Sepia Saturday #48 – A Canadian Tragedy
My grandfather, Guy Wheelock Harris (1894-1965) and his new brother-in-law, Jimmie circa 1919.
The above photo was taken outside my grandmother, Katie McNeil’s house at 6 Cottage St. in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This would have been shortly after her wedding to my grandfather, Guy. This photo may even have been taken on the wedding day; I don’t know for sure.
Unfortunately, my great-uncle, Jimmie (James F.) McNeil was not long for this world. On October 17, 1919 he was working at the Medical Hall in Glace Bay in the the dispensary when a fire broke out. My mom’s uncle, Jimmie was caught in a burst of flame and despite the owner, Mr. Sterns and his assistant, rolling Jimmie in a rug and getting him to the hospital, he succumbed to his injuries and died. He was only sixteen.
Reports are a bit confusing. My mom says she remembers, Nanny (that’s what we always called my grandmother) saying, she ran all the way up to 6 Cottage St., from York St. (the family home where my mom grew up) and the whole family were with him as he died. That doesn’t make total sense with respect to the information about the hospital.
They were a devout Catholic family and apparently, my grandmother is to have said that as he was dying, her brother said he wasn’t afraid and that it was the will of God. Nanny said he was in a great deal of pain because he was burnt so badly.
To compound the tragedy, Jimmie was meant to graduate from school the very next day and so all of his class-mates were present at the funeral and lay their graduation bouquets on his coffin.
My grandmother remembered her brother as, “a wonderful boy – full of life and goodness”.
James F. McNeil – 1903-1919
2010/11/06 at 12:18 am
How sad. In the photo he looks like he has a long future ahead of him.
We called our grandmother Nanny too.
2010/11/06 at 4:38 am
It’s a wonderful photo but how very sad about your great uncle. A shockingly cruel way to die, and so very young.
2010/11/06 at 10:24 am
Dear Kat: Sorry to hear about your Uncle Jimmy! A fire at the dispensary? Wow. What happened exactly? Did the family sue? (bet that was never heard of back then). I think the will of God may have been Jimmy’s saving grace; being called home in such a way! Did anyone ever receive messages back from Jimmy? I feel he is still protecting your family!
2010/11/06 at 10:34 am
I often wonder of folks like Jimmie have an inclination about the short time they have and live life a bit fuller because of that inner knowledge.
2010/11/06 at 12:39 pm
That’s so sad. He does indeed look as if he has a lot of life ahead of him. Nice of you to keep his memory alive.
2010/11/06 at 5:36 pm
Ohhh, how sad. I think it’s always hard to learn of accidental deaths among ancestors, and worse when the accidents are so horrendous. Poor your uncle. In the photo he looks like such a joyful young man. I am surprised to see him still wearing short pants. When my father was older and shorts became popular in the 1960s and ’70s, we tried to persuade him to wear them. He said it took him long enough to get out of short pants that he wasn’t getting back into them. No doubt your Jimmie would have been out of short pants at graduation — except he didn’t make it. It’s just so sad when a life is cut short. Great photo, though.
2010/11/07 at 6:30 pm
It is sad how tragedy can be just around the corner. I saw a couple of boys at a snack shop and had driven in with a farm tractor. As soon as they drove a mile out of town, the one boy fell off the back of the tractor and was killed.
It must have been hard for all those classmates to loose someone their own age. The family had to be devistated.