"Mother"

(To the right: Tom Scott and Martha Elliott Scott, about 1938)

Daddy used to tell us a story about when he was at sea in the Merchant Marines and there was a terrible storm. It must have been bad enough to make them fear for the safety of the ship and their lives. One night when the storm was at its worst and Daddy was asleep, he dreamed that his mother, who was still alive, came to him and said, “It will be alright, son.” When he woke, the storm had stopped.

I thought of this story today as I looked at pictures of Martha Ellen Elliott Scott, Daddy’s mother: from the beautiful and stylish young lady on her wedding day, to the pioneer with a rifle in front of her homestead cabin, to the smiling older woman with her brothers and sister, to the gray haired elderly farm woman standing by her husband. She wasn’t just a woman in a picture; she was a mother who loved her children and worried about them and prayed for them when they were away from her; and when her son needed comfort in the stormy night, it was her voice and presence that soothed him.

Martha married Tom Scott in 1898, when she was 25 years old. They lived in Ontario for about eight years – long enough to establish a nice home and have three children – before the call of the West pulled them out to Alberta. (Right: home in Ontario which was sold when the Scotts moved to Alberta)

“Mother was a true pioneer,” Aunt Jean said. “In June 1907 . . . some kind homesteaders that would be our neighbors helped move our belongings to that log house that they had helped build. . . . The tent was set up in one end, so that helped to keep our beds dry when it rained. . . . I called it home for 14 years; Dad and Mom for 35 years.”

You can tell from the picture of Martha with the rifle in front of the homestead cabin that she wasn’t one to sit around bewailing the loss of her beautiful home in Ontario. I’m pretty sure she immediately got acquainted with the neighbors and became a leader in the community. In 1923, the U.F.W.A. (United Farm Women of Alberta) was organized with “Mrs. Tom Scott” as president. The men built a community hall and they and the women organized dances and other entertainments. “There were dances and social evenings every month, card parties and picnics. . . . We always had a good Christmas Concert; the hall would be packed to the door. Everything was free, the ladies took lunch, and there was a gift for every child in the neighborhood.” (Along the Fifth: a History of Stony Plain and District)

(Right: Martha, front row on the left, with her brothers and sister, 1927.)
Martha went back to Ontario for a visit about 1927, but other than that, she probably stayed pretty close to home. To quote Aunt Jean again from the book Along the Fifth: “Dad and Mother stayed on the farm till October, 1942. They rented the farm to Mr. Paul Weydt and moved to Stony Plain, where they enjoyed their remaining years with their friends, their church and Lodge.”

Martha died January 29, 1955. Her obituary is entitled “Floral Tributes” and is a column about twelve inches long listing all the “beautiful floral tributes” at her funeral and the names of the friends and organizations who sent them. Not much genealogical information, but the definite feeling that she was loved and would be missed by everyone who knew her.

Edith remembers Grandma, and probably Gary does too. Edith’s Christmas letter, “Christmas in January” was a lovely insight into the type of person Grandma was. Any more memories, Edith and Gary? I’d love to hear – or read – them.