A small piece taken from my upcoming book - Bunston Family Revisited
Martha was born in Grey County, Ontario, likely
around Egremont / Yeovil on July 21, 1870.
She was only around a year old when the 1871 census was taken.
She would continue to live with her parents and siblings through the 1880s and into the 1890s. There is no occupation listed, but I would expect Martha to have helped on the farm and in the shop – if not she would have helped around the house.
On February 22, 1893, Martha married Jasper Whyte in Egremont. They are both listed as living here on the marriage certificate. While brother, Thomas Bunston, who was a witness, is listed as living in Yeovil. Jasper was a farmer and was born to Jasper Whyte Snr and Ann Smith on April 26, 1867.
Jasper Jnr and his bride remained in the Egremont area, farming land just a few miles from Holstein on Con. 14. They would have a family of three boys and three girls: Alexander, Annie, Percy, Josephine, Hilda and Jasper.
The 1901 census states that 31-year-old Martha and her family were living with her widowed father-in-law. She is listed as “wife”; however, the head of the household is her 67-year-old father-in-law, and the children are listed as grandchildren. Jasper Jnr is listed as being 34 and the relationship is son. Jasper’s mother, Ann, had died in 1881.
At the beginning of October 1905, Jasper Jnr contracted typhoid fever. He was severely ill for two weeks before finally succumbing to the illness on October 17. He was buried in Holstein cemetery. At the time of his death, Martha was left to care for her 71-year-old father-in-law and six children under 12, the youngest being barely a month old when his father died.
Martha remained on the family farm after the loss of her husband. Jasper Snr died four years later in 1909, after suffering months of senile deafness.
In the 1911 census Martha and the children are recorded as all living together on the farm. Martha and the older boys are listed as farmers.
Martha was very close with her siblings and their families. In early 1918 Martha went to Hanover to visit and help care for her gravely ill oldest brother, George. I have not found a report, but I would expect that she also attended his funeral in April. A few months later she would learn that her eldest son had died in the war in France. At the end of 1919, her niece Nellie spent the new year weekend with her. She attended Nellie’s wedding in August 1925 and remained there for a while visiting with her brother John and his family. In February 1926 Martha spent some time in Arthur, visiting her sister, Mary.
In the mid to late 1920s, Martha advertised her 200-acre property for rent – either as a whole or in portions. With her son, Percy, she would spend the Christmas of 1930 with her brother John and his family, as well as her nephew Earl Bunston and his family. Martha was also at John’s side, helping care for him, at the end of 1932 when he was very unwell. She returned home when he began to improve in health.
Martha passed away at the age of 79 on December 14, 1949. She is buried with her beloved husband, Jasper.
