The Sobey Family History

Maude May Elizabeth Sobey was my great grandmother.  She was the third child of eleven children born to Edwin Thomas Sobey and Elizabeth Mary Harding.  She was born in 1872 at Portsea and was particularly close to her sister, Mabel Jeannette Sobey.  She married Albert Edward Bridger in 1896 and together they had eight children, two of whom died in early infancy.  Albert Edward Bridger had smallpox in adulthood so it is possible the two youngest children, James and Albert Jr., caught the same infection and died from it, although I have not seen their death certificates so cannot confirm this.   It is said in the family that Maude had a great sense of humour and was jovial.  We can see this in the family pictures where she is playing around and always smiling.  It's also noticeable that she has a large belly.  Aside from having eight kids she suffered from ovarian cysts, small bowel obstruction, blood poisoning and few other factors which all eventually contributed to her death.  These few conditions alone would not only cause a great deal of discomfort and pain, they would also cause a great amount of abdominal swelling.   She died at the Royal Hospital, Portsmouth on 17 July, 1947.  The only thing we have left of Great Grandma Sobey is the tea cup she would use to sip her tea from. 

Henry Sobey, born 1805, was my great, great, great grandfather.  He wasn't one to sit still as records show he travelled not only to Canada to help build the Rideau Canal, but also spent a few years in Bermuda as part of the Royal Corps of Engineers, taking his family with him.  See STORIES for details on his exploits at Ottawa.