Family Friday - William Henry McCann b. 17 Oct 1867; d. 25 Nov 1934 - Part I

Last year, before I fell off the blog wagon, I published a blog post about my 2X Great Uncle, Will McCann . I never did get back to finish it, so I thought I should pick up where I left off.

According to the 1901 census, William Henry McCann was born in October 17, 1867. Will was the third child, and second son of George William and Mary Jane (Martin) McCann. His death certificate says he was born two years earlier in Newport, Nova Scotia. However, I haven't yet found a church record to confirm which of those dates is accurate. Familysearch.org has a record for his birth citing the 1865 date, but I haven't yet figured out where their record can be found. If I do, perhaps I can find his parents' marriage record and births of his siblings. More research is needed to determine the location of the residences in each census.

By the time the 1871 census was taken, Will's family had moved to Windsor. He was enumerated along with his parents, 1 brother and three sisters. His age was given as 5 which would agree with the October 1865 birthdate.

According to the census, Will's maternal grandmother, Mary Martin and his great aunt, Annie, share a dwelling with them. The following year on Christmas Day, Annie would marry Edward Stockall, an engine driver with the Intercolonial Railway in Halifax. I'm sure this would have influenced Will's employment path later in his life.

By the 1881 census, Will, age 15, is still living with his parents and siblings in Windsor. There is no occupation listed for him and he is not going to school. His father, George's, occupation is Farmer so perhaps he was helping his father at home. Annie is married and living in Halifax. Will's grandmother, Mary, is living with Annie, her husband and three children.

When 1891 rolled around, Will seems to be working as a blacksmith and boarding with a John and Annie Brenton in the north end of Halifax. He was also enumerated with his family in Windsor. Perhaps his parents weren't sure if he'd be staying in Halifax and included him as still living with them. I have no proof that "my" Will is the Will in Halifax, but the age is about right and his occupation is one that "my" Will continued for many years.

After the turn of the century, the census shows Will working as a blacksmith for the Intercolonial Railway. He has been employed for 12 months and has earned $700. Will is boarding with his Great Aunt Annie and her husband, Edward, and their two grown daughters in Halifax. Edward is now a foreman for the same railway.

Stay tuned for Part II of a glimpse into Will's life - from his marriage to Ida Roast, their experience with the Halifax Explosion and Will's career, to his death and burial in 1934.


Until next time, Happy Researching!

Skittles and Lindy

As requested, here are pictures of my kitties:

Lindy will be two years old around February of 2015:

Skittles will be six in April:

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Nursing My Bruises

You see, I fell off the wagon AGAIN! Last year, I planned on regularly updating this blog, but again, life happened. This is how it went: In September every year, I attend a dollhouse miniature camp called Camp Mini Ha Ha. It's five days of fun, workshops, good food, laughter and hobnobbing with like minded friends. There is some preparation involved like packing tools and supplies. Also, it's a busy time at work since I take two week's vacation around Camp time. Then, I'm always working on an issue of The Nova Scotia Genealogist right up till the minute I leave. On the other end, I need a couple of days rest after Camp, I usually spend a couple of days doing some genealogy research sometimes at the Land Registration Office in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia or at the West Hants Historical Society in Windsor, Nova Scotia. Then a few days resting, visiting my family and doing errands. By that time, we are into October - Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas preparations and yucky weather is well on its way.

Last year at the beginning of December, I got a new kitty, Lindy, from the Halifax Cat Rescue Society. She is a sweet brown tabby that was about 10 months old when I got her. Her introduction into my home and to Skittles is another blog post entirely! Just over two weeks after I brought her home, I fell in the parking lot of my apartment building and broke my right wrist. It's the first time I have ever broken a bone and, wouldn't you know, it would be my dominant hand! Any outstanding Christmas preparations were cancelled and I managed to drag my way through the holidays. In case I didn't have enough fun, just after New Years, a water pipe in the ceiling of my bedroom froze and burst and flooded my apartment. My insurance company paid to have all of my belongings packed and moved to another building for about six weeks while they repaired the pipe and damage to the apartment. Mid-February, I was moved back, had my cast removed and then went back to work. Physio followed for a few weeks and then our short summer was upon us.

The summer was filled with meetings at the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia. Our landlord gave us a Notice to Vacate on July 1 so we had to find a place to house the Association within three months. Lots of busy-ness ensued and we finally got moved to our new location the first week of September.

Then the cycle started again. :) In the coming days, I'm going to work on a realistic schedule so I can post regularly and avoid those bruises!

Until next time, Happy Researching!

The Book of Me - Prompt #1 - Who Am I?

I haven't been motivated to write here for a while. Life gets busy and time gets short. "Free" time is spent fooling around on Facebook or falling asleep in front of the TV.

However, I've been eagerly awaiting the first writing prompt for The Book of Me, Written by You and it finally came on Saturday, August 31!

Julie Goucher will be leading participants on this journey for the next 15 months. If you want to know more, head over to Thomas MacEntee's Geneabloggers site - the prompts will be posted there each Saturday. Or, check out the Book of Me, Written by You Facebook page.

The outcome will definitely be interesting. It's an excellent opportunity to get to know myself and leave something for my descendants so they don't have to wonder about me. From time to time, I will post my writing here - maybe edited versions of my actual "Book of Me" entries. Some of the prompts might inspire some deeply personal writing that I will only share with my loved ones.

Here is the first prompt:

"Prompt 1: Who Are You?

The prompt for week 1 is a recognized psychology test: Ask yourself 20 times “Who are you?” Each time you should give yourself a different answer, and if you can easily go beyond 20 entries then that is fine too. This prompt is about how YOU see YOU."

It was a little difficult and I will admit that I read the lists of some of the other participants. However, I don't think they influenced my answers. My list is fairly simple and in the order that the words came to mind but I hope to revisit it periodically to see if the answers have changed, perhaps if my writing style has matured or maybe my comfort level with "me" has increased.

For what it's worth, this is me!

Who am I? I am:

Pam, Pamela, Pammy, Mom, Nana
Friend
Mother
Grandmother
Creative
Funny
Loyal
Intelligent
Curious
Kitty Lover
Genealogist
Family Historian
History Lover
Organized
Disorganized
Undisciplined
Generous
Book lover
Optimistic
Volunteer
Practical
Computer lover
Daughter
An unfinished work...


Until next time, Happy Researching!

William Henry McCann

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my great-grand uncle, William Henry McCann. You see, I have just discovered that the house where he lived with his wife and children during the Halifax Explosion in 1917 is still standing! And, I drive by it several times a week, giving a figurative tip of my hat to Will each time. I feel a connection with this collateral ancestor of mine that I can't quite explain. I didn't know Uncle Will, as my mother called him. He died in the fall of 1934 long before I was born. I didn't even hear a lot of stories about Uncle Will. Someone mentioned that his brother (and my great-grandfather), Fred, made the hour and a half drive once a month from Windsor to Halifax to visit Will. And my mother said that when she was a teen, she stayed for a few days with Uncle Will and his wife, Aunt Ida. A cousin said that Uncle Will worked for the Intercolonial Railway or ICR. These short stories were a tease for me as I needed to know more about him. I pictured Uncle Will as a sort of rough, work-a-day kind of guy. He was a labourer his whole life; a machinist, blacksmith and carpenter and worked hard in the Car Shop of the ICR. I expected his garb in any photos would be overalls and work shirts. Well, I was literally gobsmacked when I first saw a photo of Will, Ida and Fred. They were dressed to the nines and a good-looking bunch to boot! That photo hasn't yet been scanned, but I will add it here as soon as it is. Next time, I'll tell you what I learned about Uncle Will through my research. Until next time, Happy Researching!

My First Post for the Family History Writing Challenge

So, I signed up for the Family History Writing Challenge and pledged to write 250 words per day. Ha! My intentions are good, but it's Day 3 and I just started writing today. If you've ever wanted to write about your ancestors, but have put it off for one reason or another for far too long, you should bite the bullet and sign up. Check out the website make the pledge and sign up for the daily email prompts. You'll receive lots of encouragement and plenty of constructive criticism if you want. Today, I worked on my first writing a bit and managed to jot down a few paragraphs about my great-grand uncle William Henry McCann. And, I'll post it here in a few minutes. Be gentle with your critiques :) Until next time, Happy Researching!

LogoSnap.com

I was looking around for a logo to print on a tshirt.  The Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia will have a booth at the Halifax Pride Community Fair this coming Saturday and I wanted a tree.  A friend sent me the link to LogoSnap.com and away I went.  There are tons of images to choose from and you can create one free!  Check it out for your genealogy newsletter or business cards, or maybe you need something for a poster.  Great site!

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Organizing Continued - A Smidge Closer to My Goals

On January 1, I started working towards one of  my genealogy goals by sorting out my piles of genealogy papers, notebooks, magazines and envelopes with notes and contact information scribbled on them.  Progress is slow, but it is really satisfying to see the stacks take different shapes.  I have emptied one box and one plastic tote so far and the second one is sitting in front of me.

Also in front of me are five containers - one for each of my grandparents' surnames:  Deal, McCann, Smith and Wile and one for general genealogy stuff like maps, community histories and notes that apply to more than one family.  One added bonus to all of this sorting is that because I can't help but read through the notes, I am discovering leads that I may have missed before!  I am also discovering correspondence and genealogies that I'd forgotten about.

I am feeling really motivated to get this done and looking forward to sorting the surname files and getting closer to the point the information can be analyzed with fresh eyes.

This organizing project might be exactly what I need to break down some brick walls.  Wouldn't it be funny if I've had the answers in front of me all along?

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Genealogy Goals for 2012

The resolutions...I mean goals... are are coming fast and furious so I thought I would jump on the band wagon. Marion Pierre-Louis' blog post at Marian's Roots and Rambles inspired me to think about what I'd like to accomplish this year.  So, here goes:

1. Organize my research material.  It's been all over the place for a long time - in boxes and various bookcases.  I've made quite a dent in this one in the last few days and I hope to be finished within the week.

2. Organize my genealogy research notebooks and paper.  It's been all over the place for a long time too - in too many places to mention.  Marian mentioned that she had watched Mary Hill's FamilyRoots Organizer System webinar so I found the preview on the Legacy Family Tree Webinar Page and watched it today.  It seems like a reasonable and easy to follow method for organization so I'm going to give it a try.  It'll be fabulous to be able to lay my hands on a piece of info within minutes and I'm sure it will save me hours of duplicate research.  Once I have the paper under control, I have to discipline myself to inventory new documents and research notes.

3. Organize my photos and share them.  Not just the vintage ones, but all the photos I've taken over the years.  Those from the 70s, 80s, 90s and up to about 2005 have to be scanned, the duplicates set aside for my daughter and the out of focus, crappy ones pitched.  Then the digital ones have to be renamed.  It's going to be a big job but I'm determined to be in a better place with this by the end of this year.

4. Post to my blog more often.  I can't promise every week, but at least twice a month.  I also want to continue to post to Clarence's Letters Home regularly until the all the letters have been shared.  I enjoy reading them again and other researchers will find them helpful.

5. Continue to educate myself in the field of genealogy and to help new researchers when I can.

6. Spend more time learning about the features of Family Tree Maker and make a regular effort to source every piece of data that I've entered.  This goal might be the most difficult.

7. Work towards getting my research in a format that can be easily shared with family and other researchers.    I don't want my daughter to have to wade through piles of paper and little scraps with scribbles on them trying to figure out what is important.

8. Learn more about Evernote and start using it for my genealogy research log.

Hmmm.  Seems that I've set the bar for 2012 quite high.  I think I'm up to the challenge.  Stay tuned as I will post my progress here!

Until next time, Happy Researching!

Genealogy Happenings in the last Week

Hardly a week goes by when there isn't something good happening in my genealogy world.

On Tuesday, I participated in a chat session on the National Institute Genealogical Studies website.  This particular one was for those interested in the Social Networking for the Wise Genealogist which is a free course I'm taking in May.  Gena Philibert Ortega moderated the chat session that was attended by 44 people mostly in North America.  I say that because I don't know where everyone was from, but those that spoke up were from the US, Gena was in California, Sue de Groot was in Ontario and then there was me in Halifax.

In order to attend the session, I had to download the software for Live Meeting from the NIGS website which went very smoothly.  The session was in the middle of the day - luckily it coincided with my lunch break at work.  I had my headset with a microphone which was good because I was at work, but if you don't have either of those, you can listen using your computer speakers and you can type questions/answers on the chat board.

It was an interesting experience as attendees provided information about particular websites that would be considered Social Media.  Also, one attendee works for FamilySearch and I can see that being important later on.

If you want to check out the NIGS chat sessions which are open to everyone, you can see the schedule by going to the NIGS website , click on Information and then click on Live Meetings.

Then on Thursday, my friend Helen and I travelled to Truro to the Colchester Historical Society Museum and Archives to attend a lecture given by Paul W. Bennett entitled "The Little White Schoolhouse".  He talked about the beginnings of one-room schoolhouses in Nova Scotia, how a great deal of the people in the Province were opposed to their children being educated and how certain men persevered to have education standardized in the Province.  He has written a book entitled "Vanishing Schools, Threatened Communities: The Contested Schoolhouse in Maritime Canada" (ISBN9781552664018) which will be out in a month or so.

Both Helen and I have teacher ancestors and we both decided we need to find out more about their experiences as teachers and more about the schoolhouses they taught in.

We had a nice drive there and had fish and chips at Murphy's before the lecture.  I was tired at work the next day since I didn't get home until about 11:00 - past my bedtime!

Then on Saturday, we had the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia monthly meeting/lecture.  Deborah Trask spoke about gravestones in Nova Scotia and showed us a PowerPoint of photos of examples of the types of stone and the carving she was talking about.  Very good talk.  There were about 27 people there which is a good number for our society.  We had a door prize draw and the president, Allan Marble, presented his suggestions for another of the Brick Wall queries we had received for our September lecture.  He has been selecting from those that they weren't able to work on for the September lecture.  This particular one was for the surname McDonald which is a very popular name in Nova Scotia.  We all enjoy hearing his suggestions as it helps us learn ways to do our own research.

Our next meeting is our Annual General Meeting and it will be held on May 14.  Our speakers will be from Antigonish and Kings Counties.

Today, I listed to a bit of the Friday night GeneaBloggers BlogTalkRadio program.  It's on from 11:00 to 1:00 Halifax time and I was simply too tire to stay up for it.  However, you can find the program  in the Archives and listen to it at your leisure.

Tonight, I hope to organize my notes from last week so I can focus on a couple of items to find for my Deal Family research.  I have until April 16 to pull something together.  So,

Until next time,

Happy Researching!

Social Networking, Webinars & BlogTalk Radio

When I first started my genealogy research, I was hard-pressed to find anyone who didn't roll their eyes when I talked about it.

Now, I hardly have time to work or do my own research.  There's so much to do in the genealogy world!  Between, attending free webinars offered by the Southern California Genealogy Society, chatting on GenealogyWise or listening to GeneaBloggers Blogtalkradio shows, I barely have time to work or sleep.  O Happy Day! :)

Of course, I am also starting to work on my own genealogy.  Yesterday, I attended a meeting to learn more about the proper way to do source footnotes in a genealogy.  I learned a lot and it will make putting the genealogy together a little easier.  Then I did some research at Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management.  I have to say, trying to read Nova Scotia BMDs in church records that were recorded in German is no treat.  Especially, if you don't know German at all :)  I did find a few things, but it was long and arduous especially since I was sleep deprived after staying up late to listen to Geneabloggers most recent radio show.  However, I am now re-enthused about my own research and have vowed that I won't let it go as long as I have recently.  I need a regular fix to keep me interested.

Until next time, Happy Researching!

New Genealogy Opportunities

I have attended a couple of free Webinars lately, the most recent this afternoon - Social Networking - New Horizons for Genealogists by Thomas MacIntee.  It was part of the Southern California Genealogy Society Jamboree Extension Series.  You can find more info and a list of upcoming webinars at http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/JamboreeExtensionSeries2011.htm  It's well worth the effort to check them out.  It's a new way of learning about genealogy from the experts and it's free!

There are other free webinars out there.  To learn about them, subscribe to a variety of genealogy newsletters or follow some genealogy blogs as they will talk about them.  Google "free genealogy webinars" and you will find a few links.  Most of the them use GoToWebinar technology so it's a good opportunity to try out the software.  A lot of genealogy societies will be using it soon - maybe even the one you belong to.

I'm really happy that I am able to take advantage of the technology available today.  It certainly makes researching genealogy more accessable from home and adds a certain amount of "fun factor" too.

Until next time, Happy Researching!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!