I've been working on the story of HS Chambers as I need at least 5000 words written for the Family History Writing Retreat I will be attending at the end of January. Happily, the words are mounting up and the magic number is getting close. The most recent chapters have been about his immigration to Canada and the place where he first settled. Finding out information hasn't been easy.
When I first looked into Harold Chambers' immigration to Canada it was the 1911 census that told me he had immigrated in that same year. A search of the Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 on Find My Past showed that the Harold Chambers with the closest birth year left Liverpool for Quebec on May 6th on the Laurentic. His occupation was listed as labourer but perhaps that was how a railway clerk was classified or maybe he had changed jobs.
The 1911 Canadian census was taken on June 1, 1911, so a departure date at the beginning of May would have seen him in Canada in time to be counted and he should also have been counted in the English census taken the same year but I searched for him in vain on the 1911 English census. He should have been there because that census was taken on April 2nd of the year.
It wasn't until I visited The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax and someone in one of the booths there at Library and Archives Canada searched for Harold Chambers' immigration record at my request that different information came up. This entry was for HS Chambers whose occupation was listed as a clerk. He travelled in March of the year, which would explain why he wasn't on the 1911 English census. The occupation fit better than the entry I had found although he was listed as being older than the man I was targeting. But a check of the Arriving Passengers Lists 1865-1935 at Ancestry for the same ship, the Empress of Ireland, gave the right age and occupation. It seemed like the correct entry but why would he arrive at St. John, New Brunswick if he was going west? A further search provided the information. St. John was used when the St. Lawrence was blocked by ice.
Knowing the correct ship helped me to find out more about the trip across the Atlantic. There was lots of information about the Empress of Ireland online such as details about the amenities for second class passengers, which was how HS Chambers had travelled. Photos of the ship also helped me to picture the staterooms and common areas he would have been privy to. I don't know if this wealth of information is because of the ship's history or if similar information is available for other vessels. I do know that the Empress of Ireland is of interest because it sank in 1914 with significant loss of life after a collision in the St. Lawrence.
I wrote about the end of the Empress of Ireland in previous blog posts on July 21 and 28, 2018. The first of the posts can be found at http://genihistorypath.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-story-end-of-empress-of-ireland.html.
Changing Harold Chambers' date of arrival from May to March, 1911 puts a whole different complexion on things. His initial views of the country wouldn't have been warm ones to say the least. I'll have to see what I can find out about the rest of his trip to his destination.
Sources:
ancestry.ca 1911 Canadian Census; Canada, Arriving Passengers Lists, 1865-1935
findmypast.com.uk, 1911 English Census; Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960
The R.M.S. Empress of Ireland Community https://www.theempressofireland.com/theempressofireland
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