Books and Being Saved for the Lord - Part 1

A great change came into my life in my early teens. I discovered books - not cheap books but the best in English literature - only the best! I have Dr George Fraser of Parkhill for this discovery. Dr Fraser was our dentist. My teeth had to be straightened. This meant weekly sessions to the dentist that continued over the next couple of years.

He had the only library in the village. How impressed I was with his book lined study. He was interested in my mind and took it upon himself of acquainting me with the classics. We would discuss only books during my weekly sessions with him.

Seeing I was interested he began loaning me those suited to my age. Soon I had advanced to the novels of Charles Dickens. A new world  was open to me. I was in my early teens, I believe.

I began quetioning my parents and sunday school teachers on the beliefs and thoughts I was supposed to accept.This proved to be very embarrassing to them. I can remember asking Mrs Mitchell, my Sunday school teacher what happened to Chinese babies who died from starvation before they were christened.  She had told me Christianity was necessary to take us to heaven. Many Chinese were still heathens then weren't acceptable to the Lord.  She was very embarrsed when I asked her. Finally I asked. " Would they go to Hell?" After some hesitation she answered "I suppose they would".
I held this against the Lord. I thought it was very cruel of him to send babies to Hell who hadn't lived long enough to be saved by our Christian missionaries.

Soon afterwards a Carnegie Library was built in Parkhill. What a momentous occasion that was for me. It turned me into the book worm I am today. I am never lonesome as long as I have books to read. I don't need people, but I need books!

Then I was fourteen and mother and father decided I was old enough to become a member of the Presbyterian church. My sisters Olive and Lloy were already members. Olive, their obedient daughter, joined without a murmer of dissent. Lloy was quite emotional when her turn came and I would sometimes see her in her bedroom praying it all hours of the day preparing herself for the first communion.

My parents weren't prepared for my rebellion. I think I was still holding it against the Lord for those little Chinese babies put in Hell. because they died before they could be christened.

Crassly and Hunter, the great Evangelists had come to Parkhill to hold nightly meetings in the Methodist church. It was quite a social affair. Everyone attended, especially women and children. I went with mother.
It was an emotional experience. After a very emotional sermon on the joys of being saved and the tortures awaiting us in Hell if we weren't, we'd all get down on our knees to ask forgiveness for our sins, and this would open our hearts to the Lord.

When we arose, the organ was playing and the choir led us in a song I still remember. It went something like this.
"I am coming Lord, I am coming;
coming near to thee
Wash me, cleanse me with thy blood
which flows from Calvay"

As if under a spell we marched down the aisle to the front benches and were blessed by messrs Crassly and Hunter. To mother's horror I would not accompany her. I sat in the back row with the sinners. For five nights I went back. Mother insisted but for five nights I sat in the same back of the church. How humiliating to mother!

School and the Great British Empire

I was six years old when we moved to Parkhill. We were now in the twentieth century. I knew nothing of the world outside our small community. Soon I was studying geography and a bit of history at school. Both subjects fascinated me. The good noble Queen Victoria died on Jan 22nd, 1901 at the age of 81. She was succeeded by her equally "good and noble son" Edward VII. To have even questioned their goodness and nobleness would have been treachery. They ruled over The British Empire. Those red spots on the globe were the countries fortunate indeed to be ruled over by our noble monarchs. No harm could come to them. I was so proud to think that Canada was part of that British Empire.

We were never told of the starving people of India. If we had been told we wouldn't have believed there were starving people. How could they if they were part of the British Empire, ruled by our good and noble king Edward VII! It must be unbelievable to you how misinformed we were about the world we lived in. The Indians were "the savages" who wanted to ambush and scalp us. The Chinese were heathen who hadn't learned the words of God till missionaries went in to save their souls.          

Mother in missionary form decided to take on three Chinese laudrymen who opened a laundry in Parkhill; also one of their sons - a small lad we liked very much. Poor lad! He had a very bad time at school where students would throw stones at him yelling after him as he fled "chink, chink, chinaman ..." He persevered. One day he was brave enough to call back at them  "You are bad boys. My Jesus would not like you to throw stones at me".

I am very proud to remember my parents were not intolerant. These Chinese laundrymen. were our neighbours. We exchanged gifts at Christmas time. They'd give us Chinese nuts, Chinese tea and Chinese coins. I know mother gave them gifts also. After all she was their Sunday school teacher!

When father died he lay in a casket in our living room. Everyone came to pay their last respects. Our Chinese neighbours came.  Imagine our surprise when one of them bent down before his casket, smote him on the chest and said smilingly "Goodbye Mr Fenn. You were very good man. You will got to Heaven".

Mom, Moving to Parkhill

But our lives were soon to change. On a rare vacation father went to visit a harness maker in Parkhill who had a much bigger store than his. It was owned by an elderly gentleman by the name of Thomas Watson, an Englishman, who was about to retire. Father bought the business. I am sure it was a cash sale for my father always paid in full for everything he purchased.

Now I will talk about a bit about mother and how hard father's thriftyness was on her. She loved pretty things in her home but how could she indulge her desires for nicer furniture, pretty dresses and above all fine china! Where there is a will, there is a way! She found a way to buy that lovely set of Limoges Irene and Cathy will inherit. Our old cow Blackie gave us more milk than we could use. Albert Berham who owned the china shop in Parkhill was displaying in his windows this beautiful china. How could she get a set when her husband only gave her 2$ a week for groceries? (however the house was well stocked with food).

She entered into her sweet plan with daughters . We would help her. We went out and got milk customers. We took on just enough to supply ourselves without father guessing. Every morning and evening we would streak out to supply our customers with their daily quota. We sold a quart of milk for 10 cents. It took years for mother to finish her set - but in the end she did. I don't know if father knew about our deception. He probably did and was greatly amused!

So Cathy do be very careful when you wash your Limoges plates, cups and saucers. How many quarts of milk did your grandmother Fenn have to sell to purchase one plate, and one cup and saucer.

Just some photos

The few pictures that we have of mother from long ago were taken by box cameras and invariably the grainy photos were of many people. I haven't found any portrait pictures of my mother. Anyway here is what we have.

 

Mom's Father

Now I will write about my father as I remember him ( my favourite character in this family biography).

He told me that he had been born around 1865. He went to school till he learned to read and write and do sums. The he quit school as did his three younger brothers to help their father on the farm. I wonder what they did to have fun?  There didn't seem to be any time for fun. When winter came they were sent to Plattsville to look for jobs.Idleness would have been "a deadly sin" to their parents! Boys must have work to keep out of mischief! 

He became an apprentice in a harness shop and went back every winter until he had learned the trade. 

When he turned twenty he decided he'd like to have his own shop. His father loaned him $400 and with the money he bought a harness shop in Dashwood. Soon he took on an apprentice whose name was Pat I knew him very well because he boarded with us. The business flourished. In a year's time he had paid back his debt to his father with interest.

When he had enough money saved he took a wife, the prettiest girl in the village, Emma Mabel Fried, the daughter of the miller, Noah Fried. It was quite a large mill and hired many men. In fact , "Dashwood" was once "Friedsberg" named after my grandfather Fried. 

During the following years he built three houses, each one larger. There were three daughters, Olive, Lloy and Ruth and my brother Graham. There was 5 years difference in the the sisters ages.  My brother Graham was born after we moved to Parkhill. He was nine years younger than me.

I remember only the big house. It still stands in Dashwood. It wax a two story house  of white brick. There was a big bay window at the front and another at the side that flooded our dinning room with sunshine. Such a bright cheerful room! Both windows were filled with mother's ferns and Christmas cactus plants that really bloomed in the Christmas season. 

There was a front lawn, a side lawn and a back lawn, but on the other side of the house there was an orchard by a Mr Kellerman where we played Except when chased out by his horrible son who ,would cut down our swings and destroying our playhouses telling us we had no right to be there because the orchard was his father's property. 

On the side lawn father built a duck pond for our three pet ducks he brought home for us. I think he had brought them home for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners - but they became tame. When father came home they would follow him around thae yard quacking loudly. Now I ask you how could we possibly kill and eat our pets? (we couldn't). I suppose later they were given  away to a farmer.

Pigeons nested in the loft in the barn. They became a nuisance as they were always breeding and flew all over the village. They were known as Fenn's pigeons and no one seemed to like them but Olice Lloy and I. We wept bitterly every time father suggested getting rid of them.

There was also a yellow bulldog we called Peg who our constant companion. He was a stubborn dog though ashe refused to go into any of the dog houses we built for him in the yard out of the bricks left over from the house.

Then of course we had a cow, chickens and a horse.

It must have been a large house with many bedrooms upstairs. The hired man, Pat lived with us, then mother's hired girl,Vicky had the room next to the nursery where Olive Lloy and I slept. After he retired my grandfather Fried  lived with us part of every year.

Father enjoyed his daughters more than my mother when we were young...I think through us he found all the childhood pleasures he had missed when he had to work so hard on the farm. He was the gayest of companions.

Sunday morning he did not go to church because the service was in the German language. He and mother attended the evening service delivered in English.

Our hired girl, Vicky, went to her home in the country on the weekends( note here I refer to Vicky as our hired girl; never in those days did you call a domestic, a maid servant) Vicky ate all her meals with us and was considered one of the family.

On Sunday morning mother was treated like a real lady. She stayed in bed until noon and we would fight over who would take up her breakfast tray. We got up to help father prepare breakfast and tidy up the house 

Then we would be off in into the country. We would roam through the fields and woods and wade in the streams. In the springwe'd pick wild flowers, later we would fill small pails with wild raspberries - and in the fall there were beechnuts to gather; we'd store them in the attic for winter evening consumption.


I remember dad teling us all about birds. I think my love of nature dates back to those early days in my life.

My Aunt Jessie

Briefly I want to tell you about your Great Aunt Jessie. She was our spinster aunt and in those far off days was indispensable to the whole family. When anyone needed her she could always be depended on to serve them. After grandfather died she moved to Plattsville where she tenderly looked after her mother till she died.

After her mother had passed on the brothers and sisters decided that she should inherit all of Grandmother's estate as she would need whatever money that was left to live on. Aunt Jessie must have been in her sixties and hadn't been trained to do anything outside her home. Well she protested. She didn't want their charity. The will said that the money was to be divided among them all They insisted; she put it in the bank and never spent a cent of it;

She went out and got herself a job. Her job was to be the housekeeper and companion to the local doctor's two spinster daughters and she stayed with them till she died. to our surprise  we received a notice after her death that we would all be receiving $250 (about $5000 equiv. in 2012) from her estate (by all I mean all her nephews and nieces) 

I admired her proud independent spirit. I hope I am like her. I think I am and don't want any financial help ever from my children. I'd feel like Aunt Jessie that I was accepting charity.

Settling into Canada 1860's and Lots of Kids

My Grandmother Fenn

The two brothers decide to settle into America after their graduation. One became a judge in Toronto (it was then called York) and the other settled in Kalamazoo, Michigan and became a Presbyterian minister. Sister Mary was sent to Canada around 1869 to visit her brothers. I suppose her parents hoped they would find a suitable husband for her, but instead of her brothers finding one for her she found one for herself on the boat coming over. It would have been quite a long journey, perhaps three weeks and time for romance to flower; Editors note: Not in her blog but mother told me that he spoke only German and she spoke Scottish/English but this did not stop the shipboard romance. She met a young man coming over to take up a homestead outside of Plattsville. His name was Conrad Fenn of Bavaria. I am sure he needed a wife to share with him the arduous undertaking that lay ahead;

I hope, however, that he married her for love, not for his conveniences (I will never know) As soon as they landed, they were married by a Presbyterian minister and set off on a new adventure in a new land (how brave these early pioneers!) I never knew my grandfather. He probably died in his early sixties. He was found dead out in the barnyard one morning while doing his chores. after his death my grandmother and maiden aunt moved into a small house in the village of Plattsville

There were nine children to them: - Michael, John, Gilles, Will, Mary, Barbara, Lizzie, ??, and Aunt Jessie that I can remember. She was a widowed aunt who looked after my grandmother until she died. As if she hadn't enough children of her own my grandmother adopted two of her brothers children, Janet and Jim,  in Scotland when they were orphaned. She died in my early teens so I remember her.

Every spring father would rent a pair of horses and a two seated carriage and we would drive down to Plattsville to spend a few days with father's folks. How far was it from Parkhill? I can't say but I know it was a day's journey. We'd leave very early in the morning and arrive at our destination in the evening. ( it was near the town of Galt).

Grandmother was very jolly: a plump, little lady with a hearty laugh. After dinner she would comb her hair into a neat bun at the back of her head and put on a clean apron. Then she was dressed up for the rest of the day.

We had interesting conversations with her and she'd tell us all about her "bonny bairn" when they were young like us. She always called children bairns as they did in Scotland.

I remember asking her once how she fed all her children (the eleven of them!) She seemed surprised by such a foolish question and answered "they had a large bowl of oatmeal porridge for breakfast and sometimes again for supper; ( you can blame her, Joan, Margaret, and Donald for the porridge I made you eat protestingly for your breakfast when you were small) . My grandmother Fenn had so much impressed me on the caloric value of good old oatmeal porridge in my youth that I still prefer a bowl of it in the morning today over other cereals.

She was also very thrifty. When we'd go on an errand for her she would give us a penny. even then we were beginning to realize you couldn't buy much candy with a penny.

She was deeply religious  and believed implicitly in trying to live by the the rules laid down in the "Ten Commandments" Particularly she believed in keeping the Sabbath Day holy. This meant going to church with all of her eleven children Sunday morning. She'd bath them Saturday night in an old tin tub beside the kitchen stove, polish all their pairs of shoes, laying out their Sunday going to church clothes and then on Saturday all their meals for Sunday, for did not the Good Book say,

"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it Holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all of the work; but the seventh is the Sabbath of our Lord thy God; In it thou shalt not do any work".

Her appearance was really regal when she appeared in a stiff black silk dress to accompany her flock of children to church, looking more like a descendent of our noble ancestor, the Marquess of Montrose, than Mrs Fenn, farmers wife and mother of eleven children.

My last memory is of being shown her very ample cape of the Graham Tartan she had worn on the boat bringing her to Canada. She must have been a very handsome lassie in that cape. No wonder young Conrad fell in love with her.

Now we shall bid adieu to your Scottish grandmother. She should be remembered by all of you.

I wonder if she ever saw her brothers again? I don't think they would have approved of her marriage. Do you?
 I have inherited from her two beliefs:

1. that children should start their day with a bowl of porridge
2. that the Ten Commandments  should be our ethical guide through life carefully observed by all nations of the world - then would begin a real heaven on earth.

Prologue

The following are a series of memories of my mother, Ruth Irene Currie (1897-1982), written for her children, grandchildren and future generations. It is mainly about her life as a young girl in rural Ontario. It was written in longhand.

Having reached the age of 76,with all my family now deceased, I must get on with my story about your ancestors. There can be no further delay. The price one pays for living beyond three score years and ten is that one finds oneself carried into an alien world and at times I feel quite faint in a world so different from the one I grew up in. I think I will quite enjoy this trip down memory lane and when I reach the end of it I will have found my true self and feel at home in this world of today. It is true that much of my ancestors lives are unconsciously in me - but I hope I have changed with the changing world.

The Graham Clan

I shall deal briefly with our illustrious ancestor, The 1st Marquess of Montrose, who fought in religious wars in Scotland in the fifteenth century and is today one of their great heroes. Lord Tweedsmuir wrote his biography late in his life because of all his boyhood memories of great men in the past James Graham, The 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 - 1650) was the greatest. There is a monument erected to his memory in Edinburgh on the spot where he was killed with the inscription "There ended a life of meteoric splendor"

Remember him ! I love to think I had an ancestor whose life "ended in meteoric splendor"

The Graham Clan had been converted to protestantism by John Knox. In Scotland it was called the Presbyterian faith. Your Scottish ancestors were all Presbyterians.

I feel I am definitely connected with the Montrose clan. Your great grandmother came from Loc Lomand. That was the seat of the Montroses'. They all graduated from the ancient university of St Andrews in Edinburgh. Your great Grandmother's father and two sons also graduated from this university.