MATERNAL NAMES
ALICE MAUDE RYDER (1881-1965)
Back: Bertha, May, Front: Maude and Laura circa1891
Alice Maude was born August 26th, 1881,(1) the daughter of James Ryder and Frances Sophia Martin of Acton, Ontario. She was born in Petrolia, Ontario, but when her father died in 1886 her mother sold his carriage business there and moved her family back to Acton, which must have always been home to her. She built a large red brick house and raised the remaining family here.
Their father left enough to well provide her mother, Frances and the eight children once back in Acton. It did not mean that she let them loll about. They all became employed and brought their income into the house until they married and moved away.
That said, they also enjoyed their lives in Acton and often had their portraits and photographs done at R. Ramshaw, the local photographer. I have many such photographs.
Maude was an attractive young woman with beautiful strawberry blonde hair and ice-blue eyes. Her skin tone was fair with cool undertones and flawless. Always well dressed, she always made a suitable subject in family photographs. I have many photos of Maude, her sisters, and friends. The connection between an older brother in the Ramshaw family from Acton, who were photographers during that time, likely explains this..
Maude married Robert John Bell May 30th, 1906,(2) at twenty-five years of age and moved to Toronto from Acton, Ontario. The Acton newspaper announced the event:
Eolienne lightweight blended fabric with a ribbed or corded surface. It is generally made by combining silk and cotton. It is similar to poplin, but lighter in weight. In common with poplin, it was originally a dress fabric and the weave combining heavier and lighter yarns created a brocade-like surface decoration and lustrous finish. This made it popular for formal gowns such as wedding attire, especially during the Edwardian era. Tortora, Phyllis G.; Johnson, Ingrid (2014). The Fairchild Books Dictionary of Textiles (8th ed.). New York and London: Fairchild Books (Bloomsbury). p. 213. ISBN 9781609015350.
Maude was from a large, well-respected family in Acton and, as mentioned, the wedding represented their standing in the community.
In June 1907, Maude and John had their first child, my father, Kelvin Rankin Bell. It would not be until 1914 that they would have a second son, William, who would also be their last.
Maude, like many women in my family, did not live a tranquil life. Her husband John worked as a cutter for Clarke & Company, a large tannery in Toronto. While the 1921 census lists him as a labourer, he seems to earn a wage that would have been in order with others living in the area. Yet, according to my family, John was a gambler and squandered much of his money at the racetrack. Maude supplemented their income with her talents as a glove maker and worked from home.
When my father just finished grade nine, he left school to help support the family. After getting married, my father and mother lived with Maude and John for some time in order to help subsidise the family income.
When I knew my grandmother, she was a widow in her mid-seventies with an infirmity. She was a "stout" woman, as my family referred to her, but stood tall at 5'7", which was considered tall for women of that era. Her hair had faded somewhat, but never greyed until several years before her death.
She wore her wavy hair pinned up with tortoise shell hairpins I found quite interesting, and a corset made of whalebone. She was from another era. I was always curious when she took down her hair and braided it before she retired for the night. My father would bring her for dinner to our house every Sunday.
JOHN AND MAUDE WITH KELVIN CIRCA 1909
After her husband died, Maude found in a room in a house near Pape Avenue in Toronto and her landlady, also a widow, was Mrs Masales. This woman was a distant relation as my grandmother’s uncle George, on her mother’s side, was married to a Masales. Her aunt Ann, on her father’s side, was also married to Jacob Masales, peppering our family tree background with their name.
Her room in this house was a large, bright space on the second floor, equipped with a hot plate and a small refrigerator. Down the hall at the back of the house, you could find the shared bathroom, yet the other rooms on the second floor appeared to be vacant. I met the landlady, Mrs Masales, only once.
By this time, my “Nana” was quite lame in one leg. Afflicted by ulcerated phlebitis had left a large hole in her calf. I only saw it once when she was changing the dressings, which she did daily. Her leg was always bound with an elastic bandage. I never knew why it did not heal. According to all I have read, her weight must have been a big factor. My mother said that Maude had one time stayed bedridden for several months to heal, but when she got up again, the wound opened up.
Her infirmity, she was unable walk well or stand on her feet for any length of time, spending most of her day by the window seated in a chair. To pass the time, she did handwork. Amazing handwork.
Crocheting was her specialty. All my mother’s pillowcases had crocheted edges and I still have a bedspread crochet by her from fine cotton thread.
Perhaps I speak of my grandmother differently than my other grandparents and that would be because she was the only grandparent I knew. Her kindness radiated from her like a warm, comforting embrace, and when she passed away on May 26, 1965,(3) at the age of eighty-four, I deeply mourned her absence. She displayed inner strength and never complained about the cards she was dealt, making her a wonderful lady.
Alice Maude Ryder was buried alongside her husband John in the Pine Hills Cemetery, Scarborough, Ontario.
Citations
(1) B. 1881 Census 1901, Census Place: Acton (Village), Halton, Ontario; Page: 2; Family No: 18
(2) M. 1906 Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928; Reel: 120 Ontario, Canada, Select Marriages. Archives of Ontario, Toronto
(3) D. 1965 Bell, Robert John Mrs., Death notice , appeared in Acton Free Press, 3 Jun 1965 , page 6 , column 1
(4) Bur. 1965 Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Pine Hills Cemetery, Scarborough, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada
CHILDREN OF ROBERT JOHN BELL AND ALICE MAUDE RYDER
Kelvin Rankin Bell was born in Toronto to Robert John Bell and Alice Maude Ryder. He was the first child in a family of two boys. This was my father. Follow the link for more on Kelvin Rankin Bell
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WILLIAM JAMES BELL (1914-1997)
My father's brother William was the second and last child born to Robert Bell and Maude Ryder. Whether she lost any children in between is unknown but there is seven years between the two brothers. This might suggest Maude had difficulty conceiving or there were miscarriages between the two boys.
Bill was born 12 April 1914,(1) in Toronto's eastern downtown area. He grew up, like my father on Logan Avenue a modest working class family. When Bill left school, my father found him a job with the Underwood Typewriter Company, where he worked. Bill, also like my father stayed with the sales department of the company all his life until he retired. He did well as a salesman and provided well for the family
Bill married Margaret Irene Buck, daughter of Ernest James Buck and Agnes Gold Wilson of Ernestown Township, Lennox Addington, Ontario, the 14th of August 1937, and the couple would have two children, a boy and a girl.
For many the family lived next door to us on Armour Boulevard in Toronto, Ontario.
In his retirement years, Uncle Bill and Aunt Margaret left Toronto and lived on Stoney Lake in what was once their summer home. Eventually they sold it and moved into a Peterborough townhouse, chosing to spend their winters in Florida.
In 1997,(2) William died in Fort Meyer's Florida leaving behind his wife Margaret and son, as well as grandchildren. His daughter Judith pre-deceased him by several years.
After the memorial service for Uncle Bill, we lost touch with the family. I have since tried to re-connect but with no luck so far.
Citations
(1) B. 1914 1921 Census of Canada​​Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 89; Census Place: Ward 1, Toronto East, Ontario; Page Number: 2
(2) M. 1937 Bell William James/Buck Margaret Irene Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registration of Marriages Toronto (City) Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934​
(3) D. 1996 Fort Myers, Florida Death Index, 1877-1998​