“Crafty Culberts” Presents Elizabeth (Revington) Durance

 In the previous post, I introduced you to Adare: the pen name of the poet, William Wakefield Revington also known as The Bard of Biddulph. Now it’s time to meet Adare’s 2x-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Anne (Revington) Durance.

Elizabeth is a retired public health inspector who lives with her husband, Randy Durance in Essex, Ontario, Canada.

Although Elizabeth isn’t a Culbert descendant, I’ve bestowed “Honourary Culbert” status upon her. Elizabeth’s pioneer family settled just up the road from our Culbert ancestors in Biddulph Township on the Coursey Line near Lucan, Ontario.

This house on the Coursey Line replaced the Revington's log cabin. The Revington family settled at Lot 15, Concession 2 in 1836 before the Culberts arrived in 1840 at Lot 19, Concession 2, just south of the Revingtons.

Elizabeth was raised just up the road from me on Lucan’s Main Street. I’m happy to call her my friend. It’s likely that we have a blood connection back in the mists of time in Ireland although as yet, I have no proof of this.

Elizabeth Revington in her 20s.

Elizabeth Anne Revington was born 3 June 1954 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario to parents, Donald Wesley Revington (1926-2017) and Elizabeth Margaret “Betty” Jarvie (1922-2019).

Elizabeth's parents: Don Revington and Betty Jarvie.

Elizabeth’s mother, Betty taught French and English at Lucan High School until it closed its doors in 1949. That same year, Medway High School opened in Arva, Ontario and Betty taught French and English there. Later, Betty taught ESL (English as a Second Language) to adult students at London’s Fanshawe College.

Elizabeth’s father, Don Revington started out working in the family business: Revington’s Meat Market. He then became a beef farmer who also raised and raced Standardbred horses.

Revington's Meat Market.This family business was owned by Elizabeth's grandfather, Wes Revington, and was a fixture for many years on Lucan's Main Street. Today, the building is the home of Lucan Drug Mart at 180 Main Street.

Speaking of Revington’s Meat Market, here is Elizabeth’s unfinished painting of that building…

Elizabeth's grandfather, Wes Revington built a big, red brick house on Lucan’s Main Street in 1922 when he married Alma Mae Simpson. It was here that Wes and Alma raised their large family, including Elizabeth's father, Don Revington...

135 Main Street, Lucan is the former home of the Wes Revington family. (Photo taken in 2018.) Elizabeth's father, Don Revington was raised in this house.

On the far right is the Wes Revington family house which you saw in the previous image. On the far left is the home of Wes's son, Don Revington. Click on photo to enlarge it.

The photo above is a 2018 screenshot from Google Street View, showing the west side of Lucan’s Main Street just north of Elm Street. The red brick house on the far right was built in 1922 by William Wesley “Wes” Revington (father of Don, and grandfather of Elizabeth). This is where Wes Revington and his first wife, Alma Mae Simpson raised their large family.

The yellow brick house at the corner of Main and Elm (far left) was the home of the young, married couple, Don and Betty Revington (Elizabeth’s parents).

The house in the middle (between Don's house and Wes's house) was owned by Harvey Langford and his wife, Emma Park. Harvey, owner of Lucan’s Langford Lumber also served at various times as Reeve of Lucan, and Warden of Middlesex County. Harvey was also known as “Mr. Hockey” for his involvement in the Lucan Irish Six Hockey Club.

129 Main Street, Lucan: home of the Don Revington family until 1964. This house is located on the northwest corner of Main Street and Elm Street. (Photo taken in 2018.)

The house on the corner of Main and Elm (above) is where Elizabeth Revington lived until about 1964 when she was 10 years old. That was the year her grandfather, Wes Revington died. After his first wife's death, Wes married Bernice Gollings. Wes sold the big, red brick house and moved into a “nearly new” house further south at 82 Main Street (the address has since changed to 33372 Richmond Street North although the physical location of the house has not changed.) Elizabeth Revington moved into the house at 82 Main Street with her two brothers and her parents.

Elizabeth, her brothers, and their parents, Don and Betty Revington moved into this house at 82 Main Street, Lucan in 1964. The house had previously been owned by Elizabeth's grandfather, Wes Revington who died that same year.

Just as Elizabeth’s ancestors lived just up the road from my ancestors on the Coursey Line, that “just up the road” pattern carried on. Elizabeth, at 82 Main Street lived just up the road from my house at 65 Main Street.

Elizabeth's father’s farm was a little south of their house on the outskirts of Lucan at the south end of the village. The farm was close to my house, and I spent a lot of time on that beautiful farm when I was growing up. Unfortunately, Don had to sell the farm in the 1980s, and under new ownership, the buildings and the property no longer reflected the hard work he put into maintaining them.

Elizabeth started dancing at age nine and she hasn’t stopped. She attended the Dorothy Scruton Academy of Dance in London for several years until completing high school, then carried on with the Deanne Shorten School of Dance in London, the Janice Brode School of Dance and the Nancy Pattison’s Dance World in Windsor, and the Rivertown Dance Academy in Amherstburg where she dances today. She also attended the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

Elizabeth’s love of dance is reflected in her paintings…

I asked Elizabeth what sparked her interest in painting and this is what she said…

It started when I went to one of those “wine and paint” events. I got hooked on painting that night. I found that as someone who suffers from anxiety, painting seemed to take my mind off my worries as I focused on the actual work itself. It became rather addicting. The paintings that I do are copies of anything that I see that catches my eye. It is usually impressionistic in form. Soft edges and some vivid colours are my go-to. Since I can't draw and I can't really paint, I call my type of painting “modern impressionism.” I made that term up! I have no form nor any style to my painting. I sit on my couch in front of my TV with a picture in hand to copy. My paints sit nearby, usually on a TV table along with my paint brushes and water. It's a pretty primitive way of creating!

The following images are some of Elizabeth’s paintings...

Elizabeth's barn.

Thank you, Elizabeth!

Elizabeth Anne (Revington) Durance’s Family Tree:

Ancestors:

Joseph Revington & Lydia Atkinson (3xgreat-grandparents)

William Wakefield Revington aka Adare aka The Bard of Biddulph & Maria Carroll (2xgreat-grandparents)

Wilbert William Revington & Jennie Adeline Hobbs (great-grandparents)

William Wesley Revington & Alma Mae Simpson (grandparents)

Donald Wesley Revington & Elizabeth Margaret Jarvie (parents)

Elizabeth Anne (Revington) Durance

Descendants (Children):

Emily Elizabeth (Durance) Briscoe

Laura Margaret (Durance) Alexander

One of Elizabeth’s 4xgreat-grandfathers is Colonel James "Big Jim" Hodgins; connected to Elizabeth through her ancestor, Alma Mae (Simpson) Revington. Big Jim was one of the first settlers of Biddulph Township. As a land agent for the Canada Company, he was responsible for bringing many Tipperary Irish to the Lucan-Biddulph area in the 1830s and 1840s. 

Elizabeth (Revington) Durance in her 30s.