McLean / Bailey, Oshawa Union (Tombstone Tuesday)

McLean/Bailey gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the compiler.

McLean / In Loving Memory of / Clarence Mervin / McLean / Jan. 11, 1911 / Mar. 1, 1998 / Hilda Florence / Bailey / July 8, 1912 / Feb. 14, 1991 / Forever In Our Hearts

Please Note: The McLean/Bailey family is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

Vice, Oshawa Union (Tombstone Tuesday)

Frederick E. Vice gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the compiler.

Frederick Earl / Vice / Dec. 27, 1917 - Oct. 26, 1925 / Son of / Walter George & / Margaret Fletcher / Vice

Please Note: The Vice family is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

Shawville Tragedy, part 4 (Tabloid Thursday)

Tabloid Thursday: Where yesterday's news is today...

I wanted a weekly feature where I could showcase articles, those lovely little social news items (i.e. "Mrs. X and daughter visited Mrs. Y this weekend and will be returning home on Thursday..."), and other interesting newspaper "stuff" I've come across in the course of my research.  Thus, Tabloid Thursday...

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~
Source: "The [Ottawa] Evening Citizen", Wednesday, 25 September, 1907, p. 1, column 1.
Accessed at Google News archive, 10 February 2011.

[click to enlarge]

ACCUSED DIES IN PRISON CELL
---
Tragic End of John McTiernan.
---
FROM NATURAL CAUSES
---
Was To Stand Trial for the Death of His Brother.
---
      Bryson, Que., Sept. 25. - (Special) - John McTiernan, who was arrested on August 22nd last, in connection with his brother, Thomas McTiernan's tragic death, which occurred on the roadside about a mile and a half from here on August 19th last, died at four o'clock yesterday afternoon from natural causes.
      The deceased has been in poor health and spent most of his time lying on his cot in the prison cell. He took ill on Saturday and it was noticed yesterday morning that he was not likely to recover. The jail physician had been in attendance. His brother Robert McTiernan, was with him when he passed away, but he was unconscious when he came and did not recognize him.
STORY OF AFFAIR.
      The circumanstances surrounding the death of Thomas McTiernan aroused considerable interest and excitement among the people of Bryson, Shawville and the district.
      The deceased had left his home, a mile and a half from Bryson, on the Monday morning, August 19th, and it was ascertained that he walked to the village, where he had drinks and where he also secured a couple of bottles of liquor. In the afternoon his dead body was found beside the road about two hundred yards from his home. There were indications of violence on the body and a sensational aspect was given the affair by the story of two witnesses who said they had seen the deceased with his brother, John McTiernan, at the place where the body was found an hour or so later, and that they had seen John strike the deceased with his fists in the face. Dr. Hurdman, coroner, when he learned these facts, opened an inquest next day and the jury returned practically an open verdict, that death was due to violence, though the nature of such violence was not known to the jury.
      Much interest was centered in the evidence of John McTiernan, the brother now dead. John said he had slept in his brother's barn Sunday night, Aug. 18, and about seven o'clock Monday morning commenced helping Thomas with the work. Thomas did not work long, but when away towards Bryson. When he went after him, at the request of Mrs. McTiernan, he found his brother at the creek, about four hundred yards from the house. He was mixing water with highwines by dipping the bottle in the creek. He tried to bring him home. Just at the bridge, he said. Thomas fell and struck his head on a log, causing his nose to bleed. Between the bridge and where he left his brother, Thomas, he said, fell several times. He said when Thomas would not come home he left him beside the road and returned to the house. The next time he saw him he was dead. John said he had never quarreled with the deceased and was positive he did not hit him.

Vice / Werry, Oshawa Union (Tombstone Tuesday)

Vice/Werry gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the compiler.

[front] Vice / In / Loving Memory of / George Vice / 1853 - 1937 / His Wife / Catharine S. Werry / 1842 - 1936 / At Rest
[reverse] Vice

Please Note: The Vice/Werry family is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

Shawville Tragedy, part 3 (Tabloid Thursday)

Tabloid Thursday: Where yesterday's news is today...

I wanted a weekly feature where I could showcase articles, those lovely little social news items (i.e. "Mrs. X and daughter visited Mrs. Y this weekend and will be returning home on Thursday..."), and other interesting newspaper "stuff" I've come across in the course of my research.  Thus, Tabloid Thursday...

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~
Source: "The [Montreal] Gazette", Wednesday, 25 September 1907, p. 2, column 7.
Accessed at Google News archive, 26 February 2011.

[click to enlarge]

DIED IN HIS CELL.
---
John McTiernan Was Held in Connection With Death of His Brother.
---
      Bryson, Que., September 24--(Special).--John McTiernan, arrested August 22 last, in connection with the tragic death of his brother on the wayside, about a mile and a half from here, died in his cell this afternoon at 4 o'clock from natural causes. Deceased had been committed for trial and spent most time lying on his cot in his cell. He took a serious turn on Saturday, and it was thought this morning that he would not recover. His brother, Robert, was with him when he passed away, but the dying man was unconscious when he arrivel[sic], and did not recognize him. He was attended by the jail physician.

Branton / Williams, Oshawa Union (Tombstone Tuesday)



Branton/Williams gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the compiler.


In / Memory of / Titus Branton / 1851 - 1927 / Rebecca Williams / Beloved Wife of / Titus Branton / Died Sep. 16, 1922 / Aged 75 Yr's.

Please Note: The Branton/Williams family is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

Shawville Tragedy, part 2 - the Inquest (Tabloid Thursday)

Tabloid Thursday: Where yesterday's news is today...

I wanted a weekly feature where I could showcase articles, those lovely little social news items (i.e. "Mrs. X and daughter visited Mrs. Y this weekend and will be returning home on Thursday..."), and other interesting newspaper "stuff" I've come across in the course of my research.  Thus, Tabloid Thursday...

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~
Source: "The [Ottawa] Evening Citizen", Wednesday, 21 August 1907, p. 3, columns 1-4.
Accessed at Google News archive, 26 February 2011.

[click to enlarge]

DEATH WAS DUE TO VIOLENCE
---
Verdict in Death of Mr. Thomas McTiernan.
---
SHAWVILLE TRAGEDY
---
Understood no Criminal Proceedings Will Follow
---
(By Staff Reporter.)      Bryson, Aug. 21.--The circumstances surrounding the death of Thomas McTiernan aroused considerable interest and excitment among the people of Bryson, Shawville and the district.
      There were all kinds of rumors of foul play. The deceased had left his home, a mile and a half from Bryson, on Monday morning, and it has since been ascertained that he walked to the village, where he had drinks and where he also secured a couple of bottles of liquor. In the afternoon his dead body was found beside the road, about two hundred yards from his home. There were indications of violence on the body and a sensational aspect was given the affair by the story of the two witnesses who said they had seen the deceased with his brother, John McTiernan, at the place where the body was found an hour or so later, and that they had seen John strike the deceased with his fists in the face. Another peculiar feature was that John McTiernan, when questioned by Mr. Hugh Matheson of Shawville, who found the dead body, denied that he knew the dead man and said it was a Frenchman from Bryson. Dr. Hurdman, corner, when he learned these facts, opened an inquest which was conluded last night. The inquest was held in the McTiernan home and the jury returned practically an open verdict, that death was due to violence though the nature of such violence was not known to the jury.
NO ARREST MADE.      Two constables attended the inquest and were prepared to make an arrest if the evidence warranted it, but nothing of this nature transpired and it is understood there will be no criminal proceedings instituted.
      There evidence showed that both the deceased and his brother had been drinking. The direct cause of death was a clot of blood on the brain but it could not be determined whether this was due to a blow administered at the hands of a second person, or to a fall by the unfortunate man.
      The late Thomas McTiernan was 49 years of age, and is survived by a widow and two children. He had lived for some time in the village of Bryson, but for the last couple of years had a hundred acre farm on which he was very successful and had built a comfortable home and outbuildings. He was respected and liked by neighbors and others who knew him, his one failing being his excessive drinking at times. The funeral took place this afternoon at the Bryson cemetery.
      The brother, John McTiernan, is 40 years of age and unmarried. He does not bear as good a reputation as the deceased and had no fixed place of abode.
THE INQUEST.      The inquest was opened by Dr. Hurdman on Monday evening and was concluded last evening [Tuesday].
      The widow of the deceased, in her evidence, said she had last seen her husband alive between nine and ten o'clock on Monday evening. He had been drinking since Saturday and left the house about ten o'clock. When he did not return she asked John to go after him. John went, and some time later came back and said his brother was down the road, but would not come home. Some time after, a man passing the house in a buggy told them that a man lying beside the road was in bad shape. John went down and a few minutes later she followed with her little daughter. She then saw the dead body of her husband. She did not know of any quarrel the brothers had.
THE BROTHER'S STORY.      Much interest was centered in the evidence of John McTiernan, the brother of the deceased. John said he had slept in his brother's barn Sunday night, and about seven o'clock Monday morning commenced helping Thomas with the work. Thomas did not work long, but went away towards Bryson. When he went after him at the request of Mrs. McTiernan, he found his brother at the creek, about four hundred yards from the house. He was mixing water with highwines by dipping the bottle in the creek. He tried to bring him home. Just at the bridge, he said, Thomas fell and struck his head on a log, causing his nose to bleed. Between the bridge and where he left his brother, Thomas, he said, fell several times. He said when Thomas would not come home he left him beside the raod and returned to the house. The next time he saw him he was dead. John said he had never quarreled with the deceased and was positive he did not hit him on Monday. John said he had some drinks out of the bottle and did not remember what he had said to Mr. Matheson.
FOUND THE BODY.      Mr. Hugh Matheson of Shawville, said he was driving along the road about half past three o'clock on Monday afternoon with his daughter, Mrs. McKinley, when they met John McTiernan about a hundred ards from where the body was found. John spoke to Mrs. McKinley and the witness but did not mention his brother. After they had passed the body Mrs. McKinley asked her father if he had noticed the blood on the neck of the man lying beside the road and he replied that he had not. At her suggestion he returned to move the man farther from the road as his legs were on the road and liable to be run over. Just as he came back, John McTiernan had also come back to the place. Mr. Matheson asked John who the man was and received the reply that he was a Frenchman from Bryson and that he was very drunk. John said he did not know the man's name. Mr. Matheson who is an aged man, tried to move the body but could not. John McTiernan then caught hold and canted the body over with the remark that he was dead. A few minutes later Mrs. McTiernan came along and in reply to Mr. Matheson said the body was that of her husband. Mr. Matheson then notified the coroner.
      Mr. Slack Caldwell gave evidence that he had seen the deceased lying by the road and had told John McTiernan that the man was in bad shape. He could not say whether life was then extinct or not.
SAW BLOWS STRUCK.      The evidence as to the deceased being struck by his brother, was given by Mrs. James McLean and her son, George, of Bryson. Mrs. McLean said they were driving home along the road about two o'clock from Wilson's Mills to Bryson and noticed the two men sitting beside the road in the place where the dead body was later found. They were a little distance apart and two liquor bottles were on the ground between them. As they approached, Mrs. McLean said Thomas raised his hand and John caught him roughly by the shoulders. As they passed George bade them the time of day and both men looked up and nodded in reply. Mrs. McLean said she did not then notice any blood on the face of the deceased though she had a good look at him. After they had passed a short distance Mrs. McLean said she turned around and saw Thomas lying on his back with John kneeing beside him. Just as she looked John struck Thomas in the face with his closed fist. She did not see if he struck more than once and as they did not stop driving the men were soon lost to sight around the bend in the road. It was over an hour later that they saw the dead body in the same place. John, she said, was not sober, though she would not say about Thomas. This evidence was corroborated by George McLean. He said he had seen John strike Thomas two or three times with his fist in the face. The blows were straight punches not swinging blows.
THE INJURIES.      The post mortem was conducted by Dr. Gaboury of Bryson and Dr. Armstrong of Shawville. The report was given by Dr. Gaboury. The external marks consisted of a number of scratches and abrasions over the eyes, on the neck, arms and legs, non of them large. One eye, an ear and the bridge of the nose were bruised and black. There were clots of blood in the nostrils and blood on both hands and on his clothing. The internal examination disclosed a clot of blood, about 2 1/2 ounces, pressing on the upper right corner at the back of the brain. The pressure of this clot, Dr. Gaboury said, was sufficient to cause death. There was no fracture or mark on the skull over the seat of the clot. The hemmorhage which caused the clot, he thought, was due to violence, a blow or a fall. Violence on any part of the head might have caused the injury and it might have been from the same violence that caused the black eye especially if the head was on the ground. If the hemmorhage was due to excessive drinking along, Dr. Gaboury said the clot would not likely be found where it was but at the base of the skull. he would not say whether the violence was a blow or a fall. There was evidence of further violence on the abdomen which might have caused death by shock but this was not positive.
THE VERDICT.      The evidence of the various witnesses was considered by the jury for about an hour after which a finding was returned "that his dead was brought about by the pressure of a clot of blood on his brain caused by violence, but after weighing carefully all available evidence this jury is unable to decide the nature of the violence."

Beyond Family Group Sheets...

As with any kind of project, genealogy is in a constant state of evolution and change. I'm no exception to this rule.

I lately read Sharon DeBartolo Carmack's Organizing Your Family History Search. Though she talks about organizing using the usual family group sheets, she also discusses the use of a genealogical or family summary. I've mulled over the usage of basic word processing programs in regards to genealogy for awhile, it never really clicked until I read the following:

"Family group sheets, like pedigree charts, are meant to record the vital statistics on a family, not much more. When you have reached the point in your research where you have gone beyond the name, dates and places, where you are doing in-depth research and analysis and gathering historical context, you will need a better way of organizing your data... Genealogists find writing out the information in narrative form to be the best method. These are called genealogical or family summaries... it can be equally beneficial to your research to write out all your data as a genealogical or family summary and use a working copy as you would a family group sheet." ¹

So I'm a slow learner - it's taken me this long to clue into a system that (appears) to be working for me! :)

So far, I love it! I'm a writer by nature, so there's so much more room to expand. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy (yes, I did say enjoy) annotated footnotes. And while I haven't got all the kinks worked out, a revision of my research plan is in definite order!

__________________________
¹ Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, Organizing Your Family History Search: Efficient and Effective Ways to Gather and Protect Your Genealogical Research (Cincinnati, O.H.: Betterway Books, 1999), p. 68.

Watts / Pennebaker, Oshawa Union (Tombstone Tuesday)

Watts/Pennebaker gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the compiler.

[Front] Watts / In Loving Memory of / Thomas Watts / Oct. 1, 1887 - May 14, 1964 / Florence M. Pennebaker / His Beloved Wife / Jan. 19, 1885 - Jan. 2, 1932 / John Franklyn Their Son / Feb. 4, 1914 - Mar. 20, 1920
[Back] Watts

Please Note: The Watts/Pennebaker family is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

Feasby, Oshawa Union (Tombstone Tuesday)

Feasby gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the author.

Gerald Byron Feasby / February 2, 1930 / July 8, 2008

Please Note: Gerald B. Feasby is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

Shawville Tragedy, part 1 (Tabloid Thursday)

Tabloid Thursday: Where yesterday's news is today...

T.T. is an experimental weekly meme I'm trying here at "Roots & Stones" (please let me know if there are any themes/memes already around like this - I don't want to reinvent the wheel!). 

I wanted a weekly feature where I could showcase articles, those lovely little social news items (i.e. "Mrs. X and daughter visited Mrs. Y this weekend and will be returning home on Thursday..."), and other interesting newspaper "stuff" I've come across in the course of my research.  Thus, Tabloid Thursday...
~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~
Source: "The [Ottawa] Evening Citizen", Thursday, 22 August, 1907, p. 1, column 1.
Accessed at Google News archive, 10 February 2011.

[Click to enlarge]

JOHN McTIERNAN UNDER ARREST
--
Public Opinion Forced the Action.
--
SHAWVILLE TRAGEDY
--
Arrested as He Was Leaving the Funeral Service.
--      Bryson, Aug. 22. - (Special) - John McTiernan has been arrested here in connection with the death of his brother, James McTiernan, whose dead body was found beside the road on Monday afternoon.
      The arrest has not come as a surprise. Many expected that there would be one Tuesday evening at the conclusion of the inquest, but no such action was taken. The funeral of the dead man was held yesterday afternoon and was attended by large crowds from far and near. Immediately after the service in the church, and as he was about to leave to go to the cemetery, John McTiernan was arrested. He was arraigned on the charge of manslaughter and pleaded not guilty. The preliminary hearing will begin Tuesday.
      The whole community has been in a furore of excitement since the dead body was found by Mr. Hugh Matheson about a mile and a half from Bryson and a couple of hundred yards from the McTiernan home, on Monday afternoon. The sensational feature of the case was that two witnesses swear that they saw John McTiernan strike his brother on the face, while down, at the same place where the dead body was found an hour or so later, and that to Mr. Hugh Matheson John McTiernan has denied that he knew the deceased, saying instead that it was a French-man from Bryson.
      The coroner's jury found that death was due to a clot of blood pressing on the brain, such clot being due to violence. Some of the jurors wanted to say that the violence was a fall, others that it was a blow administered by some one and so the compromise open finding was agreed on.
      The finding of the jury, and the fact that no arrests followed immediately, did not meet with popular favor. The dead man, while he had the besetting weakness for drink, was well liked in the community where he had a nice little farm on which he had lived with his wife and two children. The brother, now under arrest, did not bear such a good reputation. He had no fixed place of abode and is alleged to be quarrelsome and had often figured in fights. There were also vague rumors, which of course may not be confirmed, that he had made threats against his brother. While it is admitted that the deceased was intoxicated just before his death, and that when drunk he frequently fell, there are many who think the violence that caused death was the treatment of him by the man now under arrest. The story as told by the accused at the inquest was that he had also been drinking and had gone to bring his brother to the house. He denies having sruck him and says the deceased fell several times. As to his actions with Mr. Matheson in denying he knew the deceased, his explanation was that he did not remember what he had said.
        The outcome of the trial will be awaited with keen interest in the district.

Askew, Oshawa Union (Tombstone Tuesday)

Askew gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the author.

Askew / In Loving Memory of / Our Dad / John Henry Askew / June 25, 1899 - July 23, 1980

Please Note: John H. Askew is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

(Beginnings of a) Research Plan : William Granger/Grainger's Death and Burial

Objective: To find out when William Granger/Grainger died and to locate where he is buried.

Known Facts:

• Located William and wife Mary (with William's brother and William's son from his first marriage) in the 1871 census (Fitzroy tp., Carleton co., Ontario, CAN).
• Have not located William in the 1881 census and after (wife Mary died in 1874 and son Thomas married in 1872).
• William was not found in the St. Mark's Anglican Cemetery (Pakenham tp., Lanark co., Ontario, CAN) transcription with his wives and son.
• No death registration has been found in the Ontario Death Registration indexes (searched through both the Archives of Ontario in Toronto and Ancestry.com's version)
• William's son Thomas was listed as the informant for Mary's death in 1874 (William's second wife).

Working Hypothesis: William Granger/Grainger died between 1871 and 1874 and is buried at St. Mark's Anglican Cemetery, Pakenham, with the rest of his family.

Identified Sources:

• Burial registers for Pakenham, held at Anglican Diocese of Ottawa Archives, available for 1841-1970.

Research Strategy:

• Write to Anglican Diocese of Ottawa Archives asking for a Pakenham burial between 1871 - 1874.

A 17-Year-Old Recruit... (Military Monday)

Below is a copy of the attestation page of Stanley G. Crago's 1909 British Territorial Force enlistment papers, with a transcription following (his answers have been underlined in the transcription).

TERRITORIAL FORCE.
4 years' Service in the United Kingdom.
----------------------------
ATTESTATION OF

No. 451 Name Crago Stanley Geo. Corps Cornwall (soft) RGa
----------------------------Questions to be put to the Recruit before Enlistment
1. What is your Name? Stanley George Crago
2. In or near what Parish or Town were you born?
In the Parish of St Clements
near the Town of Truro
in the County of Cornwall
3. Are you a British Subject? Yes
4. What is your Age? 17 Years 9 Months
5. What is your Trade or Calling? Masons Labourer
6. In whose employ are you? Mr. Wm. Nicholls
7. Where do you now reside? [?] Baynards Court, Truro
8. Are you now an Apprentice? if so, please state particulars. No
9. Are you married? No
10. Do you now belong to the Army, the Marines, the Militia, the Militia Reserve, the Territorial Force, the Royal Navy, the Army Reserve (Regular or Special), or any Naval Reserve Force? If so, to what Corps? No
11. Have you ever served in the Army, the Marines, the Militia, the Militia Reserve, the Imperial Yeomanry, the Territorial Force, the Royal Navy, the Volunteers, the Army Reserve (Regular or Special), or any Naval Reserve Force? If so, please state Corps and cause of discharge. No
12. Do you belong, or have you belonged, to any Cadet Corps or Battalion? No
13. Have you ever been rejected as unfit for the Military or Naval Forces of the Crown? If so, on what grounds? No
14. Did you receive a Notice, and do you understand its meaning? Yes
15. Are you willing to be attested for the term of 4 years (provided His Majesty should so long require your services) for service in the Territorial Force of the County of Cornwall to serve in the Cornwall (soft) RGa? Yes
16. (a) Do you understand that during the first year of your original enlistment you will be required to attend the number of drills and fulfil the other conditions prescribed for a recruit of the arm or branch of the service which you have elected to join?
(b) That in addition to such preliminary training you will be liable to attend the number of drills and fulfil the other conditions relating to training prescribed for the arm or branch of the service which you have elected to join, and be liable to be trained for not less than 8, or more than 15 days altogether, in every year, or, If belonging to a mounted branch for not less than 8, or more than 18 days altogether, in every year, as may be prescribed, and may for that purpose be called out, once or oftener, in every year?
(c) That if you, without leave or reasonable excuse, fail to attend the number of drills required to fulfil the conditions relating to preliminary or annual training prescribed for your arm or branch of the service, you render yourself liable to a fine not exceeding £5?
(d) That when a proclamation has been issued, in case of imminent national danger or great emergency, calling out the first class Army Reserve you will become liable to be embodied?
(e) That, if your term of 4 years' service expires when a proclamation ordering Army Reserves to be called out on permanent service in in force, you may be required to prolong your service for a further period not exceeding 12 months?
(f) That you will be liable to serve in any place in the United Kingdom without further agree-ment, but not in any place outside the United Kingdom unless you voluntarily undertake to do so? Yes
A further period of preliminary training may be prescribed during the first year of original enlistment by an Order in Council, the number of days being specified, and the period of annual training in any year may be extended by an Order in Council, due notice thereof having been given, and provided that neither House of Parliament has dissented, but the whole period of annual training shall not exceed 90 days in any year.
Under the provisions of Section 99 of the Army Act, if a person knowingly makes a false answer to any question contained in the attestation paper, he renders himself liable to punishment.
----------------------------I, Stanley George Crago do solemnly declare that the above answers made by me to the above questions are true, and that I am willing to fulfil the engagements made.
Stanly G Crago SIGNATURE OF RECRUIT.
[?]. Fitz[?unreadable]
----------------------------
OATH TO BE TAKEN BY RECRUIT ON ATTESTATION.I, Stanley George Crago do make Oath, that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to His Majesty King Edward the Seventh, His Heirs, and Successors, and that I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors, in Person, Crown,
and Dignity against all enemies, according to the conditions of my service.
----------------------------
CERTIFICATE OF MAGISTRATE OR ATTESTING OFFICER.I, Major C. Everett do hereby certify, that, in my presence, all the foregoing Questions were put to the Recruit, above named, that the Answers written opposite to them are those which he gave to me, and that he
has made and signed the Declaration, and taken the oath at Truro on this [?] day of July 1909.
C. Everett Mjr Signature of Justice of the Peace, Officer or other person authorised to attest Recruits.

Alan Jackson, Books and a lil' bit of Genealogy (Research Diary, no. 9)

My Research Diary:
Part to-do list...
Part dear diary...
Part Nosy-Nellie...

Weekly events, plans (and a question or two) from my oh-so exciting genealogy (and sometimes non-genealogy) life...

"The smallest bookstore still contains more ideas of worth than have been presented in the entire history of television."
- Andrew Ross

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~

What happened these past couple of weeks:

On a Personal Note... Mom and I went to see Alan Jackson in concert (for those of you that don't listen to him, he's a country artist). While he's not my favourite musician (though mom loves him, which is the main reason I got the tickets), I still can't believe that he came to Oshawa of all places! Artists of his caliber usually play in venues in Toronto or Hamilton or Casino Rama - not little ol' Oshawa! ;)

Blog housekeeping...

• Thanks, as always, for reading! I appreciate your comments and I think I've followed everyone in turn, but if I haven't, please let me know!
• I added a Resources page, on which I've listed (mainly) cemetery transcriptions and books I own... (It was also an experience in creating a Google Docs form - I work frequently in Google Docs documents, but I've done a form before. It was quite neat (and easy)!)
• In addition to "Resources" tab, I merged the "Surnames" and "Locations" pages into a new "Research Interests" tab, deleted the "Brick Walls" page, and modified my "Research Plans" page (to which I added a category for future "Research Plans/Brick Walls" posts)!
• I also played around with the new font styles! Let me know what you think! :)
• I've added 33 new-to-me blogs to my reading lists - see below (though I'm sure there will be more, as always!)

Genealogy:

• I celebrated my first blogiversary with "Sort of 1..."!  Thanks to everyone for the congratulations!
• A post intended for Military Monday turned into a Mystery Monday...with "The Curious Case of Crago"
• I continued with the FamilySearch indexing, moving on from the 1861 Ontario census, to Manchester (U.K.) parish registers from 1908/1910 and 1930-1932, and to New Brunswick death registrations (FS had labelled them English, but in reality, they were mixed French and English records).
• I created two spreadsheets in Google Docs: one for book Inter-Library Loan Orders (ILLOs) and the second for microfilm reel orders...
• ...and I am currently awaiting a microfilm which contains the "Archibald McNab Papers" and just may list Alexander Cameron's arrival date in Canada!
• Regular features included Tombstone Tuesday (continuing Oshawa Union with Askew/Harlow, Askew/Westlake, Broadbent/Joughin, and Ferguson/Stevenson), Wordless Wednesday (Charlie and an historic train station), and Tabloid Thursday (London Blitz rescuers/ees and Diptheria & Typhoid)

Books:

• Two ILLOs later and it's finally finished!  ;)  I finished reading G. J. Meyer's A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 - 1918. While it wasn't a difficult read, it was an enjoyable one and I wanted to give it my full attention (and at just over 600 pages in hardback, it was also quite hefty!). Though I had some minor quibbles with it, on the whole it was an excellent, very readable, and comprehensive history of the war (mainly from a military perspective, but also including social and political overviews). I definitely recommend it!
• I also finished (and was quite happy with the first three):
  
  • Sharon DeBartolo Carmack's Organizing Your Family History Search: Efficient & Effective Ways to Gather & Protect Your Genealogical Research - she not only covered personal genealogy resarch, but also touched on research projects and professional genealogy.
  • Charlotte Zeepvat's Prince Leopold: The Untold Story of Queen Victoria's Youngest Son
  • Ken McGoogan's How the Scots Invented Canada - short, 1 to 2 page biographies of various Scots and Scottish descendants who impacted Canadian life, culture, history, science, etc.
  • Harry Adler's Tracking Down Your Ancestors: Discover the Story Behind Your Ancestors and Bring Your Ancestors to Life (eBook) - I borrowed this mainly to play with our library's new eReaders, so I don't know if my dislike stemmed from the eReader itself (I can see the possibilites, but only for occasional use), or from the book (I ended up skimming most of it). I've found a few other eBook titles that I want to read, so we'll see about the eReader...

New-to-me blogs:

• Canadian genealogy blogs (3)
• Lundy Family History
• My Journey Back
• OntarioGenealogist
• History blogs (2)
  • The Empire Called and I Answered
  • May Hill's WWII Diaries
• Cemetery blogs (3)
  • Glasgow Ancestry
  • Grave Encounters
  • Stone Gardens
• British Isles Genealogy Blogs (8)
  • Anglers Rest
  • Blundering Blindly Backwards
  • Digging Up the Ancients
  • The Family Recorder
  • Growing Family Trees and Vegetables
  • The Professional Descendant
  • Scottish Genealogy Blog
  • You Don't Choose Your Family
• General genealogy blogs (17)
  • Are My Roots Showing?
  • Census Junkie
  • Discovering Latvian Roots
  • GenBlog
  • A Genealogist's Sketchbook
  • Genealogy, I Am Doing It!
  • The Journey Takers Blog
  • Kinexxions
  • LibLady's Genealogy Blog
  • My Big Fat Cajun/Irish/Scottish/English/German/French/Southern Family Blog
  • Orations of OMcHodoy
  • Shaking Family Trees
  • The Shy Genealogist
  • Voices: Past and Present
  • Winging It
  • Wishful Linking Family History Blog
  • Witch Genealogist With a Black Cat

What's coming up:

• Regular features, including Military Monday, Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday (I just found some old photographs!), and Tabloid Thursday...as well as my continuation of the 2010 "52 Weeks to Better Genealogy" series (which I've ignored for a very long time!)
• All the recent talk about Research Toolbox's has me thinking - the "Links" page will be replaced (sometime!) with a new "Toolbox" tab...though I haven't worked out all the details yet!
• Edition #103 (Women's History) of the Carnival of Genealogy has been announced and I'm mulling over an entry...

My Question (among questions!):

Do you have a favourite cemetery website?

I have always like the Northeastern Gravemarker Gallery.  And then I've found it's expanded to all of Canada at the Canadian Gravemarker Gallery!  While there is a lot of gaps, it is turning into the premier site for Canadian cemeteries.  There's just so much to find - and all pictures! ;)

Thanks for reading!
Jenn

Askew/Harlow (Oshawa Union) : Tombstone Tuesday

(Top : "Asleep in Jesus")

Askew/Harlow gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the author.

In Memory / Of Our Daughter / Aldis M. Askew / Beloved Wife of / Ernest W. Harlow / Died Sep. 30, 1922 / Aged 21 Years. / From our happy home & circle, / God has taken one we loved. / Born away from sin and sorrow / To a ? rest above.

Please Note: The Askew/Harlow family is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

The Curious Case of Crago (Mystery Monday)

Stanley Garfield Crago was my great-grandfather - my grandmother's second husband's father.  (Technically, it's a "step" relationship, but I'm ignoring technicalities.  He's family.  Period.).



1901 census of Truro, Cornwall, England

He was born in late 1892 in St. Clements parish, Truro, Cornwall, England¹, the son of John Crago and Elizabeth Trevarthan.² He arrived at Quebec on 22 November 1908 on the S.S. Champlain. He lived in Cobalt, Bucke tp., Temiskaming dist. (then Nipissing dist.), Ontario, Canada, before he crossed the border to Detroit on 5 May 1914.^{3 4} While he should have been in Canada for the 1911 census, we have so far been unable to locate him.

So far, so good, right?

Except there are a few "inconsistancies".

The only Stanley Crago/Crego found in the British birth indexes for 1891 is a Stanley George (note the middle name), born in Truro, in the October-December quarter.⁵ He was baptised 10 January 1892 at St. Paul's, Truro, the son of John Crago and Elizabeth Jane ?.⁶ According to a 1909 British Territorial Force attestation paper, Stanley George Crago, of St. Clements parish, Truro, then a mason's labourer, enlisted with the Cornwall R.G.A. on 15 July 1909. "Gunner Crago" was discharged 23 January 1911, on account of his "leaving the country."⁷

1909 British Territorial Force attestation

And he did leave the country, from Liverpool, landing at Quebec on the "Lake Champlain" on 20 November 1910 with $25.00 in his pocket and his destination listed as Cobalt, Ontario, to meet "a brother".⁸

He apparently returned to Britain on 6 June 1912, landing at Avonmouth, Bristol from Montreal, on the "S.S. Royal George".⁹ Sometime between then and May 1914, he returned to Canada, and from there, went to Detroit (presumably to find work, since he listed his current occupation as an auto mechanic). Between May 1914 (his arrival in Detroit) and January 1915, he returned to Canada, where he enlisted in Toronto, Ontario as George Cavanaugh!

I began this post as an introduction to an ongoing series for "Military Monday" (which I'll start next week). Instead, as I gathered documents, I found myself with a little puzzle instead!

Why did the middle name change from George to Garfield?
Why did he shave two years off of his emigration date (1910 to 1908), on two separate documents?
Why did he leave Cornwall? (Family lore whispers something about a scandal...)
Who was the brother who was supposedly already in Canada?
And the big question: why did he enlist in the C.E.F. under an assumed name?

Any thoughts?
Jenn
______________________________________________________
¹ John Crago household, 1901 census of England, Cornwall, Kenwyn, Truro (district 1), 17 Fairmantle St., pp. 14-15; digital image from Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com/ (accessed 30 January 2011).
² Stanley Cavangh-Harriet Dempsey entry, Ontario marriage registration 004510 (1918); microfilm MS 932, reel 446, Archives of Ontario, Toronto.
³ Stanley Crego entry, Detriot Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1957 database; digital image from Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com/ (accessed 30 January 2011).
⁴ Stanley G. Crego entry, Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1956 database; digital image from Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com/ (accessed 30 January 2011).
⁵ Stanley George Crago entry, Truro, v. 5c, p. 139; index information from FreeBMD, http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ (accessed 31 January 2011).
⁶ Stanley George Crago entry, England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 database, LDS microfilm 1596289; index from FamilySearch.org, http://www.familysearch.org/ (accessed 31 January 2011).
⁷ Stanley George Crago documents, including Attestation form, Medical Inspection Report, Discharge Certificate, and a Service Details record; British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 database, digital images from Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com/ (accessed 31 January 2011).
⁸ Stanley Cragoe entry, "S.S. Lake Champlain" passenger ship, p. 1, Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 database; digital image from Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com/ (accessed 31 January 2011).
⁹ Stanley Crago entry, "Royal George" passenger ship, p. 1, UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 database; digital image from Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com/ (accessed 31 January 2011).

Sort of 1...

I started this blog a year ago today with an introductory post entitled "Neglected Roots (Research Diary, No. 1)", in which my stated blogging goal was (and still remains!) to organize my accumulated genealogy materials!

Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon...

The blog went dark from late February until the 1st of December, when I decided to brush off the cobwebs and begin blogging again!

My re-entry into the world of genealogy blogging began with another diary entry, "Distractions (Research Diary, no. 3)", and an addition to the GeneaBloggers community.

I've redesigned my template, played around with features (and continue to play!), found a whole bunch of new blogs to enjoy (and new online friends!), made (and continue to make) lots of plans, and tried to not neglect my actual genealogy research!

So, while I have listed my blogiversary date as the very first post (Jan. 31), technically, I can only claim a 4 month anniversary...but hey, who's counting? ;)

Jenn

Tabloid Thursday: Diptheria and Typhoid by the numbers...

Tabloid Thursday: Where yesterday's news is today...

T.T. is an experimental weekly meme I'm trying here at "Roots & Stones" (please let me know if there are any themes/memes already around like this - I don't want to reinvent the wheel!). 

I wanted a weekly feature where I could showcase articles, those lovely little social news items (i.e. "Mrs. X and daughter visited Mrs. Y this weekend and will be returning home on Thursday..."), and other interesting newspaper "stuff" I've come across in the course of my research.  Thus, Tabloid Thursday...

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~ 

Source: "The Ottawa Daily Citizen", Wednesday, November 2, 1887, p. 1, column 4.
Accessed at Google News archive, 27 January 2010.

[click to enlarge]

HAVOC BY DIPTHERIA.
---
Deaths Caused by Diptheria and Typhoid Fever in Ontario.
---
Provincial Board of Health Statement.
---
By Telegraph to The Citizen.
      Toronto, 1st. - At a meeting of the Provincial Board of Health this afternoon a statement regarding the prevalence of diptheria and typhoid fever was read. Out of 600 municipalities 353 reported and out of these 185 reported either diptheria or typhoid fever, and 71 reported neither diseases. The total number of cases of diptheria was 1,888 and of typhoid fever 864. The deaths from diptheria numbered 488 and from typhoid fever 135. The causes given were impure water, impure milk and causes in connection with slaughter houses and cheese factories. A statement regarding the prevalence of these diseases in several Ontario cities was also presented as follows,

Toronto
      Cases of diptheria 428, deaths 155, cases per 1,000 of population 3.39, deaths per 1,000 1.23; cases of typhoid fever 127, deaths 41, cases per 1,000 1, deaths per 1,000 32.

Hamilton
      Cases of diptheria 134, deaths 15, cases per 1,000 3.11, deaths per 1,000 34; cases of typhoid 47, deaths 3, cases per 1,000 1.09, deaths per 1,000 0.7.

Guelph
      Cases of diptheria, 46; deaths, 2; cases per 1,000, 4.38; deaths, .19; cases of typhoid, 10; deaths, 1; cases per 1,000, 95; deaths, .09.

St. Thomas
      Cases of diptheria, 30; deaths, 4; cases per 1,000, 2.92; deaths, .38; cases of typhoid, 1; deaths, 1; cases per 1,000, .09.

Stratford
      Cases of diptheria, 3; deaths, 3; cases per 1,000, .33; deaths, .33; cases of typhoid, 3; deaths, 1; cases per thousand, .33; deaths, .11.

London
      Cases of diptheria 60, deaths 19; cases per 1,000, 2.26, deaths .71; cases of typhoid 5, deaths 3; cases per 1,000, .18, deaths .11.

Brantford
      Cases of diptheria 63, deaths 8; cases per 1,000, 4.83, deaths .61; cases of typhoid 92, deaths 4; cases per 1,000, 7.06, deaths .38.

Kingston
      Cases of diptheria 18, deaths 1; cases of typhoid 14, deaths 3.

Among the Geraniums and Garden Gnomes... (Wordless Wednesday)

Charlie. Taken Summer 2010 by J. L. Cameron.

Not quite genealogy related, but he is family! ;)

Tombstone Tuesday: Askew/Westlake (Oshawa Union)

Askew/Westlake gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the author.

Askew / In Loving Memory of / John Joseph / Askew / Feb. 19, 1878 - June 17, 1983 / Mary Ann / Westlake His Wife / Oct. 16, 1874 - June 3, 1961

Please Note: The Askew/Westlake family is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

It's Not Only People... (Tabloid Thursday)

Tabloid Thursday: Where yesterday's news is today...

T.T. is an experimental weekly meme I'm trying here at "Roots & Stones" (please let me know if there are any themes/memes already around like this - I don't want to reinvent the wheel!). 

I wanted a weekly feature where I could showcase articles, those lovely little social news items (i.e. "Mrs. X and daughter visited Mrs. Y this weekend and will be returning home on Thursday..."), and other interesting newspaper "stuff" I've come across in the course of my research.  Thus, Tabloid Thursday...

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~ 

Source: "The Ottawa Citizen", Saturday, March 8, 1941, p. 16, column 3-6
Accessed at Google News archive, 20 January 2010.

These London Rescue Workers Saved Eighteen Lives

Draggled and bewildered, these kittens emerged from their bombed London homes each with all of its nine lives intact. Rescue workers, busy following Nazi air raids on the metropolis, heard faint mewlings from piles of wreckage that had been houses, more work followed, and the cats were rescued.

Broadbent/Joughin (Oshawa Union) : Tombstone Tuesday

Broadbent/Joughin gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durham (previously East Whitby tp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the author.




In Memory Of / Joseph W. Broadbent / Beloved Husband Of / E. M. Joughin / 1889 - 1940 / Native of Eng. / Elsie Mabel Joughin / 1890 - 1969 / Joseph V. / Infant Son / 1922 / Broadbent

Please Note: The Broadbent/Joughin family is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

Historic Huntsville Station : (Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Huntsville Train Station, Huntsville, Chaffey tp., (now the municipality of the Town of Huntsville) Muskoka dist., Ontario, CAN; taken ca. September 2010 by W. Cameron [address private]; copy in possession of the author.

The present Huntsville train station was built in 1924, to replace an older station built originally in 1886 (when the track was first constructed).  For more information, see the Huntsville Train Station Society.

Tombstone Tuesday : Ferguson/Stevenson (Oshawa Union)

Ferguson/Stevenson gravestone, Section F, Oshawa Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Regional Municipality of Durahm (previously East Whitby twp., Ontario co.), Ontario, Canada; visited and photographed by J. L. Cameron, 22 September 2010. Copy in possession of the author.

In Memory Of / My Dear Husband / Richard Ferguson / Died Feb. 5, 1922 / In His 42nd Year / Jane Stevenson / His Wife / Died July 30, 1952 / In Her 71st Year / Gone But Not Forgotten / Ferguson

Please Note: The Ferguson/Stevenson family is not related to me. My own ancestors reside in cemeteries many miles away from my home, and thus, to satisfy my cemetery "cravings" I take photographs in my local cemeteries. If you have someone buried in an Oshawa cemetery, feel free to email me or leave a comment below - I may have a photograph and if not, I'd be happy to take one for you! Jenn

Better Late Than Never, Right? (Research Diary, no. 8)

My Research Diary:
Part to-do list...
Part dear diary...
Part Nosy-Nellie...

Weekly events, plans (and a question or two) from my oh-so exciting genealogy (and sometimes non-genealogy) life...

""I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."

- Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~

What happened this week:

Blog housekeeping...

• I gained 2 more followers...as always, thanks for following and reading! I appreciate your comments and I think I've followed everyone in turn, but if I haven't please let me know
• Thanks to Lori, I've started to contain my blogrolls to a scroll list...
• I've added 10 new-to-me blogs to my reading lists - see below (though I'm sure there will be more, as always!)
• I posted my lists for the "Ancestor Approved" award I received last week from Lisa... Thanks again!

Genealogy:

• Giving back: I signed up as a RAOGK volunteer (photographing select Oshawa cemeteries).  Does anyone else volunteer here?  Do you get many requests?
• I've also continued indexing with FamilySearch - I posted about my initial foray into the indexing world at "Chronicles of a NFSI*" and I've since moved on (though still in the 1861 Ontario census project) to Orford tp., Kent co....  
• Regular features were whittled down to Tombstone Tuesday (Oshawa Union) and Wordless Wednesday (Valcartier picture postcard)...
• I've been working on organization: getting family group sheets and sources together...and it's a good thing to know that my yen to file by document type is not alone...
• ...I also stumbled across Tribal Pages.  Has anyone created a site here?  What do you think about it?
• Lastly, I started to (re) explore (since he's updated the site quite a bit) Murray Pletsch's Canadian Gravemarker Gallery. He started out with the north/northwest portions of Ontario, and has now expanded to all of Canada!

Books:

• I finished 2 books this week, including...
  
  • Drew Smith's Social Networking For Genealogists
  • Megan Smolenyak's Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History, A Companion To the NBC Series.
• ...and I'm almost done G. J. Meyer's A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 - 1918.
• I've created a new account at Shelfari, added a few recent books, and plopped the widget on the sidebar. I've tried out a few different book tracking sites, but I always seem to return to Shelfari...

New-to-me blogs:

• Cemetery blogs (2):
  • The Old Colony Graveyard Rabbit
  • Whispers Through the Willows
• General genealogy blogs (8):
  • Finding Eliza
  • The Genealogy Dude
  • Hunting Ancestors
  • Irish Genealogy News
  • My Cleages and Reeds
  • Our Scottish History
  • Reflections From the Fence
  • Yankee Cousin's Adventures in Ancestry

What's coming up:

• Hopefully I can get back into the post-holiday swing of things and return to a regular posting (and research!) schedule...
• Regular features, including Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, and Tabloid Thursday...
• ..."52 Weeks to Better Genealogy" result and challenge posts...
• ...and I've finalized my plans for a series of Military Monday posts, to start January 17th...

Thanks for reading!
Jenn

My personal research and blog diary for the week ending 9 January 2011 (just a little belated).

I'm "Ancestor Approved"!

My first blogging award! :)

Lisa from Genealojournal was kind enough to pass on the "Ancestor Approved" award, which she received from Liz (at My Tapley Tree...and its Branches).

The "Ancestor Approved" award was created in March 2010 by Leslie Ann Ballou of Ancestors Live Here as a way to show "how much I appreciate and enjoy...blogs full of tips and tricks as well as funny and heartwarming stories...".

Recipients are to list ten things which surpised, humbled or enlightened you about your ancestors, before passing it onward to ten other bloggers.  My list contains a few non-ancestral things, but which are genealogy related nevertheless.  I had such a great time coming up with this list, I had enough material for two lists!  However, I've contained myself only 10 things, as requested:

1. I am humbled by the amount of work volunteers (bloggers and otherwise) do, on the web and off...

2. I am humbled by the kindness and friendliness of geneabloggers community...

3. I am enlightened by geneabloggers sharing their family's stories and their research triumphs (and woes), helping me realize research possibilities...

4. I can't say I was surprised when I discovered that half of my paternal heritage was Scottish (with a name like Cameron, how could it be otherwise?!), but I was surprised by how early they immigrated to Canada (between 1820s-1830s)...

5. I was surprised when I discovered that one of my ancestors was one of the first settlers in a township - that just tickled me pink! ;)

6. I was surprised that very few of my ancestors (or their relatives) served in the Great War (though I really shouldn't be, since they were farmers and farmers were, for the most part, exempt from service...)

7. I was both humbled and enlightened by ancestors who came to Canada at a time when it was nothing but wilderness and carved out their homes (sometimes literally) with their hands...

8. I was extremely surprised to learn that my grandmother's first husband - and the man I was told was my grandfather (my mom's father) - died 2 years before she was born...this is still a "Big Secret" (shhh).

9. I am humbled by the kindness and helpfulness of librarians, archivists' and society members.  Working from the other end of the stick (currently in a library and previously in an archives), I know how busy it can get. 

10. I am enlightened by how much I'm learning every day - not just about my ancestors and their families, but by digging into their lives, my appetite for history has only been wetted even more...

Many, many, many geneabloggers have already received this award since it's inception in almost a year ago.  So forgive me if you've already received it, but this is my list of ten geneabloggers who are not only doing their ancestors proud, but have also inspired, assisted and entertained me.  There are many more, but since I could only list ten...

1. Kathy at Family Matters
2. Ian at Ian Hadden's Family History
3. Caroline at Caro's Family Chronicles
4. Kerry at Clue Wagon
5. Lori at Family Trees May Contain Nuts
6. Lorine at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog
7. Spitalfields Life
8. Bill at West in New England
9. Amy at We Tree Genealogy
10. Elise at Librarians Helping Canadian Genealogists Climb Family Trees

Jenn ;)