Great Scott!
Emigrating from Scotland, the Smith family grew and prospered in Canada
In 1910, Alexander Smith wrote to his brother George in northern Scotland: “Come to Australia!” Since there didn’t seem to be much future working with the horses on the estate of his current employer, my grandparents George and Alice Smith decided to emigrate. George contracted with a farmer in Baltimore, Ont., to work on his farm, intending to save money and then make his way to Australia. So, George, a pregnant Alice and their infant daughter Alice (my mother) sailed to Canada and arrived at the farm.
The farmer indicated that their living accommodations would be in the loft of the barn and that Alice would be expected to work in the house for the farmer’s wife. “No!” exclaimed George, “That loft is not safe for our young child. My wife was not supposed to work with yours. You have broken our agreement and I will not work for you.”
So George and his family left the farm and walked all the way into the town of Cobourg. The family stopped at the railway station, where George told the stationmaster that he needed a job and a place to live.
The stationmaster told him there was row housing available across the tracks for them, and a job—but the job was in Toronto. For the next 27 years, George worked on Fleet Street in Toronto and went home on weekends.
Two redheaded brothers, Bill and Bob, soon joined the Smith’s little redheaded daughter, Alice. Then along came a blond daughter, Isabella. After about a year, George and Alice realized there was something wrong with their dear Isabella. They visited a specialist and it was discovered that she was deaf.
When another redheaded male baby arrived, George went to the post office to register the birth, as was the custom. When asked what he wanted to call this one, George replied, “One too many!” The baby was actually named Frank, after George’s brother, who had also moved his family to Cobourg and was currently
serving in the First World War. Due to a leaky heart valve, the army had turned down George.
George and Alice Smith’s family continued to grow. The next little girl, Bessie, also a redhead, suffered from the same malady as Isabella. The two little girls spent many years—from September to June—boarding at a school for the deaf in Belleville; they were never home for birthdays or Christmases. Two more boys, Edward and Clarence followed, both darkhaired like their mother. Finally, the last little girl sadly only lived for three months. The doctor declared it a blessing, as she was not only deaf but blind.
Over the years, George and Alice developed friendships with their Scottish and English neighbours. A musical couple, George played the accordion and Alice the concertina.
By this time, Alice’s sister Charlotte had immigrated with her family to Stratford, Ont. All the men in the family worked on the railroad.
Word eventually reached George that his brother Alexander, who had encouraged him to come to Australia, had been murdered for his money! By then, Canada had become home for George and his family.
Sadly, on May 12, 1937, George was killed on the job in Toronto. An inquest determined that a fellow workman had removed a warning flag and a train shunted into the workmen.
Two years later, Canada was at war. All five of George and Alice’s sons—bill, Bob, Frank, Eddie and Clarence—joined the Canadian army and served their country during the Second World War. They all survived the war—george would have been proud. ■