Thank you for starting this thread, Lynne. Hope it's OK to post this to both Wigan and Liverpool - this father lived in both places (and several others!) Charles James Roberts (1891 - 1930) was my husband's paternal grandfather... and it was hearing stories about his life that first got us interested in family history. He seems to have packed so much into his short life... but sadly, although there are family stories, we have very little by way of actual fact. Charlie (as he was known) was born in Wigan, one of at least six brothers - we think there must have been seven as the youngest, who died in infancy, was called Septimus. His parents were Randolph Roberts and Eleanor Green. Eleanor died when Charlie was only 12, three years later Randolph married Eliza, a widow with eight children. In 1911 the family was living in Linney Street in Wigan with Charlie's occupation stated as Colliery Road Man. Charlie emigrated to the USA some time between 1911 and 1914 - we still haven't found any record, one of the family stories is that he travelled as crew and jumped ship. We don't know what he did or where he went - the only photo we have of him was taken in Detroit, but there was also talk that he may have spent time with his uncle, another Charles James Roberts, in Philadelphia. He must have worked as a plumber at some point as that was the occupation he gave on his return to England. Charlie returned to England on 7 January 1915 (on the Adriatic, from New York to Liverpool), and enlisted on the same day. He served in the Royal Field Artillery, first as a gunner, then as a driver. In 1917 he found time to marry his cousin Evelyn Taylor. We are told that Evelyn's mum never approved of the marriage, despite the fact that Charlie was her nephew. Charlie and Evelyn settled down to married life in Liverpool, and their first child, Joyce, was born in 1921. It was always Charlie's plan to return to the USA, and he left England in 1923, on his own, intending to send for his wife and daughter as soon as he had found a job and somewhere to live. The family story was that he had gone to the USA, and we were somewhat surprised when we found that he had actually gone to Canada - allegedly, to join his uncle E. Roberts in East Broughton, Quebed, according to his landing card. A bit of a mystery, as there was no uncle E. Roberts! We don't know if Charlie ever got to East Broughton or if this was just something he made up so that they would let him off the ship. Evelyn and Joyce never did join Charlie... Evelyn was ready to go, she had even sold her furniture, but somehow her mother, with some help from the local vicar, managed to dissuade her. Again, we don't know where Charlie went or what he did... there was talk about work at a restaurant, there was talk about a "woman friend" (the name May was mentioned), there was talk about him earning a living as a busker at one point, and there was talk about him being destitute and turning up unannounced at Evelyn's brother's home in New York asking for money for his passage home. We have no record of his return to England but know that he must have arrived back home in the summer of 1925 at the latest as Nigel's dad, Neil, was born in April 1926. We also know that Charlie was in poor health when he returned. He died of chronic ulcerative phthisis in 1930 and was buried in Roby. According to his death certificate he was a glazer and floor tiler journeyman... but on Neil's marriage certificate, some 27 years later, he was described as a "master builder". Poetic licence? Evelyn remarried and had one further daughter... but maintained to the end her life that Charlie had been her one and only true love. "I loved him with every bone of my body". Charlie wrote about 200 letters to Evelyn during his time in North America, but she burnt them all after his death.... she was a lovely lady, but it's one thing we'll never forgive her for! Angelika (& Nigel)