Nursing Sister Phillips WW1 Album: 1R 3 Nursing Sisters

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One. 

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos" in the vertical menu bar on the right side of your screen. You can also click on that phrase at the bottom of this post.

1841 List of Tavern Keepers in Toronto

List of Persons to whom Certificates In in the City of Toronto for Tavern Licenses have been granted to and Liberties for the year 1841 


1 John T Smith 
2 William Campbell 
3 James Bell 
4 Thomas Moore 
5 Thomas Thomas 
6 William Phair 
7 John Manns
 8 Thomas Pearson 
9 Steers Robinson 
10 John Henry 
11 Geo W Post 
12 Bernard Short 
13 Robert Anderson
 14 William Griffith 
15 John McCarthy 
16 Arthur McMahon 
17 John Earnest 
18 John Earls 
19 John Parsons 
20 Thomas Bolterell 
21 James Trotter
 22 George Herron 
23 James Mil field 
24 Thomas Naylor
 25 William Wallis 
26 Charles T Gardiner 
27 John Elegia 
28 William Rolph 
29 John Murphy
 30 John Stone 
31 John Raper 
32 John O Keefe 
33 Thomas Buttery 
34 George McCallum 
5 John Henderson 
36 Richard Woods
 37 John C Scholfield 
38 James McConib 
39 James Piatt 
40 John Baldry 
41 James Thompson
 42 Joseph Abraham 
43 Andrew Gibson
 44 WH Boss 
45 Peter Nangle 
46 Daniel Peterson 
47 John Fleming 
48 WH Elliott 
49 William Noble 
50 Robert McMichael 
51 Robert Bar wick 
52 John P Dunn 
53 Thomas Earls 
54 Joseph Beatty 
55 Robert Alexander 
56 John Baker 
57 Thomas Ryan 
58 Thomas McConkey 
59 John Trueman 
60 John Anderson 
61 John Healy 
62 John Powers 
63 John Short 
64 Thomas Baily 
65 Hugh Henderson 
66 Joseph H Smith
 67 George Price
 68 John Bennett 
69 Susannah Mathews 
70 John Baker 
71 Hugh McNeal
 72 David Boss 
73 Samuel Bain
 74 George Evans 
75 James Feehan 
76 Dennis McEnery 
77 John Harley 
78 Patrick Ingoldsby 
79 Patrick Mitchell
 80 Alexander McGregor 
81 Richard Crispin
 82 Charles Nonhcote 
83 William Turriff 
84 John McManus 
85 George Brown 
86 Thomas Wright
 87 James Dill
 88 Alexander Dill 
89 FM Rossi 
90 Lewis Boore 
91 Francis Bond
 92 Daniel Dewdney 
93 James Hickman
 94 James Graham 
95 James Walsh
 96 John Thomas 
97 John Wesley 
98 Asa Reynolds 
99 Stanous Daniels 
100 Hemy Gillentson 
101 Thomas Fanning
 102 James Campbell 
103 Thomas Durilop 
104 Thomas S Cowan
 105 James H Hutchinson do
 106 Ebon Barclay 
107 Francis Berry 
108 James Thomas
 109 William Heather 
110 Robert Scott 
11 1 Peter Harkin 
112 Herod Noble 
1 13 William L Stewart 
1 14 Robert Defreise 
115 John M Tuis 
116 John Earls 
117 David McDonald 
118 Isaac Johnson 
119 William White 

Source:
Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada From the 14th Day of June .. Being the First-8th Provincial Parliament ..., Volume 1(Google eBook)

Sinking of The Empress of Ireland 1914

On 29 May 1914 the Empress of Ireland collided with another ship in the St. Lawrence River. It sank with 1,477 passengers on board. It sank in less than 15 minutes and an estimated  1,032 people died.

See a partial passenger list and photos at Empress of Ireland - Canada's Titantic.



Credit: Image Empress of Ireland from Library and Archives Canada, PA-116389 /

Finding a Loyalist in the Haldimand Papers (Loyalist Research Part 6)

Previously I talked about the history of Loyalists in Part 1, Land Grants and Requirements for Loyalist Status in Part 2, Land Petitions in Part 3 and Land Records in Part 4 and Loyalist Lists in Part 5. 

Now I want to walk you through finding an ancestor on the challenging set of records called The Haldimand Papers. These important papers were kept by Sir Frederick Haldimand, 1718-1791. The papers document events in North America beginning with the Seven Years War and ending with the settlement by Loyalists after the American Revolutionary War.

Finding an ancestor in the digitized records is a challenge but it can be done and the wealth of information is incredible. The first thing you need to know is that although the papers have not been transcribed or indexed, there is an index to Loyalists found on Heritage Canada's digitized microfilm C-1475. 

When you consult this typed index you will see the individual's name followed by a set of numbers as in the example below. Warning: the film is blurry!

The 3-digit number is the Volume where you will find the original record, followed by the page number.  So in this example above we know that a record for Jonas Larroway is found in all these volumes. Volume 167 for example has 5 pages listed for Jonas.

Sounds easy, right? Wouldn't we just go to whatever film holds Volume 167 and then look for the pages? How I wish it were that easy but it's not. There are 43 digitized films for the Haldimand Papers on Heritage Canada but there is no explanation of what is found in each film. 

A look at Library and Archives Canada also comes up empty. There is nothing found that describes the films and provides a description of each. To complicate things, there are several variations of numbers being used including the Series B transcripts (H-4digits), the Series B transcript volume numbers (B-3digits), the Add MSS 4digits number from the British Library and the WMD film number of the actual papers. 

It took me quite awhile to figure out that the Volume (V) number is the equivalent to a  B number. So in the example above we want to find B-167. But we still don't know what film it is on. I'll share with you that it took me an entire day to figure out what films I needed. Once I figured it out,  I found an impressive set of miscellaneous papers with my ancestors' names receiving rations from the British Government, on Loyalist Muster rolls and more.

Without further ado, here are the steps you need to take to find your own ancestor!

Step 1. Consult the index found on Microfilm C-1475 Four bound volumes of transcripts which relate primarily to Loyalists, together with a typed index have been microfilmed on this reel. The Loyalist volumes in finding aid no. 599 are: Add. MSS. 21765 (B105), 21826 (B166), 21827 (B167), 21828 (B168) and Index. You may find it easier to download the typed index on Collections Canada. It is a PDF file which you can save to your computer.

I should mention that you would be wise to avoid looking for any filmed records (other than the index) in C-1475. The C films are very bad quality and are difficult to read, having been filmed in the 1950s. The H films were filmed in the 1980s and are much better quality. 

Step 2: Consult the PDF conversion chart I found online (and a huge thank you to the author!) which gives conversions from B numbers to the correct film. The author created the following columns: LAC (Library and Archives Canada) reel; Batch #s; B series; Add MSS; WMP reel #

You are looking in the B series column and then the LAC reel number.

So for example looking for B-167  on the Conversion Chart we see this:

We can see that B-167 is found on 2 films, H-1654 and H-1655. Ignore the 21827 as that is the Add MSS number. The important fact here is that B-167 pages 1 to 320 are found on H-1654 but they will be found at the end of that film, not the beginning. There are other Volumes (B numbers) at the beginning of the film. Then pages 321 to the end were filmed on H-1655.

Step 3: Go to the list of Haldimand Papers digitized films on Canadiana.org and scroll down to H-1654. Start the film and note what volume (B number) you are viewing. You can see the source details at the bottom or right hand side of each filmed page, as in the example below:

We are only in B-163 and you want B-167 so you will have to scroll quite a bit further. Once you reach your volume (B number) of interest, simply look for the page numbers you want.

Here is an example of what you might find for an ancestor. This is a 1783 list of Loyalists who settled at Niagara, Upper Canada (present day Ontario) along with the number of household members (by gender and age)

Pompeii Restoration Begins on Bodies of Those Who Died That Dreadful Day

Restorers are currently working on 86 preserved casts of bodies of those who perished when Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.  

Experts at the laboratory of Pompeii Archaeological Site are readying the poignant remains for a forthcoming exhibition called Pompeii and Europe

Watch the videos, see the photos and read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3089659/Who-petrified-child-Pompeii-Restoration-work-begins-body-boy-House-Golden-Bracelet.html

Credit: Image courtesy of DailyMail.co.uk

New Almshouse Records Online

Thanks to the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, the admission records of the Saint John Almshouse, New Brunswick are online and freely available to all genealogists.

The records contained in the St. [Saint] John City Almshouse Admission Registers from 1843-1897  and the Saint John Almshouse Admission Registers, 1843-1884 for individuals admitted to the Alms and Work House, the Emigrant Infirmary, and the St. John Emigrant Orphan Asylum may be accessed by searching or browsing the list of surnames.

This is a page (left and right sides) from the Register of the County Alms and Workhouse 1843-1897.

 
 For more Almshouse records see http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/almshouse/

The Tragic Story of Little Willie McCallister

Poor Willie McCallister. Little did he know that November day in 1885 that his young life would end. 

New York Times 6 November 1885

Willie, sometimes called Fred, was 5 years old and living in the Catholic Orphan Home for Boys in Troy New York.  He and an older boy, 12 year old Eddie Townsend wanted to watch the fireworks, so they devised a plan to sneak out and enjoy the show. But young Willie stepped in the muck, made much worse than usual by the rainy weather, and could not get out. 

He struggled, but sank further into the wet sludge. Young Townsend ran off and was found wandering the streets the next day. Sadly he did not tell authorities that Willie was trapped until two nights had passed. When he did finally reveal Willie's plight, it was too late. Little Willie was found dead with mud up to his chin. 

Willie deserves to be remembered and perhaps my readers can help find Willie's family. According to a lengthy article in The Times on November 12th, Willie's mother was Kate McCallister living on North 1st Street and employed at Leggett's Box Factory. Willie was said to be very good-looking and well-liked in the Asylum. He is the perfect example of what is known as a "half-orphan", that is, a child with one parent living but in destitute circumstances.

Eddie Townsend was arrested as it was revealed that he disliked little Willie and often struck him with sticks. He was later charged with manslaughter in Willie's death

The Times 12 November 1885 (4 clippings above)

Pittsburgh Post Gazette 7 November 1885

Thanks to visitor Beckie who sent me the Pittsburgh Newspaper clipping and asked for my help. 

UPDATE! I think I may have found "Willie" and his family in 1880 in Troy New York. The family consists of Frederick McCallister, age 35, a  moulder born in Pennsylvania with wife Katie, age 25 born New York and with children Grace,6 and Freddie, 7months (Freddie would be little "Willie") I am off to hunt for the family in 1900.

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Album 24 V Tent Ward

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One. 

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos" in the vertical menu bar on the right side of your screen. You can also click on that phrase at the bottom of this post.

Irish Immigrant Murdered in USA 1832, Goes Back to Ireland for Reburial

In 1832 the widowed 29-year old Catharine Burns left Tyrone Ireland for America. 

A few weeks after her arrival she was murdered along with  other Irish Catholics at Duffy's Cut in Pennsylvania. 

Many of the dead died of cholera but evidence suggests that some were murdered. Blunt force trauma and axe wounds were determined to be the murder victims cause of death.

Prejudice against the Irish may have been the cause of the attacks.

Catharine's bones were recently discovered and she will be flown back to Ireland for reburial. Sadly her relatives have not been found and all that is known of her is that her father-in-law was John Burns, born circa 1758. He was on the ship with Catharine heading for America in 1832.

Read more on BBC News at Duffy's Cut: Irish emigrants' plight highlighted as murder victim returned home

More Ways to Find an Ancestor in the 1851 Agricultural Census

Previously I talked about the 1851 Agricultural Census and using the online Library and Archives Canada Search Engine to find an ancestor.

You can also search on Ancestry.com in their online Canadian Census records. Unfortunately you cannot narrow your search to just bring up results for the Agricultural Census. However when you enter an ancestor's name, IF that person is found in the existing Agricultural portion of the 1851 census, and IF they are found in a surviving 1851 Personal Census, you will see two results. One will be the personal census, the other the Agricultural.

Search Results 1851 Census for Charles Black - 2 entries, Agricultural & Personal

If the person is found in one census and not the other, how do you tell which you have? It's simple. The result for the Agricultural census will not display an age. 

Search Result for Agricultural Census - no age is shown

The database you want to search is called 1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Don't enter the individual's age or year of birth. Just search by first and last name, and location.

It would make life easier if Ancestry had entered the word "Agricultural" into their database fields so we could narrow the search but they have not done so. However with a little patience you can find your ancestor providing that census has survived for the area the ancestor lived in.

Don't overlook this resource as it has great genealogical value to researchers. 

Is Ancestry.com Being Sold Again?

Rumour has it that Permira Advisers LLC, the buyout firm that owns most of privately held Ancestry.com, has hired investment banks to run an auction for the company. You can read more at Reuters.

Permira outbid other private equity firms to take Ancestry private in 2012 for $1.6 billion. 

What's in store for Ancestry and its customers now? We'll have to wait and see if the rumours are true.

Finding Ancestors on 1851 Agricultural Census Canada

Previously I talked about the 1861 Agricultural Census for Ontario and the goof that Ancestry.com made when bringing it online.
Why search for ancestors in an Agricultural Census? These records provide details of exact location of land, type of farming, house lived in, livestock and more.
 Ancestry.com doesn't appear to have the 1851 or 1871 Agricultural Census schedules (at least they are not easily found!) but there's good news!
In 2011 I talked about how to go directly to the Agricultural census on Collections Canada. That was a great database and search engine, much better than the new one on Library and Archives Canada. But it no longer exists. You must now search for ancestors in the 1851 Agricultural census at Library and Archives Canada. 

1. Select Canada West (Ontario) from the drop down list for Province/Colony.

2. To narrow your search by township or county (or both) simply add them as keywords. 

 

Be very careful using this search engine! It is unforgiving. For example if your ancestor's name was recorded as "Thos." (for Thomas) on the original census page, searching for "Thomas" will give you ZERO hits. 

 

It is best to use wildcards, for example "Tho*" allows for abbreviations and full name. 

 

I had ancestors in Flamboro Township in Wentworth County in 1851 so I entered keywords "flamboro wentworth" and got 3 hits. Each hit has a list of available images. All I needed to do was start at the first image and begin looking.

Here's an example of what one page of the 1851 Agricultural Census looks like. The graphic used here is blurry but the original is crystal clear.
So don't be afraid to give this a try in your search for more details of an Ontario ancestor.

Have You Checked Assessment Records for that Elusive Ancestor?

Genealogy records for early Ontario (Canada West, Upper Canada) are challenging to find. They are sporadic and held in different repositories. Some often over-looked pre 1850 records include Assessment Records. 

Assessment Record Page

These work well as a census substitute and they usually provide an exact location of land (Lot and Concession Number) within a Township.

Some give numbers and type of livestock and crops. Assessment records were used to assess individual's property and holdings in order to calculate and collect tax revenue.  

Not all townships' Assessment Records have survived. Not all townships did assessments for the same years. So if you are looking for these records you will need to find out if your County and Township of interest has any that survived. 

I am very pleased to announce that thanks to the generousity of transcriber Fred Blair, Olive Tree Genealogy has published 10 Assessment Records for early Ontario. Following is the list of Assessment Records now available for download on Olive Tree Genealogy Ontario Assessment Records section

    Assessment Ancaster Township, Wentworth County, Home District 1816
    Assessment_Ancaster Township, Wentworth County, Home District 1818
    Assessment Beverley Township, Wentworth County, Home District 1816
    Assessment Beverley Township, Wentworth County, Home District 1818
    Assessment Grand River Tract, Haldimand Township, Wentworth County, Gore District, 1816
    Assessment Nelson Township, Halton County, Gore District 1816
    Assessment Nelson Township, Halton County, Gore District 1818
    Assessment Trafalgar Township, Halton County, Gore District 1816
    Assessment Trafalgar Township, Halton County, Gore District 1823
    Assessment Trafalgar Township, Halton County, Gore District 1825

Organizational Project Part 6: Ready for the Second Sort of Photographs!

In January I began my plan to sort, organize and digitize my family photos.  I ended up ordering archival boxes and sleeves from a company called GetSmartProducts

I've previously shared how I am organizing, sorting and purging these photos and if you missed those earlier posts, you can view them by clicking on the lable "Organization Project" at the bottom of this post or in the right side bar.

Pre-marriage photo box - childhood & young adult

All my family photos and photos passed on to me after family members passed away have passed the first sort. That means I have tossed blurry photos, set aside photos that I don't want but others in the family might love to have, and put all the rest into the categories I decided on in my original plan. 

I now have 5 purple acid-free boxes with family photos categorized which cover my life: pre-marriage; marriage #1; marriage #2; marriage #3; grandchildren. 

I have other boxes for other general categories but for now I'm focusing on these 5 purple boxes. My next step is to take one box and do my second sort within those photographs. I plan on putting the photos into a semi-chronological order, which should make finding duplicates easier. This should also ensure that photos of special events such as birthday parties, vacations and other occasions end up together. 

Next I will remove duplicates and place them in boxes intended for each of my children. If there are duplicates that I think my nieces, nephews, cousins or other family members would like, I will put those into envelopes to be mailed to them. 

Once I've completed this sort (the second sort), I could either begin scanning these photos or I can leave them and start on Box #2. I have decided I will finish the second sort on these 5 purple boxes before starting to scan.

Here are links to the previous blog posts about this project:

Organizing Family Photos - Creating a Plan

Organizational Project Part 2 - Family Diaries

Organization Project Part 3 - Digitizing Family Slides

Organizational Project Part 4 - Sorting the Family Photographs

Organizational Project Part 5: The Domino Effect in an Organization Project

Nursing Sister Philip's WW1 Album 25R Outdoor Party

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One. 

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos" in the vertical menu bar on the right side of your screen. You can also click on that phrase at the bottom of this post.

Copyright Issues Raise Their Ugly Head Again

Will it never end? It seems many web surfers don't understand copyright. When something is published on the internet on a website or a blog, it is copyright to whoever wrote it. It is not up for grabs! 

I don't know why folks can't grasp that an article I write, for example, and publish here on my blog or on one of my websites, is copyright to me.  That means it cannot be published elsewhere without my permission. Think of this way - if you go to a Library and borrow Stephen King's latest book to read, you cannot copy it and republish it anywhere - online or offline, without Mr. King's permission. (which of course he would not give) If you do publish without his okay, even if you clearly state that Mr. King wrote the piece, not you, you can bet your life he will sue your (ahem) off.

So why then do some folks think they can come to a website, read something they like and copy and paste it on their own site? That is called COPYRIGHT VIOLATION! And you can be sued.

I have copyright notices on every page of my site. Yet some still continue to take my work and republish it as if they are entitled to do so. Some plead innocence when confronted but ignorance of the law is no defense. Some leave the author's name on it and even provide a link to the original website, as if that makes everything okay. But theft is theft and violating someone's copyright is, in my opinion, theft. 

Many people also confuse plagiarism and copyright. 

Plagiarism is when someone takes your work and presents it as their own.  I've had that happen to me. A genealogist with a weekly newspaper column took an article from my website, published it word for word in a very large American newspaper and put her name as the author. After a thorough investigation, the newspaper fired her. These are serious offenses we're talking about. And I don't back down. If you take my work, I'll pursue every legal avenue available to get you to stop. 

Copyright violation or infringement is when someone takes  work which is protected by copyright laws without permission.

What can you do if someone takes your hard work without permission? You can write to the person and demand they remove it. I like to give two options - remove the unauthorized work within 24 hours or pay me a publication fee of $500.00. Those who violate copyright need to understand that an author's work is worth money.

If the person isn't compliant, file a DMCA complaint with their website or blog provider. Send the DMCA notice to the person who took your without permission.

Don't let it go. We should all protect our work and take what we do seriously. It is not okay for others to do a hit and run with no regard for legalities or respect for the work of others.

Corrected List of Contents on Heir & Devisee Commission H1140

Canadiana.Org has digitized 21 films of the Heir & Devisee Commission Papers (Heir & Devisee Commission papers 1797-1854, found in their Heritage Collection), and that's a good thing for genealogists. These records have valuable and informative genealogical documents.

But as mentioned in a previous blog post I wrote called Heir & Devisee Commission 1797-1854 on Canadiana.org - Listing Errors and a Workaround, the index and description of what is in each film, as provided on Canadiana.org,  is incorrect.
I have been slowly going through each film and noting the correct contents in detail.  My first set of detailed listings of the contents of film H1133 can be viewed at No Response from Canadiana.org so here are the Heir & Devisee Commission Film Details 

A complete and correct list of contents of film H1135 can be found on Olive Tree Genealogy website at Finding  Aid for Heir & Devisee Commission Online Films

H1140 Image 160

Here is a corrected list of contents for film H 1140
 

Does not contain what Canadiana.org has listed Image 24 V 38 1804 Commissioners Reports. I have not completed this film but here is the corrected list of contents from Image 14 to Image 431:

• 14 starts the documents 9 June 1809 survey report
• 15 to 19 List of claimants. Markham, York, Whitchurch, East Gwillumbury. Plus details
• 20 Home District May 1804 survey general’s report
• 24 minutes and reports to the executive Council volume 38 home district 1804
• 25-27 list of claimants and details of claim 13 June 1804
• 29-38 list of claimants and details of claim July 1804
• 40-42 ditto
• 44 ditto
• 49-61 ditto
• 62-93 1803 and four
• 97-105 miscellaneous documents volume 39 home district 1816; 1821 to 1823 claimants
• 106 notices with names and details 1812
• 108-111 documents dated 1818
• 112-114 documents dated 1817
• 115-119 1821-1823
• 120-121 large legal document
• 122 Detroit 1787 petition of Jacob Arnes
• 123 certificate re Daniel A----- dated 1797
• 124 Malcolm Tulley 1802 land title search
• 128 volume 40 Orders in Council 1797 - 1802 home district
• 129 Conrad Hotrum Niagara October 1800 also Thomas Paige, Thomas Dickson and David Heron
• 130 names and locations, 1803
• 132-134 claims 1803
• 135 claims 1804
• 140-142 Gen. Benedict Arnold of the city of London England deceased and his widow Margaret also Sarah Fitch and Ann Fitch of Devonshire
• 143-144 Eastern District claims 1799 heard in 1804
• 145 claims Markham and Pickering
• 146-147 claims Markham 1804
• 148–154 claims home district 1804
• 158 volume 41 location certificates alphabetical for home district
• 159 Nassau District land certificates 1-15 1790 – 1792
• 160  List of names Nassau District Land Certificates
• 161– 211 land certificates for each person listed. Please see complete list of names and image numbers for their Land Certificates at An index to Niagara area Loyalists and their Land Certificates
• 215-216 Home District land certificates 1 – 17, 1787 – 1795. List of names. Note that I will be adding the complete list of names and image numbers
• 415– 416 Peter Robinson son of the late Christopher Robinson
• 417 Solomon Ball, Pickering 1803
• 418-419 Peter Robinson
• 420 Angus McDonald of York
• 421-424 Basil Rossiton of Elizabethtown, Samuel Heron of York
• 425 George Cutter of town of York, Shoemaker.  Basil Rossiton
• 426 Duncan Cameron
• 427 John Schmeltzer of Markham
• 428 John Nicholas Steffens Markham Township
• 429-430 John Daniel Frederick Bush of Kingston in Frontenac County in Midland District baker, brother to delete John Christian William Bush of the town of York
• 431 Birth Certificate written in German for Johann Christian Wilhelm 1767. There are other names and the year 1773 and a name Johann Daniel Friedrich but I cannot translate the rest

Possible 1830s American Schooner found in Toronto Harbour Ontario

An antique ship has been found in Toronto Harbour in Ontario Canada. During excavations for a condominium, archaeologists  discovered what appears be the remains of a 19th century wooden schooner. Experts believe the ship might be American dating back to the 1830s.

Read more and see the photos at http://www.blogto.com/city/2015/05/condo_dig_unearths_antique_ship_in_toronto_harbour/ 

Photo courtesy of April's Museum

 

Gritting My Teeth About Online Family Trees

We've all seen them. I'm talking about the online Family Trees that are rife with errors. Many genealogists wonder if it is worthwhile writing to the owner of the tree to provide them with corrections. 

A few weeks ago I conducted an experiment.  I  found 21 Family Trees on Ancestry.com that had the wrong death date for my great-grandfather Joseph McGinnis. It's actually an easy error to make as the death record is for a different Joseph McGinnis. It was an error I too made many years ago (pre-internet) and one I shared with a few other researchers. When I discovered that it was the wrong man, I wrote to anyone I had previously shared with and told them.

So I was taken aback to discover these 21 trees with the wrong death for my ancestor. I decided to write a letter explaining the error and directing the owners to  a blog post I wrote going over the facts and clarifying the two Joseph McGinnis males.

My Note Explaining the Error

Here's what I wrote. I deliberately kept it short and to the point. My experiment was to see 1) how many tree owners would respond and 2) how many would correct their error. I should add that I verified that the owners are active and are online every few days. So they have had plenty of time to respond to my note.

Hello [fill in name of tree owner]

Your death date of 1877 for my ancestor Joseph McGinnis (husband of Fanny Downey) is incorrect. The Joseph who died on that date was a different man. I have documentation to prove this.

For the facts, please see my blog post at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.ca/2013/01/a-case-of-mistaken-identity.html

Lorine McGinnis Schulze
Olive Tree Genealogy

 The results of my experiment

6 out of 21 tree owners responded. All responded favourably and thanked me. Did any of them correct the error?

1. 1 owner signed in as recently as today. She has not corrected the error.
2. 1 owner signed in yesterday. His tree is now private.
3. 1 owner removed the incorrect date. She is a woman I have also corresponded with many times over the past 16 years.
4. 1 owner told me had made the correction. He has not. His online tree still shows the same error.
5. 1 owner removed the incorrect death date but entered a different year and location that is not correct 
6. 1 owner wrote to me and gave me her private email asking me to share information. I replied 2 weeks ago with info and have not heard back from her.  Her tree no longer has Joseph McGinnis or his wife in it

Was My Time Well Spent?

So the final summary is that of 21 tree owners, 6 responded and only 1 removed the incorrect death year (without substituting more incorrect details)

I hate to say this but the time it took me to write to each of these people and then read and respond to those who responded, was not worth my time. It irritates me to see bad or incorrect genealogy perpetuated but from now on I am going to grit my teeth and spend my time on other more worthwhile genealogy pursuits such as bringing more free genealogy records online to Olive Tree Genealogy website!

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