52 Ancestors: #2 - Robert Allan Farrell (1927-1962)

My father, Robert Allan Farrell, was born on April 26, 1927 in Abernethy, Saskatchewan, Canada to Robert and Helen “Nellie” (Devlin) Farrell.  He was the second oldest boy of their six children, two of which died in infancy.  Unfortunately, I don’t know a lot about my father as he died when I was only 9 months old.

When Allan (as he was known) was 12 years old, he developed juvenile diabetes.  Like most children in the area, he attended the one room Tipperary school where he completed his Grade XI.  Unlike his two brothers, Forbes and John (Jack), Allan did not go into farming but became a mechanic, working for Greenfield Motors.

On January 8, 1951, Allan was initiated into Nanatah Masonic Lodge #53 in Balcarres, Saskatchewan and was raised a Master Mason on August 13, 1951.

On August 15, 1953 Allan married Rhona MacDonald Marshall from a neighbouring farm.  In December of that same year Allan and Rhona welcomed their first child, a daughter named Judy.  The following year, in 1954, the little family moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where they welcomed two more daughters, Heather in 1956 and myself (Alana) in 1961.  While living in Moose Jaw, Allan worked as a mechanic at Maccam Motors.

Shortly after my birth, my father's diabetes took a turn for the worse and he was hospitalized.  It was at that time that I decided to learn to walk, taking my first steps on his hospital bed.

Allan passed away on August 12, 1962 and was buried on his 10^th wedding anniversary – August 15, 1962.  He is buried in Rosedale Cemetery in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.















©2014, copyright Alana Farrell

52 Ancestors: #1 - Rhona MacDonald Marshall (1933-2003)

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge.  The premise:  write once a week about a specific ancestor.  I have been planning to write profiles on my ancestors for awhile and this us definitely the push I needed.  The problem - who to start with first.  After much thought I decided to begin with the person I know best - my mother.

Rhona MacDonald Marshall was born on February 21, 1933 at the Maternity Hospital in Dundee, Scotland – the 8^th child of Robert Burn and Eliza Hamilton (Burnett) Marshall.  She was baptized in St. Mary Magdalene’s Church in Dundee on March 24, 1933.  At the time of her birth, the family was living at 65 Main Street, Dundee.  When Rhona was just two years old, her father, Robert, died of Chronic Rheumatism of the heart.  After Robert’s death, the family was to move to 50 Glenconnor Drive.

Rhona’s two oldest brothers, David and Robert and an older sister, Rachel were in the forces during the Second World War.  Her oldest sister, Helen (Nell), was working to help support the family.  During this time, a couple of Canadian cousins stationed in England came to visit the family in Scotland, bringing a Canadian soldier friend with them – William Henry (Harry) Crossman.  Harry (as he was known) and Rhona’s sister Nell were to marry in 1942.  When Rhona’s mother Eliza became ill, Harry made a death bed promise to look after the three youngest children, Norman (who was 14), Vina (who was 12) and Rhona (who was 10).  Eliza passed away on March 29, 1943 in Dundee from Carcinoma of the breast and acute gastritis.

On May 27, 1945, Rhona was Confirmed in St. Ninian’s Mission, in the Diocese of Brechen, Dundee.

When the war ended, Harry returned to Canada to prepare for the arrival of Nell, Norman, Vina and Rhona.  Unfortunately, before all the paperwork for immigration was complete, Norman turned 18 and was required to do a mandatory two year military service, forcing him to remain in Scotland.

On April 5, 1946 Rhona (then 13), Vina (then 15) and Nell (who was 30 yrs. old and a War Bride) left Southhampton, England on the Aquitania landing at Pier 1 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on April 10, 1946.  They then boarded a train for farm life in the small town of Balcarres, Saskatchewan, Canada.

From the time she arrived in Canada until she turned 16 yrs. old, Rhona attended the one room Tipperary Schoolhouse in Abenethy, Saskatchewan.  In her words, “the teacher was not much older than about 19 – we had some fun as well as lots of hard work to do.”  She left school at 16 to work (I believe at the Balcarres Hospital). 

About a year before Rhona passed away, she wrote a short bio on herself and described her life on the farm:

“I leaned to plow the fields, drive the tractor, ride horses.  I was not allowed to drive the combine as I was told it was too big for a 14 year old to ride.  I had other chores to do as bring in the eggs, feed the animals – never learned to milk the cows as every time I did they would kick the pail over when half full and spill it so I gave up.  I loved the farm.  I brought in the wood for the fire, ice and snow in the winter.  We had fun as well as work, we had hay rides and sleigh rides, church suppers, barn dances, country fairs.”

Rhona began dating a young man from a neighbouring farm, John (Jack) Farrell.  That relationship didn’t last as Jack started seeing someone else while working in Toronto.  Rhona then began to be courted by Jack’s older brother Robert (Allan) Farrell. 

Rhona and Allan (as he was known) were married on August 15, 1953 at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Balcarres.  Allan was working as a mechanic while Rhona stayed home to look after their first child – a daughter, Judy, who was born in December of 1953.  In 1954, Allan, Rhona and Judy moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where they welcomed the birth of two more girls, Heather (born in 1956) and Alana (born in 1961).  Life was not easy for Rhona and Allan as Allan suffered from Juvenile Diabetes.  In August 1962, Allan was admitted to the hospital where he passed away on August 12^th.  He was buried on their 10^th wedding anniversary – August 15, 1962.

On December 21, 1963, Rhona married for the second time to a family friend, Douglas Sinclair Kay (Doug was the brother of Rhona’s sister in law, Helen).  They were married at St. George’s Anglican Church in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.  A couple of days after the wedding, Doug, Rhona and the three little girls (Judy – 10, Heather – 8 and Alana – 2) boarded a train to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where Doug resided.  They were to reside at 631 Mercille Ave., in St. Lambert, Quebec – downstairs from Doug’s parents, later moving to their first house at 325 Oak Ave.

Rhona and Doug (and family) were active members of St. Barnabas Anglican Church in St. Lambert, where Rhona was a member of the Ladies Evening Guild.  She was also very active in the Church’s Annual Rummage Sale where she “manned” the same station for nearly 40 years.  For a time, when the children were in school, she would look after the children of friends.  In later years, she became involved with the Girl Guides, eventually becoming a Sparks leader.  She did volunteer work as a school monitor at St. Lambert Elementary School in St. Lambert.  She was also an avid crocheter and reader.  Doug’s parents, Adam and Clarice Kay, were members of the Order of the Eastern Star and Rhona was very active in helping out at the social events beside her mother in law. 

Rhona and Doug finally got to have a honeymoon when Doug took Rhona home to Scotland in October 1970 – the first time being home since immigrating in 1946.

Rhona became a widow once again when Doug passed away on April 7, 1989 from complications from Parkinson’s Decease.

Doug’s sister, Helen was, at this time, also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and encouraged Rhona to once again help out with their social events and anything else a non-member was allowed to participate in.  On September 26, 1991, Rhona finally became a member of the Order herself, joining St. Lambert Chapter #15 in St. Lambert, Quebec, later joining Friendship Chapter in Chambly, Quebec.  She was a very active member in the Order right up until her death.  She was very involved in, and was in charge of, one of the Chapter’s charities, the Cancer Gift Cupboard collecting and making items for the local

hospital that the Chapter supported, The Brome-Missisquoi Perkins Hospital in Brome, Quebec.  When she passed away, a memorial contribution was made from the hospital’s organizer and Rhona’s name was entered in the hospital’s Remembrance Book.  Rhona loved the Eastern Star and said: “when I miss a meeting for some reason, I feel as though I have missed something special.”

In 1998, Rhona was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer.  After a complete hysterectomy and a round of radiation, she went into remission.  She never let this “blip” stop her and when well enough, continued with her activities with the church and the Eastern Star. 

In her little bio she wrote “I will be 70 years old and feeling fine.  Sometimes I feel that I have not done much then I think well, I have my health and get around – sometimes with a cane.  But other than a stiff leg and the odd backache, I guess I’m not too bad off.”

Rhona was eventually forced to slow down when, in April of 2003, she suffered two strokes.  After surgery to remove a blockage and a month’s stay in a rehabilitation centre, she went to live with her daughter, Heather.  In late August of 2003, however, her cancer returned and she was admitted to the hospital on Labour Day weekend. 

Rhona passed away on September 8, 2003 and is buried at the Jardins Urgel Bourgis Cemetery in St. Hubert, Quebec.

She is greatly missed.

©2014, copyright Alana Farrell

Fearless Females – May Faith Be With You

March 10^th – What role did religion play in your family?  How did your female ancestors practice their faith?  If they did not, why didn’t they?  Did you have any female ancestors who served their churches in some capacity?

In most of my research of my mother’s family, I have learned that they all belonged to the Presbyterian church, which is quite common in Scotland.    Somewhere along the lines though, they switched to the Church of England (Anglican).   On my father’s side, my paternal grandmother (Helen Devlin Farrell) was also Presbyterian whereas my paternal grandfather’s (Robert Farrell) family were all Church of Ireland (which is also Anglican).  Although they all had religious ceremonies at their weddings, I’m not sure how involved they were. However, I do know that my paternal grandparents were quite involved in their church.

My mother was baptized at St. Mary Magdalene's Anglican Church in Dundee, Scotland and took her Confirmation at St. Ninian’s Mission in Dundee.  Her first marriage was in St. Paul's Anglican Church in Balcarres, Saskatchewan, Canada which her second marriage was in St. George's Anglican Church in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, which is now closed.

 

My mom was very involved in our church, St. Barnabas Anglican Church in St. Lambert, Quebec.  She belonged to the Women’s Afternoon Guild, the Women’s Evening Guild and worked every year at the winter bazaar and the church rummage sale.  She passed on this willingness to serve to my sisters and I.  We all went to Sunday school, and sang in the Church choir.  I served as an Altar Girl, taught Sunday school and set up a children’s library.  Although my oldest sister and I are not as involved anymore, my other sister is still very involved in the same church.

©2013, copyright Alana Farrell

Wordless Wednesday - Mac The Moose

"Mac" is one of the town's tourist attractions in my hometown of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. He stands 50 feet tall. That is myself and my daughter standing right underneath the "crown jewels!" This was taken in 1987 when my daughter was 6 yrs. old.

Wordless Wednesday - Wedding Day!

This is a photo of my mother (Rhona MacDonald Marshall) and my father (Robert Allan Farrell) on their wedding day, August 15, 1953. They were married at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Balcarres, Saskatchewan, Canada.

They look so young and innocent!

Wordless Wednesday - My Two Grannies

This is a picture of my two paternal grandmothers. The lady on the left is my step-father's mother, Clarice Mabel (Salmon) Kay and the lady on the right is my father's mother, Helen "Nellie" (Devlin) Farrell.

The picture was taken two years before my mom married into the Farrell family and 12 years before she married into the Kay family.

My granny and grandpa Kay were visiting their daughter, Helen (Kay) Farrell in Saskatchewan. Helen (my step-father's sister) was married to my father's brother, Forbes Peter Farrell.

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy – Challenge #7

This weeks challenge for the 52 Weeks To Better Genealogy by Amy Coffin is to play around with Google Maps to determine the locations of addresses in our family history. I've used this feature before to locate places where my mother and her family lived in Scotland, before she immigrated to Canada. Unfortunately, the pictures that I saved are on my computer at work!

However, this past weekend, while working on the GB Games category, " Expand Your Knowledge", I used Google Maps to create a timeline, with a map, for my great grandfather, David Fenton Marshall. You can see the map here. While I was creating the timeline, I again used the street view to see if the buildings where he lived still existed (that's why it took me so long to create the timeline - I get so distracted when playing with things). For the most part they did, but in some instances the address no longer existed or the building was now being used as something completely differenct. In a couple of cases, there was only and empty lot. Because of his many locations (he was a travelling salesman), I'm only posting pictures of a few of the buildings.

This first picture is where he was living in April 1861. He was living with his aunt, Margaret Kynock and her family at 19 MacDowall Road, Edingburgh, Scotland. If this is the original building, which it looks like it might be, it was a really nice house! They lived where the white door is on the right hand side of the picture.


This next picture shows the general location of where he lived in August 1870, at the time of his marriage to Rachel Wyse Hume. He lived at 11 East Adam Street, Edinburgh. Unfortunately, the address no longer exists.


In May of 1871 he and Rachel were living at No. 1 Montgomery Place West, Edinburgh. It is shown in this picture where the yellow door is with the sign reading "Harlies". It looks to be all closed up now, but looks like it used to be a TV/video game store.


Skipping ahead a few years, he and his second wife, Christina Lynton, were living at 17 Caldrum Street in Dundee (where the white door is). This was were he lived at the time of his death in 1922.


Just for a little extra fun, I decided to see if I could find the house where my parents lived when I was born. Sure enough, I found it. I was surprised because the last time I checked Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan still did not have the street view available. We lived at 732 9th Ave., NW, Moose Jaw (it's the house on the corner). That is where we lived when my sister got hit by a car when she was 5 yrs. old. Right up until the last time I was there, in 2005, the house was always a greenish blue colour. The little white house next door is where my Aunt Nell (Helen Crossman, nee Marshall) lived.


I also found the house where I'm living now (for obvious reasons I won't give the address). It's a duplex. I didn't see my car parked on the street so this must have been taken while I was at work.


I enjoy working with Google Maps. I think it's a wonderful tool to be used for locating ancestral homes, creating timelines and I'm sure a whole lot more. There are many features that I haven't yet explored but plan to in the near future.

Tombstone Tuesday - Robert and Nellie Farrell

Farrell

Robert - Nellie

1896-1965 * 1893-1980

These are my grandparents. They are buried at Regina Memorial Gardens in Regina, Saskatchewan. The birth date for my grandmother is actually wrong - she was born in 1892. Nellie was the name she went by but her actual name was Helen.

Thanks to Jim Slough for doing a Random Act of Kindness and taking this photo for me.

Tombstone Tuesday - William and Helen Crossman

This is the grave marker for my Uncle Harry and Aunt Nell. They are buried in the Veteran's Section of Rosedale Cemetary in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan.

Inscription reads:

Crossman

William

"Harry"

L7080 PTE

1919 - 1999

Helen M.

"Nell"

War Bride

1915 - 2007

Remembered With Love

I would like to thank Marge Cleave, who lives in Saskatchewan, who did a Random Act of Genealogy Kindness for taking this picture for me and sending it to me. I have yet to actually see it in person. She was even nice enough to lay some flowers.

Fate or Coincidence?

My sister is forever telling her kids, and myself, that everything that happens in our lives is preordained in the Book of Life. Was it my destiny to buy a new car last month? Was it my destiny to have my tooth extracted last Saturday (they could have rewritten that chapter!)? Some people say that we make our own destiny. If that were the case, it wouldn’t have been my plan to have my tooth pulled!

All the time growing up, we had heard the story that my stepfather, Douglas Kay, had been in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the day that my mom arrived in Canada. My mom (Rhona MacDonald Marshall) was 13 years old when she left Scotland aboard the Aquitania via Southampton, England on April 4, 1946, landing in Halifax on April 10th. She traveled with two of her older sisters, Vina (aged 15) and Helen (Marshall) Crossman (aged 31). My Aunt Helen (or Nell as she was always called) was a War Bride and was coming to Canada to be with her new husband, William Henry Crossman (uncle Harry). When my grandmother, Eliza Hamilton (Burnett) Marshall, passed away in 1943, my Aunt Nell made a death bed promise to look after the three youngest children, my mom, my Aunt Vina and my Uncle Norman. As “fate” would have it, just before leaving, my Uncle Norman turned 18 years old and had to do his mandatory 2 years military service, causing him to stay behind in Scotland. After spending a few days in Halifax, my mom and her sisters boarded a train and headed west to Balcarres, Saskatchewan to live on the Crossman farm.

My stepfather always loved ships and trains and loved taking pictures of them. In April 1946, when he was 19 years old, he traveled from Montreal to Halifax to see the ships arriving, of which he took many pictures. On April 10th, he happened to take a picture of the Aquitania as she was arriving and on April 11th he took another picture of her while in dock, with all the War Brides at the railing. Was it fate that he was there that day or just a coincidence?

Was it fate that just after the war ended, Doug’s sister Helen married Forbes Peter Farrell (my future father’s oldest brother) and she moved to Balcarres to live on a farm not too far from the Crossman farm? At this time, Doug (still living in Montreal) was working for Canadian Pacific Railway on the cross-country train. When the train got to Indian Head he would jump off and go visit his sister in Balcarres, eventually becoming good friends with the Farrell’s; Forbes, his brother-in-law, Robert Allan, John (Jack) and their sister Lillian (who apparently had a big crush on Doug).

When my mom left school at 16 years old and was out working, she started dating Jack Farrell, who later dumped her for his future wife, Cathy! My mom then starting dating Jack’s older brother Robert Allan (or Allan as he was always called), eventually marrying him on August 15, 1953, making my mom and Doug’s sister, Helen, sisters-in-law. Fate or coincidence? Of course, my mom and Helen (by this time my Aunt Helen) became good friends and she was often at Helen’s house when Doug was there visiting (my mom, not being able to hold a grudge if her life depended on it, also became good friends with Cathy!).

In 1955, my mom, dad and my sister Judy (then just 2 years old), moved to Moose Jaw, Sask. (about an hour from Balcarres), where my Aunt Nell and Uncle Harry had already moved to. This is where my other sister, Heather and I were born. Doug remained friends with my mom and dad after they moved, often going to visit them when he was “out west”.

On August 12, 1962, my father passed away at the age of 35, due to complications from his diabetes, leaving my mom a widow with 3 young children. He was buried on August 15th, my parents 9th wedding anniversary. Of course all the Farrell family and the Crossman family and my Aunt Vina’s family were all at the funeral. Was Doug there? Who knows? I do know that after my dad died, Doug would still come to visit my mom when he was in town, making sure that she was doing o.k. Eventually, their friendship grew into much more and they were married on December 21, 1963 in Moose Jaw. After they were married, we all boarded a train and headed for Montreal.

My mom and stepfather were married for 26 years when he passed away on April 7, 1989 at the age of 61, from complications due to his Parkinson’s Decease. My mom passed away on September 8, 2003 from cancer, at 70 years of age.

So was my mom and stepfather meeting and eventually getting married preordained or was everything just one big coincidence?

You’re going where without me?

It’s been a busy week so I haven’t had much time to post anything. This is the other story I have been told about when I was a baby (actually I was two years old). My mother always liked to tell the story about when she re-married when I was 2 years old. We were all sitting in the front row watching. I was sitting (I’m sure very quietly) next to my uncle Harry. When it was time for Mom and my new Step-dad to go to the side room to sign the register, I decided that I should go along too. My uncle, who had just had a cast removed, reached over and grabbed me with his very tender arm. Apparently, with his face quite red and beads of sweat popping out, it was the one time that he nearly cursed in church! Everyone seemed to think it was quite funny!

My mom re-married and old family friend, Douglas Kay on December 21, 1963 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. They met through his sister, Helen, who was married to my Uncle Forbes Farrell. My mom was a young widow, aged 30 yrs. old, with three little girls. It was a small wedding with the reception held in the church hall. It’s nice to know, that even though she was re-marrying and would be moving away, her former in-laws and the rest of the Farrell family attended the wedding. My mom’s sister, my Aunt Vina as well as my cousin Bob stood as witnesses. This is a newpaper clipping of the wedding announcement. Unfortunately, it’s not very clear.

The top picture is one of the few pictures that I have of my paternal grandparents, Robert and Ellen (Nellie) Farrell. That’s me sitting in my grandmother’s lap.

The picture on the bottom is just some of my cousins who attended the wedding.

Where to Begin?

In the words of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, “To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born.”

I was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (and I’ve heard ALL the jokes!). My mom and dad had moved there from Balcarres only 5 years before. I have two older sisters, Judy and Heather (in below picture). Judy was born in Balcarres and Heather was also born in Moose Jaw. My Aunt Nell (my mom’s oldest sister seen in the picture with me on my christining) and Uncle Harry also lived there. My mom’s other sister, my Auntie Vina, and her family lived in Marquis, Sask. I don’t remember too much of my life in Moose Jaw as my father passed away when I was 9 months old and my mother remarried a family friend (who was actually my aunt’s brother! I’ll explain that one in another post), and we moved to Montreal. I have, however, heard a few stories from when I was a baby.

One story was about the time I was tossed on the bed and forgotten about! Judy and Heather were outside riding their bikes across the street in the Safeway parking lot. When it was time to come home, Judy told Heather to stay put while Judy took the bikes across the street and would come back for Heather. Well, Heather, being the stubborn 5 yr. that she was, didn’t listen and decided to cross the street on her own. There was a car that was going to cross the intersection at the same time – he was only going about 5 mph. They both hesitated – they both started and stopped and then both started again at the same time. Crash! Heather gets hit and manages to break both headlights (we still haven’t figured out how she managed that!). Heather was screaming, Judy was hysterical and the poor man driving the car was beside himself. Fortunately there was a police officer right there and saw the whole thing. Mom tossed me on the bed (o.k. she laid me down gently) and her and my aunt came running out of the house to see what the ruckus was all about. The police officer didn’t want to wait for the ambulance so he, Heather, my mom and my aunt drove off to the hospital. Judy went inside to tell my dad what happened. It was only after about 2 hrs that my mom remembered about me! She called home and my dad checked and there I was, sleeping peacefully like there was not a care in the world.

The other story I remember being told was when my Uncle Harry nearly cursed in church, but I’ll leave that for tomorrow.

How my journey began

Way back in high school (I think it was either Grade 8 or Grade 9), my history teacher, Mr. Holmes, made us students write a mini family history, going back at least to our Grand parents. I went looking through some old photo albums to find pictures of myself (which was a requirement for the assignment) and started writing a bit about myself. I then asked my mom about her life and that of my father. She told me stories of when she was a little girl living in war torn Scotland and her journey to Canada in 1946. As far as my grandparent’s information, she told me to write to my Aunt Nell who lives in Saskatchewan, which I did. Aunt Nell provided me with the names of my grandparents (both on her father’s side and mother’s side), their birth dates and marriage dates, all her siblings along with their birth dates and she even had the names of my Great Grandparents. As for my father’s side of the family, it was a little sketchy. My mom, of course knew my father’s information, along with his siblings and the names of my grandparents and that my grandfather came from Ireland, but that was all. I wasn’t able to ask my father himself as he died when I was only 9 months old and my mother re-married (that’s when we moved to Montreal). I put all this information together (even made my own charts) and handed it in at school, after which everything got put into a box to be forgotten! As like most teenagers in the mid ‘70’s, family history was not my top priority!

In 1987, when my daughter was 5 years, I took a long overdue trip to Saskatchewan to visit the family. While we were at my aunt Nell’s sister-in-laws house in Abernethy, I was shown a book called “Furrows In Time – The History of Balcarres”. As this was where my mom and dad lived and where my oldest sister was born, I found it quiet interesting. Along with the history of the district, there was also a history of all the local families. I looked up the Farrell Family and found a bunch of information about my father and his family that I never knew. As I was reading, I got the biggest surprise to see mine and my sister’s names in the book! Well, of course I had to buy this book (which now has an honoured place on my bookshelf). When I got home, I added all this new information to the stuff in the box, and then put it all away to be forgotten about again. Having a young child, working and going to school at night didn’t leave much time for family history.

In 2003 my mother passed away at the age of 70. It was then that I decided that it was time to do something with all this information that I had (it wasn’t a lot, but it was a start). My mom was the youngest of eight kids and I realized that sooner or later all those in my family, who were much older, that would have information or stories would soon be gone. Unfortunately, life once again got in the way. I belong to the Order of the Eastern Star and was elected, in 2003, to the highest position you can achieve in the province. This is a four-year commitment and very busy so needless to say the family history got put on hold once again.

In 2005 I made a trip back to Saskatchewan after an absence of 18 years. My Aunt Nell had just turned 90 and I thought (correctly too) that this might be the last time that I saw her. When I was there, she showed me a family book that my cousin had prepared for her. It was the story of our family in Scotland right back to 1795. What a treasure trove of information. I was able to make a copy to bring home and add to my collection, along with some old pictures that my aunt had. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time that visit to discuss much as I was only there for 10 days. It was Christmas and all my cousins were home for the holidays so I spent most of the time getting re-acquainted with them. As I assumed, that was the last time that I saw my aunt as she passed away the following year. I’m kicking myself now for not pinning her down and not quizzing her on everything. She had a memory like a sponge and I could have gotten so much from her. Fortunately, there is still one aunt left in Canada and one left in Scotland (both of them my mom’s older sisters) and you can bet that I will be contacting them real soon!!

Now that my life has slowed down a little I find that I finally have the time to devote to our family history. I have entered a lot of the information that I have in genealogy software. Although my cousin in Scotland had a lot of names and dates, I have found that some of the dates don’t jive. As I don’t have copies of any of his documents, I have a lot of work ahead of me to prove what he has found. I have an even bigger road ahead on my father’s side since I don’t even know what ship he came to Canada on. I’m hoping my dad’s sister can help with that side of the family.

I will be posting on how things are progressing as well as posting pictures and stories that I do know. I am looking forward to the journey ahead (or should I say behind me!).