Jennie Sherman (nee Garity) 1886 Wedding Photo

Name: Jennie Gertrude Garity DOB: Abt 1863 Birthplace: Canada (estimate Eastern Ontario) Father: Thomas Garity (b. England abt 1840) Mother: Esther Garity (b. Canada abt 1845 Est. Eastern Ontario) ) Siblings: Esther G. Garity, George E. Garity, Thomas L. Garity Spouse: Edward Swan Sherman (b. 3 Mar 1834) Married: October 14th, 1886, Lowell, Massachusetts US Sources: Ancestry(dot)com, Lowell wikipedia page, Lowell, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA per the National Park Service History e-library. We found this photo of this stunning 19th century orange blossom bride in Morrisburg, a town located in Eastern ON along the Canada/US border, at an antique shop. Accompanying the photo was a wedding invitation providing names & dates, so we began researching Jennie’s story & history. Jennie was born in Canada around 1863. Her mother Esther was born in Canada in 1845 - we believe in Eastern ON where there’s predominant French-Canadian influence or west Quebec, given her connection to Lowell, Massachusetts & because we found Jennie’s photo in Morrisburg ON. Lowell at the time had a strong French-Canadian population & influence (detailed below). Lowell, Massachusetts was a ‘planned industrial community’ established in the early to mid 1800s, whose main focus was textile production & mills. The mid to late 1800s would see an increase in French-Canadians migrating to Lowell to work in the mills during the American Industrial Revolution. The French-Canadian influence would be reflected in the building of Lowell's first French-Canadian church, St. Joseph’s, & a French newspaper titled L’Etoile. As cited in the 1880 US Federal Census, we know that Jennie & her family were living in Lowell, & Jennie’s father’s occupation was listed as ‘plumber’ & her mother’s was ‘keeps house’ 6 years later, on October 14th 1886, Jennie Gertude Garity & Edward Swan Sherman would be married. We are working on defining a more exact place of birth for these 2 women as we are particularly interested in determining their connection to Ontario, & the location Jennie’s wedding portrait was found. If you have any information you’d like to share that may help our search leave a comment. Enjoy! Bruce & Janet (the Two Crows)