2.3.4. Robert Riddell (1861-1944)

Robert Riddell was born on 25 August 1861 in the village of Kirkton in East Kilbride, Scotland. He was the fourth child of John and Martha (Muir) Riddell.  In 1871 he lived with his family on Main Street in the village of East Kilbride. His mother died in 1876 when Robert was 14 years old. He lived with his father and several siblings in the village of East Kilbride in 1881 and worked as a quarry man.

He married Catherine McCormick on 19 December 1884 at 9 Hope Street in Hamilton according to the forms of the Church of Scotland.  He was a mason's laborer.  Catherine was a dairy maid. They both lived at 9 Colebrook Street in Cambuslang. Catherine had a daughter earlier in the same year. No father was listed when Catherine registered her birth but she named her Agnes Riddell McCormick. It is very likely she was Robert's daughter.

In 1891 Robert and Catherine were living at 5 Craig Row in Auchentibber in the parish of Hamilton. Robert was a quarry engine keeper and the couple had four living children, including Catherine's daughter, Agnes.

They had eight children after their marriage, but lost two, Margaret and Thomas, in infancy.

In 1901 the family still lived at the 5 Craig Row address and Robert worked at the quarry.  In 1905 the family lived at 4 Dykehead Row, a house they rented from Thomas Barr & Company for 6 pounds, 10 shillings. Rent was paid annually on Whitsun. By 1911 the family had moved to Kirkhead Rows in Burnbank, which was in Hamilton parish, and Robert was a crane driver.

His wife died in May 1915 and three months later their son, Francis, drowned in a quarry at the age of 21 years. Robert's occupation was listed as confectioner on Francis' death registration. This must have been a side job, perhaps something he did with his brother Oswald, because the 1915 valuation roll for Hamilton parish lists his occupation as miner.

Five years later, on 24 May 1920 Robert boarded the Anchor Line's S/S Saturnia in Glasgow with his daughter Catherine (Riddell) Richmond and her four children. He was immigrating to Canada and arrived in Quebec on 5 June 1920. Robert indicated to Canadian officials he was joining his son-in-law Thomas Richmond in Nanaimo, British Columbia for "better conditions." Thomas had originally immigrated to Canada in 1909. Nanaimo is on Vancouver Island and the Hudson Bay Company developed coal mines near the harbor  in the early 1850s.

Nanaimo Harbor circa 1900; image courtesy of Nanaimo
History Past and Present

When the 1921 census was enumerated Robert Riddell lived in Nanaimo with his daughter, Catherine, and her family. His occupation was listed as laborer. He died on 3 April 1944 at the General Hospital in Nanaimo of hypostatic pneumonia and senility. Hypostatic pneumonia generally occurs as a result of a collection of fluid in the lungs. Especially succeptable are those who are bedridden or remain in a supine position for long periods of time. Was he bedridden before his death?

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"Nanaimo Harbor circa 1900," Nanaimo History Past and Present
1871 Scotland Census, 02/04/1871 Riddell, John (Census 1871 643/00 001/00 016)
1871 Scotland Census, Parish: East Kilbride; ED: 1; Page: 16; Line: 4; Roll: CSSCT1871_122
1881 Scotland Census, 03/04/1881 Riddell, Henrietta (Census 643/00 001/00 019)
1881 Scotland Census, Parish: East Kilbride; ED: 1; Page: 19; Line: 8; Roll: CSSCT1881_213
1891 Scotland Census, Parish: Hamilton; ED: 18; Page: 3; Line: 23; Roll: CSSCT1891_310
1901 Scotland Census, Parish: Blantyre; ED: 1; Page: 10; Line: 8; Roll: CSSCT1901_245
1905 Scotland Valuation Rolls, 1905 Riddell, Robert (Valuation Roll VR107 / 223 / 569)
1911 Scotland Census, 02/04/1911 Riddell, Robert (Census 1911 657/00 036/00 011)
1915 Scotland Valuation Rolls, 1915 Riddell, Robert (Valuation Roll VR107 / 304 / 388)
1921 Canada Census, Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 16; Census Place: New Castle, Nanaimo, British Columbia; Page number: 22
Canada, British Columbia Death Index, 1872-1990, 1944 Riddell, Robert
Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 191-1924, 1920 Riddell, Robert
Canada, Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, 1920 Riddell, Robert
Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950, 1861 Riddell, Robert
Scotland, Statutory Registrations, 1855-2013, 1861 Riddell, Robert (Statutory Births 643/00 0110)
Scotland, Statutory Registrations, 1855-2013, 1884 Riddell, Robert - McCormick, Catherine (Statutory Marriages 647/00 0203)
UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960, 1920 Riddell, Robert