I’m Annette Lewis, grand daughter of Joseph Christopher, a native of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Joseph was born on 3rd February, 1895 to Clementina Christopher in St. John Parish, Saint Kitts in the village of Tabernacle. The family moved to Sandy Point where Joseph spent his early childhood until he emigrated to Bermuda in April 1918 at the age of 23 to work as a Mechanic at the Royal Naval Dockyard. In has pastime, Joseph was a shoe cobbler.
Joseph landed in Bermuda on 29th April, 1918 on the S.S. “Caraquet” from New York. The steam ship had a viable shipping service between Bermuda, Nova Scotia and the Caribbean. In 1923, The Caraquet whilst on route from the British Virgin Islands to Nova Scotia faced rough seas in the Atlantic and eventually shipwrecked on a reef near Fort St. Catherine in 1923.
Joseph met Melicent Simons in Bermuda. The couple were married at the St. James Church on 24th November,1921 and settled in Sandys Parish. Joseph and Melicent had 12 children. Melicent’s daughter Gwen from a previous relationship was the oldest sibling to Alice, Ivy, Grace, Marjorie, Frances, Gladstone, Fred, Kenneth, Walter, Albert, Earl and Charles. Twins Earl and Charles and their brother Albert passed away at an early age before their 2nd birthday.
Joseph had a 4 year old son James when he left for Bermuda. Unfortunately, Joseph never returned to his homeland Saint Kitts to re-unite with his son.
Joseph passed away on 16th August, 1962 and was buried at the Methodist Church, Long Bay Lane, Sandys.
