Another little lamb in Hamilton cemetery

 Another lamb stone for a child in Hamilton Cemetery, not too far from Wesley Charles Spike.  Minnie Lee was born in England to parents Gibblum Lee and Grace Alice Walker (1) on March 29, 1909 and baptized in Hollinwood Church in Oldham, County England on July 14 of the same year(2) 

Gibblum and Grace were married on 3 February 1903 at Hollinwood Church.  Gibblum was a carrier and Grace was a doubler (yarn winding).  Gibblum's father Thomas (deceased at the time) was a collier and Grace's father William Thomas was a gas stoker.  Thomas and Sarah Ann Hill were witnesses (3)  

Minnie appears with her parents, older brother William(5 years), and recently born brother Henry in the 1911 Census of England at 30 Lee Street in Oldham, the home of her uncle Arthur Gilfoy and Aunt Martha Ann.  There were 4 rooms in the house, with 4 adults and 6 children living there. Her older cousin Lilly was already working at the tender age of 13 as a reacher for weaving! (4)  Gibblum's occupation was a gas stoker. It was noted that Gibblum and Grace had two other children who passed away and unfortunately as you will soon see, Gibblum and Grace would experience the loss of several more children

On 14 Sept 1911, Minnie, her mother (28), and brother William Henry (5) arrived in Quebec City on board the Empress of Ireland.(5)  Baby Henry appears to have not survived to make the trip. Grace was going to meet her husband, a city labourer in Hamilton, who arrived in Canada ahead of her in April(6).  Not too long after their reunion, they conceived their 6th child, who sadly stillborn on 25 Jul 1912.  The family was living at 313 Birmingham Street in Hamilton.(7)  The family welcomed another daughter Grace Alice on 30 October 1916 while living at 179 Birmingham Street in Hamilton.  Gibblum was a foreman for City Works.(8)

From the 1921 census it appears that Gibblum and Grace and had a son George in 1918(9) and another son Thomas in 1921.  I didn't see a record for a child born in the 1916 timeframe but I suspect that there may have been a child who did not live.

Our Minnie died on the 17th January 1919 from respiratory issues and had lymphatic leukaemia, the 5th child to pass at a young an age in the Lee family.(10)

(1) Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 260

(2)Ancestry.com. Manchester, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

(3)Ancestry.com. Manchester, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

(4) The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911

(5)Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Series: RG 76-C; Roll: T-4781

(6)Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Series: RG 76-C; Roll: T-4740

(7)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 181

(8)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Series: Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Reel: 280; Record Group: Rg 80-2

(9)Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 62; Census Place: 62, Hamilton East, Ontario; Page Number: 29

(10)

Charles Wesley Spike taken by whooping cough

 John and I walked around the Hamilton Cemetery Sunday morning to look at the veteran's stones and we encountered a number of stones for children. A few with little lambs caught my eye. Charles Wesley Spike was born at 211 Picton St East (Hamilton, Ontario) on 24 April 1916 to mother Millicent Amy Needham and father Charles Thomas Spike, a soldier with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces.(1)   Not even 5 months later little Charles developed whooping cough and died.(2)   Charles and Millicent were married 15 July 1915 in Hamilton(3) and Charles attested 10 Nov 1915(4).  I feel for Millicent, she gave birth without her husband, took care of her son without him and also helplessly watched her baby get sick and die without him.

Charles Sr. was a sail and tent maker prior to the war and emigrated from Devonshire England. When he returned home in 1918, he and Millicent had two more boys by 1921, Clifford and Harold.(5)

I poked a little bit into the history of Charles Sr.  It seems Millicent married a bit of a bad boy.  According to his attestation record, he was just shy of 24 years old, had several tattoos and had already had 4 years military experience.  He listed his experience with the 13th R.R (Royal Regiment), which is the militia in Hamilton but I also discovered that he served time in England.  He enlisted with the 9th Lancers on 24 June 1911, but by 27 Oct, he was reported to have deserted in Canterbury. (6)  By December of the same year, he was on the Empress of Ireland bound for Canada.(7)  Charles died at the age of 49 in the Christie Street Hospital in Toronto on 24 March 1942 of pneumonia and is buried in Prospect Cemetery.  His son Clifford reported his death and he stated that his dad's occupation was sailmaker but he had not worked in the job since 1929(8) I wonder if he had some lasting health issues from the war. Tragedy seems to have struck a second time for the Spike family in 1942.  Harold Leslie while serving in France with the Royal Regiment of Canada died on 19 August at the age of 21 and is buried in Janval Cemetery, Dieppe.(9)  You can see a picture of him here: https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2317453.  According to the veterans website, Clifford also served in the war and there was younger brother Kenneth back in Canada in 1942.   In doing some further searching, Charles and Millicent had another child, a daughter who was born prematurely and died 7 Nov 1922 (scanned death records image on Ancestry for Wentworth County (Hamilton))

Millicent was born in Pontefract, England and emigrated to Canada with her parents in 1904 and by 1906 settled in the town of Indian Head, Saskatchewan.(10)  She seems to have well outlived Charles and died in 1959 (according to an unsourced ancestry tree).  There's a lovely picture of her on Ancestry.

(1)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Series: Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Reel: 280; Record Group: Rg 80-2

(2)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 227

(3) Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928; Reel: 35710 

(4)Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Canada; Soldiers of the First World War (1914-1918)

(5)Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 63; Census Place: 63, Hamilton West, Ontario; Page Number: 12

(6)The National Archives; Kew, London, England; MEPO 6: Metropolitan Police: Criminal Record Office: Habitual Criminals Registers and Miscellaneous Papers; Reference: MEPO 6/54

(7)Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Series: RG 76-C; Roll: T-4825

(8)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS 935; Series: M023563; Reel: 678

(9)Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Author: Peter Singlehurst; Series Title: British Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1918; Archive Name: London, United Kingdom

(10)Year: 1906; Census Place: 43, Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan; Page: 26; Family No: 7

Your friends in Scotland have not forgotten about you

 

I went on a bucket list trip to Scotland a couple of months ago and absolutely loved every minute of it.  So much rich history, beautiful buildings, and interesting stories.  While on a ghost walk, we visited GreyFriars Kirkyard. While standing at the entrance, near the GreyFriars Bobby memorial, I turned around to see this plaque on the wall.  I was 14 years old when this disaster happened but for whatever reason, I didn't remember the details. After a few google searches and the reading articles about incident and the everlasting effects of this catastrophe, I can only think that my brain has suppressed my recollection because my conscious mind cannot fathom the injustice served up to the people in Bhopal, which continues to this day.   While I'm deeply troubled, I am definitely not alone.  It seems that the Black Workers’ Conference of the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) was deeply troubled well before I was.  In 2014, the STUC unanimously passed a resolution to support the people of Bhopal and their rights to justice. (1)

(1) https://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/scottish-workers-back-bhopal-gas-survivors-struggle-for-justice/story-iAXbaop1nu9Q3gzBaz3T8K.html