Gerald Gordon KIDWELL

[Pyewacket]

This was my uncle who went to Canada in October 1910.  He went with his brother Alfred.

I have found Alfred on the 1911 Canada census, but not Gerald.

I have been helped via RC over Alfy and his death at Prince Rupert, but apart from knowing Gerald joined the BEF (C Co. 8 Batt) I cant find him on a census !

Can anyone help please !

[Lydart]

(Just book-marking as I was helping Pyewacket this afternoon to search the 1911 Canada census ... )

[aghadowey]

Would help if you could provide more details like Gerald's age and place of birth as well as census reference for brother Afrfed.

[Lydart]

I'll phone Pyewacket and get her onto it ... oh, no, maybe not ... she goes to bed early !    But she has those details you require, so she'll be back tomorrow probably !

I dont think the Kidwell brothers and sisters (I think 5 or 6 of them from one family) who went out to Canada in two lots, 1910 and 1911 went and stayed together ... one was in Alberta, one is Sask ...

[aghadowey]

Gerald Kidwell arrived in Canada Oct.1910- could he have gone to U.S. for a while and been there at time of 1911 Canadian census perhaps?
Or could he by the mysterious male lodger named Kidwell (no Christian name, age or other details provided) in Edmonton, Alberta in 1911 (E.D. 56, page 14 line 32)?

[JDC]

Afternoon Pye,

There were 3 Kidwells I found in the Candian 1911 census (www.automatedgenealogy.com transcription) and the first 2 didn't match. The 3rd Kidwell didn't show the first name and shown in 1911 cencus living in Calgary Alberta. I'm not sure it it would be him, but he/she is a lodger. There was no other info given on the census form.

I also found some other info which may be him as well. Gerald seems to have moved around a bit. Would this be your fellow? It doesn't seem unreasonable to me looking at the migration patterns in north america. First, there was a significant migration to the Candian west during the early part of the 1900s. There has also bee quite a bit of migration (back and forth) between Canada and the USA.

Was Gerald married to Mary in Staffordshire before arriving in Canada?

 Hope this info below helps.

Passenger List

Name: Gerard G Kidwell
Gender: Male  
Age: 20  
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1890  
Date of Arrival: 8 Apr 1910
Vessel: Virginian
Port of Arrival: Halifax, Nova Scotia  
Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
Destination shown as Winnipeg (Manitoba)
Roll: T-4736

Name: Gerald G Kidwell
shows next of kin as wife
Date of Arrival: 14 Sep 1919
Vessel: Minnekahda  
Port of Arrival: Halifax, Nova Scotia  
Port of Departure: Southampton, England  
Roll: T-14797  

Cdn Genealogy Index

Name: G. Kidwell
Event: Living  
Year: 1912  
Province: Saskatchewan  
Place: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan  
Comments: Carpenter.  
Source: Henderson's Moose Jaw Alphabetical Directory for 1912 (A-S only).  
Volume/Page: 280  


BorderX-ing

Name: Gerald Gordon Kidwell
Arrival Date: Jul 1922
Age: 32  
Birth Date: abt 1890
Birth Country: England  
Gender: Male  
Race/Nationality: English  
Port of Arrival: Portal, North Dakota, USA

[LemonMallie]

It looks like Gerald made it out to BC, if only for a short period of time.

There is a crew's manifest for the MV Pacific Trader, arriving 15 Oct 1934 in Bellingham, Washington from New Westminster.  Gerald Kidwell is listed as joining the crew as a Deck Boy on his first trip on 12 Oct.  He was 45yrs old, English, 5'8" tall and 150lbs.  But I can't find any other sign of him in the BC Vital Events Index.

The border crossing lists his address as Aneroid, Saskatchewan and his next of kin/friend is listed as Hugh Blair also of Aneroid.  I think the passenger list from 1919 was his return from the war as most of the passengers are all military personnel - he claims to be single on his attestation papers, could he have married in England?  Oh, I think he did, marriage for Gerald G Kidwell, married Elizabeth A Newmarch, Kingston RD, Jun 1919, vol 2a page 1134.

He also appears in the Western Land Grants - he obtained a grant near Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan.  Just search for Kidwell and it will come up in the results: 
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html.

Lastly, I found a passenger list on FindMyPast for a Gerald G Kidwell, departing London on 28 April 1946 to South Africa.  He was 56yrs old, retired, last address in the UK Ecclestone Hotel, last country of residence England, intended country of residence South Africa.  He was travelling with his wife Evelyn O Kidwell aged 52yrs.  Not an ideal match on all the details but perhaps he returned to England, remarried and decided to retire to the sunshine in the Cape!

Lynwen

ps. I have the images of the FindMyPast passenger list and the BC crew list if you would like them.

[JDC]

Good evening,

Looks like we filled som info in. FYI, I can send you the images I located today from ancestry.ca if you don't have access. Just ley me know :-)

JDC

[Lydart]

Hi !

This is all interesting stuff ... thank you !  I'll try and contact Pyewacket and maybe see her this afternoon and we can go through this material.

I do know that the Kidwell family of Staffordshire had ten or twelve children, and that five or six of them all went to Canada in 1910 and 1911.  One of the men was drowned at Prince Rupert (we've had that checked out very successfully on here a year or so ago !) and another was killed on the Somme as the men all joined the Canadian army in WW1.