Ancestor Occupations

Labor Day weekend is over. But many genealogists were talking about their ancestors' occupations. It has been fun and enlightening to read comments on Twitter and Facebook over the weekend.

So I thought I'd do a rather quick overview of some of the occupations held by my ancestors. It's an interesting exercise to look them up as I realized that I have much more to learn about some! For example one of my ancestors was engaged in the Rattle Watch in New Netherland (New York) in 1659. When I first learned of this I had to research to find out what a Rattle Watch was. Basically the rattle watchmen patrolled what is now New York City, using wooden rattles to warn people of threats or fires. They were responsible for stopping theft and other crimes, so we can think of them as a type of police force. The patrols carried green lanterns and walked the streets of the city from sunset until dawn.

Many of you will find that certain occupations were carried on from father to son to son - down many generations. Let's take a look at some of mine, going back 5 generations:

My maternal grandfather was a bookkeeper and manager of the Guelph Lumber Company. His father was a gardener.

My maternal grandmother was a dressmaker, and her father was a coal carrier while her mother ran a boarding house.

My paternal grandfather was one of the first firefighters in Guelph but after an injury went to work in a steel factory. His father was a general labourer, while his grandfather ran a tavern called Speed the Plow near Guelph.

I have a Niagara Falls tightrope walker, an early (if not the first!) base jumper, the first female pilot in Canada, circus performers, innkeepers, shopkeepers, shipwrights, commercial fishermen, farm labourers, dressmakers, washerwomen, and a hatmaker.

What's in your ancestral heritage?

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

Because March is Women's History Month I wanted to share with my readers the story of strong and courageous women in my life. You will be able to follow along as you wish by choosing the label "Women of Courage" in the right side bar. I encourage my readers to join me in honoring women of courage in your own families.
 
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."

Ten years later, Eileen's name is still not found. Why is this amazing Canadian female being ignored by Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame?

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