Travelling to work in Canada 1909

[umalaka]

Hi All

I'm trying to 'flesh out' what I know about the life of my grandfather Joseph Nicholls 
who was born Mar 1886 in Northampton England and died in 1918 in Egypt. He married my grandmother in Northampton in Sept 1910. I have a photo of him taken in Montreal prior to his marriage.

I am trying to find out when he went, what he did and when he came back. The family 'legend' is that he went to work on the railways, I do know he was a blacksmith when he married.

I think I may have found him arriving in Quebec on the Empress of Ireland on 16 Sep 1909. But as far as I am aware, the family at that time were of humble means so I'm wondering how he would have afforded to go there. Would his passage have been sponsored by a railway company? Would jobs in Canada have been advertised in England?

If he did arrive in Sep 1909 his stay was for less than a year so would working through a Canadian winter have been a normal timeframe for someone to make their 'fortune'?

Many thanks

John


 

[Lisaw]

Hi John,

The entry you found for Joseph Nicholls says he is 23 yrs old, he is going to his brother & sister in Ontario, his occupation is boiler maker & will do the same in Canada.

Does this sound like your grandfather?

Lisa

[umalaka]

Hi Lisa

Thanks for looking. That would be the right age. His siblings were Ellen b1871, Eliza b1874, William b1877, Harriett b1879, James b1880, George b 1884 and Emma b1888. They were all born in Northampton. I'm not aware of any going to Canada but it is just possible there is a family connection out there as Joseph's grandfather (James Knowlan) who died in 1890 was actually born in Quebec around 1814.

Boiler maker would be new to me but I guess being a blacksmith he would be able to make or repair parts for them.   

John

[Jacquie in Canada]

I think I found a better match for your Joseph on a different passenger list. The Lake Champlain departed from Liverpool and arrived in Montreal on 18 May 1906. There is a Joseph Nicholls, 22, single, who was a blacksmith going to Montreal. In the column that asks what country in the British Isles the person came from it says Northampton. Here's a link to the passenger list at Library and Archives Canada (he's on line 11):
http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e147/e003660031.jpg
The entry doesn't indicate whether he arrived under an immigration program like the CPR's though.

Jacquie

[umalaka]

Wow. Thanks Jacquie he would have been 20yrs and 2 months but that must be him surely. Bet he lied about his age!  Are there any lists to trace his return do you know?

John 

[Jacquie in Canada]

I couldn't find any entries in the incoming UK passenger list database that matched with him. Sorry.

Jacquie

[umalaka]

Many thanks for looking for me Jacquie

John