Friday, October 22, 2004

Anyone remember the Sanders +/or Minchinton families?

Hi. My grandmother grew up in Verdun. She remembers when most of the area was still covered in fields! I was wondering if anyone remembers the Sanders family, children were: Mimi, Alec, Marge, Albert and Gladys. Also interested in any memories of the Minchinton family. Would love to hear from anyone with a connection to these families. Thanks. Kelly

4 comments:

country girl MSN said...

Hi Kel, Albert Sanders and his wife Joyce lived next-door to my parents on Ouimet Ave. in Crawford Park for around 20 years.  My parents moved to Chateauguay a few years ago to be closer to my sister.  At that time, Albert was well into his 80's and his wife was in a nursing home due to advanced Alzheimers.  She is still alive last I heard, but dear Albert passed on to Glory about a year ago.  They had five children I think, but all had grown up and moved away by the time my parents moved in next door.  One of his sons (the eldest I think) was Keith and I believe he is in the US (Chicago??).  They all attended VHS so there may be other members here who knew the children personally and could give you better info.  The others' names escape me, but I think the youngest was a daughter.   Albert and Joyce adored each other and Albert was very attentive to Joyce as her mental health declined.  He went to the nursing home every single morning to make sure she was bathed, dressed and fed her breakfast.  He would go back at lunch and again at dinner to make certain she did not eat alone, and would spend the evening and tuck her into bed most nights.  She didn't know who he was in the end -- very sad.  They were also a devout Christian couple (don't know about the kids) and attended an Apostolic church in the later years, having moved from a Baptist church in Verdun.   Albert was the neighbourhood handyman and neighbourhood watch before there was such a thing!  He knew everyone and everyone knew him.  He always kept busy mowing lawns, trimming hedges, cleaning windows, etc. (his and everyone else's!!).  He never did drive a car, but that never stopped him from getting where he needed to go.  He'd hop on his bicycle and off he would go.  He suffered an accident just a few years before he died when a car hit him on his bicycle in a crosswalk.  He was hurt quite badly and we didn't think he'd survive the trauma, but he bounced back, although he didn't get on another bike.  He was always cheerful and telling jokes, even though he was so lonely without his Joyce beside him.  May he rest in peace.   Hope this helps to fill in a few pieces of the puzzle for you.   Pam Hyde

linnie721 MSN said...

did they live in the last house on the block
when the 58 bus turns and was his wife in the hospital down the street the manior de verdun I
sure I knew Albert.

Tori G said...

This is ages old, but I stumbled on it while combining some genealogy research with some Verdun research (I live in Verdun and I'm a history buff!) I discovered that my granny's uncles both lived and died in Verdun, so she visited Verdun often to play with her cousins, the Minchintons! Most of the Minchintons you knew would have been the kids and grandkids of Moses Minchinton and John Francis Minchinton, my great great uncles. As far as I can tell, most of them had a bunch of daughters, so the last name would have disappeared in Verdun even if the families stayed.

Tori G said...

I'm ages late to this party, but the Minchintons in Verdun were largely my Granny's cousins - the children and grandchildren of Moses Minchinton and John Francis Minchinton, after the brothers moved to Verdun from Gaspe. None of their children are still living - most died in their 70s-90s, in the 1990s-2000 There were a lot of daughters, so the name itself has mostly disappeared in Verdun (as far as I can tell - I live in Verdun now!)