| Not to be confused with Flora Bonnington. |
- "It is easy to daydream at work. The noise makes you stay inside your own mind. Sometimes I daydream about riding a horse beside a rushing train. Sometimes I daydream about living in a grand house, wearing a beautiful silk gown and spending my day arranging flowers and reading poetry. Sometimes I daydream about being a fairy, who goes around making things better for everybody by magic."
- —Flora Rutherford[3]
Flora Rutherford (born November 16, 1875) was the daughter of William and Sarah Rutherford. Her parents died when she was five. After living in an orphans home for six years, she came to Almonte to live with her aunt Janet and uncle James Duncan. Flora worked at the woollen mill with her aunt and uncle for a year, before they moved to British Columbia.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Flora was born on November 16, 1875 to William Rutherford and Sarah Dow.[1][2] Her parents died of pleurisy when she was five years old. She lived at the Protestant Orphans Home in Kingston for six years.[4] Flora's great-grandmother Martha Dow immigrated from Scotland to Canada, making Flora fourth-generation Scottish-Canadian.[1]
Life in Almonte[]
In May 1887, Flora received word that her maternal aunt Janet had married James Duncan and wanted Flora to come and live with her in Almonte, Ontario. She was sad to leave her friends, particularly Alice, but happy to finally leave the Home. A week later, Flora boarded the train and arrived in Almonte, where she was greeted by Janet and James at the station. The Duncans lived in an apartment building and Flora was given her own room for the first time. A large family, called the Campbells, lived in the same building and their oldest son Murdo quickly befriended Flora. A few days after her arrival, she started work at the Almonte Woollen Mill as a doffer girl. Janet also worked in the spinning room with Flora.
In late June, Flora attended the celebration for Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Shortly after, she had an accident at the mill, in which she knocked herself out. Flora had a few days off before returning to work. In late July, Flora's new kitten Mungo came to live with her. In the meantime, she began to worry when she learned that commissioners were coming to the mill. Flora thought that would have to stop working if they found out her age. As the day crept closer, she asked her co-worker Agnes Bamford for help. On the day, Agnes helped hide Flora and the other doffer girl, Ann. After this incident, Janet and James told Flora that they hoped she would be able to go to school one day when their income was better.
Not long after the commissioners' visit, Agnes was fired from the mill which saddened Flora. After her twelfth birthday, she discovered her love for tobogganing when the mill owner built a toboggan run nearby. However, after James's accident in mid-December, Flora did not feel like tobogganing much. James was much changed after the accident, leaving Flora and Janet concerned for the future. At the end of January 1888, Janet asked Flora to help her write a letter to James's brother Wilfred for advice on their situation. A letter arrived the following month, inviting James to come with his family to his ranch in British Columbia. Janet and Flora both agreed to the plan, and James had Flora write back to accept.
December 1888[]
Some months after arriving in British Columbia, Flora's new cousin Henry had not yet warmed up to her. He later snapped at her when his father asked her to help Henry with his schoolwork. Afterwards, Flora assumed that Henry hated her and talked to Janet. She ended up using Janet's example by pretending that she was friends with him already. Flora began talking to him often, particularly about the wedding of their teacher, Miss McPhee. Just before Christmas Day, she asked him about ideas for a wedding gift. Henry later surprised her by talking to her of his volition, reporting that he had an idea. After the wedding, he invited Flora and a number of others to pull the newlyweds' carriage to their new home.
Later life[]
Before leaving Almonte, Flora left Mungo in the care of her co-worker Lillie Wyatt. In British Columbia, her family expanded to include five cousins, uncle Wilfred, and aunt Nellie. At the end of 1888, Janet gave birth to the first of four children. Though the hard work continued, Flora was happy to see the changes to the ranch and their lives over time. She became the first to graduate from the local high school. Flora married at eighteen to Ulysses, who worked in a general store. They settled in Kamloops. By Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, Flora had two children and, by 1900, four. Though she was a "no-nonsense mother," she enjoyed telling her children stories of the old days and of fairies.
Physical appearance[]
Her hair was described as "thick" and the "kind of curly that tangles easily." Flora also said that it "[had] always been a trial" to take care of.[5]
Personality and traits[]
Flora was imaginative and loved to make believe about fairies. She named her fairies "Moon-Shadow," "Sundew," and "Bladderwort," and often wrote about them in her diary. Her friend, Alice, was the only one who entertained her stories about fairies. While living at the Orphans Home, Flora often had to mind the younger children and would get into trouble if anything happened. As such, she was sensitive about mistakes whether it was her own or otherwise. Flora became more at ease thanks to the even temperaments of her aunt and uncle. She was also hardworking, though she sometimes preferred days when she did not have to do anything.
Family tree[]
| William Rutherford (1851-1881) | Sarah Dow (1855-1881) | Janet Dow | James Duncan | Wilfred Duncan | Nellie Duncan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ulysses | Flora Rutherford (b. 1875) | Sadie Duncan (b. 1888) | Three others | Henry Duncan | Martha Duncan | Joseph Duncan | Two sons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Four children | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Behind the scenes[]
- Flora is the main character of Sarah Ellis's Days of Toil and Tears.
- She reappears in the short story, "Reading Henry," in A Christmas to Remember.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Days of Toil and Tears, Sarah Ellis, pages 21-22
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Days of Toil and Tears, Sarah Ellis, page 139
- ↑ Days of Toil and Tears, Sarah Ellis, pages 46-47
- ↑ Days of Toil and Tears, Sarah Ellis, pages 4, 7-8, 122
- ↑ Days of Toil and Tears, Sarah Ellis, page 28
See also[]