Frances Palmer Prichard (1880 - 1969)

Born 3 May 1880 in Simonds, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Ancestors

Died 1 Jun 1969 at age 89 in Owen Sound, Grey, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Frances Palmer Prichard was born in Saint John, New Brunswick in May 1880, the fourth child of Joseph Prichard Jr and Elizabeth Stymest Bartlett. Two of her three older brothers died in March 1880, two months before Frances was born. Her middle name Palmer seems to be a tribute to lawyer Philip Palmer who married Elizabeth's sister, Charlotte Bartlett. The Prichards lived on Loch Lomond Road outside of the city. It is unclear why Joseph sold his property and moved his wife and three children (John, Frances, Florence) to Wapella, Saskatchewan. He traveled there with son John, then sent for his wife and daughters Frances and Florence in April 1891. When Elizabeth became pregnant in 1894 with their sixth child, she returned to New Brunswick with her daughters. They would never see their father again. He remained in Wapella, exchanging letters until the last one was received in 1899.

Portrait of Frances Prichard

Frances as a young woman. Probably taken in Saint John around 1897. By 1901 Frances was living in Hampton, New Brunswick, with her Aunt Lott and Uncle Phil Palmer and already working as a teacher. She had received a First Class license from the Board of Education of New Brunswick on July 1, 1900. Hampton, a rural community located 30 kilometers northeast of the city of Saint John, was a favorite spot for Frances. It was an easy train ride into the city of Saint John from Hampton Station.

Frances at a Hampton Picnic

Here, Frances (4th from left) is enjoying a picnic with friends and perhaps family members, cousins. At the moment the other ladies are not identified. Her sister Florence Prichard was studying to be a nurse in Massachusetts and is not included in this photo.

Frances also attended the Macdonald Institute, the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph which opened her eyes to the possibility of teaching in a different province than New Brunswick. A teaching offer in Owen Sound, Ontario attracted her attention. She accepted their generous salary of $600 a year and began teaching Domestic Science at the city's high school January 1, 1907.

The Domestic Science Class of Frances Prichard

Frances was still an attractive woman in this time period. She rented a house in Owen Sound and her mother came to visit, then eventually stay. Frances seemed more interested in Owen Sound than her mother who loved New Brunswick. Frances saved her money and was able to purchase a house in Owen Sound at 506 Ninth Street East. She lived at this address the rest of her life.

Miss Frances Palmer Prichard circa 1910

Former Home of Frances Prichard

Florence completed her nursing education in Massachusetts at the Newton Hospital Training School, graduating in June 1907. She may have remained in the United States or returned to work in New Brunswick. By 1910 she arrived in Owen Sound to join sister Frances and their mother. Frances was overjoyed.

Sisters Frances and Florence Share a Laugh

Florence worked in Owen Sound as a private nurse, tending to newborns. Perhaps this is how she met widower Charles Reuben Miller, whose wife had died in childbirth in November 1910. Frances, on her deathbed, confessed to my father (John Russell Miller) that Charles had asked Frances to marry him. She declined, suggested her sister Florence and kept this information from her sister. Charles asked Florence to marry him and they were wed in May 1913. Florence and Charles had two children, Catherine Bartlett Miller and John Russell Miller. Frances called her niece and nephew, Cath and Jack.

Cath and brother Jack

There were no letters from their father, Joseph Prichard, and his whereabouts were unknown until a telegram in 1917 announced his death. The bill for her father's burial and debts was $200. When one is earning $600 a year you can appreciate the problem. Frances appealed to other family members for help in raising the funds. She was able to pay the amount and wrote several letters trying to learn about his life.

Moose Jaw Police letter about Joseph Prichard

Frances never married. She enjoyed her work. She taught young girls how to cook and sew, how to work hard and have a positive attitude and how to treat others with respect. But her life changed suddenly in 1926 when her beloved sister Florence died. Charles Miller was also ill and died two years later. Frances now took on the responsibility of caring for Cath, age 12 and Jack, age 10. She supported Cath, Jack and her mother on her teacher's salary. To increase her annual income Frances soon found a summer job in the United States. In 1930 Frances bought a used car, a 1928 Willys-Overland Whippet. Frances learned how to drive at age 50 because the car was the transportation to her new job. She was hired to work as a cook and dietician for Lanier Camp located in Kittery, Maine.

The 1928 Willys-Overland Whippet

Frances ordered the supplies and made sure the 120 campers were fed for the summer of 1930. She worked her last summer at Lanier in 1936. The camp closed in 1940. By this time Cath and Jack were old enough to leave home. They both married in 1942. Jack, now calling himself John, remained in Ontario but Catherine settled in Scituate, Massachusetts, located south of Boston. Frances missed their company so she filled her home with students as boarders, many of them calling her Aunt Frances. She retired in 1953 and did a bit of travelling.

Frances at age 75, still driving, preparing a picnic

She was particularly thrilled to visit England in 1956 and according to her travel notes was walking all over the city, as if she was 26 instead of 76. Frances passed away in Owen Sound in 1969 at age 89 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.

Sources

• 1881 Census of Canada, Simonds district, Saint John, New Brunswick, Joseph Prichard Jr., 32, farmer, Elizabeth S. Prichard 31, John A. Prichard 6, Frances P. Prichard 1
• 1891 Census of Canada, Hampton, Kings County, New Brunswick, E. Prichard 41, France Prichard 10, daughter, Florence Prichard 8, daughter, Charlotte Bartlett 76, mother, widow
• 1901 Census of Canada, Hampton, Kings, New Brunswick, Philip Palmer 54, lawyer, Charlotte H. Palmer 53, wife, FRANCIS PRITCHARD 20, niece, teacher
• 1911 Census of Canada, Grey North, Ontario Prichard Elizabeth, housekeeping, Prichard Frances, teacher, Prichard Florence, nurse
• 1921 Census of Canada, Owen Sound, Grey North, Ontario, Frances Prichard 41, teacher, house 506 9th Street east, owned, Elizabeth Prichard 71, mother, widowed, Herbert Payne 42, bookkeeper, roomer, came to Canada from England in 1899
• 1931 Census of Canada, Owen Sound, Grey North, Ontario, Center Ward, 506 9th St. East, value of home $5000, 7 rooms, has radio, Elizabeth Pritchard 81, widow, Frances Pritchard 51, daughter, single, teacher, high school, earned in 1930 $2000, Catherine B. Miller 17, granddaughter, John R. Miller 15, grandson
• 1935 Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980. Prichard, Miss Frances P., spinster
• U.S. Border Crossings from Canada to U.S. 1825-1960 Frances Palmer Prichard birth 3 May 1880 St. John, New Brunswick, residence Owen Sound, Ontario, arrival at Buffalo, New York 30 June 1946 to visit Catherine Best at Scituate, Massachusetts for 6 weeks
• Family records: First Class teaching license, teaching offer, salary amount.
• Family information from John Miller "Jack", as Frances called him.
• Canada, Find A Grave, index, FRANCES PALMER PRICHARD, born 4 May 1880, (she was born May 3, 1880 according to family papers), death 1 June 1969, Greenwood Cemetery, Owen Sound, Grey County, Ontario
• Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/167229153/frances_palmer_prichard

RESEARCH NOTES-- PRICHARD or PRITCHARD ? The birth record for Frances Prichard spells her name as Prichard. Almost all of her correspondence, school records, government records, census records, her signatures are for a surname Prichard. Yet her obituary (which she wrote long before her death and had it waiting) and her grave are for Frances Palmer Pritchard.

RECORD AS A TEACHER FILED ON RETIREMENT

FRANCES PALMER PRICHARD of Owen Sound, Ontario, born 3 May, 1880, retired June 26, 1953, single, Working 3 Jan 1907 to 22 Dec 1932 Owen Sound and 29 April 1935 to 26 June 1953, Owen Sound. School License, First Class, Province of New Brunswick July, 1, 1900, Qualification as a teacher in Domestic Science Feb. 18, 1907, Special Course "B" Part 1, Sewing and Dress Making, Aug. 5, 1938

• Lanier Camp Profile

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Sidney_Lanier_Camp