Memoriors of Isabella Maude Crane
b. 1869 Harbour Grace area

Papa's (Freeman Whitfield Horton) Grandfather was Isaiah Horton. Papa had an Uncle Isaiah, an Uncle James, and an Uncle Humphrey. Papa's Grandmother's name was Hyde. She came from England. Papa also had an Aunt Mary Horton who married Cook Dickie's father James Dickie. He had another Aunt Susan married to Captain John Cunningham. Another Aunt married Elias Cook. Her name was Annie, she visited Grandma's place once, she lived for years at Charlie Cook's. Another Aunt, Amelia, was never married. His other Aunt (don't know her name) married a Bigsby. Mrs. Luther Stearns was papa's cousin, a daughter of his Aunt. Cook Dickie had a brother Humphrey.

Papa's mother's father was William Hanley and his mother's mother was Fannie Digdon. On his mother's side he had Uncle Freeman and Uncle Leonard. Aunt Annie who married George Ryter's father. Another, Aunt Charlotte, married a John MacKenzie from Queensport. He was burned to death in his house when it burned down. Papa's mother's name was Eliza and his father's name was Charles. Freeman Hanley married Amelia Brymer. Leonard Hanley married Eliza Dickie, Cook's sister. Leonard Hanley died of cancer of the chest and shoulder the winter papa was married. They had 3 children, one was Mary and two sons. I don't know what happened to them.

Mrs. Hanley moved to Guysborough and died there. At one time after she was widowed she almost married Cook (?)arter. William Hanley used to keep 10 cows and had quite a farm. Our place at Sandy Cove and Chris Dorts. He divided the place between the two sons. Freeman had ours and Leonard had what was later James Christian Dorts. Papa's father was born in Alexander (Allie) Horton's house. Allie was Humphrey Horton's son. Papa's father bought the place papa was born in later owned by Wallace Grant. They also owned Jeffrey's place.

Old man Jeffrey squatted on it and they could not get him off. They tried to get him off but could not. D.C. Fraser was papa's father's lawyer. Isaiah, papa's brother had to pay D.C. Fraser's bill. He really paid for that place twice. Papa's father first lived on Knocton's place. It was a great big house. All the Knoctons died of tuberculosis. Grandma Horton had 12 children, 7 boys, and 5 girls. Sarah died at 16, caught cold. A boy died in infancy. William was next, then, Charlie, Thomas, Isaiah, Washington, George Alexander and Freeman Whitfield. The girls names were Fosparahe, Emeline, Frances and Mahala (called Haley). William married Matilda Snow and they had one child Everett. He lived at his mother's for a year. Everett was born there. He William(Horton) died of small pox at Port Hood. Everett married a sister of Charles Atkin's wife. Charlie died aboard a vessel and landed on the coast of Maine, and buried at Mt. Desert.. He was not married. Thomas fell from a loft on a Square Rigged ship in New York Harbor and was killed. He was not married. Isaiah was drowned out of Gloucester with a group of Captains. He used to go to navigation school in Philadelphia. He married Isabelle Hamilton and they had one child, Thomas. Allie Horton had a sister, Martha, who married a man from New Harbour (don't know his name).

William Crane was born North of Ireland. He went to England when he was a small child. Do not know if he had any brothers or sisters. He then went to Newfoundland (Harbour Grace). He married Isabelle Pippey. I think she was born in England. I do not know if she had any brothers and sisters. William Crane and Isabelle Pippey Crane had 3 sons, George, Aubrey and Charles and 6 daughters, Elvira, Phoebe, Isabelle, Rachel, Mary and Martha.

William Crane, Grandpa, died about 50. Isabelle, Grandma, Died at about age 60 or over. Aubrey Crane, my Uncle, was murdered and robbed in New York. He was quite a young man and he had two little boys at the time. He was an engineer on a liner (steamer). He went ashore in New York to send money home to his wife and was murdered and robber on a street. Charles was a printer in Montreal. He was not married. He died about age 24 of small pox. Elvira (we always called her Viney) married John Locke in St. John's. She was quite old when she married, having for years been a housekeeper for Munns (John and Robert, wealth Scotsmen who owned about all the sealing fleet). She did not have any children. She died at quite an old age.

Pheobe married John Sheppard a blacksmith in Spaniard's Bay (at the head of Harbour Grace). She had four sons. Two were lawyers. Do not know how old she lived.Isabelle (Aunt Belle) was also quite old when married. She had a daughter. Cannot remember daughter's name. Aunt Belle married Alfred Pike, Master Mariner, Captain of trading vessels. Aunt Rachael married Issack Benson another Master Mariner. They were quite well off. They lived up on Harbour Grace Hill, back of town. They had several sons and daughters. I do not know their names. She lived quite old (fairly old) Aunt Martha died at age 18. Do not know the cause. Aunt Mary was trained as a nurse in Montreal for 16 years. She went out at night to do some shopping and fell in an excavation in the street, made by the Water Dept. She broke both legs and suffered internal injuries and died as a result, then about age 60. This accident happened in Harbour Grace where she was keeping a restaurant at the time, for she was buying at the time of her accident. I think my father and two others of the family, one being Aubrey, were born in England.

My mother's father's name was William Andrews. He was an American and was Captain of a Brigantine out of an American port. He was lost on his ship with all hands. He married Elizabeth Penn and they had two children, my mother and a sister who died at about age 18. My great grand father, George Augustus Penn, came to Harbour Grace in his own vessel from England. He was a ship builder in England and continued it in Harbour Grace. He brought his brother William and two sisters, Puerella and Pauline. He brought all his furniture, etc., from England. He built the log house I was born in. It was a double house. He had one half and his brother lived in the other. I do not know whether he married. George Augustus Penn had a daughter (my mother's aunt) named Georgina. She married Sergeant James Royal of the English troops, in Harbour Grace, a cavalry man they eloped. ; They had a large family, one Captain Thomas Royal, Captain of a liner of the Cunal (Cunard?) Line running to Barbados to St. John's where they build. Another son, James Jr. was a sheriff in St. John's. The other was George who drank a fortune. James was married and had a family.

The three daughters were Clara, Harriet and one other, all died of diphtheria within a week. The two sisters, Puerella and Pauline went back to England. He had a brother Stephen Andrews who went to Harbour Grace or was born there and ran a General Merchandise business in Harbour Grace. I think perhaps my mother's father was born in Harbour Grace and moved to Newburyport where my mother was born. When George Augusta Penn's wife died he sent for my mother to come from the States to Harbour Grace to keep house for him. My mother came leaving her mother in the States. Uncle Stephen Andrews had two daughters, May and one other. May married Frank Archibald who ran a shoe factory in Harbour Grace. I think it was burned and he later moved to Halifax and was in the shoe business there. My father went to sea as a mate in square rigged ships in foreign voyages. He, I believe, was in his twenties when he married my mother who was 19 I think. They went to live with George Augusta Penn. He gave her the house and 500 pounds sterling.

My father and mother had 9 children. George Augusta Penn Crane, Maude,(s/b Isabella Maude a.m. Taylor) Aubrey Samuel, Martha Katherine (Katty), John, Annie, Charlie and Clara. (Mary called May should be added a.m.Taylor) George Augustus Penn Crane was born Oct. 1867. I was born July 22, 1869. Aubrey Samuel was born 1871. Martha Katherine (Katty) was born about 1873. John was born about 1874. Mary (May) was born Oct. 1876. Annie was born in 1878. Charlie was born about 1880 . Clara was born in 1881. George died in 1938. I do not know whether Aubrey is living or not. Martha Katherine (Katty at age 13 of worms. John died at 13 of lockjaw. Mary (May) died in 1942, age 66. Annie died young about 1887 at age 9 . Charlie died in 1944 , at age 63.

George married Beatrice Uilkind who was born at Manchester, England. They lived at Liverpool, England, George worked for the butcher Mr. Mayo and one day the horse got hung or something like that happened and George and Mayo had an argument about it and George hit him. He was afraid Mr. May would make trouble for him so he ran away on a full rigged ship called "Blue and White". I think she was a British ship. She sailed to Marseille, France with a load of drummed fish. He used to write home to me and to mother quite ofter. He was 16 when he went away. He went to sea for many years sailing all over the world but Liverpool was his home port. He was 17 years on the "Hilderbant". He was also on the Hong Kong police force for a while. He had three children. Leonard Rudolph. Flora, Harry and one son died shortly after birth. Leonard married a girl named Fran .. Flora married a minister's son. Harry is with the R .A. F. if he is still living. George was also in World War 1 in the British Navy.

I went to school until age 16. We almost never put in a full term.Quite often we did not have a teacher. I went to school on the south side of Harbour Grace. There was just one room which was large, divided off into grades. Church of England (Episcopal) had their own school. The Methodists had theirs and the Catholics had theirs. For a short time Aubrey and I went to the Catholic school, but Mrs. Maney , the teacher, gave him such a licking he and I did not go back. When we first went to school each scholar carried their wood for the fire in the school stove. In winter we hauled it on a hand sled. I didn't have to haul any as my brothers George and Aubrey hauled it. At recess we had the sled for coasting Bill Taylor back.

In 1882 our house was burned. Aubrey and I went out in the barn to pitch down some hay for my father. I had an oil lamp and we were in the habit of burning the straw that hung down from the scaffold by running the lamp chimney up around them and breaking them off with our fingers above where they were burning. This night I was doing the same thing and one straw burned so fast I could not break it off in time. It caught the hay mow on fire. We tried to put the fire out, but could not. My mother saw the fire from the house, which was attached to the barn . We did not save one thing from the house or barn except the horse which George had out to water at the time. I rushed upstairs and saved Mary and Annie. Mother saved Charlie, 7 months old. The fire was February 10, 1882. Her 500 pounds which her grandfather had given her was burned. It was in his leather trunk on the second floor. My mother kicked the lower sash out of the window but could not get the trunk out. When she came down the front stairs, they collapsed ,she falling down through them ,she was able however extricate herself and get out. When she did her clothes were on fire but the neighbors put them out. My father saved our flour and meat. All our cows and sheep and hens were burned. The horses oats burned for days afterwards.

My father used to go to sea as a young man, mate on sailing ships on foreign voyages. He was hurt by a load of wood falling on him and was crippled after that He then was a teamster for the cable station at Heart's Content. He used to have us gather around his knees every Sunday morning and repeat our catechism to him. We with our hands behind our back. He then used to read a chapter of the Bible to us. He always asked a blessing. He was an orangeman. He ordinarily used to march near the front of the parade but being crippled he was not in the parade the day of the riot otherwise he would have been shot. During the fire we were all standing outside and Aubrey asked me where Annie and Mary were. I rushed in my own bedroom down stairs which was in flames and picked them both up in my arms bed clothes and all. They were asleep when I fould them. We had all given up everthing and were outside watching for the roof to fall. A neighbor asked mothere where the baby (Charlie) was and she then remembered that he was still in the cradle asleep in the kitchen. She rushed in and pulled the cradle out by the pummel and just in time as he was almost suffocated with smoke. I think Charlie still has the cradle.

After the fire he went to live with the Cahill's the neighbor next door. We used to call him the Ganus. He would never swear. We used to say the ganus would get us. We stayed there over night, then we went to another neighbors. David Loder's and stayed there till our new house was built about 3 1/2 weeks. We moved in March 3, the fire having occured February 10. There were 5 rooms on the 1st floor (no dining room) and 3 bedrooms on second floor. The neighbors built the house from start to finish and furnished it bedding and everthing ready to move in. My father did not drive a nail in it. The following year (summer) 1 1/2 years after the fire I went to my Aunt Georgina Royal's to go to school. I stayed there a year and got along well in school. I always found it easy to learn in school. I did not do as well in arithmetic as other subjects as I did not like it. I went as far in arithmetic as compound fractions in pound, shillings and pence. I then went back home after a year as my 2nd cousin, George Royal, drank so much he was no satisfaction. My baby sister, Clara, an infant died. I think from croup. I do not believe I ever saw her as she was born. I went to St. John's on the sealing steamer "Commodore". She was taking 500 excursionists to St. John's to a regatta. On the way we ran down a small fishing boat. I think she was anchored fishing, we cut her in two, but saved both the men. When they were pulling in the men all the passengers went to one side and almost rolled the ship over. I went on to school after returning to Harbour Grace. I was in grade 8, we called it Grammar school, a Church of England school, when I got married.

One summer George Horton came to our house with Captain Bowie. He came there two or three summers and finally he became captain of a Guysborough vessel and brought his brother Freeman. Freeman came to the house with George. He told me he came to see me as George had told him about me. All that summer he used to go in St. John's in the vessel. He came around Harbour Grace to see me by train. The third time he came we got married. I was 16 and he was 25. We were married in St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Harbour Grace. We were married at 3 o'clock on the afternoon of September 18, 1885. I was married in Celestial Blue, with an Echru Bonnet. My school mate Joseph Simmons was best man and his sister Mary was my bridesmaid. My father, Aunt Bell, and Aunt May were there. There was a full choir and pipe organist. They sang "The Voice That Breathed on Eden". After the wedding we had a reception at our house. The house was full and the yard was full. They fired off big muzzle loading sealing guns.

That night we stayed at our house and at 9 o'clock the next morning -- when I left the house I left Mary and Annie standing in the front door. Matthew and John went to the train with us. When I said good by my mother made me promise to come back home next summer --- I never saw any of them again except Mary who came up to Nova Scotia in 1895 or 1896.

We went to Saint John's on the train where the vessel the "Estella" was waiting anchored in the stream. We went out to her in a dory. They had the cabin curtained off and I had a comfortable bunk. We left port the next morning about 9. George A. Horton was Captain. Papa was mate. Cook Borden was cook. Crew, Godfrey Dort, Edgar Gammon, David Worth, Jim Knocton, Jim MacPherson, a Snow from Whithead. There are all the crew members I can remember. We were out about 48 hours when we ran into the line gale, a south wester. We were laid to for 36 hours under a balanced-reefed-fore sail. It was a terrible gale. All the hatches were battened down and the seas used to go over her from stem to stern and come down in the cabin. They then battened down the companionway. I was down in the canbin sitting down. I did not go to bed at all. The barrel of coal upset all over the floor. Papa brought me something to eat once during the gale. When the sea's winds hit the vessel it used to make her shiver, you would think every sea would smack her to pieces. We were off Scaterie when the storm hit us and we almost went ashore.

After the storm was over it having started to moderate in the evening. The next day and night it was calm and a heavy sea running. The sea was so heavy when we would drop in the trough we could not see the moon which was as red as a ball of fire. Cook Borden was the first coloured man I ever saw. He was very kind to me and carried all my meals aft to me. On either September 24 or 25 at 9 A.M. the vessel came to off George Horton's (now Godfrey Dort's) and papa and I went ashore. George took the vessel into Guysborough to Jost's wharf. He owned the vessel she having been named after Burt. Jost's daughter Estella.

No one knew we landed. We went up to George Horton's where his wife Eleanor and two children Amanda called after an Indian chief's daughter -- Cocella and Isaiah. We both stayed there for a few days while they were getting our house ready. A couple of colored women worked cleaning it up., Papa owned the place for 3 years. I shall never forget the first meal I cooked in the house, how happy papa was. The first meal was ham and eggs. I had baked bread at George's. The aftermoon we landed we walked up to Grandma's and had supper. Grandma, Grandpa, Thom and Everett were there. Everett was working on the bridge. Grandma had the house full of boarders, men from Cape Breton working on the bridge. Papa got a job working on the bridge. When we arrived they were putting up the iron spans. It was finished around Christmas. Don Aikins and Frances were living in their house, with Harlow, Clem, Will, Alice, Jim, Charlies and Myrtle. Papa's sister Emeline was married and had a large family. Dan Gould was living in Cook's Cove. Old Mrs. Gould when she saw me wanted Dan to go down to Harbour Grace and get a wife. They lived on Gould's point out on point from Humphrey Hydes'. Mrs. Loomis later bought the house and moved it to where she lives now

That winter Papa got wood out. We had lots of hay and Papa borrowed his father's ox and hauled his wood., The next spring Papa went away to the Grand Bankss again. I think on the "Estella" with George Captain. ; He called back home as the vessel was in there for ice. We saw them 2 or 3 times that summer. In September he returned and stayed home till next winter. He got wood and fixed up around the place. George Dort made our hay that summer. We used to get up at 3 A.M. and get breakfast and knit nets until about 10 at night. Mackerel nets. He also built a boat that winter. He cut the logs that fall and sawed out allthe boards by hand with a whip saw. He dried the boards and built the boat in the spring. A square stern boat to fish mackerel in. He fished over on the north shore from home. He did pretty well that spring. He finished a trawl that summer and fall and dried and salted the fish. That fall he fished mackerel at the Tickle. Elias Horton fished with him that fall. One night he made sixty dollars and Elias Horton walked all the way home and Papa sent the $60 up to me by him. Elias and Johnnie and Hattie all died TB. Fred was the blacksmith in Canso. They were Albert's sons. They were very religious Baptists.

Gertie Evelyn was born June 18, 1887. Doctor Buckley was the Doctor and Grandma was there. Mary Jeffrey stayed with me a month. Hilda Mamie was born August 27, 1888. I think he went fishing in the north bay alone the spring of 1888 and was there that summer -- arrived home 20 days before Hilda was born. He went in a boat he bought from Humphrey Hyde a big two masted boat. A white boat. She had living quarters on her. Doctor Buckley delivered Hilda. Mrs. Freeman Reiter was with me for a month.

One year after we were married, Annie Leary of Guysborough, a teacher came to board with us. She was Babs Leary's daughter. The next teacher was Carrie Ferguson, from Guysborough Intervale she was married in the States to Germain. After he died she married William Aikins in Boyslton. She named Hilda. The next teacher was Maggie Ferguson. She married a man named Libby in the States. Hattie O'Brien was the next. She married Thomas Scranton. Louise Bruce was the next, she used to go with Burt Calahan but married Jim Pyle, Boylston. Vince Martin's siter Hattie Martin boarded with us also. She married Will Myers at Queensport. The next and last one was Lola Taylor -- She married Frank Simpson.

Papa made the hay the summer Hilda was born and stayed home that fall and winter. The next spring, 1889, Papa went to Haverhill (Mass.,U.S.A.) to work at carpenter's work. He went to Mulgrave on Roumaski with Captain Keating. I think he was from Hawksbury. He worked all that summer for about $2.50 a day and came home in the fall. If he had $50 when he returned from these trips we thought he did well. The next spring about March 1, 1890 he went back to Haverhill and home again in the fall. He went to Haverhill about March 31st, 1891 he came back in December.

Ike was born December 31, 1891. Papa was home all that winter. He went back to Haverhill that spring and back again in the fall. He used to work for Patter and Dame Contractors (biggest in Haverhill) That summer about August 1st 1892 I sold all the furniture except beds and bedding and moved to Haverhill. Bedding and dishes I took with me cost us $15.00 freight. The Roumaski broke down with my freight on her and they had to take all the freight out of her as she went on the slip. She was a bigger boat than the "Malcolm Brown". I drove to Mulgrave with Billie Peart (he charged $2.00) through Middletown. We left home about 7 A.M. and got in Mulgrave. We got down about 10:30. I travelled 2nd class. Hardwood slot seats. My ticket cost $8.20. The trainman brought me pillows and I had brought a lot of stuff for the children to eat. The trainman brought them tea milk and ice water. Gertie and Hilda were train sick and throwing up. We arrived in Boston at 6P.M. the next day.

Papa was supposed to meet me at North Station as I had sent a wire from Guysborough before I left saying "Leaving Monday morning by rail meet me in Boston" When I arrived in Boston. Papa was not there. He had gone to Salem to meet me and went through the train I was on and missed me. I had 5 minutes -- to get a ticket and walk over to the other station to get a train for Haverhill. I got to Haverhill about 8 P.M. A hackman drove me to Rear 22, Jackson St., Haverhill, Wallace Grant's house. At 12 the next night Papa arrived. The children and I were in bed. Harlow met him and said "Where in the world have you been Freeman -- Belle and the children have been here since yesterday evening". Papa said "How in the name of God did they get here". All the gas lights were on in Boston when I arried. No electric lights then -- Papa had ridden back from Salem on the same train with us and said he went through the train three times but did not see us. I went out to Haverhill on the train taking the bookkeepers and clerks out from their day's work in Boston. I had to stand and hold the baby all the way. I was awfully tired when I got to Harlow's.

The next morning after Papa arrived we had breakfast at Harlow's and took us over to our house he had rented at 30 Grone St. 1st. floor. He had bought all the furniture to furnish it second-hand. He even had a lively big baby carriage. I used to put the three children in the baby carriage and take Papa a hot dinner when he was working in the Wetzel Shoe Black (a shoe factory). One day a brick layer dropped a brick three stories and just grazed the left side of his head and temple. He went over to three places before he could get it dressed. He got it tied up and went back to work. Woman said he sould go to hospital. He said he would not go unless his head was off. She said you mean you wouldn't be able to go if your head was off. He had another narrow escape on the same job. He slipped when he was up several stories and he hooked his hammer claw on the staging and saved himself.

Couple lived over us. Tory's brothers Will and another were living in Haverhill. John Grant who was married to Papa's sister "Haley" Mahola was living there. She had a son the same age as Ike ...She also had one daughter and two other sons. The child the age of Ike died shortly after I went to Haverhill . The First Christian Churchof Antioch The Old South Church (Mr Hay Nov) about a year after that Haley died. We ;moved back to Sandy Cove, in December 1892. Haley died about a year after we got home.

We went home by train first class. We came up on the boat from Mulgrave after having stayed in Truro, at the Victoria Hotel all night. We went home from Guysborough down home in the mail with Whitfield Scott. We stayed at Grandma' all night and for three or four days. We bought some new furniture and got the house ready to move back in to. That was December 1892., That winter he got out wood. The next spring he started running the smack for Burnham and Marrill (Dickson ran the factory). They owned the big two masted smack. Din McNeary had been running her prior to that. They used to fish lobsters 3 months then so he ran her until the 23rd of July. Then he went to Hazel Hill to work.

Charlie Hadley was boss. Burt Hadley was the painter. They were building houses for the operators. That winter he did the usual things got wood, cruised around, etc. The next year he bought the smack from Burnham and Marrill and ran her. That summer he worked at carpenter work again in Hazel Hill or Canso. Papa's father got cold helping papa shingle the barn and developed inflammation in the kidneys and died in 3 days. The funeral was at his house, he was buried in Guysborough.

The fall and winter of 1893-94 papa got wood and did the usual things. That spring he ran smack again. Matthews and Scott took over the lobster packing usiness from Burnhamd and Marrill. In September 1896 Aunt May arrived. ( She came up with Capt. Bowie in the "Annie Ray", Jost's vessell. She was called after a teacher in Guysborough in the old academy. I think she paid $4.00 to come up. I had sent for her to come up with me. Bowie had written to papa saying he would have a flag on the foremast if Aunt May was aboard. I knew the "Annie Ray" well. I rowed off in the boat, as papa was at Hazel Hill at the time and they hove the vessel to and I rowed along side they lowered down her trunk. Then a man got in the boat helped Aunt May down. I rowed ashore. Ike was with me. The children met us at the beach. She arrived about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

That fall we moved the barn. Aunt May stayed with me that winter and the next spring she went to keep house for Mr. Berry a Church of England Minster in Mulgrave. She came home to look after me when Maude was born that November 18th 1897. Papa was working at carpentor all the time except when he was home or running the smack. Grandma had come to live with us before Aunt May came. She was with us only 3 months when she was taken to her bed. I think Grandma was with me about 4 years before Maude was born. Delivery when Maude born, Dr. Buckley. After Maude was born Aunt May went back to her job at Mulgrave. After the Minster was transferred she came back to our place and then she went to Canso to work as Cook at A..K. White's Hotel in Canso.

Papa ran the smack each spring and worked at carpenter's work mostly at Hazel Hill and at Canso. He built a steamer and we still had her when we moved to Guysborough. He used to load the smack and tow a big boat and tow her. He used to borrow a boat from Jim Dort (Jim Wall) we used to call him Jim Wall to distinguish him from Jim Peter (Jim Dort Peter's son). Jim Wall was Wallace Dort's son. One time before we moved to Guysborough Papa went up to the lighthouse and got the house off the "Amos B." and towed it home to make a fish house. Papa used to haul up the big smack in Cook's Cove in the winter.

The children were getting bigger and we wanted to get them near a new school. We heard that Ed Carrit's place was for sale and papa went up to see him several times over the period of a year or more. At last I was up one day with the horse and wagon and on the way home I called in to see Ed Carrits and closed the deal. I paid the deposit of $20. Within a few days we started moving up. We stayed up the first load. We finally moved up the 13th day of May and Carrit moved down the same day. Papa was running the smack and I had to do all the moving. Hilda and Ike helped. They moved all the hay. The first load of hay Ike lead the cow behind. The last load of the stuff the first day Ike and I went back for it and Hilda and Ike were afraid to stay in the house. Mamma went back to get Gertie and Maude who were staying at Francis's. On our way back we met them sitting on the side of the road almost out to the middle. I think Maude was at Francis's. Papa was smacking. The first Monday we were there I took, Gertie, Hilda and Ike to school and started them in.

When we moved, the house and place was in terrible condition. No fence except a line fence. The back door was hanging by one hinge. There was a little shack down to the road where our garage later was. Mr. Carrit used it for slaughtering and it was filthy. The house was finished downstairs only. The barn was where we now have the garden. The hen house was between the barn and the house.

Aunt May was married a couple of years before we moved to Guysborough ...her first child died. Loyla Taylor was boarding with us when we first moved to Guysborough. The first summer we were there Bess MacKeen came up and wanted to hire Hilda and Gertie to rake hay. I would not let them go. Mr. MacKeen wanted papa to buy a barrel of flour. He said he would and before we knew it Bob backed the horse up to the door and put the flour in the kitchen. Papa came out to pay MacKeen and he said he did not want any money. He wanted papa to work at the mill, but papa paid him the $5. Ike worked in the mill 3 days. Aubrey was born November 7 the first year we lived in Guysborough. Dr. Buckley was the doctor. Francis Aitkins was with me.

I think that Malcolm Cann Capt Durkee was running to Mulgrave when we moved to Guysboro. Papa ran the smack every year. The first summer we were in Guysborough papa worked on the Academy. He worked on the Baptist Church also shortly after we moved to Guysborough. Morley was born February 9, 1905. Dr. Buckley was the doctor and Ann Greencorn stayed with me.

I think Gertie went to Lowell the summer after Morley was born. She went with Minnie Peart (Calleb Peart's daughter). She boarded at the house of a Hull woman who was married in Lowell. She went to work in Whitealls. They made ruffled embroidery. She worked at a sewing machine. She went to night school and studied book keeping. She expected to keepbooks for the husband of the woman (Alice Hull) with whom she lived; but just about the time she finished her course he went out of business. She came about every summer. She was up there a couple of years when Hilda went back with her. Hilda went to work for Dr. Bell. She had sent her name into the Lowell Corporation Hospital before she left Guysborough. Hilda went into training and about a year after she went in Gertie also went in to train. Hilda trained about a year when she married a Parks Hensel. Gertie finished her training and graduated fromthe Lowell Corporation Hospital. She then went to a postgraduate course at Dr. Brooks Hospital at Carrey Hill Boston. She worked in a hospital in Pawtucket, R.I. She went to Phila-Morristown to see Hilda and on her way back she got cold and never really got over it. She finally developed TB and came home the 13th day of July 1917 She died March 10th, 1918 at 8 A.M. Papa and I were there with her when she died. Aubrey went up for Maude before breakfast. Before Hilda went away she taught school at Cole Harbour. She also sold books "The Life of King Edward".

Ike used to go in the smack with papa each spring. He went through grade 8. When he was 16 he went to Alistar's yacht for the summer. He went two summers. He then went in the "Constance". Neil MacDonald and Ed Leary went the same summers. Also Joe Walsh. Joe was a fireman. When the war broke Ike joined the Navy and went on the "Canada". Maude got married in Sept. 1914. Ike was married in June 1915. About the time Ike was on the "Constance" we used to have regattas and I had a stand two or three years. Each year we had a regatta. I cleared a$170 dollars the first year. I paid Aunt May $25. The second year I was alone. I paid Fen (probably Fen Scranton, May's husband) t$5.00 the second year. I bought all William Cameron's candy. I sold packages of candy mared $.05 for $.10. I bought all May Conner's oranges for $.03 each and sold for $.07 each. I bought all Dave Hensbee's oranges and all his pop. I forget what I made the second year. Fen did not want to take anything. We used to put the cows in the exhibition. I took first prize on butter, first on bread, first on doughnuts and first on gooseberry jam. Betha (Bertha?) Hadley, Mrs. Reed, Aunt May and Annie Harington used to complete. I used to sell butter to the hotel also.

Aubrey (Ike -?? per Gertrude ) left home when he was sixteen and went on the "Elaine". Morley went into the Banks when he was about 16 or 17. He was out west when he was about 17. When I came home from Newfoundland, George Horton was living on what is now Godfrey Dort's place. He was married to Ellen Conery. She was Catholic but was married by the Methodist minister and turned Protestant. They had 3 children. Amanda, Isaiah, and Will who was born in Gloucester. George was drowned when the "Alua" was lost. We think she was run down by a steamer. Papa's family was as follows: William, James eldest (who died in infancy) also Sarah died at 16, Charlie, Francis, Isaiah Washington, Emeline, George Alexander, Thomas, Freeman Whitfield and Mahala. (Corrected Order)

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