For information, please send email to Jim Low
Seventh Generation
This is the senior generation represented by living members. The eldest living member of our family in 1985 is Jean Eleanor Rook/Low who was born in 1889 (age 96). The youngest member was born in 1936.
There are now major branches of our
family spred throughout Scotland, Canada, the United States, and
Australia. Through marriage, we see the introduction of
English, Irish, French, and American Indian heritage into the various
branches.
Alexander Low
(ID=400)
Born: 187x - Montrose, Scotland
Died: - Scotland
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Father: John Low (ID=69)
Mother: Mary Rattray (ID=70)
Notes:
1. Died in infancy(?)
Single
References: 241
Elizabeth Rattray Low
(ID=111)
Born: 1875 - Montrose, Scotland
Died: 18 Apr 1909 -
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: John Low (ID=69)
Mother: Mary Rattray (ID=70)
Single
References: 126, 241
Mary Jane Low
(ID=112)
Born: 1877c - Montrose, Scotland
Died: 1947 -
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: John Low (ID=69)
Mother: Mary Rattray (ID=70)
Married: - to:
Alexander Bruce
(ID=113)
Born: 1869 -
Died: 1950 -
CHILDREN:
1. Catherine Flora Donald Bruce (ID=270)
1901 - 1968
2. Alexander Bruce (ID=271) 1904
- 1971
3. Robert Greig Bruce (ID=273)
1906 -
References: 126, 184
John Low
(ID=114)
Born: 06 Oct 1879 - 21 Reform St, Montrose,
Scotland
Died: -
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Father: John Low (ID=69)
Mother: Mary Rattray (ID=70)
References: 99, 126
Annie Low
(ID=485)
Born: 1881 - Forfarshire(?), Scotland
Died: -
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: John Low (ID=69)
Mother: Mary Rattray (ID=70)
References: 193
William Mark Low
(ID=115)
Born: 27 Jul 1898 - 16 Union St, Montrose,
Scotland
Died: 18 May 1904 -
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Father: John Low (ID=69)
Mother: Mary Millar Wallace
(ID=188)
Notes:
1. Died young of measles
Single
References: 103, 193, 241
Walter Gordon Low
(ID=116)
Born: 25 Dec 1905 - Scotland?
Died: 15 Sep 1944 - Stirling, Scotland?
Sex: Male
Occupation: Baker
Father: John Low (ID=69)
Mother: Mary Millar Wallace
(ID=188)
Notes:
1. adopted
Married: 23 Sep 1934 - Montrose, Scotland
to:
Agnes Moncur Dunn
(ID=117)
Born: 18 Jan 1911 -
Died: 06 Jan 1972 - Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada
Walter Gordon Low, adopted son of John Low and Mary Millar Wallace, was born on 25 December 1905. The first reference found on Walter after his birth was his marriage in 1934. At that time he was described as a Baker (Journeyman), and was living at 35 King Street, Montrose. Walter and Agnes Moncur Dunn were married in the Wesleyan Methodist Church, Montrose on 23 September 1934, and the witnesses were Frederick Dun and Margaret Watt. Agnes was living at 7 Hill Street, Montrose at the time of the marriage.
Agnes, a daughter of David McLaren Dunn (ID=468) and Jessie Imrie (ID=469), was born 18 January 1911. She moved to Vancouver, Canada after her husband's death at Stirling on 15 September 1944. Agnes died at Vancouver on 6 January 1972.
References: 162, 193, 241
--------------------
James Low
(ID=484)
Born: -
Died: -
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Father: James Low (ID=74)
Mother: Jessie Ann Duncan (ID=75)
Notes:
1. Moved to England.
References: 193
--------------------
--------------------
R P Ross
(ID=118)
Born: - Scotland?
Died: -
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Father: James Ross (ID=78)
Mother: Elizabeth Cloudsley Low
(ID=77)
Notes:
1. In Washington DC USA in
1944
References: 141
--------------------
--------------------
Marjory Guthrie
(ID=119)
Born: May 1890 - Logie Pert, Forfarshire,
Scotland
Died: 1892 -
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: Joseph Guthrie (ID=80)
Mother: Isabella Eadie (ID=81)
Notes:
1. Died young - date
uncertain.
Single
References: 123
Alexander Guthrie
(ID=120)
Born: 11 Feb 1892 - Logie Pert, Forfarshire,
Scotland
Died: Sep 1953 -
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Father: Joseph Guthrie (ID=80)
Mother: Isabella Eadie (ID=81)
Notes:
1. Birth date uncertain
Married: 12 Oct 1920 - to:
Annie Bruce
(ID=121)
Born: 05 Sep 1893 - Scotland
Died: 26 Apr 1980 - Stracathro Hospital,
Brechin, Scotland
CHILDREN:
1. Margaret Evelyn Guthrie (ID=189)
2. Alexander Guthrie (ID=191)
21 Jul 1923 - 06 Sep 1972
3. David Bruce Guthrie (ID=193)
References: 201, 207, 223
David Guthrie
(ID=122)
Born: 1893 - Logie Pert, Forfarshire,
Scotland
Died: 1916 - World War I
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Father: Joseph Guthrie (ID=80)
Mother: Isabella Eadie (ID=81)
Notes:
1. Birth & death dates
approx.
Single
References: 215
Mary Eadie Guthrie
(ID=123)
Born: 21 May 1895 - Logie Pert, Forfarshire,
Scotland
Died: 12 Jun 1972 - Brechin(?), Forfarshire,
Scotland
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: Joseph Guthrie (ID=80)
Mother: Isabella Eadie (ID=81)
Married: 1926 - to:
William Donald Mackenzie
(ID=124)
Born: 09 Mar 1901 - Scotland
Died: 23 Oct 1973 - Brechin, Forfarshire,
Scotland
CHILDREN:
1. Ian Graham Mackenzie (ID=195)
2. Norah Mary Mackenzie (ID=197)
Mary lived in Angus, probably at Logie Pert in her early years, then later in Brechin. The address of the family around 1972 was 7 East Bank, Brechin. She probably died at Brechin.
Her husband William was a son of Donald Mackenzie (ID=470), estate gardener, and Isabella Graham (ID=471). William was a Livestock Auctioneer and spent his working life between the Montrose and Brechin Auction Marts. He died at Stracathre Hospital by Brechin in 1973. His usual residence was 7 East Bank, Brechin.
References: 152, 215
Ruth Guthrie
(ID=125)
Born: 1900 - Logie Pert, Forfarshire,
Scotland
Died: 1965 -
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: Joseph Guthrie (ID=80)
Mother: Isabella Eadie (ID=81)
Notes:
1. Lived in Perthshire
Scotland
Married: - to:
David Comrie
(ID=126)
Born: - Scotland?
Died: 1960 - Scotland?
Ruth lived in Logie Pert, Angus when young. After her marriage, she lived in Crieff and Auchterarder, Perthshire.
David was a Master Butcher, having businesses in Crieff and Auchterarder.
There were no children.
References: 215
Joseph Guthrie
(ID=127)
Born: 29 Aug 1902 - Logie Pert, Forfarshire,
Scotland
Died: 10 Jan 1970 - Brechin?, Forfarshire,
Scotland
Sex: Male
Occupation: Blacksmith
Father: Joseph Guthrie (ID=80)
Mother: Isabella Eadie (ID=81)
Married: 1945 - to:
Elizabeth McLaren
(ID=128)
Born: 1907 -
Died: 1968 -
Joseph lived at Logie Pert during the first 43 years of his life. He was a Master Blacksmith at his father's Forge at Craigo, Logie Pert. He sold the Forge in 1937.
After his marriage in 1945, Joseph and Elizabeth moved to Powell River or Vancouver, B.C., Canada, where Elizabeth had a number of relatives. Joseph became a Canadian citizen on 11 September 1969.
Joseph was on a visit to Scotland when he died in 1970. He was probably in Brechin, Angus at the time.
References: 215
Isabella Guthrie
(ID=129)
Born: 1907 - Logie Pert, Forfarshire,
Scotland
Died: 11 Feb 1971 - Edinburgh, Scotland
Sex: Female
Occupation: School teacher
Father: Joseph Guthrie (ID=80)
Mother: Isabella Eadie (ID=81)
Single
Isabella Guthrie was born about 1907 and was raised at Logie Pert, Angus. She became a school teacher, teaching in various parts of Scotland, including Hastings, Carlisle, and Edinburgh. She did not marry. Isabella died at Edinburgh on 11 February 1971.
References: 215
--------------------
Janet Guthrie
(ID=130)
Born: 27 Dec 1902 - Craigo, Scotland
Died: 05 Nov 1963 - Broughty Ferry,
Scotland
Sex: Female
Occupation: Dressmaker, Ran Hotel
Father: John Low Guthrie (ID=87)
Mother: Jane Ann (Jean) Webster
(ID=88)
Married: - to:
Lincoln Caulderhead
(ID=131)
Born: 1904 - Montrose, Scotland
Died: Jun 1959 - Broughty Ferry, Scotland
No children
References: 197, 223
Dorothy Wilson Guthrie
(ID=132)
Born: 22 Jan 1905 - Montrose(?),
Scotland
Died: -
Sex: Female
Occupation: Nurse
Father: John Low Guthrie (ID=87)
Mother: Jane Ann (Jean) Webster
(ID=88)
Married: 28 Dec 1931 - Edinburgh, Scotland
to:
Redvers Buller Milne
(ID=133)
Born: 03 Dec 1899 - Montrose, Scotland
Died: -
CHILDREN:
1. Redvers Guthrie Milne (ID=199)
2. Valerie Jean Milne (ID=201)
References: 197, 223
John Low Guthrie
(ID=134)
Born: 12 Apr 1910 - Craigo, Scotland
Died: 05 Jul 1959 -
Sex: Male
Occupation: Joiner, Clerk
Father: John Low Guthrie (ID=87)
Mother: Jane Ann (Jean) Webster
(ID=88)
Married: 01 Jun 1935 - to:
Janet (Jenny) Riddock
(ID=135)
Born: 22 Sep 1910 -
Died: -
CHILDREN:
1. Janet Guthrie
(ID=203)
2. Jean Guthrie
(ID=205)
References: 197, 223, 233
--------------------
--------------------
Jean Cloudsley Low
(ID=136)
Born: 03 May 1906 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 25 Jul 1984 - Ottawa, Ont, Canada
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: James Alexander Low
(ID=93)
Mother: Jessie Frances Cox (ID=94)
Single
References: 204
Jessie Leith Low
(ID=137)
Born: 10 Sep 1907 - Ottawa, Ontario,
canada
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: James Alexander Low
(ID=93)
Mother: Jessie Frances Cox (ID=94)
Single
References: 204
Frances Elizabeth Low
(ID=138)
Born: 10 Sep 1908 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: James Alexander Low
(ID=93)
Mother: Jessie Frances Cox (ID=94)
Married: 19 Apr 1939 - to:
Lorne Barnabe
(ID=139)
Born: 27 May 1909 -
CHILDREN:
1. Peter Lorne Barnabe (ID=207)
2. Frances Jo Barnabe (ID=209)
3. Susan Jean Barnabe (ID=211)
References: 204
Margaret Evelyn Low
(ID=140)
Born: 20 Dec 1910 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: James Alexander Low
(ID=93)
Mother: Jessie Frances Cox (ID=94)
Married: 12 Oct 1940 - to:
William H Jamieson
(ID=141)
Born: 15 Nov 1911 -
CHILDREN:
1. William Alexander Jamieson (ID=213)
2. Richard Allan Jamieson (ID=214)
3. John Low Jamieson (ID=216)
References: 204
Barbara Agnes Low
(ID=142)
Born: 01 Feb 1912 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: James Alexander Low
(ID=93)
Mother: Jessie Frances Cox (ID=94)
Married: 28 Sep 1957 - to:
Arnott W Farrell
(ID=143)
Born: 11 Aug 1915 -
References: 204
--------------------
Ivy Stewart Low
(ID=144)
Born: 15 Nov 1914 - Fordoun,
Kincardineshire, Scotland
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: David Low (ID=95)
Mother: Jessie Cadenhead (ID=96)
Single
References: 201, 207
John Douglas Low
(ID=145)
Born: 24 Jun 1916 - Fordoun, Scotland
Living: Marykirk Kincardineshire
Scotland
Sex: Male
Occupation: Motorman
Father: David Low (ID=95)
Mother: Jessie Cadenhead (ID=96)
Notes:
1. Doug is name used
Married: 22 Jul 1943 - to:
Jessie Malcolm Carnegie
(ID=146)
Born: 12 May 1916 -
CHILDREN:
1. Evelyn Low
(ID=217)
2. Kathleen Mary Low (ID=219)
John Douglas Low was born at Fordoun, Kincardine- shire on 24 June 1916. Doug was at Charterstones, Fordoun until 1920 when his family moved to Thriepmuir, Marykirk, Kincardineshire. He originally was employed in agricul- ture and worked the land at Thriepmuir. He married Jessie Malcolm Carnegie on 22 July 1943.
When World War II started, his job in agriculture was classed as a reserved occupation, as food production was vital to the war economy. Doug also belonged to a highly secret wartime organization: a group prepared to go underground in the event of an invasion. Each unit was a self contained body of about six men who had a well concealed dug out in which they could live. They were trained in the use of a wide variety of weapons and explosives, mostly by Commando Officers who were secretly going back and forth to various occupied countries and keeping in touch with the resistance.
After the war, Doug continued to work in agriculture until 1966 when he became a motor driver for British Rail and then later for the National Health Service. He retired in 1981. In that year, he and Jessie toured Canada and visited a number of LOW relatives.
Doug is active in his local community. He has been on the board of management and an elder of his church since the 1950's. He is on the Village Hall Committee and has served two terms as chairman.
References: 207
William Low
(ID=147)
Born: 24 May 1918 - Fordoun, Scotland
Sex: Male
Occupation: Salmon Fishing, Agriculture
Father: David Low (ID=95)
Mother: Jessie Cadenhead (ID=96)
Single
References: 207
Jean Elizabeth Low
(ID=148)
Born:
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: David Low (ID=95)
Mother: Jessie Cadenhead (ID=96)
Married: 28 Dec 1951 - to:
David Herald
(ID=149)
Born:
CHILDREN:
1. Wilma Barbara Herald (ID=221)
References: 207
--------------------
James Alexander Smith
(ID=150)
Born:
Sex: Male
Occupation: Standards & Codes Engineer
Father: John Smith (ID=98)
Mother: Agnes Alexander Low (ID=97)
Married: - to:
Barbara Ruth Wise
(ID=151)
Born:
CHILDREN:
1. Maureen Patricia Smith (ID=223)
2. Diana Ruth Smith (ID=225)
3. Bruce Alexander Smith (ID=227)
4. Valerie Elizabeth Smith (ID=229)
References: 219, 222
--------------------
John Low
(ID=152)
Born:
Sex: Male
Occupation: Mechanical Engineer
Father: John Low (ID=99)
Mother: Catherine MacGregor
(ID=100)
Notes:
1. Bagpipe player
Marriage #1: - to:
0Beatrice Stephen
(ID=153)
Born: -
(Divorced 1976)
Marriage #2: - to:
Patricia Margaret Roxburgh
(ID=394)
Born:
No children
References: 205
Christina Isobel Low
(ID=154)
Born:
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: John Low (ID=99)
Mother: Catherine MacGregor
(ID=100)
Notes:
1. Isobel is name
used.
2. Bagpipe player
Married: - to:
John Alexander Stephen
(ID=155)
Born:
Died:
CHILDREN:
1. Donald John Stephen (ID=230)
2. Laurie Christina Stephen (ID=232)
3. Lexie Joanne Stephen (ID=234)
2
4. James Lewis Stephen (ID=236)
References: 227
--------------------
--------------------
John Edward Low
(ID=156)
Born: 01 Oct 1888 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 31 Jul 1976 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Male
Occupation: Steel Plate Engraver
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Married: 14 Oct 1915 - Prescott, Ontario,
Canada to:
Jean Eleanor Rook
(ID=157)
Born: 05 Aug 1889 - Prescott, Ontario,
Canada
CHILDREN:
1. Marjorie Jean Low (ID=237)
2. Arline Cloudsley Low (ID=238)
John Edward Low lived all his life in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He attended Ottawa Collegiate (now Lisgar).
In May 1906, John started his working career at the age of 17 at the American Bank Note Company, which later became the Canadian Bank Note Company. This building was constructed by his father James (ID=101). He remained employed there for 51 years, retiring on 30 August 1957. John became a steel plate engraver and was an exceptional artist in his trade. He engraved the plate for his daughter Arline's wedding invitations.
John was a Mason for over sixty years and a member of the Scottish Rite.
After his retirement, John and his wife maintained their residence in Ottawa, but spent the winter months in Florida.
Since 1945, a friend of the family, Mary
(May) Cleghorn of Galashiels, Scotland, has lived with John, Jean,
and their daughter Marjorie.
John's wife Jean describes how they met (probably around 1910):
I was teaching Sunday School in Knox Church. Frankie, who was just a wee thing and in one of the classes took sick. Some of the church people said to me "You know I think Mrs. Low would be quite pleased if you would go and ask for Frankie." So after Sunday School I did. I met Mrs. Low and Frankie and Libbie. She invited me to tea next Sunday. I went and met two little boys besides the two little girls. One was Ernie. I thought that was the family. They invited me to stay for supper. When I got to the dining room, there was Mr. Low, John, Jim, Alex, Billy, Tommy, and two friends of the boys. I didn't know there were others besides the little ones. I was just floored! Alex, when he saw me said "Well for heaven sakes, Jean! Is it you they were talking about?" They had talked about a 'Miss Rook' coming to visit, but Alex just knew me as 'Jean' at the church, through Sunday School. So that broke the ice. When it came time to take me home it was a toss-up which of the boys would take me. John took me home..."
In 1915 John and Jean were married in a simple wedding at home in Prescott, because of the war. A number of friends and relatives were present. They were driven to Brockville to start their honeymoon. But John had just learned that his work week was being cut back to two days a week, because of the war, and that his income would be cut. So Jean decided that they would limit their honey- moon to just a few days. Two days later they returned to Ottawa to a new apartment on Percy Street.
Jean remembers sitting at the dining room window of her home and watching the Parliament Building's burn down about 1916.
Jean was born in Prescott, Ontario, Canada in 1889. She was a daughter of George Rook (ID=504), tailor, who was born in England, and Rosanna Glasco (ID=505) who was born near Prescott. She is a sister of Minnie Farquhar Rook (ID=162) who married William Wilson Low (ID=161).
Jean recalls some memories of her childhood:
- I can remember Queen Victoria's Jubilee
in 1897. I marched with my school in the parade. I was
eight years old and had a new white dress and carried the Union
Jack. My Dad taught the whole school to sing a couple of songs. One
was "The Maple Leaf Forever."
- I can picture in my mind Queen Victoria's
death. All the Store windows were draped in purple with pictures of
the Queen everywhere.
- Milk was delivered to the door. It
was in a big container and the man used a dipper to fill your
pitcher. There was some talk about the cleanliness of the milk, so my
father bought a cow, a little Jersey, and my mother learned to milk
it and to make our own butter.
Note: Jean Eleanor Rook/Low has been interviewed a number of times by her daughter Marjorie and by me during the past ten years. Some of these interviews have been taped. Jean has also written about some of her earlier memories. She has supplied valuable information on various families, including the LOW, ASHE, ROOK and TANNER families. This information will be made available to other family historical researchers. We are extremely grateful to Jean for giving us so much knowledge of family life as it was at the turn of the century.
References: 182, 199, 203, 208, 216, 242
NOTE ADDED IN PRINTING:
On 28 December 1985, I examined the 1891
Canadian Census for Ottawa, which had just been released to
researchers. I found John Low (see note with his father James
Low, ID=101). His wife Jean was also found in the Prescott,
Ontario Census, and her name was listed as Jane. This is the
first time I have seen the name of a living person in a Census
return.
James Low
(ID=158)
Born: 06 Apr 1890 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 04 Jul 1970 - Inglewood, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Male
Occupation: Banker
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Married: 23 Mar 1916 - to:
Eva Agnes Ramsay
(ID=159)
Born: -
Died: 1971 - Inglewood, Ontario, Canada
James was raised in Ottawa, where he attended Ottawa Collegiate (now Lisgar). In the 1940's, he was living in Montreal, where he was a banker. Later, he was an Secretary-Treasurer of the Guaranteed Pure Milk Company until his retirement in 1950's.
For many years, James and Eva lived at Inglewood, Ontario, and both died there.
References: 199, 202, 203, 242
Rebecca Wilson Low
(ID=160)
Born: 23 Apr 1892 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 23 Apr 1892 - Ottawa, Ontario,
canada
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Notes:
1. Died at birth.
References: 234, 242
William Wilson Low
(ID=161)
Born: 08 Mar 1893 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 26 Oct 1956 - Burbank, California,
USA
Sex: Male
Occupation: Scientific Instrument Engineer
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Notes:
1. Moved to USA
Married: 20 Apr 1916 - to:
Minnie Farquhar Rook
(ID=162)
Born: 29 Apr 1893 - Prescott, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 08 Nov 1971 - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
CHILDREN:
1. Frances Marion (Byllie) Low (ID=240)
2. Roy Rook Low
(ID=243)
William was raised at Ottawa where he attended Ottawa Collegiate (now Lisgar).
He became a machinist. He was employed by the National Research Council for many years, and in 1942 was appointed superintendent of Instruments Limited. In 1952 he moved to California, USA, where he joined Gordon Enterprises in Burbank.
William married Minnie Farquhar Rook, daughter of George Rook (ID=504) and Rosanna Glasco (ID=505), on 20 April 1916. She was a sister of Jean Eleanor Rook (ID=157) who married John Edward Low (ID=156).
References: 185, 199, 203, 211, 242
Alexander Cloudsley Low
(ID=163)
Born: 12 Jan 1895 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 28 Dec 1959 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Male
Occupation: Steel Plate Finisher
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Married: 07 Aug 1915 - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
to:
Mina Pilcher Tanner
(ID=164)
Born: 05 Dec 1894 - Cornwall, Ontario
Died: 13 Mar 1979 - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
CHILDREN:
1. James Reed Low (ID=245)
03 Apr 1916 - 10 Dec 1970
Alexander Cloudsley Low was born at Ottawa, Canada on 12 January 1895, and lived in that city his entire life. He attended the School of Higher English and Applied Arts (now Kent Street School). He married Mina Pilcher Tanner at Ottawa on 7 August 1915.
During World War I, Alex was in the Militia and worked at the Wood's Building in Ottawa. On 16 August 1920, he joined his brother John (ID=156) by taking employment with the Canadian Bank Note Company where he was a steel plate finisher. He retired on 1 January 1959 and died on 28 December of the same year.
Mina Pilcher Tanner was born at Cornwall, Ontario on 5 December 1894. She was a daughter of Richard Tanner (ID=2525) and Marinda Anna Reed (ID=2524). She was active in the United Church of Canada, particulary with the Missionary Society, and occasionally worked as a bank clerk. She died at Ottawa on 13 March 1979.
Although Alex and Mina had only one child, they were the head of a large household. They raised five nephews and nieces of Mina: Iva Lillian Tanner (ID=2779) born 2 Oct 1918, James Gordon Kirkpatrick (ID=2928) born 23 December 1925, Lois Ruth Tanner (ID=2782) born 20 June 1926, Alan Douglas Kirkpatrick (ID=250) born 9 May 1927, and Muriel Anne Kirkpatrick (ID=2794) born 6 October 1929. Also, three sisters of Mina lived with the family for many years: Anna Grace Tanner (ID=2653), Mary Isobella Tanner / Collingwood (ID=2656), and Hattie (Tot) Patterson Tanner (ID=2662). During the last few years of her life, Martha Ashe / Low also lived with this family.
References: 53, 199, 203, 208, 242
Jessie Low
(ID=165)
Born: 23 Nov 1896 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 23 Nov 1896 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Notes:
1. Died at birth
References: 234, 242
Thomas Ashe Low
(ID=166)
Born: 03 Sep 1897 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 22 Oct 1953 - Kingston, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Male
Occupation: Pharmacist
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Married: 17 Mar 1942 - to:
Anastasia Kerrigan
(ID=167)
Born: -
Died: 03 Jun 1981 - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Thomas was raised in Ottawa. He graduated from the School of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Canada. For many years, he was a pharmacist at Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Reference: 75, 199, 242
Samuel Low
(ID=168)
Born: 14 Nov 1899 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 16 Nov 1899 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Notes:
1. Died in infancy.
References: 234, 242
Elizabeth (Libbie) Jane Cloudsley Low
(ID=169)
Born: 05 Mar 1901 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 17 Dec 1975 - Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
Sex: Female
Occupation: Registered Nurse
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Notes:
1. Libbie is name used
Single
Elizabeth (Libbie) was raised in Ottawa, where she attended Lisgar Collegiate. She moved to Montreal where she trained to become a Registered Nurse.
Libbie worked all her life as a nurse in Montreal, Canada. Her last job before retirement was as a nurse with the Bell Telephone Company. She lived in the suburb of Westmount.
References: 198, 199, 208, 242
Samuel Ernest (Peter) Low
(ID=170)
Born: 08 Jun 1903 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 09 Nov 1984 - Natrona Hts,
Pennsylvania, USA
Sex: Male
Occupation: Patent Attorny
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Notes:
1. 'Ernie' and 'Peter'
were names used.
Married: 02 Oct 1939 - to:
Martha Frances Myers
(ID=171)
Born:
CHILDREN:
1. Heather Jane Low (ID=247)
Samuel Ernest Low used the nickname "Peter" from the time he was a young adult. He explained that this came about when his brother Alex (ID=163) started calling him Peter as a joke. Before this time he was called Ernie and some senior members of the family still refer to him by this name.
Peter was born in Ottawa, Canada on 8 June 1903 and was raised there. He attended McGill University in Montreal, where he obtained his degree in Engineering. He later moved to the United States where he became a Patent Attorney for Alcoa in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He became a citizen of the United States in 1941. During World War II, Peter and Martha came to Canada where he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Following the war, they returned to Pennsylvania, and he returned to work for Alcoa. They had been living at Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania for many years when Peter died on 9 November 1984.
Martha Frances Myers was born in Indiana, USA on 10 April 1916. She and Peter married on 2 October 1939.
Martha presented a program on their
lifestyles in Canada during World War II to several groups.
Following is an edited version of her notes:
LIFESTYLES IN CANADA DURING WORLD WAR II
========================================
by
Martha Frances Myers / Low
(From a program presented several times to various groups, based on
her experiences with her husband, Samuel Ernest "Peter" Low, when he
served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.)
It wasn't until World War II was threatening to start that I discovered the intensely patriotic part of my husband, who had been born in Canada and was naturalized an American citizen on St. Patrick's Day in 1941.
Indications of war were very plain to me in 1938 when I spent seven weeks in Europe with two friends. On September 2 we were to sail for home, but on September 1 Neville Chamberlain had taken his umbrella to the continent, where he met with Adolf Hitler and made a decision for the world. He called it "peace in our time." He was later viewed as weak, but at least he gave England a year to prepare for war, and our ship was allowed to sail the next day on schedule.
A year later, on September 2, 1939, I was
curiously with the same two friends in my apartment in Oakmont,
when
Adolf Hitler's voice came over my radio. My German was good
enough to understand most of his speech. Hitler had broken the
Munich agreement and had gone into Poland. Of course it meant
war, and the fervor of the German crowds cheering Hitler frightened
us all. The next day Prime Minister Chamberlain declared war on
Germany. England, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
and all the British Empire were now at war with Germany.
Peter, a patent attorney with Alcoa -- it was my company too -- and I were married on October 2, a month after the war began, and in his proposal he had said that it was in the back of his mind to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force, if it looked as though he could help. I agreed that it would be his decision, whether or not we were married.
The MONTREAL STAR was delivered to our home every day, and by August, 1941 the plight of England Looked bad. As we prepared for a Canadian vacation to visit his relatives in Ottawa and Montreal and to spend a week in the Laurentian Mountains at St. Jovite, Quebec, the ax fell: "Was it all right if I enlisted while we were in Canada?" The very serious implications were clear: He might be maimed or killed, but it was something he needed to do. I said, "Of course. Do it."
Our plan was to have both of us enlist, I in the WAF's, but the recruiting officer said that the policy was to separate couples if they both enlisted, and I could serve the war effort better if I was able to be with Peter in Canada. I certainly agreed to that!
Although he was a patent attorney, Peter was also an engineer, a graduate of McGill University in Montreal. His qualifications indicated he would start out as a P/O (Pilot Officer), the lowest rank in the commissioned forces, equivalent to second lieutenants in the United States. He would hear from the RCAF within two months, as to his assignment.
Back home in Oakmont, we made arrangements to store our new furniture. The call came in late October. We had a few days to make final preparations. Then we drove to Toronto where the manning depot was.
In Toronto we found a rooming house in an old section of town near downtown. We were forbidden to do any laundry -- not even my silk hose, so that had to be done surreptitiously, in the middle of the night. Toronto is a beautiful jewel of a city today, but in 1941 little had been done to make it glamorous. The electricity was even strange to me. It was 25-cycle and the lights flickered constantly. It was almost impossible to read after dark when using electricity.
Peter spent his days at the manning depot, and once I went to see him and the other new officers drilling in a field, learning the commands and all that they would need to know as officers, commanding a flight or a squadron of enlisted men. Nearly all of the new officers were wearing their smart Air Force blue, tailor-made uniforms with stripes indicating rank and USA, Australia, or New Zealand patches on their upper sleeves, if they were not Canadians. Being mostly Canadians, they had been able to see a tailor and be prepared for the day when they were called up. And among them, there was Peter marching in his brown shoes, brown slacks, and brown Harris tweed jacket. He stood out like a sore thumb.
So the first order of business was to see a tailor, as nothing was issued to officers. While we were in down- town Toronto shopping, we stopped in Simpson's to buy me a little V-for-Victory pin. It has the three dots and a dash, the Morse Code letter V. Often on the radio, V for Victory was set to music -- da, da, da, dah --Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. While we were in Simpson's, there was great excitement among the clerks, for the Governor- General of Canada was arriving with his wife, and everone had been alerted.
At the door was an enormous limousine with a chauf- feur, who opened the door for the Duke of Connaught and Princess Alice of Athlone, his wife. They were tall, slender, and very English looking. We had a good look at them because they, also, were shopping for jewelry, but what they were buying was out of my range!
By her appearance, Princess Alice was distinctly an upper-class English lady. She was the niece of Queen Victoria, and the Governor General of Canada was the King's representative in Canada. The scraping and bowing for this couple amazed me.
This brief encounter with the Princess seemed a singular thing, but oddly enough, I was to meet her again, 2500 miles away.
There was little for me to do in Toronto. I was there for too brief a stay to take the job that Dr. Francis Frary, Alcola's director of research, had arranged for me with Dr. (Sir Frederick) Banting, the inventor of insulin, at the University of Toronto, as a chemist.
So I drove our 1941 Ford coupe back to Indiana to visit with my parents. It was a good thing we had a late model car, as it had to last to the end of the war. Much later, a few cars were finally available in 1947 and we were lucky to get one of them.
While I was in Indiana, my brother brought the bad news one Sunday -- Dec. 7 -- that the Japanese had struck Pearl Harbor. I started to compute in my head what this might mean to Peter. Would it change his plans any? I couldn't call him but he called me, this time from Montreal, where he was now attending the RCAF Aeronautical Engineering School for six months.
The next day I drove north. As I approached the Canadian border I heard President Roosevelt declare war on Japan on the car radio. It was an emotional moment. A few hours later I heard him declare war on Germany. The border patrol gave me close scrutiny, as they did everyone leaving the States on that day. It didn't help that I was carrying a German camera. I had to carry a special permit for it and for the car, since I was staying indefinitely.
I was impressed with the four-lane highway leading out of Toronto --the Queen Elizabeth Way (opened by the present Queen mother in 1939). It was better than any I had seen in the States up to then. But it began to snow, heavily, and it went on all day. There were no snow tires then and no salt on the highways. By eleven P.M. I finally made it to Peter's brother's home in Montreal West.
Peter's school was in Outremont in the French or eastern section of Montreal, and he had a long streetcar ride. In the afternoon I played bridge with my sister-in- law, Eva Low, and her mother, Mrs. Ramsay, from Edinburgh, Scotland. Mrs. Ramsay was a real wit, and she made wonderful raisin pies by using bacon drippings for her shortening in the crust.
We soon found our own apartment in downtown Montreal on Guy Street and Lincoln Avenue near St. Catherine Street. We stored the car for $35 per month near the St. Lawrence River docks, as few people kept cars going in the winter. Our apartment cost $67.50 per month, so all we had left of Peter's officer's salary was $49 for food. But we managed very well and even ate out once a week. A flashing sign outside our window advertized Aylmer's vegetables with a picture of a yummy steak, baked potato, and peas that starved us until we could get our own steaks on Saturdays for $1.25 each.
Although Quebeckers are bilingual of necessity, the French and the English were not too congenial. Peter's sister (Libbie), who was a private duty nurse at Montreal General Hospital, loved French food, but she always made the French waitress speak English, even though she, herself, knew French. And it worked both ways. Montreal was 75% French then, and it is more like 90% now.
Everything was more expensive in Canada. Cigarettes were 15 cents a pack in the States and 65 cents in Canada. American cigarettes were $1.00 there. We soon switched to Canadian Players. That was when we were still smokers. And the service men had no advantage of a PX, as the American service men did. They also were paid less.
Fortunately for us, my father sent his usual Christmas check and we had our savings at home for emergencies and eventual travel, when we'd be posted. Alcoa also was kind enough to send an unexpected check for that first Christmas away.
Our apartment was interesting. It was a second floor, walk-up. A visitor might wonder where the bed was. One pulled out a large drawer in the buffet and voila-- a bed that filled the apartment. To the left, opening onto a fire escape, was the kitchen. The stove had three gas burners, so it took some imagination to cook, as one burner was always for the teakettle, to make tea. The refrigerator was an ice box and the ice man came every day, but our ice was usually melted before he got there, because of poor insulation in the old box.
The window at the back was very entertaining, as the children and cats and dogs played in the courtyard, and in good weather people hung their birdcages outside for the canaries and budgies to take the air.
We had a large bathroom, where I did the laundry in the bathtub and hung it all around the bathroom on strings to dry.
The only telephone was in the office, and if we got a call from Peter's brother for Sunday dinner, we would get the message and call back. As a result, people normally just dropped in, and if it was relatives from Ottawa, it would be Sunday and they might find Peter in bed in the middle of the apartment, as he studied very late every night and got up at 5:30 A.M., six days a week. It helped that our Guaranteed Pure Milk Co. milkman came early, as he had a horse named Pete, so he would say "Giddyap, Pete, S'advance, Piet!", and Peter would get the message and fly out of bed. I did go to the barns and see Pete and the other beautiful horses one day, as my brother-in-law, Jim Low, was treasurer of the Guaranteed Pure Milk Co.
I was patriotic too, so I looked for a
volunteer job a few hours a week. A junior league-type lady
informed me that to be a volunteer I would need to sign up for a
full- time job or at the very least, half a day each day. So I
took the street car every day up the mountain to V-Bundles of
Montreal, similar to Bundles for Britain, where I was the secretary
to the director. I worked from 9 to 1 P.M. and carried my
lunch. The office was located across from
the world-famous Basilica of Ste. Anne de Beaupre. I wrote
letters asking for clothing and helped arrange entertainment to
gather people who might help us clothe the bombed-out families of
London. After work, at Guy Street when I would alight from the
street car, the conductor would say, "Gee - Guy. Prenez-garde -
Be Careful!" Everything had to be said twice for the two
languages. But it was always said first in French.
At work I also answered the telephone, sometimes in French, although V-Bundles was mainly an English enter- prise. In the afternoon I sometimes met other RCAF wives for tea at one of the many Lyons' restaurants. A pot of tea and toast with cinnamon butter was 15 cents plus 5 cents tip, and we could sit as long as we liked. I also taught myself to ice skate with Peter's college hockey ice skates at the rink of a private boys' school in the neighborhood. The boys had to sharpen their pencils a lot at the window and laugh at me "cracking the ice," as the Canadians said when you fell down, until the schoolmaster caught on. An adult who couldn't skate looked funny to Canadian children who can skate as soon as they can walk.
The RCAF School had a dance at midterm, and we got to see where the school was and also be introduced to the Fairey Battle airplane that our husbands worked on to learn Aeronautical Engineering. It was inside the gymnasium and quite a sight to see. We would later see Fairey Battles at the next station, where they would be used as gunnery planes.
During winter, the Canadian children were always taken out for air, no matter how cold it was. Their cheeks would be red as fire with cold, but they looked extremely healthy and they wore beautiful hand-knit sweaters, usually with a picture of an airplane or a dog or a cat, knitted right into the sweater by a skillful Mummy. Most Canadian women went out to tea in winter, they wore outdoor lisle hose over their silk stockings for warmth. Then on arrival at tea, they would remove those gracefully, and lay them with their coats, to be put on again before leaving.
When spring came, snow drops and crocuses and grape hyancinths peeped through the snow, and it was beautiful to see a few green blades of grass too.
One of the wives with a telephone invited the rest of the wives to tea in June on the day the men were to graduate. We waited by the phone for news of assignments. Peter and I had asked for the West, thinking of beautiful Vancouver and Victoria, where the rich English retire to.
Instead, we were assigned to Dafoe,
Saskatchewan in the West, but in the middle of the Prairies!
Eva Low
said, "Poor Martha. Her complexion will be ruined with the
Prairie sun." Jim Low, by coincidence, had been a banker in
Dafoe in earlier years and he knew all about it. Dafoe was a
village of 95 souls on the railway, with three grain elevators, a
bank, a general store, but no church. We would be going to #2
Bombing and Gunnery School, and Peter would be Aircraft Maintenance
Engineer and C/O of Motor Transport. As it turned out, he and
his airmen would be responsible for keeping all the cars and trucks
going in weather that reached 67 degrees below zero. And all
supplies came in by truck from 13 miles away at Dafoe, where they
came to by train. Hundreds of people could starve if the trucks
couldn't get started.
After we'd stored our furniture, we left Montreal in June and drove to Southern Indiana for Peter's leave. Then it was 1600 miles from my parents' home in Indiana to Dafoe, Saskatchewan. We allowed four days for the trip, stopping to see my sister in South Bend and nearly suffocating in the only tourist cabin we could find in Rochester, Minnesota, because we left a space heater on. It filled the room with carbon monoxide and we couldn't get the window or door open for some anxious minutes.
We had picked a secondary road through North Dakota, and in that state it meant it was not even gravel. It rained all day and soon the mud road had only two furrows in it. When we met a car, the one who was most chicken at the last moment would get out of the ruts and gun the car, hoping to get it back on the road. We had 85 miles of this and part of it was after dark, so it was a relief to reach Fessenden, N.D., a small village with a tiny hotel and about 500 inhabitants.
After dinner there and booking a room, we investigated a spirited crowd in the hotel's tavern where there was dancing. There were many rough-looking men dressed like cowboys, and some of them had guns in holsters. What a nice touch of the Old West, we thought. But all at once an argument broke loose over a woman, and one of the men pulled out a gun, and we left immediately.
Saskatchewan is directly North of Montana, so from North Dakota we angled across the border, going farther West. A hundred miles north of the border we came to Regina, Saskatchewan. It was a fairly large city, and we passed the headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and saw the men in red uniforms seated on their horses and drilling in a field. Later, we would see them passing through Dafoe on business.
It was another 100 miles North to Dafoe,
so we were getting close to the timberline. A few miles before
we reached Dafoe, we had a flat tire, and Peter walked back for a
mile or so to get help, leaving me with the car.
When he told the man where the car was parked under a tree, the man
said "I know just where it is. There's only one tree between
here and Dafoe."
Dafoe was quite a let-down, even though we had been warned by Jim Low. Even the two Quill Lakes that looked so nice and blue on the map, were so caustic, that white salts evaporated from the hard water and lay on the shore like white sand. The lakes were good for nothing excepting the bombing and gunnery that would be safely done there by the RCAF School that we were going to. Politicians are at work, too, in Canada, and the government had located the station half-way between Watson, 13 miles to the North, and Dafoe, 13 miles to the south, making it very inconvenient for everyone, but satisfying the local residents.
After checking in at the station, Peter drove us to Watson, where there was a tiny hotel without running water or electricity. The powder room for women AND men was a chemical watercloset for all, on the second floor.
We had a water pitcher and a washbowl in our room and I made the terrible mistake of washing my hair in it, as I was not able to rinse the soap or the hard water out of it. The mosquitoes were awful in Watson and huge, but the Chinese restaurant was good. In Canada, if there is one restaurant in a village (Watson had about l00 people), it will be Chinese, and they will always have celery, even if they don't have green pieces of any other vegetable. The Chinese came to Canada when the Canadian Pacific Railway was built and they were laborers.
There was a good general store in Watson, and some of the officers and wives lived in town, but we were having a one-room house built for us in Boom Town, across from the RCAF station. The house was 10 feet by 20 feet and was actually a granary for wheat, built on sledges so that it could be easily moved to another spot to store wheat when the war was over. Peter had an extra room built onto ours that was 6 by 6 feet and it was to house the woodstove for cooking and heating.
When we moved in, a few days later, the
house was unpainted and there was no foundation, which didn't matter
in summer, but it would be a cold problem in winter. The
cookstove had four "burners" or plates, but only one could be removed
to stir and build the fire. The oven had no racks and the oven
door had no catch, so that when I baked an apple pie - the best I
ever baked - I put firewood in the oven for a rack and propped the
door closed with another stick of wood. A fire was difficult to
build because wood was scarce and it was VERY GREEN. All the
aged wood had been used up. It cost $6 for half a cord of wood
when you could get it. We had a pot-bellied heating
stove in the main room that had no firebrick lining, so a fire would
not last. Also, we had no coal, so in winter we had to take
turns getting up every two hours to put more wood on or freeze to
death.
We had two coal oil lamps, one an Aladdin that we splurged on, as it had a mantle and gave better light. We couldn't have a radio until we sent for a battery operated one from Eaton's. It took an A and a B battery and was cumbersome and expensive. If we had only had today's transister, cheap radios! It was in Dafoe that I first heard Bing Crosby sing, "White Christmas". Even then, I knew it was destined to be a hit.
Our powder room was a Chic-Sale shack in the back yard among our birch trees. We had the only trees in Boom Town. It was very private and a good thing, as the privy had no door, so that you could look out and locate the wild strawberries in the woods before going back to the house. In winter we added a chamber pot for under the bed, as it was not pleasant to light a lamp, put on a coat and boots, and walk to the outdoor convenience when the temperature was anywhere from 30 degrees to 67 degrees below zero.
Everything was scarce and the largest pan we had was a dishpan. The laundry had to be done in it and in winter, when we had to use flannelette sheets, the sheet would absorb all the water in the pan! We slept in Dr. Denton's sent by my mother. Water was delivered twice a week by a horse-drawn tank wagon. It cost 5 cents per pail and our water tank held 6 buckets. That had to last until the water man came again. In between I collected rain water in a barrel to wash our hair. On water days, the fresh water tasted great!
A farmer named Mr. Seaman came every morning with milk, which was unpasteurized, so that it spoiled before noon in summer, as our only refrigerator was a hole we dug in the ground and lined with boards. The milk had to be drunk for breakfast or be made into something that would keep because it was cooked. I don't know why I never pasteurized the milk myself by boiling it. Perhaps I hated to build a fire in the summer heat.
Many days in summer it was close to l00 degrees in the shade, and if it was my turn to have the officers' wives for our Red Cross knitting group, I would have to build a fire in the cookstove to make tea. Of course everyone else had to also, until Ed Rogerson scrounged a special room for us in the officers' mess, where we had running water and electricity, and a REAL bathroom once a week.
Saturday dinner was wives' night at the
mess, and we had FANTASTIC dinners. We wore long dinner gowns,
as
there was dancing later, and on a muddy or snowy day we wore boots
and carried our dancing slippers. The C/O would always toast
the King and the President of the United States before dinner began,
and it was all quite formal. When there were wines served, it
was because every officer had turned his liquor ration card in to the
mess and also his food card. The men, like Peter, who ate meals
in their homes had to split the wife's ration card to feed two
persons.
The dances were interesting because many of the officers were from Australia and New Zealand, as well as from England. Their accents were different and their conversations were unusual and refreshing.
The rent for our house was $40 per month. A lot of the people thought this was astronomical, and we had a campaign to educate the politicians to have it changed. I became a correspondent for the Saskatoon newspaper, writing articles about Boom Town, and we all wrote letters to the editor. We soon had action and our rent was reduced to $8, which was all the house was worth. Then we saved money like mad!
One of our problems in the house was that we discovered mice one evening. We baited a trap with cheese and immediately it snapped. Peter held the mouse delicately by the tail and disposed of it. By the seventh mouse in an hour, he was getting very professional about it. That was the last mouse, as Mr. Seaman brought us a kitten that we named Skeeter. He was white with black spots and he had a black moustache, just like Adolf Hitler's.
Our C/O's wife was Gee for Greta Lowe-Holmes, a member of the English gentry. Gee was beautiful and lovely, but she had no idea how to handle her beautiful 6 year old son, so he was a real terror. Up to that time in Dafoe, he had been in the care of a nanny. Gee informed the officers' wives' group that a celebrity was coming soon to visit, and that we might need some instruction, since the visitor was ROYALTY. Of course it was to be Princess Alice of Athlone. Gee showed us how to curtsey. She told us we were never to turn our back on royalty and merely to back away. Never to change the subject, and I don't know what all. I didn't listen too carefully, as I didn't intend to show up, having already seen Princess Alice in Toronto. But the Protestant padre's wife, who was very shy and retiring, asked me if I would please go with her, and I agreed.
When we got to the officers' mess, Gee
once more briefed us. She said, "Line up according to your
husband's rank. I'll be first as the C/O's wife and Wing
Commander, Squadron Leaders' wives next, Flight
Lieutenants' wives next, Flying officers' wives next, and then the
Pilot Officers' wives." That made me last in the line.
Princess Alice was to enter and greet Gee first and me last. Lo
and behold, the Princess came into the wrong door and got ME FIRST,
and I was the one who had to remember how to curtsey and all the
rest. Gee nearly flipped, but no one let on that an error had
been made.
Mostly we had a good time at Dafoe and knew it would be a time to remember. There was an open sewer down Officer's Row, along the road, but gorgeous wild pink roses grew abundantly out of it. Magpies flew everywhere and were spectacular in their black and white garb. On 48 hour passes, Peter and I would take walks around the country and carry a lunch. The horizon was perfectly flat and the only scenery was fields of wheat and blue flax. Wildflowers were abundant and I painted water colors of them, as they were so different from our wild flowers.
Once we took the train to Saskatoon for a "48". We stayed in the hotel and took six baths a day, because we couldn't take running water baths at home.
Once a month we could use our rationed gasoline to take 5 or 6 people into Watson to shop. That was a real event. Once we went to see a woman who did beautiful cut- work embroidery. I bought a linen luncheon set for $5. She was a Ducaboor, of Russian descent. There are lots of Ducaboors in Saskatchewan.
The business of the RCAF station went on all around us. The drogue planes, painted in stripes like Oxydol boxes and were called Lysanders, would pass over our house pulling a target in the air, headed for Quill Lakes. A Fairey Battle would follow to practice gunnery over the lakes. One day a pilot was in trouble and he dumped his gasoline over Boom Town. With all our fires going, it was a very dangerous thing to do. There were crashes that Peter was called to in the middle of the night. And we would spend the night getting his uniform presentable again. Of course to heat the irons for pressing or ironing, I had to build a fire first. Some of the wives had an alcohol iron that could be lighted for heat, but I never had one of those. I had 3 plain irons that took turns heating on the stove.
We had tragedies. One neighbor's house caught on fire and burned to the ground at 30 degrees below zero. The station's firefighters came and fought it and nearly froze to death. One airman, his wife, and two children died from carbon monoxide because their house was too airtight with the stove burning wood. They lived two doors from us. In winter we had only 5 hours of daylight - 10 am to 3 pm. In summer it was light from 3 am until l0pm at night.
The only fresh meat we had in summer, because the grocer didn't have refrigeration, was partridge, prairie chicken, or pheasant that some friend had shot for us.
After eighteen months in Dafoe it was our turn to be posted. Peter was to go overseas with #39 Reconnaisance Wing, departing from Halifax for England to be attached to the RAF. We had a few days left at Dafoe and we decided to blow our Canadian gasoline ration tickets on a trip to Prince Albert, about l00 miles north, above the timber- line. My own concern was that I would not have a child of Peter's, should he fail to come back. I had lost two, less than full-term infants, but I decided that this was the time to think about it again.
It was sad to leave our friends at #2 Bombing and Gunnery School, but we drove what few belongings we had - camera, silverware, my Fanny Farmer cook book, our golf clubs, and clothing - back to Indiana for Peter's leave. By the time we drove him to Indianapolis to catch his train to Halifax, we knew that he might have an heir by the middle of May. I remained in Indiana with my parents.
To shorten a long story, Peter's voyage across the Atlantic was very dangerous and it took l6 days. On arrival in England he had a serious case of pneumonia that hospitalized him. But I never knew about it until the war was over. I sent him a letter saying that Heather Jane Low had been born on May ll, l944, but he didn't receive it for six weeks, as he had gone to the continent by glider plane on D-Day plus 1 and he was ahead of the lines most of the time doing reconnaisance work with his Wing. The first time I heard from him after Heather's birth was on the Fourth of July weekend to say that he had survived the invasion and that he had received the happy news about Heather. I received l3 letters in one day. In between, I tuned in CBL, Toronto's radio station, to hear Lorne Greene give the ll o'clock news, so I could know what the RCAF was doing. They were seldom mentioned in the American papers.
Peter was mustered out of the RCAF in December, l945. He had been scheduled for China-Burma-India until the Japanese war was over. He was a Flight Lieutenant and had been recommended for Squadron Leader. I met him in Montreal and we were in Indiana for Christmas. He went back to work at Alcoa and it was seven months before we could find a place to live, as housing was so short. We moved to Natrona Heights on July 4, l946. I have always felt it was a happy accident that we came to Natrona Heights, for I have loved the people I met in this area.
References: 209, 212, 242
Martha Frances (Frankie) Jean
Cloudsley Low
(ID=172)
Born: 29 Apr 1905 - Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: James Low (ID=101)
Mother: Martha Ashe (ID=102)
Notes:
1. Frankie is name used
Married: 28 Jul 1927 - to:
Lionel Adams Rosenthal
(ID=173)
Born: 11 Aug 1906 -
Died: 27 Sep 1976 - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
CHILDREN:
1. Barbara Mary Rosenthal (ID=249)
2. Brian Ashe Rosenthal (ID=251)
Frankie was raised in Ottawa, Canada, where she attended Lisgar Collegiate. She worked in a dental office prior to her marriage to Lionel Rosenthal in 1927. She now lives in Ottawa.
Lionel Rosenthal was an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force for many years.
References: 182, 198, 199, 242
--------------------
Elizabeth Cloudsley Low
(ID=174)
Born: 26 Jan 1896 - New York, NY, USA
Died: 23 Oct 1964 -
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: John (Jack) Low (ID=103)
Mother: Annie Mavis Dawson (ID=104)
Married: 06 Jan 1919 - to:
John Ferdinand Sequin
(ID=175)
Born: 30 Dec 1895 -
Died: 07 Dec 1961 -
CHILDREN:
1. Valerie Elizabeth Sequin (ID=253)
2. John Low Sequin (ID=255) 23
May 1924 - 09 May 1944
3. Joyce Cloudsley Sequin (ID=256)
28 Nov 1925 - 26 Oct 1926
References: 127, 189, 210, 213, 243
John Dawson Low
(ID=176)
Born: 04 Aug 1898 - New York, NY, USA
Died: 02 Oct 1949 - Dallas, Texas, USA
Sex: Male
Occupation: Marine Engineer
Father: John (Jack) Low (ID=103)
Mother: Annie Mavis Dawson
(ID=104)
Notes:
1. Visited Australia
1943
2. Dawson is name used
Married: 17 Jun 1944 - to:
Hilda Munro Marmon
(ID=177)
Born: -
CHILDREN:
1. John Dawson Low (ID=257)
2. Kathleen Elizabeth Low (ID=259)
References: 127, 206, 210, 213,
243
William Hunter Low
(ID=178)
Born: 04 Mar 1900 - New York, NY, USA
Died: 07 Oct 1964 - No.Tarrytown, NY,
USA
Sex: Male
Occupation: Chief Operations
Father: John (Jack) Low (ID=103)
Mother: Annie Mavis Dawson (ID=104)
Married: 24 Sep 1932 - to:
Marjorie Pardue
(ID=179)
Born: 05 Aug 1910 - Water Valley, Miss.,
USA
CHILDREN:
1. William Hunter Low (ID=261)
2. Charles Pardue Low (ID=263)
Marjorie Pardue descends, on her father's side, from French Huguenots who fled France. On her mother's side, her great-great grandfather was the last Chief of the Choctaw Indians east of the Mississippi River, Greenwood Leflore.
References: 127, 210, 213, 243
Isabelle Maxwell Low
(ID=180)
Born: 11 Oct 1911 - New Orleans, Louisiana,
USA
Died: 12 Oct 1985 - Ft Worth Texas USA
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: John (Jack) Low (ID=103)
Mother: Annie Mavis Dawson (ID=104)
Married: 16 Jun 1937 - New Orleans,
Louisiana,
USA to:
Harold Henry Jaquet
(ID=181)
Born: 16 Aug 1905 -
Died: 28 Jul 1982 - Houston, Texas, USA
CHILDREN:
1. Harold Seymour Jaquet (ID=265)
2. Elizabeth Ann Jaquet (ID=266)
Isabelle was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She moved to Texas when she married Harold in 1937. Harold spent his career in the Sulphur industry. In 1953, the family moved to Mexico where Harold developed the Sulphur industry and they returned to Texas when he retired in 1971.
Isabelle visited Scotland with her father John (ID=103) in 1932. In a letter to me, Isabelle recalled:
When I was in Scotland with my father
(John) in 1932, he took me to visit his cousins.... We were
staying in Forfar for a night or two and we took a bus to the
Guthries. My father had not seen them in years but the wife
said "Here is John Low coming down the lane to the house." (I
gather) my father visited there as a child because his cousin and he
seemed to have fond memories of childhood about which they
talked...
...his cousin drove us around the
countryside in his car. The house as I remember it was a large
two story brick dwelling and it was old then... I do remember a
graveyard because my father commented on the young children who had
died one after another...
Another cousin I met on that same trip was
David Allen Low. He lived in London... He was a professor
at the University of London and had written technical books. I am
sure his wife's name was Jessie...
Although she does not report it, she also met cousin John Douglas Low (ID=145). He remembers the visit of this family.
References: 195, 213, 243
Dorothy Ruth Low
(ID=182)
Born: 26 May 1915 - New Orleans, Louisiana,
USA
Died: 09 Mar 1939 - New Orleans, Louisiana,
USA
Sex: Female
Occupation:
Father: John (Jack) Low (ID=103)
Mother: Annie Mavis Dawson (ID=104)
Single
References: 195, 210, 213, 243
--------------------
Jean Isobel Low
(ID=183)
Born: 10 Mar 1896 - Albury, NSW,
Australia
Sex: Female
Occupation: Stenographer
Father: William Carr Low (ID=105)
Mother: Constance Beatrice Hill
(ID=106)
Married: 11 Jan 1922 - Albury, NSW, Australia
to:
John Sidney Wild
(ID=184)
Born: -
Died: 1954 -
CHILDREN:
1. John C. (Jack) Wild (ID=268)
2. Brian Wild
(ID=269)
Jean Isobel Low was born at Albury, New South Wales, Australia on 10 March 1896. During her childhood, she also lived in South Africa and Canada (probably British Columbia). She describes herself in a letter she wrote from Australia about 1918. This letter was to her cousin Elizabeth Low (ID=174) in the United States.
Two of her letters which we have in the
family archives are reproduced below. The first letter is not
dated but was probably written in 1918.
David Street,
Albury, NSW
Australia
My dear Cousin Elizabeth,
I received your very welcome letter some little time
ago, and was just delighted to have it. We also got your
photos, and we must thank you very much for them. What lovely
big boys (or should I say "young men" now). Cousin Will &
Dawson have grown. Willie is very much like our brother Will,
in fact I think, one could very easily take them for brothers.
The two younger girls are darling little children.
Now I suppose you will be interested to know what we are
all doing out here in dear old "Ausie." First of all, I may
mention, it is frightfully hot here today. The temperature must
be well in the nineties.
Our brother Will is learning to be a farmer. He
is learning with my Uncle, Mothers only brother, 35 miles from here
at Culcain. He likes it very much. This harvest, he was driving
a Harvester with five draught horses. He is coming on
fine. Lizzie (or Clover as she is called) is almost 14 now, and
is studying for a School Teacher. She passed her Qualifying
Examination this Xmas. She is setting for her Junior Exam in
Pianoforte also this year. She passed her Preparatory 95 for
Music.
I am a Stenographer etc. at present I am in an office at
home. I love my occupation, Shorthand & Typing etc. very
much. Australia is very dull at present, like all other
countries, I suppose. Things are an enormous price. Up to Xmas
I have been working hard for the Red Cross & YMCA and other
Patriotic Leagues. There were a party of girls who organised
concerts and other affairs to raise funds for our boys in the firing
line.
Do you do any photography. I am very interested in
it at present, of course I am only an amateur at it. I am
enclosing a snap, please dont critise it, as I am only learning the
art of developing. I am in my riding costume. I
did quite a lot of riding last year. I learnt
to muster Cattle. One day I brought in 9 horses by
myself. I was quite please with myself.
I read in your letter that you play the piano and
that you were playing at concerts. I hope you were successful.
It is beautiful to be able to play. I do not play very much,
but am taking a greater interest in singing. I have had my
voice trained a little and still hope to go on having it
improved. I sing at various places. Last year I sang at
Ad Crees Concert. I believe Malcolm Mackachern is touring The
States now. I was trained by his teacher. He is a
beautiful singer and an Albury boy. He is sure to give a
concert in New Orleans. I would like to know if you hear him
sing?
So you are engaged? Please accept my heartiest
congratulations, and I sincerely hope you will be
very happy. I suppose you are busy getting your Glory Bose
together. I would like to meet your Fiance. I was engaged
to an Australian Soldier for over 2 years, but I am sorry to say, he
like hundreds of other soldiers, met an English girl and married her,
before I knew our engagement had terminated. I think I can see
your ring on your hand in the photo, is it a cluster? It looks
like a cluster.
Mother and Father are in good health. We are
having a new home built and we will be shifting into it soon, so will
be busy.
Well my dear Elizabeth, I must draw this letter to a
close.
I would like to hear from you as often as you find time to
write, being so far away from each other, by writing it will bring us
closer to each other, and I am always very
interested in everything over in America. Father and Mother
wish me to extend an invitation to you to vist us any time you feel
you would like to see Australia. I can assure you we will give
you a good time. We all send our love to you all.
Your cousin,
Jean Low
"San Mateo,"
Ivor St.,
Henty,
N.S.W.
7/3/43
My dear Elizabeth,
Dad was pleased to receive the announcement of your
daughter's marriage, and so was I, as it meant that we at last had an
address of one of the Jack Low family. We have been a little
worried about Dawson, as we havent seen, or heard from him for a long
time, and these days, one is always anxious about anyone having to
make the dangerous trips that he has to. We hope that he is
quite safe and well, and that we will hear from him one of these
days. Clover was so pleased to see him, and Dad was going to
try and get down to see him next time he came into port. The
travelling conditions are most difficult now, and accomodation is
almost impossible to get when one does go to Sydney. Though Dad
is very well, he is 73 and I dont like him roaming about the city in
the blackout by himself, especially as Clover is not down there
now.
I suppose it would not be a bad idea to give you some
information about the members of our family, as it is such a long
while since we have written to you. I suppose you have seen
Dawson, as you had my address, and he would tell you the different
pieces of news. I could not realise that you had a daughter old
enough to be married, one doesnt notice the years slipping past and I
notice that she is married to a soldier. Poor little girl, the
young things, have my greatest admiration, they are so brave, and it
is an unhappy world that they are living in. I hope that he is
spared to her, and that this wretched war will soon be over and that
we can resume our peacetime lives in happieness.
My oldest boy Jack is in the A.I.F. has been for one
year, though he was underage, 17 but he managed it after 5 tries, we
simply couldnt keep him back, he felt that there was a job to do, and
he couldnt settle to his last exam. at school. He is an
independ unit, I dont know whether you know what that is but we are
not allowed to name them their proper name, so we will have to
leave it at that. We have to be most careful when we write letters
these days, especially to overseas, as they are mostly censored, and
apart from being heavily fined or put in jail, if we
divulge information, we would not want to do it, if there is a chance
that it may be captured (the ship) on the way over and the letters
fall into enemies hands. Brian my other child is just 10 is in
6th. class at school, and a very lively customer indeed. Clover
my only sister is serving in the Aus. Women's Army Services.
She is in a very large camp not far from here, though she can ring up
on the telephone, we cant see her often, as leave is very short and
they are working very hard. She is in Signal- ling Headquarters
in the office, she is in charge really, is a Cpl. She has been
in the Army for 8 months now, likes it, apart from the restrictions,
she finds those a bit hard, but as she says, we are in a tough spot
especialy now, and it is up to all to take a hand where needed.
You will notice that I am typing my correspond- ence, we are asked to
do that whereever possible as it helps the censors, and then again it
helps me too, as I am a very busy woman these days, and I find I have
very little time for writing, and if I can get a few minutes to sit
down at the machine, I can manage to run off a few letters, and still
keep in touch with my friends.
My husband, Sidney, is a very busy man also, of course
he is a returned soldier from the previous war, and has injuries that
prevent him from joining up again, but he is in the Volunteer Def.
Corps, and is also Recruiting Office for the RAAAF, AIF, AWAS and
WAAAF, the last two are the womens services, and then we all have our
Red Cross, W.V.S. and C.W.A. and Patriotic Committees. I have
no help at all in the house these days, I used to have a maid and a
laundress, but all the single girls are being called up, if they have
not volunteered, by now. The war is so very near us now, that
it is natural for us to go hard from morning to night, and instead of
sending an order to the grocer or store for this and that and getting
it delivered, we have to now take our baskets, and ask if they have
this and that. Like as not we come home without three-quarters
of the goods we wanted. Meals are a problem these days, see we
have to feed all your fine American soldiers and personnel and thank
goodness we have them here, especially your Airmen and Marines.
We are breathing a little easier since the Bismark Battle, but we are
daily expecting things to break even yet, but we are ready for
them. We only have such a small population of 7,000,000 all
told, as against the Japs crawling millions.
I notice that America has adopted the rationing system,
I wonder if you would be interested in ours. We are rationed in
sugar and tea in the kitchen goods line, as for sugar it is pretty
tight, mainly on account of the labour shortage and transport, tea
doesnt worry us, the amount we get, half a pound every 3 weeks for
each person, is plenty. Of course all the shops are rationed in
all tinned goods, for instance one cant buy tinned jams or jellies
and very little preserved fruits now, but as I make all my own, it
doesnt affect us personally. Our
hostels are suffering though, we are making up jam for them, and
packing it in syrup tins, and sending it down to them. The
clothes rationing is pretty severe, I have never been worse turned
out, than I am at present, especially for cotton materials. Our
coupons are divided into so many for each 6 months, and for instance
a man cant buy a suit and an overcoat in one 6 months. I havent
worn stockings all this summer, and only sockettes of wool mostly all
last winter. We just give our legs a good browning up in the
sun, and they are just the colour of suntan silk stockings. A
pair of shoes costs 8 coupons, and socks 4 each, and handkerchief,
half a coupon each, skein of wool half a coupon, a dressing gown 15,
(we are not wanted to buy gowns like that, we are to wear our
overcoats, or something like that, when we must) a boys overcoat is
18 coupons. We are issued with 112 for the year, a mans suit is
38, and a frock is 13, Mens pyjamass is 15, so you can see that it
takes some thinking out, and making over. It is almost
impossible to get towels or sheets, and then they only sell one to a
family at a time. Fortunately I have always kept a good stock
af linen up, but for a girl getting married these days it is a
problem, they have to only have the bare necessities. Of course
rubber goods and aluminium are quite off the market, and here we cant
buy china cups and saucers, only those horrible glass ones.
I notice that you are at Dallas, Texas, the country of
our wild west cowboys, but I suppose that was in the years past, like
us, though our town is only very small, and is smaller since the war
started and all the population have either drifted to the cities to
make munitions or war materials, or enlisted, we are only 40 miles
away from Albury or Wagga, towns of about 11,000 in population, and
much more since the war. Our climate is very hot in the summer
we have stretches of perhaps a fortnight of well over 100 degrees,
reaching to 114 or 115. The winter is very cold, white frost on
the ground, and snow all around on the mountains. I love the
winter, but summer, I simply frizzle up. We spent a short
holiday at Manly in Sydney this summer, surfed all the time, and came
back fresh, ready for the fray again.
If Valerie's husband happens to come out here, I extend
to him a very cordial invitation to get in touch with us, if he cant
come and see us, we are on the main line, (Southern line) between
Sydney and Melbourne, just half way between Wagga and Albury.
We are always thrilled to be able to entertain any American soldiers,
or airmen etc. as we feel we owe our security at present to them, as
such a lot of our boys are prisoners of war, in Singapore, and the
others over in the Middle East.
Will you tell Dawson if he comes out again, he wont be
able to get in touch with Clover in Sydney now, or her friends at the
Commercial Bank at Redfern, as they have
moved, but to wire me, and we may be able to see him, or Dad get down
to him.
My brother Will is on a farm about 40 miles from here,
he was rejected for the Army, on account of health reasons, but he is
growing wheat and wool, so he is doing his little bit. Mother
died 3 years ago, and Dad stays mostly with me.
He was saying the other day, that he would like to have
a letter from one of his brothers, just for old time sake. I
also would be pleased to have a letter from you, telling me all about
your family etc.
I must close this for now, as I feel I have roamed along
too much, do write soon, and after the war, perhaps we can visit each
other. Just think of it, after the war, wont that be lovely.
Lots of kind regards and best wishes, from us all,
Yours very sincerely,
Jean (Low) Wild
[Added to this letter was the following note by Jean's father, William Carr Low.]
Dear Elizabeth & family
We were very pleased to get your card re the marriage of
your daughter. I wish her & her husband all the happiness
in their future life that she could wish for them. Jean has
given you all the news about ourselves, and we would welcome news of
you and your family. I was unable to meet Dawson on his last
call, but Lizzie met him and enjoyed his company. We were
wondering where he gone for his last trip he expected to be back in
Australia again and we were looking to again having his
company. I trust your Father & Mother are keeping well,
this war will have caused your Father a deal of extra work seeing
shipping is so scarce.
Give them my kind regards when you contact them and
accept some to yourself and family.
Yours effect.
Uncle Will
References: 217, 229, 243, 252, 253, 261
William Alexander Low
(ID=185)
Born: 11 Apr 1900 - Albury, NWS,
Australia
Died: 27 Sep 1961 - Australia
Sex: Male
Occupation: Farmer
Father: William Carr Low (ID=105)
Mother: Constance Beatrice Hill
(ID=106)
Married: 26 Jan 1931 - to:
Mabel Room
(ID=526)
Born: 26 Feb 1899 - England
CHILDREN:
1. Janet Low
(ID=514)
William Alexander Low was born at Albury, New South Wales, Australia on 11 April 1900. During his childhood, he lived in South Africa and Canada (probably British Columbia). He became a farmer in Australia.
References: 217, 225, 243, 252, 253
Elizabeth Cloudsley (Clover) Low
(ID=186)
Born: 30 Jul 1904 - South Africa
Died: 23 May 1964 - Australia
Sex: Female
Occupation: Clerk
Father: William Carr Low (ID=105)
Mother: Constance Beatrice Hill
(ID=106)
Notes:
1. Clover is name used
Single
References: 217, 243, 252, 253
--------------------
William Hunter Low
(ID=187)
Born: 1906 - New York, USA
Died: -
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Father: David Allan Low (ID=108)
Mother: Betsy (Bessie) Hall Low
(ID=109)
Notes:
1. Lived at Malden Mass
USA in 1940's
Married: - to:
?
(ID=526)
Born:
References: 195, 213, 243
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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