George Martin, My Grandfather

My grandfather was as charming a man as you would ever want to meet. He was also funny, romantic, opinionated, a devoted family man, a great writer, and a worrier, especially about money. 

We were always told that he was an orphan who came to Canada to train to be an Anglican minister in the Eastern Townships of Quebec but he wasn't suited for that so instead he went to work for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce where he worked until 1966. My cousin recalled being told he had once worked at the bank in Montreal where his job was to remove old bills from circulation. 

Homestead Application

He ended up in Lake Saskatoon in 1914 which was a small pioneer town at the time. He met and married my grandmother, applied for a homestead, and then enlisted. A story he used to tell from this time period is how he extended his leave one weekend to marry my grandmother. He got into trouble when he returned to the barracks. "I'm very sorry, sir. I left to get married." "Good for you," his commanding officer said. "The army needs more brave men like you." 

Grandad at Sarcee Camp

During the war, my grandmother took a ship to England to be closer to my grandfather. She lived with his brother and sister-in-law, worked at a munitions factory, and met his relatives. He came home and worked in Lake Saskatoon. He must have given up on the homesteading idea and kept working for the bank in Pouce Coupe, Monitor, Delia, and finally Edmonton where he was in charge of the foreign exchange at the downtown branch. Finally he became manager of the Highlands Branch. 

After he retired, he and my grandmother bought a farm near Beaverlodge, next to her family homestead. He relieved for bank managers in the far north, including Uranium City, Inuvik, Aklavik, and Fort Smith. He loved the north and in a letter, told my grandmother life was hard there but (and "don't tell a soul I said this") "I far prefer them to those quiet prairie farm towns". He would be gone up to 9 weeks at a stretch and kept this up every year until he was 74. His brother in law Harold was coming for a visit and he planned to take him on a road trip to Yellowknife.

The farm

I know a lot about my grandfather. My grandmother saved every letter he ever sent, and there were many. But I don't know anything about his life before he came to Canada. I knew he remained in contact with his brothers and sisters back in the UK. He visited the UK several times and a couple of his relatives visited Canada. But was he an orphan? Why did he come to Canada and his siblings stayed behind? Was he ever a domestic or farm labourer like many child immigrants? 

The young George Martin

The Virginian

Lately I started wondering if he was a British Home Child. A little digging told me he had arrived in Canada on the ship The Virginian in 1907 when he was 14 years old. From there I contacted the British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association and they were able to help me fill in some missing pieces.

From Granddad's letters.

His parents were Arthur Martin (born 1862 in St. Ippolyts, a small village near Hitchen) and Elizabeth (Jackson). They were married October 22, 1881 at Barton le Clay, Bedford, England. Arthur's occupation is listed as horsekeeper on farm and they lived at Pound Cottage. Elizabeth died in 1898 and Arthur died in 1901 when my grandfather was nine. One of my cousins remembers Granddad telling him that he watched his dad take his mom to the doctor in a wheelbarrow. According to my grandfather's postcard, they are both buried in St. Ippolyts Cemetery. My daughter lives in the UK and plans to look for those graves.

Pound Cottage today

My great grandparents had the following children:

Lilly Martin born 1882 married to Sidney Pinn, Child Ida Lilly born 1909.
Berty Martin born 1886 married to Annie M Mansell. My grandmother Marion lived with them during the war and was good friends with Annie, according to my grandfather's letters. Berty's occupation was listed as railway fireman and later railway mechanic. Children Marion and Victor. Marion was born in 1919 and I believe she was named after my grandmother.
Percy Martin born 1890 married to Emma Langridge 1911, occupation - railway carriage cleaner and later, woodkeeper. Children Lilian E Martin born 1917, Queenie S Martin born 1920, Stanley J Martin born 1923.
George Jackson Martin, later named George William Martin, July 20 1892,  at Bishop's Stortford, an historic market town in Hertfordshire. Married Marion MacNaught, Dec 1914 Children Margaret Elizabeth Martin born March 20 1920 and  (my mom) Janet Isabel Martin born July 9 1922.

Sarah (Cis) Martin, born 1895, married to Harold Pontin, 24 May 1919, child Ronald Pontin born 1932, died 1999.

Tunbridge Wells Home

When his parents died, my grandfather was placed in St Georges Home for Boys in Tunbridge Wells, run by the Church of England. I assume his older siblings were old enough to make a go of it on their own and his younger sister was taken care of by other relatives. By weird coincidence, my Canadian born daughter was married in Tunbridge Wells. Here she is in front of the old home for boys.

Jordan at the former location of St. George's Home.

Passenger List for The Virginian

From there Granddad travelled by ship along with 14 other boys, accompanied by a Mr. Brewster. My cousin Jansi remembers that he told her a nun on the ship gave him a small elephant carving. He collected elephants for his whole life and frequently made up stories about Jumbo the Elephant when we were kids . He went to Gibbs Home in Sherbrooke Quebec when he arrived in Canada. I don't know what those years were like before he started with the bank. Did he really start training to be an Anglican minister? Did he work on a farm as many home children did? 

Grandad's name appears in the middle column. 

The helpful archivist at the Bank of Commerce was able to find out that he started work as a ledger keeper in Bishopton Quebec in 1912, moved to Winnipeg where he was a clerk, and then Lake Saskatoon where he met my grandmother. He stayed with the bank for decades, relieving for bank managers everywhere from Beaverlodge to Aklavik for years after his official retirement.

My grandfather had a wonderful life. He loved his wife and family. He had a rewarding career, becoming bank manager in Monitor in 1929, and later manager of the Highlands Branch in Edmonton. He and my grandmother raised two daughters during the depression. Their home was a welcome haven for both new employees of the bank and soldiers from the Peace Country during WWII. My mom and aunt were educated with impressive careers of their own, they were great moms, and active members of their community. My grandparents were married for 62 years. They  left behind 10 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and 25 great great grandchildren at last count. 

Granddad at Lake Saskatoon bank, supplied by CIBC Archives.

Monitor Branch, supplied by CIBC Archives.