I know nothing about the courtship of Pearl Dobson
and Albert LeRoy Sanders, and if I didn’t know something about the
Sanders/Portfors side of the family, I might just say that on October 27, 1916,
Pearl Dobson and Albert LeRoy Sanders were united in marriage at the home of
her parents, Julian and Ina Dobson. I can, however, fill in a few blanks.
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| Alice Sanders (center) & family* |
In the early 1890s, the Dobsons and Sanders were neighbors while working on farms in the Troy (Idaho) area. In 1895-6, the Dobsons homesteaded on Russell Ridge in the Gilbert area, just east of Peck, while at some point Thomas and Alice Sanders moved their family to a farm near Melrose, a community on a ridge the other side of Peck. It’s possible that Al and Pearl met at community dances and social events, especially since the families were friends. It was at Melrose that Al’s sister Nina Sanders married Charles Portfors on October 31, 1906. and they became my mother's parents.
In 1909, when Al was 20, Thomas Sanders moved his family to a homestead near Stettler in northern Alberta. Nina, now married, stayed in Idaho, but the rest of the family moved. Thomas Sanders died there in 1911, and Al took over the farm.
But how it came to pass that Al and Pearl agreed to
marry, I don’t know. I have this photo of Pearl with Roy Elliott taken in 1912 and
also a portrait photo of Roy inscribed to Pearl, which suggests that he was a
suitor.
How I would love to have been at Pearl’s wedding that
late October day in 1916! My mother was just six at the time, but she related
that she had attended the wedding. She went on to
say that Ina offered her a
handful of hard candy from a bowl. I didn’t think to say, “Tell me more,” and
now there’s no one left to ask.
I imagine this was a bittersweet event for Ina and
Jack. I’m sure they were confident in Pearl's ability to assume the role of a farm wife, but Stettler, Alberta, is a long way from Orofino, Idaho. She
had been a big part of their lives and a capable helper, but she couldn’t live
on the farm forever. Still, they would miss her.
Since the Dobsons were people who occasionally dressed up and took pictures, why didn’t they take pictures of Pearl’s wedding? KW
[*Standing: Bessie Sanders Wood & Albert Sanders; seated: Nina Sanders Portfors, Alice Mary Stinson Sanders, Muriel Sanders German]
4 comments:
Maybe their camera was broken on the wedding day or maybe they DID take photos but the film got ruined somehow.
That's a good point, Hallie. Ina once commented that she had taken pictures and if they turned out, she would send them to Vance. Or, maybe they were just too busy to bother and it didn't matter.
When I was a teen-ager, Stan (Pearl and Al's only child) came to the house and gave my mother, his cousin, a box of his mother's pictures. That was a lovely gesture. We gained family pictures that we didn't have.
I love the inter-relations of your family. Al was both uncle and great uncle. Pretty amazing. Reminds me of that old song, "I'm my own grandpa!" by Ray Stevens.
Yes. By marriage, my dad's sister was his aunt. His nephew was his cousin.
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