The Shill-Bartholomew Family

Immigrants from England:

The working class Shill-Bartholomew family were immigrants from England who arrived in Montreal, Canada separately between 1906 and 1908. Father, John Shill, arrived first. Next, their eldest son, Jack (John) Shill, arrived several months before his mother, Ellen Mary (née Bartholomew) with his siblings, May (Marion), Annie, Bert, Grace and Nell (Ellen).

The eldest daughter, Cara (Caroline), stayed in England.

Before coming to Canada, the Shill-Bartholomew family lived in London, Middlesex and the towns of Melton, Bredfield, Woodbridge, Felixstowe and Ipswich, in Suffolk. Daughters Cara and Anne Shill and Ellen Shill Waddell tell the story of their life in England before coming to Canada. 

Shill Family History

Bartholomew Family History


John and Ellen Mary Shill with 6 of their children in Woodbridge Suffolk circa 1903

Photo of the Shill-Bartholomew family, product of the union of John Shill and Ellen Mary Bartholomew, taken in Woodbridge, Suffolk, apparently around 1903.

Ellen Mary is on the left, beside her husband. On the right,
Marion is standing with her father's arm around her waist.
Annie is in front of her mother. Grace is in front of Annie
and Nell, the youngest, is in the middle.

On the right, Bert is in front and Jack is behind him.



Life for the Shill-Bartholomew Family in England


Nell Shill Waddell talking about her family members and her parents' occupations.

My father, John Shill , was born in Clerkenwell, London, England. He was a tailor to start with and he finished up being a male nurse. He went around to houses and helped people being a male nurse. The last thing he did before we came over to Canada, he and my sister, Cara, who was a nurse at that time, they took a house down at Ipswich, Felixstowe, which is a seaside place, and they had patients at home. – Nell Shill

Money was always short as you perhaps know and mother did midwife work bringing babies into the world and usually when this happened, May came home to look after us. When we were young, mother did everything to get a little money and got us all to help her - I remember going gleaning with her and picking up acorns and other things also. I know the wheat was taken to the miller and he thrashed it and gave the flour back to us, am not sure whether the acorns were sold or given to our pigs.
From a letter by Anne Shill to her cousin, Alfred Bartholomew (a Home Child) – Written July 18, 1965

The Family

My mother and father had 9 children but two died when they were young and 7 of us grew up.

The first child, Hannah Ellenor, died very young, about a few days old and the fourth child, Violet Elizabeth, she had a fall and then died of something. My two brothers, Jack (John) and Bert (Herbert) were killed in the 1914 war, and that left 5 girls. My eldest sister, Cara, was a Maternity Nurse too. She stayed in England. She didn't come over here, when we came over. Bert was the youngest brother. – Nell Shill

Shill-Bartholomew Family Group:

Husband: John Shill
Born: May 13, 1857 in: Bagnige Wells Rd, Clerkenwell, London, Eng.
Married: May 25, 1878 in: St. James Church, Milton, Portsea, Hampshire, Eng.
Died: May 04, 1924 in: Montreal, Quebec, CA
Father: John Shill Mother: Hannah
 
Wife: Ellen Mary Bartholomew Ellen Mary Bartholomew about 1876
Born: February 18, 1857 in: Fratton, Portsmouth, Hampshire, Eng.
Died: May 08, 1929 in: Montreal, Quebec, CA
Father: James Bartholomew Mother: Jane Willis
 
Children:
1. Daur. Hannah Ellenor Shill
Born: April 12, 1879 in: 9 Hopkins St., St. James, London W, Eng.
Died: April 14, 1879 in: St. George’s Cemetery, Hanwell, London, Eng.
 
2. Daur. Caroline Ellenor Francis (Cara) Shill
Born: March 1st, 1881 in: St. James West, London, Eng.
Died: January, 26, 1957 in: Fareham, Hampshire, Eng.
 
 
3. Daur. Marion Harriet Willis (May) Shill
Born: May 20, 1883 in: 38 Dukes Terrace, St. Pancras, London, Eng.
Married: June 21, 1910 in: Church of the Ascension, Montreal, Quebec, CA
Died: December 17, 1968 in: Valois, Pointe Claire, Quebec, CA
Spouse: John (Jack) Lee
 
4. Daur. Violet Elizabeth Shill
Born: July 28, 1886 in: 45 Roderick Rd., St. Pancras, London, Eng.
Died: November 13, 1887 in: Marylebone Cemetery, Hampstead, London, Eng.
 
5. Son John Bartholomew (Jack) Shill
Born: February 24, 1890 in: 5 St. John’s Gdn., Queen’s Cres., St. Pancras, London, Eng.
Married: April 26, 1913 in: St. Michael’s, Mile End, Montreal, Quebec, CA
Died: May 24, 1916 in: Zillebeke, Belgium
Spouse: Florence Amy Whitworth
 

6. Daur.

Annie Matilda Elizabeth Shill
Born: November 13, 1892 in: Melton, East Suffolk, Eng.
Died: August 13, 1980 in: Cote St. Luc, Montreal, Quebec, CA
 
7. Son Herbert Edward (Bert) Shill
Born: December 30, 1894 in Ufford, Suffolk, Eng.
       
Died: September 22, 1917 in: Barlin, France
 
8. Daur. Grace Evelyn Margaretta Shill
Born: January 18, 1897 in: Ufford, Suffolk, Eng.
Married: September 6, 1922 in: Church of Good Shepherd, Montreal, Quebec, CA
Died:   in: Ottawa, Ontario, CA
Spouse: John Henry Hardy
 
9. Daur. Ellen Maud Agnes (Nell) Shill
Born: March 08, 1899 in: Melton, Suffolk, England, Eng.
Married: April 05, 1926 in: Trinity Memorial Church, N.D.G., Quebec, CA
Died: January 14, 1991 in: Pointe Claire, Quebec, CA
Spouse: James Verner Waddell

Shill Family History

Bartholomew Family History

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