IMMIGRATION LOG

Ancestor	From	To	Date
Jonathan PICKERING Trip #1	Hednesford Staffordshire ENGLAND	Pittsburg Pennsylvania UNITED STATES	1892 (circa)
Jonathan PICKERING Trip #2	Cannock Staffordshire ENGLAND	Lethbridge Alberta CANADA	12 August 1907
James COOK	Belfast IRELAND	Maple Creek Saskatchewan CANADA	1908
Benjamin PICKERING	Cannock Staffordshire ENGLAND	Taber Alberta CANADA	29 October 1909
Irene WARREN	Exeter Devon ENGLAND	Piapot Saskatchewan CANADA	1912
John GOODMAN	Chorley Lancashire ENGLAND	Taber Alberta CANADA	1911
Mary Ellen GOODMAN	Chorley Lancashire ENGLAND	Taber Alberta CANADA	1913
Jakob VAN KEIMPEMA	Sexbierum Friesland NETHERLANDS	New Norway Alberta CANADA	08 April 1927
Antje GROENEWOLD	Bedum Groningen NETHERLANDS	Duncan British Columbia CANADA	15 January 1954
Kornelis TROMP	Warffum Groningen NETHERLANDS	Duncan British Columbia CANADA	Mid 1954

Jonathan & Harriet Pickering - to the United States

In about 1892 or 1893 Jonathan & Harriet Pickering, together with their two small children, William and May, ventured off to America in search of a better future. As they were leaving the station Harriet looked back and saw a crowd gathering around someone and didn't learn until they reached the United States that her mother had had a stroke. The family boarded the steam ship in Liverpool, England and the boat pulled out of the Mersey River. The constant rolling of the ships even in good weather would leave the immigrants stomach's rolling as well. Meals were provided by the steamship company and the fare in 3rd Class or Steerage was very basic. Even those travellers that could keep a meal down tired of the food. Biscuits (similiar to Rye-Krisp), coffee, and tea were staples. What butter there was, was often rancid. Sometimes salted herring or a piece of meat was offered, but too often this was not in a condition good enough to eat. Most travellers brought some food with them. Fresh laundry was not possible, either. Most immigrants did not have a large wardrobe and their luggage consisted of a limited supply of clothing as well as a few treasured possessions from home. While on the ships, many travellers slept in the clothes they travelled in. After a long and tiresome journey across the Atlantic they came to settle in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Jonathan found work at the Carnegie Steel Works Company and was paid $1.10 per day. Harriet was not unlike most women who gave up the comforts of home to come to this new land and was somewhat homesick for England, especially upon hearing of her mother's failing health. One day Jonathan and Harriet were out walking the baby as they passed the shipping office...Jonathan casually mentioned that that was where you purchase tickets for ships passage. Harriet said not a word to Jonathan but started to save money in the pocket of her big white apron. The day came when she had enough and she purchased a ticket to England. Leaving all of their possessions behind, save for a washboard, a hand wringer and their clothes, Harriet packed and told Jonathan she was going and he was to take her to where she boarded the ship (New York). They locked the door and left for the station. Upon arriving at the port of departure Jonathan purchased a ticket also and sailed home to England with his family. This would have been in the fall of 1894 or very early 1895 as Harriet was pregnant at the time and delivered a son back in England in February, 1895. Back To Top

Jonathan & William Pickering - to Canada

The British newspapers were full of reports of the "boom" that was going on in Canada, from the "gold rushes" of BC and the Yukon to the "wheat" boom of the prairies. Workers were needed all across Canada to help build the railways and Canada was crying for immigrants to make their homes on it's vast mountains and prairies from shore to shore. Advertisements in papers were calling for 40,000 farm labourers Jonathan Pickering was having regrets of having returned to England and so he, together with his sixteen year old son, William, set sail once again...but this time bound for Canada. They purchased their tickets for $15.00 each and sailed on the Empress of Britain on August 12, 1907.

The Empress of Britain was a ship of the Canadian Pacific Line and was launched in 1906. She was 570 ft long and 65.7 feet wide (173.7 x 20 metres). She could hold 310 1st class passengers, 500 2nd class passengers, 500 3rd Class, and 270 in steerage. Top speed was 19.8 knots and she could cross the ocean in 6 days at full speed in good weather.

They disembarked on the east coast and road the train across Canada to Lethbridge, Alberta. Jonathan and William found work in the Royal View Mines which paid $2.50 per day. Lather they moved to Taber, Alberta where they were employed by the Wilcox Mine, often under severe conditions in 18 inches of water. Settlers were filing on homesteads for a mere $15.00 per section. Jonathan took out a homestead near Retlaw, Alberta where his family could begin their new life and he called for his family from England to join him. The homestead that Jonathan claimed was described as: SE Part of Section 1, Township 13, Range 18, Meridian W4; and SW Part of Section 1, Township 13, Range 18, Meridian W4 Back To Top

Benjamin Pickering with Mother (Harriet & Siblings)

Times were hard and Harriet depended on Jonathan sending money from Canada to live on so it took some time to save enough for passage to Canada. Harriet took what she could each month and deposited in an account with the Salvation Army until there was enough for the trip. By 1909, Harriet had marshalled all her resources together and had saved enough money to pay the $75.00 passage to Canada for herself and her five young children, Benjamin (14) Lily (12) Len (8) Jack (5) and David (2). On October 21, 1909 the family embarked on the S S Laurentic at Liverpool bound for Montreal and Quebec City.

The S S Laurentic was built by Harland & Wolff, in Belfast, Ireland in 1908. It was originally built as the "Alberta" but was launched as the "Laurentic" on September 9, 1908. Her maiden voyage was on April 29, 1909 from Liverpool to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Laurentic was 565 feet long, weighed 15,000 tons and travelled at a rate of 17 knots. On September 13, 1914 the "Laurentic" was commissioned at Montreal as a transport for the Canadian Expeditionary Force and on January 23, 1917 the Laurentic was sunk off Northern Ireland by a mine laid by a German submarine, 354 lives were lost.

It was quite an adventure for herself and her children with plenty of good food aboard and many stormy seas which caused a lot of sea-sickness. After rocking and rolling across the Atlantic the weary, motion sick travellers would finally glimpse their new homeland. After days of the grey Atlantic, Newfoundland on the horizon was a reminder that the journey on the water would soon end. But this was not their first glimpse of Canada as Newfoundland would not be a part of Canada for many years yet. By-passing Newfoundland, the immigrant ships sailed past Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and up into the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. Despite the excitement of seeing dry land once again, it would be a few more days before the travellers would feel land beneath their feet. Entering the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, the immigrants left the ocean behind and enjoyed the relative security of having land on both sides onces again. As the ship steamed up the St. Lawrence, passengers and staff alike began to scurry about to get the ship ready for its first stop, the Grosse Ile Quarantine Station. Everyone on board knew that their journey could be detained if disease or sickness was discovered. It was important to present the Immigration Doctor with a picture of health and cleanliness for both passengers and ship. Finally, on October 29, 1909 the ship docked in the harbour in the St Lawrence at Montreal, Quebec. They were bustled onto the economy class section of the train heading west where they would begin their long trek across the country. The trip was uncomfortable and dirty. When the windows were opened for fresh air, the steam and soot from the engine would blow into the passenger cars. As the train made many stops to take on more coal and water, vendors would board the train selling refreshments. This also gave the travellers an opportunity to stretch their legs but most didn't venture too far from the trains in fear of getting lost in this vast new land. Four days later, after being joustled back and forth across the hard wooden seats they arrived in Taber, Alberta on the 31st of October which is when "Halloween" is celebrated in Canada. It was very strange to the children as they didn't know why all the children were dressed up in costumes. Their journey continued in true pioneer style on horseback and horse and buggy as they were met by Jonathan and William and escorted to their new home. Their were no luxurious accommodations awaiting the family, only a flat-roofed tarpaper shack with a dirt floor. The heat was supplied by a tin-piped, coal and wood stove and the homemade beds were built to fold up against the walls during the day. If the weather cooperated the heavy rough wooden furniture was carried outdoors and meals were enjoyed picnic style, much to the youngsters' enjoyment. The fact that the menu for the day was simply jack rabbit did little to quash this happy family's enthusiasm for their newly adopted home. The Pickering were no different than all the hardy pioneers; they learned to live with the bitterness of -40F degrees weather over prolonged periods and the extremes of 90 to 100 degrees F through the long dry summers. Back To Top

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