Robert Gaskin and Mary Quigley married 1876 in Saint John. Robert Gaskin was named after his father Robert Gaskin. Mary Quigley was the daughter of John Quigley and Leah Anne Walker Quigley. We know a bit more about the Winter / Gaskin families and their migration from England to Canada due to entries found in a family bible.
Together Robert and Mary had: Lea Edna (also spelled Leah), Charles, Arthur, Maude/Maud Pearl, Elizabeth Eunice (Bessie), and Oscar. Robert was a millman (filer) and while I have not found the family in the 1881 census, I found them in 1891, 1901, and 1911 living in Saint John. Directories show Robert Gaskin living at Straight Shore Road, as was his father with the same name, in 1869-1870. Robert does not move until the 1879-1880 directory when he is found on Main St. The following year Robert is noted on Victoria St. In the 1890s Robert is found back on Straight Shore Road and by 1898-1899 living on Main St. We know from city directories the family lived for some time at 161 Adelaide before moving to 40 Adelaide as noted in the 1912 directory (we also see the Clarkson family living in 40 Adelaide and losing a child in 1912). Robert Gaskin died in 1913 while living at 40 Adelaide St.
Today 40 Adelaide still stands but looks nothing like her beautiful former glory as her exterior has been modernized to such an extent that her beauty has been ripped from her – see
versus the craftsman beauty with stunning windows
Gaskin relates lived nearby in two buildings that are still standing – 205 Newman and 30 Kennedy. 
30 Kennedy taken 10 Oct 2021 – see above
205 Newman below:
The three Gaskin sisters all worked in the healthcare field. Sister Lea was a stenographer in the hospital (oddly, I found a notice in the 26 Feb 1913 Daily Gleaner indicating ” Application is made by George A. Kimball, Elizabeth E. Kimball and Leah Gaskin for incorporation as John Kimball & Son, Limited, to carry on the tannery business at St. John now conducted by George A. Kimball. The authorized capitalization of the company is to be $40,000″), while Bessie and Maud were nurses. We have these two medallions, dated 1911 and 1912. They were made in to jewellery at a later dated and the back was engraved also at a later date. They show St. George slewing the dragon and I wonder if they were related to Bessie and Maud finishing nursing school.
We also have a medal commemorating Bessie’s graduation from nursing school.
“The Canadian Nurse” from 1916 notes “A military Hospital has recently been opened in St. John . Miss M. Gertrude Williams, a graduate of the St . John G.P.H. , and who received her A.M.C. training in Halifax , was appointed matron , with a staff of five nursing sisters – Mrs . Nora G . Foss, Miss Bessie Gaskin , Miss Allie Burns, Miss Gertrude Wilson and Miss Ruth Kingston.”
Bessie and Maud both served in WWI and according to a fantastic article on maritime nurses, were some of the few sisters to do so. Bessie Eunice Gaskin of 40 Adelaide St born 15 Aug 1889 enlisted on 1 Apr 1916, along with her sister Maude Pearl Gaskin born 7 Jun 1887. While the sisters appeared to have enlisted at the same time, they were sent overseas at different times and returned home at different times. Bessie served in France and both sisters served in West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital in Folkestone.
According to Bessie’s service records, she served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Bessie arrived 17 Jan 1917. In 1917 Bessie suffered from influenza, rheumatism, tonsillitis and subsequent tonsillectomy, and myalgia while at West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital in Folkestone. In 1918 Bessie was ill again with influenza in Mallassise Monastery (likely Malassise) in Saint Omer, France. She spent some time in Wimereux before returning to England. When Bessie was released her medical examination upon leaving service notes she lost 12 pounds and weeps easily and complains of nervousness, and was temporarily unfit. Bessie is noted as returning to Canada on the S.S. Princess Juliana departing 8 Feb 1919 due to the “cessation of hostilities”. The 18 Feb 1919 newspaper edition of The Evening Times and Star notes Bessie returning.
Bessie was noted as living with her family in the 1919 directory. In Oct 1919 a local newspaper article noted Bessie planned to go to Manitoba to work as a nurse for the winter. Bessie was back in Saint John by February 1920 when a local newspaper noted that she taught at the Red Cross depot in Saint John on Hazen how to treat influenza.
Bessie’s mother’s 1931 obituary notes Bessie working as a nurse in Montreal. The 1931 census indicates Elizabeth E. Gaskin was a nurse rented two rooms at 1254 St. Marc in Montreal. She was unemployed for 42 weeks, 12 of them she was sick, and had made $200 in 1930.
I finally found out what happened to Bessie, after years of working in Montreal, she died in 1966. The 28 Jul 1966 newspaper carried her obituary:
According to Maud’s service records, she served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (the initials on the back of the medallion above). Maud arrived 30 Sep 1916 and served in the West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital in Folkestone. We have photos of Maud taken in this city in England. In 1917 she had to take some leave first due to acute bronchitis, and later due to gastritis and nervous disability. Maud returned to Canada 1918 and was discharged to St. John Military Hospital. We have photos of Maud taken in this city in England. The back of the photos indicate the photographer was Hawksworth Wheeler located at 109A Sandgate Road, Folkestone. Additionally, we have a Canadian Red Cross trunk from WWI presumably from Maud’s time in service – we are able to date the trunk because of the address on it.
I just found an interesting thesis published about shellshock by Delaney Beck called “Bluebirds, Bombings, and Battle:
Shell Shock in Maritime Nursing Sisters of the First World War.” I am pasting a portion of the text here in case the thesis gets removed from the internet.
… then later on .
In the1921 census Mary was living at 40 Adelaide with daughters Lea and Maud and son Oscar. As shared in a previous blog, Maud married Frederick W. Munro in 1923 at St. Luke’s which still stands on Main St., see pics below (first pic shows the Visart / de Bury mansion in the background).
Together Fred and Maud had Mary Frederica in 1924 and Nancy Elizabeth in 1927. Fred died in 1928. In the 1928 directory, Maud’s sister Lea is living with her on Alexandra but not Maud’s mother. Maud’s mother, Mary Gaskin, died in 1931 at 5 Alexandra of heart failure and is noted as living in the house for 3 years.
In the 1931 census, Maud Murro [sic], age 45, was living at 5 Alexandra with daughters Mary (7) and Nancy (4) along with her sister Lea Gaskin (46) and domestic Edith Galbraith (27). The house is noted as being worth $5,000 with is odd because #7 beside it (same floor plan, built at the exact same time, is noted as being worth $2500) with 9 rooms, wood construction, and a radio. Maud is noted as the owner of the house and a homemaker, and her sister Lea was a stenographer at the hospital and made $1000 in 1930.
The next known person to die at 5 Alexandra was Maud’s sister Leah who died of complications related to uterine cancer on 4 Sep 1949.
Maud died 4 Dec 1968. We see the property changed hands in 1969 by deed to her daughters. See an excerpt from Maude’s will below specifically referencing 5 Alexandra and the leasehold left to Maude by her husband Frederick at 357 Main St. WCTU refers to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
Of note, in the research records held by the City of Saint John, there is mention of the WCTU property being leased from the Munro family.
Maud’s will is impressive and leaves pages and pages of accounts and investments to her daughters. She strikes me as a very intelligent woman with business savvy. To this day we still receive mail for Maud.
After Maud died her daughter Nancy and husband Kenneth remained in 5 Alexandra until they died with Nancy outliving her husband and passing away in 2014.
In 2014, 5 Alexandra was sold to a couple that owned the home until it was sold to us in 2020. They lovingly retained historical information related to the Munro Gaskin families, and they did extensive work restoring the home and making critical safety upgrades, i.e. to its electrical. Due to their hard work and the relatively minimal changes made by the Gaskin Munro family, the house remains almost completely unchanged from its 1910 footprint.
Two women whose interesting story deserved to be told. So often we remember the men who served our country without truly recognizing the role the women played in supporting them.
Such a good point, thank-you.