A "Kairos" Moment

If Shakespeare knew "small Latin and less Greek," my knowledge of the latter language is best described as minuscule.  I do, however, know two Greek words, "kairos" and "chronos," both of which mean time, but in very different ways.  "Chronos" is the regular pattern of time from minute to minute, hour to hour and so on, in other words routine time.  "Kairos," however, refers to historic moments because what happens is life changing.  In a family history, it's hard to imagine a more "kairos" moment than emigrating more than 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean as the Winders did in 1891-92.

The Majestic - ship taken by Mary Ann and the Winder children to the United States 

As far as I know, nothing was ever recorded or passed on about that experience so all we can do is speculate.  In the case of James R. and Mary Ann, it was a conscious decision, most likely a joint one so whatever doubts or anxiety they experienced, it was at least part of doing what they thought was best.  For James W., Edith, Elsie and Florence, it was a different situation.  At six and three respectively, Elsie and Florence were probably too young to know what was going on and the move most likely had limited impact.  In the cases of Edith (10) and especially James (13), it could have been a very difficult time.  Both of them had to have had friendships and other relationships which were about to be irrevocably severed.  James was in his last year of school and may very well have been thinking about where he was going to work in Worcester. It's possible they experienced harsh words from peers who were staying in Worcester and saw the Winders leaving a form of rejection or abandonment.  No matter how positive they may have felt about the impending move, it had to have been a major adjustment.

James Winders (underlined in red) listed on the Majestic's passenger list 

It appears James R. went first, possibly as much as five months earlier.  That left Mary Ann, a single parent with four children, to manage the family affairs, make whatever arrangements remained for the move as well as working full time.  Most likely the Winders didn't own their home so there was no real estate transaction to worry about.  Decisions did, however, have to be made about what to take to America and how to dispose of the rest.  Some of the latter items may have gone to Mary Ann's family and/or James' mother, although it's also possible they needed to sell their furniture to raise money for their new home in Trenton.  Finally it was time to go and in early May of 1892, Mary Ann, the four children took their eight suitcases boarded a train in Worcester heading towards Liverpool.

Mary Ann and daughters on Majestic's Passenger List 

Once in Liverpool, they boarded the Majestic, which was to be their floating home for the week long voyage across the Atlantic.  Exploring the ship along with the adventure of an ocean voyage may have appealed to James and Edith.  One hopes for their sakes, but especially for Mary Ann and the two little ones, it wasn't too rough a passage.  In any event on May 19, 1892, the Majestic reached New York harbor.  As they were taken from the pier to the immigration center on Ellis Island, they may have marveled at the relatively new (1886) Statue of Liberty.  Although not as impressive as the statue, the three story immigration facility was even newer, having opened on January 1st so the Winders were among the 450,000 people who passed through Ellis Island during its inaugural year.  Without any language barrier (at least theoretically) and a father and husband already in the country, the Winders probably passed through Ellis Island relatively quickly and took a ferry to Hoboken or Jersey City.

Original wooden buildings at Ellis Island which were brand new when the Winders arrived there

It's pleasant to imagine a family reunion when the ferry docked, but James R's job plus uncertainty about the exact time of arrival may have made that impossible.  With or without James, Mary Ann and the children eventually boarded a train for the last leg of their journey to Trenton.  While New Jersey was no where near as heavily settled 121 years ago, the landscape was more cluttered than the area around Worcester.  Throughout the train ride, Mary Ann, James and Edith must have been filled with anticipation and questions.  Would they like this new country?  What was Trenton like?  How did it compare to Worcester?  James and Edith probably also wondered how difficult it was going to be to make new friends with James also concerned about where he would find work.  Once they finally arrived in Trenton, they went to their new home, most likely a temporary arrangement at 41 Southard Street where James R was boarding.  Perhaps they even went by the new electric trolley cars,  traveling at what seemed to some the excessive speeds of 18-20 mph.

 Trenton, New Jersey 

How did Trenton compare to Worcester?   First of all, their new home's 1890 population of 57,458 was about 1/3 greater than Worcester's 42,908 total in 1891.  Interestingly both cities would take part in a national election in 1892 with Grover Cleveland unseating incumbent Benjamin Harrison as President while back in England, William Gladstone was winning his last term as British Prime Minister.  Whether it was national politics or local events, the Winders would have greater news access in Trenton with its two daily newspapers, compared to the more limited offerings of Worcester's weekly papers.  If sports news was of interest to the Winders, they had exchanged cricket, football (soccer) and quoits for base ball (two words in the 19th century).

Modern view of 41 Southard Street (right side of building).  James R. boarded here in 1891 and the whole family may have lived here temporarily in 1892

Mary Ann and the children, especially Mary Ann, had probably had enough traveling for a while, but they certainly weren't isolated in Trenton.  All told there were 13-15 daily trains to New York and Philadelphia, similar to the 13 trains from Worcester to London, but both American cities were closer than their British counterpart.  While population, communications and travel differences were all important, of far greater significance were cultural differences and economic issues which we will look at in the next post.