by Claire Lindell

George was sitting at the dining room table where tiny boxes and huge albums were spread out, along with all the accoutrement he needed for the task at hand. The young girl watched intently as he methodically and meticulously placed each item in to its proper place in the album. He spoke very little, but, briefly explained what he was doing. It was  fascinating and inspiring to watch him as he worked.

     “I am the world’s greatest traveler. I have been transported by camel, dog sled, pony express,               bicycle, train, steamship, automobile, airplane, airship and rocket….. On my face are the                       portraits ………of  poets, aviators, dramatists, novelists, painters, athletes, cardinals, saints and          sinners.” 1                                

It was the summer of 1948. I was eight years old. This was my first and only encounter with my Uncle George. He made a lasting impression. One that left me wondering about why adults would spend their time collecting stamps. He specialized in mint stamps, pristine, never used stamps. Many stamp collectors specialize in specific areas of collecting. I wondered, perhaps these stamps were more valuable having never been cancelled.

George Spencer Pincott was born in Buffalo, New York on the 6^thday of the shortest month of the year in 1897. He was the son of Emile Spencer Pincott whose family was originally from Cardiff, Wales and Susan Jane Woodring. At a young age  George’s family moved from Buffalo and immigrated to Canada and took up residence in Westmount.²

 

At the age of twenty-one on May 13^th, 1918 George was recruited to serve in the First World War. At the time he was an office clerk and joined the 1st Depot Battalion of the 1st Quebec Regiment. ³ With the war almost over when he was drafted, I have yet to find his records of service. Did he go overseas?

Four years later on May 5^th 1922 George married Marie Aline Jodouin in St.Joseph’s Roman Catholic  Church in Sudbury, Ontario⁴ and for a time they settled in Iroquois  Falls, in northern Ontario near Temiskaming, where he had been working before their marriage.  Prior to their marriage an Affidavit was required by the province before issuing a Marriage license.³  George did this on the 25^th of April 1922 in Iroquois Falls.⁵

Sometime between the late 1920s and 1932 the family moved to Twillingate, Newfoundland where their fourth child, Robert was born.⁶  as indicated in the 1935 Newfoundland Census. They returned to Canada in the late 1930s. It is to be noted that Newfoundland joined the Dominion of Canada in 1949.

On the 6th of July 1946 George was named as an Officer of the British Empire⁶,  a Civilian award.

 

 “King George V created these honours during World War I to reward services to the war effort  by civilians at home and servicemen in support positions. The ranks are Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE) and Member (MBE).They are now awarded for prominent national or regional   roles and to those making distinguished or notable contributions in their own specific areas of   activity.” ⁷

 

The next time we find the Pincott family in any records such as a Voter’s List 1953, they were living in Senneville, Quebec. George worked for Woodpulp Montreal and commuted to the city by train every day where he worked as an Accountant.

George and Aline moved to the United States upon his retirement as a Management Business Executive in the pulp and paper industry. He died in Tryon, Polk, North Carolina,  April 18^th, 1975.⁸ He is buried in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Aunt Aline came back to Canada and lived in Sutton, Quebec for many years close to her youngest son, Robert.

Uncle George was instrumental in inspiring me to collect stamps and as a youngster a group of friends formed a stamp club.  It has been a life-long hobby that allowed me to travel the world, learn history, geography, art and a multitude of other interesting subjects which are found on these little, somewhat insignificant pieces of paper that we call stamps.

For a number of years I specialized in First Day Covers.

Chinese Lunar Year of the Monkey 2016 One of Canada Post’s most recent  First Day Covers

Sources:

       ¹   Soliloquy of a Postage Stamp   –       From the pen of Ernest W. Brady

2. Ancestry.com, Library and Archives Canada,Canadian Census 1911. Ottawa, Ontario
3.  Particulars of recruit
4. Affidavit of Maarriage License

        ⁵     Register of Marriages St Joseph Roman Catholic Church Sudbury Ontario

6.  Family Search, Newfoundland Census 1935. Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador; FHL microfilm
7. Ancestry.com Canada, Military Honors and Awards Citation Cards 1900-1961 Ottawa , Canada: Library and Archives Canada
8. North Carolina deaths 1931-1994 Family Search