Meme: Immigrant Ancestors From England to Canada

There is a lot of discussion about immigration in America right now. Tempers have flared, and different groups hold various strong opinions. There is also Brexit, where immigration was a large focus of the recent vote which resulted in the U.K. leaving the E.U.

I've been following this for several months and it occurs to me that those of us in Canada, America, and Australia have immigrant ancestors. Have you researched yours? Do you know who they were, why they came to your country and when? Do you know how they fared once settled in their new land? Were they welcomed? Were they shunned? Was their discrimination based on their religion or ethnic origin? These are all questions that are important, and interesting to discover. With that in mind, I'm the dedicating Saturdays (as many as needed) as the day to join me in discussing your immigrant ancestors.

Grandpa pre WW1. Kent Buffs

You will be able to read any you are interested in by using the keyword Immigrant Ancestors. I'm going to share each week what I know of my immigrant ancestors to North America (whether that is USA or Canada)

My maternal grandparents, Charles Fuller and Ruth Simpson, came from England to Canada in May 1913 on board the Cunard ship Ausonia. The ship arrived in Quebec in June and they continued on their journey to join Grandma's brother in Toronto. Grandpa was 21 and Grandma 19 and they were engaged and hoping to start a new life in Canada.

I've often thought how hard it must have been on Grandma as she was terrified of water and often told me how much she hated the voyage, how frightened she was.




A year after arriving Charles and Ruth married while still living in Toronto. Shortly afterwards they settled in Guelph Ontario where Grandpa had been offered a job as bookkeeper for the Guelph Lumber Company. Grandma was a dressmaker and the photos I have of her and her daughters show her beautiful workmanship.

I wish I'd asked Grandma more questions about those early years. World War 1 was raging and three of her brothers enlisted. Two were in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and one was in the Australian Army. Grandma must have been so worried and her only saving grace would have been the fact that Grandpa did not go to War.

Grandma always said he was denied service because he was by then the manager of the Lumber Company and needed at his job. I am not sure if that is true or if it was more that Grandma would have been hysterical if he'd signed up.