E is for Explorer - Do You Have One?

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is E and the tag word is Explorer. I don't have any explorers like Columbus or Henry Stanley but I do have Eileen Vollick, Canada's first licenced female pilot. Perhaps I can call her an Explorer.

My third cousin twice removed, Eileen Vollick (1908-1968)  became the first Canadian woman to obtain a pilot's licence in March 1928. Eileen was related to me in two ways, and was also my 7th cousin twice removed. 

"Canada’s first licenced woman pilot was born in Wiarton, Ontario. By the age of 19, she was a textile analyst at the Hamilton Cotton Company and had also won a local beauty contest. She was a spirited girl who had parachuted into Burlington Bay before taking flying lessons. It was 1927. Charles Lindbergh had just flown the Atlantic and Amelia Earhart was beginning to capture the public’s imagination. The diminutive Beach Boulevard resident had already set her sights much higher than anyone could have imagined!

She enrolled in the Flying School owned by Jack V. Elliot at Ghents Crossing on Burlington Bay. The only reservation that her instructor, Len Trip had, was that she was only 5' 1"s and had to use pillows to see out of the cockpit of the ski-equipped Curtiss JN-4 Bi-plane (affectionately known as a "Jenny")

The Comptroller of Civil Aviation issued Eileen a private pilot’s licence #77 on March 13, 1928, the first woman in Canada to qualify as a pilot.

After passing her flight test, she flew in the U.S. and Canada, often demonstrating aerobatic flying which she enjoyed immensely. Shortly afterwards she became Mrs James Hopkin, moved to New York State and raised a family, where she lived until her death in 1968."

Read more about this pioneer woman.

Update on Controversy re Canada's FIRST FEMALE PILOT & Shame on Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame!

Yesterday the 2015/2016 chair of  Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame left a comment on my blog post called

"Why is Canada's First Female Pilot being ignored by Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame?"

I have responded with my own comment but I am going to add to it here:

Tom, While I appreciate your taking the time to read my post and leave your thoughts, I take exception to the implication that our nomination didn't follow the "nomination guidelines."

Your statement "The decision in any year in the future might be different, depending upon the quality of the nominations submitted." is insulting

The implication you made is that our nomination was not a "quality" nomination. We are genealogists who are experienced in accuracy of facts, resolution of ambiguities in facts, relevancy of details, organization of facts found and presentation of those facts. I believe our 2005 nomination of Eileen Vollick was a quality submission and to suggest otherwise is simply a diversionary tactic on the part of CAHF.

I assure you we read, and followed, the guidelines very carefully.

Second - IF that WERE true that we messed up our submission, then why did the email from Canada Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF) state that our nomination would be RECONSIDERED the next year.

One would hope that if we didn't meet the guidelines the committee would have explained that we needed to re-read them and re-submit Eileen's name.

Here is the email we received from the committee:

"The names for the 2006 inductees have been published on our website (www.cahf.ca) under the "What's New!" heading. My apologises [sic] for not being successful this year with Eileen Vollick's nomination, but it will be reconsidered for next year."

So again, it has been 10 years, and still no honouring of the FIRST FEMALE PILOT in Canada. One has to wonder what hidden agenda is being followed by CAHF.

As my previous articles indicate, Eileen has been honoured repeatedly as a significant female contributor to aviation:

* There is a historical plaque in honour of Eileen Vollick at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Hamilton Airport.

* In 1978 Eileen was inducted into the International Forest of Friendship in the Memory Lane section of the park. The International Forest of Friendship is a park that honours individuals who have made significant contributions to aviation.

* Through Canada Post’s Picture Postage program, the East Canada Section of the Ninety-Nines created a stamp in Eileen’s honour. First Day covers were issued in Wiarton, Ontario on August 2, 2008.

*The Wiarton Keppel International Airport named the Eileen Vollick Terminal building, on August 2, 2008, the 100^th anniversary of Eileen’s birth.

* The First Canadian Chapter posthumously awarded Eileen the Amelia Earhart Medallion in 1975

* The Toronto Aerospace Museum in Downsview features Eileen's accomplishments.

It is long past time for Eileen to be recognized for her accomplishment of being the FIRST FEMALE LICENSED PILOT IN CANADA.

Let's face facts - Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame has deliberately overlooked an important figure in Canadian history - an important FEMALE who broke long-held barriers and empowered women to strive for things long thought outside their ability to achieve. Shame on you.

My Fearless Female Blog Post featured on FamilySearch

I'm excited to announce that the blog post I wrote about Eileen Vollick was chosen by FamilySearch as their lead story about Fearless Females. 

Eileen was the first woman in Canada to qualify and receive her pilot's licence in 1928.

Read all the FamilySearch stories at Find Stories of Women Relatives with Inspiration from Fearless Females.  


 My previous stories about Eileen are

Carnival of Genealogy: Famous Canadian Ancestor Eileen Vollick, first licenced female pilot in Canada

Women's History Month: A Pioneer Female Pilot

 

 

Women's History Month: A Pioneer Female Pilot

My friend and fellow Blogger Lisa Alzo has a Meme for March - Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women's History Month

I encourage readers to join in. Lisa has some terrific blogging prompts for each day of Women's History Month.  

I will write my own stories each Friday from the 5 prompts I came up with at Celebrate Women's History Month! Time for Stories I hope you'll join in with your own:

This is my entry for my 4th prompt

4.  Do you have a  female relative (direct ancestor or collateral lineage) who played an active role in women's issues? Perhaps one who was a Suffragette or was a pioneer in a male-dominated role or occupation?  Perhaps she sailed to the New World to start a new life in the 1600s or was a refugee from a war-torn or religious-intolerant location. Tell her story in a blog post or comment here on this blog.

So many to choose from! There are my Palatine female ancestors who fled the Palatinate area of Germany over religious differences and sailed to New York in 1710.  Out of approximately 3,000 who fled to a new land, almost 500 died on the way. Once in New York their mistreatment continued, this time at the hands of the British who forced their husbands and sons to work on British Tar Ships in situations not unlike slave labour. Their children were taken from them and given into indentured servitude to wealthier families. 

Or my Irish female ancestors who left Ireland during the Potato Famine in the 1840s? My 2nd great grandmother Fanny McGinnis (nee Downey) was one of those women. The hardships many of my female ancestors endured is beyond imagination and I admire their courage and resilience.

But I'm going to talk about my cousin Eileen Vollick (1908-1968) who became the first Canadian woman to obtain a pilot's licence in March 1928. Yes she was just 20 years old. Eileen was related to me in two ways, and was also my 7th cousin twice removed.





Eileen received numerous honours over the years, including the Amelia Earhart medallion in 1975. In August 2008 over 250 people gathered to mark her contribution to aviation on the 100th anniversary of her birth in Wiarton. 

She also was honoured with a Canada Post stamp and the naming of an airport terminal after her. 

You can read more about Eileen and her historical contribution as a pioneer in a male-dominated world at Carnival of Genealogy: Famous Canadian Ancestor Eileen Vollick, first licenced female pilot in Canada

Carnival of Genealogy: Famous Canadian Ancestor Eileen Vollick, first licenced female pilot in Canada

Kathryn at LookingForAncestors Blog had a great idea for the Carnival of Genealogy: My Famous Canadian Ancestor. I've already posted about my circus cousins the Marriott Twins and my cousin who walked Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

Now I want to tell you about my third cousin twice removed, Eileen Vollick (1908-1968) who became the first Canadian woman to obtain a pilot's licence in March 1928. Eileen was related to me in two ways, and was also my 7th cousin twice removed.

"Canada’s first licenced woman pilot was born in Wiarton, Ontario. By the age of 19, she was a textile analyst at the Hamilton Cotton Company and had also won a local beauty contest. She was a spirited girl who had parachuted into Burlington Bay before taking flying lessons. It was 1927. Charles Lindbergh had just flown the Atlantic and Amelia Earhart was beginning to capture the public’s imagination. The diminutive Beach Boulevard resident had already set her sights much higher than anyone could have imagined!

She enrolled in the Flying School owned by Jack V. Elliot at Ghents Crossing on Burlington Bay. The only reservation that her instructor, Len Trip had, was that she was only 5' 1"s and had to use pillows to see out of the cockpit of the ski-equipped Curtiss JN-4 Bi-plane (affectionately known as a "Jenny")

The Comptroller of Civil Aviation issued Eileen a private pilot’s licence #77 on March 13, 1928, the first woman in Canada to qualify as a pilot.

After passing her flight test, she flew in the U.S. and Canada, often demonstrating aerobatic flying which she enjoyed immensely. Shortly afterwards she became Mrs James Hopkin, moved to New York State and raised a family, where she lived until her death in 1968."

A historical plaque in honour of Eileen Vollick, our first licenced woman pilot was unveiled by three members of Eileen’s family, including her husband Mr. James Hopkin. The plaque can be seen at the entrance to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Hamilton Airport.

The First Canadian Chapter had previously (posthumously) awarded Eileen with an Amelia Earhart Medallion in 1975 at the occasion of their 25th Anniversary and East Canada Section Fall Meeting.

Eileen is also featured in the 99s East Canada Collection Display at the Toronto Aerospace Museum in Downsview.

In 2005, a several of us who are related to Eileen campaigned to have her admitted to Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. We were joined in our efforts by thte Canadian 99s and Wiarton Musuem. Although we presented all our research with supporting documentation our nomination of Eileen was denied as:

"The names for the 2006 inductees have been published on our website (www.cahf.ca) under the "What's New!" heading. My apologises [sic] for not being successful this year with Eileen Vollick's nomination, but it will be reconsidered for next year."

Sadly it is almost 2009 and we have yet to see Eileen's name added.