Longevity
Grace Mary Purnell lived to be 103 years old. She was a daughter, a sister, a nurse and a midwife. She was a member of the British Red Cross and St. John Ambulance. She was my great-grand aunt, one of my great grandmother's older sisters. Grace was born 3 August 1877 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. Oxford is the home of the oldest English speaking university in the world, and is known as the city of dreaming spires.
Grace was the second child and oldest daughter born to William Purnell and Maria Frances Sykes, who had 9 children in all. William was an outfitter and robe maker in Oxford. In 1881 the family was living in Kingston Road, Park Town, which is a suburb in the north of Oxford. In 1891 they had moved to Cowley, on the eastern edge of Oxford where Grace was in school. In 1893 when Grace was 16, her youngest brother Robert Carey drowned at the age of 7. In 1898 when Grace was 21 her sister Edith Maria died at the age of 19. Perhaps this is what inspired her to take up nursing.
In 1901 the family was living at 84 Abingdon Road in Oxford. A B&B is now located at this address.
In 1911 Grace was 33 years old and still living at home at 247 Iffley Road in Oxford. Today 247 Iffley Road is a flower shop.
Grace was a witness at her sister Julia Blanche's wedding to John Erskine Glen (my great grandparents) on 28 May 1914. John and Blanche lived in Shanghai after their marriage. In 1919 Blanche became very ill, and John sent a telegram asking Grace to come and care for her in China, which she did.
Three of her brothers lived into their 80's but she outlived them all. It seems as though Grace was a very independant, ambitious woman. She never married, and lived a full and long life, passing away 20 February 1981. I can only imagine the things she saw and experienced in her lifetime. I look forward to learning more about her.
Donna (Talbot) MacIver > Heather (McKenzie) Talbot > Grace Margaret Barchet (Glen) McKenzie > Julia Blanche (Purnell) Glen > sister Grace Emily Purnell
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| Photo by Tejvan Pettinger (Flickr Creative Commons) |
In 1901 the family was living at 84 Abingdon Road in Oxford. A B&B is now located at this address.
84 Abingdon Road, Oxford, July 2017
photo: Google Maps
247 Iffley Road, Oxford, July 2017
phote: Google Maps
Grace was a witness at her sister Julia Blanche's wedding to John Erskine Glen (my great grandparents) on 28 May 1914. John and Blanche lived in Shanghai after their marriage. In 1919 Blanche became very ill, and John sent a telegram asking Grace to come and care for her in China, which she did.
Three of her brothers lived into their 80's but she outlived them all. It seems as though Grace was a very independant, ambitious woman. She never married, and lived a full and long life, passing away 20 February 1981. I can only imagine the things she saw and experienced in her lifetime. I look forward to learning more about her.
Donna (Talbot) MacIver > Heather (McKenzie) Talbot > Grace Margaret Barchet (Glen) McKenzie > Julia Blanche (Purnell) Glen > sister Grace Emily Purnell
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