July 14, 2003

Sent by Carol and posted with permission:
"Dad does tell me that his great grandfather Hubert [Soutar], Simon's eldest son he remembers ( although I think it may be through his first wife which looks more and more like a mistress to me) to be the spitting image of Simon but heavier, he tells me that Hubert was more a controller of family finances and had his hand in his pocket not only for the rest of the family but also complete strangers. He worked and managed the wharf business, and even when the staff had no work and therefore no pay, he would dip into his own pocket and give them money to make sure their family had something to buy food etc. Once on a very stormy evening, he came home soaked to the bone, when his wife asked where was his coat or why he hadn't got transport, he had given it away to someone else who needed it because of the storm He was a very generous man, and very charitable. Apparently on his death he had thousands of people follow his coffin through the streets and there was a big write up in the Gleaner, as yet I don't have the dates and can't therefore find copies, hopefully i'll find a source or date soon."

No comments: