JAGGER OF BATLEY, WEST YORKSHIRE, AND CANADA

In the Introduction section of this blog, a comment was made by Paul, who turns out to be a cousin previously unknown to me. We have exchanged interesting information about his line, which descends from Joseph Jagger (born 1817), an uncle of my James Jagger (b. 1843). Gary Muffley’s grandmother Edna Jagger Muffley was a second cousin to Remira Jagger Thistleton Brant (pictured), who was Paul’s great-grandmother. Remira lived in Batley at the time of her death in 1940. Remira’s Aunt Amelia Jagger Hallas migrated with her family to Galesburg.

A major “Eureka” in the data exchange was in regard to Fred Jagger, who had been for years a mystery person to me. Recall that our James Jagger lived awhile (e.g. 1861 census) at 11 Whitelea Road, Batley, with the family of his uncle Joseph Jagger. Years later, the James and Emily Smith family lived at that same address in Batley. I have a letter dated November 7, 1920, from the Smith family to James Jagger in Galesburg. The letter mentions Remira (now known to be Paul’s great-grandmother), and Simpson Jagger (recalled by Paul’s father). The letter continues, “With regard to Fred Jagger and Family they came out to Canada two or three months ago and we have not heard anything about them.”

Fred Jagger was born about 1883, according to Paul, and was a son of Joseph’s son George. Fred was a half-brother to Remira, Simpson, and Emily. Fred’s siblings by his father George’s second wife Margaret Blackburn were Ada and George Jr. In the 1901 census of Batley, Fred was a colliery general labourer, and was still living with his parents and sibs. His future wife Margaret Ann Breheney, age 17, was living in Dewsbury with her parents in 1901. Before Fred, Margaret, and kids Ethel and Leonard wound up in Preston, Ontario, in 1920, there were some interesting developments.

It appears that Fred Jagger made some solo voyages to Canada before the 1920 migration with his family. The ship Empress of Ireland (ship photo on Jagger Picasa Album link) set out from Liverpool, & arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 23 April, 1908. Fred Jagger, age 25, carpenter, was bound for Toronto. His country of birth was England, & he was not stamped as a “Ret’d Canadian”, like some others on board were. It is possible that on this trip, Fred visited, or heard about, mills in Preston, west of Toronto. In 1914, the same
Empress of Ireland was in a collision in the St. Lawrence River & sunk, one of Canada’s worst maritime disasters.

Fred Jagger’s marriage to Margaret Ann Breheney was probably prior to 1911, the approximate birth year of their daughter Ethel. World War I occurred 1914-1918, and it appears that our Fred Jagger was a soldier. Nevertheless, his son Leonard was born about 1916.

The ship Florizel (photo at Jagger Picasa Album) departed from St. Johns Newfoundland, & arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 6 August, 1917. The roster included Fred Jagger, age 34, a soldier born in England, & bound for Halifax, N.S. He indicated that he had been in Canada 5 years prior to that, so about 1912. The Florizel was a Red Cross Line ship, and made another run between Halifax & St. Johns in December, 1917, according to an article about a
munitions ship explosion at Halifax, N.S. The Florizel herself was wrecked in February, 1918, at Newfoundland. “The SS Florizel was built for Bowring's Red Cross Line in 1909, to replace the SS Silvia. A sturdy steel ship, with ice-breaking capability, she was considered the pride of Bowring's fleet. On February 24, 1918, the Florizel was wrecked on Horn Head Point, near Cappa Hayden, Newfoundland. Out of the 78 passengers and 60 crew members, only forty-four (17 passengers and 27 crew) survived the wreck.” It appears that the Florizel was used in those years on a run between Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New York. Fred Jagger would have made the transatlantic run in some other ship.

The ship Minnedosa (photo on Picasa) left Liverpool & arrived on 4 September, 1920, at Quebec. On board now were Fred Jagger, age 37, Margaret Ann (Breheney) Jagger, age 37, Ethel Jagger, age 9, & Leonard Jagger, age 4. All were born in England. Destination of the Jagger family: Preston, Ontario. Mrs. T. Bradford was listed as a friend of theirs in Preston. Fred Jagger was a mill hand in England, & intended to do the same work in Ontario.

On July 28, 1925, Fred was the arrival contact in Detroit for his wife Margaret and son Leonard. The departure contact from the Canadian side was Margaret’s father Patrick Breheney. According to the record, the Fred Jagger family was en route to Galesburg, home of James Jagger’s family.

History of Preston: http://cambridgeweb.net/historical/preston.html
The Ontario Genealogical Society has a cemetery index page http://ogs.andornot.com/CemeteryIndex.aspx Entering “Jagger”, we find Frederick Jagger, Margaret Breheney Jagger, & Leonard Jagger at Section D4 Plot 13, Old Preston Cemetery, Cambridge (Preston), Waterloo County, Ontario. Preston Cemetery lies northwest of Cambridge.

So, after all of these years, the missing Fred Jagger family has been found.

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