The following is to give you some insight.
The following is "copied" from my personal writing.
/h
2023 update: Sometime in the late 1950s Mom and Dad were seen talking about something. Shortly thereafter Mom came from my grandparents old house, on the hill in our yard. She had me try on a jacket that had been kept in the family trunk of keepsakes. That summer I wore the moss green military jacket, that I now recognize from the picture above.
Through my investigation of that time, I have found that in the University Archives of Saskatchewan website, that during the 1920s, the KKK had their headquarters in Biggar, Saskatchewan. I have also been told by a close community member of the community, Colonsay, Saskatchewan was also a hotbed of white supremacist activity during the decade of his death. Murdered for not joining and participating in KKK events?
/h
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Dedication
This begins a preamble and dedication after much procrastination and, well yes, many many months of procrastination.
The writing is dedicated is to (my Uncle)
Frederick Clarence Titman,
b. December 18, 1905;
d. April 18, 1928, age 23
My brother told me that, he had been told by our father, that Dad, when visiting a Meacham elderly resident, in the Humboldt hospital on his death bed. was given a confession; “I murdered your brother.”
This is intended to be a, read between the lines, from fragments of what I can recall from long ago things said, and more critical; conclusions arrived at, now in my senior years; turning 70 this summer. (2018).
We can never know the emotions experienced by those in our family over their lifetime. Hurt, grief, anger, rejection, and more...., all the human emotions that are available. People live to experience them all. Many never tell, perhaps due to medical circumstances, or just thinking it best not to tell. Think before you judge and choose to remember only the bad, which has upset and affected your life. They were not all bad, they carried grief too, and with the lens of alcohol, everything is magnified.
Not until very late in his life did Dad know what happened to his brother, who Grandma Susan said had been his role model.
2023 update: Sometime in the late 1950s Mom and Dad were seen talking about something. Shortly thereafter Mom came from my grandparents old house, on the hill in our yard. She had me try on a jacket that had been kept in the family trunk of keepsakes. That summer I wore the moss green military jacket, that I now recognize from the picture above.
The following is a summary of our family and conclusions:
My grandfather left Devon England, lied about his age because he was too young, and ran away to fight in the Boer War in South Africa. Our family is come to understand that he as living with and being raised by his aunt at the time he left. After the Boer war, he came to Canada, married Susan, and later enlisted and fought in the first world war.
Reflecting back over my early childhood years, I do not recall our family attending church services, I do not recall the Bible being used in our home in any way. My grandfather, having been raised in England, was the Anglican Church of England as religious affiliation. I have arrived at the conclusion, that because there was no religious indoctrination of any kind in my own childhood, that it is highly likely that my mother and father consciously proceeded on this path. I also conclude that it is highly likely that my father and his siblings were brought up in the same manner, no religious indoctrination.
To further dive into these conclusions, I, first of all, make the assumption that my grandfather made his conscious decision, after coming to Canada from fighting in the Boer war, to no longer practice his Church of England, Anglican faith.
I also assume that he made this conscious decision, after what he observed during his time in the Boer war of South Africa, if I may borrow the phrase, “leap of faith”, I will further conclude by my own non-participation in the Christian faith, that I am highly likely to be following in the footsteps in this regard, of my murdered uncle.
I conclude that my uncle was murdered for one of two reasons.
The first that the perpetrator may have been jealous of in common pursuit of relationship interest.
The second and more probable cause was that of adherence to religious conviction.
Rural life during the 1920s and the KKK prevalence in community, had no tolerance for anyone that would question the existence of "the holy spirit", or be observed to be a non-participant in Christian social practices.
Through my investigation of that time, I have found that in the University Archives of Saskatchewan website, that during the 1920s, the KKK had their headquarters in Biggar, Saskatchewan. I have also been told by a close community member of the community, Colonsay, Saskatchewan was also a hotbed of white supremacist activity during the decade of his death. Murdered for not joining and participating in KKK events?
