Family Life in Victoria 1894-1910

Ike and Mary Cordelia – the Gandy Children and Their Home

Family life for Isaac and Mary Cordelia (Delia) can be illustrated both through their children and where they made the family home.

The Gandy Children

Isaac and Mary Cordelia had eight children born between August 1894 and March 1910:

Charles (Chuck) Frederick b. 01 Aug 1894

Ernest (Hap) Henry b. 16 Sep 1896

Isaac (Duke) Newland b. 14 Dec 1897

Marguerite (Rita) Elizabeth b. 15 July 1900

Martha (Mattee) b. 20 Nov 1902

Violet Georgina b. 07 Jan 1905

George b. 23 Aug 1907

Hannah Irene b. 07 Mar 1910.

One curious feature of the family was that all the children had nicknames – makes it easier to call in all the children for lunch of course if you have eight to keep track of. Or perhaps this was a local custom in Victoria at the time.

Gandy children
Chuck, Hap, Duke, Rita and Mattee. Photo courtesy Margaret Penny

More details can be found in the Gandy family tree here: Gandy Tree 2018

What happened to the children later in life is described in more detail here:

The Gandy Home
Grant Street
Gandy home at 1338 Grant Street, Victoria in 1906.                                                                               Photo courtesy Paul Hancock

The house to the right in the above photograph, Grant Street 1338 Victoria, was the Gandy family home until the year 1941. This photograph, which was taken in 1906, was sent to me by Paul Hancock, whose grandmother lived in the house next door – to the left on the photograph. Paul looked up the house in “This Old House, Fernwood-Vic West” and came to the conclusion that it was probably built between 1890 and 1892 in the Vernacular style.

The photograph below of Mary Cordelia and some of the grown-up children on the veranda of Fort Street, built in an ornate Victorian style, was found in the family bible.

On the Veranda
On the Veranda. Photo courtesy Margaret Perry

Paul Hancock also generously spent some time in the Victoria Archives looking through the city directories from 1895 onwards and came back with  the list of addresses where Isaac Gandy and family lived over the years:

1895 Bodwell Street*, Isaac Gandy

1899 Bodwell Street, Isaac Gandy, meat cutter for BC Market Co

1900 17 Bodwell Street, Isaac Gandy, butcher

1904 Landsdowne Road, Isaac Gandy, slaughterman

1908 #9 Mt. Tolmie Rd**, Isaac Gandy

1910 Richmond Avenue, Isaac Gandy, obituary

* The adress 17 Bodwell Street was changed to 1338 Grant Street in 1907.

** Mt. Tolmie Road was originally called Richmond Road with its extension Richmond Avenue

Grant Street Today
Grant Street today
1338 Grant Street Victoria today.                                  Photo Claire Miller

Today Claire Miller and family live at 1338 Grant Street. Compare this with the 1906 photograph above – taken from a somewhat different angle.

In addition to photographs of the house, Claire Miller also sent me copies of Mary Cordelia’s application to connect the house to the public sewage system in 1913.

The initial contact with Claire was by Lionel Gandy, who knocked on the door and discovered that they were acquainted via an interest in bagpiping. Lionel also sent some photographs of the house, taken with the help of Don King.

An ariel view of Grant Street can be found here: Ariel view 1338 Grant street