Delorma Brown Hubbard & Emma Pridmore

Tim’s 2nd-great-grandfather, Delorma Brown “DB” Hubbard, son of John and Lydia (Randolph) Hubbard, was born 8 May 1842 in Albion (Orleans) New York, and died there 21 March 1915. He married in 1866, Emma Pridmore, who was born 11 January 1844 in Great Dalby (Leicestershire) England, and died 7 April 1917 in Batavia (Genesee) New York, daughter of William and Ann (Sturgess) Pridmore.

Delorma Brown “DB” Hubbard
(1842-1915)

The following is from the Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, 22 March 1915, page 9:

Albion, March 21.—The death of Delorma B. Hubbard, a retired business man, occured this morning in his home, West Bank and Liberty streets, aged 72 years. He was born in Albion May 8, 1842, and had always lived here. Mr. Hubbard was an expert accountant. He was engaged for some time in the grocery business with Robert Wilkins. Later he engaged in the wholesale produce business with Charles Vandekar, and continued later with the late mayor, Eugene English.

Mr. Hubbard bore a striking likeness to the portraits of “Uncle Sam” and on several occasions participated in large parades representing that distinguished character. He has lived a retired life in recent years. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Emma Pridmore Hubbard, and one daughter, Mrs. Charles Hamilton, both of Batavia: also one sister, Mrs. Starkweather, who lives in the eastern part of the state. The funeral will be held from Mount Albion chapel Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock, Rev. W. J. Ford, pastor of the Albion Baptist Church, officiating. Burial will be in Mount Albion cemetery.

According to his son-in-law, Charles A. Hamilton:

The following is from Charles Amos Hamilton, An Autobiography, “The Memory of the Just is Blessed”, (Batavia, New York: Privately printed, 1941)

My father-in-law [Delorma] was a great believer in Luck. He would quote instance after instance of young men of his acquaintance who had gotten their start in a successful career through marriage with a rich man’s daughter, through inheritance of an established business, through association with some prominent man, etc.

According to his great-granddaughter and namesake, Delorma (Rodgers) Morton, Delorma disliked the feminine sound of his name, and so always went by his initials, DB.

DB & Emma married the year after the end of the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Emma was a homemaker. She came to America in 1857 with her father, when she was about 16 years old, but it is not known if her mother died in England, or perhaps at sea, as no death record has been found for her thus far on either side of the Atlantic. According to her son-in-law, Charles A. Hamilton:

Mother [Emma] made her home with us, where she was supremely welcome.  She was the only real mother that I ever had, and we loved each other devotedly.

Emma Pridmore (1844-1917)

The following is from The Buffalo Times, Buffalo, New York, 9 April 1917, page 6:

BATAVIA, April 9—Mrs. Emma P. Hubbard, aged 73 years, died at the New York State Institute for the Blind on Saturday, following a long illness. She is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Gertrude M. Hamilton, wife of the superintendent of the State school, and two brothers, Reuben Pridmore of Albion and George Pridmore of South Bend, Ind. Burial will take place at Mt. Albion cemetery, Albion.

Emma died of cancer and is buried with DB at Lot #955, Clematis Path, Mt. Albion Cemetery, Albion, New York. [The stone in the center of this plot has four surnames: HUBBARD, HAMILTON, PRIDMORE, RODGERS. The adjoining plot has a center stone with one surname, STARKWEATHER, a family DB’s sister married into.]

Delorma & Emma were the parents of three children, all born in Albion. Sadly, the two older children predeceased their parents:

1. John Delorma Hubbard, born 16 July 1867, died 25 July 1883, age 16. John is buried with his parents at Lot #955, Clematis Path, Mt. Albion Cemetery, Albion, New York.

2. Mary Estelle “Mamie” Hubbard, born 13 March 1869, died 22 May 1892 in Rochester (Monroe) New York, age 23, of Bright’s disease. Mamie was engaged to Charles Hamilton when she died, and he later married her younger sister. Mamie is buried with her parents at Lot #955, Clematis Path, Mt. Albion Cemetery, Albion, New York. Mamie’s niece Allegra Estelle (Hamilton) (Rodgers) Lloyd, was named in her honor.

The following are from undated newspaper clippings:

Miss Mamie Estelle Hubbard, daughter of DB Hubbard, a popular teacher in the Grammar school, died in Rochester Sunday evening last, after an illness of several months, aged twenty-three years. The funeral services took place at the Baptist church, of which deceased was a member, yesterday afternoon. ?Animean may 26 1892?

A Loved One Gone: The hearts of very many in Albion were saddened when the news reached this village of the death of Mamie Estelle Hubbard, which occurred in Rochester Sunday last, May 22d.

For some time past Miss Hubbard had been in poor health, and was in Rochester undergoing medical treatment, but it was only a few days before her death that the seriousness of her case was realized. The tenderest care and highest medical skill could do naught to prolong her life, and she passed away surrounded by those who were dear and near to her.

She was the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. DB Hubbard, of this village, being twenty-three years of age. She graduated from the Albion High School in 1886, being the youngest member of the class, and she is the first one to pass away. For four years she has been engaged as a teacher in the schools of our village.

Since the early age of eleven years she has been a member of the Baptist church and has been faithful in attendance and participation in its services; also exemplifying in her daily life the teachings of Him whom she had chosen to follow.

The funeral services were held at the Baptist church Wednesday at 2 pm, conducted by Rev AC Barrell, assisted by Rev EH Rudd. The public schools were all closed and the teachers attended in a body. A large delegation of the members of the Albion Lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen attended, and acted as escort, thus showing, in a marked manner, the high respect in which the daughter of an honored member of the Order was held. The high esteem in which the deceased was held was testified to by the profusion of flowers with which the casket and pulpit were decked, which had been presented by her former teachers, schoolmates, pupils and friends.

By the death of Miss Hubbard the community loses one of its loveliest and purest characters. All who knew her, even slightly, were impressed with her sunny disposition and equanimity of temperament, and those who, bound to her in the dearest relationships of life, have felt the inspiration and sympathy of her presence, and the grand wealth of her affection, while deeply mourning her loss, feel that, in respect to her, ”Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all.’

Her influence for good will long be felt in the character and habits of those under her instruction, and all her companions will be elevated and purified by the remembrance and example of her upright Christian life.

Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayer,
Whose loves in Higher love endure,
What souls possess themselves so pure,
Or is there blessedness like theirs?

3. Gertrude Mabel Hubbard (Tim’s great-grandmother), born 9 December 1874, died 31 May 1965 in Marlboro (Monmouth) New Jersey. She married 30 June 1897 in Albion, Charles Amos Hamilton, who was born 19 March 1866 in Hinsdale (Cattaraugus) New York, and died 28 October 1943 in Batavia, son of Charles Munson and Eliza Ann (Devoe) Hamilton. Gertrude & Charles were the parents of a daughter.

14 thoughts on “Delorma Brown Hubbard & Emma Pridmore”

    1. Something about her pulls me in. I like how she’s leaning on the arm of the chair instead of sitting up straight the way most people used to pose.

    1. It was cool to learn that he participated in large parades depicting Uncle Sam! Any little tidbit about our ancestors’ lives helps us to know them better. I wish modern day obituaries included more details.

  1. An interesting piece of history about immigrants and families. Interesting to see old photos of people from long ago. Like the hairdos and clothing of their age. Glad you have discovered some of your family history and relatives.

    1. The photos are my favorite discoveries, especially the ones that are identified. Our niece took a class on fashion history in college and she can roughly date a photo by the style of clothing the people are wearing.

      1. Interesting. Those old photos are very interesting. Makes me wonder what their lives were like – definitely much different than ours.

        1. I wonder, too. Most of the things we take for granted now (and think of as essential) didn’t even exist 100-200 years ago…

  2. The photos are remarkably clear – how nice to delve into the past and find all this info. I took my grandmother to Greenfield Village (now called “The Henry Ford”) back when she visited us for my college graduation. Part of this huge village is a museum with farm implements and vintage clothing from the turn of the century and beyond. My grandmother had the best time there as we walked along and she was pointing out button shoes, corsets, dresses and large farm equipment that were part of her youth growing up on a farm. She had the best time there and didn’t stop talking about it for days.

    1. For every ancestor I have a good picture of there are more that have no pictures or pictures in terrible condition. I tried one of those digital photo restoration sites and wasn’t very impressed with the results.

      I love living history museums like your Greenfield Village! (We have Mystic Seaport here.) What a wonderful treat for your grandmother and I’m sure spending the day there with you became a treasured memory for her. There’s something about the feeling you get when stepping back into the past, even for a short while.

      1. Since I’m an only child, I got all my mom’s family albums and a few of my mom on a bearskin rug as a baby were cute, but the photo had some rips and tears and was faded, yet pictures taken the same year of my grandparents holding my mom as a baby as very clear. I often wondered if maybe someone carried that bearskin photo around in a handbag or wallet? I know there are restoration services but I’ve never seen any of their work before.

        My grandmother thoroughly enjoyed herself and didn’t stop talking about it for days. She lingered as long at the clothing she had worn as she did at the tractors, filling me on what everything was called. One day we will enjoy such a display of groovy clothes from the 60s and 70s.

        It was

        1. It’s hard to know why some photographs keep better than others but being carried around in a wallet is probably one of the worst places to store them! The work they show on the photo restoration websites looks amazing and I’ve only tried one so far. It was a sale for $35 for one digital picture. (It’s more if you want a paper print.) The result wasn’t that great. I might try another place but am not inclined to spend so much money on every random photograph.

          Sounds like you got a well rounded swing through the past with your grandmother as tour guide. 🙂

          1. I had no idea a photo restoration service costs so much. Too bad you paid that and were disappointed in the result Barbara. In the photo album were two 8 X 10 watercolor portraits of my mom. Someone painted them on paper, not canvas. They are in excellent condition. I am going to use them one day in a blog post, maybe on a special birthday … I thought of doing it this year when she turned 95 on Valentine’s Day.

            I did have a great tour guide and my mom was so glad she suggested we go there to walk around.

          2. Perhaps I expected too much. Sigh. Looking forward to seeing the watercolor portraits of your mom. Maybe on Mothers Day? 🙂 💙

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