Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Just Make Up Some Lyrics Genealogy Challenge - My Songs

Bill West, over at West in New England posted a challenge earlier this month -

The Just Make Up Some Lyrics Genealogy Challenge

Well, after I saw the great songs that were already posted, I was very worried. I make no pretense of being musically inventive or creative (although I used to sing out loud and in public - but no more).

Still I had said I'd enter something, so I had to think hard. When my grandson was little, I used to make up silly little singing games that he liked to play - so I thought of coming up with something I could sing to, or with, my great grandchildren someday.

What better than a simple 'round' - a song that can be sung over and over, with sections of the group repeating the parts continuously, but following each other slightly apart in time. And what better round for a Canadian than "Frère Jacques".


Here is a link to the original words and music. Click the 'music' button to hear the music.

I used the names of three 'difficult' relatives to start, but this could be adapted in many ways.

James Battice, James Battice,
Where are you? Where are you?
Cumming, Peel and Palmer, Rogers, Purvis, Archer.
Where are you? Where are you?

Mary Ann White, Mary Ann White,
Where are you? Where are you?
Adams, Murless, Parker, Peel and Collard
Where are you? Where are you?

Jesse Christmas, Jesse Christmas,
Where are you? Where are you?
Wedd and Woods and Saggers, Morris, Waller, Foster
Where are you? Where are you?



or, this to teach them my women's line names - maybe with some actions - showing me and my mum rocking a baby and/or reading a book!

Diane Rogers, Diane Rogers
Great grandma, Great grandma
Rogers, Scott and Irwin, Carmichael, Gilchrist
Great Grandma, Great Grandma

Janet Scott, Janet Scott
Great great grandma, Great great grandma,
Rogers, Scott and Irwin, Carmichael, Gilchrist
Great great grandma, Great great grandma.

CLACK - 50th Wedding Anniversary - Strathclair Manitoba Canada 1943

Earlier I posted 2 mystery photographs of a violinist found in my grandmother's photographs. Two genealogy bloggers quickly sprang to my assistance, Tamura Jones who writes about genealogy and reviews software and websites and Annette Fulford who reearches and writes about Canadian War Brides of the First World War. Annette identified the violinist as Harold Austin CLACK. I have since located and read several newspaper articles concerning him and his family. As promised, here is one.

Strathclair Pair Wed 50 Years

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Clack, Strathclair, was the scene of a celebration, Monday, on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary. They were the recipients of congratulations from a large number of citizens of the district. The community gift to the couple was a complete electric installation in their home and personal tributes, a floor lamp from their daughter, Mrs. W.F. Evelyn, and her husband, of Stonewall, and a bedroom lamp from their other daughter and husband, Mr. and Mrs. David Young, of Clear Lake, Man.

Mr. Clack was born in London, England, in 1868. He came to Manitoba in 1887 to Rapid City, and the following year he took up a homestead south of Strathclair, where he farmed for 20 years, and then came to town where he took up misic teaching. In 1893, he married Catherine, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alex. Robertson, of Chatham, Que., where she was born in 1868. The tow nof Strathclair was named by her uncle, Duncan Sinclair, Dominion land surveyor, Strath after the valley north of here and the latter part of his name. Mr. Clack has three sisters, Lillian Clack, N. Lonsdale, B.C.: Mrs. Jessie Syms, Brighton, Sussex, England, and Mrs. Gertrude Goddard, in southwest England. He is a veteran of the last war, serving in the Canadian Seaforths, joining the 79th overseas battalion at Brandon.
Winnipeg Free Press
, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 30 June, 1943, p. 9
Errors as in original.

Located at NewspaperARCHIVE, Godfrey Memorial Library (subscription site)

Monday, June 29, 2009

Mystery Monday - Unknown Violinist 1920s







Here's a little puzzle from among my Na's things.

Two postcards signed with greetings, from 1922 and 1924, presumably by the violinist shown in the photos. With them was an unidentified newspaper clipping about a performance by the famous tenor, John McCormack. This might be unrelated or, could this violinist have been one of the the musicians who played with McCormack?

The newspaper, I think, will turn out to be an Manitoba one from the 1930s as the article mentions Fred M. Gee who was well known in music in Winnipeg, but the other side has part of an article about an election in England - between Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and William Coxon which I believe was in 1931.

So far, I haven't been able to make anything out of this. Any ideas?



Sunday, June 28, 2009

Scanfest - GRAHAM, Ontario to Saskatchewan, Canada

Grahams, near Aberdeen, Saskatchewan, Canada - Annie, Dolly, Jenny. Scott Family collection. Postcard; unused; AZO.


This morning I'm at Scanfest, hosted by Miriam of Ancestories. Lots of people attending, including some direct from the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. Check out Scanfest here.



I've already scanned two 'mystery' photographs which I'll post tomorrow and now I'm scanning some GRAHAM family photographs from Victoria County, Ontario, Canada and from the Aberdeen area in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Convention of Germans from Russia 2009

Last week, a friend and I attended the International Convention of Germans from Russia 2009 in Medicine Hat, Alberta. This is the annual conference of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR). I've blogged (and tweeted) about the conference and our trip already. but I did want to say more about some of the talks we heard.

This is a new area of research to me and I learned a LOT, no doubt about it. Having computer and library resources of the AHSGR right at hand was great, but hearing researchers speak about their projects and their families was amazing, as was the opportunity to speak with them and to discuss with other attendees the issues and ideas raised. A big conference like this always creates a 'buzz'. It gets you all enthusiastic - ready to run for the library or to a computer terminal for the night. Each session I attended was interesting - some were emotional, most were thought provoking.

The convention included several symposiums - focusing on folk-lore, genealogy, and on historical research and archives. There were a variety of other sessions, even food demonstrations. Just to give you an idea and to whet your interest for next year, here are my thoughts on three of the sessions.

Doris Eckhardt Evans presented "Bringing Archival Records to Life". For me, this was likely the most practical session as she went over very clearly the historiography of reseach about Germans from Russia, and then outlined what kinds of records are now available (and where they might be), showing examples from one particular village area - Frank. This included Internet sources, the AHSGR's own SOAR project, but also VolgaGermans.net, the Volga Germans website put together by members of the Rootsweb Volga German Mail List and the Center for Volga German Studies website from Concordia University in Oregon, USA.

Evans has been one of AHSGR's 'village co-ordinators' for over ten years. She has been on the Board, was Chair of the Research Committee and has been active in the SOAR project which aims to make the society's resources available on-line. She certainly does have a sense of humour too.

Paul Hofer, who is a teacher and a member of the Elkwater Hutterite Colony in Alberta spoke about "Roots of the Hutterites", an account of a trip to Austria in 2007 by himself, his wife, Susie Hofer, and several other Hutterites to explore their heritage and to meet with interested Austrians to "open up the dark chapter" of their mutual history, visiting, for instance, sites where early Hutterites, like Jakob Hutter himself, were imprisoned and executed.

They attended a ceremony in Innsbruk commemorating the year of Hutter's death [French link] and spoke to school groups and to adults. Later they saw a new Hutterite museum, near Vienna. [The link is to a Wikipedia article in English, with links to the German websites.] His was a very thoughtful and indeed, moving, talk.

One of the lighter sessions was the presentation of the winning entries for the Annual AHSGR Storytelling Competition.

The Adult Division winner was Anne Stang from Calgary, Alberta with her "Ode to Sauerkraut" - very funny! But it was her other entry, "New Year in Saskatchewan 1946" that I will long remember.

The Youth Division winner was Bailey Penner who read us her story about "My Great-great-great Grandma Justina Leppke".

The names of all the winners and some photographs are on the AHSGR 2009 Convention blog.

Each of the winning Youth entries dealt with family history. I was excited to hear that the 2nd place Youth Winner, Evelyn Elaine Gaunt, wrote that her grandmother was grooming her to be the family historian someday, and that she was already familiar with Ancestry.com. What a great way to get children interested early and to preserve family history.

The 2010 Convention of the Germans from Russia will be in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, which is the headquarters of the AHSGR. In 2011, it will be in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. If you're already doing research on Germans from Russia, both of these venues will offer extra opportunities.

This post was written especially for
the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy hosted by Jessica at Jessica's GeneJournal. Watch for this Edition of the Carnival there soon.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Research Opportunities - 2009 Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia

Heritage Hall, village research displays & more, ASHGR convention, 2009, Medicine Hat, Alberta


Research Opportunities - 2009 Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

One of the best features of this convention is being able to access research resources usually held at AHSGR headquarters in Nebraska. Many - file cabinets and all - were brought here for this week.

Family card files in one room have details on individuals and families. A volunteer searches for your family names - one at a time - and you can read the cards and transcribe the information.

In another room are computers and the helpful SOAR volunteers. SOAR is the AHSGR Saving Our Records project. Thousands of names have been indexed from a great variety of records and publications relating to the history and genealogy of Germans from Russia, including censuses, cemetery records, maps, newspapers, books, articles and the AHSGR's own surname charts, family card files and publications. SOAR is an on-line resource that's available with pay options or to AHSGR members with 'enhanced' memberships. I have a number of new references now to follow up on my interests (HOLLANDER, KAATZ).

Downstairs there's the bookstore. Most of the AHSGR's extensive publication list is for sale here, along with some village census listings, maps, DVDs and even some novelties. I now have a bag full of new books to take home and a nice new lanyard for my flash drives.

And then there's the library, alongside the bookstore, with hundreds of family and local histories, maps, inventory lists, census listings, passenger list transcriptions and indexes and much more. There are files of articles and other material filed by village name, and there are guides to much of this material available, as well as some very knowledgeable volunteers. Again, I found a local history book here that I've been longing to read, and I found that a AHSGR member had already indexed that book too!

And, in addition to all this, there are displays of maps and guides for various geographical areas and many of AHSGR's Village Co-ordinators are here and ready to help. Thursday evening there was a special gathering, Village Night, when people could meet in groups with those descended from families in the same geographical areas.

And other related groups and booksellers are here with displays and publications for sale, for example, the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe.


Next year's conference will be in Lincoln, Nebraska, AHSGR's headquarters, 1-8 August, 2010, so there will be even more opportunity for research then.

Day 1 - 2009 Convention - American Historical Society of Germans from Russia - Medicine Hat Alberta Canada



Day 1 - 2009 Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Our first convention session was a wine tasting - and wasn't in Alberta. We travelled with a bus full of 'Germans from Russia' over the provincial border to Saskatchewan's Cypress Hills Vineyard and Winery, near Maple Creek. A very enjoyable time! For once, I did try all the wines offered - which included both grape and fruit wines. I enjoyed the saskatoon berry wine the best - seems very appropriate, doesn't it? Even the wine bottle labels are striking - all done by a local artist.

The winery is in a beautiful spot, just a bit protected, I think, from the very worst weather, and the grapes are grown closer to the ground than elsewhere. Maple Creek is apparently a bit warmer than much of southern Saskatchewan and Alberta but there was snow just recently though.

This is the only winery in Saskatchewan; it's been open since 2007. Well worth a visit if you are travelling in Saskatchewan or in southern Alberta.
Plan ahead if you'd like a tour. The owners are very busy - they've sold out of wine each year since they started and now have thousands of visitors each season.

After that, we all returned to Maple Creek where an excellent German style lunch awaited us at the Rockin’ Horse Cookhouse and Bar. Again, recommended if you're in the area.

Wednesday night, the Welcome session - a Saskatoon Berry Social - featured author Faye Reineberg Holt and musican Barry Luft in an educational and entertaining multi-media presentation on western history and song.

I did like the railway related songs the best - and am bringing home Barry's CD, "Songs of the Iron Trail". (We plan to listen to that in the car on our way west.)

Everyone in the room sung "Forty Below" with feeling, but, oh boy, did that song " He Likes Hockey Better Than Me" ever strike a nerve!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Festival of Postcards -2nd Edition - Main Street - Western Canada

Canadian immigration advertisement postcard showing Jasper Avenue,Edmonton, Alberta and Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, Manitoba, swing bridge near Fort William, Ontario [built in 1909] and a wheat field near Clover Bar in Alberta.
Splitback card, unused. No identification on back.

Festival of Postcards -Second Edition
Main Street!

For this Festival, we were to share one or more postcards - ones that touch in some way on the topic of 'Main Street'.

This postcard from about 1910 is an 'unused' one from my collection - it's not a family card. Although it was certainly published to encourage immigration to western Canada's agricultural areas, two views of 'Main Street in Western Canada' are shown - in Edmonton and in Winnipeg. These two photographs emphasize the then busy, modern urban areas of western Canada where industrial and commercial activities supported farmers and farming and provided good transportation and marketing opportunities.

John Obed Smith, who's mentioned on the card, was from England but lived in Manitoba from the early 1880s. From 1908, he was in charge of stimulating emigration to Canada from Europe and worked from London, England till he retired in 1924.

Jasper Avenue in Edmonton is still one of the city's main streets and some of these buildings are still standing. Here we see quite a variety of forms of transportation. Today the city's light rail public transit system runs underneath part of Jasper Avenue, while many buses drive along it.

Portage Avenue in Winnipeg was once (and perhaps still is) the widest main street in Canada, originally to accommodate the passage of groups of Red River carts. Some of the Portage Avenue buildings still stand. My mother lived and worked in Winnipeg as a young woman and talked often to me about her memories of Portage Avenue and the city's downtown area. In later years, she was excited to learn about heritage preservation projects in the city. She agreed with those who say that Portage and Main is the windiest spot in Canada though!

mastermaq's photographs of a 'New Vision for Jasper Avenue' in Edmonton on Flickr.

bryanscott's photographs of Winnipeg's Portage Avenue on Flickr

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Our Travels to Medicine Hat, Alberta - International Convention of Germans from Russia 2009

Travelling to the 2009 Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

For the most part, we had a leisurely trip from the Lower Mainland of British Columbia to Medicine Hat, Alberta, stopping off on the way to see the sights, do some research and to visit friends.

Of course, there were some cemetery photography opportunities, as at Murray United Church in the Nicola Valley, British Columbia, built as St. Andrew's Presbyterian church, 1876. The cemetery, established in 1878, was originally a public cemetery, about 2 acres in size, "knowing no creed or nationality". This cemetery is now closed and the church has been made a heritage site. There is some information about its history posted on the cemetery sign.





Grave of the Reverend William Benjamin Cuyler.

In Memory of Rev. W. B. Cuyler Who Died Apr. 7, 1887;

AE 28 Yrs. & 3 Mos

Native of Bruce Co. Ont.

In blissful hope of a Glorious immortal city.

Death hath no more dominion over him.

[AE - abbreviation for aetatis - Latin, of age]


At Revelstoke, British Columbia, we took photographs of the grizzly bear statues in the civic plaza and visited the Nickelodeon Museum.



Later it was on to Calgary where it was time to get in some research at the Military Museums.







Then it was on to Medicine Hat, Alberta for the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) convention. When we arrived, the hotel lobby was already decorated with chapter banners.



There are four Canadian AHSGR chapters. The Victoria, British Columbia chapter's banner is on your lower far right in this photograph.

The 'official' International Convention of Germans from Russia blog has other photographs of events and activities.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Swimsuit Edition - 74th Carnival of Genealogy - Bathing Beauties - Newdale? Manitoba Canada



This next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is:

Swimsuit Edition!

Why should Sports Illustrated have all the fun? This is your chance to show off the bathing beauties in your family. Pull out the old photos of Grandma Moses in her seaside bloomers, Auntie Mae in her pin-up girl suit from the 1940s or 50s, cousin Paula in her psychedelic bikini from the 1970s, or even yourself in your Speedo! Let's have some fun here!



When I saw the topic for this Carnival, I couldn't resist posting these two fun photographs. Sadly I must report that both are in my 'unidentified' box, although I've tentatively matched up two of the women with women in other photographs from Newdale, Manitoba, Canada. Of course, I do hope that someday I'll find someone with other copies of these with all the names written out!

These two images weren't developed the same way, however it looks to me as if the five women in the second photograph are also in the first one, and their swimsuits look the same - although that wouldn't mean both photographs were necessarily taken on the same day.

I suspect that my grandpa may have taken these as there are lots of snaps by him, many in his own photograph album, although none of those are of these young women. If they were taken near Newdale, Manitoba where he lived from at least 1906, then the setting could be Clear Lake.

I love this last one - very playful! Must have been warm, I think, that day, for these young women to sit in the water and show off their feet all together on cue.

But, this particular photograph is in shocking condition. It's very faded and was folded in half at one point, and left that way for a while. And someone's little darling (my Mum!) wrote on it - back and front. My Na was a sterner grandmother than a mother, that's obvious. I hope to have this one 'restored'.




This 74th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene so be sure to pop over to her blog soon to see who else attended this Carnival.

Monday, June 08, 2009

Wedding Belles! - Smile For The Camera - SCOTT ROGERS 1946





The topic for this June edition of Smile For The Camera is Wedding Belles!

I've chosen three of my parents' wedding snapshots for this one. They were married in Washington, District of Columbia, USA, in 1946 while both were serving in the Canadian Army. Dr. R. A. Bird officiated. He and his wife are in the two photos above. These were taken in the Bird's apartment where my parents were married.

There were flowers for decoration, but no bouquets as Mum and Dad and their attendants were in uniform. My parents had 'double rings' which was something my mum told me she had insisted on. And, they did have a honeymoon - a few days in Philadelphia.

My mother's good friend, Lieutenant Margaret Hyslop, originally from Hamilton, Ontario and Hillcrest, Alberta, was her attendant and Major R. A. Jack from Montreal stood up with Dad. Both were in the Canadian Army and stationed in Washington, DC, like my parents. They are shown in the photo below; Dad and Mum are in the middle.

Marg came to live in Vancouver, BC after the war, soon after my parents did. I remember her quite well, but I don't know anything about Dad's friend, Major Jack.


Watch for the 14th Edition of Smile for the Camera to be posted 15 June, 2009 at Shades of the Departed.

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Reminder - BC Genealogical Society Meeting June 10 Burnaby BC - Special session Writing Your History

The next British Columbia Genealogical Society General Meeting is -

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 7:30 pm. All interested are welcome to attend.

The Special Interest Groups meeting are:

Irish Group

English Group

Discussion Group - Parish Registers - What is available prior to Civil Registration? Where to find them? How to access them?

Also - Special Session - Writing Your History - presented by Moira Connor - Samples of good, bad and indifferent genealogy related books.
Open forum on what we like, don't like and why. Attendees can bring an example for discussion. Will cover the importance of citing source material and indexing.

This presentation is the start of a four part series by Moira Connor on 'Writing Your History'. The next sessions will be at the September, October and November BCGS meetings.

Moira Connor was born in Scotland and moved to Canada with her family when six years old. The family settled in the Hamilton/Burlington area of
Ontario, then moved to Vancouver in the mid 1960's. Moira began her career in Human Resources, and then moved to Information Technology and Project Management. She, and her husband Terry, have worked on projects across western Canada and the US.

Moira caught the genealogy "bug" after reading some family letters that her mother had from the late 1700's and early 1800's. One of them was written to an ancestor describing the death of his son after being hit with grapeshot while he breached the walls of Montevideo. Who was this ancestor? How was he related? What was a Scottish lad doing in Montevideo..and the questions went on! Moira was determined to get the answers. Ten years later, she just finished a 400 page family history book and is currently having it bound for presentation to her Mum.

While Moira and Terry lived in Seattle, WA, Moira started a business writing and publishing family histories, preparing for and documenting reunions, and scanning/restoring old photographs and textual material. After moving back to Canada in 2003, she decided to return to her career in Information Technology but has retained her passion for genealogy and related research.

Moira volunteered at the Fiske Genealogical Library in Seattle, and was responsible for their quarterly newsletter and for conducting a number of education sessions on topics related to the preparation of family
histories.

Moira will conduct similar sessions for the B.C. Genealogical Society in June, September, October and November 2009. Her pet peeve is genealogical histories that are lacking an index, so she'll be spending one full session on "how to" do this easily using word processing
software.

Please bring examples of family history books that you feel are well done,
not so well done and those that are poorly done. In the first session in
June, Moira will lead an open discussion on the "good, the bad and the
ugly" so that we can learn from each other. This will be an opportunity to share tips and best practices.

*********************************************

B.C.G.S. General Meetings: the second Wednesday of every month, 7:30 pm at Edmonds Community Centre, 7282 Kingsway (Kingsway & Edmonds), Burnaby V5E 1G3

B.C.G.S. Event Calendar: www.bcgs.ca/Calendar.htm

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - 1909 - How Many Ancestors?

It's time again for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun over at Genea-Musings.
This challenge from Randy Seaver gives me a chance to show off a newly acquired 'family treasure'. Tonight's Fun Genealogy task is to say:

1) Which of your ancestors were alive in 1909?

2) Where your ancestral families were living in 1909. Who was in the family at the time? (Randy mentioned using the 1910 USA census. Canada's closest censuses were 1910, and 1906 for the prairie provinces.)

3) Write a blog post about your response. Or write a comment to [his] post.

4) Have fun. Learn something!


1.
Both my parents were born after 1909.
My four grandparents were alive in 1909, but not yet married.
Five of my eight ggrandparents were alive in 1909.
Two of my sixteen gggrandparents were alive in 1909.

2.
Both Joe Rodgers and Sarah Saggers, my dad’s parents, were in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, having come here from Toronto, Ontario Canada and from Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, England respectively. They didn't marry till 1915.

The 1909 Vancouver Henderson’s Directory showed Joe’s residence as North Arm Rd near Bedwell Rd. (Today, North Arm Road is Fraser Street.) His occupation was given as gardener. As far as I know that’s what his occupation was all the rest of his life, although he was apparently very handy with tools (as was his son, my dad) and Grandpa did odd jobs and carpentry for others and for family. Grandpa’s parents had died many years before 1909, as had his grandparents.

The Vancouver Directory for 1909 shows Sarah Saggers’s father, David, living at 601 Pacific in what is now a prime area in downtown Vancouver. Great grandmother Sarah Ann Staines would have been living there too with him, but she died late in 1909 after only two years residence in Canada. Their son Charles is listed in the Directory at the same address, as are five of the six daughters. Great grandpa’s occupation is given as ‘farmer’ which is what he had been in England. (I’m sure he wasn’t a farmer in Vancouver.) Sarah’s brother Charles is listed as a Stanley Park gardener, sister Constance is shown as a maid, Dora and Elsie are listed as dressmakers at Gordon Drysdale Ltd., Florence is a “comp” – compositor – at A.H. Timms and Ethel a nurse at Vancouver General Hospital. (In the 1908 Directory she was shown as living at the Nurses’ Home, although her name was listed with her family at 601 Pacific.) Ethel married William Vere Brandram Webb in Vancouver in December of 1909 so she would have left home then for good. My grandmother Sarah isn’t listed in the 1909 Directory. I think it likely she was living with her family then, but not working outside the home. In the 1911 census though she was shown as ‘living-in’ as a maid, so it is possible she was living elsewhere in 1909, as I believe her brother Bert must have been, as he isn’t listed with his parents either.

On my mother’s side, I know her parents, James Walter Scott and Amy Estella Irwin, were living in the town of Newdale, Manitoba, Canada.

My maternal grandparents didn’t marry till 1910. Grandpa Walter was working as a store clerk in Newdale in 1909 still, I think, and was most likely boarding with a family then. I do not know for sure.

His mother, Mary Janet Wood, widowed in 1892, was living in Nottawa, Ontario on the farm which had been her father’s, with, I believe, her other children, Harriott, Anne and Sam. Their grandfather, Samuel Wood, had died in 1908, just the year before. Mary Menzies who had lived with the family had married in 1908 so she would have been living with her husband in 1909, but she was still in Nottawa.

Both Amy’s parents, William Irwin and Janet Carmichael, were living in Newdale - on Church Street. William had a machine shop and a lumber business, as well as a farm, but I believe he sold the lumber yard in or around 1908.

Janet’s parents were long dead, but William’s parents were retired and had been living in Neepawa, Manitoba not too far from Newdale. Mary Jane Moffatt, William's mother, died in April of 1909 and William and Janet along with all William’s brothers and sisters gathered at Neepawa when Mary Jane died. (James Irwin, William's father died in 1910.)

My grandmother did tell me she worked away as a teacher before her marriage; I believe in 1908-1909. (I hope to confirm the dates someday soon.) If she was in Newdale in 1909, though, I’m sure she’d have been living with her parents and her sisters Maggie and Minnie. Brother Charles married in 1908 and I'm sure he was running the Irwin family homestead by 1909. How do I know that?

Well, last Sunday I spent much of the day at the Vancouver Postcard Show. This is BC's biggest postcard show and there are boxes and boxes of postcards to see, as well as collections of other ephemera and displays too. I was looking for British Columbia cards to add to my collection and I certainly wasn't disappointed.

Before I left though, I thought I'd have a look through some other Canadian cards from an out of town dealer.

To my surprise, there were several postcards from Newdale, Manitoba, two of them written by my grandmother's sister in law. The card below is one of those. It's postmarked 1908 and in the message, Etta (Campbell) Irwin (Charles Irwin's wife) writes about how busy they've been with the threshers in for 4 1/2 days. She mentions she's marked the front of the card to show "Charles fathers house" next door to the manse and the Presbyterian Church - this is William Irwin and Janet Carmichael's house. My grandparents and mum later lived next door to it.

I do have another good photograph of the house, but this postcard is now extra special. If there is a moral to this little story, it's to check every box! and to keep all your surnames and place names in mind, no matter where you are.

Thanks, Randy!



Presbyterian Church and Manse, Church Street, Newdale Manitoba. X marks William and Janet Irwin's house. Postmarked 1908. No photographer or publisher name, but likely A. R. Henson.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

A Weighty Crime - Vancouver BC Canada - 1909

Heading out later to the Vancouver Police Museum, so while searching newspapers on-line this morning for family information, I noticed this very 'graphic' Vancouver crime story right away. I can almost picture the capture and the scene later at Police Headquarters too. (None of these men - police or criminals - are related to me, as far as I know.)

Charged With Stealing Lead

Vancouver, Oct. 15—A ton of bar lead is piled up at police headquarters awaiting identification by the owner, and John Smith and Jas. Duncan Wallace are in jail accused of theft. At a late hour last night the prisoners were caught unloading the lead from a boat in False Creek at the foot of Campbell avenue. An express wagon was waiting for the load. Waterfront pirating has long puzzled the police. Of late it has become frequent, and detectives nightly have been on the watch. Last night, Detectives McDonald and Perry were set to watch on the east banks of False Creek, and on their rounds discovered an express wagon hitched at the foot of the avenue. No owner was in sight. The muffled dip of oars came to the detectives’ ears as they lay in wait. Soon a boat landed, and the two occupants went feverishly to work unloading the heavy bars of Trail smelter lead. The detectives did not spring their trap until the two men had loaded the wagon. Then with drawn revolvers they appeared, and placed the suspects under arrest. In the police court this morning, the case was adjourned to give the police more time to investigate.

Victoria Daily Colonist, 16 October 1909, p. 5
Located in The British Colonist, Online Edition, 1858-1910

Monday, June 01, 2009

After I'm Gone - I Want My Genealogy Research To Live On

Just a few minutes ago on Twitter, I noticed people posting ideas for their #finaltweet in answer to the question: If you could set up an auto-tweet to go out after you died, what would you want it to say? Tag it #finaltweet. I believe @nprpolitics was the first to ask this question today.

Many of the answers people are giving are flip or funny, but @nprpolitics was also pointing to an NPR article by Andy Carvin about a serious topic - especially for genealogists - "Dead Man's Switch: CC Me From The Other Side".

What provision have you made for access to your on-line genealogical information if you are incapacitated, or, dead?

Over at Gena's Genealogy last week, Gena Philibert Ortega discussed a 'Dear Abby' answer that prompted the same concerns about family heirlooms. Today she's posted a version of a 'genealogical codicil'.

What provision have you made for your family heirlooms, and of course, for all your photographs, and genealogical information?

Two years ago, I wrote an article about this very topic for The British Columbia Genealogist and a year ago I wrote up a handout for the British Columbia Genealogical Society with some starter links for people wanting to write their own obituaries, eulogies and epitaphs. I just read those over and since the information is quite relevant, I decided to post both here.

We also distributed blank copies of death registrations for British Columbia, Canada. Check for a blank form for your own jurisdiction and fill in the personal and family information as a guide for your executor/executrix.

You do want the correct answers to be available on your death registration and death certificate, don't you?




*****************************************
PRESERVE YOUR GENEALOGICAL LEGACY:
A GENEALOGICAL CODICIL
by M. Diane Rogers

We’ve all spent considerable effort, time, and some money, on researching our families. We have family tree charts, binders, countless computer and paper files, websites, scrapbooks, photographs and other family documents and memorabilia we’ve collected and organized, as well as books, CDs, etc. Sometimes, in the back of our minds, we wonder who’ll take care of these after us.

Recently at the B.C.G.S., we’ve been made aware that one member’s years of work were accidentally disposed of by the family while clearing up the estate. Don’t let this happen to your genealogical legacy.

Discuss this issue carefully now with your family, chosen executors and legal representatives. Make sure your wishes are clear for both your ‘precious papers’, the original photographs and the family birthday book, for instance, and for your paper, electronic files and library collection. If items in your collection have significant monetary value, make sure these are listed separately and that your instructions for these are specific. If you have someone in mind to inherit your collection or part of it, speak to them first; then name them on paper. Give an alternate choice, perhaps the British Columbia Genealogical Society. On a practical note, make sure this information, along with an abbreviated copy of your family tree, relevant computer passwords, details of your e-mail accounts, domain registrations, etc. is easily accessible to the appropriate persons and keep this up to date.

Copies of various ‘genealogical codicils’ circulate periodically. We will have an example and links posted soon on our B.C.G.S. website. Basically a genealogical codicil asks family not to dispose of any research or other genealogical materials; and specifies who these should go to, or asks that the family take time to identify to which individuals or groups they might go to; or, to contact relevant genealogical and historical groups, archives or museums to see if the materials can be donated. A key comment in a codicil usually mentions that materials should continue to be available to others. You might include a provision to have your collection copied so a copy can be donated to your genealogical society before the collection goes to the new guardian.

DearMYRTLE notes that the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah may be willing to accept your work. Myrt suggests leaving some financial provision for your collection, if only for shipping or initial storage or preservation, and including a permission provision for microfilming (or nowadays, digitizing, or otherwise electronically copying).

In fact, the one sure thing we can all do now is to share our family information as we wish ahead of time. Choosing to make it available as well through one or two institutions or groups will be very valuable to future researchers.

Thank you to Maureen Hyde, Eunice Robinson and Marianne Soltau for comments on this issue.

©2007 B.C.G.S. This article appeared in The British Columbia Genealogist, March 2007, Volume 36, #1, p. 26 Reprinted here with the permission of the Editor.




*****************************************
CONSIDER WRITING YOUR OWN OBITUARY, EULOGY, EPITAPH, AND EVEN DRAFTING YOUR DEATH CERTIFICATE.

HOW WOULD YOU BEST LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED?

RESOURCES

BOOKS
Check local libraries under these subjects: Funeral, Eulogies, Bereavement

For example, look at

The Last Word: The New York Times Book of Obituaries and Farewells: A Celebration of Unusual Lives by Marvin Siegel (New York: William Morrow & Company, 1997)

A labor of love: how to write a eulogy by Garry Schaeffer (San Diego: GMS Publishing, 1998).

SELECTED ON-LINE REFERENCES Google™ for many more.

Obituaries now can include photographs or if on-line, may include music and video. Who all do you want mentioned by name in your obituary?

Writing obituaries, from the Robert J Reid Funeral Home, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Want to Live Forever? Write Your Own Obit, Don Fry's how-to on preparing your own obituary”

“Eulogies” from About.com. Includes a .pdf form for listing useful information –work, family, beliefs and cherished values. (Don’t forget favourite verses, sayings or passages, too) for the eulogy.

“Eulogies, Elegies & Speeches of Remembrance: from About.com. Links to examples, appropriate poems.

Epitaph examples for headstones, from Everlife Memorials

‘The Epitaph Browser’

See how your epitaph might look on ‘The Tombstone Generator’

Would you like a remembrance on-line? View ‘The World Wide Cemetery’ [ June 2009 Note - now there are a good number of on-line memorial possibilities. Which ones do you like? ]

**************************************************

Codicil to My Last Will and Testament Concerning Genealogy Materials

Preamble: I here mean to dispose of the materials owned or properly in my possession at death that have genealogical value, though have little or no worth on the market as personal property. My genealogical efforts have required no small measure of thought, time, travel, and money and may be of substantial value to other researchers. I would ask that my file cabinets, folders, materials in my desk, and any and all my research materials stored elsewhere be gathered together and included in this category. It is my hope that all such materials might be disposed of in the following manner.

Following my death, I request that any and all of my genealogical records, both those prepared or written by me, as well as all other family history records which may be in my possession, including all files, notebooks, books, correspondence, copies of documents, and such as computer programs or computer memory devices, or my websites, etc. remain together and protected for a period for eighteen (18) months or until a recipient is found for such materials, whichever comes first. (With your will and other important papers, place a list of these materials, and a list of relevant computer passwords, e-mail accounts, domain registrations or subscriptions, etc. along with an abbreviated family tree and this codicil and a death certificate ‘draft’.)

Further, I request that immediate efforts be made by my family to identify one or more persons or institutions that would have knowledge of AND be willing to take custody of such materials and assume the responsibility of maintaining and perhaps continuing the family histories and research.

I suggest that the persons and institutions to be contacted regarding their willingness to assume custody of these materials include:




(If additional room is needed here, list persons and institutions by their full names and attach a list of contact details.)

Further, in the event no person or organization named here is willing to preserve such genealogical materials, please contact the various genealogical organizations of which I have been a member, there to determine their willingness to accept some or all of these materials. (Here list the societies or organizations to be contacted; include local chapters, with their addresses, phone numbers and contacts known to you, if any, including websites and e-mail addresses)







In witness whereof and before witnesses, I have hereto affixed my name on the ___ day of ____, 200_


Signature ___________________________


Witness ____________________________
Date ___________

Witness ____________________________
Date ___________


Note: The original form of this Genealogical Codicil was posted for personal use on the VA-Roots Archives by Paul Drake, 25 February 2004 [ June 2009 - it appears the list now requires a password.: http://listlva.lib.va.us/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0402&L=VA-ROOTS&D=1&T=0&P=13621
http://listlva.lib.va.us/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0402&L=VA-ROOTS&P=R6306&D=0 ]

And, as Paul Drake writes, “if you have books, documents, or materials within your files that have considerable monetary value to other than yourself,” get legal advice to ensure these are listed properly and will go to named individuals.

For a discussion of these concerns, see “Preserve Your Genealogical Legacy: A Genealogical Codicil” in The British Columbia Genealogist, March 2007, p. 26

Handout prepared for the March, 2008 meeting of the British Columbia Genealogical Society
For personal use only. © 2008 B.C.G.S. Some copyrights may belong to individual authors or institutions
.

*********************************
Were you wondering about my final tweet or my idea for an epitaph?

Check my posts at Twitter.com for my #finaltweet and see my Graveyard Rabbit of British Columbia blog for my tombstone. (My daughter was horrified to see that when I put it up, but hey, I'm a practical kind of woman!)