Portrait of the Richard Culbert - Jane Fairhall Family of Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario

This photo of the Richard Culbert - Jane Fairhall family was taken about 1895 allthough there is no date on the back...

The Richard Culbert - Jane Fairhall family of Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario, Canada. Back row left to right: Myron Manford Culbert and Hulda May Culbert. Middle row left to right: G. Arthur Culbert, Jane (Fairhall) Culbert, Lela Susan Culbert, and Richard Culbert. Front row left to right: Ethel Gertrude Culbert and Mary Elsie Culbert. This photo was taken in a photographic studio in Exeter, Ontario. 

Previously, the only photo we'd seen of the members of this family all together was taken much later, as seen here in 1927 ...

The Richard Culbert - Jane Fairhall family, 1927. Back row, left to right: Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen, Myron Manford Culbert, Lela Susan (Culbert) Beadle, G. Arthur Culbert, and Mary Elsie (Culbert) Hodgson. Front row, left to right: Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert, Richard Culbert, and Ethel Gertrude (Culbert) Gras. Photo by Samuel Askin of Stratford, Ontario.

If you read my earlier post about Richard Culbert, you know that he was the youngest son of John Culbert and Mary Ward of Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario, Canada. I also wrote about Richard's wife, Jane Eleanor Fairhall, here.

It was Richard Culbert who took over the family farm when his father, John Culbert died in 1887. At that point, Richard and Jane and their children had been living in a log house at Lot 19, Concession 2 (the Coursey Line) in Biddulph Township, along with other family members. I'm sure that Richard and Jane must have longed for a larger house. By 1900, Richard had built a new brick house, and christened the property "Poplar Farm." The photo below shows the new brick house ...

Poplar Farm at Lot 19, Concession 2 in Biddulph Township on the Coursey Line near Lucan, Ontario. Home of the Richard Culbert - Jane Fairhall family.

 

Richard Culbert and Jane Fairhall had seven children, six of whom lived to adulthood. Richard and Jane's children are listed as follows. You can click on the highlighted links for those children with biographies.

Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen (1881-1972)

George Arthur Culbert (1882-1978)

Myron Manford Culbert (1884-1961)

Ethel Gertrude (Culbert) Gras (1886-1986)

Mary Elsie (Culbert) Hodgson (1888-1988)

Lela Susan (Culbert) Beadle (1890-1992)

Richard Edwin Culbert (1896-1896. Infant death).

When Richard and Jane Culbert retired to a small house in Lucan, their son Myron took over Poplar Farm. Myron Culbert married Effie Pearl Taylor (1886-1957). Effie Taylor's family lived in Usborne Township near Exeter, Ontario.

The photo below shows Effie Taylor with her parents and siblings circa 1899 or earlier...

The William Taylor - Mary Elizabeth Bennett Family of Usborne Township. Back row, left to right: Addie Taylor, Martha Metta Taylor, Hector Taylor, and Mary Elizabeth Taylor. Front row, left to right: William Taylor, Effie Pearl Taylor (future wife of Myron Culbert), and Mary Elizabeth (Bennett) Taylor.

Acknowledgements: Two of the photos you see in this post are new to the blog; the first photo at the top showing the Richard Culbert - Jane Fairhall family c1895, and the last photo showing the William Taylor - Mary Elizabeth Bennett family. Thank you to my aunt Muriel (Hardy) Culbert for safekeeping these photos for many years. The photos are much larger than they appear here, and they are behind glass with frames. Thank you to my sister, Dana Elizabeth (Culbert) Garrett for suggesting that photos be taken of the large, framed photos in order to share them with you on the Culbert Family History blog. Thank you to my brother, Terrence Patrick "Terry" Culbert for taking photos of those big framed photographs. And thank you to Muriel's son, Tim Culbert for inviting Terry and Dana into his home to take the photos. A successful family project, all round.

The Six Sons of Myron Manford Culbert and Effie Pearl Taylor

A new family photo has surfaced! Jane (Gras) Heigis found this gem while sorting through the photo collection of her late father, Alfred Edward Gras.

The six sons of Myron and Effie Culbert. Back row, left to right: Cliff and Ken; Centre row, left to right: Ivan and Mel; Front row, left to right: Mert and Earl. Photo taken at Poplar Farm near Lucan, Ontario, Canada c1932. Click photo to enlarge it.

This photo is a treasure because there are few photos of the six boys all together. Earl, the youngest, wasn't born until 1929 so photos of the boys from the 1920s are usually missing Earl. Photos from 1939-1945 often are missing the sons who served in World War Two, especially Ivan who served overseas during the entirety of the war. Photos taken after 1958 are missing Mel who died in July of that year. So to find a photo of the six boys all together is special, indeed. Thank you for sending this photo to us, Jane!

You've seen the following photo before but I'm including it because it shows the six boys as adults, together with their parents, Myron and Effie...

Myron & Effie Culbert with their six sons, c1950. Back row, left to right: Ken, Mel, Mert, and Earl. Front row, left to right: Cliff, Myron, Effie, Ivan.

The six sons of Myron Manford Culbert and Effie Pearl Taylor were raised on Poplar Farm, the Culbert homestead, at Lot 19, Concession 2 (the Coursey Line) near Lucan, Ontario.

The six Culbert brothers are the great-grandsons of John Culbert and Mary Ward who settled on the property in 1840 from Ireland.

To read biographies about four of the six boys, click on their names, as  follows:

Clifford Burton Culbert (1912-1991).

Kenneth Arthur Culbert (1916-2000).

Ivan Hector Culbert (1918-1979).

Milward Taylor "Mel" Culbert (1920-1958).

Merton Manford Culbert (1926-1998). No biography yet but a story about him is here.

William Earl Culbert (1929-1994). No biography yet.

FAMILY TREE FOR THE SIX SONS OF MYRON AND EFFIE CULBERT:

Ancestors:

John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-grandparents)

Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (grandparents)

Myron Manford Culbert & Effie Pearl Taylor (parents).

Molasses Mischief

Today's Poplar Farm story comes to us from Terrence Patrick "Terry" Culbert who grew up in Lucan, Ontario, Canada. Terry, son of Mel Culbert and Mary Patrick, is the great-great-grandson of John Culbert and Mary Ward.

Terry with his father, Mel Culbert at Poplar Farm, 1944.

This story concerns the six sons of Myron Manford Culbert and Effie Pearl Taylor at Poplar Farm on the Coursey Road near Lucan.

Five of the six sons of Myron Manford Culbert and Effie Pearl Taylor, circa 1927. Left to right: Mel, Ken, Cliff, Ivan, and baby Mert. Missing is their brother, Earl who wasn't born until 1929.

Take it away, Terry!...

It was told to me many years ago that our wee father [Mel] and his five brothers [Cliff, Ken, Ivan, Mert and Earl] would raid Effie Pearl's pantry just off the kitchen and steal soda biscuits whenever they were made aware that a new barrel of molasses had been delivered to Myron and Effie's barn.

The barn at Poplar Farm. Photo from the collection of Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen, courtesy of her granddaughter, Wendy (Gowland) Boole.

 

Now Myron and Effie, parents of those six naughty boys, had a herd of dairy cattle and a few pigs. The molasses was used primarily for the iron within, to be mixed with the cattle feed. The six brothers knew that the rich, fantastic taste from the new barrel was to be had as soon as the lid was removed. As days passed and scoops were inserted into the barrel, cow dung would get into that glorious liquid, and by all accounts would probably taste like shite and give them all the "green apple scoots."

My father introduced me to molasses as a very young child and as I
approach the ripe young age of 80, I still absolutely love it. In our
Prince Edward County pantry this very day, Barb and I have a 675g
container of Crosby's Fancy Molasses, no preservatives, gluten-free from St. John, New Brunswick.

Effie Culbert's Buttermilk Jug

 In an earlier post, I asked readers of the Culbert Family History blog to submit photos of an item that has been passed down to them from a previous generation.

Phillip Myron “Phil” Culbert of Vernon, British Columbia sent these photos of his grandmother Culbert’s buttermilk jug.

Phil’s grandmother was Effie Pearl (Taylor) Culbert of Lucan, Ontario, Canada; the wife of Myron Manford Culbert, and mother of six boys including Phil’s father, Ivan Hector Culbert.

Phil's grandparents, Effie and Myron Culbert in their home on Alice Street (at the corner of the Saintsbury Line) in Lucan, Ontario. They moved there from Poplar Farm in their retirement years.

Here’s what Phil says about the jug:

Whenever we visited Grandpa and Grandma (Myron and Effie Culbert) in Lucan in the 1950’s, the first thing my Dad (Ivan) would do is open the refrigerator. Dad would pour a big glass of homemade buttermilk from Grandma’s special jug. 

When Grandpa Culbert passed away in 1961, this was the one item that my Dad wanted, as it was very special to him as a reminder of his mother. In later years, Dad gave the jug to me. I've had it for over 50 years now as I brought it with me when I moved to Vancouver, British Columbia from London, Ontario in 1971.

The jug looks like it was hand-painted as you can see the brush strokes. On the bottom, it has a stamp showing that it was made in Germany, and it shows the initials of the manufacturer.

There used to be a lid for it however it has since been lost to time.

Note from the blog author: If anyone else would like to submit a photo of an heirloom that's been passed down to them, please contact me at this email address:

Merry Christmas!

 100 years ago, Myron and Effie Culbert lived through the Spanish Flu pandemic...

May your Christmas and New Year be COVID-free.

Group Photo of Richard Culbert, His Niece Rebecca (Crawley) Brock and Others

Thanks to Lorne Floyd Brock of Wallaceburg, Ontario for this photo of a gathering of Culberts.

The photo above shows a gathering of at least two branches of the John Culbert - Mary Ward family. We're not sure of the year but I'm guessing it's around 1921.

Here's a closer look...

We couldn't identify everyone in the photo but here's who we recognize:

The Susan Culbert-Philip Crawley Branch is represented by Rebecca (Crawley) Brock (1860-1933) as seen here...

Rebecca (Crawley) Brock

 

Rebecca (Crawley) Brock was the daughter of Susan Culbert and Philip Crawley of Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario. Rebecca was married to William Heber Brock. Rebecca and William and their children lived in Lobo Township, Ontario. The Brock family is covered in more detail in this previous post.

The Richard Culbert-Jane Fairhall Branch is represented by the following people in the photo:

Richard Culbert (1853-1932) and his wife, Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert...

Richard Culbert of Biddulph Township and his wife, Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert wearing dark dress.

Richard Culbert was the uncle of Rebecca (Crawley) Brock who you saw in the previous photo. Richard was the brother of Rebecca's mother, Susan (Culbert) Crawley.

Over on the far right of the photograph, we see Myron Manford Culbert (1884-1961) of Biddulph Township who was the son of Richard Culbert and Jane Eleanor Fairhall...

Myron Manford Culbert (son of Richard and Jane)

 

Myron's wife, Effie Pearl (Taylor) Culbert is also in the photo...

Effie Pearl (Taylor) Culbert (wife of Myron)

Does anyone know who the children belong to? I wondered if they were the first four children of Myron and Effie. I asked my cousin, Phil Culbert for his opinion. Phil colourized the photo as you can see, below. Colourizing the photo enhanced the features of their faces enough that Phil was confident in saying that these are not the children of Myron and Effie...

Colourized photo. Click on photo to enlarge it.

Do you recognize anyone else in this photo? If so, please contact me, Mary Jane Culbert at this email address...

June 14 Weddings

Oh, they say when you marry in June,

You're a bride all your life.

And the bridegroom who marries in June

Gets a sweetheart for a wife.

-- June Bride

From "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"
(Music: Gene DePaul / Lyrics: Johnny Mercer)

For descendants of John Culbert and Mary Ward, June 14th appears to be a popular day to marry.

The following couples were married on June 14:

Myron Manford Culbert (1884-1961) and Effie Pearl Taylor (1886-1957). Myron and Effie married in Exeter, Ontario, Canada on June 14, 1911. You can read about their honeymoon here.
 

Myron and Effie's wedding day. Photo courtesy of Jane (Gras) Heigis.

Clifford Burton Culbert (1912-1991) and Gladys Lillian Beattie (1919-2018). Cliff and Gladys married in Lucan, Ontario on June 14, 1941 so Cliff shared a wedding anniversary with his parents, Myron and Effie.
 

Cliff & Gladys' wedding day. The best man (right) was Cliff's brother, Milward Taylor "Mel" Culbert.

  

Wendy Lyn Schloendorf (born 1965) and Ken Reid. Wendy and Ken married on June 14, 1986 in London, Ontario. Happy anniversary, Wendy and Ken!

Wendy and Ken's wedding day.

So, if you're a Culbert descendant planning a June wedding, why not choose June 14th and carry on the tradition?