Perth County Fashions 1860's (pt. 1)

While women living in Perth county in the 1860's may have felt themselves to be isolated from the fashion influences of the bigger world, the evidence suggests that the style in which our ancestors dressed was a reflection of what was happening elsewhere: a somewhat muted and conservative reflection of high fashion, but a reflection nonetheless. The differences which existed in the dresses were more likely to be a result of wealth and social class rather than a lack of awareness. The coloured engraving at the top of this blog first appeared in Godfey's Lady's Book in 1861. This periodical, which was published in Philadelphia acted as a fashion guide for its many subscribers. The early 1860s, was a period in which the crinoline-supported dome-like skirt was at its widest, and in fashion plates during 1860 and 1861 the skirt seems to project as much in front as in back. The photo of an unknown young woman in a striped dress above, was taken in London Ontario in the years before Confederation when this area was still known as Canada West. The next photo is Lois' great grandmother Eliza Fulcher taken after 1867. While Eliza's dress may be made of less expensive materials, and the workmanship and the detail of the sewing may be less complex, the full skirt, the wide tightly cinched belt, the puffed sleeves and the high neckline show that the two women are following similar fashion lines. The next picture is of Robert Ballantyne the brother of Gordon's great grandmother Agnes McEwan, and his wife Helen Smith. This is likely their wedding picture taken in 1860 when he was 39 and she was 23. The dress of the new Mrs. Ballantyne has many of the features of the dresses above but with an added feature in the formal jacket. A hoop (or possibly many petticoats) create the dome shape of the skirt, and the white collar is used to create a dramatic contrast to the black satin dress.
Finally, in case we think that hooped skirts were worn only for formal occasions. here is a detail from a well know picture of the old frame town hall in St. Marys. The woman on the right appears to be a passerby who has stopped to watch the excitement of the ongoing photo session. Not only is a large hoop creating the desired silhouette, but the skirt is short enough to allow her to walk through the mucky streets without the danger of dirtying the hem of her dress. A very wise precaution in St. Marys in 1865!

Gordon's sense of humour

Jokes and fun were an important ingredient in the lives of Gordon and Lois. "We had a lot of good laughs" is an expression Lois uses frequently in describing an evening of playing cards or other forms of socializing. Roberta Dundas recently related a joke which she and her friend Gladys Campbell, as little girls played on their teacher Mr. McEwan. One lunch hour Roberta and Gladys decided to exchange clothes and to become the other person for the afternoon. When the bell rang to end the lunch hour, the two girls went and sat in each other's desk. The teacher recognized the joke, and for the whole afternoon he called each girl by the other's name. Of course they loved the idea that they were fooling their teacher. I am sure that there were lots of exchanges of giggles between the girls that afternoon, and I am sure that the teacher also enjoyed the joke. On occasion, however, Gordon's sense of humour could get him in trouble. The annual Christmas concert at the school was an important event for the whole community with not only the parents of the children, but also the extended family and the neighbours attending. At one of these concerts at SS# 9 Downie, Gordon told a joke involving two of the school trustees: Freddy Fulcher and Joe Killoran. The joke went like this: One day Freddy met Joe on the road. Freddy stopped Joe and said "look at your nose and tell me what time it is". To which Joe replied "Look at your own, mine ain't running!". Thinking this was a wonderful joke, Earl Richardson a neighbour of both Freddy and Joe, laughed loudly and long. Unfortunately, Fred Fulcher did not see the humour in the story. Thinking that Earl and the teacher had planned this together to make him look foolish, Freddy was deeply insulted. By the next day, the teacher as well as the whole community had heard how Freddy reacted to the joke. There was nothing to be done but Gordon had to pay a visit to the Fulcher home and to humbly apologize and assure Freddy that the joke had not been pre-arranged with Earl Richardson. Here is a picture of #9 school, the site of the infamous "running nose" joke.

Joseph Fulcher : Mole Catcher

Lois' paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Fulcher, the daughter of Joseph Fulcher and Eliza Ann Waun. Joseph Fulcher had arrived in Canada as a teenager from Kettleburgh, a small impoverished parish in Suffolk on the east coast of southern England. The Fulchers would likely have left little trace on the records of that parish if it had not been for the English Poor Laws. The Poor Laws, which dated back to the reign of Elizabeth I established the principle that each parish was responsible for looking after its own poor. Because the money for this came from the landowners and from the parish church, it is easy to understand why residency examination committees were established to rule on which of the poor were legitimate members of the parish and thus deserving support. Joseph Fulcher, the mole catcher, a poor man with a wife and four children appeared before this committee in 1824. Evidently, Joseph had lived outside the parish for several years and needed to establish his rights as a legitimate resident. As can be seen in the document Joseph based his argument on the fact that both he and his parents had been members of Kettleburgh parish. We can presume that Joseph did get some poor relief and remained in the parish because eight years later, the parish paid the costs for Joseph and his family, along with Lionel Waun and family to emigrate to Canada. A total of 44 people came and, as a group settled in Etobicoke outside of Toronto. Years later, in 1845 Joseph married Eliza Ann Waun and together they moved to Downie Township.