DALZELL STEELWORKS in Motherwell, Scotland

My paternal grandfather worked at the Dalzell Steelworks in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland. His father worked at the steelworks. As I recall I had other relatives who also worked there. The other thing that ties all of them together is they all immigrated to California in the 1920s; not one of them ever returned to Scotland.

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My grandfather is in this photo. I'm not sure if any other relatives are in it. Within a few months my grandfather set off with a few of his brothers for North America. His father, mother, sister, and fiancé followed a year later. All of that would be unremarkable except for the fact that my grandfather's great-great-grandfather had arrived in North America almost exactly the same day one hundred years earlier settling in Canada. Until last year none of my family knew anything about this. I'm still fascinated to find that I had relatives arrive in 1821 and 1921.

As to the Dalzell Steelworks, I can say very little. I remember driving by it in the early 1970s on a trip to Scotland. By that time it had been open for a little over one hundred years. It was closed in 2015, but reopened in 2016.

David Colville & Sons, a Scottish iron and steel company, was founded in 1871 and it opened its Dalzell Steel and Iron Works at Motherwellin 1872. By the first World War, it was the largest steel works in Scotland and it continued to expanded afterwards taking over a number of other steel works in Cambuslang and Glengarnock.

Nationalised in 1951, it became part of the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain. It was privatised in 1955 and the construction of Ravenscraig steelworks resulted in the closure of a number of its other works. It was renationalised in 1967, becoming part of British Steel Corporation. (Source: Wikipedia)

There was a rumor on my mother's side of the family that we had some sort of connection to Bethleham Steel in Pennsylvania. I've never been able to prove this.

I personally can't imagine working in a steel mill, but then I also can't imagine being a coal miner and I have many ancestors from Scotland who made their living in the mines. I relate more to the Scottish ancestors who worked looms and made hats. What on earth would any of these people think of the way I've made my living working for myself for all but one year of my professional life? I imagine they'd think me soft and lazy. They'd be right.

This is my submission for Sepia Saturday this week. I've been away for a long time.

A WEE CART in Scotland

I generally don't post images that are related to my family; I'm a private person. However, the prompt from Sepia Saturday this week was just too easy.

I give you my paternal grandfather in Scotland. I do not know the wee lassie sitting next to him. Perhaps she's family, but I'll never know. I like to imagine it's me sitting there bundled up for a nice ride through the countryside.


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My grandfather lived a hard life. When he was a teenager he contracted pneumonia and lost the use of one lung. Because of this he did not serve in World War I and my father has always wondered if he was treated badly by others because otherwise he looked to be a very healthy young man. He worked in a steelworks in Scotland before emigrating to California in 1921, first passing through Ellis Island. My grandmother, who had yet to marry, followed in 1922. They lived for the rest of their lives in Northern California. They had one son who is still alive today, my father. A second son died within hours of his birth. The third son, my uncle, died last year.

Of the four grandchildren, I am the only one who knew him. He died before any of my cousins were born. I have few memories of him, but I have rich stories my father has told me.
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