William and Janet Clark's Children & William Pattison's Children - Janet - Janet & Luke & Daughter Jenny - Hilda & Carlos Peru

Although my mam (Jennie Dent) was only 6 years old when she accompanied her parents to Peru she told me she could remember being on board the Pacific Steam Navigation Co's ship 'Oroya'.  

Circa 1921 Jennie and Janet Dent

Because there was very few young children on board ship, Jennie was often invited into First Class where she was thoroughly spoilt. She also told me about going through the Panama Canal.  Even today it is still an amazing feat of engineering, greatly cutting journey times for passenger and freight shipping.

1914 The Opening of the Panama Canal

By June 1924 Janet, Luke and Jennie would probably be living with Hilda and Carlos.  Here is Janet's Peruvian paperwork.

Janet Dent's Peruvian Permit to Work

Janet Dent's Peruvian Permit to Stay

1920s Lima Peru

At the time Luke Janet and Jennie were living in Lima, it was a vibrant city. During its heyday it was quite the celebrity hotspot.  Famous visitors over the years included Ernest Hemingway, Richard Nixon, William Faulkner, Edward VIII, Greta Garbo, Charles de Gaulle, Nelson Rockefeller, Fulgencio Batista, Ava Gardner, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Carlos loved Jennie (Hilda and Carlos never had children).  He called her 'Juanita', and used to sing "Ay ay ay ay canta no llores" in Spanish to her, and in turn she used to sing it to me and my sister Dorothy, quite a feat remembering 'most of the words' from such a young age - it is such a happy song with wonderful memories for her and now me. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5DrwY21nP1Q 

Apparently known as "Cielito Lindo" which is still a popular Ranchera song from Mexico written in 1882 by Quirno Mendoza y Cortes (c. 1859-1957). Roughly translated as "Lovely Sweet One" (lindo means cute, lovely or pretty) no wonder Carlos sang it to 'Juanita'.  It is now more commonly known as the Ay Ay Ay Ay song.

Whether it was 'homesickness' or there wasn't any jobs, Luke and Janet didn't stay long in Peru,  I found the ships log on 'Ancestry' showing that they arrived home on the 23rd August 1924, on the "Ortega", certainly if you take in the time it would take to sail to and from Peru in 1924 their stay in Lima didn't last long. 

The Ortega's 1924 Ship's Log

1927 Photograph of the "Ortega"