Librarian, Author and Immigrant from Yorkshire

Photo from Ivan Grimshaw's "How to Prepare a Speech"

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Ivan Grimshaw was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1900. When he was still a boy, his father, Miles Grimshaw, accepted a position in Akron, Ohio with one of the large American rubber companies. The family rode the train to Liverpool from Shipley, sailed to Boston in 1907 on the Cunard Liner Ivernia, and traveled by train to Cleveland, eventually arriving in Akron. Ivan and his parents lived there until he left for college. Ivan apparently received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and had an interesting and varied career as a professional librarian. He also published several books, papers and pamphlets. One of his earliest works was "When I Was a Boy in England", which is the subject of a companion webpage.

Ivan was descended from the prominent Yorkshire Grimshaw line of Edward and Dorothy (Raner) Grimshaw (see companion webpage. There are indications that an uncle, Benjamin North Grimshaw (older brother of Miles), may have preceded Miles Grimshaw's family in immigrating to Ohio (Cleveland) in 1904 (see companion webpage). 

Webpage Credits

Photos of Ivan Grimshaw

Ivan's Origins as Described in His Book, "When I Was a Boy in England"

Additional Information on Ivan's Immigration to Akron from Shipley and Subsequent Life

Where is Shipley, Yorkshire?

Ivan Grimshaw Was Descended from the Edward and Dorothy (Raner) Grimshaw Family Line

Yorkshire Census Records Showing Ivan Grimshaw and His Ancestors

Did Ivan's Uncle Benjamin North Grimshaw Also Immigrate to Ohio?

Ivan Grimshaw's Ph.D. Dissertation on Religion in Public Schools

Ivan's Earliest Book, "When I Was a Boy in England" (1931)

Additional Information on Ivan's Home Town from Mike Short

Book with Contributions by Ivan and Myrtle (Lecky) Grimshaw (1945)

Ivan Grimshaw’s "How to Prepare a Speech" (1952)

A Pamphlet Edited by Ivan Grimshaw -- " Cannibals of Indiana" (1958)

More Information on the Ivernia, Cunard Line Ship That Brought Ivan to the U.S.

Obituary of Ivan and Myrtle Grimshaw's Son, Gerry Grimshaw

References

Full Census Images, 1841 to 1901

Thanks go to Mike Short for providing a great deal of information on Ivan Grimshaw and his origins in Yorkshire, including the link to the prominent family line of Edward and Dorothy (Raner) Grimshaw.

Two photos of Ivan appear in his publications, one when he was a young man (Figure 1) and another from later in his life (Figure 2). Additional detail on Ivan's publications is given further down on this webpage.

Figure 1. Ivan Gerould Grimshaw as a young man. From the frontispiece of "When I Was a Boy in England".

Figure 2. Photo of Ivan Grimshaw from "How to Prepare a Speech". If the photo was relatively recent when the book was published, Ivan would have been about 48 to 51 years old.

Ivan Grimshaw related his early years in Shipley and subsequent emigration to Akron very well in his early work,  "When I Was a Boy in England". Excerpts from the first and last chapter of the book are provided below. The book is described more thoroughly on a companion webpage.

About midway between London and Edinburgh, on the London, Midland, and Scottish Railway, in the county of Yorkshire, is the little town of Shipley. Here I was born, and in this town I spent most of my boyhood...

Like so many English towns, the name of the town of my birth has been misused until it has lost its original significance. The original name was " Sheep Lay," or the place where drovers taking sheep to market at one of the larger towns could stop at an inn to rest and at the same time have a sheepfold, or "lay," where the sheep could be quartered for the night, and be secure from prowlers, human or otherwise...

I was born April 17, 1900, and since that was the last year of the glorious reign of Queen Victoria, it seems rather appropriate that I should be born at 20 Queen Street...

One of the greatest surprises of my life came when my father one day announced that he was going to leave England for America, and that my mother, my brother, and I were to follow in about six months. I had known for some time that he had had an offer to engage in the rubber industry in one of America's great rubber concerns, but I did not realize that this could ever draw him away from the land of his birth.

Early in January my father left for America, and from that time on my conversation with my chums was constantly sprinkled with the phrases " America," " the United States," " the Stars and Stripes." I had a number of relatives in America, and began to look forward with interest to their letters, literally devouring every line that had anything to do with life in America.

Most of the time between the departure of my father and our sailing date was spent in selling the furniture of our home and packing great boxes, preparatory to coming to America. How well I remember bequeathing various of my choice playthings to my chums!

Finally the day of departure came. On the tenth day of June we took the train from Shipley to Liverpool, and there boarded the Cunard Liner Ivernia. This same Ivernia was many years later, during the World War, to sink, the victim of German submarine warfare.

I need not tarry to tell of the journey over here. Suffice it to say that if there was one part of the vessel which I did not explore, it was because I inadvertently missed it. I investigated everything, and missed going up the rigging to the crow's nest only because I was prevented by a stern maternal hand.

About a week after leaving England, our vessel docked at Boston. After passing through the customs, we boarded a train for Cleveland, Ohio, where most of our relatives lived, and where we planned to stay for a few days.

Early in July we were established in our new home in Akron, Ohio. We lived in that city until I started for college, when my parents moved into one of the suburbs.

Of course, life in America was new, strange, and yet fascinating. What a picture my brother and I made as we went to school the first term after our arrival! Our heavy boots and Eton collars contrasted strangely with the trim garments of our fellows. Many times during that first semester we heard the kindly, yet humorous greeting, " Hello, English."

Given his origins in Shipley, it seems likely that Ivan is descended from the Edward and Dorothy (Rainer) line of Grimshaws. The final chapter of “When I Was a Boy in England” indicates that Ivan and his family departed from England in June. Census records (described below) indicate that the year was 1907. Examination of Allan's Directory¹ shows that in 1907 the Ivernia departed from Liverpool on June 11 (Ivan took the train from Shipley to Liverpool on June 10) and arrived in Boston on June 20. Records at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City include a log of passengers that arrived in Boston on that date. The entry for Ivan and his mother, Sarah, and older brother, Eric is on List B, p. 23, lines 8, 9, and 10 of the log (Figure 3). Ivan, of course, was age 7; his brother was age 11.

Figure 3. Image of records for Ivan, his mother (Mrs. Sarah A.) and brother (Eric) in Passenger List Entries for the Ivernia, departed Liverpool June 11, 1907, arrived Boston June 20, 1907. Image from LDS Family History Library, Film #1,715, 605.

The log further indicates that the family was going to join the father, Miles Grimshaw, who was living at 724 Coburn St. in Akron, Ohio (not shown in the figure).

The U.S. Censuses of 1810 and 1820 are available online at www.Ancestry.com, which can be accessed at the Family History Library. Figure 4, from the 1910 census records for Akron, Ohio, shows Ivan, age 10, and his father, Miles (age 41), mother, Sarah (age 44, erroneously shown as Sahara), and brother (age 14, erroneously shown as Alex W. instead of Eric W.).  The family at this time - about 3 years after immigrating - is living at 248 Chestnut St. and has two boarders, both from England. Sarah is indicated as being originally from Wales. Miles' occupation is as a machinest at a "grindery"(?).

Figure 4. Image of 1910 Census entry (partial) for Miles Grimshaw, his wife Sarah (shown erroneously as Sahara), and his sons Eric (shown erroneously as Alex) and Ivan Grimshaw.

The 1920 Census for Akron finds Miles, Sarah A., Eric W. and Ivan living at 252 Pearl Court (Figure 5). Miles and Sarah were age 55 and 51, and Eric and Ivan were 24 and 19 years old. All are indicated as having arrived in the U.S. in 1907, and all were naturalized in 1917 except Eric, who received his citizenship in 1918. Miles was working as a laborer in a cereal mill.

Figure 5. Image of 1920 Census entry (partial) for Miles Grimshaw, his wife Sarah A., and sons Eric W. and Ivan Grimshaw.

A brief overview of the history of the library at Youngstown State University in Ohio (see webpage address below) indicates that Dr. Ivan Grimshaw was “appointed to direct the library” in 1949. However, only a year later, in 1950, another Library Director was named. 

http://www.maag.ysu.edu/NLW02/libhist.html

Considerable biographical information, and a photo of Ivan in middle age, are provided in his second book, "How to Prepare a Speech." Figure 6 provides the photo; a brief biography, provided in the inside back flap of the book's cover, is shown below the figure. The credits in the Preface indicate that Ivan's wife was Myrtle Lecky Grimshaw.

Figure 6. Photo of Ivan Grimshaw from "How to Prepare a Speech". If the photo was relatively recent when the book was published, Ivan would have been about 48 to 51 years old.

Ivan Gerould Grimshaw is Director of Libraries and Chairman, Department of Library Science, Beloit College. Dr. Grimshaw writes out of practical experience with the person who must make a speech before a Garden Club, Rotary Club, Woman's Club, etc., as teacher of the course in "Preparing the Club Paper and Review" in the Beloit Community College, specializing in adult education for community volunteers.

Although Dr. Grimshaw presents a non-academic approach to speech-making and library resources he has a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh and graduate degrees from Yale, Chicago and Columbia Universities. He was formerly Rector of the Institute Ingles in Santiago, Chile. The new school for boys in that city has been named the "Grimshaw School" in his honor. Dr. Grimshaw was Director of Libraries at Youngstown College, Ohio. He is also special consultant to the American library Association on library problems. He is author of the new syndicated newspaper column: THERE IS A BOOK.

A search of the U.S. Social Security Death Index on www.Ancestry.com indicates that Ivan Grimshaw, born April 17, 1900, died in November 1955 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which is just across the state line from Ohio. Interestingly, Ivan’s social security number was issued in Wisconsin and not until 1951, when he was 51 years old. 

A similar death record for Ivan's older brother, Eric, indicates that he lived 20 years longer than Ivan. The record, from the same source, shows that Eric Grimshaw, born July 28, 1895, died in Florida in October 1981. His SSN was issued in Massachusetts.

Figures 7 and 8 present maps at two scales showing the location of Shipley, which is north of Bradford and west of Leeds. Given the proximity of Shipley to Yeadon and Calverley, it seems highly likely that Ivan is descended from the Edward and Dorothy (Rainer) Grimshaw line of Grimshaws.

Figure 7. Small-scale map of Shipley in Yorkshire. Note the locations of Yeadon and Calverley, locations of the Edward and Dorothy Grimshaw family origins.

Figure 8. Large-scale map of Shipley in Yorkshire. Note the locations of Saltaire and Windhill, which are referenced in the text of Ivan's book.

Mike Short provided information in April 2008 that clearly establishes Ivan Grimshaw's connection to the prominent family line of Edward and Dorothy (Raner) Grimshaw (see companion webpage) in Yorkshire. The text of Mike's e-mail is shown below.

Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 19:13:25 +0100

From: mikeshortyorks@blueyonder.co.uk

To: thomas.w@grimshaw.com

Subject: Ivan GRIMSHAW's family history

Dear Tom,

I have to confess that I am a family history amateur detective - and I can't resist it. I've been doing it so many years and before the days of computers. In the early days, so many people helped me quite selflessly that I vowed to help others in return. I know you didn't ask for help - but here it is anyway.

I looked at your published family history and saw that you had missing information. I did a few census lookups and have the census images from 1841 through to 1901 for Ivan, his parents and grandparents. You might already have them so you are going to know much of what i am going to tell you. If you have not, then I'll be happy to forward you the images.

There is no point in telling you what is on the images for you will soon see them - if you have not already.

The salient points are:

Ivan did not have a middle name registered at birth - he must have assumed it later, or it was a later baptismal name. Ivan's birth registered June Quarter 1900, East Bierley reg. dist. ref. 9b 208 His brothers middle name was Wossencroft - his mother's maiden name. Eric was born in Oxenhope - a village I really like (my rather large front door came from an Oxenhope Chapel when it was demolished). Eric's b. reg. Keighley reg. dist Sep Q 1895 ref 9b 214

Parents Miles GRIMSHAW b. 1868/9 and Sarah Ann WOSSENCRAFT b. 1865/6 Newton, Pembrokeshire, Wales They were married - reg. North Bierley reg. dist. March Q 1892 ref. 9b 291

Ivan's grandparents were William Roundhill GRIMSHAW b. 1827/8 Yeadon - a draper and Maria HOLLINGWORTH b. 1828/9 Pudsey (between Leeds and Bradford) married Bradford reg. dist. Dec Q 1853 ref. 9b 217

Ivan's GreatGrandparents were Benjamin GRIMSHAW b. yeadon 1803/4 Yeadon and Nanny ROUNDHILL b. 1803/4 They were married 22 Jan 1827 Guiseley

You can see all the children of these generations on the census info.

All these places are local and well known to me. If you want any photos etc or further census lookups 1841-1901 - just ask.

Very best wishes

Mike

Based on Mike Short's information, a partial descendant chart for Edward and Dorothy Grimshaw, showing where Ivan and his family fit in, is shown below. The portion affected by additional and updated information provided by Mike short is shown in italics. Ancestry data from other sources on this webpage are also included.

Edward Grimshaw (About 1559 - 22 Jun 1635) & Dorotye Raner

|--Abraham Grimshaw (1603 - 1670) & Sarah ( - 21 Sep 1695)

|--|--Abraham Grimshaw* (About 1651 - 6 Dec 1707) & Rachel Bond (1672 - 23 May 1696)

|--|--Abraham Grimshaw* (About 1651 - 6 Dec 1707) & Elizabeth Bond ( - 1744)

|--|--Jeremy\Jeremiah Grimshaw* (21 Jul 1653 - 12 Aug 1721) & Mary Stockton ( - 6 Jan 1692/1693)

|--|--|--Joshua Grimshaw (12 Apr 1687 - 8 Jan 1764) & Jane Oddy (1686 - 1771)

|--|--|--|--Mary Grimshaw (15 Aug 1711 - 20 Feb 1712/1713)

|--|--|--|--Joshua Grimshaw (24 Aug 1714 - 10 Jul 1718)

|--|--|--|--Jane Grimshaw (1715 - )

|--|--|--|--Sarah Grimshaw (25 Mar 1716 - )

|--|--|--|--Jeremiah Grimshaw (10 Oct 1717 - )

|--|--|--|--Joshua Grimshaw (22 Jun 1719 - )

|--|--|--|--William Grimshaw (17 Jun 1721 - )

|--|--|--|--John Grimshaw (5 Dec 1723 - ) & Hannah Fieldhouse

|--|--|--|--|--John Grimshaw (20 Jan 1760 - )

|--|--|--|--|--Mary Grimshaw (27 Sep 1761 - 5 Jul 1784)

|--|--|--|--|--William Grimshaw* (1764 - 5 Sep 1829) & Ann Grainger (1768 - 1805)

|--|--|--|--|--|--Hannah Grimshaw (8 Apr 1786 - ) & Joseph Marshall

|--|--|--|--|--|--John Grimshaw (1789 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--Samuel Grimshaw (1796 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--Abraham Grimshaw (2 Nov 1797 - 1 May 1874) & Mercy Halliday (4 Jun 1809 - 15 Dec 1877)

|--|--|--|--|--|--Ruth Grimshaw (1799 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--Ruth Grimshaw (3 Mar 1802 - ) & Joseph Clapham

 

|--|--|--|--|--|--Benjamin Grimshaw (30 Oct 1803, Yeadon - ) & Nanny Roundhill (1803/4 - ). Married 22 Jan 1827, Guiseley.

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--William Roundhill Grimshaw (24 Nov 1827 - ) & Maria Hollingworth (1828/9, Pudsey - ?). Married Bradford reg. dist. Dec Q 1858 ref 9b217.

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Ann Grimshaw (ca 1855 - ?)

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Benjamin North Grimshaw (ca 1856 - ?)

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Joseph Hollingsworth Grimshaw (ca 1860 - ?)

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Miles Grimshaw (ca 1868/9 - ?) & Sarah Ann Wossencraft (b 1865/66, Newton, Pembrokshire, Wales). Married reg. North Bierley reg. dist. March Q 1892 ref 9b 291.

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Eric Wossencraft Grimshaw (reg Keighley reg. dist. Sep Q 1895 ref 9b 214)

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Ivan [Gerould] Grimshaw (17 Apr 1900, Shipley, Yorkshire - Nov 1966, IN) & 

        Myrtle (Ardish) Lecky (1 Nov 1903 - Jun 1966, OH -- dates found on FamilySearch but not confirmed) 

        [Ivan apparently added his middle name.]

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Ivan Grimshaw (30 Jul 1934 - 3 Mar 2004, MI)

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Michael Grimshaw 

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--William F Grimshaw (ca 1873 - ?)

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Anro? Grimshaw (ca 1874 - ?)

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Louisa Grimshaw (ca 1888 - ?)

 

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Isabella Grimshaw (1831 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Faith Grimshaw (19 Jul 1873 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Ada Grimshaw (31 May 1873 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--John Grimshaw (7 Aug 1832 - ) & Mary

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--William Grimshaw (7 Sep 1832 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Samuel Grimshaw (3 Mar 1835 - ) & Henrietta Lister

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Grace Grimshaw (7 May 1837 - 1843)

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Ruth Grimshaw (11 Jan 1840 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Elizabeth Grimshaw (2 Mar 1842 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--Faith Grimshaw (9 Jan 1845 -

|--|--|--|--|--|--Mary Grimshaw (18 Jun 1805 - )

|--|--|--|--|--|--Ann Grimshaw (12 Sep 1809 - )

|--|--|--|--|--William Grimshaw* (1764 - 5 Sep 1829) & Sarah

Mike Short has also provided 60 years of census records of Ivan and his parents and grandparents. Extracts from the images of the relevant pages of the censuses are shown below, with the newest (1901) census first and oldest (1841) census last. Images of the full pages of the census records are included at the bottom of this webpage.

1901 Census

Miles and Sarah Grimshaw and their sons, Eric and Ivan.

1891 Census

William Roundhill and Maria Grimshaw and their children - Ann, Miles, William F., and Louisa.

1881 Census

William and Maria Grimshaw and children Ann, Joseph, Miles, and Anna or Anro?

1871 Census

William Roundhill and Maria Grimshaw and children Benjamin North Grimshaw (an uncle of Ivan Grimshaw who apparently immigrated to Ohio before Ivan), Joseph Hollingworth, and Miles.

Please see companion webpage for Benjamin North Grimshaw, who apparently immigrated to Cleveland in 1904 before Miles Grimshaw and family immigrated to Akron in 1907. Benjamin may have returned to Shipley to get a wife, Harriett, in 1913.

1861 Census

William R. and Maria Grimshaw and children Ann, Benjamin N., and Joseph H. Grimshaw.

1851 Census

Benjamin and Nancy Grimshaw and children William R, John, Samuel, and Elizabeth.

1841 Census

Benjamin and Nancy Grimshaw and children Wm R, Isabella, John, Samuel, Grace, and Ruth.

A companion webpage (still very incomplete) on Benjamin North Grimshaw may well describe one of Ivan Grimshaw's uncles (MIles Grimshaw), who may have immigrated to Cleveland, OH, some three years before (in 1904) Miles and family relocated to Akron, OH. Ellis Island immigration records indicate not only the original arrival of Benjamin in 1904, but a second arrival in 1913, this time possibly with a wife from Shipley, Harriet.

Ivan apparently received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. His dissertation², dated 1927, was entitled "Religious Education in the Public School".

Ivan Grimshaw’s (probable) earliest book³, "When I Was a Boy in England", has an English scene on the cover (Figure 9) – two well-heeled gentlemen, with boys playing cricket in the midground and a castellated building in the background. This book is the subject of a companion webpage.

Figure 9. Cover of Ivan Grimshaw’s “When I Was a Boy in England”

The Contents of the book (Figure 10) convey the author’s approach to depicting life in England in a way that would be interesting to kids in the 1930s in the U.S. 

Figure 10. Contents and Illustrations in “When I Was a Boy in England” 

Mike Short contributed, in addition to the family information on Ivan Grimshaw, but also very interesting observations on the Shipley area in general. The initial e-mail from Mike is shown below.

From: Mike Short, Shipley Glen, Baildon, England

5 April 2008

Dear Thomas Grimshaw,

I read with great interest your pages on Ivan Grimshaw and his book, "When I was a boy in England"; also your wider account of the Grimshaws. Although I am our family historian, I should say that I have no Grimshaw connection. My interest in "When I was a boy in England" comes from where I live. For over 20 years I have lived across the road from the Children's Amusement Park on Shipley Glen - always referred to as "The Funfair". I have known Shipley Glen and the funfair since I was a small boy.

One thing in particular in your published extract of the book interested me and that was the photograph of a stile in Shipley Glen. I collect postcards of Shipley Glen and it was while searching on the web for early postcards of the stile that first drew me to your website and the image you published of the plate in the book. The location of the stile was at Crag Hebble on Lode Pit Beck. Lode Pit Beck is the stream that runs through the bottom of the Glen. A 'hebble' is a local word for a small bridge - usually a small simple affair consisting of no more than a few planks of wood. Crag Hebble was a crossing of the stream from an old bridle road, for pack horses, that ran from the village of Baildon (just North of Shipley, to the village of Eldwick and beyond.

You doubtless know of the village of Saltaire and its founder, Sir Titus Salt. Saltaire nestles in the valley below the Glen and its woollen mills were built on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal on the site of a much older mill. Even by the time the mills were built by Titus Salt, the river was badly polluted and carried a silt burden. Salt, who needed a clean supply for his dyehouse, took water piped from Lode Pit Beck. But the supply from the beck was variable and so, in 1911, he dammed the beck and constructed a small reservoir, the main wall of which is at the location of the stile in the photograph in the book. The reservoir, though disused, still stands.

Many postcards of the stile were produced. The earliest I have found (though I have never found one for my collection) is in a book by Dorothy Burrows; "Baildon - a look at the past". Published some time in the 1980s, I think (it is undated), it has a photograph of the stile which she says is "of 100 years ago". I doubt it is quite so old but it must be from 1900 or earlier. On Ivan Grimshaw's photograph, which I guess is probably also a postcard (sadly again not in my collection), a simple bridge across Lode Pit Beck is discernible. It was probably of concrete. The earlier Burrows photograph shows that the bridge had been walled on both sides. The walls had disappeared by the time the Ivan Grimshaw photograph was taken and only the base remained.

By the time the postcard photographs in my collection were taken, the bridge had completely gone. The earliest ones I have that were postally used, all show a date frank of 1907 or later. That dates the Ivan Grimshaw stile image to certainly before 1907. My guess is that the image dates from somewhere between 1900 and 1905 (but postcards tend to be on sale many years after they were first produced). As Ivan Grimshaw was born in 1900, I wonder if he collected the postcard on an early trip to Shipley Glen? I was not clear from the extracts on your site of the date he emigrated.

Incidentally, the funfair closed only in the last few years. If you want to read more about the funfair that he visited, then see www.joylandbooks.com/shipleyglen/ With very best wishes,

Mike Short

Ivan and his wife, Myrtle, contributed two articles each to Distinguished American Jews⁴, published in 1945 with Philip Lotz as editor. Ivan wrote about Rabbi Stephen S. Wise and Charles P. Steinmetz.  Myrtle wrote about Fannie Hurst and Paul Muni. Ivan was at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts according to the credits given for the volume. Figure 11 shows several images from the book.

Figure 11. Images from Distinguished American Jews, including including the cover, cover page, contents, first pages of the four articles by Ivan and Myrtle, and other pages.

Ivan published, “How to Write a Speech.” in 1952⁵ He wrote this book while he was Director of Libraries at Beloit College in Wisconsin. He was also Chairman of the Department of Library Science. Nevertheless, the book is a non-academic work and, according to its Preface, is directed to two groups – "those who are called upon to prepare club speeches, and librarians who are called upon to help with the assignment." Figure 12 shows the title page and table of contents from the book.

The purpose and orientation of the book are well described in the promotional piece on the inside front cover of the book:

Ivan edited a pamphlet⁶ published in 1958 that was based on an earlier newspaper article from 1891 by Edward Colerick. The subject was cannibalistic Indians in Indiana. Images of the cover, title page, and attribution are provided below, followed by the text of the pamphlet.

Figure 13. Images of the Cover and Front Matter of "Cannibals of Indiana"

The text of "Cannibals of Indiana" is provided below. 

CANNIBALS OF INDIANA

The writer began by pointing out that there was one spot only on the North American continent of which we have authentic account, where man-eating people dwelt, and that dark spot was found within the geographical limits of what is now the states of Indiana and Illinois. Here, for many hundred years, prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century, dwelt a society of savages belonging to the Minneways, or Twightwees, known as man-eaters. These anthropophagi were designated man-eaters for they devoured the bodies of prisoners of war burned at the stake.

His first person narration then continued as follows:

While a resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana, (over fifty years ago) where the Miami and Pottawatamie Indians then resided, I had often seen a very old, shriveled-up squaw, a repulsive-looking creature, who was said to be descended from a family of man-eaters belonging to the Miami tribe of Indians.

I remember one Sabbath afternoon in the month of September that I took a stroll with my aged friend, Jean Battiste Bruno, an old French Indian trader, then at least eighty years old, a very intelligent man, well-preserved, and possessing an extraordinary good memory. We had reached a beautiful spot, a little grove which skirted the banks of the St. Joseph river, a mile above town. Seated upon a log on the elevated bank of the stream, he gave me a thrilling description of the terrible defeat of General Harmar at this point in 1791. My friend had been a spectator at this engagement, so sanguinary and disastrous in its results. While he was talking, a canoe with several Indians in it was passing down the stream. On discovering Bruno, the paddlers of the canoe headed for the shore, landing at our feet. I at once recognized that same disgusting old hag of a squaw as one of the party. After a short talk with Bruno, they turned into the stream again and passed on to the town.

I then told my companion the oft-repeated story that I had heard regarding this woman. He said that it was true. He had known her for forty years. She was the daughter of White Skin, the last head of the family of man-eaters. Bruno reported that he had known her father since 1785 when he (Bruno) had first come to this part of the country to trade with the Indians. White Skin, although at that time said to be nearly a hundred years old, was active, and an industrious man, possessed of a very retentive memory. The family of White Skin consisted of the old man, an aged son, and their daughter. They lived on Eel river some miles west of the village of Turtle, the home of the great war chief of the Miamis, Little Turtle. This dwelling place was about thirty-five miles northwest of Fort Wayne. Far and near they were known as the man-eating family. They lived very secluded lives, seemingly shunned by the other Indians. They had no friends with the exception of Father Badden, a French missionary who served many years in that section of the country. He frequently visited them and helped them when they were in want.

White Skin and his family were tanners, dressers of deer skins and preparers of buckskin. For many years Bruno had traded with them, purchasing their skins for the Detroit market, where he found a ready sale for them. He generally went to their camp to make purchases and often had to remain overnight at their hut. Thus he became intimately acquainted with them. However, he seldom partook of meals with them, for they were too filthy in their manner of living and were too fond of dog meat to suit him. Bruno declared he had often eaten dog meat, but it was prepared in a very different manner from the way they served it.

Bruno found that White Skin was not reluctant to talk with him about the charges that White Skin was a man-eater. Bruno gained the Indian's entire confidence. As a result he secured from White Skin a history of the man-eating society. This Bruno described as follows:

One beautiful moonlight night, while seated upon the grass in front of a bark hut smoking their Kinnikinic, the old man gave Bruno an entire history of that part of his life connected with the order of man-eaters. Later Bruno was to repeat the story so often that he came to "know it by heart. "

White Skin declared that to eat human flesh was a religious rite conferred upon his forefathers many generations earlier, when the Minneways included most of the Indians living on the east side of the big river (the Mississippi). On the death of White Skin's grandfather, his father and his father's only brother became the sole representatives of the order, each having the right to perform the ceremonies at these human sacrifices.

White Skin when asked how often he had eaten human flesh, and whether he assisted in killing those to be devoured, replied that he did not participate in the killing since those eaten were always prisoners of war, generally Indians from hostile tribes, although now and then there was a pale face. He pointed out also that in his younger days he participated in a great many of these feasts. All who partook liked the taste of human flesh, for it was much sweeter than the flesh of wild animals. However, it was never eaten merely for the purpose of satisfying hunger. Rather, it was partaken of solely as a religious rite. Naturally, some of the Indians invited to partake would eat more than others. White Skin reported that his brother and sister liked human flesh so well that they would eat until they were full. At this time White Skin had not tasted human flesh for over twenty years. The Catholic missionaries had done much to stop the sacrifices and as time went on the custom generally declined.

Mr. Bruno reported that when White Skin was twenty years old he attended a grand feast of this kind held on the east bank of the St. Joseph river near Ke-ki-on-ga. This spot, Bruno indicated, was on a rise of ground, a plateau of about five acres, about a mile from Fort Wayne.

The Indians were notified the day before to be at the place of sacrifice the following afternoon. White Skin and his kin reached the grounds about noontime. The faces of the entire family were painted black, even that of the little papoose on its mother's back. A crowd of several hundred Indians had already assembled, anxiously waiting for the ceremonies to begin. The prisoner, a Sauk Indian, who was perfectly naked and fastened to a stake, was chanting his death song. He was very brave. When the sun was about two hours high, a squaw approached with a torch in her hand to ignite the faggots. The doomed prisoner snatched the flambeau from her hand and set fire to his own funeral pile. At this act of bravery the entire crowd set up shouts of applause and admiration. When dead, the body was laid upon the burning coals until it was well cooked. After a prolonged ceremony the father of White Skin cut off a piece for each member of the family, presenting it to them upon a sharpened stick, or skewer, while they sat in a circle around the fire. After the family were helped, the father of White Skin asked in a loud voice if there was any person present who wished to participate in the feast. Several men and squaws came forward and seated themselves in the circle. They, too, were helped as the others had been. While the feasting was going or., deep silence prevailed. Just as the sun went down behind the tree tops, it was announced that the ceremonies were ended. A yell went up which shook the earth, and the carcass was left for the dogs to eat.

To Bruno, White Skin also related that when later his father and brother¹ were murdered while asleep in camp on their return from one of these human sacrifices held near the mouth of the Wabash River, he became the head of the order.

¹One would assume in the light of White Skin's earlier statements that the man here referred to was White Skin's father's brother (an uncle). However, the mss. is not clear at this point.

Asked if he ever conducted any of these ceremonies, White Skin said that he had done so only once, some twenty years earlier. That was also the last time that he had tasted human flesh. This event he outlined as follows:

His father's brother, a very old man, was head of the order. He lived on the Calumet River near Calumet Lake, and the father of White Skin had often gone over there to assist in conducting their feasts. This uncle died the same summer the father was killed; and his blanket fell upon the shoulders of his only child, a daughter, an old decrepit woman.

Soon after her father's death a prisoner was to be sacrificed, and she sent a messenger to White Skin inviting him and his family to come to assist her in the ceremonies. They got ready and returned with the messenger.

On reaching the village, they found the old woman very sick in her wigwam and unable to take part in the exercises; so White Skin had to assume responsibility. The prisoner was a white man, a fact which gladdened the heart of White Skin who did not like to eat the flesh of his own race but had no objection to eating the greatest enemy of his people, the white man. There were not many Indians in attendance due to a big hunt, but everything passed off with much satisfaction. About the usual number of invited guests shared in the feast. At the request of the old woman, White Skin took her a bit of flesh which she ate with apparent relish. The next day she died.² The old woman's death left White Skin as the sole representative of this once great society. However, never after that day was there conducted by the society of man-eaters a sacrifice of human life at which the flesh was eaten.

²This and the previous fact appear to have had no apparent relationship in the mind of Mr. Colerick.

The point where these Calumet festivities were held was where now is located the city of Chicago, and not a great distance from where the bloody massacre of Fort Dearborn occurred in 1812. There the brave Captain William Wells was killed by the treacherous Pottawatomies, the meanest and most detestable tribe of Indians in the Northwest. When Wells fell, pierced by a dozen bullets, his murderers cut off his head, cut out his heart and cooked it, then cut it into small particles which were eaten with avidity by those who were lucky enough to secure a piece. Each Indian believed religiously that this would make him as brave as he from whom it was taken. This, according to Bruno, was, no doubt the last time the Indians of this region ever ate human flesh.

Other evidences of these former practices are by no means lacking. In the year 1836 Mr. Colerick heard Father Theodore Budden, the old and well-known Catholic missionary, declare that it was a well established fact that there was, at a time not far removed, an organization existing among the Miamis known as the man-eating society; and that he personally was acquainted with the two last representatives (survivors) of this dreadful order. One of them, Kee-wan-see-ah, lived near where now is located the city of Chicago. He further stated that the early missionaries bore ample testimony to the existence of the society of man-eaters and to their efforts its suppression was due. Father Budden spent sixty years of his life among the Indian tribes of the Northwest and died in Fort Wayne about the year 1842, aged ninety years.

The missionary Breboeuf, in 1634, in a report of his missionary work among the Indians of the Northwest filed in the archives of the Catholic church of Montreal, Canada, referred to the cannibals (man-eaters) found among the Minneways, and he did much to stop this horrid usage. He reported that these Indians became so fond of human flesh that they, no doubt, frequently committed murder in order to gratify this horrid appetite.

According to the statements of Chief Richardville and Mr. Peltier, the extreme point of land just below the mouth of the $t. Joseph river, so attractive in rural beauty, is said to have been the accustomed place for burning prisoners. As a means of terror to their enemies, the Miamis, or Minneways, had early formed here what was commonly known as a 'man-eating society,' which to make it more fearful to their opponents was firmly established on a hereditary basis, confined to one family alone, whose descendants continued to exercise, by right of descent, the savage rites and duties of the man-eating society.³

³Mr. Colerick records this as having been written by the Honorable Jesse E. Williams, of Fort Wayne, in his historical essays, p. 11. Such a source does not appear extant. A portion of the quotation, "the extreme point of land ........... accustomed place for burning prisoners, " does appear on p. 11 of Williams, J. _L: Historical Sketch of the First Presbyterian Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Daily News Printing House, Fort Wayne, 1881.

There is also the testimony of General Lewis Cass as to the existence at one time of man-eaters among the Miami Indians. He, no doubt, said Mr. Colerick, was the best informed man on the history and traditions of the Indian tribes of the Northwest, then living. In a noted oration delivered at Fort Wayne on the occasion of the opening of the Wabash and Erie canal, July 4, 1843, he said:

For many years during the frontier history of this place and region, the line of your canal was a bloody warpath, which has seen many a deed of horror. And this peaceful town has had its Moloch, and the records of human depravity furnish no more terrible examples of cruelty than were offered at his shrine. The Miami Indians, our predecessors in the occupation of this district, had a terrible institution whose origin and object have been lost in the darkness of aboriginal history, but which was continued to a late period, and whose orgies were held upon the very spot where we now are. It was called the 'man-eating society', and it was the duty of its associates to eat such prisoners as were preserved and delivered to them for that purpose. The members of this society belonged to a particular family, and the dreadful inheritance descended to all the children, male and female. The duties it imposed could not be avoided, and the sanctions of religion were added to the obligations of immemorial usage. The feast was a solemn ceremony, at which the whole tribe was collected as actors or spectators. The miserable victim was bound to the stake and burned at a slow fire, with all the refinements of cruelty, which savage ingenuity could invent. There was a traditionary ritual, which regulated with revolting precision the whole course of procedure at these ceremonies. Latterly the authority and obligations of the institution had declined, and I presume it has now wholly disappeared. But I have often seen and conversed with the head of the family, the chief of the society, whose name was 'White Skin,' with what feeling of disgust I need not attempt to describe. I well know an intelligent Canadian who was present at one of the last sacrifices made at this horrible institution. The victim was a young American captured in Kentucky toward the close of our revolutionary war. Here, where we are now assembled in peace and security, celebrating the triumph of art and industry, within the memory of the present generation, our countrymen have been thus tortured, and murdered, and devoured. But, thank God, that council-fire is extinguished. The impious feast is over; the war-dance is ended; the war song is sung; the war drum is silent, and the Indian has departed, to find, I hope, in the distant West, a comfortable residence, and, I hope, also to find, under the protection and if need be, under the power of the United States, a radical change in the institutions and general improvement in morals and condition. A feeble remnant of the once powerful tribe which formerly won their way to the domination of this region by blood and by blood maintained it, have today appeared among us like passing shadows, flitting around the places that know them no more. Their resurrection, if 1 may so speak, is not the least impressive spectacle, which marks the progress of this imposing ceremony. They are the broken column which connects us with the past. The edifice is in ruins, and the giant vegetation, which covered and protected it, lies as low as the once mighty structure, which was shelved in its recesses. They have come to witness the first great act of peace in our frontier history, as their presence here is the last in their own. The ceremonies upon which you heretofore gazed with interest will never again be seen by the white man in this seat of their former power. But, thanks to our ascendancy, these representations are but a pageant, but a theatrical exhibition, which, with barbarous motions and sounds and contortions, show how their ancestors conquered their enemies and they glutted their revenge in blood. Today this last of the race is here -- tomorrow they will commence their journey toward the setting sun, where their fathers, agreeable to their rude faith have preceded them, and where the red man will find rest and safety.⁴

⁴The portion of the speech presented here is as given by Mr. Colerick. The oration in full is to be found in Canal Celebrations in Old Fort Wayne, Prepared by the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County, 1955, pp. 54-79.

The Ivernia (Figure 14), which brought Ivan and his family to America (with the possible exception of his father), is described as shown below on the website of the Cunard Line (www.cunard.co.uk). 

Figure 14. Post Card Photo of the Ivernia. The red funnel with the black top is characteristic of ships of the Cunard Line.

Description of the Ivernia from the Cunard Line website:

Gross Tonnage - 14,058

Dimensions - 177.38 x 19.77m (582 x 64.9ft)

Number of funnels - 1

Number of masts - 4

Construction - Steel

Propulsion - Twin-screw

Engines - Eight-cylindered quadruple-expansion

Service speed - 15 knots

Builder - Swan & Hunter, Wallsend-on-Tyne (engines by Wallsend Slipway Co.Ltd.

Launch date - 21 September 1899

Passenger accommodation - 164 1st class, 200 2nd class, 1,600 3rd class

At the close of the 19th century Cunard began a programme of rebuilding which was to culminate in the production of the Lusitania and Mauretania. This was largely due to the fact that a large part of the fleet was either outdated or on loan to the government. For the Liverpool to Boston route Cunard required ships with ample cargo capacity and passenger accommodation. In 1898 orders were placed for two 14,000 ton vessels, the Ivernia and Saxonia.

The Ivernia was launched on 21 September 1899 by the Countess of Ravensworth. After a period of trials it made its maiden voyage on 14 April 1900 from Liverpool to New York, instead of Boston, as it was required to cover for vessels on hire to the government as troop transports for the War in South Africa. It began on its intended route, Liverpool to Boston, on 12 June that year. Over the coming years the Ivernia earned a reputation for reliability and steadiness at sea. When it was launched it was the largest cargo vessel afloat. The passenger accommodation was simple and practical.

It was not until 1911 that the Ivernia was involved in any serious incident. After leaving Boston for Queenstown on 16 May it encountered heavy fog on the approach to Queenstown harbour. Despite the fog-guns being fired at regular intervals by the seamen on Daunt's Rock Lightship the Ivernia continued and struck the submerged Daunt's Rock. The collision tore a huge hole in the stern of the ship but it managed to to reach the harbour. All passengers were disembarked but the ship was taking on too much water so it was decided to beach it on the spitbank. Temporary repairs were carried out at Queenstown and then it was moved to Liverpool for permanent repairs. Captain Potter, of the Ivernia was reprimanded and fined.

The Ivernia returned to service on 17 October 1911, however, it was shortly transferred to the Mediterranean service running the route from Trieste and Fiume to New York. This mainly catered for Italian and Hungarian emigrants.

Following the outbreak of World War I, in July 1914, the Ivernia was hired by the Government as a troop transport. Initially the ship was employed making trooping voyages to Canada and the Mediterranean. It left Marseilles on 28 December 1916, bound for Alexandria. On 31 December HMS Rifleman joined the ship to escort it on the last part of the journey. At 10.12AM on 1 January the Ivernia was torpedoed by German submarine U47 58 miles south-east of Cape Matapan in Greece. Within one hour the ship sank and its survivors were landed at Suda Bay in Crete. 36 crew members and 84 troops were killed in the disaster.

By the time Ivan and his family made their trip, the Ivernia had been making its Liverpool-to-Boston runs for seven years. As noted in Ivan's book, it was sunk by a German submarine in World War I. Just 9-1/2 years after Ivan's family's trip, the ship, which had been hired by the British government to transport troops, was torpedoed on January 1, 1917 near Greece, with a loss of 84 troops and 36 crew members.

The obituary of "Gerry" Grimshaw appeared in the March 8, 2004 edition of the Fort Wayne, Indiana News-Sentinel. The obituary, from "America's Obituaries & Death Notices" (described on a companion webpage), is shown below.

Obituary and Photo from Northeastern Indiana Trout Association Website

¹Allan, Morton, 1987, Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals: Baltimore MD, Genealogical Publishing Co., unk p.

²Grimshaw, Ivan G., 1927, Religious Education in the Public School: The University of Chicago , Dissertation, Publication No. AAT TM15737, 160 p.

³Grimshaw, Ivan, 1931, When I Was a Boy in England: Boston, MA, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 160 p.

⁴Lotz, Philip H., ed., 1945, Distinguished American Jews: New York, NY, Association Press, Creative Personalities Series, v. VI, 107 p.

⁵Grimshaw, Ivan, 1952, How to Prepare a Speech: New York, NY, Woman's Press, 105 p.

⁶Grimshaw, Ivan, ed., 1958, Cannibals of Indiana: Unpublished. Prepared by the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County, 10 p.

Shown below are the full pages of the census records from which the extracts depicted above were derived. Thanks again to Mike Short for contributing these images.

1901

1891

1881

1871

1861

1851

1841

Home Page

Webpage posted October 2005 based on earlier webpage, "When I Was a Boy in England". Updated May 2008 with addition of ancestors, censuses, and other information from Mike Short as well as a photo with obituary of Ivan's son, Gerry Grimshaw.