james william mallandain + maud porter
James was born on 24 January 1885 in Walthamstow, the son of George Mallandain and Annie Devine, but he was raised by his maternal grandparents following his parents’ deaths in 1892. In 1901, James was still living with his grandparents in Bethnal Green and working as a Blind Maker but he later moved to West Ham where he married Maud Porter in 1905. Maud was born in Essex on 29 May 1885 , the daughter of William George Cross Porter and Sarah Ann Wood.
They remained in West Ham following their marriage and their only child, James William George, was born one year later, on 23 March 1906 and baptised at St Andrew in Plaistow on 15 April. The baptism register notes James’ occupation as a Painter and the family’s address as 39 Northcote Road in Walthamstead.
In 1911, James and Maud were renting a four room house at 98 Warner Road in Walthamstow and James was employed as House Decorator. They were living down the street from his aunt and uncle, Edith and William Brown, who were also employed as painter/decorators so it is possible James was working for the family business.
Two years later, they emigrated to Canada and settled in Vancouver with James travelling first and his wife and son following, sailing from London aboard the SS Corinthian on 29 August 1913, bound for Montreal. After arriving in Canada, James enlisted in the army and served in WWI as a member of the 230th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. On his Attestation Papers, he was described as 6’ tall with brown eyes and dark brown hair. He enlisted on 18 December 1916 and was discharged on 11 April 1919 and following the war, he returned to Vancouver and worked as a painter, decorator and handyman.
In 1920, James’ youngest sister Alice and his aunt Clara Howard emigrated to Vancouver and moved into the family home at 138 East 6th Avenue. From the records, it appears that James travelled to the United States several times, possibly in search of work. The growing economy in the United States fuelled a building boom in cities like San Francisco, Portland and Seattle and many Canadians experienced in the building trades travelled south to find work. Maud appears in a passenger list from 1921, travelling from Vancouver to Portland, Oregon and in 1923, James and his son appear on a passenger list at the Port of Vancouver; he was employed as a decorator and his son a labourer. They were travelling to Seattle, Washington while Maud remained at their home at on East 6th Avenue in Vancouver.
James and his family moved to Los Angeles several years later and they were reunited with his sister Annie and aunt Clara who moved there years earlier. Their son, James William George, married 17 year old Marguerite Beday on 19 March 1927 in Santa Ana, California and they had one daughter, Patricia Mande, born on 22 December 1927. James and Margareta had divorced by 1934 and he lost touch with both his ex-wife and daughter. Marguerite married a second time, on 10 August 1934, to Terry Laurence Frost and Patricia took his last name.
When James Jr applied for US Citizenship in 1936, he was living on Belleview Avenue in Los Angeles and working as a Brick Mason. One of the witnesses on his application was Mrs. May Malek, or Louisa Mae nee Bass, and on 30 December, they married in the Los Angeles Court House.
James Sr worked in California long enough to apply for a Social Security number but by the early 1950s, he and Maud had returned to Canada. In October 1952, James travelled to England to visit his sister Edith in Walthamstow and stayed for three months before returning to Vancouver on board the Samaria on 5 January 1953. Six months later, he sailed for England once again but on this passenger list, he listed his occupation as Retired. Maud did not travel with him possibly because of the cost involved or because most of her immediate family had also emigrated to Vancouver. In 1957, James and Maud were living in Milne’s Landing near Sooke at the south west tip of Vancouver Island.
James died on 23 November 1975 at Shaughnessy Hospital in Vancouver and was buried at Mountain View Cemetery three days later; his simple headstone notes that he was a Corporal in the Canadian Forestry Corps. His obituary appeared in the Vancouver Sun newspaper:
Mallandain – November 23, 1975 in Shaughnessy Hospital. James William Mallandain, aged 89 years, late of Vancouver, BC. Survived by his loving wife, Maud; 1 son, James, Burbank, Calif; 2 grandchildren; 1 great-grandaughter; also one sister in England.
c. 1934
Maud died of bronchial pneumonia on 3 December 1979 at McDonald Lodge in Vancouver and was buried at Mountain View Cemetery. Her son, James, acted as the informant on the death certificate and his address was listed as 2341A Lincoln Street in Burbank, California.
Their grand-daughter Patricia married three times but it is not known if she had any children. She died in Ventura, California on 4 October 1995 and her father, James William George, died in Burbank on 11 October 1993.