Sarah Gilfillan Stewart was born May 11, 1891 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Her parents were John Stewart and Agnes Wylie. Sarah was their third known child. Sarah was named after the second wife of her paternal grandfather. Sarah’s father must have been fond of his stepmother.
Sarah was very much a child of her time in history and place. Her father worked in a starch factory in Paisley, and her mother was a thread-mill worker before getting married.
In 1887, four years before Sarah Gilfillan Stewart was born, her birthplace, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, was described by John Bartholomew’s Gazetteer of the British Isles like this:
“Paisley … [is a] river port and manufacturing town, … 6 miles [west] of Glasgow and 396 miles NW. of London by rail…[The town’s population, not including the surrounding boroughs, is] 55,638….Paisley [has] 7 Banks [and] 3 newspapers,…Paisley, originally called Passeleth, sprang from the Abbey of Paisley, which was founded … about the year 1163. …[Paisley] is now a great seat of manufacture. The mfr. of sewing thread made from linen yarn was introduced in 1722, and that of cotton thread is now the staple industry. Paisley has long been famous for its plaids or shawls, but owing to changes in fashion the trade in these shawls has much declined. Tapestry, embroidery, tartan, and carpet mfrs. are also carried on. There are extensive starch and corn-flour works, bleaching and dye works, chemical works, and a ship-building yard. “
The first child born to Sarah’s parents was outside of marriage, which would have been scandalous at the time, and the subject of a paternity suit. The paternity suit, brought forward by a young, brave Agnes Wyle, ultimately resulted in John’s confession and the marriage of the couple. The baby, Catherine McAlpine Stewart born January 23, 1888, the subject of the paternity suit, was raised by another family (the Boyd family, a member of which Catherine would later marry).
Despite this early turmoil, Sarah’s parents went on to have five more children, including Sarah and four other siblings; Matthew (born 1889), Agnes (born 1894), Margaret (born 1899) and John (born 1901).
The 1901 Scotland Census shows Sarah, age 9, living at 4 Rosebery Place, in the 573rd district of Paisley. In the same census, Sarah’s future husband, Robert Hannah, age 8, lived in the same district at 47 Love Street.
On New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1908, Sarah was witness to her older sister Catherine’s wedding to William James Boyd.
In 1910, Robert Hannah, Sarah’s future husband, left for Canada. Did Sarah and Robert know each other before Robert crossed the ocean to Canada? They were later to marry in wartime.
Sarah became a war bride in 1916 when she married Robert Hannah, now a Canadian, who was on leave to Paisley from service in Belgium. Sarah was 24 years old.
Tragically, in 1917, Sarah’s older brother, Matthew, died in the war (Flanders). In the following year, Sarah lost her sister Catherine (to influenza followed by pneumonia) and her mother Agnes (to complications associated with diabetes).
After the war, Sarah leaves for Canada with her soldier-husband in 1919. The couple settled in the Calder area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Sarah appears on the Canadian Census of 1921. She is listed with her husband Robert and daughters, Sarah (age 1) and Margaret (age 2 months). They live at 12940 120th Street in Edmonton West (Calder). Sarah works at home and her husband, Robert’s, occupation is listed as Switchman for the railroad with an annual salary of $2,000. Both Sarah and Robert are reported to have come to Canada in 1910, although we know Sarah probably came later in 1919.
Sarah and Robert had three daughters, Sarah (Sadie) born 1919, Margaret born 1921, and Elisabeth (Betty) born 1932. Sarah, Robert and family lived in the Calder area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for over twenty years. During this time Sarah worked at home and Robert held his job as a Switchman for the railway.
According to her obituary, Sarah was “a past matron of Saskatchewan Valley Lodge, Order of the Eastern Star and was past noble grand of the Rebekah Lodge.” Participation in these organizations indicates that Sarah was a religious person who served her community accordingly. Sarah’s father was devoutly religious (which in large part explains his reluctance to acknowledge his first child born outside marriage). Sarah’s father was also a member of similar (“lodge”) organizations in Scotland.
Two years after her first daughter, Sarah (Sadie), was married for the first time, and 8 months after her first granddaughter, Donna Brown, was born, Sarah Stewart Hannah died at the age of 50 of “Coronary Thrombosis.” At the time of her death, the family was still living in the Calder area at 12709 – 121st Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Sarah is buried in the Beechmount Cemetary in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Thanks to Tammy Astner for this contribution (July 2019)
