http://www.geocities.com/keeto111/withers/cf.txt
THE STORY OF CHARLES & FLORA (FLORENCE) WITHERS
by Marlene eridsdale"at"cogeco.ca 24.7.2007.
Marlene is 3842 2576 213 at
http://www.geocities.com/keeto111/withers/withersberks.html
Some of the people referred to:
Jason WITHERS 3842 2576
Charles WITHERS 3842 25762
Dorothy WITHERS 3842 2576 27
Glad WITHERS 3842 2576 21
Flo WITHERS 3842 2576 22
Mary WITHERS 3842 2576 23
Charles WITHERS and Flora JAMES met in Greenwich, England and decided to get
married. Flora's parents wanted to leave England but couldn't decide on
Australia or Canada. They eventually sailed to Canada in July of 1907 aboard
the S.S. LAKE ERIE.
Charles and Flora wanted to get married in England first before immigrating
to Canada so they were married in March of 1904 in Greenwich, London.
They stayed in England as World War 1 broke out and Charles enlisted. He was
in the war for 5 years while Flora was at home with four of seven children that
she would eventually have.
They immigrated to Canada departing from Liverpool June 8, 1924 and arriving
in the Port of Quebec June 18, 1924 aboard the S.S. REGINA.
The S.S. REGINA was built during W.W.1 and was used late in the war as a
troop ship. It reverted back to a passenger liner by 1922.
Charles could find no work in England after the war and all of my
Grandmother's family were now in Canada. Flora's mother, Elizabeth (Nan) JAMES
had passed away in Georgetown, Ontario Canada in 1919.
Their destintation, originally was Winnipeg, Manitoba so they traveled, by
train, to Winnipeg where Flora's brother, Jerimiah JAMES, resided at 608
Toronto St.
On the Passenger Manifest it states `Nearest relative in country from which
you came...Grandfather Mr. WITHERS, 61 Burney St., Greenwich'. This was Jason
William WITHERS born in 1855 in Clanfield, Hampshire: he was 69 years old and
died a year after Charles and Flora left for Canada. My Aunt Mary remembers
him asking her parents why they were leaving, as he watched them depart.
Arrriving in Winnipeg, after a long grueling trip across Canada by train,
they discovered that the winters in Winnipeg were very severe. They left
Winnipeg for Hamilton, Ontario early in 1925 as Flora was expecting another
baby, Dorothy, and her parents and sibling had all resided in Hamilton when
they came over from England, except Jeremiah.
They settled in Hamilton in a town called Stoney Creek, just outside of
Hamilton and remained there until their deaths. They were married 55 years.
My aunt wrote a letter with some of the WITHERS family experiences:
"We left from Liverpool on the White Cunard ship REGINA and I had never seen
such a big ship, but as we passed out of the harbour, another ship came in and
it was larger than ours. There were a lot of boys from the orphan's home going
to Canada to work on farms and they were playing football (soccer) on the deck.
Unfortunately, I got seasick as I had been sitting on a bench looking out into
the water and I guess the motion got to me.
We left Quebec and traveled, by train, all the way from Quebec to Winnipeg,
Manitoba where Mom's brother lived. I was wondering how she would recognize
him after all these years. We walked into the station and she said, there they
are! She had spotted him right away, and there were lots of hugs and kisses.
They took us to their home which was a beautiful big house with only one
daughter living with them at home. We were assigned to the attic and Mom & Dad
had a room on the second floor.
When Dad got a job we rented a house in a place called Weston. We were
greenhorns, and in the summer we would run across the field, but no one else
did and we couldn't figure out why. We soon found out why as the mosquitoes
were so big we were nearly eaten alive.
I loved Winnipeg, but the winter was so cold and Dad had to go out West with
the railway because all the men went to what was called lumbering. Of course,
he was unable to do that work so he took a job in a Hotel, but soon came back
and decided to move to Hamilton where the weather was milder.
When we arrived in Hamilton, Dad went looking for work and the family had to
be split up during this time, as there were too many of us for anyone to care
for all of us together. He finally got a job at the Harvester Factory where
they made farm equipment. They finally purchased a house on Belmont Ave. where
our youngest sister Dorothy was born, and we were finally all together once
more.
Glad and Flo were married the same year and I was their bridesmaid. I had
two new dresses within a three month period, which was unusual for any of us.
Both of the dresses where made by the future mothers-in-law, so it didn't cost
our fold anything."
Flora, Charles and the rest of the family eventually moved into a house,
which was built by Charles and some of Flora's brothers, on 100 Charlotte St.
in Stoney Creek, Ontario. They remained there up until my Grandfather's death.
During the years prior they also raised three of their grandchildren, which
was not easy as there was a depression on. They continued to care for them up
until my grandfather passed on.
I remember many summers going to cottages with my grandmother and my three
cousins, by train. We all have great memories of those times.
My Grandfather was in the British Army in World War 1 for 5 years so he
wasn't around much while the children were growing up.
When he came home on leave, some of the younger children didn't remember him
and were frighten that a man was in their home.
My grandfather, Charles Edward, like to sing and play the piano, a showman
like his father, Jason WITHERS, while my Grandmother and her daughters liked to
kick up their heels to `Knees Up Mother Brown'.
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