Henrietta Uttley – 1865-1887
William Gordon – abt 1862-1945

This is the information that we have learned about Henrietta, the fifth of seven children in Nathan's first family with his wife Lucinda:

Birth

From the entry on the family bible, Henryetta Jeimaema[?] was born on October 17, 1865. The date is coroborated by information later at her death.

• The Archive lists a Henrietta, that was born to Nathan and Lucinda on July 18, 1871. This was in fact the birth date of Henrietta's younger sister Diana.

Henrietta, age 5, is listed with Nathan's family in the Census of 1871 and Henratha, age 15, is living at home in 1881.

Marriage

Next from the Ontario Marriage Archive of 1884, Reference #011-878, Henrietta is married:

     Groom:     William Gordon
     Age:       21
     Residence: Waterloo, ON
     Born:      Scotland
                bachelor
     Occ:       Button turner
     Parents:   Thomas Gordon, Elizabeth Rite
     Religion:  Methodist

     Bride:     Henrietta Uttley
     Age:       18
     Residence: Waterloo, ON
     Born:      Elmira, ON
                single
     Parents:   Nathan Uttley, Lucinda Randall
     Religion:  Methodist

     Witnesses: Louise Schultz, Elmira
                David Gowned [Gowing], Elmira
     When:      August 17, 1884, Elmira
     By:        Rev. A.R. Schulz, [St. James, Elmira]

From the Berliner Journal, a German newspaper in Berlin we read on August 18, 1884:

Wm. Gordon of Scotland and Henrietta Uttley of Elmira were married by Pastor A.R. Schultz in Elmira (on August 17, 1884).

Death

From the Berliner Journal, we read on September 1, 1887:

GORDON, Henrietta Jemina on August 8, 1887 Henrietta Jemina Gordon, wife of Wm. Gordon, died in Waterloo at age of 21 years + 10 months.

but this is just part of what we now know.

In the Ontario Death Archive for 1887, Reference #017-666:

     Name:        Henriette Jemima Gordon
     When Died:   18th August 1887
     Sex:         F
     Age:         21 years 10 mos
     Profession:  wife of William Gordon
     Where born:  Woolwich
     Cause of death:  Child Birth
     Physician:   Dr. Bingham
     Informant:   William Gordon, Waterloo
     Registered:  18th August 1887
     Religion:    Presbyterian

In the preceeding Ontario Death Archive for 1887, Reference #017-665:

     Name:        Child of William Gordon
     When Died:   18th August 1887
     Sex:         M
     Age:         Still born
     Where born:  Waterloo
     Cause of death:  Still Born
     Physician:   Dr. Bingham
     Informant:   William Gordon, Waterloo

• The Berliner Journal that lists both Henrietta's marriage and her death within two years does not record the birth of any children. We must assume that there were none.

HENRIETTA I. died Aug. 18, 1887 aged 21 yrs. 10 mos. 1 day. Mt Hope Cemetery, Waterloo

Henrietta is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Waterloo, just 10 meters (or so) from the grave of her father Nathan and stepmother Mary Ann. The plot was purchased by her husband, William Gordon.

• But were the Gordons or the Uttleys the first to locate in Mount Hope Cemetery?
• Henrietta's name is on the back of the headstone of William Gordon's parents Elizabeth (d.1905) and Thomas (d.1910 at the age of over 100). It seems likely that Henrietta had a temporary marker until one or both of the parents died.
• There is no marker for the stillborn son.
• William Gordon was a witness to the marriage of Henrietta's half-sister Isabella in the following year (April 24, 1888). In 1890 he married his second wife, Charlotte Varcoe, and they had four children together in Toronto. William died April 19, 1945 in Toronto.

• Henrietta's middle name of Jemima is a source of endless variety. Her father Nathan probably wrote her line in the family bible and he really struggled. The Berliner Journal had trouble with it in German. Her headstone solves the problem by picking another first letter entirely -- an I. The only record that is both clear and accurate is found in the Ontario Death Archive.
      And from where did Nathan and Lucinda select this unusual middle name?

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Most recent revision June 2005