Dorothy Golding née Hamer

Dorothy Golding (1894-1991) was Job Hamer’s grand-daughter, and daughter of Thurston Hamer, Job’s eldest son. She left behind quite a lot of material which is of interest to family historians.

She was born in 1894 in Mexico. See the entry for Thurston Hamer for the story of how her father met her mother. We have a photograph of her when she was 7 years old. In her written ‘Reminiscences’ and in an interview she gave in 1980 she talks about life in Mexico around the turn of the century. She talks about Mexico City, which was tiny compared to the huge city of today, and she describes the houses where her relatives lived and a little bit about the households and the servants. The family were clearly reasonably prosperous, and lived quite a comfortable life. She talks a little about holidays in England (see No. 5 for example) but she does not say very much about herself.

She was educated mostly at home and had a succession of governesses, including the redoubtable ‘Fraulein’ who insisted on cold baths for all the children. As Mexico became increasingly unstable due to the Revolution, she and her elder siblings were sent away to school. She was sent to Havergal College in Toronto. In 1914 she went on holiday to England with her parents, and they got caught there with the outbreak of the First World War. She eventually managed to go back to Canada where she attended the Toronto Conservatory of music (I have a certificate dated 1917) and taught music at Havergal. She also worked in a bank for a while. I know that she suffered from financial hardship at this time of her life, due to the closing down of the family business in Mexico, and I think the money she earned was spent supporting others in her family. I remember her saying that she saved money by wearing her shoes beyond the point at which they provided support, and she always said that had a lasting effect on the health of her feet.

She must have returned to Mexico in 1919 or 1920. She met Harold Golding through mutual friends, and they eventually got married.