| Isabella was the seventh daughter and eigth child of George
Hutchison and Ann Sangster. She was born on 7th June 1884 at Hardslacks of
Cruden: attended Hatton school to the age of 14. She opted to become a
school teacher, and followed the usual course of working as a pupil-teacher
in her old school. She found a friend of the same age and common interests
in Eleanor Ann Mundie who at the same time was a pupil-teacher at Coldwells
school, Cruden. Both girls were members of the Parish Church choir.
Friendship led to exchanging visits and, eventually to the marriage of
Eleanor Mundie to Isabella's brother Tom.
With some teaching experience she moved to the school at Aberlour-on-Spey,
somewhat remote on 1900, and feeling homesick managed to transfer to Old
Deer school - a more modest seven miles away. However, she contracted
tuberculosis which required a protracted stay at Kingussie Sanatorium.
Believing the treatment to be wholly effective, and keen to develop a career
as a school teacher in Canada she emigrated to Montreal and joined the
family of her brother James - twelve years older than her.
But this was a young ambitious family, and Bella was a great help in the
house, so the teaching career never started..
Family history is decently reticent about the rest of her story; but a
forthright elderly 'cousin' averred that Bella's older brother
Tom, who adored her, became to concerned about the content of her letters
home that he sailed to Montreal, brought her home to Hardslacks, then
Dorbshill, but too late for treatment to be effective. She died at Dorbshill
on 8th September 1911.
TMH. December 2003. |