How Correcting an Error Uncovered a Different Story

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, Halifax

 I remember well the last correction I made to my ancestors' story. I was confident in the narrative I had built about my grandfather's immigration. He immigrated to Canada in 1911. This was confirmed in the 1911 census and I found him on the passenger list for the Laurentic which landed at Quebec on May 13, 1911. Or so I thought. The entry made sense as the Harold Chambers on the passenger list was the right age and was listed as a labourer. On top of that the Laurentic was a ship of the White Star Line which became my grandfather's employer later in his stay in Canada. The Laurentic came to a well known end in 2017 when it struck a mine off the Irish cost. At the time it was carrying gold bullion to pay for munitions in North America. Most of the gold was recovered but there is enough still missing to keep interest in the wreck alive.

While I was in Halifax last year, I visited the Canadian Museum of Immigration. On a whim, even though I knew he hadn't entered Canada at Pier 21, I decided to check out my grandfather's immigration information. Would there be any further information available through Library and Archives Canada? The woman at the desk came up with a completely different entry! It was also for a Harold Chambers but he landed in St. John, NB in March of 1911. Why would he have gone to St. John? The ship was also different. It was the Empress of Ireland. The entry totally changed what I thought I knew about Harold's transition to Canada. Was the entry I had found first right or was this new one correct? 

                                                                           
 Library and Archives Canada passenger list entry for Harold Chambers

 

It turns out that vessels landed passengers at St. John or Halifax in the cold months when the St Lawrence was blocked by ice. So passengers arriving in March would have a longer journey by rail when they reached land. So that made sense. The Harold Chambers on the March 1911 passenger list was also the right age and, furthermore, his religion was given as Con (which I took to mean Congregational which fit with Harold's background), and there was that S for the middle name that I couldn't ignore. I thought it was too bad that Harold's story was no longer tied to the well known Laurentic, that was until I found out about the lesser known tale of the Empress of Ireland. Now I have another story to follow up on.  

Sources:

findmypast.com Passengers lists leaving UK 1890-1960

"Plans afoot for 'gold bullion ship'" The Province, pA31, Tuesday, July 8, 2008.