Finding Family, Understanding Ourselves...

Pre Note: Life, on one hand can be perceived as one large fantasy.  My life and the life of my father, are at times, unreal.  Finding family, helped us understand ourselves; understanding our family may help us find ourselves...

Here is a nugget from the book of our lives.... 

On September 13th, 1932 Harold Fraser Kerr passed the magazine stand on the way to the hospital, and noted Henry L Steven on the cover of TIME.  Veterans of the first world war were not seeing the compensation that they deserved.  Harold was only 31 years old, had just been married last summer at the end of July to a beautiful, dark haired, 21 year old girl from Glengarry County, named Isabel Lalonde.

Montreal 1932

The Great Depression was well into its second year, and everyone in Canada was suffering the harsh effects of this global economic downturn.  Canadian industrial production was the second lowest level in the world after the United States with unemployment at 27%.

  

Isabel with baby Harry

Just this week a tropical storm brought a hurricane into Canadian waters bringing winds of 260 km/h. Fifteen people lost their lives due to the storm’s impact on fishing and sailing vessels. Flooding, structural, and crop damage occurred in Nova Scotia and all four Atlantic provinces saw their harbours and inshore boats damaged.

It was in this poor and desolate climate that Isabel Kerr lay in a hospital bed in Montreal.  By end of day Tuesday evening she had given birth to her baby boy.  She would name him William Harold Kerr.  Her husband, Harry had wanted to name their first born son after his grandfather Alexander William.  Isabel agreed.  The baby would take the middle name from his father. 

St. Willibrord's Parish

On the 2nd of Oct, baby William (Harry) was baptized in St-Willibrord's Parish of Montreal, an area known as Verdun.  

Harry was very happy, and lived with his parents until his father began to suffer a crippling disease and was hospitalized around 1937.  Harry was only 5 years old.  His Mom Isabel, had disappeared.

The Grace Dart Hospital

On 18 February 1940, Harold Fraser celebrated his 39th birthday alone in his extended care home at 5141 Notre Dame East Montreal.  He was staying in the long term care facility called the Grace Dart Extended Care facility.

Harry visiting his dad's family

Isabel was only 22 years old when her baby Harry was born.  By 1937 she would have been 27, and had likely met Joe McLaughlin, a handsome guy 5 years her junior.  Sometime after 1937, Isabel and Joe had escaped to St. Catharines together, left their families behind, and had seven children together in the 1940s.  They would not know about Harry, as Isabel had left him in foster care in Montreal.

Harry grew up in Pointe Claire Montreal, knowing himself only as Harold Hope - the foster son of the Hopes who raised him well.  Harry remembers visiting his dad off and on for the few years before he died.  Harry knew his mom had disappeared, but never knew why.

Harry Kerr

In 1969 Harry had been married 6 years to a beautiful, dark haired, 27 year old woman named Diane.  In October of that year, they gave birth to a baby girl named Karen.  Within a year of Karen's birth, Diane left Harry to sort out his issues, and travelled across the country to raise her baby girl with her family in Sault Ste Marie.  Karen grew up never really knowing who her father was - the circle continues.  The difference here was when Karen's mom left, she took her daughter with her - when Isabel left Harold, she left her son Harry behind.

Karen born as Karen Kerr

Harry meets Karen

In 1989 Karen and Harry met for the first time.  Harry travelled to Chilliwack BC with his family for Karen's graduation from the military Basic Officer Training.  It was here where Karen learned about Harry's story of his adoption and set her mind that one day, she'd solve it and figure out where his mother had disappeared to.

Harry's mom Isabel with her love, Joe.

In 2009, a major release of the 1911 census allowed Karen, who had been very involved in genealogy research - to find the birth dates and family information on Harold Kerr and Isabel Lalonde. Through this research she found another woman desperately seeking information about Harold Kerr too - Ann McLaughlin.  Ann's mother had told her many years before she'd died, that she had given birth to a baby boy and given him up.  Ann set her mind to find this boy.  Karen found Ann online and the two began to put together the puzzle pieces of Ann's mother who was Isabel Lalonde and Karen's father Harry Kerr.  For the first time in his life, at the age of 77, Harry got to see a photograph of his mother with the man she'd ran away with, Joe McLaughlin.

Harry's brothers and sisters, the McLaughlins.

In 2012, Terry McLaughlin, Harry's brother, paid to have him flown to St. Catharine's Ontario from British Columbia to meet, for the first time, his brothers and sisters.  Karen and her family were there to meet them all too.  It was an overwhelming and heart moving experience.  Harry loved every moment of meeting the brothers and sisters he'd been missing, all of his life.  They took him in and made him feel at home.  He would have stayed if life had given him that choice, I'm sure.

Post Note: I may flesh out more of this story and make a novel of it.  I need more details, and am spending my hours these days digging for more details on the time between 1932 and 1940.  :) Time will tell.  I truly need the 1921 census, but I won't get my hands on that until I turn 52.