Edith Bruce Uttley – 1877-1939

Edith Bruce Uttley was born on May 30, 1875. She was the last of seven children born to Samuel Uttley and Mary Baxter Taylor. Edith's unusual (for a girl) middle name was probably taken from George Bruce, the witness at Samuel and Mary's marriage in 1862. The Woolwich Township Assessments for this period place Samuel the village of Elmira so it is certain that this is where Edith was born.

Edith B Uttley (1877-1939)
in the 1890s in Doon

Birth

From the Ontario Birth Archive of 1877, reference #031044:
     When:       20 May 1877
     Name:       Edith
     Sex:        F
     Where:      Woolwich Township
     Father:     Samuel Uttley
     Mother:     Mary Baxter Taylor
     Informant:  I.E. Bowman, St Jacobs
     When reg:   18 June 1877
     Accoucheur: Dr. Lutz
The 1881 Census lists Edith Bruce, age 3, with the family in Peel Township. In 1891 Edith, age 13, is in Doon. By 1901 at age 23 she is still in Doon with an occupation of Spinner but with no income recorded. This is the only record of any occupation for Edith.
The Elmira Signet on March 28, 1915 had a brief note that Samuel Uttley and daughter moved into the house vacated by Mrs. Mary Weiss. Samuel's obituary in 1921 lists daughters Miss Annie and Miss Edith living in Elmira but it seems more likely that it was Edith that came with Samuel in 1915.
In 1924 the Vernon City Directory records Annie A (nurse) and Edith living at 75 Alma Street in Kitchener with their brother James T. James went his own way, but Annie and Edith lived together at many, many different locations near downtown Kitchener until Edith's death.
The Directory over 15 years never listed an occupation for Edith. She may have performed the role of homemaker while living with her sister or perhaps she needed extra help from her sister?
Death
In the DEATHS column of the Kitchener Daily Record of Monday September 18, 1939, page 13:

UTTLEY, Miss Edith B, 3 Heins
avenue, Sept. 18.

On the same page we read her brief, factual obituary:

Obituary EDITH UTTLEY Following a brief illness, Miss Edith Bruce Uttley passed away early Sunday at her home, 3 Heins avenue. Miss Uttley, a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Uttley, was born in Elmira but had resided in Kitchener for some years with her sister, Miss Ann Uttley RN.
Surviving are two brothers, W. V. Uttley of Elmira, formerly of Kitchener, and John Uttley of Big Valley, Alta, two sisters, Mrs. Mary Parr of Detroit, Mich. and Miss Anne Uttley. A brother, James T. Uttley, predeceased her about two years ago.
Remains are resting at the Dreisinger Funeral Home, Elmira, where funeral services will be conducted Tuesday at 2 p.m. by Rev. E. O. Seymour, pastor of Trinity United church.

There was no mention of her passing in the Elmira Signet. The edition of Thursday September 21, 1939 did have an Uttley-related item: Mr. and Mrs. W.V. Uttley had recently celebrated 50 years of marriage.

The death notice gives September 18 as the death date. The obituary clearly says she died on early Sunday, making the September 17 the date of death.
There is no mention of where Edith was buried in the obituary and there is no headstone. As with her older brother, James T. two years earlier, the records of the Dreisinger Funeral Home in Elmira record in their ledger that she was buried in the Elmira Union Cemetery. It seems certain that Edith and James T. are buried in unmarked graves in the Elmira Union Cemetery.
The obituaries of Edith and James T. record their father's initials as W. S. Surely Samuel wasn't actually "William Samuel" as there already was an older half-brother William in the family.

[Return to Samuel Uttley] | [Back to The Uttley HomePage]