Family:John Bellamy and Vinetta Butchart (1)

According to an article in the July 3, 1912 edition of the Edmonton Daily Bulletin, my grandparents were married at the home of Vinetta's parents which was referred to as "Bruceholm". It was described as a "quiet wedding on Saturday night at 8:30." The marriage was solemnized by Rev. J. E. Hughson, pastor of McDougall Methodist Church. Only immediate friends were present. "The bride, who was unattended, entered the drawing-room on her father's arm to the strains of Mendelsohn's wedding march, looking charming in white satin with an overdress of crepe de sol, with elaborate garnitures of pearls and Brussel's point lace. She carried a magnificent shower of roses and lillies of the valley." The newspaper paints a pretty picture of my grandmother, but to my knowledge there are no photographs of the event.

The Bulletin went on to say that the couple boarded the midnight train for Vancouver where they were to reside. It is hard to say whether they ever lived in Vancouver, but by February 1913, their first child, William, was born in Calgary. Their oldest daughter, Vivian, was also born in Calgary on the 22nd of May, 1914. They moved back to Edmonton where daughters Margaret and Ruth were born in 1916 and 1919 respectively. Their youngest child, a son named James, was born Oct. 1, 1920 in Edmonton.

On March 8, 1926, young James was struck and killed by a streetcar near their Edmonton home and the family never fully recovered from the tragedy. Before my mother totally lost her memory to Alzheimers, she spoke often of her little brother, it must have been very sad. In spite of the loss, Vinetta and Jack successfully raised their children in Edmonton and during the war moved to Victoria, British Columbia where Ruth and Bert had moved the year before.

They bought a little house in the Gorge area of Victoria before my grandfather became ill with cancer. I was very young when Jack Bellamy died in 1947 so I have no memories of him. Granny called Victoria home after Jack's death but stayed for extended period of time with her children in Hamilton, Edmonton, and Oliver before she finally entered a retirement home in Victoria. She outlived my grandfather by 35 years when she passed away in 1982.

1. ↑ Certificate of Marriage.

   This is to Certify That on the 29th day of June in the year of our Lord 1912 John Bellamy and Vinetta Tremaine Butchart were by me united in Marriage at City of Edmonton according to the laws of Alberta. J. E. Hughson Witnesses: W. D. Gardner and M. Moore