Newdale Curlers? 8th Edition - Canadian Carnival of Genealogy

"Genuine curlers' brooms at Sparling's. These brooms are specially adapted for household use." Minnedosa Tribune, 29 January 1903, page 3.

Canadian prairie women were (and are) avid curlers. The historical newspapers often mention 'ladies curling', but seldom seem to give the women's names. (The men do often have their names published.) I believe this photograph, from a family collection, shows a group of Newdale, Manitoba, Canada women and children at a curling event. I suspect the 'ticketed' women must be the members of the women's team. Unfortunately, there's no identification with the photo, but I do recognize my Na in the front row and a few other women. If you recognize someone, please do let me know.

Curling was always a big sport in Newdale - 2009 was the 100th anniversary of the Newdale Curling Club. My grandmother talked often about the year she was on a trophy winning team and she displayed the team photograph in her apartment. Silly me, why did I never ask her exactly which year that was? Researching that is one of my goals for 2010.

Posted for the 8th Edition of the Canadian Genealogy Carnival, hosted by Looking For Ancestors.

84th Edition - What the Carnival of Genealogy Means to Me

Carnival of Genealogy Poster - courtesy footnoteMaven.

It’s time for the 84th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. Created and managed by Jasia at Creative Gene, the Carnival is now three years old.

This Edition’s topic - What the Carnival of Genealogy Has Meant to You - was an opportunity to look back and reflect on when you first discovered the COG and when you first participated in it.

I think we genea-bloggers need to think a bit more about our own history – even Jasia isn’t sure how many people have participated over the years - and this topic is a way to ensure that we take note of the Carnival of Genealogy’s heritage.

My first Carnival post was on the last day of 2007. I’d been blogging since 2005. There weren’t many genealogists blogging then, but by late 2007, there were a good number and, after I met Thomas MacEntee of the Destination: Austin Family on-line, I was encouraged to enter the 'Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories'. I’ve always loved Christmas, so writing about it came fairly easily. Then it seemed very natural to participate in the Carnival of Genealogy with some of the same people. Very appropriately my first post was in the 2008 New Year’s Resolutions - the 15th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy hosted by Jasia. I believe I’ve participated in 27 since.

One of my very favourite Carnival topics was the 41st Edition in February 2008, ‘Dinner Guests from the Past', hosted by Jasia. My own post was 'Vancouver Style’, of course. (That's my home!) All these posts involved some thought and quite a bit of imagination as you'll see when you have a look.

In September of this year, I was the host for the 79th Edition, ‘Reunions’. This experience helped me to appreciate all Jasia’s hard work, but it was also a lot of fun for me and a great read for all! I’d certainly like to host another in 2010.

Since I’m intending to publish something for my family in a year (or two), Carnival topics have been a great way for me to organize shorter articles which can be developed further later. One Carnival, the 45th Edition hosted by Jasia in April 2008, ‘Cars as Stars!’ for which I wrote about 'Jenny, the Rogers' Family's Star Car!', is a favourite of my baby bother – he still has that car – so that’s one I worked up into a longer piece.

I certainly recommend that genea-bloggers participate in this Carnival. It’s a great way to ‘meet’ like minded people on-line and to have your own writing noticed by others. I love writing and reading posts with photographs, and any about women's history as well, but you’ll find yourself ‘stretching’ once in a while to write about an unfamiliar or even an uncomfortable topic. It’s much easier to do that in a familiar Carnival structure and from Carnival of Genealogy participants you’ll get supportive and helpful comments.

In fact, I think participating in the Carnival of Genealogy is a bit like getting together with family and old friends. When it’s late in the day, you all get to talking and laughing (usually) either sharing memories about the olden days’ – with all the ‘remember when s’ – and the ‘did you ever? s’ – or maybe you're all hotly debating what you think the future holds. This is just what we’re doing here in the Carnival of Genealogy. Come join us!

BATES, SCOTT family get together, in Montpelier, Vermont, at the Bates home, c. 1920.

Shown are - Front: Janet Muriel Scott, my mum, from Newdale, Manitoba, Canada; Edward Wallace Bates, my cousin.

Second row: Jeannette Bates, my cousin; May Janet (Wood) Scott from Nottawa, Ontario, Canada, born in Bean Hill, Connecticut, USA, my great grandmother; Amy Estella (Irwin) Scott from Newdale, my grandmother; Annie Pollock Scott, my great aunt, also from Nottawa.

Back: Hariotte Alice Louise, Hattie, (Scott) Bates, my great aunt, born in Nottawa; and Edward Kimball Bates, Hattie's husband, with their younger son, Kenneth Scott Bates.

Postcard, Made in Canada, black & white, unmailed. I believe the photographer was my grandfather, James Walter Scott from Newdale, born in Nottawa. People identified by Amy Estella Scott in the 1960s.

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.

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.

79th Carnival of Genealogy Coming Up Soon - Family Reunions!

SAGGERS sisters get together, 1948, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Private collection.

SAGGERS sisters only, get together, 1948, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Private collection.


The 79th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be hosted right here at 'CanadaGenealogy, or, Jane's Your Aunt'.

The theme this time is Family Reunions!

Have you been to a family reunion recently?

What do you know about past family reunions?

If your family doesn't have reunions, why do you think that is - family skeletons or feuds, perhaps, or just geography?

Or, has there been an important or intriguing family or other reunion in your community that you can tell us about?

The deadline for submissions is September 1st, 2009.

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.

The latest edition is 'Pony Pictures!' To see those, go to Creative Gene.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on the Carnival of Genealogy blog carnival index page.

Carnival of Genealogy - Summer Vacation Lake Louise 1963

Here's a photograph of me at Lake Louise in Canada, taken by my mother, I believe, while we were on a trip together in 1963. Luckily for me, Mum identified the photos from this trip on the back. I believe this was my first visit to Lake Louise, but she had been there several times before.

Note my matching shoes and bag and the fancy glasses. We 'always' matched our accessories, and only used white till Labour Day. This was just before beehive hairdos were popular in our town, so my do is pretty plain, but I did wear high heels from quite early on. Anything to make me taller! (Even later in the 60's, I was in my brother's old jeans, wooden beads and sandals, but that's another story.)

And then, as now, I had my whole life in my purse, including a pen and notebook and a novel to read in any spare moments. Wonder what I was reading that year? I'll bet I took some Canadian history along - perhaps a Thomas Costain novel or two (or maybe one of the Angélique books).

This photograph has surprisingly good colour, I think, at least compared to some of the 1970s colour photographs I have. But, the edges of this photo are all yellowed.

This was written for the Carnival of Genealogy - the 76th Edition. The topic:
How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Watch for the full Carnival to be posted soon at Creative Gene.

For more about other family vacations, including mine, read the latest Canadian Carnival of Genealogy too - over at Looking For Ancestors.

Canadian Genealogy Carnival - Canadian Vacations

Dad, Dave & Diane, Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada 1956. Private collection.

Most of the vacation trips I remember from when I was little were short ones close to our home in Vancouver. My parents ran a business together and didn't get away much. Sometimes Dad came to meet us on weekends only.

When I was a bit older, except for Victoria, I don't remember us vacationing locally. Instead my mother and I used to take trips to Portland, Oregon to shop (no sales tax) and with my brother, we also went to California and to Hawaii. I also went to camp, first with the Salvation Army Brownies and Girl Guides at Camp Sunrise, Gibsons Landing, and once? twice? to Camp Fircom on Gambier Island for weekend 'work' parties with a United Church youth group.

The more memorable childhood holidays for me were weekend and week long jaunts to Bowen Island, Sechelt and to Alta Lake, or to Victoria on Vancouver Island. All of these involved boat or ferry trips but all were popular local vacation spots for Vancouverites. My Dad always seemed to know someone wherever we stayed.

Once my mum and I went to Calgary on the train to see the Calgary Stampede. That train ride I remember quite well, and seeing Jay Silverheels in the Stampede parade. (Dreamy!) Oddly, there aren't any photograph of that trip, although I do have the tickets still and a bit of a trip diary. I did bring home a white cowboy hat for myself, but that's long ago 'bit the dust'.

These are the only two photographs from one of our Bowen Island summer vacations. I know I always, always took a doll with me on holidays and there are a few photos like this one which show that. I've been thinking lately that Bowen Island would be a good place for a short 'writing' holiday for me now. Lots of interesting places to stay and things to see too. (Is there a used bookstore, I wonder? I do know there's a Library.)

Mum, Diane with doll and Dave, Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada, 1956. Private Collection

We had a boat of our own at one time and often went out in it with our parents and Na. I remember little about these excursions except what the boat looked like, but one emergency run when my brother hit his head on a battery is imprinted permanently on my consciousness.

Other vacation activities were day trips. We took commercial cruises up Indian Arm to the now one hundred year old Wigwam Inn, for example. Last summer I noticed Chuck Davis had written about a trip along a similar route - Vancouver City certainly looks different now, but some things are the same.

I don't have any photographs that I can identify as ones from these day trips. I do remember once my mother and I arguing about what I'd wear on an Indian Arm trip. I wanted to wear a green seersucker dress with a darker stripe. My mother wanted me to wear some summery frock, no doubt with a few frills or ribbons. I won! and later she said I was right to wear it as it didn't show the dirt. Her summer whites were much the worse for wear during that voyage! Fancy my remembering that all these years. (Sorry, Ma.)

This was written for the 5th Edition of the Canadian Genealogy Carnival - it's all about favourite Canadian vacations. Where did your ancestors like to spend their summer holidays? Did your family enjoy a favourite beach or cottage? Or did your family travel from sea to shining sea?

The Carnival will be posted on July 15, 2009 at Looking For Ancestors.

The Suffragette In Court - Festival of Postcards

The Suffragette In Court - "Two months without chocolates."
Postcard front. Note the Tuck trademark on your lower left.

The Festival of Postcards is a carnival celebrating both vintage and modern postcards.
Each issue features members’ postcards gathered around a certain theme.

This time, for July 2009, the theme is 'Signs'.

Everyone is welcome, from Postcrossers to vintage postcard collectors, from beginners to experienced deltiologists*. There’s just one requirement – you must love postcards!

For my Carnival entry, I've chosen this women's history related postcard from my collections, c. 1910. What kind of sign does it refer to?

Why protest signs, of course!

This is one of many British anti-suffrage postcards. It illustrates a very young girl in the prisoner's dock facing a judge in wig and gown sitting at a desk. The little girl's eyes seem to be closed - perhaps she is holding her breath till she hears the verdict? She is well dressed in green and pink. Could it be her ribbons and socks were meant to be violet? The colours green, purple and white were associated with woman's suffrage. She has a 'Votes For Women' sign beside her in the dock.

This 'scene' appears to have been set in a photographer's studio; the edge of the plain backdrop is visible.

There are anti-woman's suffrage postcards from Canada and from the United States too, but British postcards seem to me to have far more pointed references than the others. The mention of the sentence given - "Two months without chocolates" not only trivializes the sentences given to adult suffragettes, but likely refers to the consequences of imprisonment for suffragettes who went on hunger strikes - forcefeeding - which went on from 1909 -1913. Thus the card may well date from this period or afterwards.

Tuck's was a very well known and a very prolific postcard publishing company. This card was bought from a Canadian dealer and it, or ones like it, may have circulated in Canada. Canadians were well aware of woman's suffrage events and activities in Great Britain. These were widely reported in Canadian newspapers and often mentioned in discussions (pro and con) concerning woman's suffrage in Canada.

In 1910, a group of western Canadian teachers visited England and mainland Europe and one of them spoke to a Winnipeg newspaper about her impressions of a large suffrage parade in London, likely the one held 23 July, 1910.

“An Impressive Parade

One of the Canadian teachers, who returned this week form the trip to England and the continent saw the suffragette parade in London, a parade of forty thousand women, and heard Mrs. Pankhurst speak. She says the parade was wonderfully impressive, and it was timed to be just forty years later than a parade of laborers who desired the vote, and who when the gates of Hyde Park were closed against them, tore the gates down and went in, despite the protests of the police. Mrs. Pankhurst illustrated the progress made by the fact that the women did not need to tear the gates down. In the park were forty platforms, and forty speakers urged the cause of women, frequently interrupted by men when a good point was made. In the parade were eight hundred university graduates in caps and gowns; there were carriages of the wealthy and aristocratic and hundreds of the middle class and poor walked. Every class of society was represented in that immense parade, a parade that will never be forgotten by the Canadian women who saw it.
The following day the anti-suffragettes had a parade, which was such a poorly managed, weak affair, that had the supported aimed to show their losing cause they could not have taken a better way. It was a surprise to many the number of men in the old country who are strongly in sympathy with the suffragettes, and who point out that forty years of quiet constitutional work of earnest women did not do so much for the cause of women as two or three years of stones and brick-bats.”

Manitoba Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,

Friday, 9 September, 1910, page 9.


Woman's suffrage related postcards seemed once almost neglected by collectors, but today's prices often reflect a new interest.

Here's a display of 'Suffragette Postcards , c.1910' including ones from Great Britain, from the University of Waterloo Library, Archives and Rare Books Division, in Ontario, Canada. The Exploring 20th century London website has others on-line.

Suffrage women's groups also published pro-suffrage postcards in Great Britain. Some were done by members of the Artists' Suffrage League allied with the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). The Women's Library (London Metropolitan University, England) holds NUWSS records, as well as records of the Artists' Suffrage League.

Tuck's Post Card (back), Carte Postale Postkarte "Raphael Tuck & Sons" "Rapholette" "The Suffragette"
Series 8090 Art Publishers to their Majesties The King & Queen. Processed in Saxony. See also trademark, etc. Divided back; unused; poor condition. Private collection.

For more about both suffragette and anti-suffragette use of images, including postcards, particularly in Great Britain, see:

The spectacle of women: Imagery of the Suffrage Campaign 1907-14 by Lisa Tickner (London: Chatto & Windus, 1987).
Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide, 1866 -1928 by Elizabeth Crawford (Abingdon, England: Routledge, 2001 - originally published London UCL Press, 1999).

*deltiologist - from the Greek δελτίον, deltion, diminutive of δέλτος - deltos, 'writing tablet, letter' and from λογία - logia - 'speech', also 'study' - thus someone who studies and collects postcards. See Deltiology at Wikipedia.

If you're a postcard collector or interested in learning about postcards, visit the Vancouver Postcard Club, British Columbia, Canada

A Festival of Postcards - A New Blog Carnival

Westminster Abbey and Victoria Towers, London, 8, England. Postcard, unused. No identification; real photograph, split back.


Evelyn Yvonne Theriault who writes at A Canadian Family has just announced a brand new blog carnival:

A Festival of Postcards

The theme for her first Carnival this month is - Wheels!

I'll be participating. Hope you will too.

Odette - Smile for the Camera - 13th Edition

This is Odette Rogers supervising one of my frequent genealogical organization sessions. As you can probably tell from her expression, she's pretty strict about my sorting notebooks and papers out

and tidying them away! It's a never ending task for her.

She came to live with us after being abandoned in a nearby city. We feel very lucky to have her with us!

This posting is for the 13th Edition of the Smile for the Camera carnival. All Creatures Great and Small is the theme. Show us a photograph of the family pet. The pet that made it into every family snapshot. That pampered pet your ancestors took to the photographic studio to immortalize in an expensive photograph. The best friend who was there for your ups and downs. Bring them to the carnival and share with us how they were loved through the ages. Admission is free with every photograph!

Watch for this edition of Smile for the Camera to be posted on the 15th of May, 2009 at Shades of the Departed.

Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade of Posts - See it now at Small-Leaved Shamrock

The 2nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade of Posts - the 12th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture - is up at Small-Leaved Shamrock. Settle in for a good read this St Patrick's Day - History, Music, even recipes...

And coming up next in the 13th Edition is - Our Irish heritage: What's in a name? on the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture blog. Join us next time!

IRWIN - MOFFAT - County Cavan, Ireland: 12th Edition, Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture

From your right: James IRWIN, 1821-1910, born County Cavan, Ireland, his grandson Charles Ellery Irwin, his son William Irwin (my great grandpa) with baby great grandson Clarence Campbell Irwin. Photograph: W.B. St. John, Neepawa and Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada (William Berthour St. John. He operated photographic studios in Minnedosa and Neepawa from about 1887-1925.)

This photograph, showing four generations of IRWIN men, is the same image as the first old family photograph I ever owned, other than photos of my parents. My own copy is not this nice - the mat had been 'chewed' by some little creature - and so my Na was happy to give it to me one summer when she & I went through her photos and I labelled as she identified the people in them.

There is a similar photograph showing four generations of IRWIN women, also all related to me. It seems likely to me that it was take at about the same time but the women's photograph has no information identifying a date or photographer.

From your right: Mary Jane (MOFFAT) IRWIN ( 1824-1909) born County Cavan, Ireland, with her granddaughter Ella (Murchison) Mcguire, her daughter Mary Ellen (Irwin) Murchison, and baby great grand daughter, Grace Mcguire.

Mary Ellen (Irwin) Murchison and my great grandfather, William Irwin, were brother and sister.

Note:

William Irwin's wife was Janet Carmichael.

Charles Ellery Irwin's wife was Henrietta Scott Campbell.

Mary Ellen Irwin's husband was Malcolm 'Mac' Murchison.

Sarah Ellen 'Ella' Murchison's husband was Frederick 'Fred' Adam Mcguire.

Posted for Small-leaved Shamrock's St. Patrick's Day parade - the 12th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture. I'm not too sure what my Irish ancestors would really think of our modern St Patrick's day, but I hope they'd appreciate my thinking of them.

A previous post at the Cemetery Rabbit of British Columbia shows photographs of James and Mary Jane's grave at Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada.

If you are interested in the history of St Patrick's Day, I recommend The wearing of the green: a history of St. Patrick's Day by Mike Cronin and Daryl Adair (Abingdon, Oxford, England & New York, USA: Routledge, 2006)

16th Edition - Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

The 16th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is now posted at Jessica's Genejournal. This edition was a carnival so there's a really interesting variety of articles this time. Thanks Jessica!

The next edition will be hosted right here at 'CanadaGenealogy, or, Jane's Your Aunt' by myself, M. Diane Rogers.

The topic?

International Women's Day is in March each year, so our theme this time is

'Women in Central and Eastern European Genealogy'

Have you a female ancestor from Eastern or Central Europe you'd like to highlight, or do you have tips specifically for researching women there, or have you found a good article, book or website that assists in historical research about women from Central and Eastern Europe?

You don't have to have ancestors from Eastern or Central Europe to participate in this Carnival.

The deadline for the submissions will be March 29th, 2009 and the 17th edition will be published on the 31st. You can submit your article here at BlogCarnival.

Some Canadian research sources - Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

“Marriage of Elisabeth Schäffer and Benjamin Dick, 1907. Showing Russian-German dress” - See note 1

Credit: Schaffer, Jacob / Library and Archives Canada / C-014489

Location unknown. Private source. No restrictions on use. Copyright expired.

I am still learning about research on Central and Eastern European genealogy for my Canadian family connections and since this edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is a 'carnival', I thought I'd blog about a couple of sources I've been looking at.

Both are available through Statistics Canada's website, which is not a government department that most might think to look to first for genealogy information. Statistics Canada is responsible for Canada's national censuses - a central source for 1850-1911 Canadian genealogical research - but the historical censuses have to be transferred to Library and Archives Canada before they are made available to researchers.

Canada Year Book Collection

Censuses were never meant primarily for genealogy, however much we might wish it had been so. Information gathered from each census is intended usually for government, or nowadays, perhaps for certain commercial uses. From each census, statistics are compiled on various topics. Much of this data is now very useful to historical and genealogical researchers. Recently, Statistics Canada put on-line free its Canada Year Book Collection, covering 100 years from Canada's confederation in 1867 to 1967.

I have been 'collecting' some information from these on immigration to the province of Manitoba, Canada where my mother was born. Just as an example, this is from the 1907 Canada Year Book.

Population – Manitoba

1881 62,260
1891 152, 506
1901 255,211

Population By birthplace (my selections)

Austria-Hungary
1881 -
1891 -
1901 11,570

Germany
1881 208
1891 857
1901 2,285

Russia
1881 5,335
1891 6,251
1901 8,854

At Sea
1881 7
1891 7
1901 23

Statistics by province are also given by race or origin and by religion. Always check the notes - under religion in 1891, for instance, Manitoba Mennonites are 'lumped in' with Baptists.

1907 Canada Yearbook, p. 5, Table 1
Canada Year Book Collection, Statistics Canada (1867 to 1967):
http://www65.statcan.gc.ca/acyb_r000-eng.htm


1940 National Registration, Canada

The Canadian 1940 National Registration process included anyone in Canada from 1940-1946 who was 16 years of age or older, unless in the armed forces, religious orders, or confined to an institution. These records are still in the care of Statistics Canada; some of the records for those who died during that period were destroyed.

These records may include the place and country of birth of individual and his or her parents,the individual's nationality, their year of entry into Canada, if an immigrant, their racial origin, and their languages. All very important information for genealogists.

Although there is a “soundex-format index”, to request a record you must supply the full name, place of residence in 1940, and some identifying details, such as country of birth, date of birth, approximate age and occupation - as well as proof of death at least 20 years ago, in most cases. Requesting a 1950 National Registration record is not free for genealogical/historical requests, the charge is $47.25 Canadian for each search. This is refunded for unsuccessful searches.

1940 Canadian National Registration: Details, mailing address: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-911.007-e.html

Statistics Canada, Request form: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=93C0006&lang=eng

Genealogists and historians are asking to have these 1940 National Registration records transferred to Library and Archives Canada. I will keep you posted on this.

Genealogical Societies and Conferences

During Scanfest today, genealogical conferences were one of the topics discussed. I always look forward to going to a 'big' conference and know there are at least two coming up in North America this year. I thought I'd post the links here too. I'll be attending the AHSGR conference in Medicine Hat, as that's the closest to me this year.

American Historical Society of Germans From Russia: http://www.ahsgr.org/

Conference in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada 15-21 June 2009


Joint Conference - the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe and the Federation of East European Family History Societies: http://www.sggee.org/conventions/ConventionNews.html

Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, July 24-25th, 2009



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Note 1 - This photograph is not related to my family (as far as I know). For a thoughful comment on the LAC caption for this photograph, see Framing Canada: A Photographic Memory, The Canadian Mosaic: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/framingcanada/026020-3527-e.html

2008 iGene Awards - Carnival of Genealogy

The winners of the 2008 iGene Awards for the Carnival of Genealogy were announced today! See Creative Gene for links to all the winning posts. Congratulations to all and thank you to Creative Gene for organizing the Awards again this year.


The theme for the next Carnival of Genealogy will be: "Nobody's Fool" – who in your family was known to have the best common sense, the best sage advice and basically just “kept it together” all the time? Let's hear about them! Hosted by Thomas MacEntee at Destination: Austin Family. Deadline: March 1

The 2008 iGene Awards - Carnival of Genealogy - 66th Edition

It's time to announce the 2008 iGene Awards, The Best of The Best! This year there were 5 categories and the winners are...

Best Picture - Without a doubt this was the "Carnival of Genealogy – “Swimsuit Edition”, from Newdale, Manitoba, Canada 1908, “Merry Widow Camp Aug ’08 Wolfe Lake”, posted Sunday, June 01, 2008.

Great photograph of a happy time. Lots of comments for this one. Although I have since found a number of other references to Wolfe Lake in Manitoba, I haven’t yet found it on a map : http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/06/carnival-of-genealogy-swimsuit-edition.html

Best Screen Play – This family photo will inspire a new Canadian ‘Heritage Moment' film series – posted Wednesday, May 07, 2008, "General Stores of Canada: Merchants and Memories by R.B. Fleming".

I'd like to play an old curmudgeon grumbling in the back corner of the store, but I’d cast Yannick Bisson as whoever of Newdale, Manitoba simply because... (and he's Canadian) : http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/05/general-stores-of-canada-merchants-and.html

Best Documentary - The winner here is an article about the 1916 Canadian Prairie census posted Thursday, August 21, 2008, "Canada, 1916 - Taking The Census in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba": http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/08/canada-1916-taking-census-in-alberta.html

The 1916 Canadian prairie census is now available to view on microfilm through Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and many libraries. We await the arrival of an index and page images at Ancestry.com. This census has been indexed by FamilySearch volunteers; page images and the index were briefly available free on-line. The 1916 images are to be available on LAC's website by Winter 2009 and a free index should be on LAC's website by Summer 2011. I understand the census index will be on FamilySearch free to all in December, 2011, perhaps sooner to 'qualified' FamilySearch members.

Best Biography – 2008's winning article has already inspired me to do more research and to plan a trip to Manitoba, Canada next year. Posted Sunday, December 07, 2008, "Isabelle McTavish - Canadian Missionary Doctor - 1881-1953: Canadian Genealogy Carnival, Edition 2": http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/12/isabelle-mctavish-canadian-missionary.html

Best Comedy – It's a tie - no, wait, it's a hat! The 2008 comedy choices are from Wednesday, September 10, 2008, “Na's Hat - Smile for the Camera”: http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/09/nas-hat-smile-for-camera.html
and Monday, September 15, 2008, “Na's Hat - another look”: http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/09/nas-hat-another-look.html

Those are the 5 iGene Award winners for 2008. Congratulations to all!

Links to all the iGene Award blogs will be posted at Creative Gene soon: http://creativegene.blogspot.com/

Smile for the Camera - 10th Edition - Costume

Unknown subject, cabinet card,

Le Rue Lemer, Harrisburg, PA,

no other identifying information.

I love this unknown woman's image and show it in my photograph workshops sometimes. It is a 'stray' that I bought in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.

I think the photographer must have been pleased with the way the photograph points up the various textures in her costume and her hair. She is showing off her ring finger, so I thought this must have been an engagement photograph, but she does seem sad to me. Perhaps she meant to look wistful. But what I specially like is that her dress is even more 'upholstered' and 'decorated' than the chair she rests her hands on. I do hope it wasn't hot that day.

I've seen many references on-line to photographs from this studio in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. According to the book, Harrisburg's Old Eighth Ward, the LeRue Studio was the longest continuously operating business in the city. LeRue Lemer Senior (1837-1920) is mentioned as a photographer. Harrisburg's Old Eighth Ward: The Old Eighth Ward, Pennsylvania by J. Howard Wert, Michael Barton, and Jessica Dorman ( Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, USA: Arcadia Publishing, 2002) Preview on-line at Google Book Search: http://books.google.ca/books?id=VPxdCBkoKIgC&printsec=frontcover

This photograph is my entry for the 10th Edition of Smile For The Camera. The theme this time is Costume - as in dress in general; especially the distinctive style of dress of a people, class, or period. Show us that picture that you found with your family collection or purchased that shows the costumes of the rich to the not so rich, from the civil war to the psychedelic sixties. I know you have them, so share.

Smile for the Camera, Shades of the Departed: http://www.shadesofthedeparted.com/

Ukraine: An Illustrated History - Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - 15th Edition

Souvenir booklet for Ukrainian Week in Ottawa, Canada, 30 January to 8 February, 1976. 66 pp. Black & white with colour photo on back cover. Private collection.

The image shown on the front cover is a 'bandurist', a singing minstrel ..."known for his songs of heroism and valour."

It’s time for the 15th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. This will be my first entry in this Carnival. The topic this time is “history books. Write about a history book that you have read or are reading that deals with the history of a Central or Eastern European country or the regions of Central and Eastern Europe.”

Although I have no direct ancestors from Central or Eastern Europe (that I know of), several people in my family married into Ukrainian Canadian families and my mother grew up in an area of Manitoba, Canada where many Ukrainian Canadians lived. I wanted to learn more about these families and thought it a good time to read more about Ukrainian immigration to Canada and about the history of Ukraine.

From school in the 1950’s and later in university courses, the most vivid image of Canada’s immigration policy from the 1890’s was of the immigrants in ‘sheepskin coats’ – the Ukrainian families who were encouraged to emigrate to Canada and take up land on the prairies – in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. I do know something about Canadian immigration policy and prairie settlement, but almost nothing about Ukraine’s own history, so that’s where I decided to start.

The book I chose to read first was Ukraine: An Illustrated History by Paul Robert Magocsi (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007). I did a search about Ukrainian history writing and browsed a couple of library’s shelves first. I picked this particular book because, in his introduction, Magocsi says that “History can best be understood when the reader has access to maps" (p. ix) and I could see right away that maps appear throughout the book and complement the text, photographs and other illustrations. I know that for myself when I am learning about a new place, the first thing I reach for is a map or gazetteer, so I liked Magocsi's style.

Paul Robert Magocsi is the Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, the editor of The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples and the author of a number of books and articles. I was interested to see that much history of Ukraine has been written by Canadians and sponsored by Canadian organizations.

I found Ukraine: An Illustrated History a very readable, well organized and balanced history. Magocsi’s study of Ukrainian history involves a “territorial, or multicultural approach” (p.ix). He stresses the importance of Ukraine's historic regions, even when their boundaries have extended beyond present-day Ukraine and he looks, however briefly, at all the various ethnic groups who’ve lived in these regions. Little history worth reading is without controversy, and I know Magocsi’s multi-cultural approach, particularly concerning the Rusyns, has been criticized, but those new to Ukrainian history like myself will likely appreciate his "territorial" approach. I did find some of the sections on World War II less balanced, even troubling, though.

Ukraine: An Illustrated History covers the history of this area from the time of its first semi-permanent settlements to almost present day. The introductory chapter on physical geography was too short for me, and since the book is only 308 pages, no early period gets too much attention. About a third of the book covers Ukraine’s history after World War I. Although there is little detail about the period I am most interested in, 1890-1914, this is certainly a book well worth reading for background history alone and it has spurred me to read further.

Ukraine: An Illustrated History has 46 maps as well as 16 charts (mainly dealing with population), a good index and excellent illustrations. The only thing missing, I think, is a note on ‘further reading’. However, since Magocsi himself has written many other books, including two general books on Ukraine – A History of Ukraine (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996) and Ukraine, a historical atlas written with Geoffrey J. Matthews, cartographer, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985) likely I will continue on with these.

In addition, I am currently reading two other older histories which I am finding helpful: Peasants in the promised land: Canada and the Ukrainians, 1891-1914 by Jaroslav Petryshyn with Luba Dzubak (Toronto: James Lorimer & Co., 1985) and Early Ukrainian settlements in Canada, 1895-1900: Dr. Joseph Oleskow's role in the settlement of the Canadian Northwest by Vladimir Julian Kaye (Toronto: Ukrainian Canadian Research Foundation, University of Toronto Press, 1964). Both these books are based in large part upon archival sources and discuss to some extent the history of Ukrainian attitudes towards emigration. Kaye’s book is very detailed; Petryshyn’s doesn’t neglect the history of Ukrainian Canadian labour and radical politics. Both books are indexed; Kaye’s book even includes a surname index.

I am also reading two genealogy guides - Ukrainian Genealogy: A Beginners’ Guide by John D. Pihack (Edmonton, Canada: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, 2007) and Finding Your Ukrainian Ancestors by Muryl Andrejciw Geary (Toronto: Heritage Productions, 4th Edition, 2003). I can recommend these two guides as well. Geary’s book is a good introduction to research and Pihack’s book is particularly thorough with extensive suggestions for research sources and reading.

I'm very interested in hearing suggestions for further reading.

To read more about this Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, go to:
Jessica's Genejournal: http://jessicagenejournal.blogspot.com

Cabinet of Curiosities #13 (Baker's Dozen Edition)

Well, the Cabinet of Curiosities #13 - the Baker's Dozen Edition is up at Walking The Berkshires and what a wonderful melange of curiosities it is this time.

Love the flying pig and the sneaker burger (NOT the dress! although think of the work that went into that). From animal crackers to steamer trunks to fish to human tripods and yeti crabs- this Cabinet has it all, even dust and old book perfume (don't need those though- we have the real stuff right here). Thomas certainly know what's needed for an elegant blogging evening, but no, thank you, grandma doesn't want to find those taxidermists' eyes in her button box...eeewwww.

Cabinet of Curiosities #13 - Baker's Dozen Edition, Walking The Berkshires: http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2009/01/cabinet-of-curiosities-13-bakers-dozen-edition.html

Cabinet of Curiosities, 13th Edition

Cabinet of Curiosities, 13th Edition

"Our Curiosity Cabinet is a marvelous melange"

Well, this time round I pulled an old wooden box out of the Curiosity Cabinet - its contents are indeed a melange, a variety, an assortment of miscellaneous things - buttons!

This is my grandma Rogers' button box, full of years of our family life - Grandpa's and Dad's shirt buttons, big fancy buttons from the colourful dresses my mum liked to wear, the odd earring or part of a broach (might come in handy someday, you know), a hot pink button from one of my favourite teenage coats, even some Canadian Army buttons - buttons nowadays are so plain in comparison.

I never really knew my grandma Rogers, but when I was little, while mum sewed, I used to play at sorting buttons from the box by colour and size or just by picking out the ones I liked. Later on I made little decorative pins with buttons, nowadays sometimes I scrapbook with buttons. (You're right - it's seldom anymore that I actually sew on a button!) I always think of this as 'her' box although it's been used by mum and me since 1954.

I do collect one kind of buttons now myself - heart shaped buttons. You can see a few here. I can't seem to let go of the others though - surely they'd be useful to someone, but there are a lot of memories in that box.

I'm not alone in collecting buttons.

Here is Paul Rice's amazing website full of his grandmother, Anna Claudia Cope's, buttons: http://www.pdrice.com/

The Keep Homestead Museum in Monson, MA, USA has Myra Keep Lovell Moulton's button collection. Photos: http://www.keephomesteadmuseum.org

An article about the Warther Carvings Museum and Button Collection in Dover, OH, USA - 73,282 buttons on display. Roadside America.com: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10049

Have a look at the links to learn something more about buttons and those who collect them.

LINKS

Serious button collectors research buttons, talk about buttons, show off their buttons, even make art with buttons. Here’s some photos from the Ottawa Valley (Canada) Button Club: http://www.ottawavalleybuttonclub.ca/ButtonClub/Ottawa_Valley_Button_Club.html

National Button Society: http://nationalbuttonsociety.org/

“Button Collecting: A Lifetime Voyage of Discovery” by M. W. Speights, Editor, National Button Bulletin, from Antiques & Art Around Florida, Summer/Fall 1998: http://www.aarf.com/febutt98.htm

“Collecting antique buttons” by mayanddec, an eBay Canada Guide: http://reviews.ebay.ca/Collecting-antique-buttons_W0QQugidZ10000000000936360