Arthur and Hilda Earnshaw & Family in Canada
Note: This memorial commemorates the life of Arthur Earnshaw and Hilda (Fletcher) Earnshaw in Canada. Arthur and Hild emigrated to Canada in 1924 and settled in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Photos will include photos of the five Earnshaw girls (Betty, Mary, Margaret, Hilda, and Dorothy) and their spouses, children and grandchildren.
Arthur Earnshaw was born on March 5, 1886 in Leeds, Yorkshire. At the time of the 1911 census he was working as a Clerk in a Dyers and Finishers office and living with his mother, Sabina, at 38 De Lacy North in Kirkstall.
Arthur Earnshaw and Hilda Maria Fletcher were married on June 22, 1912 in Leeds, Yorkshire. They had one child: Betty Earnshaw (born January 28, 1913) prior to Arthur enlisting.
Arthur enlisted on March 27, 1915, in the British Army as a Corporal in the Army Service Corps. His Regiment No. was T4/185671. His Regimental Number was 4101.
Their second child, Mary Earnshaw, was born on July 1, 1915.
Arthur served in Salonica from 1915 to 1916 when he contracted Malaria and was discharged on April 28, 1916.
After the war, Arthur returned to the textile industry in Yorkshire and two more daughters were born: Margaret on March 17, 1922 and Hilda on October 25, 1925.
In February, 1926, Arthur sailed from England on the Canadian Pacific ship Montcalm, arriving in St. John, New Brunswick on March 8, 1926. From there he traveled by train to Toronto, presumably for pre-arranged employment.
Hilda and her four daughters sailed from England on the Canadian Pacific ship Montcalm, arriving at Quebec City on May 28, 1926. Daughter Mary recounted that her mother had been seasick most of the way and she and Betty were required to tend to the younger two, Hilda and Margaret.
They then travelled to Toronto by train to join Arthur. The distance from Quebec City to Toronto is over 800 km. The distance from Leeds to London is 315 km. The children must have been bewildered and fascinated by the countryside.
The Earnshaw family lived in Toronto for one year. Unfortunately, the employer in Toronto may have treated Arthur unfairly and he then moved the family to Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.
The Earnshaw family remained in Sherbrooke as their Canadian home. Over the years the girls grew up, married, and moved into other parts of Canada.
Betty would marry Arthur Cobb, relocate in England and had one son, Michael.
Mary would marry Doug Wotton and relocate to the Drummondville area. Doug and Mary would have three children; Sue, David, and Jeannie.
Margaret would marry Gordon Largy in 1950 and remained in Sherbrooke having two sons, Stephen and Brian. Margaret and Gordon would leave Sherbrooke in 1964 and over the course of the years would live in London, Kentucky, Pointe Claire, Quebec, Rouses Point, New York, LaSalle, Quebec, Beaconsfield, Quebec, and eventually Cornwall, Ontario. Gordon would pass in 2007 in Cornwall. Margaret would pass in 2018 while living in Mississauga, Ontario.
Hilda would marry Phil Hardy in ???? and would settle in Deep River, Ontario where Hilda and Phil would have three children; David, Richard, and Sylvia.
Dorothy would eventually join Bell Canada and would relocate to Montreal. Dorothy remained with Bell Canada for a very long and distinguished career. After retirement Dorothy moved to Mallorytown, Ontario with her partner, John Lawlor and then to Ottawa. Dorothy would marry John Lawlor in Ottawa in 1995. John predeceased Dorothy in 2008, and Dorothy passed in Ottawa in 2021.