The Libby line is half of my genealogy.
The Robinson’s appear in Montreal in the 1840’s. I don’t know why my great grandfather William emigrated to Lower Canada ( Quebec ). He was a businessman and I assume there were mercantile opportunities for him. Montreal by 1840 was a key city in a land that was expanding west with great opportunities for a young trader. There are descriptions of early Montreal elsewhere in this tale. My grandfather William Forrest was born in 1864. He married Alice Morton around 1890 and they had two children: my father Harold Forrest ( 1901 - 63 ) and my aunt Madelyn ( 1904 - 88)The family lived in a large apartment on Montrose Ave. in Westmount. I have a vague memory of grandfather and stayed there often with aunt Madelyn who lived there most of her life.
Grandfather William was an established businessman in the late 1800’s. He travelled to London several times a year and was part of a larger group known as ‘ transatlantic men ‘ In 1905 the family relocated to London ( Croydon ) and returned to Montreal in 1913 just prior to the outbreak of WW 1. Dad attended Dulwich College in southeast London. When Stephanie and I lived in Dulwich in 1971 I wandered through the grounds of this prestigious school.
Dad contracted polio around Christmas time in 1901. He was six months old. He survived with a shortened, withered right leg. Calipers and several operations enabled him to walk albeit with a distinct limp. He occasionally gave me an anecdote.
Dad's graduating photograph. McGill University. 1922
David's graduating photograph. Bishops University. 1965
Harold Robinson ( 1901 - 1963) 49°N latitude to beyond 62°N Northern Quebec. Engineer, with husky pup. c 1924
He said that the Headmaster at Dulwich would randomly select a lad whom he would cane vigorously for no other reason than that he could. Maintaining Victorian discipline! Family information is sketchy, but indications were that Grandmother Alice was an alcoholic. Attempting to get to the depth of my father has been a task, however with a sick mother, a high achieving father, a physical handicap and a strict boarding school life both in London and in Montreal, the man who emerged concealed, in my opinion, a wounded spirit.
When the family returned to Montreal in 1913 they purchased the apartment on Montrose Avenue and a 5 acre farm lot on Isle Bizard and settled into Canadian life. Dad completed Lower Canada College, then an engineering degree at McGill University graduating in 1922. His first job was as part of a surveying team laying out the northern sub-arctic towns of Rouyn and Noranda.I used to be fixated with a packet of photos with dad and his team of husky dogs. That’s how they travelled in winter. page four >>
When the family returned to Montreal in 1913 they purchased the apartment on Montrose Avenue and a 5 acre farm lot on Isle Bizard and settled into Canadian life. Dad completed Lower Canada College, then an engineering degree at McGill University graduating in 1922. His first job was as part of a surveying team laying out the northern sub-arctic towns of Rouyn and Noranda.I used to be fixated with a packet of photos with dad and his team of husky dogs. That’s how they travelled in winter. page four >>
Great Aunt Maude. Grandmother Alice's sister. Boston.
Boston 1900, online image.