Eva May Butteris Woodley & Fred Babcock
As a teenager, I always looked forward to our visits to Aurora to see my great-aunt, Aunt May, and her family. My mother, sister and I would drive the 75 km to their house to spend the afternoon with them, usually on a weekend since Mom worked during the week.
Eva May Butteris Woodley (in the front centre of the photo above) was born Nov. 13, 1887 in Cartwright Township, Ontario, the first child of Ida May Woodley and William Henry Butteris.
This photo of Aunt May’s house in Aurora is from 1939, about 25 years before our visits took place, but it is exactly as I remember it – without the snow. The porch looks so familiar to me that it must be etched into my brain.
What appealed to me most was how welcoming the family was. We began to visit them more frequently when I was 13 after we moved to Oshawa, but it felt like I had known them forever.
Eva May and Charles Franklin
Eva May’s mother, Ida May, was only 15 years old when May was born. A year and a half later, Ida May and William Henry Butteris, had a second child, a son, Charles Franklin Butteris, who was my grandfather. This is where my family connects with the Babcock/Stocks family. Both family lines have Ida May Woodley and William Henry Butteris as common ancestors, our great grandparents.
Unfortunately, Ida May became seriously ill after the birth, and died two and a half weeks later, probably from complications of childbirth which were far too common in those days. William Henry Butteris was left with two young children under the age of two.
Why did the Butteris surname disappear?
You can read Ida May’s story at this post and find out what happened to William Henry Butteris and her children after her death. For now I’ll just say that the children ended up being raised by their grandparents, Charlotte Regina Francis and William James Woodley.
This is why the Butteris name disappeared from the family history.
This photo is of the birth certificate for Eva May.
If we used the birth records for Eva May and Charlie, their surnames would have been Butteris, but they were raised in the Woodley family from a very young age. As a result the children adopted the Woodley surname as their own.
In my family, we always called Eva May “Aunt May”; so I will refer to her as May in the rest of this story. As you probably noticed, there are a number of “May’s” in this family.
These two photos give us a glimpse into the lives of May and Charlie during their early years.
I really appreciate receiving photos like this from many years ago. For me, they fill in a portion of the lives of my grandfather and Aunt May that I never knew.
Fred Babcock
The Woodley family including May and Charlie, moved from Cartwright Township to Lindsay in 1901. It was there that May met Frederick Sanderson Babcock. In the family history compiled by Bill Babcock, May’s son, we find this story of how Fred and May met.
Fred was born in Sharbot Lake, Ontario in 1888. When he was in his mid-teens, he found a job in a pea factory in Lindsay. His job was to empty 100 pound bags of dried peas down a chute leading to a moving belt below where May sorted the peas, and discarded the bad ones.
Fred apparently dumped a particularly bad bag of peas down the chute one time, and May flew up the stairs in a rage to “give him piece of her mind”. The fiery display of temper earned her the adoring nickname of “Irish” from Fred whenever the temper flared. Fred carefully chose choice peas in the future.
The “business” meeting in the pea factory led to social meetings since Fred was smitten by a very pretty Eva May Woodley.
May and Fred were married on Dec. 16, 1908 in Lindsay. On the marriage certificate, Fred’s occupation is listed as “Traveller” and his residence was Toronto. He had a job selling washing machines as a travelling salesman. Later he joined Moffats Limited and eventually became Sales Manager for all of Canada. Below is a quote by the company from his obituary which gives us a glimpse into his personality and success as a salesman.
He was known from coast to coast through his long and pleasant associations with individuals representing all phases of the industry.
May and Fred moved to Toronto after their marriage, and four children were born there in the next six years – Ida Maude first, who was their only daughter. Then three sons arrived – Franklin Delroy, Kenneth Sanderson and Jack Edward. Later, after they moved to Aurora, two more sons completed the family – William James and Peter Nelson.
In the photo at the top of this post you can see May surrounded by all her children. Ken, Bill, Ida and Jack are in the back row, Peter, May and Del are in front.
I never got to meet Fred. I was only two years old when he died on Nov. 19, 1949 in Aurora.
His obituary refers to him as the “dean of appliance sales” and it continues, “he will be remembered for his warm, kindly personality and his keen, untiring, pioneering efforts on behalf of Moffats and the electrical appliance industry.”
In this photo below, we see May and Fred with their youngest son, Peter. I remember meeting Peter when we visited their home. He was born with a calcium deficiency which contributed to decreased mental capacity. Aunt May insisted on keeping Peter at home and he thrived under her care for many years. My recollection is that he was shy, but had a very sweet personality. It was evident that he was dearly loved and was always included in family activities.
Since Fred travelled a great deal, May was the one responsible for the care and disciplining of her large family. She was small of stature, but full of energy. As Bill writes in the family history, “she was a great cook, baker and manager. She loved her garden, especially the flowers, and kept a spotless premises. Her love for each of us was reflected back to her as well. She was a superb mother and a wonderful person, much respected by her family and in the community.”
May died on Nov. 10, 1969, twenty years after Fred’s death. She is buried in the Aurora Cemetery along with Fred.
Peter died in 1975 and is buried beside his parents.
What do I remember most about those visits? Their warm, caring, acceptance and Aunt May’s smile.
We will find out more about the Babcock/Stocks family in this story about their daughter, Ida Maude Babcock.
2 Comments
Wayne A. Melvin
This family tribute is so well done. You could easily offer lessons in how to conduct the entire process from research, thru compilation and analysis, to writing up the histories to posting the results – not that you “should” undertake such a task, but it is truly professional. In addition, the reader ends up knowing your family in some very human way. We end of caring for them and wanting more. Isn’t that a big part of what genealogy is all about. Bringing those people back to life and introducing them – even for a moment in time – to all of their descendants, as well as to strangers just like me, who want to hear their stories and to honor their life and their contribution to this world we all share, past, present, and future. Good work Ruth Anne and God Bless your beautiful Family.
Ruth Anne
Thank you Wayne. Very touching comments. I’m glad you were able to read the stories.