Charles Daniel Laurie "Danny" 9 Nov 1934

Charles Daniel Laurie was born on Nov 9th, 1934 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He is the 8th child of James and Jessie Laurie and the 4th boy.  He did most of his growing up in Ladner until they moved to Taber. In Taber he was also involved in baseball.

He married Mary Pauline Burbank on Sep 29th, 1954 at Great Falls, Montana. They lived in Taber for a while. They had 8 children as well and they are: Larry, Denise, Danny Ray, Dennis, Sherry, Jessie, Jim and Scott.

Pauline and Danny Laurie 

taken 2013 Sep at Canmore wedding

They are currently living in Edmonton were a lot of there kids are living.

Robert John Laurie 5 Jan 1933 - 28 Oct 1986

Robert John Laurie was born on January 5th, 1933 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He is the 7th child of James and Jessie Laurie.

He lived in Prince Albert until the family moved to Ladner BC in March or 1937 when he was 4 years old. He went to school in Ladner for the next 10 years. In March of 1947 the family moved to Taber, Alberta. Here he finished school and played baseball. He was very good at it.

In Aunt Ruth was able to identify these team members for the Taber Merchant Juniors in 1954:

Back Row L-R: Harry McKibbon coach, Harry Sekiya, Ray Whitehead, Mr Savage, Casey Anderson, Larry Anderson, Lynn Layton, Ross McKibbon, Dickie Wiest, Van Duncombe

Front Row L-R: Bob Laurie, Charlie Wentz, Gordie Laurie, Bill Burge, Bill Tanaguchi and Lyle Howg.

Bat boy Johnny Konno in front.
(Missing from the photo are Dan Laurie, Bob Furakowa, Sat Muriyama, Marvin baker and Ralph Maier)

Bob Laurie as catcher

In 1955 Bob Laurie suited up for the Granum White Sox. He was a rookie catcher that year. He had many home runs that year according to the website for Western Canada Baseball
http://www.attheplate.com/wcbl/search.html



ALBERTA FOOTHILLS - BELT LEAGUE Granum White Sox : Altman Jack LHP (also Vulcan), Bogal Tedd C, Fennessey Bill OF, Gordy John (also Miners), Ingarfield Earl 3B, Johnson Don RHP, Johnson Roy P, Kucheran Bill RHP, Laurie Bob C , Malarchuk Al, McDonald Jim OF, Odney Steve OF, Pederson John, Pung Hans C (also Picture Butte, Niseis), Stone Frank P, Tarnava Jocko C, Vejprava Gordon SS, Walasko Willie RHP, Walkingshaw Darwin 1B, Wesley George MGR, Wesley Gord 2B

L-R: Bill, George, Bob, Dan and Gord Laurie

In 1956 or 1961 this was taken in front of the Taber home of James and Jessie. He is shown here with his four brothers.
When he was about 21 or 22 he married Bev Barrett. They had five children: Kathy, Debbie, Randy, Robbie and Kevin. For a while they lived in Vauxhall and Taber but jobs moved them elsewhere.

Back row L-R: Debbie, Randy, Kathy

Front row L-R: Bob, Kevin, Bev and Robbie

Bob had many jobs in his life. He drove machinery such as these seeders and tractors.

He is the second from the left in both photos

Alice Eileen Laurie Saunders - 29 Dec 1929

Alice Eileen Laurie was born on Dec 29, 1929 in Prince Albert Saskatchewan. She is the sixth child of James and Jessie Laurie. She married Gordon Stanley Saunders on June 16th, 1948 in Taber, Alberta. They had eight children: Gord, Tom, Marilynne, Mike, Cyndi, Allyson, Greg and Ruthanne. For many years they were active in the small bore shooting club. Gordon and Alice were very good and won many medals at the meets they went to.

Marion Isobel Laurie - 4 Jan 1927 -12 Sep 1988

Marion Isobel Laurie is the fifth child born to James and Jessie Laurie. She was born with great difficulty in Prince Albert, Sasckatchewan. It left her with a mental disability but she was loved and taken care of by her family. Alice shared a bed with her and protected her when she was afraid. When they left Ladner she was not able to go with them so she was admitted to the Essondale Assylum in Coquitlam, BC and later went to Vernon, BC to the Vernon Assylum, and lived happily the rest of her days. She died Sep 12, 1988 at 61 years of age, and was cremated and sent to Taber for burial.

Dorothy Jean Laurie Peterson 18 Nov 1925 - 23 Feb 2000

Dorothy Jean Laurie was born on Nov 18, 1925 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan the 4th child of James and Jessie Laurie.

She was about 11 when the family moved to Ladner, BC. She married Eddie Peterson on Aug 16th 1943 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and spent the rest of her life living there. They had 8 children: Janet, Gary, Michael, Elizabeth, Catherine, John, Teresa and Paul. Janet was the only one not born in Manitoba.

Shown here are Teresa Peterson, Eddie Peterson and Dorothy Jean Laurie Peterson and Alice Laurie Saunders. The photo was taken in Calgary in 1990 when the Petersons visited their daughter in Calgary.

George Alexander Laurie - 29 Apr 1924 - 17 Jan 2001

George Alexander Laurie was born on Apr 29, 1924 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, the third child of James and Jessie Laurie. He was an asthmatic so when they moved to Ladner, BC it was better for his health but it put a lot of stress on his heart. He and his brother Bill were good friends. When WWII broke out he and Bill joined the Air Force and served as mechanics.

  Bill and George Laurie

George married Arlie Jean Robinson on Sep 6 1946. They lived in the Delta are most of their lives and had two children, Linda and Mark.

In 1970 George and Arlie opened a  Sporting Goods Store. It was a very successful business. Apparently one day Danny went into the store and was waiting for George to finish with a customer he was helping. The customer looked at Danny and then at George several times before remarking this must be your brother.

 

George was a kind man who loved his family. He developed Alzheimer's at the end of his life. He spent the last of his years at the George Derby Center which is a care center for Canadian Veterans in Burnaby, BC. The nurses said he was always a gentleman despite the ravages of the disease. He died there on Jan 17, 2001.

William Laurie - "Bill" - 3 Aug 1922 - 15 Mar 2003

William James Laurie, known as Bill, was the second child born to James and Jessie Laurie. He was born on Aug 3, 1922 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He was probably named after his grandfather William. Bill was very talented at fixing things or designing things. He helped his father fix the line at the cannery in Vancouver. He joined the Air Force and was a mechanic during WWII. He and George were stationed in Vancouver with the air base there.

Bill married Norah Esme Virginia Mowat on Aug 31, 1942. They had two boys, Robbie and Randy.

Norah, Robbie, and Bill Laurie
ab1950

Norah finally lost her battle with cancer on 22 Jul 1973. They were living at Costa Mesa, California at the time.

Bill designed many things. While in Costa Mesa he refurbished boats or yachts sometimes for famous people. At one time he was laying carpet on John Wayne's yachts. He also designed and helped build the flame for the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. He worked on the mechanics for the mechanical seagulls in the movie Johnathan Livingston Seagull. He could figure out just about anything.

 Later he married Elaine Layman. They were living in Santa Rosa, California for a while before she also passed away from cancer.

Bill and Elaine Laurie

Gertie Laurie Waddell - 8 Apr 1921 - 15 Dec 1995

Gertrude Irene Graham Laurie is the oldest of James and Jessie Laurie's children. She was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and grew up there until she was about 14. The family moved to Ladner, BC in 1935. She was very talented and played the piano in a band for dances when she was in high school and maybe later. Grandma Laurie would make the dresses that she wore for the performances.

She married Clarence Allard Waddell and they were married on Sep 12, 1941. They had four children, Bev, Phil, Rick and Laurie. They lived in Ladner the rest of their lives on the Ocean View Farm.

Allard and Gertie Waddell home in Ladner BC next to Allard's parents home where Bev lived at the time of this photo.

The Ocean View Farm shed where Allard carved and displayed his duck decoys and many other photos and things.

The Ocean View Farm barn. These photos of the home and surroundings were taken in 1995. Apparently the barn is no longer there.

Allard and Gertie Waddell in their kitchen as Allard tells fun stories.

Robyn Mohorich, Alice Laurie Saunders and Bev Waddell Mohorich listen and laugh.

James & Jessie Laurie Family

We are not sure why James decided to move to Prince Albert but the following history may give us some clues. His passenger list information says he was looking for work as a blacksmith. At some point he became employed by the Sick's Brewery in Prince Albert and worked for them for many years.

Prince Albert officially became a city on October 8, 1904, and by 1910 the new city was booming. In addition to having access to the wealth of the forest and agricultural industries, Prince Albert was a hub of steamboat and railway activity and a centre for commerce. The first train arrived in October 1890, and thus the town was opened to the newly emerging society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Prince Albert grew rapidly until the Canadian Pacific Railway assumed a more southerly route. Brewing began in Prince Albert in 1883. The most enduring ventures were the Sick’s Prince Albert Brewery and Molson Saskatchewan Brewery (1924–86). Fritz Sick and his son Emil Sick bought the defunct Regina Brewing and Packing Company and built a new plant in Prince Albert in 1924. Emil Sick and his father Fritz Sick managed their opperation from Lethbridge where Fritz had established his own brewery at the age of 32.

For 17 years they lived in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. James and Jessie started their family here with the birth of Gertie and all the kids were born while they lived there. The kids are as follows:
Gertrude Irene Graham Laurie born 8 Apr 1921-15 Dec 1995
William James Laurie born 3 Aug 1922-15 Mar 2003
George Alexander Laurie born 29 Apr 1924-17 Jan 2001
Dorothy Jean Laurie born 18 Nov 1925-23 Feb 2000
Marion Isobel Laurie born 4 Jan 1927-12 Sep 1988
Alice Eileen Laurie born 29 Dec 1929
Robert John Laurie born 4 Jan 1933-26 Oct 1986
Charles Daniel Laurie born 9 Nov 1934
Gordon Laurie born 19 Oct 1936-30 Mar 2011

They lived in a two story house with a beautiful oval window in the front door. Their kids went to school and did the many activities that were normal life at that time in history.



During this time James was active in "Football" known in North America as Soccer. He played and was a player/coach for the Prince Albert City Club for many years.
Here is a close up of the above photo. James Laurie is the first one on the left in the back row.
This is the picture of their club taken after they won the Western Canada Championship. James is the last one on the right of the top row.


James and Jessie purchased some land in Ladner, B.C. as an investment. When Gordie was 5 months old Jessie took all nine kids and with the help of Sandy Mitchell, drove out to their land in Ladner, B.C. They lived there for 9 years working hard to support themselves. James and Jessie divorced some time after she moved there.

abt 1944 - Ladner - Alice and Bob sitting on the front porch or their home.

James moved to Taber and worked for the Canning Factory as a mechanic. They sent him to the Vancouver cannery to work on the can line that kept jamming. While he was there he looked up Jessie. He and Bill help design a twist every so often in the can line to correct the jamming problem they were having. On Jan 14, 1946 James and Jessie were remarried at the Court House in Vancouver.

James and Jessie Laurie

Jessie MacPherson Laurie

Jessie MacPherson Laurie

They moved in March of 1947 to Taber where James was employed at the Cannery. By this time only Alice, Bob, Danny and Gordie were at home and made the move with them. Marnie wasn't able to make the trip so she was admitted to the home for disabled at Essendale. George took them to the bus station but remained in Ladner area.

Back L-R: George, Jessie, Alice

Front L-R: Dan, Gordie, Bob

L-R: Dan, Gordie and Bob Laurie

The three boys finished their school years in Taber. Alice was unable to finish High School because of the differences in the school systems of B.C. and Alberta. James and Jessie lived in Taber until their deaths in 1961.

In 1983 James Laurie, along with his club, was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. The shield and other memorabilia are located in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in down town Regina.

James & Jessie Laurie 1919 Marriage & Move

James Laurie and Jessie MacPherson met near Glasgow and were married there on July 18, 1919 at 21 Hope Street, Glasgow, Scotland.
Their witnesses were William McGhie, blacksmith and Mary Morrison, domestic servant. James Laurie was a 23yrs old bachelor and a blacksmith living at 8 Leichlee St, Hamilton. He is the son of William Laurie, machineman and Marion Laurie, m.s. Kinnaird. Jessie MacPherson was a 21 yr old spinster and a domestic servant living at Wateryeltes, Kilmacolm. She is the daughter of James Macpherson, Insurance Agent and Isabella Macpherson, m.s. Dyker. They were married in the District of Blythswood in the Burgh of Glasgow, Scotland.
Below is the actual Marriage certificate:
Following their marriage there was an oppotunity for those who wanted it to immigrate to Canada. Jobs were scarse after the war in England and it is thought that veterans were given that opportunity. For some reason he went to Prince Albert to look for a job. He was a blacksmith so perhaps he thought that was a good place to look. He boarded a ship called the Haverford at Liverpool, England and arrived 21 Sep 1919 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He then prepared the way for Jessie to follow in 1920.
The "Haverford", operated by the White Star line, voyaged between Liverpool, England and Canada. This is the same company that owned the Titanic . . .fun to know. The journey usually took 7 days, weather permitting.


Even though this says Jennie Laurie we know it is Jessie because it lists her parents and the fact that she is going to Prince Albert to be with her husband, James. She applied for passage on March 20, 1920. They could not sail to Quebec City in the winter so they would arrange passage ahead of time and then leave when passage up the St Lawerence seaway was possible and when their turn came due to traveling quotas. She arrived in Quebec on 20 Jun 1920. From there she made her way to Saskatchewan where James was living at #202, 25th St 2nd Ave East, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
The "Megantic" was also run by the White Star Line to Quebec City, Canada.

Jessie MacPherson 1897

Jessie McPherson was born on 6 Sep 1897 at Bridgend in the Parish of Cabrach, Banff, Scotland, to James McPherson (b. 11 Aug 1869 Glenrinnes, Banff, Scotland) and Isabella Dyker (b 4 Feb 1873 at Glass, Aberdeen Scotland), who were married on 30 Nov 1889 in Glass, Aberdeen, Scottland. Jessie was about 15 when she first went to work at a private boys school as a cook and was the head cook when she was 16. She also looked after a little girl who was handicapped and couldn’t walk who later died. Jessie was living at Wateryettes, Kilmacolm, 14 miles west of Glasgow in the county of Renfrewshire. We believe she was either a nanny or a cook there. We aren’t sure if this was the boy’s school or if it was the family she worked for a while before marrying James Laurie in Glasgow in 1919. She came to Canada in 1920 to rejoin James in Prince Albert, Sakatchewan

Jessie MacPherson Laurie

about March 1947 in Vancouver 

before moving to Taber

James Laurie 1896

James Laurie was born on 23 May 1896 at Kirkbank Smithy, Johnstone, Dumfries, Scottland, to William Laurie and Marion Laurie, m.s. (maiden surname), Kinnaird, who had been married on Nov 23^rd, 1893 in Johnstone, Dumfries, Scotland.

His older sister Jane, was also born at Kirkbank Smithy, Johnstone, Dumfries, Scotland in 1894. There were only two children in the family to our present knowledge.

James worked at the Kirkbank Smithy as a blacksmith for 2 1/2 years for Mr McGhie until he was called into the army. He enlisted on 19 May 1914 at the age of 18. He enlisted into the Lanakshire Yeomanry of the Territorial Force for a term of four years. (source enlistment attestation)

He served in the Gordon Highlanders in World War I. The following is the response to Greg’s requests for information to the Gordon Highlanders on Private James Laurie. There were three in the Gordon Highlanders and two were from Dumfries but the researcher is positive it could only be this one since the other one was killed in the war.

“Bydand

“Bide and Fecht” “Stand and Fight”

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.

The Gordon Highlanders ‘. . . the finest regiment that ever was.’

202660 Private James Laurie 1^st Battalion Gordon Highlanders.

Battle actions of the 1^st Battalion from the start of the Great War in 1914 through to late 1917.

1914

They would have been involved in the Retreat from Mons 23-26 August. Then they were straight into the Battle for Le Chateau 26-27 August, and then came the 1^st Battle of Marne and 5-11 September the Battle of Ourcq. From 12 Sept. – 3 Oct they were part of GHQ troops, but straight back into the thick of it, the battle for La Bassee 11-31 Oct, 1-2 November, Armentieres. They were involved in the 1^st Battle of Ypres, mainly in the conflict 14 Dec Wytschaete Ridge.

1915

Between May and September theywere involved in four battle actions, in May saw the start of the 2^nd Battle of Ypres. 16-18 May saw the Battle for Feestubert, followed by Bellewarde 15-19 June. They went on from there into the Battle of Loos 25-27 Sept. and on into the 2^nd battle for Bellewarde

1916

They were involved in action along with the French at “The Bluff” 2-3 March, then came the SOMME, in July. 18-26 July, Langue Val and Deville Wood. They saw action again at Falfemont Farm and Angle Wood 16-17 August, 18-26 August they were in action at Guillemont and again at the Battle of Ancre in November. The Battle for Serre was on 13-18 November.

1917

By April they were again in the thick of the action, as was every Battalion of Gordon’s, at the 1^st Phase at the Battle of Arras, 9-12 Monchy-Le-Preux. 14 June they saw action in the last phase of Battle of Arras, mainly at Infantry Hill. In July came the Third Battle of Ypres, which again saw the 1^st battalion in action almost continually through to November 1917. The two battles which are recorded are Polyon Wood in September and Passchendaele, September-November.”

After the war James Laurie went to work as a blacksmith and was living at 8 Leichlee St., Hamilton, 12 miles south east of Glasgow in the county of South Lanarkshire.