"We are both in the pink" - Margaret's Envelope Post 2

Next in this series is a postcard, from my Great Grandfather John Bellew, addressed to his wife Margaret. John departed England on the ship Sarmaria on August 23, 1923, with his son William (my Grandfather) who was almost 6 years old.

The family was living at 23 Milner Street in Preston Lancashire England. John & Margaret had three sons at the time, Hugh b. 1916, William b. 1917 and John (or Jack) b. 1919.

Here is the front of the postcard John Sr. sent to Margaret, showing the ship they were aboard.

Written in pencil on the reverse is a short note from John letting Margaret know about their trip so far. I am amazed that the words are still visible.

"We got to Liverpool all right. We left at 5/30. We will arrive at Queenstown Friday Morning. We are both in the pink. Kiss Jacky and Hugh for us both. With Love From Jack + William XXX"

I was interested in the postmark on this card. Not having any understanding of where it would have actually been sent from - although images of him running to a box at the next port came to mind, I figured this wasn't the case. What I learned after a bit of research was that these pieces of mail were handed to the steward on the ship, who then took them to a post office at the next port of call. The "PAQUEBOT" postmark means that it was posted on the high seas.

While it's not part of the contents of Margaret's envelope, here's the passenger list showing John and William. Their planned destination being Pawtucket Rhode Island. I still have yet to find the other family members who were already there as I've been told.


This is just the beginning of the story of this family's journey to the US, and the contents of Margaret's Envelope. Stay tuned, there's more to come!