Final Post - Margaret's Envelope Post 9

If you've just happened upon this series, you may want to start at the beginning - go to the labels listed below on the right, select Margaret's Envelope and start with Post 1 - you don't want to miss a thing!
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Margaret and her husband John Bellew lived in Central Falls Rhode Island until at least August of 1934, where they're listed in the city directory. Their son Alfred was born on October 27th 1928 in Central Falls, and was baptized on November 11th at the Holy Spirit Parish. In the 1930 census both John and Margaret are listed as Weavers at a local silk mill. Two of their boys graduated from the School of the Holy Trinity, a Catholic school in Central Falls. Hugh graduated in 1931 and William in 1932. Their youngest son Al attended school in Adams Massachusetts. John registered for the WWII draft in 1942, at that time they were living in Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

John Bellew died on December 15th, 1958 in Chevy Chase, Montgomery County, Maryland. Margaret remained in Maryland until November of 1968 when she entered a nursing home in Massachusetts and she died on December 5th, 1968. The last items I have to post from her envelope of memories are she and John's obituaries.

As I wrap up my posts of items from Margaret's Envelope, I want to thank my newly found Cousin in England - you know who you are! This dear lady has sent me a treasure of information on our family - 30+ BMD certificates on various members from our various lines in England and photos that sometime I hope to share here. It will take me days to get through all the info and get it all entered into my database.

Her Family and Her Faith - Margaret's Envelope Post 8

If you've just happened upon this series, you may want to start at the beginning - go to the labels listed below on the right, select Margaret's Envelope and start with Post 1 - you don't want to miss a thing!
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There are only a few items left to post in this series of items from Margaret's Envelope. Of note, is the theme of most of the items that I've uncovered - all were of her family or her faith, and some both. One item is missing from this envelope - Margaret's Rosary. I am told that it was in a small pouch and was among these items for many years, but now it is missing - something that I would love to find. Obviously a devout Catholic, Margaret had a prayer book that I'm told she read from often. This book, The Treasury of the Sacred Heart, is pictured here along with a very small bookmark that was inside.


Inside this book is a Preface, dated 1860, stating that this smaller work is acceptable by the Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin. Yet the book was printed in London. I can't help but wonder if it previously belonged to one of Margaret's parents.



As I thumb through the pages of this very small book (it's only 3x5") I find Margaret's memories tucked between the pages, some of which have already been posted here. With her son John's First Communion card, I find a small tattered piece of ribbon - could he have worn that with a flower that day? In the page with the Mass for the Dead I find the memorial cards for her father and father-in-law. There are a couple of folded small newspaper clippings about her son William, a rosary prayer card, things that have been laminated, and years of wear to the book which is in very good condition for its age, yet worn from hands that held it and read from it. Margaret obviously had a great love for her family and her Catholic faith. Although I am told that she was a stoic, almost stern woman, who didn't talk about things - she kept much tucked away where she could revisit it and could remember, while praying and keeping her faith.

More Memories of Home - Margaret's Envelope Post 7

If you've just happened upon this series, you may want to start at the beginning - go to the labels listed below on the right, select Margaret's Envelope and start with Post 1 - you don't want to miss a thing!
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Another item from Margaret's Prayer Book today - the memorial card from the funeral of her father, Hugh McCann, here's what I know about him:

Hugh McCann was born in about 1866 in Preston Lancashire England, and died Jan 24 1914 in Preston as well. He was the son of Patrick McCann and Cahterine Byrne (both from Ireland).

Hugh married Alice Ann Smith (b. abt 1867, d.1904) also of Preston. The couple had the following children, all were born in Preston.
Elizabeth McCann b. 1888
Catherine McCann b. 1890
Alice Ann McCann b. 1894
Margaret McCann b. 1896, d. 1968 in Adams, Massachusetts.
Ellen McCann b. 1897
Mary Agnes McCann b. 1899
James Francis McCann b. 1903 and d. 1903

I do not have much more information on Hugh. I do know that by the 1911 census his wife had died and he was still living in his household with his daughters. He died in 1914 and his grandson Hugh Bellew was born in 1916 - named for his Grandfather.

I also do not have many details at this time about all of Margaret's sisters. My newly found cousin is busily sharing her research informaation with me. Elizabeth married John Mee in 1911, Catherine married John Aspin and came to the U.S. and Alice Ann never married. I do not have details on the lives of Ellen and Mary Agnes at this point.

Memories of Home - Margaret's Envelope Post 6

If you've just happened upon this series, you may want to start at the beginning - go to the labels listed below on the right, select Margaret's Envelope and start with Post 1 - you don't want to miss a thing!
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The next few items I find in Margaret's Envelope were actually tucked away in her prayer book. These items remind she and John of their separate families and no doubt, of "home".

This card is a memorial card for Patrick Bellew. Patrick was the father of John Bellew.

Patrick Bellew was born in about 1864 in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. His wife was Elizabeth Hall. She was born in about 1864 in Preston, Lancashire, England.
Together this couple had the following children:
James Bellew b. Jan-Mar 1888, d. Jan-Mar 1888 Preston
John William Bellew b. 1889 Preston, d. 1968 Maryland USA
William Bellew b. 1891, d. 1910 Preston
James Bellew b. Jan-Mar 1893 d. Apr-Jun 1893 Preston
Frances Bellew b. 1894, d. 1951 Preston
Mary Bellew b. Jan-Mar 1897, d. Jul-Sep 1898 Preston
Isabella Bellew b. 15 Nov. 1900 Preston, d. 14 Nov 1993 Rockville Maryland USA

Patrick was a weaver at one of the mills in Preston and later a powerloom overlooker (supervisor?) at the mills (according to the 1911 census). The family lived at 180 St. George's Street in Preston. Patrick died Jun 8, 1923, only two months prior to John's arrival in the US.

When he left England only his Mother and sisters were still living. Isabella later came to the US with her husband John Turner, Frances never married.

The question I always ask when making these posts - "Do you think they knew that they'd never see their family members again?

Margaret's Journey and Her Heartbreak - Margaret's Envelope Post 5

If you've just happened upon this series, you may want to start at the beginning - go to the labels listed below on the right, select Margaret's Envelope and start with Post 1 - you don't want to miss a thing!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Margaret McCann Bellew remained in England until 1926. In May of that year she finally joined her husband and her son William who had been in the US already for almost 3 years. How I wish that there was a diary in Margaret's Envelope telling me how she felt during that time and most importantly, all she felt during her journey to the US.

Margaret and John had three children at the time, Hugh Bellew born in 1916, William Bellew, born in 1917 and John Jr (or Jacky) born in 1919. From what I understand she never really spoke of it, or him, and the heartache of her decision must've haunted her for her entire life. Margaret came to the US without one of her sons, the youngest, John was left in England.

I've written at length about John in several previous posts, but the story about him being left in England is truly a sad one. You can read about it here and here. Today I post another item from Margaret's Envelope, the one item that probably reminded her of him - a card from his First Communion which occurred only months before she left the country. You can see the reverse of it in one of the above previous posts.

Not having a diary of her thoughts and the pain that she must've had during this time, my mind is filled with images of a Mother boarding the ship with one of her children, leaving her young son crying on shore with an Aunt. Or her hastily dropping him off at her home so she could make this journey to join her husband in the US. He was only 7 years old when she left England.

What Brought Them Here? Margaret's Envelope Post 4

If you've just happened upon this series, you may want to start at the beginning - go to the labels listed below on the right, select Margaret's Envelope and start with Post 1 - you don't want to miss a thing!
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We left of with John and Margaret seperated by the Atlantic Ocean. Her in England and he in the US. But what brought him here? The passenger list needed studying further, which I've done and in the process I found another member of the McCann family had come to the US.

Page two of the passenger list has an area where the traveling person lists if they're going to be joining a relative or friend upon arrival here. In this box was some typed text, some crossed out text and some of what I will call "scribbling". Upon very close inspection of this area I see that he originally listed the following:

Mrs. Aspin, Friend
Victoria Rd. Pawtucket R.I.

The "s" in Mrs is crossed out making it a Mr. Aspin. The word Friend is somewhat crossed out and what appeared to be f i l is listed next to this word... Friend in Law? After zooming in to 400% I could see that the cursive lower case f was probably likely a b.. Brother in Law!!!

I then went back to the BMD database for Lancashire and found a McCann and Aspin marriage, being Catherine McCann, my great great grandmother's sister, who had married James William Aspin in 1919. The two traveled to the US in Dec of 1919 and were apparently welcoming other family to join them.
But the question remained - why Pawtucket or Central Falls Rhode Island? Work of course! This area was booming with textile mills at the time, (like many other New England cities) bringing thousands of immigrant workers to the area. John is listed as a weaver in the census records from England, not unlike many of his family members and neighbors. Those who were interested in relocating to the US were drawn to the work that they already knew, and of course the promise of a better life.

Margaret's sister was in the states only a short time before she died. I find her on the 1920 census - only a month after their arrival - living as a border in Central Falls. Then again in 1924 in the city directory for Central Falls, but in 1930 her husband James is living with a woman named Margaret as his wife. Catherine vanished from the records between 1924 & 1930. Having found this information just last evening, more research needs to be done to determine exactly when she died.

Today from Margaret's Envelope, I'm posting another postcard - this one from Margaret to John.

Birthday Wishes and Love Notes - Margaret's Envelope Post 3

If you've just happened upon this series, you may want to start at the beginning - go to the labels listed below on the right select Margaret's Envelope and start with Post 1 - you don't want to miss a thing!

We left off with John leaving England with his son to come to the U.S. in August 1923. Margaret wouldn't leave England until May of 1926. This family was apart for almost 3 full years so as you'd imagine, there were some communications back and forth.

This is a small group of post cards that were sent between John & Margaret. (Or Jack and Maggie or Peggie as they called each other apparently).

This first one is from Barrow-in-Furness, which I believe is a coastal town north of Liverpool. It doesn't appear to be a Christmas themed card, but that's the wish that's contained on the reverse. It must've been mailed in an envelope for it has no post mark nor is it dated.



This one contains sentiments of the distance between them and another mention of Christmas on the back. Unfortunately, none of these postcards are dated or postmarked.







There were a series of cards that appear to be made of some type of plastic on the outside, they are in very fragile condition so I photographed them rather than scanning. These contained again several Christmas wishes and love notes. One of them is addresses Margaret as "Dear Girl" and signed as "From Your Own Boy Jack" - how sweet! The smaller one with the embroidery was actually dated and signed as follows

From Your Loving Husband and Son Willie
To Wife And Children
25th Dec 1923

The next post will be what I know about John's time in the U.S. prior to Margaret's arrival and then we'll get on with more contents of Margaret's Envelope.

"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!

Margaret McCann Bellew's Envelope Post 1

Having found a new cousin as a direct result of info posted here and at a message board, I think it's necessary to share items that belonged to my Great Grandmother Margaret McCann Bellew. I have an envelope that was given to me by my Grandmother which contained many items of this family's past. Documents, memorial cards, news clippings and a prayer book that contains items of interest as well.

Margaret was born Feb 6, 1896 in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the daughter of Hugh McCann and Alice Ann Smith. Margaret married John Bellew, the son of Patrick Bellew and Elizabeth Hall at the St. Ignatius Church in Preston on July 1, 1915. For the first item from Grandma's Envelope I want to share this church issued marriage certificate. You'll note it's in latin.


The witnesses listed are Lawrence Hall (John's Grandfather on his mother's side) and Alice Ann McCann - Margaret's sister - who apparently liked to attend weddings but never had one of her own.

In the envelope we found a second church issued marriage certificate for this couple, this time in English and printed later (August 19, 1923). Possibly they needed an updated certificate in preparation of their move to the US. John traveled a few years before Margaret, his US address is scribbled in the lower right corner of this document.