He was an enthusiastic curler and greatly enjoyed other outdoor sports.  His interests, however, were largely concentrated on the development and management of important business interests.  He founded the lumber firm of William Rutherford and Sons in 1852 and was largely instrumental in developing it into one of the most extensive lumber enterprises in Canada.  

In the acquirement of his education William Rutherford attended successively the schools of Cote St. Antoine, the high school of Montreal and the private school conducted by Hon. E.H. Springrice.  He crossed the threshold of the business world as a junior clerk with Gillespie, Moffat & Company, general merchants, and subsequently became a clerk for the Pillow Hersey Manufacturing Company, owners of rolling mills, etc.  Subsequently he entered the firm of William Rutherford & Sons of Montreal and upon incorporation of the company became its treasurer.  The business is conducted today under the style of William Rutherford & Sons Company, Ltd., dealers in and manufacturers of lumber and timber.  The business is now one of mammoth proportions and in his official capacity William Rutherford of this review is bending his energies to administrative direction and executive control.  Into other fields he has also extended his efforts and his business interests are now of considerable volume and importance, placing him among the prominent representatives of commercial and industrial activity in the province.  He is now the president of the Dominion Box Company, Ltd., of the Grier Timber Company and of the Dominion Park Realty Company, Ltd.

On the 16th of May 1894, in Montreal, Mr. Rutherford married Miss Ida Bulmer, a daughter of John Bulmer and a representative of a well known Montreal family.  Their children are William J., John B., Jean, Andrew S. and Marjory.  Presbyterian in religious faith, the family hold membership in St. Andrew's Church of Westmount.  Mr. Rutherford is a liberal in politics, conversant with the leading questions and issues of the day.  He has filled a number of local offices, having been elected alderman of Westmount in 1908, while in 1910 he was chosen mayor of the city.  In 1913 he was made school commissioner of the city and in 1912-13 was a member of the executive committee of the Canadian Manufacturing Association.  He is also a member of the committee of St. Andrew's Society, while along more strictly social lines his membership is in the Canada, Engineers, Manitou, and North Lake  fish and game clubs.  His success permits him that leisure which enables him to enjoy hunting, fishing and other outdoor and indoor sports, but he is preeminently a business man and one whose successful methods might be studied by all who wish to gain prosperity within the legitimate line of business."      

His success permits him leisure??? You've got to be kidding me!  He's president of three companies and treasurer of a third!  And involved in city politics!  And raising a family of five!  And goes to church on Sundays!

Here is a sketch of William Jr. from the 1900 book Canadians As We See 'Em, by the Canada Newspaper Cartoonists Association.  

William Rutherford Jr., every inch the successful businessman. 

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. 

Thomas Elliot, English Organ Builder

Thomas Elliot's 1832 Organ at York Minster Cathedral.

 
I usually only spend time researching the lives of our direct ancestors, but Thomas Elliot is such an intriguing family figure that for him I have made an exception.  Thomas is the brother of Robert Elliot, our immigrant ancestor, and the uncle of William Elliot the manufacturer and pharmacist.  He is one of the ten children of Charles Elliot and Lydia Bayley of Hayes, Middlesex.  He was obviously quite musical since not only did he become one of the significant British organ builders of his time, but there are records of his belonging to a number of musical societies and performing as a singer at Westminster Abbey and Drury Lane.  (Another of Robert's brothers, William Elliot, was a currier like Robert but also had a reputation as a singer).  I don't have any formal apprenticeship records for Thomas,  although he is thought to have a connection to John Snetzler, a Swiss organ builder who had immigrated to England.  Thomas's daughter Mary married William Hill, another prominent organ builder, and William became Thomas's business partner and carried on the firm of Elliot and Co.after Thomas Elliot's death, renaming it W. Hill and Co., and later W. Hill and Son, when  William and Mary's son, also Thomas (1822-1893), entered the family business.  Here are a few biographical references to Robert's brother Thomas Elliot and his musical accomplishments:


Elliot, Thomas.  
Singer, Organ builder.
Doane's Musical Directory of 1794 listed Thomas Elliot, of No 10, Soho Street, Sutton Square, as a bass singer and builder of organs. Elliot sang for the New Musical Fund, the Choral Fund, the Longacre Society,  the Cecilian Society, the Surrey Chapel Society, and in the oratorios at Westminster Abbey and Drury Lane Theatre.  He was still a subscriber to the New Musical Fund in 1815.   

A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, and other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800;  Volume V, Egan to Garrett.  Philip H. Highfill. 

Elliot & Hill:  London.  (1825-1832).  Thomas Elliot was at Wharton's Court, Holborn in 1791. Doane's Directory for 1794 gives 'Thomas Elliot, Organ Builder, 10 Sutton Street, Soho Square, London.'  Pigot, in 1827 gives him at 12 Tottenham Court Road, where he was as early as 1819. William Hill (died 1870) was partner of Thomas Elliot from 1825 until 1832 when Elliot died. Hill then continued alone until 1837 when he was joined by F. Davison cp. Hill and Davison.

Church and Chamber Barrel-Organs:  Their Origin, Makers, Music and Location.  Canon Noel Boston and Lyndesay G. Langwill.

It was another builder who seems ultimately to have been in a position to 'carry on' the work [of John Nutt, another organ builder].  This was Thomas Elliot, whose earliest surviving work is dated 1790, and who was first recorded in 1791 at Wharton's Court in Holborn and then at 10 Sutton Street (now Sutton Row), Soho Square in 1794.  Again, his antecedents are not precisely known, though the 1790 organ contains metal pipes identical in style with those normally made by Hugh Russell of Theobald's Road, Holborn.  His background...seems to have been at least as much musical as commercial, though a connection of some kind with Nutt has been posited.  He is known to have sung bass at the 1794 Handel Commemoration at Westminster Abbey, and elsewhere.  He may have been an organist, too, as one of the subscribers to William Russell's first set of Voluntaries (1804) was a 'Mr. Elliot, Organist of Curzon Chapel'.

Upon John Nutt's decease in 1804, it seems that Elliot moved next door to Ann Corbitt (nee Nutt) in Tottenham Court.  It was from 12 Tottenham Court, New Road, that Elliot ran his business, first employing Alexander Buckingham (his foreman from about 1806 until about 1818) and then William Hill (working from 1815), as well as George Corbitt (who worked until 1835) and others...Hill's own early training is not known;  he married Thomas's daughter, Mary, and eventually took over the business fully at Elliot's death in 1832.

The Life and Work of John Snetzler.  Alan Barnes and Martin Renshaw.  Scolar Press, Hants, England 1994.

Thomas Elliot, d. 1832.
Elliot, whose name may be found spelt variously with one or two T's at the end, was partner (1825) with, and father-in-law to William Hill, with whom he built a large number of organs including that in York Minster, an instrument designed quite remarkably badly by Dr. Camidge, the Minister organist.  Elliot's workshop was in Tottenham Court Road.  Details of two of his organs are as follows:
1.  St. Michael Broome, Norfolk.  This instrument was formerly in a private house in Surrey and was supplied in 1938 by Hill and Son, Norman and Beard.  A painted label above the keyboard reads 'Thomas Elliot/London 1817'.  There are no display-pipes, their place being taken by glass bookcase doors backed by blue silk. Painted flowers flank the maker's label, and there is decorative inlaid metalwork down each side of the upper case at the front...
2.  All Saints, Thornage, Norfolk.  This organ was formerly at Swanton Novers hall nearby and was sold to the church for 14 pounds.  The painted label above the keyboard reads 'Thos. Elliot/ Tottenham Court Road London/1812'.
The case is well-balanced and delicate, with deep cornice, shaped toe-board, and display-pipes grouped in a number of small compartments...
A third chamber organ by Elliot is in the church at Gooderstone, Norfolk...

The English Chamber-Organ, History and Development 1650-1850.  Michael Wilson.  Bruno Cassirer Ltd., Oxford, 1968.

One of the highlights of Thomas Elliot's career must surely have been in 1821, when he was commissioned to  build an organ for the Coronation of King George IV at Westminster Abbey.  This is what the London newspaper Morning Post of July 2, 1821 has to say about Coronation preparations:

"By an order from the Lord Chamberlain, a new magnificent organ is now erecting over the altar of Westminster Abbey, built by ELLIOT of the City Road.--Mr. KNYVETT, senior (as ORGANIST to His MAJESTY) is to preside at it over the vocal department, which is to be confined to the Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal, and Choir of Westminster Abbey.  The Instrumental, conducted by WILLIAM SHIELD, Esq. as  Master of the King's band of musicians.  Two New Anthems are composed for the solemn ceremony by his Majesty's composers, Mr. ATTWOOD and Mr. WM. KNYVETT;  at the express command of the King, HANDEL'S Grand Coronation Anthem, ZADOK THE PRIEST, will be performed as at the last Coronation;  but the musical service will be much shorter than the former."  

We don't know if Elliot actually got to attend the Coronation ceremony, although I certainly hope he did.  It must have been quite a spectacle:  according to one of the official Royal British websites, George's "extravagance and love of pageantry was very evident in his Coronation on 19 July 1821 at Westminster Abbey, which cost around 240,000 [pounds sterling].  This was in comparison with the Coronation of his father which cost less than 10,000 [pounds sterling] in 1761."   (George was a notorious spendthrift;  indeed, one article I read called him "about the most worthless heir to the throne that any nation was ever saddled with".)   The ceremony lasted for five hours and did include a bit of behind the scenes drama--Queen Caroline, George's estranged wife, tried to break into the Abbey against George's orders so that she could be crowned Consort.  Apparently she "finally had the door slammed in her face by the deputy Lord Chamberlain."   Queen Caroline died nineteen days after the ceremony to which she was refused entry.  

Coronation Portrait of George IV

It's pretty hard to find a functioning Elliot organ kicking around today.  The organ Thomas built for the coronation ceremony was moved out of Westminster Abbey within a few years and probably relocated to All Saints' Church in Sedgley .  St. Margaret's Church in Crick Village has an Elliot organ with an interesting history but it has been extensively restored.  The magnificent looking organ he built for York Minster Cathedral (see photo above) was almost completely refurbished in 1903. 

The Elliot organs often made their way overseas, and at least three Elliot organs were imported to Canada.  King George III gave Montreal's Anglican Cathedral Christ Church an Elliot organ in 1814 as a gift;  it was known locally as the "King's organ".  It gradually succumbed to old age despite some restorations and repairs and was finally replaced in 1948.  The historic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Quebec City acquired an Elliot organ in 1803, which was destroyed by fire in 1922.  The Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Quebec City also commissioned an Elliot organ:

"The organ was composed of two separate instruments, the great, and in front of it a smaller organ, called the choir organ.  These were ordered on the 5th September 1801, from Thomas Elliot, Artillery Place, London, at a cost of 369 [pounds] 11 s. 10 d. cy., subscribed as follows..." 

(The English Cathedral of Quebec, by Frederick William Wurtele, Published by the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec in Transactions, New Series, Number 20 (1890)).  

This organ arrived in the early 1800s but Holy Trinity replaced it with another English organ in 1847. 

I'm trying to figure out what social class an occupation like this would have placed Thomas in.  My guess is that he would be considered a master craftsman...would that make him middle class?  His addresses seem posh, and his will disposes of a host of comfortable living accoutrements:

"ffurniture plate linen china glass books prints and paintings...music and musical instruments...".

This is in addition to his workshop and tools, left to his son-in-law William Hill,  and the annuities he left to his three surviving daughters.   In contrast, three of Thomas's brothers, Robert (our ancestor) William and John were curriers or leather workers, a physically taxing and not particularly high-status occupation.  Josiah, a brother of Robert and Thomas who also came to Canada, had run a pub called the Adam and Eve but had gone bankrupt.   In Canada, Robert took up farming in Dundas Ontario and Josiah became a storekeeper in Beachville Ontario, a world away from their musical brother, who died just a few years after their arrival in Canada.  

Obituary of Elizabeth (Jackson) Rutherford

Elizabeth (Jackson) Rutherford, wife of William Rutherford Jr., has been a bit of a mystery to me so far.  Her parents are not named on her marriage record, and although a Thomas Jackson was a witness to her marriage, I don't know for sure if  Thomas was her father or a brother or other relative.  However, I've just tracked down her obituary in the Montreal Gazette (thank you, google news archives!)  for September 24, 1919.  I'm especially excited to discover her birth town in Scotland, as this may help me find her family roots.

DIED IN 83RD YEAR

MRS. WM. RUTHERFORD PASSED AWAY TUESDAY

The death occurred yesterday at at 61 Rosemount avenue of Elizabeth Jackson, widow of William Rutherford, in her 83rd year.  The late Mrs. Rutherford lived nearly her entire life in Montreal and Westmount, having come to Canada with her parents when she was a child.  She was born in Biggar, Scotland. 

In 1856 she was married to the late William Rutherford, who predeceased her by sixteen years. She took an active interest in the Presbyterian Church,  being a member of the Crescent Street Church congregation for many years. 

She is survived by five sons, William Rutherford, ex-mayor of Westmount, and President of the firm of William Rutherford and Sons, Ltd., Andrew and Stewart F., both of the same company, Forest Rutherford, mining engineer of New York and Denver, Col., and Gordon Scott Rutherford, general manager of the Brunner-Monde Co., of Amherstburg, Ontario.  She also leaves two daughters, Mrs. William M. Dunlop, of Ottawa, and Mrs. Thomas McIntosh, of Montreal.  

The funeral will be private, from the late residence, at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

Elizabeth is buried in Montreal's Mount Royal cemetery.  

William Rutherford, Liberal Candidate for Westmount, 1912

We tend to remember family members from past generations for their accomplishments.  William Rutherford Jr.,  as well as being a prominent businessman, is remembered by the Fyfe family as having been the first mayor of Westmount (his term was served from 1911-1912).  What I didn't know until recently is that he also ran, unsuccessfully, as the Westmount Liberal Candidate in the 1912 Quebec Provincial election.  There is a fascinating article in the Montreal Gazette of May 3, 1912 which describes a rally on his behalf.  Also present was Sir Lomer Gouin, Premier of Quebec from 1905 to 1920, who spoke on William's behalf.

Sir Lomer Gouin, Quebec Premier and supporter of William Rutherford

WESTMOUNT HEARS SIR LOMER GOUIN

PREMIER AND MAYOR RUTHERFORD ANSWER QUESTIONS OF LT-COL SMART

"The speech of Sir Lomer Gouin in Victoria Hall last night in the interest of Mr. William Rutherford, Liberal candidate in Westmount, and those of the candidate himself and the other speakers, concerned themselves mainly with the address made by Lieut.-Col. Smart, the Conservative candidate, in his meeting in the same hall on the previous Saturday night, and charges made by him of graft and rottenness in the present government...

Mr. William Rutherford, who was welcomed enthusiastically, said that many of his Conservative friends told him he was leading a forlorn hope, and he was inclined to accept that way of putting things as, said he, 'many forlorn hopes get there, and generally it is the best men who are chosen to lead forlorn hopes'.  He appealed to his Conservative friends to leave federal politics out of the question, and vote for the man instead of for the party, and so help him to run up a good majority.  He spoke of the work he in association with others had done for Westmount, with special reference to good roads, temperance and education.  He submitted that what they had been doing for Westmount Sir Lomer Gouin had been trying to do for the Province of Quebec, and whereas they had succeeded in making Westmount a place that was called the model city, he believed that Sir Lomer Gouin if allowed to finish his work would make Quebec into a province that would deserve to be called the model one in Canada.

Speaking of Colonel Smart, a personal friend, he said that he thought the Conservative candidate would have to take back much of what he had said in regard to graft and bribery...

'I stand four-square for no forced annexation of Westmount or other municipal districts on the island of Montreal to the city of Montreal, and I tell you now so that if that question ever comes up in Quebec, you and Sir Lomer Gouin will know where I stand,'  said Mayor Rutherford.  

As to temperance,  Mr. Rutherford said he stood to support the continuance of the present Early Closing Bylaw, to fight against any effort to repeal the Quebec License Law, and to favour any temperance movement which had for its object the restriction of the liquor traffic if  in his judgment it was fair to the interests involved. 

'I am not an intemperate temperance man,' he said, 'and I feel that that is as far as I can go.' "

The election was held on May 15, 1912, and of 83 Liberal candidates running, 63 were elected.  William was not one of them.  Charles Allan Smart, the Conservative candidate (and apparently William's friend), won the district of Westmount.  He would be the Westmount MP from 1912 until 1936.  

Charles Allan Smart, MP for Westmount 1912-1936

 

The Montreal Gazette of May 16 had this to say about Westmount's results:

"While the new riding of Westmount, as was expected, went Conservative by a good majority, the personal popularity of the Liberal candidate, Mayor Rutherford, cut down the normal Conservative vote considerably.  More interest was displayed in the contest between Mayor Rutherford and Lt.-Col. Smart than in almost any other riding, and a comparatively fair vote was registered.  It was taken as a foregone conclusion that the latter would be elected, the riding having been cut out with the evident intention of hiving the Conservatives." 

To give this election some historical context, women in Quebec did not have the right to vote until 1940.  Mrs. Rutherford could not vote for her husband in 1912.

The Elliot Family Headstone, Necropolis Cemetery

I've walked through the Toronto Necropolis Cemetery many times.  It's a lovely old cemetery with lots of interesting headstones and the graves of some important locals.  I found the Scott family headstone a while back, but the Elliot family headstone has eluded me until today.  Doug and I, celebrating a rare day off together, went for a walk and Doug found it for me.  Yes!

It's actually quite an imposing monument.  There are memorials on all four sides.  Here's the first side:

WILLIAM ELLIOT

BORN AT HAMMERSMITH ENG.

DECEMBER 22, 1812

DIED JUNE 3, 1893

________

For if we believe that Jesus died and

rose again, even so them also which 

sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

__________

CYNTHIA JANE ELLIOT

BORN NOV. 22, 1853

DIED JAN. 6, 1931

HELEN ELLIOT GEORGE

1883  -1943

William Elliot, pharmacist and industrialist, is the patriarch of our branch of the Elliot family and everyone on this memorial is somehow related to him.  Cynthia Jane Elliot is his daughter, the only child of William and his wife Mary Oliphant who never married.  Helen Elliot George was born Helen Elliot Scott.  She is the daughter of John Galloway Scott and Mary Elliot (Mary Elliot was another daughter of William and Mary Oliphant, making Helen their granddaughter).  It's interesting that Helen is buried in the Elliot family plot.  Her husband, Ruggles George, is apparently somewhere else.

William's wife Mary Oliphant is commemorated on the opposite side of the monument:

IN MEMORY OF 

MARY OLIPHANT, 

WIFE OF WILLIAM ELLIOT

___________

DIED APRIL 7TH 1890, 

IN HER 78TH YEAR

_____________

HER HUSBAND AND CHILDREN MOURN BUT

NOT AS THOSE WHO HAVE NO HOPE

______________

LIEUTENANT H. ELLIOT SCOTT

AGED 23 YEARS

FELL AT COURCELETTE

16TH SEPTEMBER 1916

BURIED IN FRANCE

MINNIE LOUISE DAVIS

BELOVED WIFE OF ARTHUR H. SCOTT

BORN AT AYLMER, ONT. 1870

DIED AT DORVAL, QUE. 1923.

ARTHUR H. SCOTT

1864-1939

Arthur H. Scott is another child of John Galloway Scott and Mary Elliot and grandchild of William Elliot/Mary Oliphant.  Lieutenant Howard Elliot Scott is his son, and Minnie Louise Davis his wife. 

Robert Watt Elliot, son of William Elliot and Mary Oliphant, and his wife Catherine Scott are on one of the adjacent sides:

IN MEMORY OF 

ROBERT WATT ELLIOT

BORN AT ERAMOSA ONTARIO

JULY 26, 1835

DIED AT TORONTO

NOVEMBER 12, 1905

______________

CATHERINE ANN SCOTT

WIFE OF 

ROBERT W. ELLIOT

BORN AT DUNDEE, SCOTLAND

OCTOBER 14, 1834

DIED AT TORONTO

JANUARY 8TH, 1921

All five of Robert Watt Elliot and Catherine Scott's children are commemorated on the remaining side, as well as their daughter-in-law  Muriel Lailey Elliot, who was the  wife of William Scott Elliot (directly below her on the monument).

IN MEMORY OF 

HOWARD ELLIOT, 

WHO ENTERED THE BETTER LAND

ON THE 19TH OF MAY 1893

ALSO 

ADELINE NOBLE

ON THE 9TH OF JUNE 1894

____________

VIOLET

DECEMBER 10TH 1939

_____________

MARY SCOTT BIGGAR

1860-1948

______________

MURIEL LAINLEY ELLIOT

1875-1951

________________

WILLIAM SCOTT ELLIOT

1870-1964

Howard Elliot died at age 24 of peritonitis.  He was training to be a pharmacist like his father and grandfather before him, and William Elliot's obituary mentions what a blow his death was to his grandfather. Mary Scott Biggar (nee Elliot)'s husband James Lyons Biggar appears to have been  buried elsewhere, as does  Adeline (Elliot) Noble's husband.   Howard Elliot, Violet Elliot, William Scott Elliot, Mary Scott Biggar and Adeline Noble were all children of Robert Watt Elliot and Catherine Scott. Murial Lainley Elliot was William Scott Elliot's wife.

Here's a shot of the snazzy letter E that decorates the top of the monument:

Here I am taking notes:

And here's a long shot, showing the landscape (rather bare at this time of year):

The more I learn about the Elliot and Scott families in Canada, the more I am struck by how closely intertwined they are.  At some point I'm going to write about the many connections between these two closely-knit families.