Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Treasure Chest Thursday - James's Chair


Here's a look at the not too far distant past - my son, James, in his wicker chair 'sometime' in the 1970s in Burnaby, British Columbia. Just look at that big old TV behind him.

I still have that chair - it's not for sitting anymore as it's a bit fragile. Sometimes it holds a plant now and sometimes books!

James also played on the same small table that I used when I was little. My dad put a new top on that when James was born and it was sturdy enough then to last through two more children. You can see a photograph of me in my own little chair at my own little table on my BookCrossing shelf. (Just scroll down on the page a bit.)

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Saturday Night Fun - Ann Edwards Staines 1807-1883

See Genea-Musings for the instructions for this Saturday Night Genealogy Fun task.

My Dad was born in 1917, so this year he’d be 92.
Divided by 4, that gives me – 23

#23 in my chart is Ann Edwards.

Here are some facts about her:

She was born in Kelshall, Hertfordshire, England in 1807; died in 1883.

In 1832, she had a daughter of her own, Eliza. Eliza died at 10 years old and is listed in the burials as Eliza Staines-Edwards.

In 1836, Ann married Joseph Staines, an ‘ag lab’.

Their children were:
Joseph, Amos, William, Sarah, James, Sarah Ann (my ggrandma), Mary, and George.

From at least 1851 on, Ann (Edwards) Staines was school mistress in Kelshall and is one of my few relatives to be listed in English directories.

Photos of Kelshall and area, from a 2007 walk by Tim Bertuchi.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Ukrainian Pioneer Monument - Winnipeg Manitoba Canada - 1891-1943

Ukrainian Monument Ceremony, 5 September, 1943, St. Andrew's, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 6 September, 1943, page 3.



In September of 1943, members of Winnipeg's Ukrainian community celebrated the blessing of a new monument erected on the St. Andrew's Ukrainian Catholic Church grounds.

Reverend Canon P. Bozyk and Reverend J. Bala conducted the mass that morning, and Bishop Neil Sawaryn conducted the ceremony, with the assistance of Father Bozyk, Rev. S. Shewchuk and Father Bala.

Canon Bozyk said:

"For those who were much like you, and, who to build up our Canada, died in the tunels, in the mines, in the forests, in the rocky hills of Ontario, and during their many and varied wanderings in search of work, we pray and bow our heads to them in humble respect..."1

Joseph A. Dyma, of Winnipeg, a pioneer, unveiled the monument which read:

Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the settlement of Ukrainians in Canada. Wasyl Eleniak and Iwan Pylypiwsky, pioneer settlers, Sept. 7, 1891. Long live Canada. 2

Other pioneers reported as present on this occasion were:

J. Kowalchuk, J. Danyliuk, J. Sydor, T. Feduk, J. Zielkowsky, T. Oleskiw, J. Stepko, J. Swidiuk, Mrs. Chopek, Mrs. Tomkins, Mrs. Zahirna, Mrs. Krezanowska, Mrs. Panechak and Mr. and Mrs. Pylypshuk. Wasyl Elaniak was not able to attend, but sent a letter which was read by Mr. H. Kuz.

Alderman J. Stepnuk, M. Zaharnchuk and Peter Taraska, school trustees, also spoke at the ceremony.


Note: in 1942 a monument to Canada's Ukrainian soldiers had been unveiled on the Church grounds.


References:

1. "Unveil Monument to Ukrainians", Winnipeg Free Press, Manitoba, Canada, 6 September, 1943, page 1, photographs, including one of Joseph A. Dyma. (Spelling of some of the pioneers' names varies from the Tribune article. The Tribune's spelling has been used here.)

2. "Ukrainian Pioneers Mark 50th Anniversary", The Winnipeg Evening Tribune, Manitoba, Canada, 6 September, 1943, page 3. Photograph above.


3. "Canadian Ukrainian Soldiers Honoured" and "Monument is dedicated by Ukrainians", Winnipeg Free Press, p. 1. Photographs. See also "Ukrainian Volunteers Join Army", same page.


Articles located on Manitobia.ca

Friday, September 18, 2009

Diane's Genealogy Trading Card


Last weekend for his 'Saturday Night Genealogy Fun', Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings called for all geneabloggers to follow Sheri Fenley who had made her own genealogy trading card. Follow Randy's links to see all the genea-bloggers' cards and to find out how to make your very own.

Well, I'm almost a week late, but here is my first genealogy trading card. Not too serious, is it?

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Treasure Chest Thursday - My View-Master



Who remembers View-Masters? I do!

Mum used to look for the rack of View-Master slide sets wherever we travelled. These were 'educational' - that was always her preferred kind of souvenir. Some were cartoons though, and I do have one of 'Knights in Armour'!

I have a box full here. In fact, not long ago I bought a newer viewer. But, I still have the old one here. And, I'll still buy sets showing British Columbia scenes, if I don't have them already.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Vancouver Exhibition, 1927 - Carnival of Genealogy


It's time for the 80th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy: Family Fun!

We were to: Research an event your ancestor may have attended. How much do you know about the types of entertainment your ancestors might have enjoyed? Check into it; then write it up!

The full Edition of this Carnival of Genealogy will be hosted at the Creative Gene blog. Be sure to see all the articles.



Vancouver Exhibition being opened by D.C. Coleman, the Canadian Pacific Railway Vice President, August 1927. Stuart Thomson, photographer. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-1765, Add. MSS. 1535.


For anyone living in or close to Vancouver from 1910 on, the Vancouver Exhibition, now known as the Pacific National Exhibition (usually called locally just the Fair or the Exhibition, or later the PNE) was the biggest event every summer.1

Vancouver’s Exhibition has always been in Hastings Park in Vancouver’s east, near the Burnaby-Vancouver border, and it’s been going strong every year except during World War II.

My father and his brother grew up in the District of South Vancouver (from 1929, part of the city of Vancouver) and I know they went to the Fair at least some years. I suspect that they would have gone almost every year when they were little (from 1917-18 on), but I have no way of proving that. But then, I know I went every year myself when I was young and I have no photographs, not so much as a ticket stub, to show for all my visits to the Fair.

Dad and his family would have gone to the Exhibition on the streetcar; we went by bus, as most people I knew did. It would have been quite the excursion in the 1920s. The cars were likely packed as full as the buses were when we went as kids. Here's a map showing the BC Electric Railway lines - Exhibition Park is marked. My Dad's family lived near 33rd and Fraser St. (Click on the map to make it bigger.)

As I’ve trolled through local newspapers looking for genealogical ‘gems’, I’ve often seen articles about the summer Fair. In 1927 I know there was lots of news and, since my dad was then ten and his brother eight, I'm guessing that was a year they went.

The fair’s never been without controversy, even in its early days, when there were often concerns about the midway area and travelling carnival employees attracting the wrong ‘types’ – and the gambling.2 Games of skill might be allowed, but the ‘wheels of chance’ were suspect, particularly since young children couldn’t be kept out of the midway area. But by 1927, the amusement area, then named ‘Happyland’, had several permanent attractions including a merry go round, a dance pavilion, ‘Shoot the Chutes’ and 2 roller coasters. (Not the famous heritage roller coaster that’s on the grounds now. That was built in 1958.)

I imagine that Dad’s family attended local events in South Vancouver too, like the horticultural shows 3(Grandpa ROGERS was a gardener, after all), but compared to the Exhibition, I would think Dad and David would have found those ‘so boring’. I can imagine them clamouring to go to the Fair at least once each year. Maybe they even went sometimes to see the opening parades, although I don’t remember Dad ever mentioning these to me. (We often went to the PNE parades. That’s another story.)

The Fair itself was usually presented as being educational – still is – but in the 1920s there were more retail and manufacturing displays showing British Columbia’s products, as well as local bands, groups and entertainers. In 1927, one pageant illustrated the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, for instance. The ROGERS brothers may very well have enjoyed that. And always there were the pet shows and the agricultural and craft competitions and exhibitions. (I doubt Dad looked at the poultry exhibits though: family joke.)

One of the things I remember most from the Exhibition is lining up with Mum and Na to see through the ‘prize house’ each year, so I was interested to see that in 1927 there were 3 prize houses.

One was a playhouse valued at $1000, donated by the Vancouver Trades Council. This house had “everything modern”, a bedroom, kitchen, 12’ by 6’ living room with glass bookshelves and an electric fireplace, a dining room, bath, and electric lights, “red-seal wiring” and hardwood floors – it was “a ‘real’ little house, not a toy”. Dad would have loved this – like almost any kid! Originally Woodward’s Department Store lent furnishings to show off the playhouse, but the store soon decided to donate these. There is a nice photograph in the Vancouver Sun of 6 August, 1927 showing William Hargreaves, Business Agent of Local 452, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and originator of this project, standing in front of the playhouse. (There are two unidentified children with him – might they be his?)

For the adults there were two prize bungalows, one with 7 rooms valued at $6,000, the other with 6 rooms valued at $5000. The first was complete with furnishings by the Hudson’s Bay Company, the second was furnished by David Spencer Ltd. And a Pontiac Six coach was offered as a prize too. To win any of these, you had to purchase advance tickets for the Fair.4

Even though they didn’t win any of the big prizes, I imagine Dad and David had a lot of fun at the Fair, same as we always did. People and new sights and sounds on every side, colourful displays, often with samples or little prizes for children. And usually there was a 'childrens' day' as the Fair's Elks Day was in the 1920s.

Exhibition opening, 1930, Stuart Thomson, photographer. City of Vancover Archives CVA 99-1541, Add. MSS. 1535.


A brass band performing in arena at Vancouver Exhibition, August 31 to September 6, 1933. Stuart Thomson, photographer. City of Vancouver Archives CVA 99-4540, Add. MSS. 1535.


There’d be bands playing and marching throughout the day inside and outside and Dad must have wanted to listen to every one, I’m sure. He was a musician and even had a jazz band, the Rhythm Aces, when he was a teenager.

And, of course, there were the rides, and ‘junk’ food and ‘pop’ which I doubt they saw much of otherwise. David and Dad would have enjoyed every drop as these these young boys did.

Flag day at Exhibition, 1929. Stuart Thomson, photographer.
City of Vancouver Archives CVA 99-1943, Add. MSS. 1535.

And in 1927 the rides in Happyland were advertised as ‘family fun’, so Grandma and Grandpa ROGERS probably thought going to the Fair was an all round good day out for all of them.

I wonder did they all go on the ‘Shoot the Chutes’ and the roller coasters? (Don’t tell but I’ve never been on a roller coaster yet.)


Did they go to the Fair in a group with neighbourhood friends as we did or perhaps with some of the SAGGERS cousins, aunts and uncles?


I hope Dad and David and Grandma and Grandpa did all attend the 1927 Fair together, as later that year, young David died unexpectedly. Happy memories like days at the Exhibition would have been cherished. I'm pretty sure Grandma and Grandpa must have gone with Dad in later years, as Dad was playing in the BC Electric Power and Gas Company band in 1934 when the Band won the Class A trophy at the Vancouver Exhibition.

References –

1. For the history of Vancouver's Exhibitions, see The Pacific National Exhibition: An Illustrated History by David Breen and Kenneth Coates (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1982) and Vancouver’s Fair: An Administrative and Political History of the Pacific National Exhibition, also by David Breen and Kenneth Coates, (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1982). For more about Hastings Park, especially since the 1980s, see the Hastings Park Conservatory website.
2. Vancouver Sun, ‘Wheel Games At Fair May Be Banned’ Wednesday Evening, 24 August, 1927 p. 2.
3. Vancouver Sun, ‘S. Vancouver Stages Fine Floral Show’, Monday evening, 29 August, 1927, p. 4.
4. Vancouver Sun, ‘Building Trades Council Donates $1000 Playhouse’, Saturday evening, 6 August 1927, p. 2. and ‘Lady Luck Awaits Both Grownups and Kiddies At The Fair’, Saturday evening, 6 August, 1927, p. 9 and ‘2 Bungalows Are Claimed By Winners’, 22 August, 1927, p. 1.

The lucky winners of the prize houses in 1927 were:

1st Prize - A Dunn of 65th Avenue & Boundary Rd., Central Park
2nd Prize - R.W. Falkins, 1739 Comox St.
Playhouse winner – Leone Atkinson, age 3, of Georgia St. East.

All the Vancouver Exhibition photographs shown here are courtesy of the
City of Vancouver Archives.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Home Sweet Home in Vancouver BC Canada - Canadian Genealogy Carnival


Since the theme for this 6th Edition of the Canadian Genealogy Carnival is Home Sweet Home and one of my objectives for August was to do more research on the home and neighbourhood where I grew up as well as on my grandparents' and great grandparents' homes here in Vancouver, I thought I'd share a bit of the information I've recently found as well as some photographs. This Edition of the Canadian Genealogy Carnival is being hosted by Looking4Ancestors.

The house photograph above, from one of the pages in my Grandma (SAGGERS) ROGERS album shows the house on Chester Street in Vancouver where my dad grew up. (That house is still there, although it doesn't look quite the same.) On your left is a photo of grandma and grandpa shown in their yard. (Yes, grandma did glue those photographs right into her album. Sigh...)


Both my grandparents and my great grandfather SAGGERS lived in what was then the District of South Vancouver much of the time and I did look through records in the City of Vancouver Archives concerning these properties. Some early water and assessment records are missing for South Vancouver, but I found others, including building permit registers from 1912 on and the 'Plumbing Record' from 1910 to 1912.


In the South Vancouver Plumbing Record, I saw that in 1914 my grandfather ROGERS added a bath and basin to his house, the same one shown above. This is the year before he was married. I wonder if he was thinking about it then?


In 1921, great grandpa SAGGERS added a water closet, bath and sink to the house he lived in and in 1924 a water closet, bath, sink and basin to another. Both these houses were on St. Albert Street. (I'm not quite sure here of the difference between a basin and a sink, unless one's in a kitchen and the other in a bathroom.)




Then from my excursions in August over to my childhood neighbourhood near 17th and Cambie in Vancouver, here are 2 photographs showing our old house as it is now.







When we were there, the front yard wasn't fenced in and there were hydrangea bushes by the house. We kids got to 'plant' old nails in the ground beneath them. This was supposed to make the flowers bluer.

The back yard was fenced, but it wasn't this private, and those trees - my goodness, they weren't even planted when we left - look how high they are now. This has made me realize just how much time has gone by!


That washing machine outside wasn't ours, but in my childhood, we always had one. What a lot of work washing was for Mum even with that 'convenience'. We had a line outside to dry clothes when it was fine and inside too for times it was raining.



Although a number of the houses I remember are still there, property anywhere in Vancouver is now expensive and many smaller, older houses have been replaced, like the 'little house' that was once next door. Here's a photo I took in the 1960s of my baby brother blowing his tuba out back. You can see our garage and fence and one of the holly trees behind him, as well as part of the now demolished house that was beside ours, the WALKER house.





As for my own August genealogy plans, I had three main objectives:
1. to visit Chown Memorial Church in Vancouver to take some photographs of the garden where my Na's ashes were scattered.
2. To research my childhood neighbourhood further in Vancouver street directories.
3. To visit the City of Vancouver Archives to research - the Vancouver School Board in the 1950s when my father was on the Board and the names of the previous owners of both houses we lived in when I was young.
And, 4. to do some new Internet and BMD and directory research on my BROWN/IRWIN/LEITCH and IRWIN/RICHES/ROPER families.

I'm pleased to say that I was able to make time to do all of this, (although my School Board research was mostly in newspapers, as at the City of Vancouver Archives, I was seduced into looking at some other records not on my list. Next visit!)

And, as a 'bonus', I re-sorted my ROGERS papers, putting them all in acid free envelopes and files and labelling them where appropriate. Any that aren't scanned (quite a few it seems) are now on my priority list.

I deliberately haven't made any specific personal genealogy plans for September or October as I know these will be particularly busy months for me. But I'll be making plans for November/December though - and soon.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Treasure Chest Thursday - Schoolbook, 1928


Since school's just in again, I've picked an old school book from my collections for this Treasure Chest Thursday. This is one genealogists will appreciate.

Neighbours Unknown, with short stories, by Charles G.D. Roberts. (Toronto: The MacMillan Company of Canada Limited, 1927.) Authorized for use in the Province of Manitoba.

Roberts is sometimes called the Father of Canadian Poetry. This book was originally published, I believe, in 1911.

What makes this interesting to me is that my Mum used it. I know that because she has written right though the book - something, I assure you, that she never allowed me to do. To this day I don't doodle, scribble or even highlight in books!

You'll see the book is damaged and, especially inside, discoloured. That's mainly because it still has its plain brown paper cover, likely made by my mother, glued to the corners of the book, and certainly written and doodled on by her.

On one of the front blank pages she's written a date, Jan. 17, 1928, and her own name, her birth date, her parents' names and when they married, and then their parents' names as well. Elsewhere she has 'doodled' the names of other family members. Not in sketches, that's all in writing.



Found in the book were some pieces of paper - a spelling 'mistake' practise list and a double-sided sketch of a house plan.
On a back of a book blank page is also a sketch of a 'bungalow'. Now that one looks like something she's copied from another book (especially since it has a title) but the little sketch looks suspiciously like what she told me about the family house in Newdale, Manitoba, Canada, particularly the 'shelf' on the stairs. Perhaps I will never ever know for sure.







In the meantime, I can enjoy this momento of my mother's misspent youth. There are people who collect 'Forgotten Bookmarks' and 'Found Bookmarks'. I wonder if someone has begun collecting examples of family related bookmarks like these?

Treasure Chest Thursday is a regular Genea-Bloggers activity. Join in!

See Geneabloggers for all the recent Treasure Chest Thursday posts.

Modernization? at Library and Archives Canada

I'm feeling quite concerned about the piece entitled 'Modernization' that the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, Daniel J. Caron, posted on-line yesterday.

Message from the Librarian and Archivist of Canada: Modernization
9 September, 2009.

Library and Archives Canada has already had a moratorium on purchasing new materials - which seems to me affects LAC current and future reference services, particularly vital in a country as geographically 'challenged' as Canada - and now, we see the demise of the Portrait Gallery of Canada.

I'm very surprised to see him write, for example, that "Our relevance in the medium and long term is also called into question in this new environment" when Canadian archivists and librarians, and Library and Archives Canada itself, have continuously led in worldwide digital initiatives for acquisition, preservation and access.

I'll take a day to think about this though. In the meantime, I'm very interested in any comments you may have.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Reminder - Talk on Mountaineer Phyllis Munday - September 10 Vancouver BC

Reminder:

Thursday, September 10, 2009 7 pm

A presentation on the famous local mountaineer Phyllis Munday by author and historian Kathryn Bridge at the Vancouver City Archives in Vanier Park.

Mount Munday
in British Columbia is named after Phyllis Munday and her husband, Don, and Baby Munday Peak is named for their daughter Edith.

The public is encouraged to bring their Munday memorabilia to show the group.

Co-sponsored with the City of Vancouver Archives and the Women's History Network of British Columbia.

Free. Details: http://www.herstorycafe.ca

Monday, September 07, 2009

Reminder - BC Genealogical Society Meets September 9 - Burnaby - Special Session 'Writing Your History'

Reminder - The next B.C. Genealogical Society General Meeting - Wednesday, 9 September, 2009, 7:30 pm.

Edmonds Community Centre, 7282 Kingsway (Kingsway & Edmonds), Burnaby V5E 1G3

2 Group Sessions:

- Scottish Group
- Writing Your History session with Moira Connor - Citing source information and "how to" do it easily using MS WORD. For more about Moira Connor, please see my previous post about her sessions.

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

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.

Reminder - November's meeting will be 4th November, due to the Remembrance Day holiday.

BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca

Coming up:

Moira Connor will be giving two more sessions on 'Writing Your History' at monthly general meetings.

-October 14th, 2009 - Indexing 101 and "how to" do it easily using MS WORD.

-November 4th, 2009 - Book design and layout suggestions for the
Do-It-Yourselfer using MS WORD.

To see other group sessions planned for the fall, go to the B.C.G.S. Event Calendar: http://www.bcgs.ca/Calendar.htm

Friday, September 04, 2009

Carnival of Genealogy - Reunions! - 79th Edition - September 2009

Welcome to the September 4, 2009 edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, the 79th Edition!. The theme this time was Reunions! and the response from genea-bloggers was tremendous.



This is obviously a topic that struck a chord with many. Some enjoy attending and remembering family reunions, others love planning reunions and just can’t wait for the next, then there are those of us who wonder why our family’s never ever even had one reunion.

Many good ideas here too for those of us who would like to have a reunion.

And there’s so much history as well as genealogy. Carol at Reflections From The Fence called one of her reunion notice finds a Genie-Jackpot. Working on this Carnival has made me think about how much these notices and articles in local newspapers could help people looking for lost family links. I've already started keeping a file of ones I run across in my regular British Columbia, Canada newspaper research and now I'll work out a way to index those and I'll make that index available somehow.

Here's the Reunion Carnival roundup:

Bill West presents SON OF ROAD TRIP" PT3 and SON OF ROAD TRIP PT4 posted at West in New England, saying, "I recently attended my first family reunion for the descendants of my great great grandparents Asa and Florilla Ellingwood and blogged about it. (Now, about those reindeer, Bill...)

Charles Hansen presents The First Hansen Family Reunion posted at Mikkel's Hus, saying, "Hard to believe this reunion was 18 years ago, seems like just a few years ago." Charles has one vivid description of a ‘not to do next time’.

Randy Seaver presents No Family Reunions in my family posted at Genea-Musings, saying, "My dad was from Massachusetts, my mom was an only child of only children, so we had no family reunions to enjoy as I grew up. I do love my cousins in New England!" There are a few of us like this, Randy.

Robert Lord presents Lord and Lady: OLYER REUNION 1940 posted at Lord and Lady, saying, "Olyer family first reunion 1940 were you there all descendants of John Olyer and Charlott Scutt" – love that big family photo, Bob!

Wendy Littrell presents When We Get Together posted at All My Branches Genealogy, saying, "In my life, I've experienced reunions from several branches of the family. In several posts, I've listed my experiences, information I've gleaned from news articles about past reunions, and how to make sure you leave the event richer in family history." Wendy has written about reunions often; follow her links to read her stories.

Cyndi Beane Henry presents The Monroe Bean's posted at Mountain Genealogists, saying, "Our family reunion occurs every other year. How fortunate am I that reunion was just held on August 8th this year! It's an event I live for!" And as a family reunion organizer, it sounds as if Cyndi’s done very well – another branch is now attending.

Dorene Paul presents Lindsey and Mary Ann Young House posted at Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay, saying, "This blog post about Lindsey and Mary Ann Young House features an article about one of the many reunions of the Young and House families held in Erie County, Ohio in the first half of the twentieth century." Lots of history here with the reunion news.

Midge Frazel presents Under the "Family Reunion" Tent posted at Granite in My Blood, saying, "Come under the reunion tent to visit with the Gallup Family and their great history at this 107th reunion. I was the newbie and was given a prize, had a yummy lunch and made new cousin friends." And Midge found a new cemetery project too.

Cheri L. Hopkins presents Memories To Last a Lifetime posted at THOSE OLD MEMORIES, saying, "A short story about my family reunion and why they can be so important for each of us. A bittersweet reunion for my family, but precious memories for a lifetime!" An inspiring post, Cheri.

Leslie Ann presents Carnival of Genealogy, 79th Edition-- Family Reunions posted at Lost Family Treasures, saying, "My family reunion memories." The Smedley reunion sounds great – family is family!

Linda Hughes Hiser presents Carnival of Genealogy, 79th Edition--"Family Reunions" posted at Flipside, saying, "The Pool or Poole Family of Morgantown, West Virginia Reunion that met annually and still does." Reunions must be a good way to look at name changes too.

Sean Lamb presents We're all bozos on this bus posted at Finding the Flock, saying, "I'm in the middle of a career change to become a professional photographer, so I was naturally asked to take the group photo last year at Thanksgiving. Knowing my family, I naturally couldn't let it go at just a formal photo of the group." I love it, Sean! And I bet the kids did too.

Jasia presents A Family Reunion That Wasn't a Family Reunion posted at Creative Gene, saying, "I had a wonderful opportunity to meet a branch of my family previously unknown to me. It may not have been called a family reunion but that's what it was for me!" Yes, I agree – make a visit a reunion whenever you can.

Carol presents 79th Carnival of Genealogy, Carnival of Family Reunions, Lashbrook style posted at Reflections From the Fence, saying, "This photo of a 1933 reunion was a bit before my time. That said, I have been able to use it to add faces to many names in my data base." Great find; great idea!

Brenda presents Dougall Part 4 posted at Brenda Dougall Merriman, saying, "A quick-witted 84-year-old created a poem to celebrate a 1984 family reunion. It was the 150th anniversary of John Dougall's arrival in Canada." Of course there was a piper.

Karen Hammer presents Family Reunions - Never a Dull Moment posted at Ancestor Soup, saying, "Reminiscences of family reunions..." Sound family philosophy here.

Earline Bradt presents COG #79 - Family Reunions - Our Next Family Reunion posted at Ancestral Notes, saying, "My first family reunion could have been a disaster, it poured rain the first day, all day, and the second day was the hottest most humid day of the year, but, attitude is everything! We were determined to have fun and we did!" Earline is planning the next two already.

Dru Pair presents Find Your Folks: 2009 Carroll Family Reunion posted at Find Your Folks, saying, "This year Professor Dru attended the family reunion of distant relatives and had a ball meeting them face-to-face, presenting them with family history information, and eating finger-lickin-good food!" Dru really has 3 posts here. One, a tribute, “ The Spiritual Legacy of Bessie Bullock Carroll (1901-1991)’”, was written for the reunion.

Ken Spangler presents I Love Family Reunions! posted at Beyond Fiction, saying, "It's been a while since I participated in a carnival but today I would like to share my thoughts on family reunions and share some pictures of past reunions on my Forbes side." Welcome back to the Carnival, Ken.

Janet Iles presents Janet the researcher: Family Reunions - Iles style posted at Janet the researcher, saying, "Fifteen years have passed since the last Iles family reunion, Janet recalls these reunions in her posting." I’d love to hear more about the family band sometime, Janet.

Lorine McGinnis Schulze is one of those who contributed several posts. Hers are full of reunion ideas, all posted at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog . What I would do differently at a Family Reunion Lorine says is "My conclusion after our Family Reunion was over!" There is Scavenger Hunt at Family Reunion – The Scavanger Hunt I planned for our Family Reunion" and Family Reunions & Genealogy Games – the Genealogy Games I created for our Family Reunion".

Vickie Everhart presents We're all here for a family reunion posted at .:BeNotForgot :: begotten & ne'er forgotten :., saying, "It was November of 1931 when descendants of William P. Henry (1836-1912) and Josephine Wingfield (Davis) Henry (1842-1899) gathered in Rockdale, Texas for their first reunion in twenty years. Mayhaps they were heeding the urging of President Hoover, who in October 1931 had appealed to the American people "to make November 26 next the outstanding Thanksgiving Day in the history of the United States."" Excellent post. I love the way the history is tied in.

Linda Stienstra presents Family Reunions? posted at From Axer to Ziegler, saying, "Family reunions was a foreign term to my family since we lived overseas." Very nice photos and what good memories.

My own family is another one that doesn’t have reunions – but sometimes they get together again –as in Irwin Family Reunites – Manitoba, Canada, right here at CanadaGenealogy, or, Jane's Your Aunt.

Jessica Oswalt presents A Family Reunion From A Child's Perspective ... posted at Jessica's Genejournal, saying, "Some memories of a family reunion I attended when I was a child." Jessica’s grandmother had a very interesting idea. My local newspaper would go for that, I think.

Vickie at BeNotForgot shares her research about a 1931 family reunion in Texas with We're all here for a family reunion.

This concludes the 79th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. There is much to learn in this Edition and so much fun too. Hope you all enjoy this Edition as much as I have.

And now, heed the Call for Submissions for the 80th Edition!

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: Family Fun!

Research an event your ancestor may have attended. Did your ancestor live within a few blocks of the parade route for the annual Fourth of July parade in the town where they lived? If your family lived in a rural area, perhaps they attended a county or state fair. If they lived in a big city, perhaps they attended a play or movie opening. Was there an amusement park or traveling carnival near the area your family was from, one they might have visited? Were there fireworks displays in the town your family was from? How much do you know about the types of entertainment your ancestors might have enjoyed? Check into it then write it up! This "fun" edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be hosted by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog. The deadline for submissions is September 15th.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blog carnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Carnival of Genealogy - IRWIN Family Reunites - Manitoba Canada

I’m not aware of any organized family reunion ever being held by members of my direct families. And nowadays, although there have been a few weddings and one big anniversary party a number of years ago, I’ve been sad to hear it said at several funerals— “This is the only time we get together.” I wonder if that’s often been the case in my family.

Sometimes, of course, it probably just wasn’t possible to ‘reunite’. Many of my relatives lived in straightened circumstances. I don’t think that William ROGERS and Mary Ann WHITE, for instance, living in Toronto, Canada, could have done more than dream of returning to England to see their kin again. (But wouldn’t that have been grand for me – especially if a report in a local newspaper had mentioned a WHITE reunion, which of the relatives had come from 'where' and exactly how they were all related. It does seem to me I often see these notes in newspapers for other people’s families).

I do have a report from a newspaper about one happy occasion when my IRWIN great great grandparents and their children were together again. This is from a newspaper clipping I received from a relative. I have not yet been able to find the article itself in a newspaper to confirm the date and place of publication. I believe this to be from the Canadian Post at Lindsay, Ontario, Canada.

NEEPAWA-MANITOBA. Correspondence of The Post.

A very happy and pleasing event took place at the new residence of Mr. James Irwin, Neepawa, Man., on Christmas Day. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin were formerly residents of Cambray, Ont., and spent over forty years of their life there. About fourteen years ago the family circle was first broken by two of their children leaving their home for the far west. As years passed on one after another of the family got married and started out in life for themselves, till all but three had left their parental roof and settled down in new homes in Manitoba. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin were anxious to spend their declining years among their children, and having sold their old homestead in the east a year ago last fall, moved to Manitoba (with the rest of the family) in the following spring....
On Christmas day the entire family of nine children gathered together once more around their father’s roof. After doing justice to a good Christmas dinner they presented their parents with two handsome easy chairs...."


The newspaper clipping includes the text of the presentation to the Irwins by their children which says, in part,

Dear Parents,- We, your children, are happy to be permitted to meet once more around the family circle, and to have you in our midst in this the land of our adoption, as you have left your home in the east to live in this country...it is the first time we have all met together for fourteen years...May you long live to enjoy the comfort of ...[the easy chairs] and the company of your children. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Signed,

William Irwin [my great grandfather]
Samuel Irwin
Mrs. Jos. F. Brown [Elizabeth Anne]
Margaret J. [Jane] Irwin
Mrs. M. Murchison [Mary Ellen]
John Irwin
Mrs. A. Riches [Esther Delina]
James Irwin
David Irwin

Now, I’d have thought the family might have had their photograph taken at this long awaited reunion, but if so, there isn’t a copy known to me. However, there is a photograph which I believe would have been taken about 1909 showing all the children, their spouses and Mr. and Mrs. Irwin. See if you notice anything odd about it.






Yes, Mrs. Mary Jane Irwin wasn't really there. I have an ‘original’ copy of this photograph which was given to me by my cousin. We both believe this must have been taken after Mrs. Irwin’s death in April, 1909 as her image has been cut out of another photograph and pasted on. James Irwin died in July 1910 and he does seem to be right in the photo so this was likely taken between April 1909 and July 1910.

The group photograph was taken in a studio and it seems to me that space for mother Mary Jane’s image was deliberately left when arranging family members for the portrait. What do you think?

Was this the only copy or could there be ‘doctored’ copies around that look as if she is alive and in that room with her husband and family? If so, I have never seen one.

This post was written for the Carnival of Genealogy. This time the theme is Reunions! and the Carnival will be posted here at CanadaGenealogy, or, Jane's Your Aunt on 4 September 2009.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Treasure Chest Thursday - Mum's Flowers


It always seemed to me that my mum had a lot of china - 'millions' of teacups, cake plates, serving bowls, little bitty ornaments. After she was gone, I divided things up and sent my brother half, including half those tea cups.

Yes, I still have my half. At one point, I did spread a whole lot on the table and asked my kids to pick some things. 'Nothing, thank you very much, Mum', they all said. Way too old fashioned for them. But someday these will be back in style, I'm sure.

In the meantime, I do have these two little china flower ornaments out though. I think they are sweet. My mum had them on display, I remember, on the living room side tables in our old house. (But maybe not when we were really little.)

The smaller one, about 6 cm high, is marked as Adderley Floral (?) & Figurine Co. Ltd. Bone China Staffordshire England. The basket is marked 1819 with a point down down < shape. It's about 10.5 cm high.

Now they are in a display cupboard in a bedroom. With them is a little pottery vase that my very favourite daughter made when she was young. It's complete with its own egg carton flowers. Her 3 initials are on the bottom of the vase. Funny - as I know she doesn't like her whole name - which I gave her. Maybe she signed it that way knowing she was making it for me!

Geneabloggers now has a widget displaying all the recent Treasure Chest Thursday posts. If you're a genea-blogger, why not join in? I'm finding participating means I'm paying more attention to my family treasures. Some now do have a written story or two and photographs. Even this week, when I hardly had time to turn around, I remembered Treasure Chest Thursday!