About Bridget
“Bessie” Cannon (1891-1982) - Updated August 21, 2017
Bridget Bessie Cannon
was born on August 21, 1891, in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Her mother was Ann Loughlin (1866-1938), age 25, and her
father was William Daniel Cannon (1859-1935), age 32. (In celebration of her birthday, this posting is being updated on August 21, 2017 with personal documentation provided by Bessie's great granddaughter, Annette.)
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| Bessie Cannon Birth Certificate 1891 |
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| Cannon Family Tree |
The Cannon Family Tree shows that Bessie was the fourth of
seven children in a family of five girls and two boys born during the 14-year
period from 1886 to 1900. The 1901 Scotland Census lists her as age 9. The
records show that most of the Cannon children emigrated: Annie and William went
to Australia, Bessie and Margaret went to Canada and Henry moved to Canada then
the United States.
Bessie served in the Scottish Women's Land Army (see registration card below). According to the family history, she was a very strong, interesting woman for
her time. "She actually shot and killed a German soldier who would have raped
and killed her during her service in the Boer war and was also engaged to wed
another man before meeting Ernest - and she quickly broke off that engagement."
Bessie Cannon met Ernest Milburn Smith while he was
recovering from his wounds at a hospital in Scotland during World War 1. At the
end of the war, Ernest proposed marriage and Bessie accepted. The marriage record (presented below) indicates that they
were married on January 15, 1919 in Glasgow, Scotland.
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| Ernest Smith and Bessie Cannon Marriage Certificate 1919 |
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| Ernest Smith and Bessie Cannon, circa 1919 |
As a young married
couple, they sailed from Liverpool, England to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on the S.S. Baltic which transported Canadian soldiers and their war brides (third class free passage). The following records show that they departed on August 13, 1919 and arrived in Canada on August 21, 1919 to begin a new life.
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| Bessie (Cannon) Smith - Canada Immigration 1919 |
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| Bessie (Cannon) Smith ID Card - S.S. Baltic 1919 |
Many war brides were transported in smaller ships such as the
Corsican, Grampian, Megantic and the Tunisian, which could carry up to 2000
passengers. The Olympic (sister ship of the Titanic) was by far the largest
ship to bring soldiers and their dependents to Canada. It could carry more than
5000 passengers. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada usually took 7
days. Most ships left from Liverpool but with many dockyard strikes during
1919, a number also left from ports at Southampton and Glasgow. During the
winter months, the ships docked at the eastern Canada ports, such as Pier
2 in Halifax.
It is noteworthy that more than 50,000 war brides came to Canada after the World
War 1 in an immigration scheme that was paid for by the Canadian government. In
January 1919, the Government of Canada passed an Order in Council offering the
dependents of Canadian soldiers free third class passage from Europe to Canada.
(More information about war brides is available online at Canadian War Brides of
the First World War.)
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| Bessie Cannon, circa 1927 |
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| Bessie Cannon - 90th Birthday 1982 |
When Ernest died in 1948, Bessie had been married for 29
years. She was 56 years old and carried on, cheerfully enduring many hardships. She lived
for more than 30 years. During that time, she raised one of her granddaughters
until she married. Then, in her senior years, Bessie was offered a home
with her daughter (Doris) and her husband.
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| Bessie (Cannon) Smith - Obituary 1982 |
Bessie died on February 12, 1982 after
celebrating her 90th birthday with her family. Her obituary states that Bessie was buried at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. May she rest in
peace!
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