Sunday, November 23, 2014

Places That Mattered to the Rogers / Scott family, Vancouver BC


City Hall and Carnegie Library, Vancouver, B. C. 

Coloured postcard; divided back; private collection. A "B" in a circle card; #35.


The Vancouver Heritage Foundation will soon add the Commodore Ballroom to the Foundations's list of Places That Matter to Vancouverites. While checking out the event details, I realized that 125 local places are now included.

As some will know, at heart I feel I'll always be a Vancouver, British Columbia girl. So I thought I'd like to make a list of Vancouver places that mattered to my family and to me as I was growing up.

These Vancouver places (in no particular order) sprang to mind - you will sense some personal themes.

Little Mountain -  Queen Elizabeth Park - where our Na took us to 'hike' when my brother and I were young. No fancy facilities then, and still quarry remains to be seen.

Robson Street - around Burrard. No high class shops in 'my day', but a great variety of small ones. A certain deli, I remember, but what was it called? (not Freybe's.)  For a look back in time, see this film posted at YouTube by BC History- "Robson Street in 1964 aka Robsonstrasse".

The Carnegie Library - this building still stands at Main and Hastings Streets, but when  I was little it was the BIG library for the city and a museum was upstairs. Today there's still a library there and I think it's the only one that is open year round, holiday or no.

Vancouver City Hall grounds - where I often picnicked with a friend and a sandwich. Seemed a grown up thing to do at the time.

Mountain View Cemetery - here  a good number of family members rest.  My dad used to take me when he visited. I so wish I had had a little notepad and pencil then. His dad worked at the cemetery; as a boy my dad helped him.

Jericho Beach - some summer nights and fall nights, my mum would pack up food, my dad would bring the camp stove, and we'd be off to eat our dinner by the sea. Not so much fun for Mum, I'm guessing, but I don't really remember her complaining; we were happy enough with canned pork and beans.  Sometimes we went to Second Beach too.

Vancouver Public Library, Burrard and Robson - This building opened as Vancouver's main library just in time for a birthday visit in 1957. The building is still there, but no longer is it a public facility. (And no, I'd rather not think about that.)

Stanley Park - mainly I remember we frequented the area around Lost Lagoon but my Na loved to walk and walk; sometimes we went to the 'Pitch and Putt'. And we all (except Dad) went to see live musicals at Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) too.  Check out the interactive Stanley Park history timeline here

I'd want to include Simon Fraser Elementary School  - both my brother and I went there. Sad to say, but the building we knew was demolished quite a while ago. And maybe I'd add Eric Hamber Secondary as we both went there although neither of us was graduated. And perhaps even the Normal School where I was first 'in school' as a guinea pig...

And there were a few Vancouver restaurants that could be on our list - Scott's Cafe downtown, the Artistocratic on Granville at Broadway, the Palm Dairy, close to home on Cambie Street, the Marco Polo in Chinatown (with its Chinese smorgasbord) and my childhood favourite, downtown Woodward's mezzanine cafe where Mum and I would have Friday night supper on our shopping nights. I always thought I'd write an experimental novel based on the snatches of conversation I overheard there.

Now I have to find out which places my baby brother would want to add to this Rogers - Scott family list. A certain Cambie Street corner gas station will be one, I'm pretty sure. 

Which Places that Matter belong on your own family's list?

Friday, November 14, 2014

Movember photo - Alexander Carmichael? 1856--1922 - Islay, Ontario to Newdale, Manitoba, Canada

Possibly? a photograph of Alexander Carmichael, born 1856, Fenelon Township, Victoria County, Ontario, Canada.  Photographers [Hamilton] Fowler & [Isaac] Oliver, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada. Private collection.

One of the many moustachioed men in my family tree. 
I'm hoping a closer family member may have a copy of this photo or another of Alexander Carmichael from a similar time period.

If this is Alexander, then he was the ....

Husband of Esther Ann Currin, - Essie - married 1 January 1885 in Islay, Ontario, Canada. With Essie, he was a parent of Donald, Eliza Ann, John, Daisy, Jessie and Margaret.

Son of Margaret Gilchrist and Donald Carmichael, and brother of Janet, Ann, Mary and Margaret Carmichael and Diana Gilchrist. 

Alexander Carmichael died in 1922 at Newdale, Manitoba, Canada. 


This is a family photograph identified as Alexander and Essie Carmichael with son Donald by my grandmother, Amy Estella Scott, née Irwin. Photographer E. [Eli] Williamson, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada. Private collection.



References

Fenelon, Ontario, Canada marriage registration, 011338, marriage1 January 1885. Ancestry.com and Genealogical Research Library (Brampton, Ontario, Canada). Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data:Ontario, Canada, Select Marriages. Archives of Ontario, Toronto.

Harrison, Manitoba, Canada death registration, 1922-030379, death 23 August 1922. Province of Manitoba, Canada, Vital Statistics Agency.

More information on this family available from my family files. 

For more about Lindsay, Ontario, Canada photographers, see The Ontario Photographers List - Volume 1 (1851-1900) & Volume 2 (1901-1925) by Glen C. Phillips (originally published, Sarnia, Ontario: Iron Gate Publishing Co., 1990; new edition, Milton, Ontario: Global Heritage Press,  2002, 2010.)

Saturday, November 08, 2014

Fraser Valley Family History Fair - more links and handouts.

Great day today at the first ever Fraser Valley Family History Fair in Chilliwack, BC!

A warm thank you to the organizers and to all the volunteers that made this event happen. It's always grand to meet and talk to people enthusiastic about family history.

As promised, I am posting some links and information I referred to today. If you would like an electronic version of either of my handouts, or my Internet Research Log form, please e-mail me at: canadagenealogy@shaw.ca  And please let me know if I've missed posting a link I promised :-)

Facebook and Genealogy 

Katherine R. Willson's "Genealogy on Facebook" list, updated October 18, 2014:  http://socialmediagenealogy.com/genealogy-on-facebook-list

FamilySearch Genealogy Research Community pages on Facebook - examples,

Canada Genealogy Research Community
Canada First Nations Genealogy Research Community

Europe Genealogy Research Community

U. S. Northeast Genealogy Research Community
U. S. South Genealogy Research Community
U. S. Midwest Genealogy Research Community
U. S. West Genealogy Research Community

Asia, Africa & Pacific Genealogy Research Community

Some of these pages are in transition right now to regional ones. Please search on Facebook with the name of the county you are searching and "Genealogy Research Community".


See Genealogy Help on Facebook, FamilySearch wiki: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Genealogy_Help_on_Facebook