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Note: Obtained through Brad Cogdell: Charles Henry's last address was 13 May Avenue, Verdun, Montreal, Canada.
He is buried in plot 1020-U is Section L of Mt. Royal Cemetery.
Charles Henry Cogdell was born about 1880 in London, England. He was the oldest of four boys. When he was about 19 years old he joined the British Military's Grenadier Guard regiment and served his time in the Boer war(South Africa 1899-1902). Wintson Churchill, Arthur Conan Doyle both served in the that war. Not long upon his release from the army he headed for Canada working his way on the ship by caring for horses. Soon after he got situated in Montreal his father, mother and two youngest brothers joined him.
Charles H. worked in the National Bank of Canada's Montreal office. His son Keith remembers that he was always dressed up and that he always wore a shirt, tie and suit coat. He took the horse powered streetcar to get to work.
Charles H. took art courses as a teenager and showed much promise. His artwork was a constant his whole life. Everyday after work he would come home and draw. While he never did artwork professionally he was commissioned to design a set of silverware for a retiring colonel. In appreciation for his work the regiment also gave a set to Charles H. In about 1917 the family came home to find the rear door had been broken open and the only thing taken was the silverware that he designed. But one spoon was saved by the fact that it was in the sugar bowl.
One of his unique talents was to illustrate he and his wife's envelopes sent to their family and friends.
Charles. H.'s funeral
In 1920 at age 40, Charles H. died suddenly with a ruptured appendix. C. H. died on April 16, 1920. His casket was taking to the cemetery by horse drawn carriage with full military honors because of his service in the Grenadier Guard. The family rode in the carriage behind the casket. The procession went by the armory. He is buried in Mount Royal Cemetery. This was a great loss to the family and Keith remembers his mother, Eva, breaking down at the funeral and crying uncontrollably at his coffin. What made matters worse was that the next year Keith also had a appendicitis but fortunately he made a full recovery.
Keith also remembers that his grandfather, Charles W. held Keith on his lap and gave him a quarter and said that he would always have a father. Keith felt it was a nice sentiment but nobody replaced the loss of his father.
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