The Richard Culbert - Jane Fairhall Family

Richard Culbert (1853-1932) was the youngest son of John Culbert and Mary Ward. Richard took over the family farm near Lucan, Ontario from his father. He replaced the log cabin with a brick house, and named the property Poplar Farm. It was here that Richard and his wife, Jane Eleanor Fairhall (1858-1949) raised their six children.

The Richard Culbert - Jane Fairhall family. Front, left to right: Jane and Richard, Ethel. Back, left to right: Hulda, Myron, Lela, Arthur, and Mary. Photo c1927.

The following are brief biographical sketches of each of Richard and Jane's children, in order of birth.

Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen (1881-1972): Some family members called her "Hulda" and others called her "May." She started her career as a teacher at age 16. Hulda May married Reverend Charles Rupert Carscallen in 1905 at Poplar Farm. Soon after the wedding, they moved to China as educational missionaries. Many years later, they moved to Whitby, Ontario where Charles was Governor and Principal of Ontario Ladies College, and Hulda May was involved in many activities at the college such as librarian, and as officer of the Women's Missionary Society. They had four children. A biography was published about Hulda entitled, China Was My University by Eula C. Lapp. More about Hulda May here. 

George ARTHUR Culbert. (1882-1978): He was known as "George" by some relatives, and as "Arthur" by others. Arthur's photo looks like it may have been added in after the photo was actually taken (early Photoshopping!) If so, this is probably because Arthur moved away to Manitoba in his early twenties and became a hardware merchant. He married Jean McLeod Campbell in 1907 and they had six children.

Myron Manford Culbert (1884-1961): Myron married Effie Pearl Taylor in 1911. Myron took over the family farm when his aging parents moved to a small house in Lucan. Myron was active in municipal politics and served on the Biddulph Township Council for nine years, three of those years as Reeve of Biddulph. They had six children. More about Myron Culbert here. 

Ethel Gertrude (Culbert) Gras (1886-1986):  Ethel, an author, painter and poet, wrote a memoir, "Stories from Life" and a book of poetry, “Poems and Rhymes.” Ethel trained as a bookkeeper at Westervelt College in London, Ontario. Later, she attended Albert College in Belleville. She graduated with honours from Victoria University, University of Toronto in 1915.  That same year, she married Norman Scott Brien Gras, a Harvard graduate and professor of economics at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts who later went on to teach at Harvard. They lived in Massachusetts, in London, England, and at their summer home in South Hero, Vermont. They had four children. 

Mary Elsie (Culbert) Hodgson (1888-1988): Mary, a dressmaker who loved to sew, married Eldon Hodgson in 1913 at Poplar Farm. They farmed for many years on the 4th Concession of McGillivray Township. In 1946, they moved to Lucan to take care of Mary's elderly mother, Jane. Mary is remembered with great affection as a wonderful, warm person with a kind, generous spirit. They had five children, three whom lived to adulthood.

Susan LELA (Culbert) Beadle (1890-1992):  Lela lived in Stratford, worked as a nurse, and married Albert Beadle. After Albert’s death, Lela opened her house as a tourist home catering to people attending the Shakespearian Festival in Stratford. Of Richard and Jane's children, Lela lived the longest to the age of 102.

Richard Culbert & Jane (Fairhall) Culbert also had a 7^th child, Richard Edwin Culbert, born in 1896, who died when he was just one month old.