| Joseph and family
arrive in Toronto c. 1869 |
Joseph and Emma arrive from London,
England circa 1869, and by 1871 was living in Toronto, Ontario. The family's
early years in Toronto were spent in St. John's Ward, on Yonge Street between
Bloor and Wellesley. Their first home was on the south-west corner of Yonge
and St. Joseph Streets, and stands today at 618 Yonge St.
Joseph was a carpenter and a cabinet maker during a period of rapid growth for Toronto. After the building of the railroads and their connection to the docks on the Esplanade in the 1850's, industrialization had begun. By the time Joseph arrived, Torontonians were just becoming able to purchase locally produced furniture and equipment. History: 1870's |
| Yonge St.
1871-1878 |
The family lived in several different homes over the years, though
they only rented and never owned property. In 1873, a year of economic
depression, Joseph moved a few houses north to what is today 634 &
636 Yonge Street. It was here that Bertha and Florence were born, in 1873
and 1877 respectively.
The Judds attended the Baptist church at Yonge and Davenport then and Gussie's Sunday School teacher was Mrs. S.F. McMaster, founder of the Hospital for Sick Children on College Street. Gussie toured the new hospital at its openning in 1875 when she was 10 years old. By 1878 their home was at 650 & 652 Yonge Street. During this time, these residences were two-story attached homes, likely having storefronts in the first floor, but they had not been subdivided as they are today. |
| Sydenham St.
Yorkville 1879-1881 |
From 1879 to 1881, the Judds lived in the town of Yorkville, at 27
Sydenham, north of Bloor Street. Albert, their last child, was born here
in 1880. Emma Jane, who was by now 19 years old, was employed as a servant.
History: 1880's |
| Hayden St.
1882-1884 Joseph's health
|
In 1882, Joseph moved his family into 49 Hayden Street.
This was east of Yonge Street, and the first street south of Bloor. He
lived above the shop of his employer, H.A. Schomberg & Company. It
was around this time that Joseph began acting strangely. He would have
difficulty in sleeping, and occasionally went on long night walks where
he often became lost and disoriented -- going out in bad winter weather
without proper clothing. Joseph was also getting into trouble at the job.
He was forgetful and sloppy with his work, yet claimed he was an outstanding
craftsman who worked only for the pleasure of it, as otherwise he was very
wealthy.
Eventually, Joseph lost his job, and attempted to work at home with no success. By the way he staggered up the street, neighbours assumed that he was a drunk, but his mental, and now physical aliments, were actually symptoms of a more serious condition. |
| Joseph goes
to Rockwood 1884 |
Likely on the suggestion of a local doctor,
it was decided that Emma would be unable to care for Joseph any longer.
He was mentally ill and rapidly becoming incapacitated. His speech was
strange and his mental abilities reduced. Unable to walk, eat or dress
himself, his face held in a grotesque expression, Joseph was called insane.
So not to risk embarrassment, Joseph was taken not to the Queen Street
Asylum in Toronto, but to Portsmouth near Kingston, where on July 9, 1884
he was admitted to Rockwood Asylum  .
|
