Donald Allen Smith -- my dad

  Don Smith of Calgary, AB, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 24, 2016 at the age of 84 years, following a long and well-lived life.

Don, Glen, Lynne, and Bob

Donald Allen Smith was born at home on Sec 33, Tp 50, Rge 20, W 3rd near Mervin, Saskatchewan, on October 11, 1931; the eldest son of Walter Smith and Gladys Waite. Don and his family moved from Mervin to North Battleford, Saskatchewan, in 1944, where Don was active in the Sea Cadets, the Kinsman Band, various sports, singing in a quartet and choir, and playing for dances. He worked in the farm implement business for five years before attending the University of Saskatchewan, where he graduated with a BSC in Geological Engineering in 1958. During his time at university he participated in various musicals, sports, and student activities.

Dad & Mom - 56th anniversary

Fishing became an annual pastime.

 Don met Shirley Lockerbie at a musical event, while he was attending university, and they were married in 1959. She truly was the love of his life. Upon graduation, he joined Sun Oil as a junior geologist and spent the next twenty-nine years with Sun Oil and Suncor. His job took him to Regina and Estevan, Saskatchewan, Wonowon and Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and Dallas, Texas, with the majority of his career spent in Calgary. Don retired in 1987 as Suncor’s Executive Vice President, where he oversaw all Canadian exploration and production. He thoroughly enjoyed his career. Retirement lasted only a month before he took the position of Vice President Team '88 Services with the Calgary Olympic Committee, an exciting and enjoyable job. This job ceased when the Olympics was done, after which Don and son Dave, also a geologist, had a small consulting company, D-Two Resources, for a number of years.

One of many genealogy library visits.

Don and Shirley loved travelling, and visited over sixty countries and every continent, except Antarctica. For the past twenty years, they spent portion of every year in Victoria, British Columbia, where they spent time with their daughter, Karen, and her family. Don’s family had always been the highlight of his life. He also loved the outdoors, and enjoyed daily walks, golf, and scenic country drives. After retirement, he was an avid genealogist, and researched family history with his daughter, Kelli. He enjoyed fishing, and over the years shared time salmon fishing on the West Coast with every family member. Family was Don’s passion, and he engaged in meaningful and ongoing activities with each person. Don and Shirley arranged a wonderful family trip to Kenya in 2009 to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

 Don is survived by his loving wife Shirley, their children, Kelli and son-in-law, Doug Taylor, David and daughter-in-law, Emma Smith, of Calgary, Karen and son-in-law, Jeff Smith of Victoria; Grandchildren, Jasper, Finlay, Dylan, Rachelle, Braedon, Teagan, and Aiden; Brothers, Lynne and sister-in-law, Marie, Robert and sister-in-law, Karen; Sister-in-law, Marion Smith; Brother-in-law, David (Orla) Lockerbie; as well as extended family and friends. Don was predeceased by his parents, and his brother, Glen.

Dad and I at his favourite corner table at the condo in Victoria.

Full obituary and condolence messages: http://www.mhfh.com/smith-donald-allen/

Chipping away at our brick walls.

Not much progress since last fall, but there have been a few little glimmers here and there. We have had a couple of low-level matches on the DNA samples we have posted, and time will tell if those result in anything helpful down the road. Also, an Ancestry posting has led us to John Waite and family's emigration record from England to New York. Not certain this is our family, but it's provided some hope, and is worth further investigation.

Grandma Smith's Lefse Recipe

It has been some time since I have written a blog post about the Smith family (or any family, for that matter). Today I was prompted by Geneabloggers to take a few moments to share a family recipe, and I treasure this one, written on a scrap of paper many years ago by my grandma, Gladys Smith.

Each year the Smiths get together in December and make a whole lotta lefse before Christmas. It's the ultimate in family time, with amazing pot luck food, and a healthy complement of beer & wine! The family on the BC coast has grown to the point where they rent out a community hall in order to include everyone in the extended family. Those of us in Alberta can easily still fit in a home, and we have extended our reach to part of my husband Doug's family, as they are also Scandinavian and make lefse as a Christmas tradition.

An earlier blog post about our Calgary lefse experience with the Skavberg family can be found in the archive of this blog (on the right sidebar) from December, 2011.

I remember going to visit my Grandma Smith when I was a young adult, and feeling so relaxed and at ease with her. She always seemed to be baking or cooking, while we chatted, and it seemed I had not a care in the world when I went to visit her. One time I asked her about her lefse recipe, as my dad and his brothers always raved about how she made the best lefse ever. Although everyone tried to duplicate it, apparently they could never get it quite as good as hers. She claimed it was partly because she made it on an old wood stove "in the day," and now we all used electric pans that did not get as hot. Perhaps that was part of it, but I think she simply had a good feel for the dough, and had a knack for just how much flour should be mixed in.

We sure miss you, Grandma, but you can be sure we never forget about you, especially on Lefse Day! Here's to you ...

I miss you already, Joan!

About a year ago I connected with Joan Miller on Twitter, and soon realized she also lived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. What a blessing to me, as I was learning about DNA research, and she invited me to attend her presentation at the Alberta Family Histories Society. I was excited to attend, and to re-establish my connection to this group. Little did I know that this would be my one and only opportunity to meet Joan. I gained some valuable information that evening, and have spent many hours at the AFHS library in the months following that meeting.

Another of the positives to come of our brief relationship was her invitation to connect me with Judy Webster, her co-captain of the Genealogists for Families group on Kiva. I immediately joined this wonderful international group, and have made 14 loans in conjunction with them to this point.

I was saddened to hear of Joan's passing, and my most recent loan, to the San Miguel Archangel Group, has been commemorated in memory of her life. I will continue to remember Joan, as the funds repaid from this loan and others are re-loaned in the future.

Ontario visit

For months now, Dad and I have gone through the files at home and online with a fine-toothed comb. We have hired a professional genealogist in Toronto, and asked many other volunteers with various societies in Ontario to help out. All in an effort to break down the brick wall around the Wait(e) family.

Tomorrow we will fly to Toronto, where we'll spend a couple of days at the Archives of Ontario to search for a series of vital records and whatever else we can find. We'll leave as early as possible on Wednesday morning to drive to Cornwall, which is about 4.5 hours away. We've lined up someone to help us at the historical society there, and then we'll go to Morrisburg, where someone from the UEL association has offered to meet us. Thursday we'll drive to Ottawa, and we'll have 2 days to do our research at the national archives there. We've also got a distant relative to visit in Ottawa, and it will be wonderful to meet in person, as we have all been searching for the same information about the Wait(e) family for many years.

I've got my laptop as updated as possible, my camera, the GPS for the rental car, and a reasonably light suitcase. No doubt dad will have less, but then again, he's not really into much technology. Wish us luck, as we're going to need some on this trip!

The Uncles' Journey

I'm not sure where the time has gone, but we're into the month of September, and dad and I are making some progress with our plans for our trip to Ontario. We've got our flights booked, and now we need to sort out where to stay and what our itinerary will be. We will fly into Toronto on October 13th and will fly home from Ottawa on the following Sunday.

In the meantime, Uncle Lynne and Uncle Bob came to Calgary for a quick visit, and we had a fabulous BBQ at mom and dad's place last night, with everyone there except Dylan (he was soaking up the sun in the Shuswap on a houseboat). This morning they packed the car and with dad at the wheel, left for Saskatchewan. They plan to spend about a week traveling through the province, and checking out some old haunts along the way. I am sure they will have a wonderful journey, and will tell stories the whole way! They will miss their brother Glen, certainly, but I have a sense he will be with them in spirit.

I'm at home with the significant task of listing all of the research and documents we have found for the Wait/Waite family. We have decided to hire a professional genealogist, and she has requested this information in order to avoid repeating any of the work we have already tackled. I hold out hope that she will have some strategies that will conquer our challenge, and will either link the two generations we think should be tied together, or will disprove that theory and will link us to another group of Waits.

I also plan to visit the Alberta Family Histories Society library again this week, as there are a couple of key volunteers who may be able to help us before we leave in October. There are many people here who have done a great deal of research in Ontario, and the resources in our local library are rich, indeed. I was particularly happy to receive an email this morning regarding our monthly SIG (special interest group) meeting, which will focus on Wills & Probate Records -- these will be important for us on this trip.

So, I hope the Smith brothers enjoy their time touring Saskatchewan, and I may just find a little new information before they return next weekend. Either way, it's always great to visit with family, and we had a wonderful family gathering last night. Memories in the making, and I treasure them.

Time to Re-organize!

Summer is here, and gives me time to get my information in order. At least I hope so! There are a few family members visiting, and I hope to acquire a few new leads, but also need to have my information in good shape in case I need to show anyone what we know already.

Dad and I are hoping to make a trip to Toronto later this year, and I need to determine what we need to find while we are there. I will develop a spreadsheet to record what we already know and what we need to search for. Then I will work out where we need to go in order to find those Ontario records. There are also a few to find in Quebec, but those will have to wait for another time, or perhaps we will hire someone to work on those.

The main surnames we will search for in Ontario are: Wait(e), Mason, Arnold, Manhard, May, Lytle, Stevenson, and Cameron. We have plenty of information to go on for most of those families, but we are stuck on a few as well. The Waite family is particularly stubborn, and will likely be our main focus.

On my husband's side of the family, we will take a look for Taylor and Brown, but they will take a back seat to my family's research. At least the Taylors and Browns are from one particular area, so they may be a little easier, despite the fact that they are common surnames.

Onward ho!

Sigh ...

I am waiting for the results of the Waite DNA test, and am a little disheartened. I suppose it was too much to expect a clear result right off the bat, but I truly hoped we'd have a match, even with the preliminary results. At this point that's not the case, but June 6th is apparently the magical time when we should have the data for all of the markers we ordered. Fingers crossed that we have a match with someone in the Waite study, and that we can sort out which family line we're related to.

In the meantime, I went to the May meeting of the Ontario SIG of the Alberta Family Histories Society this week. I picked up a little new information, and will spend some time this week thinking about how we can best plan to spend our time when we visit Ontario. We had hoped to be there this weekend, and to have attended the OGS conference, but those plans just didn't work out, as dad and I were both away on vacations this spring, and life just got away on me for the past while. We will sit down soon and think about when we'll be able to make the trip, and in the meantime we can plan how to approach our research when the time comes. Perhaps a visit to the AFHS library will be helplful, as the volunteers are amazing, and sometimes offer suggestions we haven't thought about.

Patience!

Since hearing that one of our Waite family members has agreed to a DNA test, I have worked a little more on the two brick walls: Smith (or Schmid) and Waite (or Wait). It seems no stone has been left unturned, but I am retracing some of it, as it seems there must be some clue we've missed in one of these lines.

Mostly I'm excited because my parents will be back in Calgary tomorrow. Dad is so methodical about his research, and I am a lot more random. Sometimes we make progress due to his logical and steady approach to our work, and other times I find new clues because I often work in less conventional ways. For example, recently I found church records for John Schmid and Lily Hay, with their daughter Sarah Lincoln Schmid in Philadelphia. Chances are good that these folks are John & Lilly Smith, with their daughter Sallie Lincoln Smith. I'll be more comfortable once the data has gone through the "Don Smith" legitimacy test, but I think I've stumbled onto a small new piece of the puzzle.

I can appreciate that it will take some time for the DNA test to make its way through the mail and to be processed. I am trying to remain patient, and hope the results give us some idea about our family ties.

DNA - our best hope for breaking down brick walls!

This has been a big month for me. After many years of research, Dad and I agreed there were very few stones left unturned when it came to our research on the Waite and Smith families. We have done most of the work ourselves, but we have also hired professional genealogists to help us to tackle these brick walls.

In the fall, we visited Philadelphia, and hoped to make some progress with the Smith family, but there was simply nothing to add to the John Smith story, and just a few tidbits about his children. We plan to visit Ontario again later this year, and hold out some hope we will find something about the Waite family. There is some work to do at home before we get there -- I am thankful Dad is a very organized and methodical person, as I am much more random in my approach to our research.

We have gone back to the DNA data that we have for the Smith family, and have posted it in the Ancestry database. Next, I will add it to the Family Tree Maker database, as that seems to be a larger pool of DNA data.

On the Waite side, we are thankful that one of the direct Waite descendants has agreed to take a DNA test, and we have ordered and sent the test to him. We will add the results to the existing Waite study, which has been in place for many years. I spoke to Sue Waite-Langley on the phone this week, and I am very excited about the potential, as she seems very organized and was quite encouraging. This is not an inexpensive process, but it will be worth it, as we will have proof -- there are a few Waite families we could be descended from, and we will finally hope to tie ourselves to one specific line.

All there is to do now is to wait for the results of the test. It will take about 2 weeks for the test to make its way from Family Tree Maker to our willing test-taker in Canada, then time for him to do the test and return it. At best, we will be looking at about the middle of April, and from then, I would guess it will take FTM a week or two to process the sample and provide the results. We have linked to the Waite group project when we ordered the test, so Sue Waite-Langley will have the results and will be able to connect us with any potential connections right away.

So now we wait patiently, and hope for good news this spring!

A New Tree - Schmidt

Recently we created a new tree on Ancestry, as searching by "Smith" was not giving us many good results. We have reason to believe the Smith family may have been Schmidt, so the new tree is very small, but narrows down the family a little, and the different surname has given us a few new leads.

In addition, we have posted Dad's DNA data in Ancestry's DNA database, and we're now waiting to see if we'll see any solid matches in the future. At this time, there are a few matches, but nothing clear enough to pursue as close family members.

Somehow in all of this, we hope to make some headway with the Smith/Schmidt family. The new church records from Pennsylvania have given us some hope, and with a little persistence, perhaps we'll get some proof of the family's arrival in North America, and clues as to where in Switzerland they came from.

Just DO it!

I've really struggled lately to do the things I set out to accomplish. I have many items on my list, and they are certainly not all about genealogy, as I have many other interests in my life, such as photography. It's becoming clear to me that I need to write my goals & "to do" list on a big whiteboard or something in order to stay on track.

I spend a fair amount of time researching our family history, but I'm not great at organizing the data. Dad is better at that. I go and find bits and pieces, and rarely keep it straight in my head. He knows instantly what goes where, and whether the information is relevant. We have binders and folders and at least 2 programs on the computer. I really need to go through each person in our main line and ensure we have the source documents in a place we can find them. Ideally, each image would be scanned and entered electronically, and the originals would be filed. I need an administrative assistant!!

I am also a procrastinator. I think we all can be at times. Mostly, I put things off when I don't know what to do, or when a situation seems uncomfortable or awkward. Right now I want to make some headway with two brick walls, but in both cases my best hope is to use DNA to determine our ancestry. In once case, I have the DNA, and just need to figure out how to use the data with a new database. In the other, I need to ask someone I don't know very well for their DNA. If I knew they shared my interest in genealogy, it would be easier, but I'm not sure. So ... I have a letter ... and my relationship with the post office has never been all that strong, so I hope to get it mailed soon. I've had the letter ready for a few weeks now. What I DO know is that nothing is going to happen if I don't mail the letter, as this person has no idea what I'm looking for.

This blog is a bright spot in all of this, however, as I like writing, and if I can commit to posting about once each week or two, I will make progress in my genealogy overall. I have many photos and memories, and Dad has written out some of the tricky parts of our family history. Many of those stories would be good starting points, and now I have decided to use this blog as a place to hold some of the memories, so it's all worthwhile.

Today I purchased a helpful book online, "The Big Genealogy Blog Book." It was written by Amy Coffin, who I met through Twitter not long ago, when I first started. I looked at her blog and commented to her that I liked it. (Check it out: http://wetree.blogspot.com/)  She encouraged me, and told me it was easy to start a blog. I jumped right in and tried it out, and she was right! It was so easy! It's taken awhile to figure out how to let people comment, and how to post pictures, but over time I'll acquire new skills and I'll improve the blog. I have a lot of work to do before mine is anything great, but at least I'm getting the information down, and there is a place for family to find out what I'm doing.

I may not post regularly on my blog, and I'm not a "New Year's Resolution" kind of person, but today's a start, and I intend to keep it up. Perhaps if I make a note on my calendar each week? Amy's book will help, I'm sure, as it's a well-written, easy to read guide, and just the kind of resource I like. Not too heavy, but practical and helpful. I suppose you'll see how well it works for me in the weeks ahead. ;-)

A Country Drive

Yesterday was a special day for a few reasons. Doug had the week off, and we decided to make a trip to Olds, AB to visit his Grandma Taylor. She is an amazing woman in her 90's who continues to live on her own, and we don't see her often enough. It's only about a 75 minute drive, so we are making an effort to get there more often.

I put together a plate of baking for her, and added some fancy chocolates. She loves cookies! We also picked up a poinsettia on the way to her place, to brighten up her condo. The smile on Grandma's face when we arrived said it all -- she was sure pleased we had come to visit.

We took a look at the many balls of yarn in her tv room, and listened to her tell the story about the minister's wife, who comes to visit every so often to pick up whatever grandma has knitted for the disadvantaged children in other countries. Mostly hats and scarves, she has knitted over 1000 now! Grandma loves to stay busy, and her eyes are not as good as they once were, so she is not able to do the needlework or put together the puzzles she once enjoyed. Knitting is perfect for her, and she sits for hours in front of the tv clicking away!

It was lunchtime, so we headed out to find a place Doug could have eggs benedict, his favorite. We found a Smitty's and went in to find it was lined up -- good sign it was a decent place to eat! Before long we were seated and had our lunch. Good soup for Grandma and me on a chilly day.

After lunch, we asked if Grandma would like to go for a drive. She was absolutely thrilled to get out and see the countryside, even though it was covered with snow. She grew up on a farm, and we heard many stories about life in the old days. Not a glamorous life, but it kept the kids out of trouble, and made them into good people, according to Myrtle. We heard about how much she enjoys living in Canada, as we have 4 distinct seasons here. She can't travel much any more, but says she doesn't really miss it much. How nice that she truly enjoys her home and her surroundings.

We listened to many stories about life on the farm, and the routine of each day, month, and season. Doug remarked that the scenery wasn't much to look at this time of the year, but Grandma said she really enjoys each season, and agreed that winter is a time of rest to some extent. The spring keeps people busy preparing the land and seeding, the summer is a time of tending the crops, and fall is when people harvest. Animals continue to need care during the winter, but generally it's a quieter time.

Grandma talked about the stature of the others in her family. She said her paternal grandpa (Iverson) wasn't very tall -- he only came up to her chin! Her maternal grandpa (Rice) was a tall man, however, at about 6 feet. They were all Norwegian. Grandma told us that the first few kids in her family were born in Minnesota, and the rest were born in Saskatchewan, where they lived in a Norwegian settlement. None of them spoke English until they went to school, and then gradually they all spoke English at home, as the kids didn't want to speak Norwegian any more, and they found it easy to learn the new language. Eventually, even the parents had to speak English. What a surprise to hear that Grandma didn't speak English until she was about 5 or 6 years old -- you'd never know it now!

After a few hours of visiting, we dropped her off at her lovely condo and said we'd look forward to seeing her over the holidays. We're hosting the family for dinner this year, and we'll happily anticipate hearing more interesting stories!

Family Traditions - Lefse

One of my favorite family traditions is making "lefse" each year before Christmas. This is a Norwegian flatbread, made with Russett potatoes, flour, real butter & real cream. The Smith family has traditionally brought everyone together to make lefse on the 2nd Sunday of December. Everyone contributes to a potluck lunch, and until this year, the whole gang has gathered in one person's home. The number has grown over time, and this year the family will gather at a hall, which will be wonderful.

As our family lives many hours away, and driving can be treacherous this time of year, for about 15 years we have had our own lefse-making day in Calgary. Sometimes I've invited neighbors to join us, and we've discovered that many of our friends share our tradition. Many years ago, I was quite excited to learn that my husband's family, who have Norwegian roots, also makes lefse! Grandma Taylor has a real lefse grill, and has loaned it to any of us who would like to use it. That's been good, but the Taylor family has also grown, so this year I ordered all of the equipment from a place in Wisconsin, had it shipped to a buddy of Dave's in North Dakota, and Dave was kind enough to bring it back for me.

This year we went to Sherry's for lefse in Calgary, and made about 10 dozen giant lefse. Really, they're about the size of a large pizza! A good time was had by all, and everyone got involved. The kids all helped with rolling and baking, and we all contributed to the wonderful food, which we grazed on all day. It was a perfect opportunity to catch up on life, with Hazel & Eric, and Rob & Corina with their girls. Emma & Teagan made it later in the afternoon, as they'd been to another party earlier in the day. Teagan was sporting some very fancy face paint, and did a great job of rolling!

All in all, it's a day for great fun & laughter, a wonderful opportunity to relax and catch up on everyone's lives, and we all go home with some traditional food to save for Christmas. I was really pleased to take home an extra package for Mom & Dad and Karen & Jeff. Even better, Doug & I will be able to deliver it in person when we visit them in Victoria in a couple of weeks.

We always miss the big Smith clan on their lefse day, but are really pleased to have established the tradition ourselves as well. Looking back at our family history, we're not sure if the tradition came from the Swedish Sundell family or if it was perhaps the Johnston family who influenced the Smiths in North Dakota. Whatever the case, we love our lefse, and it's just awesome to know we have carried on the tradition for over 120 years in our family!

Photos and Other Treasures

When I started out looking through old photos yesterday, I had forgotten there were a few other interesting things in the box. I have a lot of old pictures, as I seem to have become the 'keeper of old treasures' in our extended family. I am not complaining, I'm just saying that sometimes I forget what is there.



Many of these are already scanned and saved to my computer, and copies are saved in a series of places, as I want to be careful not to lose the images. The originals remain in envelopes and boxes, and some are filed by family. They are becoming a bit fragile, so I do not generally display them. The electronic copies can also be fragile, so I've made a few backups.

Annie, Dorothy, and Stanley May in front of the old sod house in Saskatchewan.
Thanks to my mom's cousin, Dorothy Whitcomb for this photograph (and more!).

As I sifted through the Lockerbie and May photos, and went on to a few from the Smiths and the Waites, I came across a bag with a folded piece of paper in it. My aunt Marion had written on the paper, and inside I rediscovered the buttons from my great grandmother's wedding dress. Cool! There were a few other items in there, such as a pearl cufflink, a 'Band of Hope' pin/medal (from the Prohibition), and a gold chain with a small medallion from the International Order of Odd Fellows.

As I continued, I realized most of the photos had already been scanned, but I had misplaced them in my labyrinth of electronic files. Honestly, that is one big area I need to improve! It's a good thing I have attached many of the pics to our Ancestry tree, as at least they are all in one place, and attached to the correct people.

For today, have a look at some of what I found. There are many more treasures here, so if you're ever interested, come on over for a coffee and we'll look through them together. There are many memories in the boxes, and I'm always happy if someone writes down their story and attaches it to a picture. There are also many people who are not identified, and I need help with that as well. If these pictures would mean more to someone in another branch of the family, I will gladly hand them over after I scan them.





Jack & Mabel - early



Jack & Mabel - later days





Thanks to Aunt Marion, who passed these along, which belonged to Jack & Mabel Waite

Old Photographs

I have seen many photos posted on social media this week, as it was Remembrance Day yesterday, and people wanted to honour the ancestors and family members who have served over the years. I checked our family, and there were a few in the military, but not many. Nonetheless, I remembered that I have a couple of big boxes in the basement gathering dust. Some of those photos have been scanned, and are posted to our Ancestry tree, but many have not.

Today is supposed to be a blustery day in Calgary, and I can't think of any reason to put the project off. Thinking optimistically, if the boys are out of bed before noon, I might even enlist their help. If I can determine who is in the pictures, we'll be in good shape to work together, as they are much better at scanning, renaming, and filing.

If there are some we can't identify, perhaps a Skype session with Gramma & Papa will be in order. I'm sure they'll know who's in the pictures, and looking through pictures usually sparks some good conversation around memories of the past.

We have only a handful of photographs for Doug's side of the family, and I hope to obtain more in the next while. We have a few family gatherings coming up soon, so I will put the word out that I am looking for some balance. My mother-in-law has recently retired, and although she is not tech-savvy, she may be willing to help me with identifying people while I scan pictures. I am hoping she will also help me to track down some of these images.

As much as I find it interesting and challenging to research our family history, and feel it is important to obtain proof of each person's existence, I also think it's important to collect & share the 'soft' information, such as stories and photos. Not everyone cares about the facts, but they enjoy hearing the stories. Others are not so interested in reading, but they may like the pictures of the people, the houses, and the surrounding landscapes.

Stay posted -- I hope to be able to post a few new photos soon!

Exciting progress on "the other side" of the family: Mauritz & Becher

For many years, Dad and I have worked on the Smith family tree. We have also researched Mom's Lockerbie family as well, although she's never been as interested as we've been. Thankfully, a few others in that family had done a ton of work on the Lockerbie and May histories, so we had a head start.

We've always had our hands full with the Smiths etc., so I have also not made a major effort to seek out information about the Taylor/Becher branch of the family. This may be of interest to our boys one day, however, as it is Doug's family history. I accepted the low-hanging fruit as I could get it, through family conversations and Ancestry, and thought maybe someone in one of those families would be interested enough to do the serious research.

I remembered a few weeks ago that the Taylors and Browns came from Ontario, so I set out to make a list of the records I need to pursue when Dad and I go to Toronto to visit the provincial archives next spring. That got me thinking about the "in-law" trees, and I took a look at the big gap in our larger tree. The Mauritz and Becher families are quite sparsely populated, so I emailed Auntie Elly (my mother-in-law's sister) to ask if she had any new information.

We had a wonderful family celebration yesterday, and I mentioned to my mother-in-law, Carol, that I had sent a note to Elly, and explained that I really would like to fill in more of her family history for the sake of our children. Carol remembered that Elly had given her a package of information recently, and wondered if I'd like to read it over. Oh my goodness, what a gift!! I scanned the information quickly, and asked if I could borrow it for awhile, as I'd like to make a copy.

This morning I sat down to read it more carefully, and realized there are details of at least 2 new generations of the Mauritz family, and some very interesting stories about life in Romania and the surrounding area. There are also maps, and an explanation of where the family migrated to, and why they moved so much.

Next I began to read a document called "Recalling the Past: A Return to the Hartl Homestead," which was written in July 1994. I have not yet quite sorted out the connection, but it includes some members of the Becher family. I truly hope we have more information about Leopold Becher's history, as we really don't know anything about his past, or his parents. At first glance, there doesn't appear to be much, but I will take some time to check more thoroughly soon.

I hope to hear from Auntie Elly at some point, as I am guessing she has a wealth of knowledge, and she may be inclined to share with me. Fingers crossed!

New info from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania!

Friday was quite a day. Just as I sat down to mull over what we'd found on our trip, I received an email message from Tom, our helpful volunteer at the Historical Society of Schuylkill County. He said they had found the will & estate records for old William Hay, who we found buried in Auburn, Pennsylvania. What great and unexpected news!!

Tom said he and Doc Pete had found the records at the Schuylkill County courthouse, which Dad and I didn't have time to visit last week. They are making a copy for us, and will mail it soon.

Some days you just count your blessings for the generosity of others.

Can't wait to see what the will says, and I hope we learn something about the missing generation of this family.

Mt. Moriah cemetery in Philadelphia

Friday, October 7, 2011

Feeling positive about our results of yesterday's visit to Pottsville, we decided to take some time to see the sights of Philadelphia. Really, it would just be wrong somehow to be here for the better part of a week without seeing the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. After breakfast, we walked to 5^th and Market, and signed up for the hop-on, hop-off tour, which took us on a 90 minute drive around the city highlights on a double-decker bus. We meandered back towards the hotel, and stopped at the Mumbai Bistro for a quick and tasty lunch.

Once we got back to the hotel, I checked the email, and found a response from Ken Milano. I called his cell phone, and asked if he would be willing to take us to Mt. Moriah cemetery. We had determined that visiting Frankford and the Cedar Hill cemetery would be too much to do today, and furthermore, Haldane Hay's grave at Cedar Hill was less important to see compared to seeing Edward MacHarg's final resting place at Mt. Moriah, as I am directly descended from that line. Ken cautioned us that Mt. Moriah was overgrown, as the cemetery owners walked away from it in April this year. I had read the same in the news, but I hoped it might not be too bad. I had the map of the area from our visit to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and knew where the plot was, so off we went.

Ken picked us up within about 20 minutes, and we headed toward the cemetery. He got us there, but it looked pretty bad from the road. We circled back and Ken drove in on the overgrown path, which was quite rough. After awhile, we saw a marker that indicated “Section 130” and noticed a car with the trunk open a bit further down the side path. Ken continued along, musing that it could be someone burying a body or something equally as sinister, and we came to a dead end. Unsure of where to go next, at Dad's urging, we turned around and went back to where the car was parked. There in the middle of the cemetery was a man mowing around one specific section. We asked him if he knew where we were in relation to the map we had, and he said he was maintaining Section 131, which was where some Methodist ministers were buried. Since the cemetery had been abandoned, he had been visiting every 2 weeks to maintain that section. Quite amazing, as it was not easy to access. He encouraged us to try to access the section we wanted, as it was adjacent to the Navy part of the cemetery, which was still being maintained by the military. We went back out to the main path, and continued along to what we figured was Section 142. Dad went ahead on foot, and paced out his best guess as to where it would be. As usual, he was bang on.

 

We jumped out of the car, and began to check the various stones for names and dates. We were not sure how our map of the section should be oriented on the ground, so Ken began phoning in to a colleague to ask whether we were even in the correct place. We were astounded by the brambles and the poor state of the area, and looked across a low fence to see someone maintaining the military part of the cemetery. We were quite frustrated by our inability to make sense of the map, and to find Plot 13. After a series of phone inquiries, we eventually determined we were in the right general area.

 

The last call Ken made was to ask about the “Latimer” stone, and he was told that it was placed in Plot 13, which was supposed to be the MacHarg plot. Hmmm. We looked all around that area, and found some small stones on the ground labeled “L” and “M” - they were perhaps to indicate a specific row, or could be to indicate the two families? In any event, we continued to probe the ground all around these stones, but did not find MacHarg anywhere. It was a shame, but at least we could say we had tried to find Edward and two of his sons. For our purposes, we'll perhaps think of this "M" stone as a marker for the "MacHarg" family.

We packed up and got back into the car, and thanked Ken for his willingness to take us to the cemetery, and for his effort to get us to the correct section. We would never have made it to the specific area without his help, as a taxi would never have agreed to drive in there!

Pottsville and Auburn, Pennsylvania

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Up and out the door early, we picked up our rental vehicle at 7:30, and were pleasantly surprised to be given a Chev HHR as a mid-size option. It was more like an SUV, and perfect for our trip up to Pottsville. I was glad to have brought along our GPS, although Dad was great at navigating with the map.

There was an Occupy Wall Street protest planned at Philadelphia's City Hall, so we left the area using an alternate route. We were on the freeway before long, and realized our left signal light wasn't working, so it was a little uncomfortable until we had it repaired in Pottsville.

We went straight to the Pottsville Historical Society, as it opened at 10:00, and we were warmly welcomed by “Doc Pete” and Tom, who volunteered to help us with our research. They had an amazing array of resources, and Tom helped us by searching through the microfilm for naturalizations. We found 3 of those, some military information, and a few other bits of information which we were not certain were related to our family.

One of the books contained an inscription for the old William Hay's marker in the “Old Cemetery” in Auburn. It was quite interesting, as he was referred to as the Old Scotchman, which made us think there may not have been many Scots in the area.

We were surprised not to find much else about the family, and where they were after 1840 is still a bit of a mystery. I called over to the Presbyterian Church, and Audrey was very pleased to see me – I dashed right over, and she helped me look through their old baptisms, etc., but we came up empty-handed. She said there was a time when the records were not kept all that well, but I have to wonder if they went to church there at all.

We thought of going to the County Archives, but realized there wasn't much else to find there, as the Historical Society had such a rich collection. We exchanged email addresses with Tom and Pete, and offered them a donation, which they very much appreciated. Doc Pete insisted we take some fossils and a chunk of coal from the area, and gave us two pilsner glasses with official certificates. I hope they will keep their eyes open for information about the Hay family in the years to come.

We left Pottsville at about 3:00, and headed for the old cemetery in Auburn. Doc Pete had given us precise directions, which were perfect, as we likely would not have found it without his assistance. We were thrilled to see the old gravestone from the road – it was the first stone we spotted, and it was in pretty good shape, considering how long it had been there. There were no other Hays in the cemetery, but we were happy to have tracked down old William.

Our trip home was smooth sailing, as we felt pleased to have found some new information, and the traffic wasn't too bad heading back into Philadelphia. We returned the car and went back to the room to change before finding a nice fresh-food place to eat a light dinner.