We purchased our home in October of 2010. All we ever wanted was a large, old fixer-upper that we could restore to its' former glory. This one has been relatively untouched since it was built. As far as research will tell us, it really only underwent one renovation. The porch was halved, the sleeping porch removed, two doors were added to create closet/kitchenette space and one door and window were closed up. The porch info came from the 1918 fire map of Winnipeg, and the rest we've discovered during our time here. More to come on those renos. All the original character features of the house remained intact, amazingly.
This blog began as a renovation journal, and ended up year's worth of research on an early Winnipeg pioneer family. I had hoped in my journeys to come across some old photos of the house or the residents, but alas, I haven't found any yet.
Furby House was built in 1904 for Redmond Burke,
owner of a large livery and hackney operation on the corner of Main St. and Broadway in Winnipeg. This would explain our enormous stable in the back,
complete with wood stove and remarkably spacious
hayloft. Perhaps one day we'll get around to renovating that space into a hangout area. For now, it's a squirrel playground and canvas for the neighbourhood gangs.
My sources included the municipal archives, provincial archives, various editions of the Henderson's Directory, the transcribed versions of the 1901, 1906 and 1911 censes, Manitoba Vital Statistics, and the Archive of the Winnipeg Free Press. Recently I have also made use of ancestry.com and California Vital Statistics. Most of the info below was confirmed by at least two sources.
Redmond Burke (b. 8 May 1843/1851 Dubuque IA d. 5 May 1922 Winnipeg) emigrated from South Dakota, where he had been employed as a stagecoach driver, in 1871. Catherine Devitt (b. 9 April 1853 Minnesota d. 9 Feb 1917 Winnipeg) emigrated from the US in 1878.
Redmond and Kathleen had several children: Bernard Redmond (b. 11 Jan 1881), Julia B (b. 5 Jun 1895), Gertrude Margaret (b. May 19/21 1887 d. 30 Nov 1945 Burbank, CA), Genevieve Agnes (b. 2 Sept 1882/1893), Mary Winnifred (b. 13 May 1885 d. 23 Feb 1891), and Beryl (b.?). In the censes consulted the Burkes also lived with a neice in 1901, Louise Haverty (b. 20 Nov 1878) and in 1911 a grand-daughter, Louisa McCarthy (b.? I suspect this to actually be the grand-daughter of Burke's business partner, but need to research this further). I can find nothing Beryl's existence except in the censes.
Redmond's obituary states he was survived by four children: Bernard (California), Julia (New York), Gertrude (California) and Genevieve (Los Angeles). Looks like my dream of finding some Burke descendents in town is pretty unlikely. Mary Winnifred's death announcement (24 Feb 1891) is below.
It seems the Burke Girls had a great love of performing and the arts.
At the age of 20 Genevieve performed "Soaring" by Schumann in a piano recital of the students of Mme. Gabrielle Mollot, who had been a boarder at their previous house at 160 Fort St. Genevieve represented Italy (though not at all Italian) during a "March of Nations" following a performance of Little Red Riding Hood given in 1910. Genevieve Agnes Burke married Gordon Charles Williams on 29 Jan 1916.
Julia attended St. Mary's Academy and won awards for her studies at the age of 11. At the age of 17 she participated in a "Costume Cake Walk" at a Christmas panorama at the Winnipeg Theatre. She represented Ballet. Julia won several prizes at the Manitoba Exhibitions. When she was 19 (1900) she won twice for her paintings on dessert plates and a "jardinere of royal Worcester" whatever that means. At the age of 22 (1903) she won second place for her paintings of animals. Julia married Frederick Lewis Bascomb/Bascom on 5 May 1904. The Free Press reports they visited Mr. and Mrs. Burke in October of 1905. Vital Statistics states that the Bascoms had one [unnamed] daughter on 15 May 1905 in the RM of Turtle Mountain. Julia would have been three months pregnant at the time of their visit; perhaps they travelled to tell the Burkes the good news! However, the fact that the baby was not named does not bode well for her survival, and there are no other births listed for Julia and Frederick. It is possible the Bascomb's lived in or near Souris, MB. In family obituaries, Julia is listed as living in New York, as "Miss". She can be found in the 1920 census and a 1924 ship's passenger list (the Lancastria) as "Jule Burke" living at 13 E 57th Street, returning from a trip to England. Evidently something had happened to her marriage; she is not listed as a widow nor did she keep Mr. Bascom's name. She travelled alone, and it appears she had been in the US since 1917; the year of her mother's death. She lists her brother in Winnipeg as her contact at home on the ship's passenger list.
Gertrude participated in the same Cake Walk that Julia did in 1898. She wore a ballet outfit as well.
Gertrude married William Kewley at some point, and they had a son, Eugene V. (b. 6 Aug 1909 d. 19 Mar 1972) and a daughter, Dorothea B (b. 1912-ish). They lived at 134 Langside (now demolished), which was sold along with several properties (including our house) belonging to Redmond in 1924. In 1922 the family emigrated to Los Angeles via St. Alban's, Vermont (I admit this makes no sense, geographically, but there they were), where they can be found in the log book and have listed Gertrude's uncle, James Davitt of Mulvey Ave, Wpg, as their contact person back home. In the 1930 Census of Los Angeles they are listed living in their own home (value: $45) and William's employment is stated to be Rubber Tire Salesman. Gertrude died on Nov 30, 1945 and the following obituary appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press.
In 1940, Eugene is still living with his parents at the age of 30 in Los Angeles.
Dorothea Kewley married John Brian Swanson, and they had at least one child and three grand children, whose names I am withholding for their privacy.
Bernard Burke had moved to California by 1920, and was listed in the census of that year as a boarder in a home and working as a bookkeeper. It is also listed that he emigrated to the US in 1900, which would make him 19 at the time. There is evidence he spent some time in St. Paul, MN and registered for the WWI draft on Sept 12 1918. A copy of his papers are below, listing him as tall, slim, with blue eyes and missing part of a finger on his right hand. He married Mildred F. Gray. She was 21 years his junior (he was 49, she 28 in 1930) and together they had a son, Bernard Redmond Burke Jr, in 1924. Bernard Jr. married Marie Elizabeth Hoy in 1964, and they had at least 2 children and one grandchild.
The Havertys were rather easily tracked down. Louise's mother was Maggie/Margaret Devitt, presumably making her Kathleen's sister. Maggie's husband was John Haverty, a prominent hotelman in Winnipeg, though a bit notorious. He was the proprietor of the Davis and later the Canadian Pacific Hotels. He was brought before court on several occasions for being drunk and disorderly, pugilism (I love that word), aggravated assault and for assault on his female pastry chef at the CP hotel. The Havertys owned land behind the CP station on Higgins and there existed a street named after them until at least the 1940's in the area just west of Gomez, when it was absorbed into a salvage yard. At some point John brought Maggie to court for some kind of tax dispute after the land was appropriated by CP. The family moved to the Kootenay region of British Columbia bu 1901 although Louise remained in Winnipeg. Maggie died in Grand Forks BC on Nov 2 1913. Another of her daughters, Mary Francis, had made her way to Tacoma, Washington by this point, and it seems none of her daughters were married at the time of her death. Her [presumably estranged] husband John was found in Terrace BC by a prospector, lying on the floor of his shack apparently suffering from paralysis of some form at the age of 71. He died in Prince Rupert Hospital on August 24 1914. John had a brother, James Haverty, whose wife Sarah died at 394 Rutland in Winnipeg on Apr 30 1917 at the age of 55.
Maggie had at least 5 children with that wonderful man; Louise (b. 20 Nov 1878), Mary Francis (b. 13 Feb 1884),Charles Joseph (b. 17 Aug 1886), Francis/Frank Edward (b.22 Aug 1888), and Irene (b. 23 Apr 1891). I resist researching these folks further as they're not directy related to the house (Louise, in fact, lived with the Burkes at their previous residence, 160 Fort St - now demolished along with nearly every other original city house). The Burke family had occupied this house since at least 1897 (Henderson's).
Grand-daughter Louisa is proving more difficult to find in the records, as is whomever her father might have been (Mr. McCarthy, presumably). Note: In the 1930's the house was owned by a family of McCarthys, but it appears they were unrelated: [Homeowner Charles Valentine McCarthy (b. 1887) wed Julia Louise Flanagan (b. 1895) on 30 Jun 1914. She was the daughter of the homeowners living at 327 Carlton, where Charles was a boarder. Pretty unlikely she was a Burke descendant, although the census could be wrong in her relation to Redmond.]
Redmond's stables were located just north of Broadway on Main Street, seen in the photo below. More information on the history of the livery can be found here, where this photo was sourced.
Redmond Burke (b. 8 May 1843/1851 Dubuque IA d. 5 May 1922 Winnipeg) emigrated from South Dakota, where he had been employed as a stagecoach driver, in 1871. Catherine Devitt (b. 9 April 1853 Minnesota d. 9 Feb 1917 Winnipeg) emigrated from the US in 1878.
Redmond and Kathleen had several children: Bernard Redmond (b. 11 Jan 1881), Julia B (b. 5 Jun 1895), Gertrude Margaret (b. May 19/21 1887 d. 30 Nov 1945 Burbank, CA), Genevieve Agnes (b. 2 Sept 1882/1893), Mary Winnifred (b. 13 May 1885 d. 23 Feb 1891), and Beryl (b.?). In the censes consulted the Burkes also lived with a neice in 1901, Louise Haverty (b. 20 Nov 1878) and in 1911 a grand-daughter, Louisa McCarthy (b.? I suspect this to actually be the grand-daughter of Burke's business partner, but need to research this further). I can find nothing Beryl's existence except in the censes.
Redmond's obituary states he was survived by four children: Bernard (California), Julia (New York), Gertrude (California) and Genevieve (Los Angeles). Looks like my dream of finding some Burke descendents in town is pretty unlikely. Mary Winnifred's death announcement (24 Feb 1891) is below.
It seems the Burke Girls had a great love of performing and the arts.
At the age of 20 Genevieve performed "Soaring" by Schumann in a piano recital of the students of Mme. Gabrielle Mollot, who had been a boarder at their previous house at 160 Fort St. Genevieve represented Italy (though not at all Italian) during a "March of Nations" following a performance of Little Red Riding Hood given in 1910. Genevieve Agnes Burke married Gordon Charles Williams on 29 Jan 1916.
Julia attended St. Mary's Academy and won awards for her studies at the age of 11. At the age of 17 she participated in a "Costume Cake Walk" at a Christmas panorama at the Winnipeg Theatre. She represented Ballet. Julia won several prizes at the Manitoba Exhibitions. When she was 19 (1900) she won twice for her paintings on dessert plates and a "jardinere of royal Worcester" whatever that means. At the age of 22 (1903) she won second place for her paintings of animals. Julia married Frederick Lewis Bascomb/Bascom on 5 May 1904. The Free Press reports they visited Mr. and Mrs. Burke in October of 1905. Vital Statistics states that the Bascoms had one [unnamed] daughter on 15 May 1905 in the RM of Turtle Mountain. Julia would have been three months pregnant at the time of their visit; perhaps they travelled to tell the Burkes the good news! However, the fact that the baby was not named does not bode well for her survival, and there are no other births listed for Julia and Frederick. It is possible the Bascomb's lived in or near Souris, MB. In family obituaries, Julia is listed as living in New York, as "Miss". She can be found in the 1920 census and a 1924 ship's passenger list (the Lancastria) as "Jule Burke" living at 13 E 57th Street, returning from a trip to England. Evidently something had happened to her marriage; she is not listed as a widow nor did she keep Mr. Bascom's name. She travelled alone, and it appears she had been in the US since 1917; the year of her mother's death. She lists her brother in Winnipeg as her contact at home on the ship's passenger list.
Gertrude participated in the same Cake Walk that Julia did in 1898. She wore a ballet outfit as well.
Gertrude married William Kewley at some point, and they had a son, Eugene V. (b. 6 Aug 1909 d. 19 Mar 1972) and a daughter, Dorothea B (b. 1912-ish). They lived at 134 Langside (now demolished), which was sold along with several properties (including our house) belonging to Redmond in 1924. In 1922 the family emigrated to Los Angeles via St. Alban's, Vermont (I admit this makes no sense, geographically, but there they were), where they can be found in the log book and have listed Gertrude's uncle, James Davitt of Mulvey Ave, Wpg, as their contact person back home. In the 1930 Census of Los Angeles they are listed living in their own home (value: $45) and William's employment is stated to be Rubber Tire Salesman. Gertrude died on Nov 30, 1945 and the following obituary appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press.
Dorothea Kewley married John Brian Swanson, and they had at least one child and three grand children, whose names I am withholding for their privacy.
Bernard Burke had moved to California by 1920, and was listed in the census of that year as a boarder in a home and working as a bookkeeper. It is also listed that he emigrated to the US in 1900, which would make him 19 at the time. There is evidence he spent some time in St. Paul, MN and registered for the WWI draft on Sept 12 1918. A copy of his papers are below, listing him as tall, slim, with blue eyes and missing part of a finger on his right hand. He married Mildred F. Gray. She was 21 years his junior (he was 49, she 28 in 1930) and together they had a son, Bernard Redmond Burke Jr, in 1924. Bernard Jr. married Marie Elizabeth Hoy in 1964, and they had at least 2 children and one grandchild.
Maggie had at least 5 children with that wonderful man; Louise (b. 20 Nov 1878), Mary Francis (b. 13 Feb 1884),Charles Joseph (b. 17 Aug 1886), Francis/Frank Edward (b.22 Aug 1888), and Irene (b. 23 Apr 1891). I resist researching these folks further as they're not directy related to the house (Louise, in fact, lived with the Burkes at their previous residence, 160 Fort St - now demolished along with nearly every other original city house). The Burke family had occupied this house since at least 1897 (Henderson's).
Grand-daughter Louisa is proving more difficult to find in the records, as is whomever her father might have been (Mr. McCarthy, presumably). Note: In the 1930's the house was owned by a family of McCarthys, but it appears they were unrelated: [Homeowner Charles Valentine McCarthy (b. 1887) wed Julia Louise Flanagan (b. 1895) on 30 Jun 1914. She was the daughter of the homeowners living at 327 Carlton, where Charles was a boarder. Pretty unlikely she was a Burke descendant, although the census could be wrong in her relation to Redmond.]
Redmond's stables were located just north of Broadway on Main Street, seen in the photo below. More information on the history of the livery can be found here, where this photo was sourced.
He ran a good business (although was once brought before a judge for overlooking employee wages) and owned four houses (Furby house, 134 Langside, 122 Fort, 160 Fort) at the time of his death, in 1922. Furby House was the largest. None of the others are still standing. This information is from the Winnipeg Free Press archives, listing the addresses of the four houses for sale on 2 Aug 1924 to wind up the Burke estate. His original home at 160 Fort evidently operated as a small farm as well, as the Free Press lists Cows and chickens to be sold at that address even after the Burkes had moved.
Catherine Burke had passed away on 9 Feb 1917, and it appears Redmond cleared the house out and moved in with his daughter and son-in-law, the Kewleys, at 134 Langside, where he eventually died in 1922, at which time they moved to California. An auction sale ad from the Free Press itemises many pieces of furniture and it seems the house was extremely well appointed by this time. Redmond had retired in 1905. He and Catherine had spent the Winter of 1913 in California.
Redmond passed away on May 5 1922 at 134 Langside (erroneously printed here as 184 Langside) on May 5 1922. 134 Langside was nearly directly across the back lane from his main house, but is now replaced by a small condo building.
Catherine Burke had passed away on 9 Feb 1917, and it appears Redmond cleared the house out and moved in with his daughter and son-in-law, the Kewleys, at 134 Langside, where he eventually died in 1922, at which time they moved to California. An auction sale ad from the Free Press itemises many pieces of furniture and it seems the house was extremely well appointed by this time. Redmond had retired in 1905. He and Catherine had spent the Winter of 1913 in California.
Redmond passed away on May 5 1922 at 134 Langside (erroneously printed here as 184 Langside) on May 5 1922. 134 Langside was nearly directly across the back lane from his main house, but is now replaced by a small condo building.
We have found two artifacts of the Burke family in our home during renovations thus far. The first was a postcard sent from Grand Forks which had become wedged behind a piece of wooden moulding inside a closet. The closet had had to be removed to allow the bathroom to function. More on the bathroom renovation later. Who is this postcard addressed to? Julia had friends in Grand Forks, so it's likely it was she who sent it. The message begins, "Dearest Little girl..." but the initials don't seem to line up...
The other evidence of the Burkes' time at the house was discovered when we began pulling up the fir flooring board by board in the kitchen to restore it. About one third of the boards were nailed down with hand-hammered iron horseshoe nails! Try getting those out with a nail remover!
In 1924 the house was sold to Charles Valentine
McCarthy and his wife Julia (nee Flanagan). I will
Redmond, Catherine (Katharine on the headstone: the only time I've seen it spelled this way), and little Mary were all interred at St. Mary's Cemetery in Winnipeg. St. Mary's Cathedral does not allow public (or private) access to their archives, so further information on births, marriages and deaths will unfortunately not be possible. In the meantime, I have decided to attempt to pass along this information to any living descendents I can locate. Fortunately for me, California has far fewer restrictions on vital statistics searches than does Manitoba!
McCarthy and his wife Julia (nee Flanagan). I will
have to visit the library and scour the Henderson's
directory to find out what Mr. Burke did with his house between selling all the contents in 1917 and
his death in 1922, and also to find out if the house
was occupied between his death and the eventual sale in 1924.
