THE LITTLE RED SHOES (PART ONE)

I have always considered myself very fortunate that my ancestors kept such good records of our family history. The following story (in several parts) has been passed down in writing for more than six generations. It is a true story that took place between 1804 and 1806. The main character, William Guiler, was my father’s mother’s great-great grandfather; my great-great-great-great grandfather.

Shipping on the Atlantic Ocean was a dodgy business in the early 1800s. Great Britain and France were engaged in fierce naval warfare. Both nations attacked ships of neutral countries, boarding them and “impressing” the young men into naval service. The Barbary Pirates captured ships and demanded ransom.

During these years there was great poverty in Northern Ireland. There had been a succession of crop failures causing widespread unrest. Starvation was a very real threat for many families.

William Guiler and his wife, Elizabeth, decided to leave Ireland with their small daughter and go to America. All their assets were turned into cash. They purchased passage on a ship which was sailing from Liverpool to New York. William carried the precious remainder of their money safely in his inside pocket.

When they had boarded the ship, Elizabeth remembered that a pair of little red shoes which had been given to their daughter had been left on the window sill in the room where they had slept that last night. William found the ship’s captain, told him of his eagerness to retrieve the shoes, and was assured he would have plenty of time to get them before the ship sailed.

As William was hurrying back to the docks he saw the ship pulling away. He called and waved his arms in a frenzy, desperate to be noticed. He jumped into a small boat at the dock and with two other men tried to catch up with the ship, calling and waving all the time. It was no use. The wind and tide had shifted and the ship carrying his wife and little daughter had left for America.