The Gandy Brothers – Ike and Charles
Isaac’s younger brother Charles also left Widnes to make the voyage across the Atlantic and then overland to British Columbia, but this was 26 years later. To understand the events surrounding Charles and family I have had much help from some of his descendants in Canada; Val Reid (Gandy) in Chilliwack, Charles David Gandy and Chuck Gandy in Langley and May Dawson (Gandy, dec.), who lived in Rainhill near Widnes.
Ike was born in 1857 and Charles in 1864 (or 1863), so was seven years younger than Ike. Read more about their family here. Ike left England, age 25 years, by himself and arrived in Canada in 1882 (details of his voyage unconfirmed), living in Victoria on Vancouver Island until his death in 1910.
Charles married Sarah Jane Kinsey, born 1869 in Widnes, in 1891 in Prescot and they had six children, all born in England – see details below. More details can be found on the Gandy family tree.
The children of Charles and Sarah Jane Gandy
Beatrice Minnie born 1891
Eldest daughter and first child Beatrice Minnie Gandy married Leonard Bennett, born 1882, in 1923 and they had one son, Alfred Bennett, born 1930.
May 1893
Second daughter May died two years old on December 19th 1895. She is buried in St. Mary´s Churchyard, Sankey, England
John William 1895
William (Bill) Gandy travelled to Canada with father Charles and remained there when his father returned to Widnes. Read more about Bill here.
Cordelia May 1897
Cordelia May lived in Farnworth, Widnes and never married. Charles lived with her after Sarah Jane died in 1935. Read more here.
Charles Edward 1899
Charles Edward married Mary Elizabeth “Ciss” Davies in 1922 and they had six children between 1924 and 1937. Read more about the children here.
Harry 1902
Youngest son Harry married Bertha Jane Young, born 1903. Bertha Jane is part of the Young family of Farnworth and in fact related to my mother’s side of the family, Abbott. Harry and Bertha had four children: Walter William (1923), Harry (1924), Margaret (1929) and May (1935). Walter and family lived in Farnworth, Widnes, but emigrated to Canada in the 1950’s. Read more here.
Across the Atlantic
Charles, 44 years old, and his eldest son John William (Bill), 13 years old, left Liverpool in England for Halifax, Canada in 1908, leaving wife Sarah Jane to look after the remaining four children (May died as an infant). Beatrice Minnie was 17 years, Cordelia May 11 years, Charles Edward nine years and Harry just six years old.
Charles and son Bill were in Canada when Isaac died in 1910. They stayed with Isaac’s widow Mary Cordelia in Victoria in 1912 & 1914. Bill was a plumber and Charles worked as a labourer for the city engineering department. Perhaps they helped install the plumbing and sewage system in the house at Grant Street, which was done at this time.
Charles’ Return to England
Charles left Canada for England in 1919, age 55 years, leaving son Bill then 24 years old, behind. Bill settled in Langley on the mainland, across the water from Victoria. See map here.
Val Reid found the record of Charles’ return to England, on the 30th of April 1919, on board the Cunard ship S.S. Orduna from New York to Liverpool.
Family Troubles
Both of the Gandy brothers had problems persuading their respective wives and families to move with them to Canada. Ike left his first wife Elizabeth and son William Stephen in Widnes as they would not follow him to Canada. This eventually led to their divorce. Charles could not persuade his wife Sarah Jane and the other children to accompany him to Canada either, so after 10 years in B.C. he returned to his family in West Bank, Widnes, leaving son Bill Gandy behind.
One thing that has become very clear during my researches is that contact between Ike’s descendants in Victoria and Charles’ descendants in Langley and Chilliwack on the mainland have been rare. In fact descendants of the two different “halves” of the family were unaware of each others existence until recently.
More stories about Charles’ and Sarah Jane’s descendants can be found here.
British Columbia and Utah
Valerie Reid of Chilliwack in British Columbia has reported on a number of contacts between the Gandy family on the BC mainland and Isaac Gandy’s family in Utah. Valerie writes that her father and mother visited Isaac’s family in Carson City in the 1980’s, and also paid a visit to Isaac’s grave in Garrison Cemetery. She herself visited Garrison Cemetery on a dark and snowy night in December 2007. I have no confirmation however of any direct contacts between Isaac in Utah and Ike in Victoria.