Researching Edith Kate (Edie) Dendy ~ How I Spend My Playtime

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 34 (PLAYTIME)

Merriam-Webster defines playtime as:

"a time for play or diversion"  1 

With this in mind I decided to write about my most recent researching relative - Edith Kate Dendy known as Edie.

Family research is my playtime. 

I have written about Aunt Edie before, but this week I was researching her again after receiving her wedding dress.

My aunt was the keeper of the family stories, and after her death her granddaughter received this family treasure. 

The last time I was back home visiting she asked if I wanted to be the keeper of the dress. 

As the keeper of the family stories I promised to care for this family treasure.

84 years after the wedding

December 6th 1941
My grandma, Amy, to the left of the bride
Bride: Edith Kate (Edie) Dendy
Groom: Wilhelm Johanson aka Wiliam (Bill) Johnson

I have been researching Aunt Edie and Uncle Bill this week as I document the dress before tucking it away safely. 

I discovered the veil is missing, but the hair piece to hold it in place is there. All the other parts are in the box with layers of tissue protecting along with a wedding photo. 

The dress is a very simple beautiful dress that is still in great condition. There are no holes. The dress could be worn, but first a bit of gentle stain removing would be needed for the cuffs and bottom edging. 

This didn't stop my auntie (the previous keeper of the stories) from engaging in a bit of playtime with the dress

grandma, Amy, to the left of the 'bride' exactly like the original

If you want to read more about the history of the dress (and the playtime depicted above) check out this blog from  November 6th 2024

Anne-Teedy's Gorgeous White Hair ~ Edith Kate (nee Dendy) Johnson

Remembering the relatives that came before us.

Edith Kate (Edie) Dendy

Birth 22 MAR 1911 • R.M. of Pipestone, Bardal, Manitoba, Canada

Death 21 MAR 1983 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
and

William (Bill) Johnson aka Wilhelm Johanson

Birth 1893 • Sweden

Death 15 May 1970 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Edie & Bill had no children of their own.
They were the favourite aunt & uncle for my grandmother and her family. 

When family treasures tell the tale!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  Playtime definition. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved August 18th 2025 from 
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playtime

Sources:

Playtime definition. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved August 18th 2025 from 
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playtime

Photos:

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Anne-Teedy's Gorgeous White Hair ~ Edith Kate (nee Dendy) Johnson

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 45 (COLOURFUL)

"Is white the absence of color?
In color theory, white is the color of all wavelengths together. When you see a white object, all color wavelengths are reflected off of that object. When every color reflects from the object, there's no color left. Therefore, white is the absence of color in the object, while our eyes see all the reflected colors." 1 

It seems that white is one of the most colourful colours our eyes perceive.

It was the photo below that got me to thinking about this week's prompt and the colour white. 

Auntie Bobbi is wearing Aunt Edie's white wedding dress. Grandma is wearing her white silk pajamas. Ella has a beautiful white hair piece. Oscar the usher leads the way in his off white coat!

The story about this photo always makes me smile.

Auntie Bobbi was known for her special times with the littles in our family. She could make any day fun & special. There is no one who shared a tea party or event with Auntie Bobbi who doesn't smile fondly with the memory, and tear up thinking about how much we miss her.

Auntie Bobbi was a great story teller as you can see from the tale she told about this photo -  included below.

What an incredible tale that dress could tell in the 83 years that have passed since the day it was worn on that special wedding day.

According to Grandma, the dress has never been cleaned making the smudges of dirt 83 years old.

The records indicate Aunt Edie was married on December 6th 1941.

"Sunday, December 7, 1941, was supposed to be a day of rest for the military soldiers at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor naval base on the island of Oahu. But at 7:55 a.m., Japanese fighter planes zoomed in without warning and attacked the United States Pacific fleet, or naval vessels, moored in the harbor. Thousands of lives would be lost that day." 2

It is unlikely Aunt Edie was still wearing her dress when the Pearl Harbour bombing was announced. 

There is a possibility her wedding festivities went on all night with her still wearing the dress the morning of December 7th 1941. 

There is also a possibility the wedding took place on the 7th with the paperwork completed the 6th, but since the church would have been needed for church on Sunday this is also an unlikely scenario.

I think the tale of Aunt Edie wearing this beautiful dress on her wedding day when Pearl Harbor was announced makes a great tale for family lore, but it is likely not factual.

When I was small I thought her name was Anne-Teedy.

Our family tradition is for two names hyphened, and to my ears that was what I was hearing.

It wasn't until she died, and I read her obituary, that I found out they had always been saying Aunt Edie.

Grampsie (my great grandfather Ernest Elmer Bayes) moved in with his widowed sister, Aunt Edie, after his wife (great grandma Rose Honor nee Dendy) died.

It wasn't until I developed an interest in Genealogy that I learned Aunt Edie was his sister-in-law (great grandma Rose's sister), and not his sister.

Edith Kate (Edie) Dendy
Birth 22 MAR 1911 • R.M. of Pipestone, Bardal, Manitoba, Canada
Death 21 MAR 1983 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

She was 30 years old when she married 48 year old Bill from Sweden.

Wilhelm (William) (Bill) Johanson (Johnson)
Birth 1893 • Sweden
Death 26 MAY 1970 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Bill was a carpenter according to the records after his marriage.

I have been unable to find any records from before their marriage.

There were lots of family whisperings that Bill may have left a wife and/or children behind in Sweden.

Edie & Bill never had any children of their own, and doted on their nieces & nephews. 

In the voter's list from 1935 Aunt Edie was living at 597 Young Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She was a spinster residing with her widowed mother, married sister (great grandma Rose), and brother-in-law (great grandpa Ernest. Not listed, but I know they were living there too, were 9 year old Amy (my grandma), and her 7 year old brother Fred.

At age 14 that is Amy standing beside Edie at her wedding in the role of bridesmaid .

My mom told many fun tales of her adventures with her great Auntie Edie & Uncle Bill. 

Back: Hap, Rose, Edie, Bill, Teedie
Front: Jacki, Alf

The photo above is
my great grandparents" Ernest Elmer & Rose Honor (nee Dendy) Bayes
Edith Kate (nee Dendy) & Bill Johnson
Teedie - girlfriend of Alf Dendy in front of her
Jacki-Roberta Graham (my mom before she was my mom), in the front

I don't remember Uncle Bill because I was quite young when he died, but I do remember Aunt Edie being my favourite Grauntie. 

This photo is from one of her visits to British Columbia.

That gorgeous white hair!
Aunt Edie with her brother-in-law (Ernest Elmer Bayes),
great niece, and her X2 great nephew & niece

Here she is with her father, and a few of her siblings

Beautiful Aunt Edie

Remembering your favourite Grauntie!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  Is white the absence of color.  Color Theory. Retrieved November 5th 2024 from
https://www.aboutcolortheory.com/is-white-the-absence-of-color

2 Attack on Pearl Harbor.  National Geographic Kids. Retrieved November 5th 2024 from 
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/pearl-harbor

Sources:

Attack on Pearl Harbor.  National Geographic Kids. Retrieved November 5th 2024 from 
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/pearl-harbor

Genealogy Searches for Unrestricted Records. Manitoba Vital Statistics Branch. Retrieved November 6th 2024 from
https://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/Query.php

Is white the absence of color.  Color Theory. Retrieved November 5th 2024 from
https://www.aboutcolortheory.com/is-white-the-absence-of-color

Pearl Harbor attack. Brittanica. Retrieved November 5th 2024 from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack/The-attack

Pearl Harbor Attack, December 7, 1941. The National WWII Museum. Retrieved November 5th 2024 from
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/pearl-harbor-december-7-1941

What Happened At Pearl Harbor? Imperial War Museums. Retrieved November 5th 2024 from
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-happened-at-pearl-harbor

Photos:

Provided by relatives

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________