James Caldow

James and Bertha Caldow were brother and sister who migrated to South Africa with their respective spouses. The account of what led them to emigrate to South Africa James is said that James lost favour with his father who wanted him to "join the cloth" and become a curate like himself. The words "join the cloth" are recounted with a Scottish / Northern English accent, which suggests that the family must have come from that region. John Affleck Caldow is the only person identified in the UK Census records who was a curate at about that time. The 1881 census records identify the children Archibald, Maud, Mary and Nod living in Cumberland at the same time and John and his wife Margaret; there is no record of James and Bertha. The 1891 census, however, identifies James, 'Archsald', Maud, Mary and 'Hoel'. In 1881, James was a Solicitor Clerk wheras in 1901, he was a Railway Booking Clerk. There is no record of the other children or the parents in the 1901 census. My conclusion that James was the son of John and Margaret is based upon a combination of the fact that there were no other Caldows recorded in Cumberland in 1891 and since he was a child at the time, he must have been their child.

James and his wife cared for Bertha's children, Eileen and Sheila after she died. The burden of looking after additional children appears to have strained family relationships and caused a split in the family when Eileen and Sheila had grown up. James reconciled with the two girls much later in his life after his wife had died and the pictures of him on this site were taken at the time of his reconciliation. When he was in an old age home, Eileen used to bake him cookies and send them to him and he is said to have not wanted to share them with anyone in the home. The fact that there seems to have been a bond between him and the girls reinforces the likelihood that Bertha and James were siblings.