Ruth (Culbert) Thompson (1915-1984)

 Ruth (Culbert) Thompson, the great-granddaughter of John Culbert and Mary Ward was born on this day 107 years ago.

Ruth (Culbert) Thompson in 1957. Ruth’s niece, Carole (McLeod) Cox remembers Ruth as a tall, slim woman with a beautiful singing voice.

Eleanor Ruth Culbert (known as Ruth) was born on 5 March 1915 in Manitoba. Her parents were George Arthur Culbert and Jean McLeod Campbell.

Ruth’s father, Arthur Culbert, was born on Poplar Farm in 1882 near Lucan, Ontario, Canada to parents Richard Culbert and Jane Eleanor Fairhall.

Arthur Culbert with his parents and siblings. Front, seated, left to right: Jane (Fairhall) Culbert, Richard Culbert, and Ethel (Culbert) Gras. Back, left to right: Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen, Myron Manford Culbert, Lela (Culbert) Beadle, G. Arthur Culbert, and Mary Elsie (Culbert) Hodgson.

As a young man, Arthur Culbert moved from Ontario to Manitoba where he had relatives on his mother’s Fairhall side of the family. Arthur made a living in the hardware business, and would return to Ontario from time to visit. Ruth Culbert was one of Arthur’s six children.

Ruth (Culbert) Thompson with her parents and siblings. Left to right: Ruth (Culbert) Thompson; her brother Douglas Culbert; sister Ferelith (Culbert) Shiach; mother Jean (Campbell) Culbert; father Arthur Culbert; sister Jean (Culbert) McLeod, and brother Milton Alexander Culbert. Missing from the photo is Ruth's brother, Flying Officer Frederick Campbell Culbert who was killed in action during World War Two.

I have no details about Ruth’s early years growing up in Manitoba so we pick up the trail when Ruth was in her late 20s. In July, 1943 at the age of 28, Ruth graduated as an officer with the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC). Ruth was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in November of that same year.

Ruth Culbert in her CWAC uniform.

Ruth Culbert trained at Macdonald College, St. Anne de Bellevue in Quebec.

CWAC performed essential services that helped to bring about Allied victory in the Second World War. To learn more about the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, click here.

On 19 January 1946, Ruth Culbert, age 30, married 44-year-old, Belfast-born Samuel Lanktree Thompson (known as Lanktree.)

 

Ruth's husband, S. Lanktree Thompson, July 1947.

When Ruth married Lanktree, the ink had barely dried on Lanktree's divorce papers from his first wife, Eleanor Robson, the mother of his two children, Elaine Robson (Thompson) Olynyk and Bethoe Anne (Thompson) Shirkoff.

Lanktree made a name for himself in Winnipeg as a land developer and house builder. Unfortunately, his business partner ran off with all the company’s funds. Lanktree was left “holding the bag."

Ruth and Lanktree moved west to British Columbia to start over. Things were looking up for awhile. Lanktree developed the residential subdivision known as “Capilano Highlands” in North Vancouver as well as several other high-profile projects.

In 1948, a steady stream of visitors turned out to see one of his exhibition homes located at 3326 Edgemont Boulevard. He was on a roll.

Exhibtion home designed and built by S. Lanktree Thompson in the Capilano Highlands of North Vancouver, BC.

Ruth and Lanktree moved into the exhibition home in the late 1940s. Here is a photo of the house as it looks today, albeit partly concealed by shrubbery...

3326 Edgemont Boulevard as it looks today.

Around 1964, Ruth, Lanktree and their son moved into a house at 771 Montroyal Boulevard, North Vancouver, not far from Grouse Mountain. I don’t know whether or not this house was built by Lanktree’s company. 

777 Montroyal Blvd in North Vancouver.

At some point, Ruth and Lanktree’s fortunes took a turn for the worse. Ruth’s niece, Carole Ann Jean (McLeod) Cox said…

Ruth and Lanktree’s lives were an up and down road. Ruth contracted tuberculosis from their maid and had to be admitted to a sanitarium for quite a while to recuperate. Lanktree made, spent and lost several million dollars in bad financial ventures. When the money was rolling in, they lived the high life; parties, alcohol, etc. One night they were partying with others on a boat when the gas tank exploded. Lanktree was severely burned. Private nurses were expensive, so my mom [Jean Elsie (Culbert) McLeod] went from Manitoba to British Columbia to nurse Lanktree, which took several weeks.  From then on, I think that things went downhill. Ruth drank way too much. My parents went out to British Columbia every year to visit Ruth and Lanktree. My parents would fill the Thompsons’ bare cupboards with food. My mother sent Lanktree my father’s slightly worn suits, and she would buy clothes for Ruth. Lanktree died 24 February 1974, age 72. Ultimately, Ruth spent her last years in a wheelchair. Various family members lost contact with Ruth and Lanktree’s descendants and have no idea of their whereabouts today.

Ruth and Lanktree spent their final years in a high-rise apartment at 1275 Haro Street in Vancouver…

 

At some point during her life, Ruth must have done secretarial work because her death certificate lists her as a retired secretary.

Ruth (Culbert) Thompson died 24 July 1984, age 69 at the Shaughnessy Hospital in Vancouver, BC. She was cremated. The cause of death was listed as an intercranial hemorrhage although she also had cancer.

Eleanor Ruth (Culbert) Thompson’s Family Tree:

Ancestors:

John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-grandparents)

Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (grandparents)

George Arthur Culbert & Jean McLeod Campbell (parents)

Eleanor (Ruth) Culbert Thompson

Descendants (Children):

Son [private]

The 6 Children of Richard Culbert and Jane Fairhall

Richard Culbert (son of John Culbert & Mary Ward) married Jane Eleanor Fairhall on 16 December 1879. They lived at Poplar Farm on the Coursey Line near Lucan, Ontario, Canada. 

From 1881 to 1896 , Richard and Jane had seven children, six of whom lived to adulthood. These photos of the six Culbert siblings were taken in 1959...

Back row, left to right: George Arthur Culbert; Lela (Culbert) Beadle; and Myron Manford Culbert. 
Front row, left to right: Ethel Gertrude (Culbert) Gras; Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen; and Mary Elsie (Culbert) Hodgson.

Looks like Hulda May (the oldest sibling) can't wait to get away from her little brothers and sisters!

There aren't many photos of these siblings all together because aside from Myron and Mary, they lived too far from one another to have regular visits. Arthur lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Lela in Stratford, Ontario; Myron lived on Poplar Farm near Lucan; Ethel in Vermont, USA; Hulda May in Whitby, Ontario; and Mary in Lucan. 

Many followers of the Culbert Family History blog are descended from this Richard Culbert-Jane Fairhall branch of the Culbert family.

If you missed an earlier post with more details about these Culbert siblings, click here.

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.

Atkinson's School: The Class of 1895

Thanks to my cousin, Vicky (Culbert) Schloendorf for sending this newspaper clipping of the Class of 1895.

S.S. No. 2 Biddulph, also known as Atkinson's School, class of 1895.

Generations of Culbert descendants attended S.S. No. 2 Biddulph, also known as Atkinson's School, near Lucan, Ontario. The article that accompanies the photo was written around 1963 when the new Biddulph Central School opened, and Atkinson's School closed. 

Below this image, I've typed the legend that identifies the people in the photo. It's followed by a transcription of the article.

Click on this image of the Class of 1895 to enlarge it. Four grandchildren of John Culbert & Mary Ward are in this photo: siblings Arthur, Myron, Mary, and Ethel Culbert. At that time, schoolhouses contained only one room so children of all ages were educated by the same teacher, in the same classroom.

CLASS OF 1895 – Pupils of the now-closed SS No.2, Biddulph, posed for this group photograph in 1895 with their teacher Russell Hodgins. All but one could be identified by former pupils living in Lucan. About half the group still survive.(Note from blog author: This was written around 1963 therefore no members of the group still survive.)

Top row (from left): Willie Dobbs, Minor Dobbs, Wilbert Neil, Labanna Hodgins, Francis Neil, Tom Flynn, Leon Abbott, Dan Rivington, Percy Abbott, Eli Davis, ARTHUR CULBERT, Dufferin Hodgins.

Second row: Charlotte McCann, Rennie Revington, Annie Atkinson, Ella Herbert, Fannie Flynn, Willa Hodgins, Annie Dobbs, Annie Atkinson, Mary Ann Flynn, Edith Levette, Louisa Armitage, Lily Neil, Bert Abbott, Eli Thompson, Will Dickens.

Third row: MYRON CULBERT, George Dobbs, Percy Armitage, Edith Fraser, Ada McCann, MARY CULBERT, Flossie Hodgins, Birdie Monkton, Pearl Hodgins, (unidentified), Alfred Dickens, Reginald Hodgins.

Fourth row: Laura Neil, Lucy Herbert, Pearl Herbert, Bella Herbert, Lina Abbott, Etta Dobs, Minnie Neil, ETHEL CULBERT, Louisa Hodgins, Hannah McCann, Florence Armitage, Clara Monkton, Mabel Hodgins.

Fifth row: Lloyd Fraser, Malcolm Hodgins, Bob Flynn, Ernie Neil, Art Dobbs, Alex Hodgins, Wesley Neil.

When ‘Sablewrackers’ Battled ‘Drylanders’: Closing of Biddulph School Brings Flood of Memories

By Lina E. Abbott

Article published in the Exeter Times Advocate (c1963)

S.S. No. 2, Biddulph, was one of the Biddulph schools which closed its doors this year with the opening of the new Central School.

The now deserted brick school, which replaced a log school, is situated on the Atkinson sideroad, half way between concession 3 and 4 Biddulph, about 4 miles north of Lucan.

East of the school, ran the Ausauble River, which proved a big asset to the children, living on Concession 4, for it enabled the older pupils to skate part way to school, during the winter, drawing their smaller brothers and sisters behind them, either on a sled or by their coat-tails, and in summer many a cooling dip was enjoyed, on the way home from school.

Children living east of the school were nicknamed ‘Sablewrackers’ and those west, ‘Dry-Landers’. Many a combat took place between the two rival groups.

Back in the nineties (1890s), the school was surrounded by woods, on three sides, which afforded endless amusement for the children, who were not confined to the schoolyard. A number of swings hung from the tall nearby trees. In summer the girls gathered arm-loads of spring flowers and in the autumn make houses of leaves.

In winter, lunches were devoured, in record time, and old and young ran to the river for a skate or slide. The ringing of the school bell, warned all of the time to return for the afternoon studies.

Races, tag, baseball, football, prisoners’ base, had their place on the school ground. Another favourite game was throwing a ball over the school porch. If anyone caught it, his team chased the opposing team around the school. Anyone tagged became a member of that team. The game was to get everyone on one side but the school bell invariably prevented this.

Rows of partitioned shelves inside the porch held the lunch pails, and boxes. Often the teacher had to play detective to try and discover the culprit, when sandwiches, cookies and apples mysteriously disappeared.

A large wood stove parboiled the children sitting near it and helped to keep, those at a distance, from freezing. The long line of stove pipes from the stove to the chimney periodically – probably with some big boys’ assistance – collapsed, and to the joy of all the pupils a part holiday was declared until the trustees could make the necessary repairs.

What became of the pupils of 1895, shown in the accompanying photograph? The majority of the boys became well-to-do Biddulph farmers and the girls became farmer’s wives. A number of the pupils chose the teaching profession and one boy became a dentist. The bright lights of Toronto lured a few, many heard the call of the West and a few decided to live and die in the United States.

What the fate of the old school will be, only time can tell.