George Place was probably built to house the miners who worked in the George Coal Mine around 1885. It consisted of eight two-room apartments and one one-room apartment. Later it was used to house some of the married children of Samuel Reid and his wife, Elizabeth Bell.
During the 1930's the children occupied #1, #5 and #8. Willie and his wife Sarah lived in #1, my parents in #5, and Aunt Jean lived in #8 with her husband, Harry Hamilton. During my mission in 1952 I took this picture (below) of Aunt Jean on our way to church at the Church of Scotland, and she is dressed to fit the occasion.
Aunt Jean was a very hearty person who enjoyed a good joke. We often held sing-songs in her home. She had a lot of sadness in her life. Her youngest boy, Harry Jr., died of diphtheria in 1935 and her husband died of cancer in 1936. In 1938 her beautiful daughter Elizabeth was killed in an explosion in Ardeer Factory. In spite of all this she was very cheerful, and I enjoyed visiting with her. Aunt Jean married Hugh Hyndman in 1939 and had a happy married life with him.
