A life cut short.

Born in Prestwich, Lancashire, England in 1895, William Archibald “Archie” Longmire had quite a history. The year after the Scout Association was formed in Great Britain, Archie received the marksmanship award. 

Pitlochry Boy Scouts in camp, Dunfallandy F.H.

Before WWI, he attended the University of Glasgow. Archie is on the front right of the photograph.

In 2019, we were able to walk through the campus of the university, which was not unlike walking into a set of a Harry Potter movie. 

 Archie served in WWI, although all we know about his service is that he was a Private in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and that he went to France. 

His daughter Pamela was always so proud of this medal of his: 

 After the war, he found employment with the United Fruit Company and travelled to Jamaica, where he met the beautiful Marjorie Louise McDermott. 

They married in Jamaica in 1928, and then in 1930, their first daughter, Pamela Louise Longmire was born. Then tragedy struck. Archie had an ulcer, which ruptured. He died on February 20, 1932. It seems that before he died, he asked Marjorie to go and live in Scotland with his family. The passenger list shows a sad entry: 

Apparently, it did not go well, as Marjorie returned with Pamela to Jamaica later that year. To compound her sadness, she was pregnant and had come into contact with someone who had measles. The baby, Heather Violet, was born onboard ship, died quickly and was buried at sea. Pamela remembers her mother telling her that the baby was perfectly formed but covered with measles. A sad tale indeed.

P.S. It was an email from the website findmypast.com informing me of a new record set of passenger lists that turned up the passenger list and the impetus for writing this post. 

The Rain in Spain...

 Now, I grew up in Massachusetts. I know how to "pahk a cah." My bruthah went to Hahvahd. But when my grandmother told me her father worked for the Plymouth "Cottage" Company, I was puzzled. A company that specialized in cottages? Is that like a craftsman bungalow? Well, as it turns out, her accent seemed to have been thicker even than mine. He worked for the Plymouth CORDAGE Company. So if you are having trouble finding a surname, place name or other name, see if you can misspell, mispronounce or mis-cursive it. Another example is my French ancestral surname Vautrinot. Often it is mis-transcribed Vantrinot. But when I check that Vantrinot, all the other pieces fit and it is one of my ancestors.