Chapter Three Marriage and Family

Chapter 3.
Marriage & Family
from 20 to 59.
1880 to 1919

Early Days in Cornwall.

As mentioned in Chapter 2, Minnie moved from Lowell, Massachusetts to Cornwall, Ontario about 1878 at the age of 18, to join her stepmother Mary Eastman/Reed who was already in Cornwall. This was following the death of Minnie's Aunt Elizabeth (Lizzie) in Lowell, where she had been living for several years. Apparently Minnie was a teacher for a short time after arriving in Cornwall.

Her stepmother Mary, who was just 12 years Minnie's senior, remarried 1880 December 12 in Toronto, Ontario. She married Charles Robinson Shaw, and they had three children: Sarah Miriam Shaw born 1882 October 25, Myrtle Louisa Shaw born 1885 November 19, and Charles Eastman Shaw born 1887 June 26, all born in Toronto. Thus, Minnie had three step-siblings, all in the age range of her own children. There is no record that Minnie kept in touch with her step-mother or her family after Mary remarried. Eventually, the Shaw family moved to British Columbia.

Minnie over time


1875 age 15	1880 age 20	1881 age 21	1894 age 34	1910 age 50	1918 age 58

Marriage and Family.

Only four months after her stepmother remarried, Minnie married Richard Tanner in Cornwall, Ontario, in 1881 on March 23. Richard Tanner was born in Cornwall 1859 July 18, the only son of Joseph Tanner from Stone, Berkely, England, and Isabella Aird from Kirkmichael, Ayrshire, Scotland. According to Minnie's daughter Anna Grace Tanner (my Great Aunt Grace), Richard was in the paper business. Richard's mother Isabella was, for a short time, proprietor of the newspaper Cornwall Freeholder, following the death of her first husband, Henry Patterson. There appears to be a long standing connection of the family with the paper industry, and Minnie's father was, later in his life, involved in the business. I suspect this was how Minnie met her future husband.

One story Aunt Grace told me was that her father (Richard Tanner) brought Minnie to Canada and "civilised" her -- with reference to the fact that she was American and now made a British subject. At that time, Canadian Citizenship did not exist -- only "Canadian Nationals" who were all British Subjects. This was the case until 1947.

Marriage Certificate of Richard Tanner and Minnie Reed

Note that one of the witnesses at the marriage was Sarah Eastman, who was the mother of Minnie's stepmother Mary Eastman. This indicates there was contact with her step-family even as late as Minnie's marriage. The other witness, John Hutchins, could not be positively identified in other records: there were several living in the area of an age suitable to be a witness. I have the original copy of this certificate, handed down to me through Minnie's daughter Anna Grace Tanner. It is well-worn and looks as if it had pulled pulled out for reference a number of times.

Here is the marriage registration.

Portraits of Marinda Anna Reed and Richard Tanner
probably taken around the time of their marriage in 1881.

Children.
Note: More detailed information on the children will be found in Chapter Six.

Minnie and Richard had a family of nine children, one who died at age four. The first eight were born in Cornwall and the youngest born in Ottawa. They were:

Joseph Edward, 1882-03-08 to 1950-04-26, age 68.
Anna Grace, 1883-12-15 to 1971-06-07, age 87. ("Aunt Grace" who collected genealogical information)
William Aird, 1886-02-16 to 1944-12-02, age 58.
Mary Isabella (Isobel), 1887-12-29 to 1960-07-01, age 72.
Robert Dalgleish, 1890-03-21 to 1894-12-16, age 4.
Edith Reed, 1892-01-07 to 1939-04-18, age 47.
Mina Pilcher, 1894-12-05 to 1979-03-13, age 84. (Grandmother of the author of this publication)
Richard Taylor, 1896-06-20 to 1969, age 73
Hattie (Tot) Patterson, 1899-12-28 to 1963-07-31, age 63.

Family as it was in mid 1894:

Far left:
Mary Isabella (Isobel) Tanner, age 6.

Second from left:
Richard Tanner, age 35.

Top:
Marinda (Minnie) Ann Reed/Tanner, age 34.

Upper right:
Joseph Edward Tanner, age 12.

Between and front of Minnie and Joseph:
Anna Grace Tanner, age 10.

Between and front of Richard and Minnie:
Robert Dalgleish Tanner, age 4 (he died several months after this picture was taken).

Far Right:
William Aird Tanner, age 8.

Lower front:
Edith Reed Tanner, age 2.

The Younger children in August 1900:
Except for Edith Reed Tanner, the others were not born
when the above picture was taken.

Top:
Edith Reed Tanner, age 10.

In lap of Edith:
Hattie (Tot) Patterson Tanner, age 8 months.

Upper left:
Richard Taylor Tanner, age 4.

Lower left:
Mina Pilcher Tanner, age 5.

In families, sometimes the naming of children gives clues of earlier family members and relationships. Here are a few stories about the naming of some of the children of Marinda Anna Reed and Richard Tanner:

Joseph Edward Tanner:
The first-born male child was often named after his paternal grandfather, which was the case here for Joseph. The middle name Edward cannot be associated with earlier family members.

William Aird Tanner:
Aird was the maiden name of Richard Tanner's mother and William Aird was his grandfather.

Robert Dalgleish Tanner:
Robert Dalgleish was the husband of Richard Tanner's aunt Mary Aird. There is no known reason why this name might have been chosen. Speculation would be that there was close friendship that developed between Richard Tanner and his aunt's family. In discussing this with my Great Aunt Grace (Anna Grace Tanner) in the 1960s, she said that Mary Aird/Dalgleish, who died in 1906 at the age of 96, was known in the family as "Aunt Dalgleish." Grace Tanner said that she knew Mary Aird/Dalgleish well, as Mary had visited the family in Ottawa, making trips from Montreal, and that she was well liked.

Mina Pilcher Tanner:
During her life, I asked Mina (my grandmother) how she got her name -- particularly "Pilcher" as a middle name. She said she had no idea and hated her middle name and generally used just the initial "P." In my research, I discovered the likely reason. As mentioned in Chapter 2, Minnie, during her teenage years, lived with and befriended her first cousin Almina Parker who used the name Mina. Both were only children who became orphans while teenagers. Later, Mina Parker married James Pilcher and they remained childless. In those days, couples did not remain childless by choice. It would appear that my grandmother was named after Minnie's cousin and the married last name as a token of friendship in passing on the name Pilcher.

Mina Parker/Pilcher

Probably taken about 1880,
before her marriage to
James Pilcher. First cousin
and close friend of Minnie.

Richard Taylor Tanner:
"Taylor" was actually the name used by the family and he didn't use "Richard" early in his life. The nickname "Dick" was used by those who knew him in the army and was used interchangeably with "Taylor" later in life. "Taylor" was the maiden name of Minnie's mother and was the surname of the American Revolutionary soldier ancestor.

Hattie (Tot) Patterson Tanner:
The nickname "Tot" was always used. The "Patterson" name was the surname of her grandmother Isabella Aird's first husband Henry Patterson, who was founder and proprietor of the Cornwall Freeholder newspaper, and Isabella was also proprietor of that newspaper before she married Joseph Tanner (Richard Tanner's father) and still using the surname of "Patterson."

Personal tastes

Minnie was involved with the Women's Christian Temperance Union, but it is unknown what the level of her activity was. She was a Sunday school teacher at one time and, apparently, taught elementary school in Cornwall before and possibly for a short time after her marriage.

There are various items of hers in my possession, including some silverware. There is not a complete set of silverware, and can only assume the set was broken up among relatives at one point. Here are pictures of one of her stirling silver forks and napkin ring, with her initials:

In my collection, I have a number of old records, some which were from her later life. I have included three here, all from 1915. The first two are on each side of a 9-³/4" 78rpm record. Both are songs of Thomas Moore and are played by Samuel Gardner on violin. The third, entitled "Songs of the Past" is a 12" 78rpm record and both sides have been combined here. A number of short songs appear on both sides, sung by the Victor Mixed Chorus. All are Victor label with the trademark symbol of dog looking into a speaker called "His Master's Voice." They are by the Berliner Gram-O-Phone Co., Montreal. They came out in 1915 and probably represents what was of interest to her and/or members of her family. The links in the following box will allow you to listen to these records. High speed internet connection is recommended. QuickTime Player is required, which is on all Macintosh computers and most Windows computers. If QuickTime is not on your computer, it can be downloaded from www.apple.com/quicktime .

Last Rose of Summer
Endearing Young Charms
Songs of the Past

Where she lived
She lived with her husband an children in Cornwall, address not known, but in Central Ward until about 1898. In 1901, the family was at 113 Elgin Street, Ottawa. The family was missed in the 1911 census. In 1915, when Minnie's husband Richard died, they lived at 86 James Street, Ottawa.

Grave of Marinda Anna Reed

The grave of Marinda Anna Reed is located in Woodlawn Cemetery, Cornwall, Ontario.

Gravestone of Marinda Anna Reed,
her husband Richard Tanner,
and youngest daughter Hattie ("Tot") Tanner.

Revisions and additions to come

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