Tuesday, March 6, 2012

grave post #10

Looking for familiar names, I came across this stone for Hiram Hurd and wondered if he was the Hurd for which Hurd Avenue in what is now downtown Burlington was named.
I thought he was a farmer, but it turns out he was actually a businessman and alderman in Hamilton who owned property in Burlington that was used as an orchard and nursery (Burlington is next door to Hamilton, but whereas Hamilton was mostly an industrial city, Burlington was mostly agricultural). 
This house was built near the intersection of what is now Caroline St and Hurd Ave is known as the Hurd Farm House, although he did not actually live there; it may have been used as the farm manager's house.  It was built around 1877 in a Folk Victorian style and is now a heritage designated property. All the alterations and replacements to the house are sympathetic to the period, including the sash windows and this pinwheel verge and it won a Heritage Award in 1991.
Hurd Avenue was named in memoriam of Hiram Hurd after his death in 1905. This house is on Caroline Street, though I am not certain if it was named for his daughter - there is a 'Carrie' who died at age 4 in 1862. Caroline St was the boundary of the town proper with the Hurd farm property to the north and this house is the last remaining farmhouse on that street. 
see what else remains can be found at Taphophile Tragics

45 comments:

  1. Interesting sounds in the names of Hiram Hurd - very staunch - and his wife's name Ophelia - sounding like a delicate flower! Hurd sounds as if he left a valuable impression in his day!

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    1. I found it interesting that someone with the flowery, and almost operatic (to my ears) name of Ophelia would give her children such casual names as Carrie and Charlie.

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  2. What a beautifully proportioned and trimmed house!

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    1. This has always been a favourite and I didn't know it's history until now.

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  3. Yes, the house is gorgeous. And I agree with Gemma about the names. Solid and dependable. Both reflected in the style of monument.

    1862. 1864. 1881, 1905. Took a while but eventually all together again. I wonder if there were other children of the union.

    I do like that fascia-board. See that roofline where you give us the close up? What are those other 'things' on the roof itself. They do not look like skylights, nor fans. Are they something to break the snow up?

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    1. I have looked into those odd little squares (often wondered, myself what they were) and it seems they are for roof ventilation.

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    2. I have checked further and found another Hiram S Hurd (nurseryman) s/o of Hiram H and Ophelia who married an Eva Mallory in 1876 at age 23. An Emma F Hurd is listed as a witness.

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  4. Lovely house....my eye went straight to the porthold window....I had one in my room as a child and I've been a sucker for them ever since. And what a fabulous porch. Love the name Ophelia...it sounds very "Adams Family".

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    1. I find that funny - since her name was Morticia!!
      I'm not sure I could take seriously anyone named Ophelia. Sounds a bit operatic to me.

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    2. I'm sure there was an Ophelia...love interest of Fester?????

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    3. Just checked wikipedia and it turns out Ophelia is Morticia's older sister - you are good!!

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  5. Interesting post and great pictures. Such a beautiful house.

    Herding Cats


    http://seathreepeeo.blogspot.com

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  6. The house is beautiful and I like all that carving on the facial board.
    I am fascinated by the names and ages on grave stones. Some people think it is morbid but it is all part of history.
    Maggie X

    Nuts in May

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    1. I always liked reading the death notices and seeing the evolution of names throughout the generations. and now many of those old fashioned names are back for the great grandchildren.

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  7. beautiful cutwork on this house. i wish there is a nearby cemetery that i can visit. i love cemeteries, especially the old ones.

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    1. Since I started with this meme, I have discovered several small church graveyards that I hadn't noticed before!

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  8. Great research and interesting information.
    Love the Gingerbread on the home.

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  9. Thanks for that bit of HISTORY!
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  10. It's always sad to see when children do not survive their parents. The house looks like it's been well cared for. We call that special roof line decoration "gingerbread." Don't ask me why.

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    1. this house has been especially well done in renovations. It barely looks like what one would expect from a 19thC woodframe farmhouse. I have no idea either how the phrase gingerbread came to describe the cutout trim.

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  11. Interesting how gravestones can stimulate us to find out more about the history of the place we live and the people that were there before us. The house looks wonderful!

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    1. Yes, I am slowly finding ways of digging into history on the internet.

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  12. great walk through the history of Hiram Hurd!
    HelenMac
    ABCWednesdayTeam

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    1. I found more H's than I originally bargained for. Hooray.

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  13. Is that another H between Hiram and Hurd? Quite a name if it is! I wonder if the parents were determined to give their children 'ordinary' names in view of their own being so distinctive? Interesting family history and great to see the craftsmanship on the house.

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    1. Yes, but I cannot find anything that references what the second H stood for. It does make him sound more distinguished though, doesn't it?

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  14. I was recently reading some history of our small town here and the names for which the streets came from it really puts things into better focus to know that even the street names are part of the story...THIS Is a lovely home, I would love to add some details like that to my roof line!!

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    1. There was a lot of unoriginal bouts of narcissistic and homesick naming of streets back in the early days!

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  15. What a cool house - I'd love to have a big covered porch to sit on. I was looking at the photo of the detailed trimwork and thinking that it's too bad there isn't a better way for running cables so they don't look junky.

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    1. I know - those wires really irritated me, but this was the best of the lot to show off the pinwheel.

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  16. Thank you for your comment on my post. I fidn the best place to start reserching names is good old Google. I also have a subscription to Ancestry.co.uk which holds loads of documentation such as birth, marriage and death and census returns. The more unusual the name the easier the the search.

    Herding Cats

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    1. I think I will have to break down and subscribe to ancestry.ca after all! Google only goes so far - and often not far enough!

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  17. Such elaborate details on the eves! Maybe Ophelia didn't like her name:)

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    1. I wodner what sort of nickname one would make of Ophelia - it cannot have been a nice sounding one!

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  18. What a wonderful collection of comments! Well done. I am pleased that your hard work is reaching a wider audience.

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    1. Thanks. And thanks for hosting this - and spurring me on to explore more!

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  19. interesting. but the name hurd has an awful letter font i do have to say!!! :)

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    1. Oh yes, i do so agree. I was going to mention that point, but refrained (so am glad to find someone who agrees!)

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  20. Beautiful trim on the house. I find gravestones interesting, looking at the dates and thinking of what life was like then, what those people lived through.

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  21. I am thinking I might have to subscribe to ancestry.ca to find out more about what these lived through!

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  22. Another interesting bit of history emanating from a headstone!

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