My mom and dad lived on neighbouring farms in Balcarres,
Saskatchewan. It’s a small enough place
where everyone knows everyone! My dad
was the second son and was six years older than my mom, however he was not my
mom’s first choice! She was actually
dating my dad’s younger brother, Jack who was closer to her in age. Times were tough on the farms during winter
and so a lot of the young folks would go elsewhere to find work, often
Toronto. This is what Jack did one
winter and while in Toronto he met someone else and dumped my mom! I don’t know how long it was after that that
my mom started dating my dad, but they did and they were married on August 15,
1953.
As I’ve written in a previous post,
my mom’s parents (Robert Burn Marshall and Eliza Hamilton Burnett) were first
cousins. I’m not sure exactly when they
first met but it couldn’t have been long after Robert’s first wife, Margaret
died in 1914. After Robert and
Margaret’s youngest child died in 1902, they returned to Dundee from
Glasgow. Robert’s grandfather (another
Robert Marshall) and Aunt and Uncle (Helen Marshall Burnett and John Burnett)
were also living in Dundee. Eliza was 17
yrs. old to his 43 yrs. Their first
child (my mom’s oldest sister) was born in Dec. 1915 and they finally married
in July of 1917.
I’m not totally sure yet how my great grandfather, David Fenton
Marshall met my great grandmother, Rachel Wyse Hume – all I have right now are
my own assumptions. In 1861 at the age
of 14, David was boarding with an Aunt in Edinburgh and was working as a
stationer’s apprentice. Rachel’s father,
Hugh Hume, was a bookbinder in Edinburgh.
It is entirely possible that 1) David was Hugh’s apprentice or 2) became
acquainted with the Hume’s through that business. David and Rachel did eventually meet and were
married on August 12, 1870.
My great-great grandparents (Robert Marshall and Ann Kynoch) met in
1839 during the time Robert was touring the North of Scotland preaching
abstinence. They met when Robert
billeted with Ann’s family when he stopped in Elgin, Morayshire for one of his
lectures. When he was getting ready to
leave, he couldn’t find his walking stick.
Ann’s mother loaned him an umbrella instead, claiming this would be a
good reason for him to return (which he did).
I believe it was after this second visit that a romance blossomed
between Robert and Ann and they began to correspond with each other and they
were eventually married on September 26, 1841.
As
for my paternal side, I haven’t yet uncovered the stories of how they all met.
©2013, copyright Alana Farrell
It is interesting to discover how couples met. Thanks for sharing your stories.
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