3rd Great Grandpa's House Built 1860 For Sale

Rear of the House

The house that my husband's 3rd great-grandfather William Massey built in 1860 is up for sale.

I talked about this house in a previous blog post at History of the Massey Home 1860 to Present

It's been completely renovated inside and out and is vastly different but the original home is the base. Someone at some point in time did an amazing job at renovating and decorating it.

See the photos of this beautiful home as it stands now.

Massey House Front View 1908

Massey House Front View 2012

New Year's Genealogy Resolutions - Successes and Failures

It's that time. Yep - time for my Genealogy New Year's Resolutions.

Last year I decided I was making too many genealogy resolutions and not even coming close to meeting them, so I set three (3) resolutions to meet in 2012. 

Wow. Only three and I still didn't meet those goals. Let's take a look at what my resolutions were for 2012 and how I think I did with each one.

1. Focus on my genealogical strengths (researching and fact-finding) and continue to build and improve on those 

[How did I do? SUCCESS  I continue to try to improve on those skills, and have added a new one - analysis of facts found]

2. Improve on my organization of genealogical records, but not worry or stress over not entering it all in minute detail in my genealogy program

  [How did I do? PARTIAL SUCCESS I downsized my office and physically moved it to a new location in my home. I am proud of all the purging I did which helped me in my organization but I have not yet reached my goal of being so organized I can immediately lay my hands on anything I want to find]

3. Set deadlines. Make one day per week the day I work on Project A and a second day of the week the day to work on Project B. No more worrying if I jump from project to project! Allow myself to jump around as much as I want but work towards deadlines for completion of Projects A, B, C etc.  I need variety but I also need the deadline to provide structure and a timeline for completion of my multitude of genealogy projects  

[How did I do? FAIL. I can't seem to settle into a consistent work routine. I jump around from project to project. I lose interest in Project A once it's reached a certain point and then I drift off to Project B, leaving Project A in the lurch for months at a time. By the time I get back to Project A I have to spend hours, if not days, figuring out what my thought processes were!]

So - only one success out of three resolutions. That's discouraging. So it's time to take a good look at what is most important in my genealogy career and hobby.

2013 New Year's Genealogy Resolutions

I need to complete my projects and complete them in a timely fashion so that's going to be my goal for 2013. That's right - only one goal this year.

My goal is going to sound simple - complete all my unfinished projects! It's going to be tough as I have several books on the go, and more promised but not started.

Number one: I completed a genealogical mystery novel after two years of hard work. After 7 edits, I sent it to my beta readers and they returned their manuscripts this summer with suggestions for improvement. Based on comments I only need to rework the first two chapters and it's done! That's going to be number one on my list in 2013.

Number two will be the book I started a year ago on Children's Genealogy Games & Activities. It is so close to completion that I am ashamed of myself for not finishing it months ago.

Number three is a Family Genealogy book I intended to give to my new sister-in-law at her wedding to my brother.  I hate to say how long it's been sitting in Shutterfly, almost ready to publish. And now her sister wants to purchase two copies of it, sight unseen. That should be motivation for me to complete it!

Number four is the next volume of my book on the Peer Family of North America. I have done all the research and need only to compile it into the various volumes then self-publish them.

Those are my four most important projects that need finishing. It may not sound like much but it seems a bit overwhelming at times. Wish me luck! I hope that by concentrating on one goal I can complete all these unfinished works. I used to be very good at completing projects and staying on track but these days I seem to be less motivated and more scattered.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for me, please do leave them in a comment here on the blog post.

Last Day of Free Access on Ancestry

LAST DAY!

Below are  30 collections that will be opened up for free between December 26-29^th. This represents more than 300 million select records from collections added or updated in 2012.

To access these free records, visit Ancestry.com/2012

* 1940 United States Federal Census
* Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1954
* Border Crossings: From Mexico to U.S., 1895-1957
* California, Railroad Employment Records, 1862-1937
* Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922
* Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980
* Galveston, Texas, Jewish Immigration Records, 1901-1917
* Lancashire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1911
* Lancashire, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1986
* Lancashire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936
* London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1840-1911
* Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988
* New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842
* New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930
* New York, Naturalization Records, 1897-1944
* New York, State Census, 1892
* New Zealand, Maori Land Claims, 1858-1980
* Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Immigration Records, Special Boards of Inquiry, 1893-1909
* U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958
* U.S. National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962
* U.S., Buffalo Soldiers, Returns From Regular Army Cavalry Regiments, 1866-1916
* U.S., Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960
* U.S., Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958
* U.S., Records of Aliens Pre-Examined in Canada, 1922-1954
* U.S., World War II Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files, 1942-1948
* UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850-1927
* United States, Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959
* War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815
* Washington, Marriage Records, 1865-2004

To access these free records, visit Ancestry.com/2012

Cyndislist.com Files Lawsuit Against MyGenShare.com

CyndisList.com has filed a lawsuit against MyGenShare.com. The plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) are listed as

Plaintiffs:	Cyndi's List  and Cynthia Howells
Defendants:	Mygenshare.com and Barry J Ewell

 The suit is listed as Intellectual Property - Copyrights. For a brief summary of the case see Justia.com Dockets & Filings

A search for Cause 17:101 as listed on Justia provides information on this specific section of Copyright from Cornell University Law School

Cyndi started her website in 1996, the same year I started Olive Tree Genealogy  and we've been friends since that time. Copyright is a serious issue online and I'm certain the genealogy community will be following Cyndi's case with great interest.

As stated by Michael J. Neil on his blog post at RootDig.com Cyndi will not be responding to questions about this lawsuit.

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner After Christmas Specials

The following specials on Flip-Pal Mobile Scanners are valid Wednesday, December 26, 2012 until 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time, Sunday, January 6, 2013. Free Shipping on all orders of $125 or more in the USA and Canada! (Applies to standard ground shipping only.)

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Free Access on Ancestry for Four Days

Olive Tree Genealogy received the following good news from Ancestry.com this morning. They are opening some collections for free access from today (December 26) for the next four days!

Below are  30 collections that will be opened up for free between December 26-29^th. This represents more than 300 million select records from collections added or updated in 2012.

To access these free records, visit Ancestry.com/2012

* 1940 United States Federal Census
* Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1954
* Border Crossings: From Mexico to U.S., 1895-1957
* California, Railroad Employment Records, 1862-1937
* Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922
* Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980
* Galveston, Texas, Jewish Immigration Records, 1901-1917
* Lancashire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1911
* Lancashire, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1986
* Lancashire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936
* London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1840-1911
* Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988
* New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842
* New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930
* New York, Naturalization Records, 1897-1944
* New York, State Census, 1892
* New Zealand, Maori Land Claims, 1858-1980
* Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Immigration Records, Special Boards of Inquiry, 1893-1909
* U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958
* U.S. National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962
* U.S., Buffalo Soldiers, Returns From Regular Army Cavalry Regiments, 1866-1916
* U.S., Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960
* U.S., Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958
* U.S., Records of Aliens Pre-Examined in Canada, 1922-1954
* U.S., World War II Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files, 1942-1948
* UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850-1927
* United States, Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959
* War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815
* Washington, Marriage Records, 1865-2004

To access these free records, visit Ancestry.com/2012

Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!

Judy G. Russell has expressed her Christmas Wishes so well on The Legal Genealogist that you really should take a few minutes to read her blog post. It's perfect!

Wishing all my readers the happiest of holidays.

Christmas at Our House

Yesterday was our Christmas. My children and spouses, 10 of my 14 grandchildren, my brother and his wife and friends and other assorted family were present for a Christmas Dinner.

Cooking is one of my loves (have you been to my Cooking blog Ollie's Yummy in Your Tummy?) and so I made all the food except desserts. I did make Banana Bread, Pumpkin Bread and Amish Sugar Cookies, but all the rest of the desserts were brought by my guests.

The menu consisted of two turkeys with home-made stuffing and gravy, mashed potatoes, Ham, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, Squash Gnocchi with Alfredo Sauce, Ricotta Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce, Candied Yams, Corn, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, and Macaroni and Cheese.

I hope all my readers enjoyed, or will be enjoying, a wonderful holiday with family and friends.
 
Here's a few photos of our day

One of 4 Christmas Tables

The Stuffed Turkeys

The Buffet Dinner

Youngest Grandson as Santa's Helper

Hooper-Squires Photo Archives Treasure No. 5

This is the 5th photo in our collection of rescued photographs of the Hooper and Squires families of St. Mary's Ontario Canada. To view all the photos in this collection as they are published here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog, click on Hooper-Squires Photo Archives link.

The Currah Family 1921

Handwritten text back of photo

 I did some research and found the family of Arthur Leo Currah, the son of William Currah and Rebecca Hutcinson. Arthur was born in 1878 and died in 1958. In 1899 he married Ida Bullock. Their children were:

Louise May, Ada, Eve, Dorah, Beatrice, Nellie and Lawrence.Notice that there are 7 girls which corresponds with the girls in this photo with their mother.

I believe this is the family in the photo as Ada married Llloyd Poulton on the lawn of "The Oaks" in Bright Ontario in 1927. You can see that A. L. Currah (no doubt Arthur Leo) mentions that they live at The Oaks in his remark "...we raise more than Herefords at the Oaks..."

Historic Homes - the Sandercock House

Sam Sandercock Home, St. Mary's Ontario Canada

This home was purchased in 1919 by my husband's 2nd great-grandparents, J. Samuel (Sam) Sandercock (Sandercott) and his wife Ann Theresa Jackson.

The Sandercock family lived there until 1974 when their bachelor son Wilbur aka Tiny died.

Recently the St. Mary's Museum in St. Mary's Ontario did a write-up in the St. Mary's Journal Argus about the Sandercock family and this house. Much of their genealogical family information came from my husband,

As the published article states, Sam and Ann lost two of their sons in WW1. I've written about the Sandercock family and those boys previously on the Olive Tree Genealogy blog, and featured a postcard sent by one of them (Cecil) to his only sister Myrtle (my husband's great-grandmother) during the war.

Postcard from Cecil Sandercok 1918

Hubs' family believes in preserving and passing on family treasures, and hubs is lucky enough to own the postcard sent by Cecil two months before he was killed in 1918 as well as Cecil's war medals.

We also have a photo of the Sandercock family with Sam and his boys in full uniform, taken shortly before they were all sent overseas.

Cecil Sandercock WW1 Medals

In a serendiptitious twist,  last year hubs was given Sam Sandercock's mustache cup to add to his collection of antique mustache cups.

Sam Sandercock's Mustache Cup

The photo behind Sam's mustache cup is of Sam and his son Bill who was killed one year before his brother Cecil during WW1.

Journal Argus story of the Sandercock House

T'was In the Moon of Wintertime - A Huron Christmas Carol

Three years ago I wrote about this beautiful Huron Christmas Carol. I love it so much I'm bringing it back. It is the first Canadian Christmas Carol  written by the Jesuit Missionary Jean de Brebeuf circa 1643 for the Huron Indians in the wilderness of what is now Ontario. The Jesuits ministered to the Hurons at Ste Marie - a wilderness fortified village.

In 1649 the Iroquois, enemies of the Hurons, attacked and the Jesuit fathers set fire to the village fort rather than see it fall into Iroquois hands. Father Brebeuf and 7 others were tortured and killed by the Iroquois. The eight martyred missionaries were canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930, and are known in Canada as the Canadian Martyrs.

The village has been reconstructed at the original site and is now a living museum as well as complete working village. Ste Marie Among the Hurons is a very popular tourist attraction in the Georgian Bay area and it is not far from my home.

Written in the Huron language, Father Brebeuf's Huron Carol is called Jesous Ahatonhia meaning Jesus is Born. It was not translated until the early 1900s at which time it was translated to French. In 1926 it was finally translated to English. It is still a very popular hymn sung by Canadian school children and in churches. The English version is called "T'was in the Moon of Wintertime" and it is a haunting melody based on a 16th century French Canadian Melody.

I love this carol, I find it very stirring and can picture the Hurons sitting with the Jesuit fathers in the middle of our cold snowy winters, listening to the missionaries sing. As well it has many meaningful connections for me - first, I live near Ste. Marie Among the Hurons. Secondly, Father Brebeuf, now the patron saint of Canada, baptised my half-9th great grand uncle Francois-Joseph Hertel in Trois-Rivieres in 1642 during the short time he was in Quebec recuperating from a broken shoulder. Lastly, I am descended from Francois-Joseph Hertel's half sister Ots Toch, a half Mohawk, half French woman from New York who went on to marry the Dutchman Cornelis Van Slyke. The Mohawk were part of the Iroquois Confederacy, the enemy of the Hurons at Ste. Marie.

And now without further ado, here is the Huron Carol Jesous Ahatonhia on video sung in the original Huron language version followed by the French version and a slightly different English version translated by Father Kierans

Huron Wendat Language Version

Estennialon de tsonwe
Jesous ahatonhia
Onnawatewa d' oki
n' onwandaskwaentak
Ennonchien skwatrihotat
n' onwandilonrachatha
Jesous ahatonhia Jesous ahatonhia



English Version by Middleton, most often sung

Another version of this beautiful carol
The Huron Carol ('Twas In The Moon of Winter Time)

'Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fled
That mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim and wondering hunters heard the hymn,
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.

Within a lodge of broken bark the tender babe was found;
A ragged robe of rabbit skin enwrapped his beauty round
But as the hunter braves drew nigh the angel song rang loud and high
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.

The earliest moon of wintertime is not so round and fair
As was the ring of glory on the helpless infant there.
The chiefs from far before him knelt with gifts of fox and beaver pelt.
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.

O children of the forest free, O sons of Manitou
The holy Child of earth and heaven is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant boy who brings you beauty peace and joy.
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.

Thanks to FootnoteMaven for having her Do You Hear What I Hear Christmas Caroling again this year.

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!

I consider myself a pretty savvy internet user. Online scams and phishing attempts have never sucked me in. But last week I almost fell for something that could have potentially cost me a fair bit of money. Luckily for me, my spidey senses went on full alert. Let me fill you in on what happened.

Hubs and I sell antiques online. Last week I received an email from a guy, let's call him "Joe". Joe was interested in one of my vintage oil cans and wrote to say he wanted to buy it. The usual course of action is that I reply to his email, he offers a lower price than I'm asking and we begin the bartering stage of antique buying and selling.

But Joe asked me to phone him rather than reply to his email as he was "too busy to answer emails". Hmmm...  spidey sense starting to tingle! Yes I'm the suspicious type. It seemed odd to me but I mentally shrugged and made the call. It went to voicemail where a man with a thick accent provided the name of a business and the usual pleasantries about returning calls.

I left a message and gave (somewhat reluctantly) my phone number for contact. It didn't take long for Joe to respond. He had the same thick accent as the voice mail so I figured he was the business owner. he was very nice, very pleasant, very talkative. In fact, he was overly nice, overly polite... kind of an Eddie Haskell kind of thing. My spidey senses were really strong now! But I kept chastising myself for being too suspicious.

Joe then sent my spidey senses even higher by remarking that he didn't care how much it cost for the oil can, he just wanted it. That was odd. Very odd. He didn't make a lower offer as expected. And he wanted it sent courier so it would reach him before Christmas.

I informed him I would package up the handle and investigate courier costs on Monday then I'd let him know. "Okay" was his answer, "and then you give me your bank account number so I can deposit the money into your account"


Whoa!! Full alert for my spidey senses! In this day and age of Paypal and interac e-transfers why would someone choose a more cumbersome method of transferring money?

So I told Joe I prefer Paypal or interac transfer and his immediate response was "Oh no I just go to my bank and put the money straight into your account" And then in the brilliance of con men, he added "Of course I count on you sending me the oil can and not cheating me" Wow. That's brilliant because of course I should immediately defend my honesty and assure him that I'm above board.

And I did. I fell for that part. Knowing he'd sucked me in he engaged me in small talk. He used my name frequently throughout "So Lorine tell me how you got interested in oil cans" and "Lorine, do you have any other oil cans for sale" Yep, you guessed it - I began thinking of how great it would be if I could sell more of my oil cans to him and started my sales pitch. Good psychological ploy  - use the mark's first name frequently, makes them think you're their buddy.

It ended up with him saying that for sure he wanted the two for which I had photos and he wanted me to dig out all the rest and take pictures to send him as he probably would buy them all. He'd pay whatever I wanted plus courier costs, all I had to do was give him my  bank account number so he could deposit that money.  Now in case you think I'm talking 20 bucks, let's just say that these particular oil cans don't come cheap. Together the two in question would be $175.00 plus shipping

My suspicions were definitely aroused but I started to question myself. Was I suspicious because he had an accent? Maybe I was being very unfair and horror of horrors, was I doing some ethnic profiling? I was pretty sure that wasn't the case, that's not my nature, but I only had a few odd things causing me to feel so uneasy.  I started feeling very guilty about being suspicious of him!

But the thought of giving my bank account number to a complete stranger filled me with unease. And so I sat down and went over the spidey sense alerts I'd gotten since first talking to Joe. Mentally shaking myself for letting this guy suck me into doubting myself,  I wrote to him the next day with a total cost for the two oilers plus shipping expenses. I added that I could send him an invoice and he could pay via Paypal, by interac e-transfer, by cheque or by money order.

Guess what? I never heard from Joe again.

I found out later from my bank that theoretically a person should not be able to withdraw funds from your account BUT if he were charming (he was), talkative (he was), polite (yep), and believable he could possibly fool a teller into believing he'd had his ID stolen (or whatever) and withdraw funds from my account. My bank does not recommend giving your name and bank number to anyone other than family (assuming you trust them!)

I had two reasons for talking about this today. One was to urge readers to never doubt your own gut instincts! If something is making your spidey senses tingle, step back and think about the situation. And you can apply this to genealogy research too. If you find a record and you have a sudden thought or suspicion (good or bad) about it, step back, take your time and think about it. 

And if you've read this far and you're curious about an old oil can costing so much money, take a peek. They can be quite beautiful! This Kaye oiler is my favourite.  But this Lucas oiler is the creme de la creme, considered the Rolls Royce of oilers even dinted as mine is. And hey, if anyone wants to buy them, cool -- just don't ask me for my bank account number okay?

Woodville Victorian Photo Album page 3

Here is the third page of the Victorian Photo Album called "The Army and Navy Album" with illustrations by R. Caton Woodville. To view all pages of this beautiful album as they are put online, please click on R. Caton Woodville

There are two Cartes de Visite and one loose photo of a baby on this page. On the back of page 3 are four Cartes de Visite. None are identified.

Front and verso of Cartes de Visite on page 3

Front and verso of Cartes de Visite on back of page 3

Front and verso of Cartes de Visite on back of page 3

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Free Shipping USA Only

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner

I love my Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and I try to bring you news of any deals they have. Well here's a great one!

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Look for the Shipping button that is located on the lower left-hand side of the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner home page.

Read my reviews of this amazing scanner. I've found all kinds of uses for it from creating fancy borders for photographs to taking to an elderly relative's to scan their old family photos to sitting on the couch at night watching TV while I scan my boxes of family photos!

Lst Day For Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Christmas Specials

Today is the last day for Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Christmas Specials!

The following specials are valid from 12:01 a.m. December 10 to 11:59 p.m. December 16, 2012 Mountain Time.

Look for the holiday buttons that will be located on the lower left-hand side of the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner home page.

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Great-Grandma's Painting Comes Home

Oil Painting by Mary Louse Facey Elgie ca 1910

Yesterday hubs was given a very nice oil painting done by his great-grandmother Mary Louise Facey. Mary Louise painted this a few years after her marriage to William Elgie in 1904.

Apparently Mary Louise was a prolific amateur artist, giving her paintings as gifts for weddings, birthdays and so on. She and William did not have much money and a painting was affordable.

Because her paintings were given to distant relatives and friends, they were spread around the community and surrounding areas in south-western Ontario.

Mary Louise Facey Elgie 1882-1973

Years later, Mary Louise's daughter Florence Elgie, watched for local auctions and estate sales where she knew her mother's paintings might be found. She attended every one she possibly could and bought as many of her mother's works as she could find.

Several of the rescued paintings were given to hubs' mother and aunt abuot 16 years ago. Then one was recently passed on to hubs' sister.

And now this painting has come to hubs courtesy of his mother who was Florence's niece. Today we're going to decide where this lovely painting will hang. We hung it temporarily in our sunroom while we think about it.

Hubs has a painting done by his grandmother Mary Demeulenaire Massey which has pride of place in our living room so this new painting by Mary Louise Facey Elgie is a welcome addition.

Top Ten Olive Tree Genealogy Blog Posts 2003-2012

A reader asked me what the most popular Olive Tree Genealogy blog post was.  I had a look and decided to share the Top Ten Olive Tree Genealogy Blog posts since my first post in 2003! Phew!

Yes I've been blogging about genealogy for almost 10 years.

Have you read them all? If not, take a peek below and see what other genealogists found interesting.


Pinterest:Time Waster or Useful Utility? 

My Top Ten Genealogy Websites
 
What Type of Genealogist Are You?
 
What's Your Number? Don't Be Too Shocked if It's Below 30%!
 
Finding Your Roots - Two Thumbs Down
 
The Frustration Over Online Family Trees Gone Bad
 
Sharing Memories (Week 44): I Love Books! 

Think Outside the Box When Looking for a Ship's Passenger List 

Genealogy and Family Hope Chest Step 6: Treasures

Why Do We Do Genealogy? 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Invite an Ancestor for Christmas Dinner

My Grandmother

Yep, you heard me right. I'm challenging my readers to invite an ancestor to the table this year for Christmas.

Here's how:

1. Choose an ancestor that you find interesting or amusing or compelling. You might want to choose one from another country (I'll tell you why in a minute)

2. Look for a photograph of the ancestor you chose. If you have one, print it off and put it in a nice frame (or a cheap frame from Wal-Mart if you prefer!). No photo? Don't worry, you can print a family group sheet of a pedigree chart from you back to your ancestor. Frame whatever you print.

3. If you're lucky and you have a recipe from that ancestor you're good to go, otherwise choose a dish that represents your ancestor.

Now you're ready to invite your ancestor to dinner. All you need to do is choose a recipe that represents a dish from your ancestor's country of origin, then make it for the Christmas dinner. Put the dish on the table with your framed photograph or pedigree chart or family group sheet, and explain to family why you've made this particular dish for the meal. In other words, who are you honouring?

Spotted Dick

I'm going to invite my grandmother who was born in England in 1894. I happen to have her mother's recipe for Spotted Dick, an English favourite of years ago. So I'm going to make it for the Christmas Buffet table. I've made it before (once) so it will be fun to make again. I'm pretty sure none of my siblings or other family have ever had it.

I'm also going to put out some of the treasures my grandmother left me to round out the experience with more details. 

You can talk about your ancestor and about the dish you made. It should be a great way to introduce some genealogy to your Christmas Table!

Countdown to Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Christmas Specials

The following specials are valid from 12:01 a.m. December 10 to 11:59 p.m. December 16, 2012 Mountain Time.

Look for the holiday buttons that will be located on the lower left-hand side of the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner home page.

**Free Shipping on all orders of $125 or more in the USA and Canada!**
(Applies to standard ground shipping only.)

Save $10 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner!
You will need to click on the link below, place the Flip-Pal mobile scanner in your shopping cart and then use the promotion code Countdown in order to receive the $15 off discount. (This is the only offer that requires a promotion code. Regular Price: $149.99, Sale Price: $139.99)
Click on Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner for more information and to order.

Save $15 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner + Deluxe Carry Case Bundle!
(Regular Price: $179.98, Sale Price: $164.98)
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Save $15 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner “Pink” Bundle-helping the National Breast Cancer Foundation!
This bundle includes the Flip-Pal mobile scanner, a Pink Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case and a special “Pink” Lid Cover. (Regular Price: $176.99, Sale Price: $161.99)
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Save $20 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner Rechargeable Bundle!
This bundle includes the Flip-Pal mobile scanner, a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case and an Eneloop AA 4-Pack with an AC Battery Charger. (Regular Price: $209.97, Sale Price: $189.97)
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Save $35 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner with Creative Suite Craft Edition DVD and a Deluxe Carry Case Bundle!
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Read reviews of this amazing scanner. 

50% Off Coupon from Lulu.com!

Starting today, Lulu.com is taking 50 percent off calendars and 40-50 percent off photo books. Just use the coupon code LUMEN at check-out.    This is the perfect time to print your photos or your Sharing Memories stories


The announcement Olive Tree Genealogy received today states:
 
At Lulu.com, You ALWAYS get what you want because imagination is NEVER out of stock. When you head to Lulu to create a calendar or photo book, you’re not hoping another shopper doesn’t get to it first. No, you’re creating something beautiful and unique. Something you KNOW will spark smiles year round. It’s easy, it’s high quality and you can be finished in less time than it takes to drive to the mall and back.

Studies tell us Americans are snapping more pictures than ever. Now’s the time to liberate them from your iPhone or hard drive.  If you can post a pic on Facebook or include an attachment in an email, you can create a Lulu calendar or photo book -- it’s that simple.

And when you’re done creating your unique calendar or photo book, remember that Lulu.com is also home to other gifts


You can also use the following coupon for  Books & eBooks from Lulu.com 20% off- Enter code DECBOOKS12 - Save up to $25

Woodville Victorian Photo Album Page 2

Here is the second page of the Victorian Photo Album called "The Army and Navy Album" with illustrations by R. Caton Woodville. To view all pages of this beautiful album as they are put online, please click on R. Caton Woodville

Here we have a cabinet card of a man. Although it looks like he is outside this is a studio portrait. The photographer is identified on the front as L. C. Pierre, Crawley Road, Horsham. There is no identification on the verso.




The back of page 2 has one photo of a woman. It's a cabinet card but looks like Civil War period so it may be a reproduction of an earlier Carte de Visite.

The photographer is identified as S. J. Allen, Bush Street, Pembroke Dock. On the verso is stamped "Agent A. E. Ellis, 114 Winchcap Street, Canterbury" 

The printing on the verso reads

Patronized by their R & I H The Duke & Duchess of Edinburgh. S. J. Allen Photographer by Special Appointment to the Admiralty, Bush Street, Pembroke Dock.

A Genealogy Christmas Wish List

Last year I published a Christmas post called All I Want For Christmas: A Genealogist's Baker's Dozen Wish List
 
This year I'm revisiting some of my ideas from last Christmas, even though I did get many of the items on my list. My readers might be interested in the list for themselves!

Print it and leave it lying around for your spouse or children to find. Pass it on to friends and family so they know what you'd like.

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner

1. Ancestry.com World Subscription (or any other genealogy subscription-based site you like)

2. Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner to take to Archives, Libraries and on field trips. Read my first review from November 2010 at Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

3. RootsTech Registration. Ask your loved one to register you for RootsTech 2013 coming up March 21-23, 2013

4. An original newspaper from Historic Newspapers UK. See my earlier blog post about this (they also have USA newspapers!) at Original Historic Newspapers Make Great Gifts!

5. Evernote Moleskine notebook. I don't have one and am pretty anxious to try it out! Apparently you write in the notebook and with a click of your smartphone camera, can transfer your notes to Evernote. See The New Evernote Smart Notebook by Moleskine

6. DNA Test Kit from Family Tree DNA (or any other DNA Testing company you prefer)
 
7.  Echo Smart Pen by Live Scribe for recording Family Stories and Memories. I love my SmartPen. I use it to record my 89 year old auntie's stories of her childhood, then I plug it into my laptop and the digital record transfers. Using the pen while auntie speaks, I make jot notes in the special notebooks. Then I can play the recorded stories by touching any word in the notebook. Very cool!

8. A Kindle Fire, Nook or other e-reader so you can purchase genealogy books and read them in airports, waiting rooms, on the beach or pretty much anywhere

My Iona Journal

9.  A subscription to the Genealogy Magazine of your choice. I'd like Family Tree Magazine, but the one you drool over could be very different

10. Jawbone JAMBOX This tiny powerful speaker allows you to connect via bluetooth to any other bluetooth enabled device (laptop, computer, iPhone, iPad etc) and play your favourite podcasts or listen to any audio with much better quality sound. I have one and I love it.

11. A beautiful journal for writing your own memoirs. I love Iona Handcrafted Books and have asked my hubby to buy me another one this Christmas as I'm on my last one. Tip: If the checkout won't accept a non-USA order, just email or phone as they do accept international orders.

12.  A Shutterfly gift certificate  I love Shutterfly for creating family photo books or calendars. It's also great for simply getting copies of your family photos so you can share them with family members

13. And in blatant self-promotion, how about asking for one of the genealogy and history books I have written and published?

And there you have it - my Genealogy Wish List for this Christmas. 

WW1 Soldiers - a Side Effect of War Often Forgotten

Olive Tree Genealogy received an email from a reader, Julie. Because Julie has explained this so well, I'm letting her words stand as is.

I visited the website Julie mentions and it is heartbreaking and poignant. It's a side of war that we tend to overlook. Please do visit but heed the warning - it is not for the squeamish. 

I just finished reading Pat Barker's "Toby's Room" (she's written quite a lot about WW1 and is a renowned novelist). The story in this book includes the recovery period during restoration of facial injuries suffered by young men in the Great War at a special hospital in Kent. In the book (and in her interviews), Barker talks about the website The Gillies Archives from Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup which has many artists' renderings of the patients. The site itself is very informative and contains some information about Canadian soldiers who were also treated there.

If you click "Pictures of the Week" on the left sidebar and then scroll down the page you will find reference to two Canadians. One is under the subheading  "A Lost Survivor" and references Norman Eric Wallace, and the other is down at the very bottom, under subheading "Tunbridge Wells and the Kent VAD" where there is a link to a small photo album compiled by another Canadian, Pte. John McBride. There may be more Canadians mentioned on the site, but I haven't searched extensively yet.

None of this is for the squeamish (as they warn on the site), but it's a brilliant piece of history as heartbreaking as it is.

Another Happy Ending!

Great news everyone. We have another happy ending story to an American WW2 soldier's dog tag.  Case #5 T. H. Stull is officially solved! It took TWO YEARS but we did it!

Thomas H. Stull's nephew James has been found and contacted. Here is part of James' email to Olive Tree Genealogy:

T. H. Stull was my mothers younger brother and died about forty five years ago as the result of being hit by a car in Glendale, CA (Los Angeles County).  He had no children.  My sisters and I would like to have the dog tags to keep with the family bible, and some other items of Stull family memorabilia.

I've sent James' contact information to Craig, the man who found the Dog Tag. And so thanks to Olive Tree Genealogy blog amazing readers and their detective genealogy skills, we have a happy ending just in time for Christmas!

Finding Photos and Yearbooks for Ancestors Schools

Tytler Public School ca 1912

Recently my 89 year old auntie was able to give me more details about my mother (her sister) and father and their parents.

It may sound strange but I was thrilled to learn that my dad went to Tytler Public School in Guelph Ontario. This school was built in 1879 and originally called St. Patrick's Ward School.

Apparently my auntie's husband also went to Tytler and so did her other sister's husband. It looks like they all lived close to each other at some point.

Victory Public School present day

My mom on the other hand attended Victory P.S. in Guelph. I haven't yet found an older photo of this school but I'm on the hunt! I also have my eye out on E-Bay for any old postcards with the images of these two schools.

After learning that my mom went to Victory Public School I emailed the current principal who invited me to come and have a look at some old photos of staff and students from the 1920s - which is the time period my mom would have been there.

G.C.V.I 1927

Both my parents went to a secondary school called  Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI) in the 1930s. Luckily I found two old GCVI yearbooks on E-Bay and also consulted some older yearbooks at the Guelph Civic Museum where my parents were mentioned.

It's pretty exciting to see your mom or dad's name in a yearbook! I'd love it if there had been a photo or two but that's typical of a genealogist isn't it? Always wanting more!

And a small link to fame perhaps? John McCrae, the author of In Flanders Fields, also attended G.C.V. I.