Taking the hint

                                                                   Ornamental representation of a steam engine

Lately I haven't had much time for genealogical research. Other ways to spend time online have proliferated the longer social isolation has gone on. Time that once was taken up by webinars and virtual conferences now seems to go to Zoom meetings and the fall out from writing retreats. At least Zoom writing sprints have led to me getting more words down.

In a Zoom meeting about genealogy the topic of Ancestry messaging came up. Apparently it has improved. I went on the Ancestry site to see if I had any messages. Nada. So, I checked out my family tree on the site. Green leaves were springing up all over. I have a tendency to ignore them but some were for recent family so I checked them out. I already knew a lot of the information but I went further than I usually do and found some real treasures, copies of original documents in sources I had never though of checking.

Because of where he lived when he was working for the railway, I had surmised that Harold S Chambers worked for the London and South Western Railway. I had never found anything to document that fact. That is, until I checked one of the Ancestry hints. Attached to Harold's name on my tree was a hint that led to a copy of the document for UK railway employment records that confirmed that Harold Strange Chambers worked for the London and South Western Railway. My assumption was correct! The documents was a record of his time with that company.

He entered into service in July of 1900. His age at the time was given as 15. The records also noted his rise in rank and salary as the years progressed. From 1900 to 1906 there were raises every year and then none. He remained in his employment with the railway with no increase in pay for just over another 4 years.

When researching how Harold would have traveled from Bournemouth to Liverpool in 1911 to take the Empress of Ireland to Canada, I ran across mentions of Britain's first railway strike in August of that year. Harold was long gone from England by that time but perhaps employment conditions were behind his resignation from the railway in January of 1911. Then again, he immigrated in March of 1911. Perhaps he needed the time to visit far flung friends and relatives before he left the country of his birth.

 

Sources:

Ancestry hint accessed February 17 2021 UK, Railway Employment records 1833- London and South Wester 1859-1920 Clerical Sta

The Llanelli Railway Riots https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/The-Llanelli-Railway-Riots/