Thomas Peters

My grandfather was always a mystery.

He would never speak about himself or where he came from. When we finally learned the truth about what he was hiding, we would realize we never really knew him at all.

The man I knew as Thomas Peters was born in Bulgaria in 1892. He was 1 of 7 and was born to parents of modest means.

You see Thomas Peters wasn’t his real name.

I knew that, I was told his name was Thomas Penchoff, and that he had anglicized his name when he moved to Canada. But in reality, his name was Cocho Penchev Gladkov. He changed his name not only to anglicize it, but also to hide.

He needed to hide because he was a draft dodger during the Balkan Wars. He came to Canada so he wouldn’t have to fight in the war.

But his name wasn’t the only mystery surrounding my grandfather.

He was the only man we knew who owned a pistol. Most men in Oshawa owned hunting rifles, but grandpa, he owned a handgun.

Now why would someone need a handgun in early 20thC Oshawa? Why to run booze of course!

Apparently Grandpa used to smuggle booze from Canada to Rochester during prohibition, he needed the gun just in case things got “hairy”.

The quiet and subdued Thomas Peters was becoming a more and more interesting character.

After escaping Bulgaria and then becoming a rumrunner in Canada, Grandpa married my grandmother and settled down to raise their 4 children. He worked as a janitor at a car dealership, she stayed home with the kids and they lived a happy life.

But there was still another story to be told.

Years later when we connected with our long-lost family in Bulgaria we learned of another marriage.
Thomas had been married before.

Apparently his first wife died young. It’s still unclear to me as to whether my two eldest aunts are from this first marriage. They are much older than the other siblings and I don’t think they look anything alike.
 

This will have to remain a mystery as no one is left behind to bear witness. We will have to be content with what we have discovered and hope that there are no more mysteries still to come…