The Aunt I Never Had

For my birthday in September, I was given a six-month subscription to Ancestry. After fiddling and faddling on various searches for remote ancestors, I decided to take some time to input the family that I already know about. And so, I came to Ruby May, the aunt that I never had because she died at the age of two from what I can best gather.

I come from a very small family, at least in the immediate past. I was an Only, and my father was an Only, and his parents didn't keep in touch much with family back home once the emigrated to Canada.

My mother had three siblings at one time, but her two sisters did not survive infancy, and her brother never married and then died in middle age. So, like I said, small family.

Ruby May was born in 1919, possibly on February 5th, and was both baptized and buried in 1921.

Below, is the only picture that was ever taken: at least I presume so. If there was another, I am sure that it would also be in Mom's photo album. Ruby is the baby being held by my grandmother who died when I was two, so I have no memory of her. Grandfather Quinlan is holding my uncle, Charlie on our left, and my mother, Mary, on our right.

My mother's note on the back of the photo.

Although I have guessed that she was born on February 05 1919 (read on to see why), I cannot be certain of the exact day or even the exact year for that matter.

I did, however, find a record of her baptism, and Uncle Charlie's too.

Uncle Charlie's baptismal record is on the left, but I will ignore that for now. Below is the text of Ruby's record as best I can make out.

Quinlan Baptized 

Ruby May, daughter of Arthur Joseph Quinlan, bricklayer, of Cartierville in the Province of Quebec and of Charlotte Anne Robinson, his wife, born on on the fifth day of February in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine(teen) hundred and twenty one, and was baptized on the third day of March in the aforesaid year in the presence of her parents and other witnesses. 

Parents Witnesses 

Arthur Joseph Quinlan Charlotte Ann Quinlan  Elizabeth X Robinson Israel X Robinson

Of course, I do believe that the date of birth as written above is incorrect, for according to my mother's note, Ruby was born in 1919. I also seem to have a vague recollection of being told that Ruby died when she was two years old, and I know (see below) that she died in 1921.  I have also found her birth year as 1919 on someone else's pedigree on the Ancestry site.

The witnesses were my maternal great grandparents, Israel and Elizabeth Robinson (Drew), who, apparently, travelled from their home near Cornwall, Ontario to Montreal for the event. (I think that I will want to write more about them later.) They must have done the travelling because the baptismal record seems to come from St Bartholomew Anglican Church in Montreal (Bordeaux).

I cannot find a record anywhere (so far) of Ruby's twin sister, even in Mom's albums, but she told me that Ruby was a twin but that her sister died much younger, I presume very shortly after her birth since I can find no record at all. This saddens me somewhat, as does Ruby's early death, but at least we have a name and some sort of record for her.

I have also found a record of Ruby's death, also transcribed, below the image, as best as possible.

Quinlan Deceased 

Ruby May -- daughter of Arthur Joseph Quinlan resident of Cartierville in the Province of Quebec, and of Charlotte Ann Robinson his wife, died on the twenty fourth day of July in the year of Our Lord, one thousand nine(teen) thousand and twenty one, and was buried in infancy on the twenty sixth day of the same month in the Mount Royal Cemetery in the presence of subscribing witnesses. 

Witnesses
Arthur J Quinlan
Charlotte Ann Robinson

That is probably as much as anyone can ever know about Ruby May Quinlan these 100 years later.