Mr James Guildroy Blakely1 was born in Liverpool, England on 7 June 1881. The eldest of fourteen children, he was the son of Liverpool-born John Charles Blakely, a dock labourer, and the former Caroline Weeks, a native of Southampton.
A joiner by profession, Blakely went to sea at a young age and by 1901 was living with his family at Fonthill Road, Liverpool. He was married in 1904 to young widow Mary Graham McChlerie née Grierson (b. 29 March 1874)2, with whom he had four children: James, Arthur, Grace and Henry. By 1911 the family lived in Bootle.
In April 1912 Blakely was a ship’s joiner aboard the eastbound voyage of the Carpathia when that ship rescued the survivors of the Titanic disaster.
In 1913 Blakely emigrated to the USA and became a naturalised citizen the following year. It appears however that he continued to spend the majority of his time in England, appearing, for example, on the 1939 Register as a resident of 93 Bryanston Road, Southampton with his wife and youngest son Henry.
James Blakely died in Laval, Québec on 9 November 1954 and was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery, perhaps because his family could not afford to repatriate his body. At the time of his death his probate stated his last permanent address was still at 93 Bryanston Road, Southampton. His widow Mary died four years later.
