Often, streets are named after a developer’s family. This is the case for a bunch of streets in the Kensington-Bailey neighborhood on the East Side of Buffalo. In particular, the streets between Bailey Avenue and Eggert Road, north of the Kensington Expressway are mostly named after the Bickford Family’s first and middle names:
Streets in the Kensington-Bailey neighborhood named by Bickford
The following streets were named for Bickford and his family:
- Alice Ave
- Bickford Ave
- Davidson Ave
- Hastings Ave
- Phyllis Ave
- Martha Ave
- Gail Ave
- Millicent Ave
- Edith Ave
- Godfrey St
- Leonard St
- Kay St
- Janet St
General Bickford and Mary Davidson Wedding, 1904
Harold C. Bickford was born and raised in Toronto. He married Mary Davidson in 1904. Mary and Harold had seven children – Mary, Edward, Phyllis, Beatrice, Millicent, Harold and Faith. General Bickford served in three major conflicts for the British Army – the Boer War of South Africa (1899-1902), World War I (1914-1918) and the Russian Civil War (1918-1920). He was stationed in England, South Africa, India and France. Several of his children were born were born overseas.
General Bickford returned from the war, moved to Buffalo and divorced his wife. He left her with a nanny and seven children. Mary died of appendicitis in 1935. It was reported that the children had a difficult relationship with their father, which may be why he named the streets after them.
General Bickford Grave
General Bickford died in 1956 and is buried in St. James cemetery in Toronto.
To learn about other streets, check out the Street Index.
Sources:
- “Few Streets Named By City Government” Courier Express 2,26, 1954. Scrapbook vol 1, pg 153
- https://sites.google.com/site/genhcbickford/ (online June 2014)
Discovering Buffalo, One Street at a Time 