110 how we came to be americans

8/14/2019 110 How We Came to Be Americans

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Edwin and Jane Watkins family on the eve of their departure from England.From left: Annie, Edwin, Amos, Jane, Flora, Grandfather William, Alec.

For Grandfather this was a bittersweet time. He knew that he would never see the family again.1906 Photo

Chapter 1--1

HOW WE CAME TO BE AMERICANS

.Our Larsens and our Watkins came as fairly recent immigrants. The closest we can come to

documenting the exact moment of immigration is for the Watkins three things: a letter from

Jane McBeath to her sister Flora congratulating her one finding a good husband in Portland,

Oregon, a group photo taken in 1906, the year they left England forever, and little FloraWatkins health certificate given on their arrival to America. Youll find the letter in Jane

(McBeath) Watkins chapter, and the health certificate in Flora (Watkins) Hoods chapter. Hereis the Watkins family together with Grandfather William Watkins posing for a commercial

photographer in the year they took their leave of the old man and sailed on their Mayflower,

the Steam Ship Lake Manitoba.

They crossed from Liverpool to Quebec [Aug 15- Aug 25, 1906] probably in steerage to get

the cheapest passage in the lower decks. Tradition informs us that they crossed by CanadianPacific to Vancouver and then to Portland where Janes sister Flora met the group, took one

sniff, and unceremoniously plumped young Amos into a bath. No doubt the others were close

behind.


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Flora Watkins health inspection card.

Letter written in 1906 by Edwin Watkins parish priest wishing him Godspeed on the

familys great adventure.

Chapter 1--2

Leaving England was not

easy. The family was in

easy circumstances.

Edwin had a good job ashead gardener with Miss

Spicer, a wealthy English

woman. They had a

secure place in the life ofthe community there. The

tattered fragment of aletter to our right tells part

of the story. Willliam

Anderton the parish priest of a place near

Tunbridge Wells wishes

the family Godspeed in

their great adventure. Doyou sense apprehension in

his tone?

Does the good priest

worry that old William

Watkins, Edwins fatherwill grieve for a family he

will never see again?


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Johanne Marie Vibert and her cousin

Marie Christensen

sometime in the 1880s

Chapter 1--3

We dont have such a seminal photo of either Laurits Larsen or his future bride, Johanne Marie

Vibert. [Does Vibbert have one or two bs? Im never sure.] We do have this early studio photo

of Marie Vibert and her cousin Marie Christensen. Youll see the picture enlarged in MarieLarsens chapter. This may be the earliest picture in the book.

Both of my grandmothers worked as maids in order to

escape poverty in their native lands. Marie Vibertcame to America as a young single woman looking for

a better life. Laurits Larsen came as a sailor on aDanish commercial vessel. He stayed because he fell

in love with Marie.

Jane McBeath emigrated to England from Scotland

looking for a better life. There she worked as a maid,

met and married Edwin Watkins, a professional

gardener, and bore all four of their children beforecoming to America. Her sister, Flora McBeath, came

straight to America from Scotland, worked asnanny, and met the love of her life, John Linklater,in Portland, Oregon. I feel certain that Flora

convinced Jane to come to Portland, though that must

have been easy to do. The Watkins came to get abetter education for their children. I suspect that they

also wanted to escape the class-limited society of

England.

When you read the chapters for the Watkins and the Larsen children you will see that the move

was indeed a good one.


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Chapter 1--4

Notes:

110 how we came to be americans

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