Mrs. Gosse's sister Christina Alice Smith was also a war bride.Their younger sister, Margaret also came to Newfoundland, she met and married Cecil McWhirter.
Agnes (Nancy) Gosse
War Bride: Agnes Gosse (Known as Nancy)
Maiden Name: Agnes Brewster
Born: May 6, 1894 in Ayr, Scotland
Died: May, 1971 in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation: Unknown—studied chemistry in Scotland
Husband: Douglas Hannavick Gosse
Born: October 21, 1895 in Spaniard’s Bay, NL
Died: April 12, 1960
Date of Marriage: circa 1919
Date of Sailing: May 22, 1919
Ship: S. S. Corsican
Arrival in NL: June 1, in St. John’s, NL
Settled in: Boston, then Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
Children: None
Information sent in by her neice
Page Added Dec. 11, 2014.
Nancy's Story:
After the end of WWI, Nancy, as she was known, sailed to Newfoundland with her husband (who was a member of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and served at Beaumont Hamel). Her sister, Christina, (who was also a war bride) sailed on the same ship along with her husband Donald. Their younger sister, Margaret, remained in Scotland. Their parents were deceased.
Because Douglas was an officer, he and Nancy were given a cabin on the ship. The lesser ranks had to make do. The ship encountered rough weather en route and Christina became ill. Douglas moved out of the cabin and the two sisters shared the cabin for the remainder of the voyage.
The ship encountered fog for three days and ended up off course in St. Mary’s Bay. However, all ended well, and the ship docked in St. John’s on June 1. It is interesting to note that the same ship (renamed SS Marvale) encountered fog on a trans-Atlantic crossing in May, 1923, and ended up on the shoals at Freels Point at the entrance to St. Mary’s Bay and sank. “All hands were saved.”
Later, Nancy’s sister, Margaret also came to Newfoundland, specifically Humbermouth in what is now Corner Brook. She met Cecil McWhirter in Humbermouth and would later marry him.
Sometime after arriving in Newfoundland, Nancy and Douglas made Nova Scotia their new home. However, their marriage floundered and Nancy moved to Back Bay in Boston, Massachusetts. Douglas returned to Newfoundland and operated D.H. Gosse Ltd in St. John's--sales and servicing of business machines. Douglas remarried, but Nancy did not. Margaret joined Nancy in Back Bay and they shared an apartment and were both office workers.
Margaret subsequently married Cecil and moved to Quebec where they had a daughter, Marion Joy. Nancy moved to Belmont, MA, and worked as a cook for several wealthy families in the Belmont and Cambridge areas of Massachusetts. Cecil died in an accident, so Margaret and her daughter moved to Belmont to be near Nancy. Margaret worked as a bookkeeper for a Scottish electrician in Belmont until her early 80’s.
