Gertrude Harding (1889-1977), who was born in rural eastern Canada, became a militant suffragette in England in the years before World War I and then, after the war, lived and worked in Bound Brook as a welfare worker. She resided in Warren from 1955 to 1974. With All Her Might, by Gretchen Wilson (Holmes & Meier, 1996), documents Harding's life and role in the Women's Social and Political Union, the militant English branch of the worldwide suffragist movement led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter, Christabel. After World War I, Harding spent time in France, then moved to Bound Brook where she accepted a position as head social worker for the Bound Brook Welfare Society. Harding moved to Warren "around 1955," writes Wilson, living in "a small house [where she] continued to sell sun-thickened raspberry and gooseberry jam. In her late sixties, Gert grew adept with a hammer and saw and, after fixing up her place, earned money doing odd jobs for neighbours. From the Goodwill she chose curtains and material, wicker chairs and rugs, and fixed up her home with a creative flair." In l974 she moved back to Rothesay, in New Brunswick, Canada. According to George Bebbington, Harding lived in a tiny Cape Cod on Thoresen Rd. Active in raising funds for the old public library then in Central School, she always greeted Hallowe'en trick-or-treaters dressed as a ghost. A copy of Wilson's book will be found in the Society's library. |