Toronto City Directories 1910-1926 Online

Thanks to Gail Dever's article Toronto city directories digitized, 1910 – 1926 I learned that missing city directories for 1910, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1926 have been digitized and are now searchable online.

The first Toronto directory was published in 1833. Most directories contain an alphabetical list of inhabitants (usually heads of households and others working outside the home), and a list of occupants arranged by street.

Genealogists with Toronto-based ancestors won't want to miss this set of city directories.

Don't Miss the Rural Diary Archive

This is a very fascinating site online! From the website:

Would you like to experience daily life in the 1800s? Now you can. For several years I have used rural diaries in my research on Upper Canada (the province of Ontario). These precious old documents, often fading and brittle, are scattered in various archives. Now they have been gathered together in the Rural Diary Archive for researchers to access and enjoy online. The website showcases over 130 diarists from across Ontario from 1800-1960. The full texts of selected nineteenth-century diaries are available to read, search, and transcribe and more are continuously being added

Continue reading at Rural Diaries Online: Experience Daily Life in the Backwoods

Update on WW1 Military Files Digitized by Library & Archives Canada

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) announced earlier that progress has been made in their project to digitize the complete files of all Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) members from WW1
 

Part of digitized CEF file for M. G. McGinnis

As of today, 101,452 of 640,000 files are available online via the Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database.

I searched for my Vollick and Peer relatives but so far their files have not been digitized. 

However I found the digitized file for Nursing Sister Mary Geraldine McGinnis who was born in London Ontario in 1893.

There are 33 pages in her file and it makes for interesting reading.

LAC is adding files every week to this huge project.

WW 1 Photo Album Archive page 28

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the 28th page in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's album. I am not sure who is in these photos but they were likely taken ca 1920s. The older woman in the bottom photo looks like Auntie Cordie (Cordelia Cook Simpson) but I am not sure if the child with her is Doris.

WW 1 Photo Album Archive page 25

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the 25th page in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's album.

Simpson Photo Album Toronto Ontario Canada ca 1920s

There are only 2 photos on this page. In the photo on the left I am fairly confident that is my Grandmother Ruth (Simpson) Fuller Richardson Bates (the taller woman). The photo on the right is Doris herself (with the tie at her neck) and I think that is her mom Cordelia (Cook) Simpson standing beside her.

WW 1 Photo Album Archive page 24

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the 24th page in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's album. It looks like we are in to the mid 1920s now.

 This page in the album only held 2 photos. On the left is Doris' cousin Vera Simpson born 1925, and on the right is Doris with her dog.

 Vera was the daughter of my grandmother's brother Sydney (Uncle Syd) Simpson and his wife Ellen (Aunt Nell) Webb.

WW 1 Photo Album Archive page 17

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the 17th page in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's album.

 Auntie Cordie is 2nd from the right. Doris is partially hidden in a dark dress, 4th from the right.

Auntie Cordie (Cook) Simpson with daughter Doris ca 1920

Cousin Doris Simpson with dog ca 1920

Nursing Sister Constance Philips WW1 Photo Album - A Bio

Nursing Sister Constance Philips

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 K. Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. All photos are published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Images are designated an R or V for Recto or Verso. Recto is the left-hand side of an open book while Verso refers to the right-hand side.

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.

Constance Sarah Young Philip was born 1876 Newington, Edinburgh, Scotland to David Philip and Isabella Gordon Gatherer. She immigrated to Canada in 1911 and enlisted as a nurse in the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) in February 1915.

After the war, she and her sister Isabella (Ella) ran a school for young ladies in North Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. The school was called the North Vancouver School for Girls at Holly Lodge. There is a photo of the Pupils and staff of North Vancouver School for Girls at Holly Lodge sometime in the 1920s. Identified: Miss Ella M. Philip, Principal; Sister Connie Philip, matron; Alex Philip, their cousin (not staff); Miss May P. Judge, teacher; Betty Jack, pupil.

Constance died in 18th Feb 1944 and was buried at the Capilano View Cemetary, West Vancouver, BC 

Her tombstone reads 

Constance S.Y. Philip 

Nursing Sister C.A.M.C. C.E.F. 

18th Feb 1944 

Rest In Peace

Tennessee Family Bibles Online

Vance Family Bible page

Tennessee birth certificates were not required until 1908 and thus Family Bibles can be a very important way to prove birth dates.

The Tennessee State Public Library has been collecting more than 1,500 family Bibles since the 1920s and these bibles are now available to the public. Cinnamon Collins is the volunteer who scanned all the Bibles into the database. She scanned the pages with notations on them but also read and examined the materials tucked inside — photographs, locks of a sweetheart’s hair, newspaper clippings, mementos. All the entries she saw were handwritten and sometimes difficult to read.

Read more details at Tennessee has more than 1,500 family Bibles online and State Library & Archives Puts Family Bible Records Online

To see if TSLA holds a Bible record for your family, visit the project online. If you are looking for Family Bibles from other locations, please see Family Bibles Blog

Colorado Communities 1914-2014 - A Community History Project

Frame Grab from Colorado Communities Video

Recently H. Long, Digital Initiatives Librarian at the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy about a community history project called Colorado Communities, 1914-2014 According to Long, Colorado Communities, 1914-2014 is a partnership of Colorado cultural heritage sector & citizens to create a community history digital collection.

Following is their Press Release

This project documents the people, places, and events that not only made the headlines over the last century, but also quietly shaped the lives of everyday citizens. The collection will feature photographs, maps, diaries, documents, postcards, scrapbooks, and other primary sources from cultural heritage institutions and personal collections. Visitors to the site—educators, students, genealogists, and history buffs—can search the collection or explore it through interactive timelines, maps, and contextual essays.  

In order to reach as many people and organizations as possible, we will host scanning roadshows in three different communities around the state. During the first half of each roadshow, the Colorado Communities team will invite local museums, libraries, and historical societies of all sizes and varieties to bring a selection of the treasures from their collections for scanning. 

The second half of the day will be a free public event where citizens can bring up to 3 keepsakes or historical documents related to local history for scanning. Participating organizations and individuals will receive a copy of the digitized materials. The project team will keep a copy for potential inclusion in the Colorado Communities, 1914-2014 website.

This project has been chosen to be included in the pilot launch of the CU-Boulder Crowdfunding initiative to raise funds through charitable contributions. Learn more about the project or make a contribution here: http://communityfunded.com/projects/hwlong/colorado-communities-1914-2014/.

WW1 Photo Album: Page 15 Canadian Soldiers in the CEF

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is page 15 in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's album.

There are only two WW1 soldier photos on this page. Unfortunately they aren't labelled and I don't recognize the individuals. I suspect the one soldier on horseback was in the same Cavalry Unit in Toronto as my Uncle Ernest Simpson.

WW1 Photo Album Archive page 14

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the 14th page in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's album.

3 of the 4 photos here were taken in Toronto Ontario. One was in Ramsgate England

 Uncle Ern Simpson on the right, unknown man on left

Front Left to Right: Auntie Cordie (Cook) Simpson, Uncle Ern Simpson, unknown woman. Unknown man in back (Same man as in photo above)

A very unusual photograph of a woman in a WW1 uniform! Is it a joke? It looks like Auntie Cordie and if so, she must have been playing around and dressed in Uncle Ern's uniform

Grandma's sister Lilly Simpson and their father David George Simpson. Taken in England

WW 1 Photo Album Archive page 13

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the 13th page in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's album. 

This is one of my favourite pages in this album. On the bottom right is my Uncle Ern Simpson. I don't know who the other soldiers are. 

Uncle Ern was stationed at Stanley Barracks in Toronto Ontario but I don't know if this photos are from that time period. He was in a Cavalry unit at one point. 

WW 1 Photo Album Archive page 12

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the 12th page in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's album. 

Sadly I don't know who anyone is on this page! 

British Library Puts 1,000,000 images into Public Domain

 

Sample of Public Domain Image from British Library

This is exciting news and here is a snippet from the British Library's announcement

We have released over a million images onto Flickr Commons for anyone to use, remix and repurpose. These images were taken from the pages of 17th, 18th and 19th century books digitised by Microsoft who then generously gifted the scanned images to us, allowing us to release them back into the Public Domain.

The images themselves cover a startling mix of subjects: There are maps, geological diagrams, beautiful illustrations, comical satire, illuminated and decorative letters, colourful illustrations, landscapes, wall-paintings and so much more that even we are not aware of.

You can access these public domain images at the British Library's Flickr Acoount

Credits:
Image taken from:
Title: "The Coming of Father Christmas"
Author: MANNING, Eliza F.
Shelfmark: "British Library HMNTS 11650.f.64."
Page: 17
Place of Publishing: London
Date of Publishing: 1894
Publisher: F. Warne & Co.
Issuance: monographic
Identifier: 002368636


See more at A million first steps and The British Library Puts 1,000,000 Images into the Public Domain, Making Them Free to Reuse & Remix

WW 1 Photo Album Archive page 11

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here is the 11th page in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's album. 

There were only 3 photos on this page and the only person I can identify is the bottom photo of my grandmother's brother Sydney Simpson.

WW 1 Photo Album Archive pages 9 & 10

Continuing on with my WW1 Photo Album archive here are the 9th and 10th pages in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's  photo album. These photos were all taken ca 1916 and are mostly of my Grandfather and Grandmother Fuller and their two daughters - my aunt Lily and my mother.

Auntie Cordie's sister, Lillian Simpson, Cordelia (Cook) Simpson front

Grandma Fuller and mother with clothes hanging to dry

Grandpa Fuller & Mother

Grandma Fuller's sister Lillian Simpson

Lillian Fuller

Lillian and Joan Fuller

My mother ca 1916

Removing Clippings to Preserve Ledger Book Pages from the 1890s

My fingers are prunes. Yesterday saw me with my hands in warm water as I soaked ledger pages from the 1890s in order to remove newspaper clippings from the 1928 Boston Globe.

My readers may recall that I bought a new toy, a Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner for PC and Mac (PA03656-B005)and that one of my plans was to scan the pages of old ledger books that I have purchased over the years.

One of the ledgers I was scanning was from a delivery service of some kind. Every page had names, street addresses, item(s) purchased, cost of delivery and a delivery date. But the first dozen or so pages had been glued over on both sides with clippings from newspapers dated 1928.

While it's always interesting to read old newspaper tidbits and articles, there were no births, deaths, marriages or obituaries so I decided that the names and details underneath were of more value to genealogists. That led me to the decision to try to remove the clippings. I am pleased to say that my idea worked extremely well!

Soaking each ledger page in water

First I put a bit of warm water in a dishtub, then I gently soaked the pages, one at a time. Most of the clippings were easily removed and the ledger pages did not tear, nor did the ink disappear.

The words underneath becoming visible

After peeling off the clippings I hung the wet pages on my antique drying rack. Within a few hours they were dry. My next step was to lay them flat on a hard surface and place a heavy ream of paper on top to help flatten them.

The ledger pages drying on my antique rack

I will scan the pages today, save them as PDF files and the project will be ready to upload to my husband's website Ancestors At Rest All in all there were over 300 pages of names in this ledger book so I am excited to bring it online for all to see