As we saw from the post on the Kirby family of Warwickshire, Charles Kirby (son of John Kirby (1838-abt. 1883) and Eliza Gardener (1841-1918)) was born in 1880 in Birmingham and died in 1944 in Broadview, Saskatchewan. During his youth he worked in small factories, the last being a bicycle factory. Birmingham was the locus of a burgeoning manufacturing sector in England and the Kirby family would have been familiar with the labour and urban pains associated with the rapid growth. In 1906, at the age of 26, Charles emigrated to Canada, traveling with his brother-in-law Thomas Trigg, with a destination of Winnipeg. In 1909 he married Elizabeth Helen Radley Slee (1883-1955), born in Wales but as of about 1895 was living in the Birmingham area. In 1901 she and her sister Emma are working as servants in Kings Norton which is very close to Birmingham. Elizabeth arrived in Canada on August 13, 1909. The marriage was planned for Canada as the ship manifest for Elizabeth, who appeared to be traveling alone, states the purpose of her voyage was “to marry”. We know that Thomas Trigg was in Broadview by 1907 so I imagine Charles followed the same route. Interestingly the marriage of Charles and Eliza took place in the home of Thomas Trigg and Daisy Kirby Trigg and the two were witnesses at the marriage. For additional information see the post on the Slee family.
On arrival Charles found a job as a “drayman”, probably moving goods around the town by horse and wagon. The next year he began working for the CPR and became a boilermaker until he had to retire due to his health.
I do not know why Charles and Elizabeth chose Broadview as their destination but I assume they must have known someone there or were seduced by government advertising. We now know that Charles arrived with his brother-in-law and his sister Daisy was to arrive in 1907. Elizabeth’s brother, James Radley Slee, moved to Broadview (arriving in Canada on June 10, 1910) shortly after his sister, and, like Charles, worked for the CPR. I recently discovered that James R. Slee had married Eliza Kirby, the sister of Charles. James and Eliza moved to Cleveland in 1925 where they both died, she in 1928 and he in 1958. When James and Eliza left Broadview in 1925 it was to live close to Daisy. Charles had a cousin Lucy Sargeant (1883-1956) who arrived in Broadview in 1913. Lucy was the daughter of Lucy Kirby, an aunt to Charles. She and her husband, Charlie Talkington moved to Surrey, BC on retirement.
The family:
- John (Jack) Stanley Kirby (1911-1948). Married Astrid (Audrey) Sophia Erickson in January of 1941. They had one child (John William Douglas Kirby), born in Nipawin, Saskatchewan in 1943, before John’s early death. Audrey was to remarry and have one other child.
- Howard Kirby (1912-1912).
-
Ruth Helen Kirby (1913-1993) married Roy Parkinson in 1935
and they had four
children, all born in Broadview. Died in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan. See the Parkinson post for more details.
-
Geoffrey Charles Kirby (1914-1975). Married Merle Middleton
and had three
children (Melvin, Shirley and Rodney) prior to a divorce.
He remarried to Jememia Aitken. Geoff worked for the CPR
and died in Brandon, Manitoba.
-
Joan Eliza Kirby (1916-1969). Began working as a telephone
operator in
Broadview and in 1942 moved to Regina as a supervisor for
Saskatchewan telephones until her early death. Never
married.
Photo of Charles and Elizabeth Kirby. Not sure of the event: could it be their 25th anniversary in 1934?
Now, their grave stone in Broadview, SK.
And, the four children as young adults. From left: Geoff, Ruth, John, Joan. I would think about 1934.
A photo from about 1911-1915 of men working on an engine in the Broadview CPR roundhouse. From the right: James Radley Slee, Charles Kirby. Photo courtesy of the Broadview Museum.
