Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthSeptember 21, 1878
Place of BirthBucharest
CountryRomania
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinMary Jorge, sister, 783 A Street, Bucharest, Romania
Trade / CallingLabourer
ReligionGreek Catholic
Service Details
Regimental Number288738
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion221st Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at Enlistment7th St North, Kenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentJune 16, 1916
Age at Enlistment29
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathDecember 28, 1969
Age at Death82
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
Plot19E-11-3

Jorge, James

Although the birth date of 18 June 1887 was given on James’ attestation papers, it was likely that he was born on 21 September 1878 in Bucharest, Romania as given in his obituary. Little is known about James’ early life other than that he came to the United States in 1901 and then on to Keewatin in northwestern Ontario in Canada in 1906 or 1907. Around 1915 he began work with the Lake of the Woods Milling Company in Keewatin as a packer.

With occupation given as labourer and his sister Mary back in Bucharest as next of kin, James enlisted with the 221st Battalion in Winnipeg on 16 June 1916. Although the circumstances are unknown, he was discharged from service as medically unfit on 1 June 1917 in Winnipeg.

James returned to the Kenora/Keewatin area and was found on the 1921 Canada census for Keewatin living with another fellow from Romania. According to the census he was naturalized as a Canadian citizen in 1917. At some point James married and with his wife Sophie, the couple gave birth to four sons, John, William, Alex, and Thomas. After working as a packer for the Lake of the Woods Milling Company for 34 years, James retired in 1949. He was a member of the Keewatin Branch of the Canadian Legion, the Retired Mens Association, and St James Anglican Church in Keewatin.

James died on 28 December 1969 in the Kenora General Hospital. At the time he was survived by his wife Sophie and four sons, John in Manitoba, and William, Alex, and Thomas of Keewatin. James is interred in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora.  It appears that only William stayed in Kenora, working at the Keewatin Flour Mill and the Kenora Paper Mill before passing away in January of 2013. At the time of his death, William was survived by his brothers John and Alex of British Columbia.  At some point James’ wife Sophie had moved to New Westminster, British Columbia, living with her son Alex. Sophie died on 20 August 1986 in the Queen’s Park Hospital in New Westminster.

by Judy Stockham

Jorge-James-2 Jorge-James-3

 


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