The Cox Family of Wiltshire

Info is from the" Humboldt History Book" and was submitted by Ivy Grisdale

1881 Arthur S. P aged 2 b Broadleaze, Sparsholt, Berks of same place.

Arthur Sydney Pocock, came from Wantage, Berkshire, England in 1906, with his parents, four brothers and seven sisters. He obtained entry to his own homestead, on the S.W. 10-36-24 on September 20, 1906. From September to November of 1906, and from May to November 20 of 1907 he worked on the railway near Dundurn, and from November to April in 1910, he worked in a lumber camp north of Prince Albert. In April of 1910 he bought the S.W. 34-35-24 from a red-headed Scandinavian, Ole Ramsay, and established residence there. In later years he bought the S.E. 33-35-24.
In 1913, his bride-to-be, Rose Partridge, of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, arrived and they were married on December 17, 1913 in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Six children were born to them: Ivy, who became Mrs. Ronald Grisdale; Ethel, who died as an infant in 1917; Mollie, (Mrs. C Fenn of Vancouver); Phyllis, (Mrs. George Wignes); Dorothy, Mrs. Jim Dale); and Ernest, still farming the home place.
Sydney was a quiet man, who enjoyed having his neighbors drop in. He was very interested in machinery and mechanics, and had a very well equipped machine shop, where he did repair work for neighbors, and seemed always busy sharpening plow shares, or shoeing horses. In the early days, he owned a large steam outfit and did a great deal of threshing in the area. He also had a huge breaking plough which was put to good use in those days. He had an inventive turn of mind, and devised many improvements on machinery, which later came into common use. He always loved dogs, horses and guns, He was a member of the Wantage Rifle Club in England, and had a good deal to do with forming the Morven Rifle Association in 1910. He was keenly interested in radio once it came into use, and had one of the first crystal sets in the area. In later years, he installed a 32 volt lighting plant, and charged "A" batteries for all the neighbors. He enjoyed "ham radio", made his own transmitter, and learned the Morse Code in order to communicate with others.
Rose Pocock was first and foremost wife and mother. She was her happiest when gardening , and in her prime, her yard and garden was beautiful. She enjoyed reading and kept up with current events. She loved music, and was the organist for Brithdir Church for a time, and was a member of the ladies Aid. She also enjoyed needlework of all kinds. Above all, she was British to the core, and never lost her English Accent.
In April 1923, fire destroyed the family home, and the family was left with nothing but the clothes they wore. But a large new home was quickly built before winter set in, although the family lived in a granary during the summer and fall of 1923.
In 1928, while still running his threshing outfit, Sydney became ill. He spent a month in hospital, battling the dreaded cancer, but died on December 13, 1928 at the age of 49 years, four days before their fifteenth wedding anniversary. Rose with a family of small children, stayed on the farm, renting the land to various farmers, until Ernest was old enough to take over. At times, during the height of the depression, there wasn't money enough for stamps to mail a letter to the Old Country. When Rose received her first Old Age Pension cheque of $75 at the age of 70, she thought she was rich.
She lived long enough to know her grandchilden, whom she adored, and died January 10, 1967 at the age of 84, having never again seen her family in England.