Saturday, November 13, 2010

Surname Saturday - SPEARING, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada

Mark Spearing is my 4gr-grandfather and he arrived in Nova Scotia sometime prior to his August 1816 marriage to Patience Lake.  Apparently, he had had been Shanghied in Britain as a boy and spent a period of time at sea before jumping ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.  He made his way to the Kempt Shore area (now Hants County) where he, according to family lore, obtained a land grant for his service to the King.  Is this story true?  Well, I think he obtained some land, but I'm not certain how or why.

There are no known photos of Mark or Patience.

According to entries in a bible that had belonged to Emma Collicut (Mark's Great-Granddaughter), Mark was born on 24 March 1789 , died on 04 November 1858 and Patience Lake was born 10 June 1787 and died 25 May 1861.  Mark and Patience were married on 08 August 1816.  No places or parents' names were recorded.  Mark and Patience were buried in High Head Cemetery, Cambridge, Hants County. 

I will have to do some research to confirm these dates so I think I will start with the marriage and then check out the land grant indexes at NSARM.  Their website also lists a microfilm number for High Head Cemetery records, so I've put that on my to-do list.

I have a cousin, a 2gr-granddaughter of Mark's, who I can call to discuss this with so I will try to do that this weekend.

Please see the link on the side bar "Spearing Family" for the unsourced information that I have gathered so far about Mark, Patience and their children.  I am descended from their son, Nathan and his wife, Ellison (Cox) Spearing.

Next week, I will report on my progress on this family.

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Series of BBC Videos on WWI on YouTube

I watched the first in this series of videos and I was hooked.  The ends are "chopped" off a couple of them, but I was happy to see the film footage and photos anyway.

http://youtu.be/_jJ-gEyxek0 BBC World War One from Above - 1/4

http://youtu.be/tHSqSA10rvY BBC World War One from Above 2/4

http://youtu.be/b0qGahOKerQ BBC World War One from Above 3/4

http://youtu.be/1C6cZ6HodXg BBC World War One from Above - 4/4

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Certification with the Genealogy Institute of the Maritimes

I attended a very informative meeting for potential applicants to the Genealogy Institute of the Maritimes last night.  We are a small group of 6 (maybe 7) who have applied to the Institute or are considering it.  We wanted to learn more about the process and gain some confidence in our ability to create a submission that would be accepted.


I think most of us felt intimidated by the process going into the meeting but now feel that it is do-able.  A couple of us realized just how much work we have ahead of us.


I think I will bite the bullet and apply sometime in the next few months.  Now to decide whether to apply for Genealogical Researcher [Canada] [GRS (C)]; or Certified Genealogist [Canada] [CG(C)].  That decision will partly depend on how many points I can rack up on the application form.  Here is the Guide for Certification Candidates


In order to have a submission critiqued before actually submitting, I have to create a report on a family that I won't be submitting to GIM.  Our "mentor" Dr. Allan Marble, CG(C)", is an examiner for GIM and it would be a conflict of interest for him to help us with our actual submissions.  So, I have to pick two families that I want to research.  I will have to have a practice one ready for our January meeting so it can be viewed and critiqued by Allan and the rest of the group.  It will be a lot of work, but fun too, so I'm looking forward to it. 

I've tentatively chosen the two families - Descendants of Mark Spearing/Patience Lake, Hants County, Nova Scotia Nova Scotia for my practice one and Descendants of John Jacob Deal/Elizabeth Heyson, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia for the actual submission.  Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind if one or the other becomes too difficult! :)


So, now to become disciplined and get working on my Mark Spearing research.  Family lore says that he was Shanghied in Britain at the age of 14 and spent an unknown number of years at sea before jumping ship in Halifax with another boy/man.  Mark is an interesting character who was once suspected of murdering a sherriff (later determined to be false) and who received a land grant in Hants County that was mismeasured and resulted in him getting a lot more land than he should have.


Well, now to get started...




Until next time, Happy Researching!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Do I Want to be a Certified Genealogist?

I've thought now and again that I might want to work towards gaining my certification, but I've been intimidated by the process and I'm unsure if I'm ready.  However, I'm going to a meeting tomorrow night to learn more about the application, the required submission and the exam, so I may decide to take the plunge and spend the next year working on it.


If I decide to go for it, how will I decide which family should I use for the submission?  I'm hoping I will come away from tomorrow night's meeting with a better idea of how to decide.


If you're interested in knowing more about how you can gain your certification in the Canadian Maritime Provinces, check out the Genealogy Institute of the Maritimes website.


Until next time, Happy Researching!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Surname Saturday - Sherman, Smith, McCann, Wile, Deal, Carmichael, Cox, Spearing - Hants County, Nova Scotia Ancestors

It's been raining forever - or so it seems - and today is a great day to think about organizing some genealogy.  I am really fortunate that most of my ancestors stayed in one place for a big chunk of time.  It makes it easier to find them in church, census and land grant records.

In keeping with the daily blogging prompts over at Geneabloggers, I decided to post some of the surnames I've been working on.

Here are some of my earliest known Hants County ancestors, in no particular order, and where they were prior to coming to Hants County, if known:

SHERMAN - George William Sherman married Lucy Ann Rafuse in Cornwallis in 1863.  George must have been beamed up from another planet as I can find no records of him prior to the marriage and he must have beamed back to wherever he came from, because after the birth of their son William in 1876, he disappears.  It's possible that he was from Apple River, Cumberland County as their eldest son, George Frederick, was born there (according to his obituary).  I wonder if this family removed to the States at one point because they aren't listed in the 1871 or 1881 Canadian census.  Lucy Ann was described as the 3rd daughter of Daniel Rafuse of Cornwallis.

SMITH - Charles Henry Smith who was actually Henry D'Arcy.  He arrived in Nova Scotia in 1889 fresh out of a Reform School in England through General Laurie's channels.  He worked for a time on the Hants Shore.  He married Mary Elizabeth Sherman in 1893 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia and they had 5 children who were born in Wentworth Creek, Hants County.  My maternal grandmother, Ada May Smith was their eldest daughter.  She married Clarence Arthur McCann in Falmouth, Nova Scotia in July of 1912.

McCANN - George William McCann is my earliest proven McCann ancestor.  He was born in Newport on January 25, 1836.  I believe his parents were William and Elizabeth McCann but I have found no records to prove this - I haven't located a record of his marriage to Mary Jane Martin or his birth record.  Their son Arthur Frederick married Ella Jane Carmichael.  Their son, Clarence and his wife, Ada May Smith, are my maternal grandparents.  I also have not found a marriage record for William and Elizabeth McCann.  I believe that William's parents were John and Ann McCann whom I found in the Overseers of the Poor records, but have no proof.  If I can connect George to William and William to John then my earliest McCann ancestors were in Hants County by the 1790s.  I have no idea where John and Ann were prior to that time.  Family tradition says the McCanns were originally from Ireland.

WILE - Frederick Wile who was born in 1820 in Bridgewater came to Wile Settlement (formerly known as Mt. Summerville) from Bridgewater sometime around the 1870s.  His son, Henry, lived in Leminster and his son, Willard (my grandfather) built a farm in Mt. Denson where my father, Frederick Elkanah, was born.

DEAL - John Elkanah Deal who was born July 29, 1827 came to Hants County from Bridgwater around the 1870s.  I am descended from his son, Timothy.  Timothy's daughter, Bessie Cecelia married Willard Wile.  They are my paternal grandparents.

CARMICHAEL - James Knox Carmichael, born July 7, 1789 dropped into Kings County, Nova Scotia on a spaceship from Londonderry - but which one? :)  He was a school teacher and eventually migrated to Hants County date unknown.  I am descended from his son, Anaxamander, who was a carpenter and coffn maker on the Hants Shore.  He also dabbled in owning ships along with his father-in-law, Nathan Spearing.  He married Martha Jane Spearing and they had a daughter Ella Jane who married Arthur Frederick McCann.  Their son, Clarence, married Ada May Smith.  They are my maternal grandparents.

COX - William Cox was on his way home to England aboard the ship "Harpooner" in 1816 when it was wrecked off the coast of Newfoundland.  He made his way to Nova Scotia and settled in Hants County.  He married Mary, a "native" of Hants County.  Her surname may have been Ritchie and she may have been aboriginal.   I am descended from his daughter, Ellison, who married Nathan Spearing.  Their daughter, Martha Jane, married Anaxamander Carmichael, whose daughter, Ella Jane married Arthur Frederick McCann. (see McCANN above).

SPEARING - Mark Spearing was Shanghied in Britain (possibly Ireland) and jumped ship in Nova Scotia.  The story was that he and another boy at the age of 14 were lured to a tavern where they were plied with drink.  He woke up on a ship in the middle of the ocean.  It's unknown how long he was at sea.  At some point, the story goes that he was granted land in the Cambridge, Hants County area for military service.  He married Patience Lake in Nova Scotia in 1816.  Their son, Nathan, married Ellison Cox.  Their daughter, Martha Jane, married Anaxamander Carmichael (see CARMICHAEL above).  I haven't done a lot of research on the Spearing surname, but a cousin has said that she has never found that surname and wonders if it was changed in Nova Scotia  so he could avoid detection after jumping ship.

If you are researching any of the above families, please leave me a comment or drop me a line at pamelawile AT eastlink.ca (replace the AT with @) I'd love to hear from you.  Maybe we can share our research.

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Christmas Memories Update

A couple of weeks ago, I emailed my five siblings and asked them to send me any Christmas memories they had of food, gifts, traditions, etc. from their growing up years in Windsor, Nova Scotia.  My brother responded and said he would jot some things down and a sister wrote that she didn't have any good memories of Christmas!

A couple of days ago, I received an envelope in the mail that contained several handwritten pages of memories from another sister.  I enjoyed reading through them and plan to type them in the next few days.  I'm hoping to get ready for the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories at Geneabloggers.  And, I think my grandchildren will enjoy hearing about Christmas in the "olden days" lol.

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Canada 1914-1918 Ypres

It's been a while since I posted here.  I've been working on another blog, Clarence's Letters Home, where I've been adding letters that my grandfather, Clarence Arthur McCann, wrote to his family during WWI.  So, when I saw this website on an email list, I thought I would share it here.

This website is for The National Schools Vigil which is a Remembrance of the 68,000 Canadians who died in WWI.  These soldiers' names will be projected one at a time and displayed for 25 seconds simultaneously in each of the participating schools in Canada and in Belgium.  Please have a look at  Canada 1914-1918 Ypres  and read about this worthwhile project.

Lest We Forget

Monday, October 25, 2010

Military Monday

The military has been a fixture in my family.  My father served in the Candian Navy during WWII on a supply ship, his twin brothers were in the Air Force retiring from that branch of service.  My brother joined the Armed Forces, Naval Branch and has retired now.

I have three brothers-in-law - two navy and one army - two nephews - one navy, one army.

Luckily, none of them were injured or killed.

My maternal grandfather, Clarence Arthur McCann, enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1915 and spent four years overseas.  He did make it home, but he suffered from a variety of illnesses including trench mouth and foot problems from being in wet boots for weeks on end in the sea of mud they called Ypres.  He was also gassed and suffered from chest pains for the rest of his short life.  He died just before his 56th birthday of a heart attack.  So, maybe he really was a casualty of war.

Clarence wrote many letters to his father, mother, brother and sister between 1915 and 1919 and over 100 of them have survived.  I have created a blog, Clarence's Letters Home , so I can share those letters with other researchers.

I am extremely proud of my grandfather.  Clarence gave up the comforts of home and family to fight for freedom.  He saw and heard things that no human being should have to experience.  As a result, his descendants have freedoms galore.

Go on over to the blog and have a look.  Hope you find the letters interesting.  Leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

New Blog for My Grandfather's Letters 1915 - 1919

A number of years ago, my uncle, Bob, transcribed over 100 letters that his father, Clarence Arthur McCann, had written during WWI.  These letters were discovered amongst Clarence's sister's belongings after she passed away.  The first letters were written from Fredericton, NB where Clarence had enlisted and the remaining ones from England and France and Belgium.  I had always thought I would publish them, but after listening to a webinar on blogging at http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Webinars.asp I decided to bite the bullet and create a blog.  The link to Clarence's Letters Home is in the side bar.  I have typed the Introduction that I found in the binder of transcriptions that my uncle gifted to me and also typed the first letter which was rather long :)

I hope to go back and fill in some of the info on the people and events mentioned in his letters, but will wait until I have finished typing the letters.

There is a lot of interesting information in these letters and if you have an ancestor that served overseas in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, it will give you an insight into what they may have experienced.  If your ancestor was from Windsor, NS, you may find mention of them in the letters.  If you do, please drop me a line and let me know.

As time goes on, I will add photos of Clarence, his family, his childhood home and anything else I come across.

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Links, Links and More Links!

I've begun reading a number of blogs and checking out the links that the authors have posted.  There is tons of genealogy related stuff out there that I didn't even know existed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006zbxm  a BBC series described as "A series exploring the practice of researching family history, one of the UK's most rapidly growing pastimes"

http://www.canadianheadstones.com/ - a site devoted to gathering digital photos of Canadian headstones - searchable database and organized by Province

http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Webinars.asp - Webinars on various topics including blogging

https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/White_Paper:_Preserving_Your_Family_History_Records_Digitally - recommended by Dick Eastman

Quicksheet – Genealogical Problem Analysis: A Strategic Plan developed and authored by Elizabeth Shown Mills - I've wanted one of these for a while.  This might be a Christmas present from me, for me :)

http://www.genealogyintime.com/index.html  Genealogy in Time Newsletter - I enjoy this newsletter.  This week has info about Google developments.

http://www.goo.gl/ Google URL Shortener

Ancestry has started to advertise Family Tree Maker 2011.  It looks like there have been some interesting enhancements in Chart making in this version.  I've been using FTM for quite a few years, but have plenty of work to do to get all of my research into the program.  I think I'll work with the version I have until the bugs have been worked out of FTM 2011.

Until next time, Happy Researching!




Monday, October 18, 2010

Pros and Cons of Writing Family History

I emailed my siblings yesterday to ask about their growing up Christmas memories as I want to compile a small "book" about holidays, the house we grew up in, etc. I also asked if my father, who died when I was young, had ever worn a hat. I had been watching a tv program about unseen footage of JFK and noticed that a lot of the men were wearing hats in 1963 and that prompted me to wonder about Dad.

I've received two responses so far. One sibling says that he will jot down some things in the next few days and that Dad sometimes wore a hat - not often, but when he did it was one like Al Capone's. So far, so good :) That would be one of the pros.  I had to Google images of Al Capone to see what that might look like.  Here's one photo:


Al Capone's Snazzy Hat

The second sibling emailed that she didn't have any good memories of Christmas and then related a story about a gift gone bad from when she was 15 or 16. So, I guess I won't be including that story :)  That would be one of the cons.

Hopefully, I'll hear from the other three and be able to put something together. In the meantime, I'll start writing my own memories so they are ready to insert when the time comes. Maybe I'll read them to my own grandchildren around Christmas time. I bet they'll like that!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Pet List Continued

Well, I started my pet list tonight. I like the way this blog prompts me to do something I said I would do. The list of budgies, cats, dogs, fish and a canary and hampster is quite long.

Now to jot down everything I can remember about them. It's a good opportunity to talk to Mom about the cats that belonged to my family when I was born and the budgies we used to have. Maybe she can remember them and we can have a warm, fuzzy talk and maybe even a laugh or two.

There are some fish that were nameless until just a minute ago. Hank and Scully were named after the characters on Dr. Quinn.

After the stories are written, I'll add the photos I can find for each of them. Sadly there aren't any of the early budgies but they were kind of standard looking :) The challenge will be to find photos of all the pets before digital cameras.

The other challenge will be to wade through the tons of digital photos that aren't tagged or named.

I think I've identified another project!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Genealogy Mysteries

I've been reading some genealogy mysteries lately and was happy to see an article on Dick Eastman's genealogy newsletter that talks about the website Stop You're Killing Me, a website that lists hundreds of mystery books and their authors. There is a new genealogy section and I will be looking for these books at my library.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Pets and Genealogy

You might say "what do pets and genealogy have in common" and, I guess the answer is nothing. However, my kitty, Skittles, certainly adds some laughter and comfort to my life and that got me to thinking that I've never really recorded any information about pets that I've had during my time here on earth. From the cats that my family had when I was born to budgie birds and dogs and more cats, they all had unique personalities and provided a few funny and sad stories here and there. I do have pictures of most of them too. So, I will have to make a list and start writing about them. After all, they were part of my family and deserve to be remembered.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Genealogy Fiction and How Time Flies

I'm still reading genealogy fiction novels and thoroughly enjoying them. The current one is "Blood Relations", another Torie O'Shea mystery by Rett MacPherson. It's funny and fairly light and is obviously written by a genealogist.

I can't believe my last post was the beginning of August. The days and weeks go by so quickly and before I know it, 6 months has passed. That doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything genealogy related though.

Last night was the first lecture of the 2010/2011 year for the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia It was our first ever Brick Wall Busters and it was a great success. We had a great attendance and people really enjoyed the comments that were made about the queries that had been submitted.

It took a fair amount of work to get it organized, but it was worth it.

My mother fell and broke her hip a few weeks ago, so there was a fair amount of time spent in hospital. She's had surgery and came through that ok, but she is 88 years old and the recovery will be difficult. Family from Ontario will be visiting over the next couple of weeks.

Also, I just returned from Camp Mini Ha Ha in the beautiful Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. This year we created a castle carved from pink builders' foam. It was a big project and won't be finished for a while, but I learned a lot and had a great time.

My castle is home to Axel DeMise, Executioner Extraordinaire. And, he had to have a family tree which I constructed on the blackboard at Camp. It was fun to do and I had a lot of input from fellow campers. I'll post it here in a few days...once I get unpacked and have some time to download pictures.

Hopefully, I'll have some time for my own genealogy this weekend. I would like to start working on a biography for my great-grandfather, Charles Henry Smith. I've recently broken down a brick wall with the help of an email friend and discovered Charles' true identity. I would like to share the story with my mother's siblings and their families. My plan was to spend some time Sunday mornings working on biographies. What a great way to discover the pieces of information that are missing!

Of course, I've never written a biography before, but I'm guessing a bad biography that includes all of the information is better than no biography at all.

Happy Researching!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Childhood Food Memories

I bought some corn on the cob yesterday. While I was cooking it tonight, I remembered that my father had a strange way of eating corn. He had dentures and couldn't sink his teeth into the kernels on the cob. So, would stand the cob up on his plate and slice the kernels off with a paring knife and then eat them using his fork.

Each time I have one of these memories, I think I should write them down. Then I get busy and forget until the next time.

This time, I've started a word doc and saved it in my Dropbox folder. That way, I can add to it whenever I want. Soon, I'll have enough to write a chapter in my family's history.

To me, genealogy is more than names and dates. The "corn on the cob" stories add flesh to the bones and make the genealogy more interesting to read.

This 'n' That

Well, I'm still reading a Comedy of Heirs and I'm really enjoying it. Torie O'Shea is a genealogist and in this book she discovers a family secret while holding a family reunion. I was amused that her cousin makes dollhouse miniatures for a living. That's another of my favourite obsessions.

This series is light and fun and I'm glad I discovered it.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Great Day in Windsor

Helen and I had a wonderful day in Windsor, NS yesterday. We arrived in Windsor just as the West Hants Historical Society opened for the day and dug right into our research. Helen focused on the obituary files and I looked through the family files for the surnames Cox, Sherman, Carmichael and Leighton. Last week, I had copied some information from a book I found at WHHS and forgot to record the source information, so I was able to get that.

We went out for lunch and then got sidetracked for about an hour with the Windsor parade. It lasted about an hour and we took lots of pictures for facebook. Then we got back to our research. WHHS closes at 5:00, so we had a full day. I'll add my research to the pile to "process" this winter. WHHS is only open on Wednesdays from mid September to June so I may not get there again until next year.

When we left the genealogy room, we drove to Chestnut Street on Ferry Hill to have a look at a B & B there. I spent a lot of time in that house when I was a teenager and I wanted to take a picture and get the name of the B & B so I could look it up. It's called Phoenix Hollow. The owner, Kelly, was sitting on the front verandah and gave Helen and I the grand tour. They have done a wonderful job of renovating and decorating this house. I am so pleased that they had the dining room hand painted original ceiling restored. The rooms are gorgeous and seem to have everything a person would need from an overnight accommodation. We plan on staying there sometime in the near future. Oh, and Kelly told us that Debbie Travis recently stayed there so it can't be too shabby!

We then drove around Falmouth a bit on roads where I've never been. It's pretty countryside but I'll have to look at a map before I explore a little more. We then took the Bog Road and drove through Hantsport to Hants Border and R and G's Family Restaurant. My mother (and others) had told me that they have really good "fish bits" and I was looking forward to having some. However, they only serve them on Wednesdays :( But, we did have a good bowl of chowder and caesar salad. The service was great. We had a view of the water from our table and could see a house close to the shore that we thought would have a wonderful view. So, when we left the restaurant, we drove down towards the water and to Avon Street. Well, let me tell you, that little shack by the water was to die for :) We drove slowly along Avon Street gawking at the lovely old homes with wonderful landscaping. I was green with envy :)

We ended up at a small park that is on land donated by Fundy Gypsum. There was a set of steep stairs leading to the beach that afforded a really nice view of Blomidon. Helen and I went down the stairs to the beach and took tons of pictures of the gypsum sitting there. It has really interesting texture and the pictures look great. Helen mentioned that she would use some of her pics for a screensaver and a scrapbook page for her ancestors that worked in the gypsum industry. That reminded me that I have several collateral ancestors that worked at the quarry on Wentworth Road, Hants County and I can do a similar scrapbook page. We plan on getting together during the winter months to work on these.

This was our last stop for the day and we headed home with lots of info to add to our family histories.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Stationery Supplies

I'm sure I have enough stationery supplies to stock a store :) In the past, I've stocked up on dividers, binders, page protectors, file folders, hanging folders and mechanical pencils. I was reminded of that today when I noticed the annual school supply displays in the grocery store.

If you need anything, try to stock up in August and September while the sales are on as these items are double or triple the price for the remainder of the year.

Sometimes I find really good deals at Staples in their clearance section. They used to have 50% off the clearance prices each Saturday, but I'm not sure if they still do as I have enough and have been avoiding that store :)

Now, I just need to start using my stash to get organized!

Road Trip!

Today, I'll be preparing for a trip tomorrow to West Hants Historical Society in Windsor and Kings Courthouse Museum in Kentville with my friend, Helen. I hope to visit some folks that I haven't seen in a while (with some genealogy questions!)and do a little research.

I want to leave my contact information in their family files for the surnames I am researching - Card, Carmichael, Deal, McCann, Sherman, Wile in Windsor and Benjamin, Carmichael, McCann, Sherman in Kings County. I'll work on those today at lunch time.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Genealogy Novels

Recently, I've been discovering some great reads with a genealogy flavour and I've been borrowing them from the library. We're so fortunate to have a wonderful public library in Halifax.

The other day, I finished reading The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. I really enjoyed the book and was sorry that it ended :(

I'll be looking for more of Howe's work.

I also discovered a series of genealogy/family history themed novels by Rett MacPherson. You can find a list of her books and reviews here.

I first read A Veiled Antiquity. It was a 200 page, interesting, easy to read mystery that left me anxious to read the 2nd one I had picked up at the library - A Comedy of Heirs. I'm only on page 16, but this one promises to be as good as the first. So much to read, so little time :)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Success is Sweet!

I visited Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM) after work today. I am so lucky to have access to this wonderful resource for my genealogy research.

Well, I found an obit that I had unsuccessfully searched for previously! John Thomas Sherman, son of George William and Lucy Ann (Rafuse) Sherman, died in 1936 after falling off a round-roof barn that he was shingling. I had recorded his death date as July 22, 1936 but no source, so I have no idea where I got that date. Naturally, I didn't find his obit when I looked through newspapers around that date.

On my last trip to the Old Kings Courthouse Museum, I found a reference to two newspaper obits for John. But, the newspaper dates were August 13 and August 20, 1936. At first, I didn't find the obit in the August 13 issue, so I went on to August 20 and there it was! It gave his death date as August 11, 1936. No wonder I couldn't find it before. I went back to the August 13 issue thinking that it might have a "news report" of the accident. However, what I found was another obit and it was very different from the one that I had already found. What I find absolutely amazing about John is that he was born in 1867 and he has living children in 2010. Can you believe that?

I also found a short obit for my grandmother, Ada May Smith (whose picture you see to the left), who died the same day as her uncle John. How sad for Mary, Ada's mother and my great-grandmother, to have lost her brother and her daughter on the same day.

I am anxious to get back to the Kings County Archives to look for other obits in their extensive collection.

And, I spent a little over an hour working on the GANS Vital Stats from Newspapers project...it was a successful evening.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Best Laid Plans...

Well, you can see that my plans of August 2008 didn't pan out the way I thought they would! I have continued my research but the organization is in the same state as it was two years ago.

Sigh!

Lots has happened since my first (and last) post. I have moved (and packed a lot of genealogy paper), another grandchild was born and I now have a vehicle (the better to travel to Genealogy Societies in Nova Scotia).

And still I think about organizing. So, today I bought a clear, plastic container with a lid to hold the obits that I've gathered from the paper and copied at West Hants Historical Society, the Kings County Courthouse Museum, the public library, Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM) etc. I've been using one that was meant to hold cds/dvds but it's too narrow and some can't lie flat. This container is 15"LX11.5"WX6"D. Should do the trick.

Tomorrow, I'll visit NSARM after work. I have an obit to look up and then I'll continue working on a proofreading/transcribing project for the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia