How Mobile Were Our Ancestors?

Do you think your ancestors stayed in one place? Guess again! A prevalent myth among genealogists is that our ancestors could not, and did not, travel freely.

The truth is that many of our ancestors traveled frequently. They were much more mobile than most of us realize. When you look across the centuries, you can find examples of our ancestors’ frequent trips in times when travel was difficult, slow, and often expensive.

While it may be true that our immigrant ancestors returned home more frequently in later centuries, after ships’ travel became faster, easier, and less expensive, we should not assume this is the case. I have found many 17^th century immigrant ancestors who frequently sailed back and forth from their new land to their homeland.

Read the rest of my article at How Mobile Were Our Ancestors?

Image credit: Original artwork copyright Brian L. Massey, used with permission

Who Do You Think You Are? Featuring Scott Foley

Be sure to watch this Sunday’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featuring actor Scott Foley.  

The two-time Emmy nominated series WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? returns this spring to follow more of today’s most beloved and iconic celebrities as they embark on personal journeys of self-discovery to trace their family trees.
 
Ancestry.com, the leading family history company, is teaming up again with TLC as a sponsor of the upcoming season. As part of the show sponsorship, Ancestry provides exhaustive family history research on each of the featured celebrities to help make discoveries possible and build out the story of each episode.
The series is produced for TLC by Shed Media and Is or Isn’t Entertainment, and is based on an original format created by Wall to Wall Media and Alex Graham. More information can be found at TLC.com/WDYTYA. ‘Like’ Who Do You Think You Are? on Facebook.com/WDYTYA and follow @WDYTYA on Twitter.

Scott Foley is deeply patriotic but doesn’t know anything about his American roots. He sets out to investigate family lore about a Revolutionary War hero and to his surprise, discovers an ancestor who put his life on the line for George Washington. Digging deeper, Scott then uncovers the shocking tale of a relative who was entangled in the Salem Witch Trials! 

Image credit: TLC

Are Any of These Bones Your Ancestors?

The Museum of History in Ottawa Ontario Canada and the Registrar of Burial Sites is calling for relatives of anyone who believes bones found in two historical burial sites to come forward.

"Inside the Collections Room on the 5th floor of the museum, open only to those who work there, are the remains of 19 people:  adults, children and newborns that were discovered along Queen Street a couple of years ago during the construction of the LRT.  Then, in December, the remains of two more people were found just behind the building at 62 Sparks Street." [CFRA News Talk Radio]

Archives show a cemetery in the area that was once the corner of Bytown's Barrack Hill, where canal workers and their families were buried. The bones are to be re-interred.

Read more at Digging up the past: what we are learning about those who helped build the Canal from their remains

Don't Overlook Alternate Genealogy Records

How many of us search the more obvious sources, then are stuck not knowing where else to look for that elusive ancestor? Obvious sources are census records, birth records, marriage records, land records, death records, passenger lists, and newspapers. 

Of course there are also  naturalization records, passport records, military records, cemetery records, etc.

It may surprise you to know that there are also many valuable genealogy records that are less well known. I'm talking about education records, medical records, institution records, tax lists and so on. But there's another layer of overlooked records that many people miss completely. 

Here are three that I find incredibly valuable but often overlooked.

• Coffin plates Find ancestors in this wonderful genealogy resource at  Ancestors at Rest in  hundreds of coffin plates listed (with photographs)
• Memorial Cards & Funeral Cards Find ancestors in this wonderful genealogy resource at  Ancestors at Rest
• Ledger books, Account books, Admission Registers Ancestors at Rest has dozens of free ledger books online from N. America (mostly USA)

The Artwork of Institutionalized James Deeds Jr

"In 1970, a teenager found a handmade album in a pile of trash in Springfield, Mo. Inside, there were 283 drawings of trains, cars, animals and portraits of people with haunting, circular eyes that stared dead ahead. The album had no name or signature. The only clue to the artist's identity was the stationery on which each picture was drawn — stationery that belonged to State Hospital No. 3 in Nevada, Mo." [Source: http://www.npr.org/]

The artist's name was eventually discovered, as was his story of a life spent almost entirely in a mental institution.  Continue reading this poignant yet inspiring story at With Just Pencil And Paper, A Patient Found Escape Inside State Hospital No. 3

Good News - 4 More Peer Genealogy Books Coming Soon

Exciting news! My series of volumes for the Peer Family in North America is almost complete. FOUR volumes (V. 2, 3, 4 and 5) are due for publication this week.

As many of my Peer "cousins" know, I previously published Volume 1 on Jacob and Anne Peer, the ancestors who settled in Upper Canada from New Jersey shortly after the American Revolution. 

The Peer family were loyal to the British Crown, and suffered from persecution in New Jersey throughout the American Revolution. Jacob and his family left Sussex County New Jersey for Upper Canada in the summer of 1796. Four of Jacob’s sons – Jacob Jr., Edward, John and Philip Peer petitioned for land one year later. They settled in the Hamilton area of what was then the wilderness of Upper Canada. Sons Levi and Stephen did not submit petitions for land.
 
Some of the sons of Jacob left Upper Canada at that time and returned to the United States with their families, settling in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois. Some remained in Ontario. 

Descendants will enjoy seeing early documents such as land petitions, family photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, and wills.
Volume 1 is available directly from me:

The Peer Family in North America. V1 Jacob & Anne Peer, Immigrants from New Jersey to Upper Canada in 1796. A study of the first two generations. Coil bound 8.5x11. 108 p. 
Download an Order Form to pay by check or pay using Paypal

The much-anticipated Volumes for Jacob and Anne's sons Levi, Edward, Philip and Stephen are completed and are scheduled for publication this week. That's right - this week Peer descendants in North America will be able to order these books to learn more about their ancestors.

V.2 Levi Peer 8.5x11 - 108 pages V.3 Edward Peer 8.5x11 - 70 pages

V.4 Philip Peer 8.5x11 - 104 pages V.5 Stephen Peer 8.5x11 - 79 pages

For those descendants wondering where the volumes are for Jacob Jr. or daughters Phoebe and Marcy, those are in the works. As soon as the 4 new volumes are ready for purchase there will be a notice posted here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog.

 

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album: 69V Captain Evans

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. 

ww1 69V 2-2Cpt Evans C.A.V.C.

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"

Who Do You Think You Are? Returns Tomorrow with Aisha Tyler

The two-time Emmy nominated series WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? returns this spring to follow more of today’s most beloved and iconic celebrities as they embark on personal journeys of self-discovery to trace their family trees.

The series continues to deliver unbelievable stories from crucial moments in history, including a number of firsts for the series, such as a male witch hunt, and traveling to Portugal, Sweden and Ellis Island. Executive Produced by Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky, the new season premieres Sunday, April 3 at 9/8c.

This Sunday's episode features Aisha Tyler, who dives fearlessly into her mother’s family history, tracking down the story of a man that had been lost over generations. She uncovers the astonishing tale of a prominent ancestor whose struggle to keep his illegitimate son a secret made the papers; a father who actively fought against his kin’s basic human rights; and the impressive story of her two times great-grandfather, who dove headlong into controversy, took a brave stand for his people, and left a mark so great that he is commemorated today by one of America’s capital cities.

The contributors featured in the upcoming season include:


·         Scott Foley finds a relative who risked his life for one of America’s founding fathers, and an ancestor who suffered unspeakably during one of this nation’s darkest times.

·         Lea Michele nails down where her mysterious paternal ancestors came from, and learns of the dire economic circumstances they endured while trying to emigrate to the U.S.

·         Chris Noth learns his ancestors suffered during one of the greatest catastrophes in American history, and a relative who fought in one of the bloodiest battles of all time.

·         Molly Ringwald explores family lore of Swedish royalty which uncovers her ancestors’ harrowing lives and a brave woman who forever changed her family’s fate.

·         Katey Sagal is shocked to learn of her family’s Amish roots, and digs deeper as she realizes the level of dedication to their faith.

·         Aisha Tyler tracks down her 2x great-grandfather, whose story had been lost over generations, and uncovers an astonishing tale of a prominent ancestor whose struggle to keep his illegitimate son a secret made headlines.

Ancestry.com, the leading family history company, is teaming up again with TLC as a sponsor of the upcoming season. As part of the show sponsorship, Ancestry provides exhaustive family history research on each of the featured celebrities to help make discoveries possible and build out the story of each episode.

The series is produced for TLC by Shed Media and Is or Isn’t Entertainment, and is based on an original format created by Wall to Wall Media and Alex Graham. More information can be found at TLC.com/WDYTYA. ‘Like’ Who Do You Think You Are? on Facebook.com/WDYTYA and follow @WDYTYA on Twitter.

Image credit: TLC

Orphaned Triplets Seek Family Ancestry

Recently a story about orphaned triplets made the news. In January 1953 Mamie Lee Kelly gave birth to triplets in Adams Hospital near Logan Circle, Washington DC. Mamie died a few days after they were born. Two years later their father Alexander Kelly was shot and killed.

The triplets went to different homes - Dwight and Alexander went to North Carolina, while sister Mamie was sent to Philadelphia. Now that they are adults, the triplets want to know their family ancestry. I've done some research and have found more information which I will be giving to the newspaper.

If any of my readers want to jump in and assist in this search, here are the facts from the newspaper story:

• Mamie Lee Kelly gave birth to triplets on Jan. 18, 1953, at Adams Hospital near Logan Circle, Washington:  Dwight and Alexander David  (went to N. Carolina) and  Mamie ( went to Philly)
• Mother died Jan. 22, 1953
• Father Alexander Kelly shot and killed  Nov. 1955
• older sister to triplets was Linda
• There were 3 Adams Hospital nurses, L.E. Lee, Evelyn Cheffens and Ruth Milberrie. 

Source: Orphaned Triplets Search for their Family's History

Here are my findings: 

 
Date: Monday, January 26, 1953

Paper: Evening Star (Washington (DC), District of Columbia)  Page: 13

From this clipping we know that Mamie's parents were Carl and Lona Mae Jones, and her sister was Mrs. Essie Govan.

Sunday, November 6, 1955  

Paper: Evening Star (Washington (DC), District of Columbia)  Page: 37

From this we find that Alexander Kelly was born circa 1919

The birth of the triplet's sister  (Linda) is mentioned in Saturday, February 17, 1951 newspaper for Washington DC.  

Next I found their mother with her parents and sister in 1930 and 1940 census records.

1930 census Kent, Prince George´S, Maryland; Roll: 878; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0028; Image: 51.0; FHL microfilm: 2340613

Carl Jones, 25 b N. Carolina
Lona, 25 b N. Carolina
Mamie 7 b N. Carolina
Essie M. 5 b Maryland

1940 Census Prince George´S, Maryland; Roll: T627_1557; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 17-41

Carl Jones     37, shop boy, grade 6 education
Lena M Jones     37 never went to school
Mamie E Jones     17 left school after grade 7
Essie M Jones     15 2nd year high school
Joshua P Taylor     47 brother-in-law, busboy, grade 2 education 

 

It appears Mamie's father died in 1969. 

Name:	Carl Jones
SSN:	578-10-8173
Last Residence:	20786 Landover, Prince Georges, Maryland, USA
BORN:	4 Jul 1902
Died:	Jan 1969
State (Year) SSN issued:	District of Columbia (Before 1951

  
His obituary is found Tuesday, January 28, 1969
Evening Star (Washington (DC), District of Columbia) on p. 29

Lona Jones, his wife died in 1973. Her obituary is found January 17, 1973 in the Evening Star (Washington DC) on p 39



I found Essie Mae Govan living in Capitol Heights Maryland from August 1984 to May 2005. Other nams associated with Essie were James Govan, Joe Nathan Govan, Lashawn Michelle Vanhorne, Natalie Govan




UPDATE April 2:  Marian Koalski adds this find of Lona's maiden name:

Carl and Lona's daughter, Essie Mae Jones, was born in Wilson County, NC, in 1924, and her mother's maiden name was listed as Taylor. "North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VC71-6XK : accessed 2 April 2016), Carl Jones in entry for Essie Mae Jones, 1924; from "North Carolina, Birth and Death Indexes, 1800-2000," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing vol. 16, p. 126, Wilson, North Carolina, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.

Plagiarism Accusations

 Plagiarism and copyright infringement are a serious issue for those of us publishing our work online.  

Ancestry Insider has done some fact-checking on some recent issues. Please read and form your own opinion.

Continue reading More Accusations of Plagiarism Leveled at Barry Ewell

Fascinating Story of NYC sanitation worker's $160,000 treasure

One man's trash is this NYC sanitation worker's $160,000 treasure

One man's trash is New York City sanitation worker Nelson Molina's treasure. During his 34 year career of keeping the Big Apple clean, he collected more than $160,000 worth of amazing trash finds. 

From antique guitars to action figures, check out his collection on display in an East Harlem warehouse. [Source: New York Daily News]

See the photos and read this man's incredible story at New York Sanitation Worker Collects $160K Collection From Trash

 

Legacy Family Tree Article Why Do We Do Genealogy?

Olive Tree Genealogy's latest article on Legacy Family Tree is proving very popular. If you haven't read it, you might want to take a few minutes to do so.

A friend asked an interesting question. "Why do you do genealogy?" The answer should be simple. One would think it would be something along the lines of:

"I do genealogy because I want to know who my ancestors were."

But guess what? Like most questions in life, the answer is not that simple. There are a myriad of reasons why we delve into genealogy research. Wanting to find out who our ancestors were is just the tip of the genealogy iceberg.

Continue reading at  Why Do We Do Genealogy?

Easter Postcard Buffalo New York 1912

Recently I rescued 28 vintage orphaned postcards from antique shops. They range in date from 1900 to 1918. 27 are from United States and 1 is from Ontario Canada. 

I have scanned and added 6 of these postcards to Lost Faces and will be adding the rest of these wonderful cards over the next month. I hope descendants will see these postcards and recognize an ancestor.  

Perhaps you will find an ancestor or two!

Easter Card To Mrs. T. F. Galligan, 304 Virginia St, Buffalo New York. from Alice 1912

Easter Postcards New York Early 1900s

Recently I rescued 28 vintage orphaned postcards from antique shops. They range in date from 1900 to 1918. 27 are from United States and 1 is from Ontario Canada. 

I have scanned and added 6 of these postcards to Lost Faces and will be adding the rest of these wonderful cards over the next month. I hope descendants will see these postcards and recognize an ancestor.  

 Perhaps you will find an ancestor or two!
 

• An Easter Postcard to Mrs. Elmer Pick/Peck, Ellicott Ave, Batavia New York, from Mr & Mrs.E. H. Van Alstine

• An Easter Card to Mrs. Geo (George) F. Kuhn, 16 Grey St., Buffalo New York. from Niagara Falls, March 4, 1909 to Dear Friend from George

FREE ACCESS to Commonwealth Records on Ancestry

This weekend (March 25-28) Ancestry.ca is offering free access to their Commonwealth records.

Many genealogists do not realize that Ancestry offers two different freebies. 

One is FREE ACCESS (which this is) and NO credit card is required. You  have to sign up with your email address and name to view the records, but NO CREDIT CARD is needed.

The second is FREE TRIAL where a credit card IS required. At the end of the Free Trial period you cancel, and your card is not charged.

Easter Bunny's Family Tree & Bible Found!

Breaking news - a few years ago a little girl named Alice was playing in the garden of an old house in England when she fell down a large rabbit hole. 

Before climbing out she made a unique discovery. In a small wooden box under a pile of rabbit fur hats Alice spotted a yellowed letter. 

The letter was addressed to "Dear Easter" and signed "Uncle Wiggily", and it provided details of an interesting family tree!

Here's the letter Alice found:

Dear Easter,
I'm glad you asked about your family. Time is getting short for me and I think I'm the only one left who knows the stories of our family.

Your great-grandfather, Bugs, was one of three brothers (Bugs, Peter and Brer). The brothers left their home and sailed for America in the late 1800s. The ship they were on was caught up in a terrible storm and the brothers had to tie themselves to the mast. The ship sank but Bugs, Peter and Brer were lucky enough to find a plank and they climbed up on it and drifted for several days until they were rescued by the SS Lollipop.

When they got to Ellis Island, the customs officials changed the brothers' last names before allowing them to leave the ship, and so the three branches of our family began.

Bugs, Your great-grandpa, kept his Bunny name. Peter's was changed to Cottontail and all his descendants have kept that name. Brer's name was changed to Rabbit and it is from his line that our famous cousins White and Velveteen descend.

Great grandpa Bugs later met and married your great-grandmother Bunny Fufu. I don't know anything about her parents. My cousin Willy Bunny has photos and her family bible but he is stingy with the family information and refuses to share. Apparently Bunny Fufu's family bible was tossed into a fire by Indians when they attacked the settlement where she and her parents lived, but Bunny's father leapt into the flames and saved the bible. I wish Willy would not be so secretive with the information!

It gets a bit confusing, but Velveteen Rabbit, your mother, was your father Energizer's second wife and his third cousin once removed. It wasn't unusual for cousins to marry each other, but it does get confusing as we all seem to have large families.

Velveteen's father (your maternal grandfather) was Peter but I don't know too much about your mom's side of the family. I did hear there was an Angora in there somewhere way back. Some say she was a Princess and Peter rescued her from .....

Some say she was a Princess and Peter rescued her from pirates!

Of course you know your grandparents - Buster and Trix. One day you should ask your grandma Trix why she calls your grandpa Buster by his nickname "Hassenfeffer" whenever she is mad at him, it's a cute story.

I've done some research on our family but am stuck on your great-great-grandmother. That would be your Great-Grandpa Bugs' mother. Great-Grandpa Bugs' father (your great-great-grandpa) was named Cadbury but I think your great-great-grandma was left by aliens. She is my brick wall. I know Cadbury called her Flopsy and they had 54 children but even though I've searched everywhere, I can't find what her SIRname was.

I guess I should tell you about the family scandal involving your Great great grandpa Cadbury Bunny. My Aunt Babbity told me she heard the grownups whispering about this when she was little. It seems that Cadbury's father fell in love with a chicken and Cadbury was the result of that love match! This might explain Cadbury's strange behaviour....

Well Easter, I think I've given you enough details to confuse you, but I hope I've gotten you interested in learning more! I know where some of the graves are of your ancestors and will take you there one day if you want to go. It's just a hop, skip and jump away.

Give my best to all the little children when you make your rounds this year,

As ever,
Uncle Wiggily

Since that exciting discovery in 2009, Easter Bunny has found more genealogy goodies!  In 2010 Easter found a family tree chart! You can see it here

In 2011 Easter was delighted to discover a Family Bible that once belonged to his great-grandmother Bunny Fufu! He's been hunting ever since, tracking down leads on the Bunny Trail and exploring every nook and cranny he can find.

Stay tuned for more news as Easter texts us to let us know of his new and exciting genealogy adventures.

A Shiny Thing to Distract Genealogists

5-Generation Ancestor Birth Locations

Yesterday my friend J Paul Hawthorne posted an ancestor birth location chart on Facebook. The idea took off like wildfire and soon most of my genealogy friends had created theirs. Sounds silly? Sounds like a waste of time? What can I say except it was fun! 

I created mine only instead of starting with me and going up my ancestral lines, I created one starting with my father. There is no point to starting with my mom because after her all the boxes would say "England" 

The visual aspect of this chart appeals to me. At a glance I can see that 5 of my 8 second great-grandparents were immigrants.  So thanks Paul for giving me something bright and shiny to distract me from what I should have been doing. I loved creating this!

UPDATE: I've been asked how to create this. I did mine in Excel, counting the rows that Paul used to make his. Here's an image of mine with the number of rows entered so you can create your own. If the entry contains more than one cell, you have to merge the cells to create a cell of the sizes shown. Be sure to change the colour green to different colours for each country you enter. For example, all Ireland would be one colour, all New York would be a different colour. Have fun!

Creating a Family Story and Memory Book

Recently Volume 2 of my McGinnis Family Story Books arrived from Shutterfly. I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

First I scanned the family photos I wanted to use in my book. After transferring the scanned photos to my computer I organized them into a directory on my laptop 

Then I uploaded them to Shutterfly. I created a different size book this time.  Usually I go with the 8x8 books because they are small, easy to pick up and glance through and I just like the look of them. But this time I went with the 8 1/2 x 11 and I'm really glad I chose that size.

The 8 1/2 x 11 allowed me to insert a census image that was legible but had room around the edges for the page background. I could have added a border around those images or embellished the page with a "sticker" but I like the larger images to be simple and plain.
 
You can read how I organized my book at Creating Memory Books on Shutterfly  It's important to plan the layout of your book before starting. 

 Decide on how you want to organize the pages and photos - by person? Chronologically? You can always switch pages around once you've created pages in Shutterfly but you need a plan to begin.


Think about how many pages you want. I create mine to be between 20 and 25 pages. If it is going to be bigger, I break the book into separate volumes. As an example, my Story Books on my McGinnis family are in 5 volumes, one for each generation starting with my father. The smaller the book, the more manageable to create and the more likely your recipients will be to pick it up and skim through it. Anything larger than 25 pages is, for me, overwhelming to create and I believe would be too much for most people to want to glance through.

Shutterfly allows me to create photo pages, or text pages or a combination of both. It's easy to quickly pick a layout for each page using their layout options. So if you want to place two photos and one text box on a page, for example, you choose from their options for 2 photos plus text.

Then by using the "customize" feature found on each page you can resize and rearrange the photo and text boxes. You can add more text boxes if you want. Then you can change the background by choosing from their options for whatever theme you are using.

In this volume of the McGinnis family story, I added scans of newspaper clippings from a family double wedding. I am lucky enough to have the actual wedding invitation so I added that to the page along with photos of the church and of the happy couples.

In the end the book is a lovely coffee table book resembling a scrapbook. But it has enough genealogical information and documents to give family members a taste of what I have found on the family. It also allows me to share the wonderful family photos, documents and newspaper clippings in my possession.

You can also refer to my video tutorials on creating books in Shutterfly. 

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 1)

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 2)

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 3)

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 4)

I have now created 5 volumes of my McGinnis family, one volume per generation, starting with me, then my parents with all their children, then my grandparents and their children, back to my great-grandparents who came from Ireland to Ontario Canada in 1846 during the Famine Years.

The Diaries Of John E. Lewis 1880-1956

John E. Lewis was a New York resident who wrote in his diaries every day for seventy-seven years and captured life in New York during the era. 

Mr. Lewis began writing his diaries on January 1, 1880, as a nineteen-year old young man, and continued to write until his eyesight was too poor to continue, at age 96. [New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Blog]

Continue reading The Diaries Of John E. Lewis 1880-1956 

You may also be interested in reading old letters on Past Voices

Five Days of Family Photo Stories: Miss Mulligan's Girls

Recently Gail Dever wrote about a very cool idea on her blog. Her post is called Writing about your life — and your ancestors’ lives — in five photos She inspired me to follow suit in a blog meme called Five Days of Famiiy Stories 

Just choose 5 photos that you love from your collection of shoeboxes and albums. Feature one each day on your blog or in your personal journal. Tell the story of the photo - where was it taken, who is in it, who took it, what year was it taken, what emotion does it invoke when you look at it, etc. 

 

This is my last photo in this series

This is a photo of my beloved grandmother, Ruth Simpson, in Miss Mulligan's Girls, in the Ellington School in Ramsgate Kent England. It was taken circa 1902 when she was 8 years old. Grandma is the young girl in the middle of the back row.

I am lucky enough to have a few photos of Grandma in the dance group in other years. What surprises me is that she never mentioned this to me. Yet she was the story-teller.

As I a little girl I would listen, fascinated, to her stories of her childhood, of her parents and grandparents, and of leaving England for Canada at the age of 19.  

These photos came to me a few years ago from her youngest daughter, my 93 year old aunt.