Honoring Ancestors on Remembrance Day

I have many military ancestors. Here are some of those who gave their lives during war:

My 3rd great-grandfather Levi Peer's brother Stephen Peer fell at the Battle of Chippewa during the War of 1812, leaving behind a pregnant wife and young son.
 

Philip Edgar Peer

All of my grandmother's brothers fought in WW1. Her youngest brother, Philip Edgar Peer (called Edgar by family), died in France in 1918 just days short of his 21st birthday.

Cecil Sandercock

My husband's great uncles Bill and Cecil Sandercock also fought in WW1 along with their father Samuel. Both Bill and Cecil were killed, one year apart. Bill was killed Aug. 23, 1917, his brother Cecil was at his side. One year later almost to the day, on Aug. 28, 1918, Cecil was killed.  

Bill Sandercock

WW2 saw the death of my Uncle, James Nevin (aka Nev) Bonar. He died October 23, 1944 in Belgium at the age of 27.

Please take a few moments today to remember those brave men and women who fought and died, and those who are still fighting in Wars around the world.

Honoring Ancestors on Remembrance Day

To honor my ancestors on Remembrance Day, here is a list of those who gave their lives in Wars:

My 3rd great-grandfather Levi Peer's brother Stephen Peer fell at the Battle of Chippewa during the War of 1812, leaving behind a pregnant wife and young son.

All of my grandmother's brothers fought in WW1. Her youngest brother, Philip Edgar Peer (called Edgar by family), died in France in 1918 just days short of his 21st birthday.

Many of my family served in the Military. Here are some of them.

My husband's great uncles Bill and Cecil Sandercock also fought in WW1 along with their father Samuel. Both Bill and Cecil were killed, one year apart. Bill was killed Aug. 23, 1917, his brother Cecil was at his side. One year later almost to the day, on Aug. 28, 1918, Cecil was killed. A few years ago I submitted Cecil's photo to Veterans Affairs Canada to help honour his memory.

WW2 saw the death of my Uncle, James Nevin (aka Nev) Bonar. He died October 23, 1944 in Belgium at the age of 27.

Please take a few moments today to remember those brave men and women who fought and died, and those who are still fighting in Wars around the world.

Lest We Forget: Military Heroes in My Family

Remembering my military ancestors today. 

The collage above shows my father Lt. Cecil McGinnis, his brother Clare, my grand-uncles Edgar Peer, Syd Simpson, Ernie Simpson and my cousin 4x removed Charles Vollick.

But I have more military heroes in my family - My paternal grandmother's five brothers (George, Herbert, Chester, Leonard and Edgar Peer), all enlisted in WW1. Edgar Peer was killed in France a few days short of his 21st birthday.

My maternal grandmother's two brothers Ernest and Sydney  Simpson  enlisted in WW1 in England and in Canada, and her brother Albert enlisted in the Australian Army in WW2.

Albert's son Frank, my first cousin once removed,  enlisted in the Australian Army in WW2

My Loyalist ancestors - my 5th great-grandfather Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick, his sons Storm Follick and Cornelius Vollick (my 4th great-grandfather); and another 5th great-grandfather Jonas Larroway all of whom fought in Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution

My 3rd great-granduncle Stephen Peer  fought in the War of 1812 and was killed at the Battle of Chippewa in 1814 


LEST WE FORGET

Remembering WW1 Soldier Alton C. Young

Alton C. Young's military photo hangs on our wall. We aren't related but he is one of several WW1 soldiers whose life we remember with respect.

Alton had his photo taken in his C.E.F. uniform before heading overseas to join the fighting. This was a typical thing that many men did before leaving.

Sadly he did not return and his framed photo bears these few details:

Alton C. Young

87th Battalion Canadian Infantry

died of wounds received at Arras, Sept. 28, 1918

Enlisted at Sherbrooke

Research on Ancestry.com found more details about Alton and his short life. His attestation papers reveal that he was born Alton Charles Young on 26 August 1894 in Quebec. His father's name is given as Charles. Searching birth records provides his mother's name of Almeda. Census records for 1911 indicate he was one of 7 children.

Alton was tall for those times - 5'11" with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He enlisted on 3 January 1918 and was only in the war for 9 short months before being killed at Arras.

A search of the C.E.F. Commonwealth Grave Registers confirms his death on Sept. 28, 1918 and describes his wounds as

Gunshot wound to head, right arm and left arm. Died of cerebral hemorrhage and a fractured skull at Totting Military Hosptial in Totting England.  Alton was buried in Grave #181615 in the Canadian Military Cemetery in Brookwood, Surrey England. A photo of his tombstone can be seen.

His father Charles living in North Hatley Quebec was noted as his next-of-kin. Young Alton was only 24 when he was killed. He was not married so left no descendants to honour him. But someone did honour and remember him for they kept this framed photo for many years until it ended up in an Antique Store in Ontario. Thanks to my husband, Alton now has a place of honour in our home. His story will be passed on.

CEF Commonwealth Grave Register for Alton C. Young

C.E.F. Attestation Papers for Alton C. Young

Free Access to Civil War Records on Fold3

  To remember the commencement of the Civil War in April 1861, FOLD 3 invites you to explore all records in its Civil War Collection for free April 14–30.

Explore Civil War documents featuring everything from military records to personal accounts and historic writings. Soldier records include service records, pension index cards, “Widows’ Pension” files, Navy survivors certificates, Army registers, and much more. Other record types include photographs, original war maps, court investigations, slave records, and beyond. Items such as the Lincoln Assassination Papers, Sultana Disaster documents, letters to the Adjutant General and Commission Branch, and the 1860 census are also contained in the Civil War Collection.

Confederate-specific records include Confederate service records, amnesty papers, casualty reports, and citizens files, as well as Confederate Navy subject files and Southern Claims Commission documents.

Join Fold3 in its commemoration of the Civil War. Discover information on famous participants as well as your own Civil War ancestors through documents, photos, and images that capture the experiences and vital information of those involved in America’s deadliest conflict. Then commemorate your ancestors by creating or expanding memorial pages for them on Fold3’s Honor Wall 

 

Thanking Military Ancestors on Remembrance Day

These are a few of my military ancestors and relatives. I thank them all for their service and sacrifices.

Who Do You Think You Are? Tonight's Epsiode War of 1812

Who Do You Think You Are? on  TCL  in partnership with Ancestry.com tonight will focus on Chris O’Donnell’s strong family legacy through an epidemic and war. He travels to St. Louis and Washington D.C to see how deep his roots go and learn of the events that strongly tie his family to American history.

If you have a War of 1812 ancestor you may wish to consult Fold3. The War of 1812 pension and bounty land warrant application files are still being digitized and more than 700,000 records are already online at Fold3.com These rich documents contain details of your ancestors such as affidavits, statements from witnesses, widow’s maiden name, acres granted, marriage date, service data and more.

Tune in tonight at 9/8C on TLC to see what Chris O’Donnell discovers from the War of 1812 pension files.

My ancestors fought in the War of 1812 but on the British side. Stephen Peer the brother of my 4th great-grandfather was killed at the Battle of Chippewa. What about your War of 1812 ancestors - do you know their stories?

My Military Ancestors

Since this is Memorial Day Weekend in the USA I thought we should write about the soldiers in our family. Do you have any military personnel you want to thank for the sacrifices they make? Here are mine:

My son is a Sergeant the Canadian Military, and has been to Afghanistan several times. I worry about him but I'm proud of him too.

My father was a Lieutenant in the Canadian Military during World War II and served overseas. My Uncle Clare also joined the Canadian Army.

Word War I saw my maternal and paternal grandmother's brothers joining the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the Australian Army and the English Military.

The War of 1812 saw my 3rd great-grandfather's brother Stephen Peer join the Canadian Militia and die at the Battle of Chippewa in 1814.

My Loyalist ancestors, Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and Jacob Larroway fought in Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution

Lest We Forget - My Military Ancestors

These are a few of the military heroes in my family. Honouring them and all others who have fought and died for freedom. 

My dad WW2	My uncle WW2	My uncle WW2
Great Grandpa's brother, WW1	Uncle Syd WW1	My dad & uncle WW2
My grand-uncle pre WW1	Uncle Clare WW2	Uncle Ern, Stanley Barracks

My grandfather in The Buffs

Grandma's brother Philip Peer WW1

Grandma's brother George Peer WW1

Step Grandfather
Daddy Sam WW2

Dad & Mom

  

Looking for Family for World War II American Soldiers' Letters Found in Hatbox

Photo courtesy of TulsaWorld.com

An antique hatbox bought at an auction in Oklahoma turned out to be much more than just a simple hatbox. When Pamela Gilliland, the buyer, opened it, she found a treasure trove of letters written by Eural Harvill and Robert Harvill, brothers serving in the military during World War II.

Over 250 letters addressed to Mr. and Mrs. E.H. Harvill of Drumright Oklahamo (Eural and Robert's parents) had been carefully stored inside the box. Ms. Gilliland hopes to find a family member so she can send the letters home.

Those who read my blog know how passionate I am about military history and returning soldier's ephemera and memorabilia to family members. So of course I jumped on this after my friend Lisa Haas directed me to the story.

Lorine's Research:

I found a man in the SSDI (Social Security Death Index) on Ancestry.com who is probably Eural, the WW2 soldier.  He was born in 1927 in Oklahoma and died in 1980

Name:	Eural Harvill
Birth:	14 May 1927
Death:	Aug 1980
Civil:	Oklahoma
Other:	Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States of America

There is also this listing in U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 

Name:	Eural D Harvill
Birth Year:	1927
Race:	White, citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country:	Oklahoma
State of Residence:	Oklahoma
County or City:	Creek
Enlistment Date:	6 Feb 1946
Enlistment State:	California
Enlistment City:	Fort Ord

   
Best of all is the 1930 census record found on Ancestry.com for 2 year old Dale Harvill (note Eural's middle initial above) living in Drumwright, Creek Co. Oklahoma with parents Eural and Josephine Harvill.... and brother Robert D. age 7. 

The 1940 census for Drumwright Oklahoma shows Eural and Josephine (misindexed on Ancestry.com as HOWELL) living at 301 Maple St with their sons Dale(12) and Donald (17).  So we now know the full names of the brothers (Robert Donald Harvill and Eural Dale Harvill) and there do not appear to be any other siblings. 

Here is Robert's information from U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010

Name:	Robert Harvill
Gender:	Male
Birth Date:	13 Nov 1922
Death Date:	5 Mar 1990
SSN:	441289789
Branch 1:	ARMY
Enlistment Date 1:	16 Sep 1940
Release Date 1:	6 Dec 1945

and here is his brother Eural's information from the same source 

Name:	Eural Harvill
Birth Date:	14 May 1927
Death Date:	11 Aug 1980
SSN:	440242847
Branch 1:	ARMY
Enlistment Date 1:	25 Jul 1945
Release Date 1:	5 Feb 1946

The question is - did either of the brothers marry? Did they have children? If anyone knows anything about this family or wants to join in the hunt for descendants or other family members please leave a comment on this blog post or write me privately at olivetreegenealogyATgmail.com (replace AT with @)

UPDATE: Please see Update on WW2 American Soldiers Letters Found

Read more about these WW2 letters at Yahoo News and Tulsa World

Lost & Found: WW1 Star for John Campbell

J. Campbell WW1 Star - front

This is the 1914-15 Star Medal for men who enlisted in the CEF in those years.

The name of the soldier on this medal is on the back and it reads Pte J. Campbell, 1 Can. Inf. (1st Canadian Infantry). His service number is 7216

To learn more about Pte Campbell I searched for his Attestation Papers in the CEF database online. John Campbell, born Sept. 21, 1885 in Glasgow Scotland, enlisted on 22 Sept. 1914, one day after his 29th birthday.

J. Campbell WW1 Star -back

His father's name was given as Hugh Campbell living in Glasgow. Pte Campbell gave his occupation as teamster and stated he had previously served one year in the Sutherland Highlanders. 

What happened to John? Did he survive the war?

WW1 Soldier's Pocket Watch Found in Michigan!

R. H. Smedley's Pocket Watch from WW1

Recently Chad wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy about finding a watch that belonged to a soldier in WW1:

I am trying to find someone that once lived in or around Thamesville.  Here is the story, years ago when i was a kid i found a nice watch laying in a yard in Michigan. Inside there is some engraving indicating that this watch was given to RH Smedley by the friends of thamesville for his service in world war 1. I forgot about this watch but found it yesterday in a box.  I would just like to find a relative of RH that I can return this watch to. Any assistance you can provide would be much appreciated.

Pocket watch of R. H. Smedley CEF

Lorine's Research: Thamesville is in Kent County so I had a quick look in the online CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) records for that area.  There were 20 hits for the search term SMEDL*Y but only one with the initials R.H. - Ronald Herbert Smedley born Oct. 26, 1898.

Ronald's Attestation Paper (front) shows he was living in Thamesville when he enlisted November 1, 1916.

He was born in Blackpool, Lancashire England and his parents were Herbert and Maggie Smedley.

Starting with that information it should be possible to find out if he survived the war, had any siblings, or a wife and family who might like to have the watch.

I hope my readers will jump in to help find Ronald's family. Let's help Chad send this watch home!

Update: It only took a few hours and we have the names of 3 children for Ronald, who moved to Detroit Michigan from Thamesville Ontario, in 1920. See comments for more updates! Thanks everyone! Let's keep going and find Ronald's sons and grandchildren to let them know about this watch.

Lest We Forget - My Military Ancestors

My dad WW2	My uncle WW2	My uncle WW2
My great grand-uncle WW1	My grand-uncle WW1	My dad & uncle WW2
My grand-uncle pre WW1	My uncle WW2	My grand-uncle, Stanley Barracks

My grandfather in The Buffs

These are a few of the military heroes in my family. Honouring them and all others who have fought and died for freedom.