Here are some photos of my great, great grandfather John Dinnington. They were tucked away in a cousins photo album - I dont think many in our family have ever seen them. John immigrated to Fernie, BC from Scotland in 1902 and was joined by his wife and family a few years afterwards. He worked in the mines and was Pastor of a little church called the Faith Mission where he conducted his own choir. Annie - his eleven year old daughter - always sang in the choir with him. Sadly, both he and Annie died in 1905 when an epidemic of typhoid fever broke out. Here is a passage on the topic from Drifting Snow, a memoir written in the early 1980s by his younger daughter, Agnes. Finally an epidemic of typhoid broke out and several people died. My Father & Annie & 5 others were in the hospital, we had no antibiotics then to combat fever. My sister Annie was the first to die she was 11 but my Mother wouldnt tell my Father, then one day he said to her, Annie is gone isnt she, & Mother said yes, and it seemed he gave up himself then to, & he died, 2 weeks later. I dont ever remember my Father but I wish I did. As time went on things got very hard for my Mother a woman with five children and expecting another. A lady & a man came to visit my Mother from the welfare home for children, & they told my Mother we will place your children in homes, they were very demanding saying you have no husband & you are expecting another one, so my Mother said in her Scotch anger I never invited you here, theres the gate, go they left.. Finally the time came for Mother to give birth to the baby she carried, & it was a little boy, got whooping cough from one of the rest of us & died at 6 weeks so Mother buried 3 loved ones in 3 months. Obviously a very tragic story but likely a common one during that time period. 1905 is not really not that long ago. Makes you realize how fortunate we are today.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 03:38:38 +0000
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