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

Carnival of Genealogy Poster - courtesy footnoteMaven.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Treasure Chest Thursday - Samuel Wood, Ontario Canada c. 1905

Samuel WOOD, weaver, bee keeper, born 1820, Linthwaite, Yorkshire, England. He lived in Bean Hill (Norwich), Connecticut (1850s) and in Newark, New Jersey (1860s), and then near Nottawa, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada where he died in 1908.

Embroidered frame made likely by either one of his daughters, Mary Janet (WOOD) SCOTT, or by one or both of her daughters, Harriott or Annie.

Remembrance Day 2009 - Muriel Scott - George Rogers, Vancouver BC Canada

remembrance day 2009 scott - rogers web

Smile for the Camera - The Adamsons and Scotts in Saskatchewan, circa 1920

Photograph identified in writing by Amy Estella (Irwin) Scott (1884-1983) as Shrine - Eurolite to Regina. Mr. Adamson and Muriel.

Note: In about 1960, my grandmother, Amy Estella Scott, showed me her photographs and identified them for me. At that time, I wrote down the names of people, places, etc. as she recalled them then. If anyone can shed any light on the place name? 'Eurolite', please let me know. The italicized identifications here were written on the photographs in my grandmother's hand,

earlier than 1960. The other names, etc. were added in my hand when we went through her photographs in about 1960. All photographs black and white; personal collections.

The theme for the 18th Edition of Smile For The Camera is 'Travel' - Show us your family and how they traveled.

My mum who was born in 1914 in Newdale, Manitoba, Canada, used to tell me about the road trips her family made to visit relatives in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario in Canada and in Vermont in the U.S.A.

She didn't recall a lot of details, although she had some cute stories - mostly about the relatives!

These three photographs were taken during a trip to Saskatchewan - I think, in about 1919-1920. The Scotts and Adamsons would have travelled by automobile, although I don't have a photograph I can identify (yet) as the one used on this trip. Besides Regina, they likely visited both my 'Auntie Grandma' (my mum's aunt, Maggie (Irwin) Drummond and her family at Belcarres and my mum's great aunt, Maggie (Carmichael) Graham and her family at Aberdeen.

What I'd like to stress here though is that Mum's family very often travelled with friends, or sometimes relatives. On this particular trip, they were with friends, Isabella (Waddell) and Charles Mitchell Adamson from Newdale.

Charles Mitchel Adamson was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1869. Isabella (Isabelle) Waddell was born in Ontario. They were married in 1898 in Manitoba. From about 1919, Charles owned the Dominion House on Main Street in Newdale. (His brother, John David Adamson, also lived in Newdale.) The 1916 Canadian Prairie census shows Charles and Isabella's family living together as: Charles M., boarding house keeper, aged 44; Isabella, 41, Elsie, 17; Rena, 15; Wilfred, 18; and Laurence, 10. It doesn't appear from these photographs that any of the Adamson children were on this trip.

[1916 Canadian Census, Manitoba, District 5, Sub District 10, Township 16, Range 20, W1. Source: 1916 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta database on-line. Manitoba, Marquette District 10; page 20; Family # 176. Digitized from Library and Archives Canada microfilm roll: T-21927. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009. Accessed November 2009. See also Newdale 1870-1970, (Newdale Historical Society, 1970) and Waddell and Scott files, personal collection. ]

Photograph identified in writing by Amy Estella (Irwin) Scott (1884-1983) as Parliament Buildings, Regina [Saskatchewan, Canada]. J.W. Scott, Janet Muriel Scott.



Photograph identified by Amy Estella Scott (1884-1983) as Regina Fair, Mr. and Mrs. C. Adamson, Amy Estella Scott, Janet Muriel Scott.

Wordless Wednesday - Janet CARMICHAEL - Victoria County Ontario Canada

Janet CARMICHAEL, born 1851, Victoria County, Ontario, Canada. Married William IRWIN in 1876.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Sweet Memories

This was all my Mum's. She loved costume jewellery and had colourful sets of bracelets, earrings and necklaces to match many of her best outfits. I remember as a little girl watching her get 'all dressed up' to go out. She'd make sure I had some powder on my face too.

Both of us wore pins a lot at one time, so I did keep a few of hers. Mine are mostly cat pins, but she loved frogs - and this glittery frog is one that I gave her.

The necklace though was from 'the olden days'. I only remember her wearing things like this when I was little. I think it must be from the 1930s or 40s.

My mother wasn't very sentimental, so I wonder why she kept it all that time. Now I keep it because it reminds me of her. I am sentimental! She did have a long dress from the 1940s and let me wear that as a costume when I played Boadicea (now called Boudicca or Boudica) at school. I know I wore some jewellery then, bracelets and a brooch for a cloak, I think, but I'm afraid they weren't memorable enough.

Maybe this necklace was a present - from my Dad or another admirer - but if so, she never mentioned it. (Yes, you may well say 'Why didn't you ask?' but I didn't.)

Saddle Horse Party on the Sourdough Trail - A Festival of Postcards

Front - 8 - Saddle Horse Party on the Sourdough Trail - 4A-H828; Back - Rainer National Park Co., Tacoma, Wash. Made in U.S.A. "C.T. Art. Colortone" Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. C.P. Johnston Co. , Seattle, Washington.

Postmarked: Jun 20. 2 PM 1946 Seattle, Wash.

Over at A Canadian Family, Evelyn Yvonne Theriault is hosting a new Festival of Postcards - dedicated this time to QUADRUPEDS.

Almost immediately I thought of the horses shown on the card above and with this one I'm showing another postcard from, I believe, the same person - a 'Louise H'.

Both cards were sent to my mother, the one below in 1943 while she was still serving as a member of the Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC) in Canada. The one above was sent to her in 1946 in Vancouver, Canada, just after she moved here.

She and my father had married in Washington, DC, USA while both were serving in the Canadian Forces and they had decided to live in British Columbia, my Dad's home province. The address shown on the postcard is his parents'.

My Mum loved Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, depicted on the card below. It's not too far from where she grew up. (I know because I used to scoff at the very idea of mountains in Manitoba - sorry Ma.)

But who is the postcard writer - 'Louise H'?

According to her messages, Louise biked to Kenora, Ontario in 1942, and to Clear Lake, Manitoba in 1943 - that's right near Riding Mountain National Park.

Then in the summer of 1946, she took a trip through Washington State in the U.S.A., and went on up to Vancouver, British Columbia where she stayed with a Mrs. Leitch and, I hope, had a reunion with Mum.

Now we do have some LEITCH connections - through Elizabeth Anne Irwin (1858-1907) who married Joseph Brown whose mother was a LEITCH, but I just don't recognize 'Louise H' as a relative. I'm thinking Louise may have been a friend of Mum's from Winnipeg, perhaps even someone she worked with at Eaton's before the war. I don't believe Louise would have been in the Canadian Women's Army Corps as I don't think a CWAC would have had much time for biking trips!

If the names and dates ring a bell with someone, please do let me know.

In the meantime, I will likely see what I can find out about Mrs. Leitch of Vancouver, BC at telephone number Alma 0445-L in 1946 during my next visit to the Vancouver City Archives. Maybe she was a relative of Louise's.

Front - East Entrance Gate, Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada. The postmark is difficult to read but I think it is Macdonald College. Back - Photogelatine Engraving Co., Limited, Ottawa with company logo.
Postmarked: Winnipeg Manitoba Jul 26 1943 330 PM and Wasagaming Manitoba (date unreadable).

The Festival of Postcards is an ongoing blog carnival. These themes are coming up soon: December 2009 – White; February 2010 – Light; April 2010 – Maps. Join in!

Why I Belong - 82nd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy - Breaking Into Society.

Red Hat group at the BCGS Walter Draycott Library, 2009.

The 82nd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy - Breaking Into Society is already up at the California Genealogical Society and Library Blog.

The questions asked for this Carnival were:

What's your favorite genealogical society?
Do you belong to a society?
Tell us why!

Or if not, why not?

I accidentally missed the deadline, but since I feel this is an important subject, I wanted to add my point of view to the rest.

There’s no doubt about it, my favourite genealogical society is the British Columbia Genealogical Society (BCGS). While it’s not the only genealogical society I belong to, this is certainly the most heartfelt and longest lasting of my genealogical society relationships.

Now - I do live in British Columbia, Canada. I have family history here dating back to 1901 at least and I've always been interested in BC history, but I believe joining a local group or society- no matter your genealogical interests - is very important for genealogists. In fact it's one of the top 5 tips I offer people whether they are beginners or seasoned researchers.

Because of my membership in the BCGS, I've made new friends, I've learned about genealogical resources I might never have heard of otherwise, even when I couldn't attend meetings I had the Society's journal as my genealogical lifeline, and I have access to the BCGS Library - a treasure trove.

The other day I talked at the Finding Your Roots Seminar about the BCGS Walter Draycott Library. In introducing this session, I gave my answers to the question: 'Why should I visit a genealogical society library when there are plenty of libraries around?' Although I was then speaking about only one aspect of the activities of the BCGS, I think the points I made explain why I believe joining a genealogical society is good for genealogists.

1. In a genealogical or family history library, you'll always find that the focus is on research and you'll find that the library, and you, continuously benefit from the expertise and enthusiasm of other members. For example, all BCGS menbers are encouraged to suggest new acquisitions for the Library for their areas of interest and their donations to the Library are welcomed. Our BCGS Special Interest Group facilitors are all on the BCGS Library Acquisitions Committee. This has broadened our outlook and we've been able to to strengthen and develop our worldwide collections, even though our budget isn't always large.

2. You'll find that through co-operative arrangements, societies have been exchanging journals and newsletters, as well as other information and resources, for years or even decades. You'll be able to check indexes and browse through past issues for details on your ancestors. And, remember, 'old' genealogical information really is just as good as 'new'.

3. Genealogical society members are well aware of the value of indexes and lists. These abound in any genealogical library and usually you will find you can easily fit right into an indexing project yourself, like the BCGS BC Book Indexing - so far, 58,000 names indexed there and for the Master Surname Index - over 100,000 entries.

4. Members are eager to share with others and to find those researching in their areas. So in our Library, for instance, you'll find binders and binders of pedigree charts donated by members for use by others, as well as bound copies of members' genealogical research on British Columbia Pioneers. (All indexed, of course.)

You'll also see volunteers reading genealogical and family history journals and newsletters as they're catalogued. We feature their recommendations in 'Gleanings from the BCGS Walter Draycott Library' which is published in our own quarterly journal, The British Columbia Genealogist. And if a member sees something interesting on the Internet, or news of an event coming up, they post that on our Library Bulletin Boards for everyone to read.

5. Membership does bring 'special privileges'. In the case of the BCGS, which has a Library of over 13,000 books, periodicals, microforms, CDs, etc., members may use the Library for free (non-members pay only $5. a day). Only members may borrow circulating materials. For me, as for many researchers, these kind of benefits are a real drawing card.

And, at our Library, there are Special Interest Group meetings and special seminars and workshops. Members are entitled to attend any of the Special Interest Group sessions and receive a discount on most BCGS seminars and events.

BCGS members are eligible to volunteer in the Library too. There's a great variety in the work available, of course, from the duty volunteers who give new visitors tours and check out books, to the cataloguers of new acquisitions and donations, to the indexers of our history book collections who might even work at home. Sometimes we get to participate in special tours and activity days, as several of us did in the Red Hat research day shown above.

By volunteering, I've seen and learned much more about the collections and I've made new genealogy friends as well. Having genealogy buddies nearby is great - they are there to congratulate you when you're successful and to cheer you up and offer tips when you're not so lucky. And usually on a 'duty day', there's time to do and share some work on your own family too.

This, I feel, is one of the major benefits of a genealogical or family history society - the chance to learn about genealogy within a group of like-minded people - who share not only your vocabulary and your acronyms (BMD. GEDCOM, LAC, UEL), but, as well, your enthusiasms and your passion for any and or all things genealogical.

In January 2010, there will be a new carnival devoted exclusively to genealogical (and historical) societies. Keep an eye out for more information at the California Genealogical Society and Library blog.