Born in the late 1890s, Bella (Belle) Stewart was the youngest child of Thomas and Mary Walsh Stewart of St. John's, Newfoundland. Belle had two older sisters, Mary (Min) and Ida, my grandmother. There were two other girls, twins, and a boy, Alexander, who died previous to her birth.
Belle lived with her family on Job, then Water Street opposite the railway station. Throughout her youth and into her married life, Belle was close to her sisters, Min and Ida. Like her sister, Min, Belle worked as a stewardess on the boats crossing from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia prior to her marriage. As they married and had their children, the sisters continued to spend time together and enjoyed each other's company.
William (Bill) Robson, a young man of Scottish ancestry, like Belle's own father, became her husband. They eventually lived on Craigmillar Avenue when those houses were constructed. Bill worked at the dockyard as a brass smith. The Robsons had five children, Robert (Bob), Elizabeth(Bette), William (Bill), Hughey, Mary.
Belle died of cancer in 1956, Bill predeceased her in 1944. After their deaths, the girls, Bette and Mary continued to live in the family home on Craigmillar. Mary had married Thomas Christopher.
Bette's son, Gary, lives in Goulds, Newfoundland with his wife, Donna. Gary and Donna had two children, Tina and Terry. Gary and Donna lived near the retirement home where my Aunt Angela (Pretty) Woodford spent the last years of her life. Gary and Donna were great friends with my Aunt, especially in the last years of her life. It's amazing how the family connection spanned the generations!
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