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Photography at Park House Part 3
Bringing History to Life: Part 3
Bringing History to Life Through Photographs is a working exhibit, and we will continue to add new videos that feature past Amherstburg residents, buildings, and stories of interest.
Click on any of the images to enlarge them.
Grandma Wigle
Sarah Elizabeth McCormick was born on November 6th, 1825, and she was the second child/daughter of Alexander and Mary (nee Lidwill). She grew up in Colchester with her three sisters and one brother.
Elizabeth married Henry Wigle in October of 1840; they lived in Ruthven, Ontario, and proceeded to have seven children between 1841 and 1855: Lucetta, Mary, Francis, Albert, Cordelia, Cornelius, and Burwell. Elizabeth and Henry were upstanding citizens, with family roots as United Empire Loyalists and in the War of 1812 serving under Matthew Elliott. According to an oral history on file, Francis (son) and Thorburn (grandson) served postmasters for over 50 years. Mrs. Wigle was the household’s matriarch, while Henry “built [a] woollen mill to manufacture blankets and cloth… a hotel, general store, and blacksmith shop in the village [Ruthven], and a sawmill at the lake.”
This photo, 78.7.13, was donated to the museum in 1978 by her Granddaughter Meta Moore Wigle. A handwritten note, daintily written on the back of the photo, says “taken on 79th Birthday Nov. 6th, 1904.”
James S. Lushington
James S. Lushington was not just a man with a stellar beard and a killer moustache that would give today’s hipster a run for their money. He was employed as the town’s chemist and druggist at M.Twomey’s store (the building has been removed, but the Gordon house has taken its place), then he purchased Twomey’s interest in the business, he then moved to the Burk building behind the current town hall, and then to the Kolfage block before relocating to the United States in 1895 after the death of his wife.
Lushington was no stranger to moving around; he had emigrated from Scotland in 1871, at the age of 23. The following year, he married the 17-year-old Mary Isabelle D’Aubin, of Amherstburg; they had four children and lived on Ramsay Street. He was an accomplished violinist and offered lessons beginning in 1893, a great fisherman, described as strikingly tall standing at six feet four inches, and for those who love pop culture could likely be dubbed our version of James Fraser.
The following memory was written by C.M.S Thomas (father of Cpl. Thomas, the first photo and biography in this exhibit) titled Office of the Old Drug Store and was published in the Amherstburg Echo:
“ One day a new pupil arrived (J.L.) fresh from the land of heather. He came with his sister carrying her books, (a beautiful and commendable act) as most of us usually carry the other fellow’s sisters’ books.
One morning I saluted them as Adam and Eve – and, after a long chase he ran me down. Taking me by the collar with his left hand and holding a clenched right hand (big as a small ham) before my eye and said, ‘Noo Charlee Tamess. Lie down and I won’t hit ye, but dinna ever call me Adam again, my name is James.’
J.L. was the most good-natured Scot I have ever known, and proved himself a hero some years after… [and] saved the lives of four ‘Burg boys by his timely Scotch, horse-sense advice after a boating accident”.
Sources:
Park House Museum – Photograph Collection
The Amherstburg Echo: May 12 1933 (pg 8); January 17, 1936 (pg 7); November 21, 1993, two articles date unknown.
Ada D’Aubin
Louis Grant D’Aubin was born in Amherstburg on November 4, 1852. He married Susan Soulange Primeau in January of 1876. Together they had six children: Minnie, Ada, Gordon, Rena, Leo, and Stella.
We don’t know much about Ada, but we have a series of age progression photographs, which is uncommon during the late 19th century. Ada was the niece of James S. Lushington, who was a feature of the last exhibit entry – James’ wife, Isabelle, and Ada’s father, Louis, were siblings. Although photographs were an expensive novelty, through the photograph collection donated to the museum in the early 1990s, we know that the Lushington/D’Aubin Family had access to a camera and were used as photographers’, likely family members, test subjects.
According to the 1900 US Census Record, the family had immigrated to Michigan in 1893. By that time Louis worked as a floor-walker, Susan was listed as a sales lady, and Gordon a cashier. Although it would warrant more research, it is likely they owned a business like Lushington or were part of a family business. We know that Ada died in childhood and she is not listed as part of the family in 1900. Ancestry records list Ada as being born in Amherstburg on November 23, 1878, which coordinates with the 1881 Canada Census.
However, what you’re about to read is why it’s important to cross-reference multiple sources. All research has a starting point. The reverse of our photograph(s) was marked simply as Ada D’Aubin, and we knew Louis and Susan’s daughter as per an article written in 1993 when we received the collection. Ada L. D’Aubin died at the age of 6. The photos we have in the collection are actually of Ada M. D’Aubin, Louis’ and Isabelle’s younger sister born July 24th, 1868. Ada M. married Charles Brown on February 4th, 1891. Charles, originally from Ridgetown, worked for the railroad in Toledo, Ohio where the marriage took place. He was listed as both a Bookkeeper and Railroad Agent. They had two daughters (Erma Belle, 1896 and Charlotte, 1898) and remained in Ohio. Ada M. D’ Aubin died in 1947.
A December 1881 article from the local paper stated that “Miss Ada D’Aubin sang a number of beautiful choruses” during a church anniversary celebration, and a family memory recites “G.Grandmother Brown. She was four foot nine inches and her small hands flew over the piano keys. My mother always marveled at how she could play a note her hands could not spread to reach. She would roll her hands to play the note and she played beautifully. She also taught piano.” This memory was paired with a picture, not from our collection, showing an even slightly more aged, now Mrs A. Brown. While one of the pictures in our collection shows the whimsical theatre-loving character of Miss Ada M. D’Aubin/ Mrs A. Brown, these two articles confirm that she enjoyed performing.
While descendants with the D’Aubin name no longer reside in Amherstburg, we would certainly love to see more photographs and hear their memories.
Sources:
Park House Museum Archive: Lushington Photograph Collection
The Amherstburg Echo
1900 United States Census (Ohio and Michigan)
1891 Marriage Records
1881 Canada Census
Ancestry.ca
MyHeritage.com