Nursing Sister WW1 Photo Album: 27R Nurses

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.

Nurses

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"

Documentary Launching on The Africa Channel "Up From the Roots"

Ngozi Paul, 2007

An amazing opportunity came my way last week. The Africa Channel is launching a new TV show in the Fall and the host and producer of the show, Ngozi Paul of Ngozika Productions, asked me to be on one of the segments called "Up from the Roots", about the importance of knowing your roots and how to create a family tree. 

But the timing was not possible so I had to reluctantly pass on the opportunity. I talked to Ngozi (who is the producer and star of the television series "Da Kink in my Hair") and what an interesting woman she is! How I wish I could have joined her. To say I am disappointed to not take part in this wonderful documentary is putting it mildly.

I wish her well with this new documentary. It sounds fascinating. Ngozi shared with me the names of the other two individuals (Ron Finley the urban gardener and Felicia Leatherwood) who will be featured on the episode I would have been on, and they are going to be very interesting guests!

Update on Digitization of WW1 CEF Personnel Files

As of today, 171,771 of 640,000 files are available online via the Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database. Please visit the Digitization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Service Files page for more details on the digitization project.

Frederick Markham 1896-1918

Library and Archives Canada is digitizing the service files systematically, from box 1 to box 10686, which roughly corresponds to alphabetical order. Please note that over the years, the content of some boxes has had to be moved and, you might find that the file you want, with a surname that is supposed to have been digitized, is now located in another box that has not yet been digitized. 

So far, LAC has  digitized the following files:

• A to Dagenais (boxes 1 to 2257)
• Free to Gorman (boxes 3298 to 3658)

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the following boxes were skipped in the digitization process, but will be done in the next few months.

• Dagenais to Fredlund (boxes 2258 to 3297)

Lorine's note: Wouldn't you know that the file I am waiting for (impatiently I confess!) is for Cyriel Demeulenaere - which was in the batch that was skipped. Arrgh!

UNB is Honouring my Uncle Nev, a Fallen WW2 Soldier

Last month I received an email from Laura Jackson. She explained that she had been selected to travel to Holland with the University of New Brunswick to look in depth at the liberation of Holland. She is to be part of Lucinda and John Flemer Netherland’s Study Tour.

Laura's email said  

"As a history teacher in an area of many post World War II immigrants from the Netherlands I am hoping this experience will help me pass on the legacy of those battles. Part of the program is to research and speak at the grave of a fallen soldier from the liberation offensive. The soldier assigned to me is your uncle James Nevin Bonar."

Laura then went on to ask for any information I could give her on Nev so that she would have a better understanding of him as a husband and father. I should explain that Nev was married to my mother's sister Lillian in a double wedding ceremony in Guelph in 1936.  He and my aunt Lily had one son then Nev went off to war. 

He was killed 23 October 1944. Nev was only 29 years old. Laura added some detail I had not known previously - that his unit was part of some very intense fighting in Holland, and was in very close contact with the enemy. His body was robbed before it was buried presumably by Germans. 

Nev Bonar in back row. 1936

It was touching to see the poignant letter his parents wrote after receiving a Memorial Cross in his name.

A small local paper wrote about the trip that Laura is currently on. She promises to send me photos of the grave on her return and I'm quite pleased about this. I never knew Nev but I heard about him from my aunt and mother. They spoke highly of him and I think my aunt loved him very much for she never remarried. 

I wish I'd known him but I'm very grateful he is being honoured this way. He has two living grand-daughters who I think will be very pleased. 

10 Important Characteristics of a Good Genealogist

We all want to be good genealogists, don't we. We want to know that we did our best to find our ancestors and that what we found is accurate. We don't want to spend time searching an individual's ancestors and adding them to our family tree only to find out it was the wrong person!

That means we need to be thorough and methodical and very very cautious about accepting documents and individuals without verifying and double-checking every fact we find. 

I've come up with a list of the 10 most important characteristics that will tell you if you're on the right track to being a good genealogist.

A good genealogist

1. Finds every document possible on an ancestor. He/she does not stop at census and vital registrations but looks beyond to records such as land records, court records, military records, church records, immigration records, education records, newspaper articles, tax and assessment records, etc. Checks for more obscure records such as coffin plates, funeral cards, and other miscellaneous records pertaining to the time and location of his/her search.

2.  Learns what records have survived for the location and time period for each ancestor's life.

3. Copies documents exactly as found, not as he/she thinks it should be. Example: You know your Grandmother's name to be Mary but in one census she is record as Marie. A good genealogist copies her name exactly as found in the original record, not as he/she knows it. A good genealogist notes the discrepancy in names but does not alter what was found in the original document.

4. Cites sources for all facts found.

5. Never relies blindly on family stories or online family trees but searches out a source for each. Verify, verify, verify! Example: If great aunt Harriet told you Great-Grandpa was a trapeze artist who deserted his wife and children, make note of this in your notes with the source and date you were given this information, then hunt for proof of her statement.

6. Makes an accurate copy of all records found. Carefully notes spelling of names while copying and does not make changes. Example: my name (Lorine) is often carelessly copied from my websites, blogs or emai by genealogists who write to me and address me as Lorrine, Lorraine or Lori.This makes me wonder how good a genealogist they are if they are unable to copy a name correctly.

7. Keeps a research log of all sources checked, and notes if the search was successful or not.

8. Analyzes each record and document carefully in order to spot clues that may lead to other areas of research and to accurately understand what the record is  and is not. Example: A woman who asked me for help told me she knew when her grandfather arrived in N. America and had his immigration record. She provided a complete date - day, month and year. But when I looked at the original document it was not an immigration record but rather his naturalization paper.

9. Searches siblings of a challenging ancestor in order to find more documents that may hold clues pertaining to his/her ancestor.

10. Leaves no stone (record) unturned. Extends his/her search to records not found online such as in local courthouses or archives. 

There are more characteristics of a good genealogist and the list could be extended. But these may be the 10 most important and if we make sure we are following these characteristics, we are definitely on the way to being a good genealogist.

What would you add to the list? 

If You Need Help Dating Early Photographs, You'll Want to Read This

From personal collection of L. Massey

I am fascinated by the customs and traditions that women followed during the time period of the Civil War. Their clothing, their hairstyle, jewelry and even their poses reflect the social nuances of the times. Children’s portraits of this time period also intrigue me, as during the Civil War era they were dressed as miniature adults.

All these fashion clues can help us to date an early photograph. 

One of my most unique finds is a CDV (Cartes de Visite) of a young child with his rocking horse. It is rare to find portraits of children with their toys or familiar objects, for they were expected to behave as adults and stand or sit very still during their sitting for the photographer. 

There are few casual photographs and people were most often posed formally for their photos. Often women hold an actual CDV Civil War album, or a book. But rarely is it a personal item with meaning to the individual

This is an early CDV (Cartes de Visite) of a young boy on his rocking horse. Even though he is in a dress we can tell he is a boy because of the side part in the hair. Girls' hair was parted in the middle. We can also estimate his age, since dresses and skirts were only put on boys who were not yet toilet trained. Training generally began around age 2.

If this were a photo of your ancestor and you knew the year it was taken you could estimate his year of birth from the clues above.

To date this CDV we could look at the edges. If it has square corners it is before 1872. Rounded corners were made after 1872. Sometimes a CDV has its corners cut to fit into an album slot and then it can be difficult to determine what the original shape was.

There are many ways to date an early Carte de visite and other photographs.  See Lost Faces page on dating early photographs for more help. Be sure to check out my YouTube Video Five Types of Early 19th Century Photographs
 

The Top 10 Genealogy Influencers You Should Follow on Twitter

To my great surprise (and delight!) I found myself ranked as #5 of 2,573 in the Top Genealogy Influencers! 

I'm in good company, just check out the names of those in the top 10:

Here's the top 10 and their Twitter Handle in case you aren't following them yet: 

1. Ancestry.com @ancestry

2. Geneabloggers @geneabloggers
3. National Archives UK @uknatarchives

4. Family Tree Magazine @familytreemag

5. Yours truly! Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy @Lorinems

6. Kirsty Wilkinson @genealogygirl

7. Library of Congress @librarycongress

8. British Newspaper Archives @bnarchive
9. Genealogy Bank @genealogybank

10. Megan Smolenyak @megansmolenyak

Nursing Sister Phillips WW1 Album: 25V Red Cross Medic

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.

10 Steps to Searching the Irish Catholic Parish Records When You Only Know a County of Origin

By now most of us with Irish Catholic ancestors have been to the awesome new database of all Irish Catholic Parish Records published online by the National Library of Ireland. (See If You Have Irish Catholic Ancestors Today's Your Lucky Day)

The records are not indexed or transcribed and thus there is no search engine where you can simply type in a name to see results. Instead you search for your parish of interest and then scroll through the images to hopefully find the record you want. 

But what about those of us who don't know the parish our Irish ancestors were in? What about those, like me, who only know a county of origin? Well, I have developed a plan for methodically and carefully searching the records in a somewhat organized fashion. 

Faded page of Parish Records

Be aware before you begin that many of the records are so faded they are illegible. Many have terrible handwriting which is cramped and difficult to read. You can use the controls provided with the images to increase or decrease the contrast, to enlarge the images and to increase the brightness. 

Step 1: Look at what you know or what family lore has indicated. In my McGinnis family we have two family stories. One branch of the family who settled in Ontario circa 1833 says the family was in Belfast. My branch also says Belfast. Another branch has a photo of their  ancestor and on the back it says Katesbridge. 

Since I don't want to just start frantically searching all of Co. Down or Armagh, I needed to find out what Parishes cover Katesbridge and Belfast.  Of course I googled it! After quite a hunt I figured out that Katesbridge, Co. Down is in the Parishes of Newry and Drumballeyroney. Belfast city has 15 different parishes so I decided to start with Newry, then Drumballeyroney

Step 2: Next stop was National Library of Ireland where I typed in the parish name (Newry) in the search field. The page that loaded gave me the list of microfilms available for Newry and the dates for the surviving records. I am searching for several baptisms ranging in years from 1807 to 1831 and one baptism circa 1844-1846. Newry had some of those years so I simply began scrolling through the online images until I finished 1825. 

List of Microfilms for Newry Parish

Step 3: When I completed Newry, I went to Drumballeyroney which I learned is also called Annaghlone. Their baptisms started in 1834 and go to 1851. 

Step 4: Use the Filter Tool! I needed to jump to 1844 so I clicked on the microfilm and immediately used the Filter Tool. (Filter Events/Dates). By choosing Event=Baptisms and Year=1844 I was taken to the exact page to start my search.
 

Filter Tool

Step 5: Both Newry and Drumballeyroney came up empty for me so I turned to Belfast. Of the 15 parishes in Belfast city only 8 have surviving records and of those 8 only 2 had records early enough for my needs. That search also had no results for me. Now came the tricky part - figuring out where to search next.

Step 6: I extended my search to parishes near Belfast and Katesbridge. To do this I used  the map found with the online parish records. Click on "Go to Map" at the top right of the screen, right beside the search engine where you can enter the parish name. 

By clicking and drilling down you can get a map of parishes. I printed this map and put a red star in Newry.  I began systematically began searching adjacent parishes.

Newry Parish and Adjacent Parishes

My goal is to search a wide range of parishes surrounding Newry, Belfast and Drumballyroney. That means I must move on to Step 7.

Step 7: Using GenUki I was able to bring up a list of adjacent towns to Katesbridge. I can do the same for Belfast. This will help me decide which might be where my McGinnis ancestors lived or worshipped. I also brought up a list of nearby churches

Step 8: I printed these lists off and created a file folder for my search plan (maps, lists of parishes, record of where I've searched and so on) as this will be a long-term project.  

Step 9: Go through each parish and eliminate them as having the records you seek. Eventually you will either have success and find your ancestor(s) or you will discover that your ancestors do not appear in the surviving parish records. 

Step 10: I suggest you create a notebook for this project and make notes as you search each set of records. My notebook lists the Parish, the film number, the dates covered and the condition of the records. As well I noted any McGinnis (Magennis) names I found in case one day I find a connection to my family.

My Research Notebook for Irish Catholic Parish Records

If you are looking for instant results you are almost certain to be disappointed. I have  finished searching 17 parishes for my McGinnis ancestors. I have written in dozens of pages in my notebook. I've found many clusters of McGinnis individuals but none are mine. I will carry on searching until I am satisfied that my ancestors are not to be found or I actually find one! Realistically this will be a long slow task possibly taking months of a few hours each day. 

But my motto is "Leave no stone (aka record) unturned!"

Happy Ending re Wallet With ID from 1956 Found in Ceiling of Home

Earlier in June I blogged about a Wallet with ID from 1956 Found in Ceiling of Home  

The owner of the home stated that "While taking down the ceiling in our house, C. found a wallet full of treasures. Anyone know a William Mollon, born June 19th, 1933, from Sydney, Nova Scotia? He took the train from Sydney to Port Credit in June of 1956."

I am happy to report that the wallet has been returned to the man who lost it! 

His nephew reports "After 59 years my uncle's long lost belongings have finally been returned to him. William (Bill) Mollon"

Got Norwegian Ancestors? Check out this immigration map

190 years ago the first emigrants left Norway and Stavanger to start a new and better life in US. The journey took around three mounts and 9th October the first Norwegians immigrants enter New York. 

Expedia’s Nordic Migration map charts the mass movement of Nordics to the United States from the mid 19th century up to the second half of the 20th century. This is an interactive map where you choose the country and click the arrow to watch the timeline of where settlements occurred over time.

If You Have Irish Catholic Ancestors Today's Your Lucky Day

If you, like me, have Irish Catholic ancestors, today is your lucky day. The National Library of Ireland is due to launch their entire collection of Catholic Parish Registers at 2 p.m. It's free for researchers and should help many of us break down a brick wall or two!

The collection covers 1,086 parishes throughout the island of Ireland and consist primarily of baptismal and marriage records from the 1740s to the 1880s.

I'm eagerly waiting for this set of records but expect their servers to crash for the first few days as genealogists rush to the site. In fact I went there just now and got this message when I chose various topics:

"Due to technical difficulties the main National Library website is currently unavailable."

Fingers crossed it will be up and running this afternoon. If anyone has success today, please let me know!

When Family Moves Far From Home

Yesterday was an emotional day for me. My son and his family left to move almost 1400 miles away. They won't be back for at least 3 years. The journey is too difficult for me physically, and with 4 young children it would be costly for them to come home, so it will be a long time before I see them again. 

My own sadness paled when I started to think about our ancestors who made such journeys - some even further away - in the days before we had the Internet, Skype, Facetime, Facebook and all manner of instant communication.

Suddenly I understood the anguish that my great-grandmother must have felt when 5 of her 6 grown children left England in the first decade of the 20th century to settle in Canada and Australia. I put myself in her place and shuddered to think of how she felt, knowing she would quite likely not see for many years, if at all. She did make two trips to Canada to visit over the space of 30 years but how dreadful it would have been to not see her grandchildren grow up or hear her own children's voices over those years.

And in earlier years, such as when my ancestors left Ireland in 1846 to escape the Famine Years, it must have been heart-breaking to see their children and grandchildren sail off to N. America, knowing they would never see them again. 

As we said our goodbyes yesterday, we were all dry-eyed until my 10 year old grandson hugged me, would not let go, and began to sob. I felt my heart breaking and I started crying too. My daughter-in-law wiped away tears and we all had one last hug. My grandchildren's little hands waved out the car window as they drove down our driveway. 

I take comfort in knowing that they are only a moment away by phone or the internet. I am also happy for them as they begin a new adventure. But my heart goes out to my long-dead ancestors who must have grieved for years for their children so far from home.

If you have Illiinois ancestors check out the Chicago Tribune Archives in Beta (Free)

The Chicago Tribune archives are online and searchable from 1849 to 1991. This is a Beta Version and for now it's free. 

However when the beta is over, researchers will need to sign up for a digitalPLUS membership (details here) for full access to the archives.

Thanks to Gail Dever for posting the link to this newspaper database.

Nursing Sister Phillips WW1 Album: 24R Newspaper Clipping

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.

What's Your Opinion? Terrible Act of Disrespect or Excusable?

At least 150 grave markers used as flooring (Photo credit WPRI)

I don't want to say too much about this because I'm curious how others feel. 

It horrified me when I read the headline, but then I read the full story and his explanation, and felt a bit more charitable towards this guy. (A bit.....not a lot......)

Read the story then let me know your opinion!

Cemetery Worker Used Veterans’ Headstones As Flooring

Was Great Grandpa's Name Changed at Ellis Island?

 "My great-grandpa's name was changed at Ellis Island!" How often have we genealogists heard this statement? But do you realize that is not true? There is not one shred of evidence to support the claim that officials changed names when an immigrant arrived at Ellis Island. 

Officials not only did not have the time to start assigning new names to incoming passengers, they also did not have the authority to do so.  Check how many ships were arriving daily and how many passengers on average were on each one... then think about the lineups of immigrants waiting to be cleared. Think about the math - the sheer numbers of immigrants arriving during certain years. There was not time for officials to do more than process each immigrant as quickly as possible.

Sometimes immigrants used incorrect names such as the surname of a stepfather rather than the biological father, or a name the family had adopted for other reasons. Sometimes it was deliberate and an immigrant arrived under the name of someone else. Those arrival names were often changed by the immigrants themselves later in life.

One of the most common reason that your ancestor's name on the manifest does not match the surname your father and grandfather have used, is that it was a name unfamiliar to English speaking clerks, and was entered phonetically in other documents, such as census records.

Sometimes an immigrant chose to "Americanize" their surname themselves and simply began using their new name a year or so after settling in America.

When an immigrant's new name no longer matched that shown on their official immigration record such as a ship's passenger list, he or she might face difficulties voting, in legal proceedings, or naturalization. Below are some sample letters representing typical cases of immigrants who made their own decisions to change their surnames.

How Diamond became Cohen…  
How Kohnovalsky became Cohn…  
How Bahash became Amber…  
How Shukowsky became Zakotsky…  
How Asszony became Miazaroz…
 
 An excellent article on this topic called "American Names / Declaring Independence" can be found at Immigrant Name Changes

Children's Fashions in Civil War Era Photographs

CDVs (Cartes de Visite) arrived in the United States around 1859, on the eve of the Civil War (1861-1865). Demand for CDVs was high, as soldiers and their loved ones sought an affordable image of remembrance. Special photo albums were designed especially for cartes-de-visite.

Several years ago while prowling through a local antique store, I came upon a gorgeous leather photo album full of beautiful old portraits.  Most of the photos were identified with names in elaborate old handwriting and that also caught my eye. Holding a CDV in your hand is like holding a window to the past and I couldn’t walk away from that album. I wanted a better glimpse through that window.  That was the start of my collection of Civil War Era Photograph Albums. You can see many of them on my Lost Faces website. 

Children’s portraits of this time period  intrigue me, as during the Civil War era they were dressed as miniature adults. Young girls were dressed as miniature adults. Very young girls wore skirts and petticoats that were mid‐calf with pantaloons at ankle length. In 1862 three year old Mary Mermod wore a shorter scoop necked dress with pantaloons just below her knees.

Mary Mermod 1862. Private Collection L. Massey

In 1863 little Fanny Towne wore a scooped neckline which was no doubt identical to her mother’s evening or formal gown.

Fanny Towne July 1863. Private Collection L. Massey

As girls grew older and developed a bust, skirts and petticoats became ankle length or
longer, and pantaloons became shorter. The sisters Emily and Susie Fryer in 1863 have longer skirts and their pantaloons barely show.

Emily & Susie Fryer 1863. Private Collection L. Massey

Other clues for dating these lovely old photos is hairstyles. Young girls wore their hair in similar fashion to their mothers. Notice how these young girls have their hair parted in the middle (just as their mothers would have had) and at the height of the Civil War, had long ringlets added.

Don't Miss the Independence Day Special on DNA Kits!

AncestryDNA is celebrating Independence Day by offering a 20% discount on AncestryDNA. Don't miss this special offer. 

If you haven't tested your DNA yet, or Grandma's or Auntie Helen, now's your chance!

What can DNA tell you? You can learn your ethnicity. It can connect you to cousins you never knew about. Family secrets are often revealed as they were for my husband's and my families. 

My husband discovered that his great grandfather was not really his great grandfather! Instead it was another man. DNA confirmed family rumours on that one. You can read all about that shocker at DNA Gave My Husband a Completely Different Great Grandfather and DNA Results Leave us Gob-Smacked! 

What did I learn? That one of my sons had a first cousin no one ever knew about. I haven't blogged about that as I have not asked permission of the new cousin yet. But in any case, run, do not walk to AncestryDNA to order your kit! The discount will run from July 2-July 6. 

Please celebrate by spreading the word!

Happy Birthday Canada!

Canada Day is a celebration for everyone even though some are working today and taking the holiday on another day. It's still a celebration – whether you’re enjoying fireworks, outdoor concerts or fun with friends and family.  

What are you doing on Canada Day? I'm spending time with my son and his family before they move to Colorado. We'll barbeque and laze around the pool for the day. 

For Canada Day events from the Government of Canada, see

Canada Day from Coast to Coast to Coast

Celebrating Canada Day from coast to coast to coast on July 1, 2015! Come back soon for more information and follow on Twitter at #CanadaDay.