Annie Rutherford

Annie’s diary is special for at least two reasons.  First, women with tiny children such as Annie rarely took the time to write a diary.  She is busy with her little ones, visitors, and housework – and keeps a record of the family’s activities.  Her in-laws live close at hand and are a big part of her life.  Second, the artist Tom Thomson, aged seventeen, lives next door and helps with their turnips.  A lot of “Toms” run through the diary and it is challenging to identify Tom Thomson because Annie’s son, brother, father-in-law, and uncle are all named Tom! Capture the last year of Annie’s life in her daughter Margaret’s diary.