2.3.4.2. John Riddell (1886-1966)

John Riddell was born on 21 July 1886 at his parents home on 52 Union Street in Hamilton, Scotland. His parents were Robert and Catherine (McCormick) Riddell. He was the eldest child born after their marriage in 1884 but he did have an older sister. His father was a mason's laborer at the time of John's birth. John went by the nickname "Jock" most of his life.

In 1891 the family lived at 67 Glasgow Road and ten years later they lived in the tiny hamlet of Auchentibber, which had about 60 dwellings for families who worked in the nearby stone quarries. Jock's father worked in those quarries, but he worked as a coal pit laborer in Blantyre, which was very close to Auchentibber. By 1911 Jock's father had moved his family to Kirkhead Rows in Burbank and Jock worked as a hewer in a coal mine.

He married Agnes Richmond on 3 January 1913 at the Manse in Burbank according to the forms of the Church of Scotland. They both lived at One Dykehead in Hamilton at the time of their marriage. Agnes was two years younger than Jock and worked as a farm servant. In 1915 Jock rented a house in Dykehead Row from David Orr. He paid 4 pounds, 10 shillings in annual rent, which was due on Whitsun.

The couple had two children during their marriage. In 1920 the family still lived in Dykehead Row and rented a house from William Boyd, who was a tailor. The annual rent was 6 pounds, 10 schillings. Five years later, they had moved to 13 Parnell Cottage in the Low Waters area of Hamilton. The annual rent was 16 pounds.

Agnes died in 1925, leaving Jock with two children aged 12 and 10.

On 18 August Jock boarded the Cunard Line's RMS Andania in Greenock. The government paid for his passage as part of one the post World War I emigration schemes. He arrived at the port of Quebec on 25 August and his intended destination was to the Land Settlement Board in Winnipeg. He wanted to leave coal mining behind and become a harvester. His children followed him to Canada a month later.

Cunard Line's RMS Andania; photograph courtesy of The Pundt Family

Jock died on 27 August 1966 at the Richmond Heights Private Hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, of broncho-pneumonia. A contributing factor was prostate cancer. Before he was hospitalized, he lived on Halliburton Street in Nanaimo. His body was cremated on 29 August. His death certificate listed his occupation as miner; so he never was able to leave the coal mines or become a harvester.

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"RMS Andania," The Pundt Family
1891 Scotland Census, Parish: Hamilton; ED: 18; Page: 4; Line: 2; Roll: CSSCT1891_310
1901 Scotland Census, Parish: Blantyre; ED: 1, Page: 10; Line: 10; Roll: CSSCT1901_245
1911 Scotland Census, 02/04/1911 Riddell, Robert (Census 1911 647/00 036/00 011)
1915 Scotland Valuation Rolls, 1915 Riddell, Robert (Valuation Rolls VR107 / 304 / 388)
1920 Scotland Valuation Rolls, 1920 Riddell, Robert (Valuation Rolls VR107 / 347 / 202)
1925 Scotland Valuation Rolls, 1925 Riddell, John (Valuation Rolls, VR38 / 38 / 266)
Canada, British Columbia Death Certificate, 1872-1993, 1966-09-011075 
Canada, British Columbia Death Index, 1872-1990, 1966 Riddell, John
Canada, Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, 1928 Riddell, John
Scotland, Statutory Registrations, 1855-2013, 1886 Riddell, John (Statutory Births 647/00 0774)
Scotland, Statutory Registrations, 1855-2013, 1913 Riddell, John - Richmond, Agnes (Statutory Marriages 647/00 0031)
UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960, 1928 Riddell, John