Friday, January 31, 2014

James Walter Scott - Manitoba - 52 Ancestors

My grandfather, James Walter Scott (known as Walter), was born in Nottawa, Ontario in 1885. I have quite a lot of information about his Scott family and have a basic family tree here.

At the turn of the century in 1902, Grandpa moved to Manitoba by himself and settled in Newdale where he met and married my grandmother, Amy Estella Irwin, in 1910.

According to my grandmother, Grandpa Scott first worked in Thomas N. Peter's store. In the 1910s, he was in  business operating a general store with W. R. (William Robert) Lavery. This photograph, identified by my grandmother as showing Grandpa (on your right), W. R. Lavery (left) and Jack Kaskey (centre) together, seems to corroborate my mother's information - that he was also in business with at least one other person. I would like to learn more about Mr. Kaskey.


Walter Scott, Jack Kaskey, W.R. Lavery, Cabinet card; no photographer's information. Private collection.

It appears that there was a second photograph taken of the three men on the same day. I've posted that on tmy Newdale Genealogy website today.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

George William Rogers, Vancouver, BC - 52 Ancestors

I won't be writing about all my 52 Ancestors in any particular order, but I thought since I've already written about my Mum I'd best be following with my Dad. This is one of my favourite photographs of him, taken by me in my parents' house in the 1980s with the Rogers cats.


Dad, with Purrt and Teddy (Purrt's son), 1990s. Private collection.

When she was cross, my Mum was quick to say he and I were a lot alike ("just like your Dad!") and I think that's true, but we surely didn't always agree. He was a more practical person (and very handy at fixing things). He loved his family, and was interested in big band jazz, stamps, coins and politics, not always in that order and yes, he loved cats.

Here's one of my past articles about him: "Vancouver, 1951 - After the Election - Ready for Work". Born in South Vancouver in 1917, he lived in the Vancouver area all his life except during World War II when he was mostly in Washington, D.C. He had several successful businesses, the last with my Mum, and although he retired a couple of times, he never stopped working, just looked around for something different to do.

One of my few genealogical / historical regrets is that I didn't write down the stories he told me early on about his growing up years, especially about working at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver where he had worked with his dad. He didn't seem to think these were very important, but now that he's gone, of course, they are to me. 


Saturday, January 18, 2014

RootsTech 2014 - getting closer!

GeneaBloggers touring the Expo Hall, RootsTech 2013.
In a few weeks, I'll be in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA  to do research at the Family History Library and to attend the RootsTech conference. This will be my second time 'live'. Previously I did attend virtually - mostly on Twitter.

As the crow flies, it's about 804 miles or 1293.64 kilometres from Vancouver, Canada where I am to Salt Lake City, Utah. A significant number of those attending and presenting will be from outside Utah.

I'll be at RootsTech for the four days and will attend as many sessions as I can. That's certainly brings up one downside to RootsTech (or any really big conference) - too much choice - over 230 sessions! I am mainly hoping to learn about any and all new and upcoming genealogy related initiatives and to bring home useful tips and ideas for my genealogy students and for my genealogical society.

The mobile RootsTech app looks as if it will be pretty handy. So far, I've been going over all the lists of conference sessions, the presenters and the exhibitors and adding these either to my own schedule or to my interests. I've already changed a few of my original choices. Once the handouts are available, I will be quickly reviewing those to see if any of the sessions likely aren't 'as described' or if they sound too good to pass up.

This year, we had to register separately (and pay extra) for the labs so those are set. And I registered for the Thursday opening social and, of course, Friday Night at the Library. (Yes, I have a research plan. And No! It's not all night. Wouldn't that be grand!

Yes, I registered again for a sponsored lunch each day. I chose those by My Heritage, Find My Past and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. (Last year the lunches were really very good - and they sound even better this year)


I'm pretty sure you will notice a few 'themes' in my (proposed) schedule. So far I have chosen these sessions:

Wednesday - the pre-conference Innovators' Summit

The General Session, sponsored by FamilySearch. Speaker: Chris Dancy
A New Tool for Recording, Analyzing and Displaying Genetic Relationships from Y-DNA, mtDNA and atDNA. Speaker: Capers McDonald.
GOV-The Genealogical Gazetteer. Speaker: Timo Kracke.

Thursday - 

General Session & Keynote. Speakers: Annelies van den Belt and Ree Drummond.
Magifying Your Maternal Line with Mitochondrial DNA. Speaker: Diahan Southard. (Same time as the GEDCOM X session)
Personal Digital Archiving for the Genealogist. Speaker: Tony Hanson.
Using Genetic Genealogy to Discover the Ancestry of Adoptees (and Scale Recent Genealogical Brick Walls). Speaker: CeCe Moore.
From Pedigrees to Interactive Trees: A History of Genealogical Interfaces. Speaker: Charles Knutson. (At the same time though is the FamilySearch Industry Leaders Town Hall.)

Friday -

General Session & Keynote. Keynote Speakers: Judy Russell and Dr.Spencer Wells.
Google Analytics - Boost Sales, Find More Visitors, and Improve Your Apps. Speaker: Robert Gardner.
LAB -Google Hangouts 101a: The Panelists' View. Panelists: Pat Richley-Erickson (DearMYRTLE), Jenny Lanctot, Barry Kline and H. Worthington.
LAB -Flipboard for Genealogy: Create Incredible Mobile Magazines of Your Favourite Genealogy Web Content. Speaker: Lisa Cooke.
Technology for Deciphering Foreign Language Records. Speaker: Randy Whited.

Saturday - 

General Session and Keynote. Keynote Speakers: Todd Hansen and Stephanie Nielsen.
Using Third Party Tools to Help You Get More From Your DNA Test Results. Speaker: Tim Janzen.
Using Mocavo to Propel Your Research. Speaker: Michael Leclerc.
Using Prezi to Visualize and Reinvent Your Family Tree. Speaker: Brandi Burns.

I've left a few gaps as I'll at least need time to perambulate the Expo Hall a few times as I did last year. Not only did I get to talk to people about new software, etc. I brought home from RootsTech a great selection of software, books (paper and electronic), charts and a few other useful items. 

Association of Professional Genealogists booth, RootsTech 2013.














Some sessions will be available to watch live (and later as recorded) on-line. To check out the descriptions and to learn more about the speakers, go to www.Rootstech.org
If you are on Facebook or Twitter, look for messages from others watching the sessions on-line and commenting from the conference site. I'll be tweeting and, no doubt, will be on Facebook too. (On Facebook, I'm M. Diane Rogers; on Twitter: mdiane_rogers. The Twitter hashtage is #Rootstech ) I'll also be writing some articles here from Salt Lake City. Here's a list of the Official RootsTech bloggers with links to their blogs so you can get their take on all the events and activities. Randy Seaver at GeneaMusings has posted his Friday session choices, for instance.

Last year, we had to choose our RootsTech sessions ahead of time (although no one seemed to pay that any mind once we were there). Despite the pre-registration, many sessions seemed overbooked or 'under spaced' and decisions had to be made quickly if you wanted to attend another session. There were some disappointments (not all due to space limitations) but I met a lot of great people - lots of other GeneaBloggers, for sure! - and brought home a ton of information last year and since the conference area is larger, I'm looking forward to a great RootsTech 2014.

David Irwin & Helen Tomblin - Ontario to BC, Canada - 52 Ancestors

My grandmother identified this family as Dave and Helen (Nellie) Irwin, with their daughters, Edna, Muriel and Mildred. Photographers, Craig & Will, Headquarters, Regina, Assa. [Regina, Assiniboia, North West Territories, later part of Saskatchewan, Canada.]

David had already moved to Neepawa, Manitoba with his parents when he and Helen Irwin were married in Ontario, Canada in 1895, and they lived in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan, before settling last in Vancouver, British Columbia. Both Edna May and Mildred Marie Irwin moved to California, USA in the 1920s. Mildred Marie married Russell J. Cleland, while Muriel Ilene stayed in Vancouver and married William Franklin in 1931.

Helen's parents were George Tomblin and Elizabeth Birmingham. David's parents were my great great grandparents James Irwin and Mary Ann Moffat.


Monday, January 13, 2014

My 2014 Resolutions - for Genealogy, of course.

I do make genealogy resolutions each year and review them mid-year. I see that many more genealogists are publishing theirs. We all hope, I think, that going public will make us more likely to follow through with our plans.

The last few years one of my resolutions has been about not taking on too many things to do at once. I am getting better at that, but new projects are always tempting. And, I find that even one new project, or something new I need to learn makes me more enthusiastic about the on-going projects and responsibilities that just must be done.

First, for 2014 I've accepted the 52 Ancestors Challenge started by Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small. I do want to blog more about family and other people, so I've accepted it for both this blog and my Newdale, Manitoba, Canada genealogy site.

This first resolution fits into Jen Baldwin's #genchat SMART resolution challenge as the 52 Ancestors challenge's objectives are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound. I'll blog here about someone (or something related to someone) who's connected to me once a week for 52 weeks. Sounds easy, eh! And additionally it will get me regularly scanning more photographs and documents.

My second 2014 resolution is easy. I resolve to attend RootsTech 2014 in February. In fact, I'm  almost all set for that, including my Family History Library research plan. 

My third resolution this year is to work on researching and reconnecting with my few known Australian relatives. This is a much less structured resolution but will involve my learning more about Australia than I know now which should be fun! I've already been to the BC Genealogical Society's Walter Draycott Library and started to review which guides, indexes and journals there will be most useful to me.

That's it. Wish me smooth sailing please. 

Learning about child raising, 1940s - From Mum's collections - ROGERS, SCOTT - 52 Ancestors

Diane, happy baby; photographer unknown, Vancouver, BC, Canada. 
One of a set of four similar poses. Private collection.


My mother took notes all her life on things she heard or read about, or on 'things to do', etc. Mostly during my life time, she seems to have used either some little black paper notebooks or steno pads. (As I've mentioned before, secret things like Christmas lists, were in shorthand.) I inherited a few of these. Most I think she disposed of after they weren't useful to her, but if there were blank pages she must have kept them for future use. In fact, I have used some of her old blank notebooks - that may confuse a descendant someday. 

This particular notebook was quite a find for me as you will see. It had been packed away for years, and I never got to discuss it with her. I've transcribed her writing and notes and include only a pertinent part of it here with some of my own references following.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the very back of black notebook:

Expenses

June 14/48

soaker wool 2 @ 49 .98
5 balls baby wool @ 33 1.65
pattern .35
kimona cloth
soaker wool .50
thread .08
dress material
pattern .56
nightie flannelette 5.05


Phone VON – dressing
Move trunk

From first page, same black notebook:

3673

Baby

Began soakers 15 June
-finished 21 June 48
4 pr finished 19 Aug 48
Kimona
sacque
Mother made 2 sweaters
Began 6 week lectures
by VON

Inside page (3):

Schedule

7 a.m. Feeding
10 Bath
11 Feeding
3. pm. Feeding
6.30 Prepare for night
7. Feeding
11. Feeding
3 am. Feeding

Meals
8:30 – 12.00 – 5:30

Books Listed – various pages:

Growing Together Rhoda Bacmeister  [Growing Together, Rhoda Warner Bacmeister, 1947.]

The Happy Home Benedict & Franklin  [The Happy Home: A Guide to Family Living, Agnes Elizabeth Benedict, Adele Franklin, 1948.]

Nursery Years Dr. Susan Isaacs [Nursery Years, Dr. Susan Isaacs, 1929, see “Susan Isaacs, 1885-1948” by Juliet Mickelburgh in Pedagogical, 16th December, 2010, Early Years Foundation Stage Forum.]

Babies are Human Beings - Aldrich  [Babies Are Human Beings - An Interpretation of Growth,
C. Anderson Aldrich, (MD) and Mary M. Aldrich, 1943.]

Everyday Problems of the Everyday Child D. A. Thom  [Everyday Problems of the Everyday Child, Douglas Armour Thom, 1927.]

Home Care of the Infant & Child Dr Tisdale  [The Home Care of the Infant and Child, Frederick F. Tisdale, M.D., 1931.]

Wed. 12 3.45
Dr. Garner

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knitting things for me? Isn't that sweet! She always sewed - she was really good at it. I still have a yellow crib cover she made and embroidered for me. 

But knitting I don't remember her doing. I was doll crazy when I was young, and she did give me 'real' baby clothes, including knitted jackets and hats, to dress my babies in. And when my first was born she gave me more. (Once it was all real, most of them I thought far too fancy for a baby! Different times...)

VON - that's the Victorian Order of Nurses - still active and helping people in Canada.  At the time I was born they offered classes for expectant mothers. Mum's notes in the rest of the notebook are from the classes she attended. 

Scheduling babies - Mum said I was a 'good' baby - meaning that I must have read the books and knew what the day's schedule should be. (Neither my brother nor my own kids read those same books.)

The Books - Yes, I've looked up some of these. Some varied opinions there, and time periods, but far more 'modern' in some ways than you might think. All 'doctor knows best' though. If Mum had her own copies of these books, she didn't keep them long. I do have a few that relate - when I had my first, she gave me her old 'Doctor Spock'.

Dr. Garner - Doctor Mary Kay Garner (1913-2005). She was my Mum's doctor when I was born and our family doctor when I was small. Her obituary ( BC Medical Journal, Vol. 48, No. 7, September 2006, page 346, Obituaries.) mentions her as "one of the groundbreaking female GP/obstetricians in Vancouver". (This must be an appointment day and time.)



Sunday, January 12, 2014

Vancouver General Hospital - 1940s - From Mum's Collections - 52 Ancestors - SCOTT, ROGERS

Mum in Athens, Greece. Photographer, M. Diane Rogers.

My mum was a great one for keeping useful things (as was my dad) - cottage cheese containers, plastic bags, newspaper and magazine clippings - lots of clippings!, recipe cards, school papers, books, of course, with a  few 'important' papers mixed in. Since Mum and I always had a lot of the same interests, I've found it hard to get rid of anything much, although the cottage cheese containers are long gone. I've been scanning and transcribing things, but it's a slow process. That's one reason I wanted to do the 52 Ancestors Challenge.

Today what I have may interest some non-gen friends since it's a Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) pamphlet from the 1940s. It was with some baby related things - that baby was me! I think it must have been given to my mother in preparation for my birth.

Both my baby brother and I were born at VGH in the Willow Pavilion, which opened in 1906 as new hospital facilities (then it was called the Fairview Pavilion) but by the late 40s it was the Maternity area. Both my children were born there too. Ever since the BC Women's Hospital Health Centre opened in Vancouver in the 1990s, the Pavilion has served other purposes. Today some are working to rescue it.(See below.)

Vancouver General Hospital pamphlet, 14 pages; no date; private collection. Cover shows  
"Architect's Conception of the Proposed 800-Bed Pavilion." Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

This VGH booklet gives a bit of the hospital's history, and some information about facilities, admittance procedures and "Do's and Don'ts" [sic] for visitors. Among the don'ts were: "Smoking in Semi-Private rooms or wards may be objectionable to other patients. If you ask, they may be too polite to deny that it bothers them." [No Comment!]

Also discussed is the British Columbia Hospital Insurance Service which then provided to subscribers in good standing "Complete hospital maternity service, with no conditions or waiting period." That was only for public ward beds. (The difference for private or semi-private accommodation was to be billed.) I reemember my mother said she was in a ward because there were no private rooms when I was born. She thought she'd have been very bored all on her own as then after a birth women stayed in 10 days or so.

Hospital Insurance also covered anaesthetics, but not the doctor administering it, or the woman's own doctor. (My mother told me she was 'out' and remembered nothing about our births.)

According to the booklet, radios were available but their use 'controlled', or one could bring their own, provided the Nurse-In-Charge approved and the Hospital Electrician passed it. A telephone could be installed in a room for 10 cents a day; or an operator would place a call for a patient. And mail, including parcels, could be received at the hospital.

Of interest to me is the mention of telegrams. A nurse would assist in sending these. Since my maternal grandparents were then in Hamilton, Ontario, I'm guessing there was at least one telegram sent announcing my arrival. Maybe two as it would be likely they'd want to let family in Nottawa know as well. 

Visiting for maternity patients was restricted to the husband and the mother of the maternity patient for the first 5 days. (Since Na, my mum's mum, wasn't here, I wonder if Grandma Rogers snuck in to see Mum and me?) Even after five days, only two visitors at a time were allowed during visiting hours - and no children.

I thought some who live in Vancouver might like to see this map of the hospital from the booklet. There are some historical photographs of VGH buildings including the Heather Pavilion on Flickr and here is the link to the Heather Heritage Society's website.  You will see the Maternity building on the map. Now I hope someone can tell me when Heather Pavilion became the maternity area.



Map of Buildings and Grounds, centre fold, Vancouver General Hospital pamphlet; no date; private collection.



Your Baby, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Canadian Head Office: Ottawa; no date (pamphlet may be missing title page); private collection.
A very different image from today's expectations!



Saturday, January 11, 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge - 2014




Amy Johnson Crow challenged herself to blog 52 Ancestors at her own website, No Story Too Small, this year. Many bloggers and others signed themselves up to do the same.

I’ll be blogging here at CanadaGenealogy, or, Jane’s Your Aunt, but I’ve many articles and photos relating to Newdale, Manitoba that I want to share too on my Newdale, Manitoba, Canada genealogy site.

 So I’m taking up Amy’s challenge for both sites, beginning this week. Most of my posts may be short!  But I hope to keep up with things (once I'm caught up since I started a tad late).

Thursday, January 02, 2014

My upcoming genealogy classes and talks

For those who've asked for a list of my upcoming talks and classes, here they are: 

GENEALOGY / FAMILY HISTORY CLASSES

Beginner & Intermediate genealogy courses, 8 week sessions for each, beginning in January – Beginners, Fridays, 1:30-3:30 pm.; Intermediates, Wednesdays, 1:30-3:30 pm at the Community College for the Retired (CCCR) in Burnaby, near Kingsway and Sperling. Another set of classes will begin in April, then again in September.
To register, call 604 517 8732 or see the CCCR website: www.cccrburnaby.org

Introductory genealogy course, 4 weeks, Thursdays, 1-3 pm at Brock House in Vancouver.
To register, call 604 228 1461 or see the Brock House Society website: www.brockhousesociety.ca 

GENEALOGY / FAMILY HISTORY TALKS/SESSIONS

How To Use Facebook for Genealogy,  Tuesday, January 21st at 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and/or Saturday, January 25th, 2014 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Both sessions at the BC Genealogical Society (BCGS) Library, 211-12837 76th Avenue in Surrey. Details on the BCGS website:  http://www.bcgs.ca/?p=3986
To register, contact Eunice Robinson eunice @ dccnet.com

Legacy Family Tree Software Group meeting, Tuesday, January 28, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm at the BC Genealogical Society Library, 211-12837 - 76th Avenue, Surrey. We'll be discussing the new Legacy version 8 and likely other aspects of Legacy use. All interested are welcome to attend. See the BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca/

"Only £8 worth of things left”— the case of Henry Parker's bankruptcy – how his financial woes helped my English family history research. January 30, afternoon, 1:00 pm, at the Abbotsford Genealogical Society's AGM at The Reach, 32388 Veterans Way, Abbotsford. The meeting starts at 1:00 pm; doors open at 12:30 pm.

DNA Group meeting, Wednesday, February 12, 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm at the BC Genealogical Society's  General Meeting, at the Danish Lutheran Church, Downstairs Hall, 6010 Kincaid St., Burnaby, BC. - Intro to using charts and an update on the new Big-Y test.  All interested are welcome to attend BCGS meetings. See the BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca

How to Use Twitter for Genealogy, Tuesday, February 18th, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and/or Saturday, February 22nd from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Both sessions at the BC Genealogical Society (BCGS) Library, 211-12837 - 76th Avenue in Surrey. Details on the BCGS website:  http://www.bcgs.ca/?p=3986
To register, contact Eunice Robinson eunice @ dccnet.com

Finding your Scandinavian Roots, a genealogical journey through Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Learn resources, techniques and tools to locate your Nordic ancestors and effective ways to overcome barriers like language and name changes. Saturday morning, March 1, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm at Cloverdale Library, 5642 - 176A Street, Surrey. For more info, see the Cloverdale Library's Family History web pages: www.surreylibraries.ca/programs-services/4921.aspx
Register in person at the Cloverdale Library, call 604-598-7327, or email familyhistory@surrey.ca

And more - 

I'll be attending the RootsTech 2014 conference in Salt Lake City, Utah early in February so watch for articles and comments here and on Facebook, and tweets too from me during the conference.

And yes, I'll be at the Vancouver Genealogy Group meetings January 8th, February 12th and March 12th too - all in the 7th floor Board Breakout Room at the Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library. Anyone interested in genealogy and family history is welcome to attend these discussion meetings. See the BCGS Vancouver Genealogy Group's Meetup web pages for more info: http://www.meetup.com/vancouver-genealogy