A Great Day

Today I had the opportunity to drive down to Fergus to visit the Wellington Archives.  Took two kids to school and two others to a friends.  I have been to the archives once before.

I was able to find some information.  It really does feel ominous being where you know all the answers lie it's just so challenging to find it all.
Here is what I found:
Ida Blackwell (1880-1973) married Elmer Samis (1879-1951) had Lomer who took over the farm which had been in the family for four generations ( Solomon, William, Elmer and Lomer).  Solomon Samis had 6 children: Elizabeth (Betsy), Jane, Nancy, Annie, Hettie, Arthur and William.  I need to do some work on finding more about this family.

Ida E.Blackwell was the daughter of John Irvine's sister Martha (daughter of Andrew Irvine and Hannah Brintnell)

John W Hefkey (1885-1969) married Ethel Cunningham (1892-1972) John W is the son of John (1854-1933) and Susan Irvine the sister to John Irvine who married Rebecca Caldwell who are the parents of my great grandmother Lottie Victoria Irvine.
John came from Waterloo County to work in Drayton as a shoe repairman and eventually took over the business.  His son took over from him.
John and Susan had 6 children:
John W
Irvine (died in 1951)
Ethel (married Mr Bechtold)
Eva Lillian (died 1911) have a picture of her headstone at Drayton Cemetary died of burns
Mabel (married Herman Quick)
Florence (married Brock Philip)
I found that Irvine married Sarah Maria Fothergill.  In Bellville they had a stillborn baby names Thomas John Hefeky on 12 March 1938, I don't know anything more.
I also found all their birthdates in the 1901 census.

There was a Percy L Irvine who became a doctor and moved to Toronto in 1924 he married Myrtle Coam (her father was the publisher of the newspaper Mr Jabez Coram) and they had tow daughters Francis and Phyllis - need to figure out if we are connected here.

Then in a random scan in the Drayton Advocate ( Sept 17, 1925) I spotted a little news item: Mrs. M Blackwell and niece Jane Blackwell left for Willows and Howard Sask last week after spending a couple  of months at the home of her daughter Mrs E. Samis and other friends.  This must be Martha who married Micheal Blackwell (28 April 1879 in Drayton).  Not sure about this because Samis's had a four generation farm however this could be one of the sons who had to find his own land and went out West to find his fortune, just has Lottie's Uncle Thomas Caldwell did in.  I also just noticed that John Dennis Blackwell (son of John Blackwell and Ann O'Brien) moved to Harding, Manitoba... is this the connection?

So many questions...so good.

Plodding Along

Picture of the town of Drayton, ON in 1878 around the time that Annie O'Brien was married to Thomas and raising her family. 

I have been continuing my tradition of Sunday night researching.  I really look forward to this night wvery week as I know I will be on the look out for more info.
I have been concentrating my efforts on the Annie O'Brien (1831 Ireland) Thomas Caldwell (1811 Scotland) union of Aug 9, 1861 in Drayton ON.
Something I did not realize was that Annie O'Brien was married to John Blackwell born in1823 in Louth, Ireland.  They married in Drayton, ON and had two sons: Francis born 1849 and John Dennis Blackwell born 1856 in Drayton.  John then died in 1860.  Annie remarried my great great great grandfather Thomas and had 4 children: Caroline, Lottie, Thomas and Rebecca (she is my great great grandmother).
I will be visiting the Archives once again this Thursday in hopes to obtain more information on these families.
The search continues...   

Sense of Humour

When I was a little girl I didn't appreciate my grandma's sense of humour.  As I got older and started to see her with new eyes I really learned to appreciate it more.  I also found that the older she got the less worried about the little things she became.

The other day I was in the office and one of her old binders with 'treasures' fell down and this slip of paper fell down.  Instead of rushing to pick it all up and continue on my way, I decided to sit and read my grandma's handwriting and see what she thought was worthwhile to write out and save.

At first I did not understand the 'joke' however being 7 months pregnant caught my attention even further...
so all of you out there who may be pregnant or want a good joke via my late Grandma Hazel, here it goes:

A woman 7 months pregnant got on a street car and sat next to a gentleman.  She noticed him smiling, being humilated, she changed her seat this time his smil changed to a grin.  She changed her seat again.  He seemed more amused than ever.  When for the fourth time she changed her seat he burst out laughing.  She could not bear it longer, so she complained to the conductor and had the man arrested.  The case came up in court and the judge inquited of the man if he had anything to sy.
"well your Honour, it was like this," he replied "When the lady sat beside me, I could not help but notice her condition, and she sat under a sign which read, "Use Sloans liniment to reduce that swelling"

 and I had to smile to myself.  Then she moved under a sign which read, "Gold dust twins are coming".

This made me grin.  Then she moved under a sign which read, "William's stick did the trick" I could hardly hold myself and then when she moved for the fourth time and sat beneath a sign which read, "Goodyear Rubber would have Prevented this Accident",

 I just laughed out loud.
"Case dismissed", said the Judge.

For the record. this joke came from My Grandma Hazel.

Results

This past summer I had the amazing opportunity to go to Halifax and walk where my ancestors lived and worked.  I was able to find more members of my family and a professional geneologist who specialized in the Halifax area.  Through the generosity of my dad we agreed to hire her for 6 hrs of her time.
I received the results on Friday... more questions about our family.

On one side it makes me feel better that for the past 30 years of combined effort from my Uncle Gary and Aunt Marion and myself trying to find more info a professional really struggled, on the other side I know we have a lot more to do to find our roots.

One thing that I have learned whilst researching is that having the right questions helps focus to find the right answers.  The info and questions that she posed are now a new way to look at trying to find more about our ancestors.

So, although the RESULTS were not what I was hoping for, I now know that the direction that I need to go will be a little different and perhaps that new direction will be what we need.


Here is the report:
First is the letter writen by a very competent and very good to work with Ginny Clark       don.clark@ns.sympatico.ca I highly recommend her.


Finally, here is a report of the search for information about the Bowie family in Halifax. I was not able to find very much new for you, which is the reason I kept on poking and procrastinating about writing up this letter. First let me say that I hunted for Bowie/ Bowes/ Bower/ Bowen/ Bouey or anything close; also I kept Cunningham and Callaghan in mind.


      I was hoping that I might uncover details about Margaret Cunningham or Johanna Kelly as requested by you. When I checked the Ancestry tree for James and Johanna I did not find very much other than the children you had listed for both couples. I started out looking for the marriage of William and Margaret with the hopes that I would at least find out where they were married and then maybe find her parents here in Halifax. I looked in all Halifax churches that have marriage registers for the early 1840s. However, I did NOT find any marriage information. If John Nelson was their first child, and if he was born in PEI as stated in 5 out of 6 sources, than one would suggest that his parents were married in that province, not Halifax. John says in all 4 census that he was born in PEI, only his marriage certificate says differently, born “Nova Scotia”; also his death certificate of 1917 confirmed PEI as well.


      PEI has a good collection of baptisms and marriages indexed on-line but I could not turn up any Bowie or similar name. You could perhaps hire someone on the PEI genealogist list [I recommend Robert Pierce or Bill & Elizabeth Glen] but I am still perplexed by the fact that you say you have a date for the marriage. If you could sometime have a really good hunt for the source, I would appreciate knowing, as it is driving me nuts! I attempted to check out the Catholic registers here, but they are very faint and although some are indexed, the pagination does not match anything we have on microfilm!


      We know there are Halifax and Dartmouth Bowes families, mainly in the printing business. So I steered clear of them, especially in the city directories as it was easier to pinpoint your Bowie family vs the Bowes family by Christian names and by where they lived. By knowing where your family lived, it helped me decide which churches they would have attended. We have the added complication of William being Presbyterian and his wife and kids being Catholic. I did find a Presbyterian baptism 1848 for a little James, but I am not sure it is the same family at this point. I did not find a burial yet for this little one, which would explain why there is another boy in the family [your James] born several years later 1851.


      I am also perplexed by the Bowie family in Antigonish as they have similar names and a British military connection, and then your James goes and married a second wife who was born in Antigonish….coincidence or connection? 
 
      Another puzzle, but one that I think does have a connection although I can't find it yet, is the James Wilson who was living with the family. Was he a cousin of some sort or just an old army pal of William's? You will note that he is in the same household with William and Margaret in 1871 and then with young Thomas and Elizabeth after their parents' death in the 1881 census. So at least the city directories confirmed that he was with the family…one son or another for many years, sometimes being labeled a boarder and never the other way around, so I don't think he owned the house. [I think the Bowie family rented as I didn't find a deed, but that doesn't mean they didn't buy it before or after the time I checked!]. I checked directories to see where and with whom the family lived. Sometimes spelling is not correct. It is common for the street numbers to change from year to year, but they are likely not moving each year, just inconsistent numbering of houses or poor directory reporting.


      Also very interesting is the early “marriage bond”, also on-line - for Jane Bowie who married Robert Bastie 1858….and who signed as a bondsman with Robert, but James Wilson! So Jane must be connected but whether she is the first child of Wm & Margaret, or a relative of Williams, I cannot prove. [She was born in Dublin].


      One bit I was able to get for you was the death records for the three little girls of James and Joanna, very sad. It does not say how but the first 2 died within weeks of each other, but it was probably a childhood disease. Why did you think that Mary and Agnes were placed in an orphanage? Was it because we found them in the 1901 census? [I couldn't locate them there now, but when Joanna died in 1892 there would have been three young boys in school but Mary and Agnes might have needed to be taken care of somewhere, like the Catholic orphanage. There is no mention of any daughters in James obituary although three sons are noted. If your John George went west in 1895 he would have been quite young. Perhaps he went to follow older brothers or cousins?


      I found the early children's deaths in Holy Cross RC cemetery. The “Halifax Catholic Cemetery commission” is on-line and searchable but awkward and slow. It doesn't limit the search to just one cemetery. Holy Cross is the earliest, with Mt Olivet starting in the 1890s, Gate of Heaven quite modern. I found Margaret Bowie but she is listed on the database as dying in 1973 and being cremated. [but was definitely in Holy Cross registers in 1873 and of course was NOT cremated.]This seems to be a problem for many names so keep an open mind for century mistakes! I tried looking for Kelly's but there just was not enough information to be sure I had any relatives of Johanna's. If you would like to work away at it [taking far too much of my time to continue] you could let me know of any buried nearby and dates and I could check it out further in the burial registers or obituaries. I will get copies of the cemetery registers for the little ones if you don't already have them. 


So I have posed as many questions as I have answered. Sorry! Read this over as well as the report of items I searched and let me know if anything jumps out.  I will be mailing a parcel with some photocopies, mainly obituaries. If you don't have the long form marriage licenses for James and his siblings, I can send them along as well. 



William Bowie   md c 1840  Margaret Cunningham
b.ca1807 Scotland   ?   b.ca 1816 Cork Ireland
d. 11 May 1877 Hfx      d.19 Nov 1873



issue:


[Jane???   b.ca 1839 Ireland md 1858 Hfx  Robert Bastie]
                                              Dublin

John Nelson  b.1842 PEI   md 1867  Ellen Byrnes/Burns
                  d 1917 Hfx  Hfx  b.ca1847 d 1891

William   b 1843 Hfx
                  d after 1881

Elizabeth  b 1848
                  d 1881?

[James?  bapt 1848]

James   b 1861 Hfx  md 1873 Johanna Kelly
                  d 1906 Hfx  Hfx  b.1854  d1892 Hfx
                                    Md 2^nd Catherine Macdonald
Margaret  b 1852

Frances  b 1854-55  md 1877 James W Keefe

Thomas  b1855   md  Margaret O'Donnell

 James Bowie  b 1861 Hfx  md 1873 Johanna Kelly                  d 1906 Hfx  Hfx  b.1854  d.1892 Hfx

      md 2^nd   Catherine MacDonald

Children:

Margaret Maud b. 1874
                  d. 1877 bur. May 30

Catherine  b 1875 

      d. 1877 bur June 6

Arthur Henry  b1875-77


Mary Magdalene     b. 1878
                  d. 1879 bur July 17

James William  1880 Aug.9


John George  b 1881-84         [to Alberta ca 1895]  
                  d 1969

Mary [Ellen]  1882      
            [orphanage ?]

James Patrick  b1887

      d1888

Agnes   1893 Jan 21  d.1923
            [mother died 1892 so should be 1892]

Bowie

NS Vital Statistics: on-line
marriages 1894#371: James is 40y bachelor, labourer of and born Hfx.
        & Catherine McDonald  spinster 37 born Antigonish
deaths Hfx County 1910 Catherine widow Maynard St

T. Punch “Religious Marriage Hfx City 1769-1841” and
H. Long's “NS Marriages 1769-1841” no Bowie/ Cunningham marriage.
NS Archives “Early Marriage Licenses 1848-1864”: no Bowie
On-line “Marriage Bonds” Jane Bowie md 1858 Robert Bastie. No further info but bond signed by James Wilson, labourer

AE Marble's Deaths, Burials and Probate in NS 1800-1841:
no William or Margaret Bowie that looked like a match.

Census:
1871 NS Census Halifax County: Halifax City
ward 3 div 2 p95 Margaret Bowie 35y b.NS RC Scotch  servant ---
living with Thomas & Margaret Fraser
ward 1 div 2 p 98: family of Wm & Margaret +6 ch  & James Wilson *copied
ward 6 div1 p64: John & Ellen Bowey & 2 children, John born PEI

1881 Census Halifax: online: John, James and families; Thomas and Elizabeth living with James Wilson, but no Wm or Margaret [dead] see also Robert & Jane Bastie
1891 Census Halifax: John & Ellen but couldn't find James and Joanna

Probate Records: Halifax County
mfm 19360 index to wills: vol.8: 1870-1877 vol 9: 1877-85  no Bowie
vol.10 1886-1915 no James Bowie
mfm 19381 index to estate files: vol 1:1750-1841:
      Bowie Jane, Hfx B108, William B109
      1842-1917: no Bowie
mfm 19397: estate files:
B108 Bowie, Jane LWT to son Charles, dau Lettice Wickham signed 1788
B109 Bowie William- merchant of Hfx d 21 Feb 1819. no wife/children, only sisters in Scotland, uncle Matthew Richardson, Hfx
No other Bowie

Registry of Deeds: Halifax County:
Vol. 2 1837-1851: faint but readable: no Bowie






Halifax Cemetery Records:mfm 12050 Holy Cross RC Cemetery
1871-1881 no William Bowie
*1873 Nov 22 Margaret Bowie 57y wife of William Bowie native of Cork
   [should be 47yr?]
*1877 May 30 Margaret Bowie 3y5m d/o James & Johanna Bowie b Hfx
*1877 June 6 Catherine Bowie  2y2m d/o James & Johanna Bowie  b.Hfx
1878 Dec 17 Ellen M Bowie 3m d/o Jno & Ellen Bowie b Hfx
1879 Jan 28 Henry S Bowie s/o John  Ellen Bowie b Hfx
*1879 July 17 Mary M Bowie  10 m d/o James & Johanna Bowie b Hfx
*[from on-line index only, not checked] James Patrick  bowie bu 15 Oct 1988[1888] s/o James & Johanna age 1y6m bu Holy Cross [cremated]
*1892 Nov 14  Johanna Bowie  41y wife of James Bowie b. Hfx

NS Vital Statistics: Deaths - online: [for cemetery]
Bowie James buried at Mt Olivet RC Cem 1906 mason
Bowie Catherine buried Heatherton, Antigonish County 1910


mfm 12048 Camp Hill Cemetery: indexed [did not check]
Bowie  Margaret   roll 1/26
    May     roll 1/496
    William   roll 1/1600
      William C   roll 1/496
      William Edm   roll 0/0

Index: St John's [Anglican] Cemetery: no Bowie
Wilson, JE     ---     ----   ---
      James-  1905 Dec 02 age 69y
      James M 1906 Jan 02    69y
      James Sutherland 1987



Obituaries     Acadian Recorder: *copied
Bowie Margaret 22 Nov 1873 p.3:
died 19^th short illness, wife of Wm bowie age 57y, native of Cork, res.53 Dresden Row
Bowie, William 14 May 1877 p3
died 11 May 1877 after illness, RA, 69^th yr, native of Paisley
      also Presb Witness: 19 May 1877 p160 same info.
Bowie James 26 Mar 1906 p3 and Mar.27 p 3 *copied
d. 25 March, bricklayer age 56y, died at VG hospital; next day paper:Died 25 March, 55^th yr, leaves widow and 3 sons.








Halifax Church Records

mfm 11485 St Josephs RC Orphanage:
baptisms 1894-1925 no Bowie [incomplete]

mfm 11512 St Marys RC: [indexed]
marriages 1830-1843:
p 149 married 18 Feb 1833: James Kelly s/o Edw & Catherine, Kilkenny
      & Joanna DeYoung of Eastern Passage d/o John & Barbara DeYoung
mfm 11506 St Marys RC:
marriages 1857-1873:
p146 James Bowie s/o William Bowie and Margaret Cunningham
& Johanna Kelly d/o John Kelly and Bridget Shea md Nov 1873
      witness Richard Hatchett and Elizabeth Bowie  *copied

mfm 11556 St Pauls Anglican:
marriages 1835-1845: no Bowie
1858 Robert Bastey, bachelor of this parish & Jane Bowie ---, of this parish,
      Md 17 Apr 1858. witness: James Wilson and Margaret Bastey

mfm 11473 St Georges Anglican:
marriages 1837-1847: no Bowie

mfm 15037 St Matthews Presbyterian: indexed:
Pg.263 baptism 24 Aug 1848 James s/o William & Margaret Bowie [no further info]
marriages, burials  1769-1856: no Bowie

mfm 15064: St Andrews Presbyterian:
marriages 1833-1849: no Bowie

mfm 11478 St Johns Presbyterian: [start 1843]
marriages 1843-1850: no Bowie




















NS Provincial Directories: Halifax City:  mfm 3368   h=house/residence  bds=boards
1864-65:
“Bowen”, William - waiter, bds 163 Hollis St
No Bowie
Wilson, James -h Wellington north South
      James - cooper, Black's Wharf
      James M- watchman, h 145 Gottingen St
      James - h 21 Birmingham St

Halifax City Directories mfm 3396-3403
1869-70
Bowie William -coachman h 22 Dresden Row
Wilson James -guard Provincial Penitentiary h 22 Dresden Row
1871-72 p 73-74 missing Bowie
Wilson J - turnkey, prov penitentiary h 24 Dresden Row
1872-73
Bowes William coachman - h 10 Church St
Bowie John- painter and carriage trimmer, h 24 Dresden Row
         William - h 24 Dresden Row
Wilson James -keeper penitentiary h 24 Dresden Row
1873-74
Bowes William - coachman to Col. Hornsby, Maynard St
Bowie John -trimmer  MJOB&CO --
Wilson James - letter carrier Maynard St
         James M - bookkeeper & grocer, 68 Maynard
[Dresden Row--no Bowes or Wilson]
1874-75 Bowie
James- mason, h 71 Dresden Row
John- carriage trimmer h Dresden Row
William- h 55 Dresden Row
Wilson- James coachman bds 55 Dresden Row
1875-76 Bowie
James- labourer h 201 Albermarle
John- carriage trimmer h 51 Dresden Row
William- h 53 Dresden Row
Wilson, James -labourer h 53 Dresden Row
1876-1877 Bowie
James- mason h 53 Dresden Row
John- carriage trimmer h 51 Dresden Row
William- h 53 Dresden Row
Wilson, James- bds  53 Dresden Row
1877-78 Bowie
Miss Elizabeth- h 53 Dresden Row r [rear]
James- mason h 53 Dresden Row
John- carriage trimmer h 49 Dresden Row
Thomas- tinsmith h 53 Dresden Row r [rear]
Wilson, James  h 53 Dresden Row





Halifax City Directories cont'd:

1878-79
Bowie Miss Elizabeth-h 53 Dresden Row
   James - mason h 16 Rotterdam
   John - carriage trimmer, h 49 Dresden Row
   Thomas - tinsmith h 16 Rotterdam
Wilson James -labourer bds 53 Dresden Row
1879-80
Bowie James -bricklayer h 216 Gottingen St
     John - carriage rimmer h 49 Dresden Row
    Thomas- tinsmith h Argyle St
1880-81
Bowie Ephraim - carpenter  h r 30 Lockman St
       James- bricklayer h Grafton St
      John - carriage trimmer, h 49 Dresden Row
      Thomas -labourer, h 9 Argyle St
  


1898-99: Bowie
Edward- tailor Clayton &Sos h 112 Queen St
James- mason h 79 Buckingham St
John- harness maker, Knight & Munro  h 174 Hollis St
John- employee DeWolf Son &Co bds Buckingham St corner Brunswick
William J- carriage painter bds 112 Queen St
1899-1900 Bowie
Charles -hostler Wm Parsons, bds 80 1/2 Gerrish St
Edward- tailor...h 38 Carleton St
James- - mason h 79 Buckingham St
John-.carriage painter bds Buckingham St cor Brunswick.
William J- carriage painter h 38 Carleton St

1900-1901 Bowie
Edward- tailor  h 38 Carleton St
James -mason h 79 Buckingham St
John -carriage trimmer h 266 Maynard St
William J -carriage painter bds 38 Carleton St
1901-1902
copied
James - mason h 79 Buckingham St

Huldah Ostlund Nelson

Huldah Ostlaun Nelson

This past week I had the priveledge to 'meet' a new cousin of mine.  He is the grandson of my grandma Mary Morton's sister Bertha Stone.  It has been a great pleasure getting to know him.  He sent me a picture of Huldah that I had never seen.

Huldah as a baby.

Huldah in her later years.

I really don't know much about her other than she was sick for most of my grandma's life and my grandma spent most of her youth nursing her.  My grandma was born Oct 12, 1916  and Huldah died the 1st of Feb 1930. Bertha was born 2 years after Mary and then Beth was born in 1923 so she wasn't quite 7 when her mother passed.
Huldah and Alonzo (Lon) meet when Lon came up from Utah in a cattle car with his brother Nels in 1904.  They married May 5, 1909 and purchased a farm one mile east of Stirling and made their home there.
Huldah's parents were Jonas and Bertha Anstrom Ostlund they were both from Torp V Norrland, Sweden.  They heard the gospel from LDS missionaries and were baptized there.  They immigrated to America and were married in Albert Lea, Minnesota December 4, 1974.  After the birth of their first child they moved to Elsinor, Utah, where Jonas owned and operated a store and was mayor.
In 1901 they moved to Stirling, Alberta where they built a lovely home.  Jonas was a successful farmer and also enjoyed growing flowers and various types of berries.  He was the first chairman on the town council and continued in that position for three years, 1907-1910.  He went back to Sweden on two missions.  Jonas and Bertha had nine children, four of whom died in childhood.
Albin 30 Oct 1875
Levi 3 March 1877 died 15 Oct 1877
Hjaldermar 14 Dec died 13 Jan 1942
Amanda 22 August 1880 died 5 Oct 1880
John Henry 14 Sept 188111 Jan 1989
Leonard 14 Sept 1881 died 8 Oct 1881
Daniel 24 Jun 1883 died 31 Dec 1931
Huldah
Clarence 12 June 1887 died 19 Aug 1946

I am very pleased that there will be a Nelson family reunion held this year in Stirling, AB.  It will be an excellent opportunity to get to know cousins and more about who we are and where we came from.  I do not have all the details.  I believe that it is from June 30- July 2.  Of course we all have to take in the Raymond parade.  I will have more details as the time gets closer.

Sarah Monson Whitehead Marriage- Alberta Part 4

I was married very young-just one month past 17.  I married William J. Whitehead Jr. who had been an  admirer of me and I of him for all our school days.  To this union we were blessed with five children:   Ross Monson, Connel Monson, Hazel, Willard DeLyle, and Boyd James. My life was never easy.   We came to Canada with my husbands folks in 1908, leaving all my people in the States.  The country  was new and we had nothing but ourselves and our dear baby boy Ross 1 1/2 years old.  There would be times when I felt I could not stand it or go on another day, however, I tried to  encourage my husband to stay with it and give it a fair trial, but in less than a year he had made  arrangements with a Mr. Johnson who came when we and his folks did and were leaving to return  to their old home in Idaho Falls.  I did not know of it until his plans were all made-so we parted  with all our earthly possessions and left with them by train for Idaho, me taking the whole blame  for him leaving.  We left here in February and went to our home town, Franklin, Idaho.  On the  28th of May the same year our second son Connel was born.  Ross being then 2 years and 9 months old.   It seemed like each baby brought all the love of heaven with it to our home and for me I asked no  greater blessing and could have been content with the material things of life as the Lord chose  to bless me with. We had a very cold winter following.  My husband walked 3 miles to work in the  Lewiston sugar factory and home at night.  We moved to a small 2 room apt.(lean-to) of a widows  home when Connel was 3 months old.  I shall never forget two things that happened there.  She  had at the back an old fashioned shanty, which most people did in those days- to use for a summer  cook kitchen while their families were all at home.  Sister Merrick used this for a store place to just  “put things in to get them out of the way”.  In the winter some kind person gave her a lovely fresh  ham when they killed a pig.  Of course it was kept in this shanty and was frozen so we would have  to cut a slice off for her when she needed it.  One morning as my husband was leaving for work at  5:30(very dark) I went to the door with him as I always did and noticed right away the door of the  shanty was open(there was no lock on it).  Later in the morning I went around to tell her about it and  I will never forget the look of suspicion  on her face as she said “Are you sure you don’t know who took  it?”  If she had sun a knife through my heart, she couldn’t have hurt me more.  I said, “Sister Merrick  surely you  don’t think we did.”  She said, “It has never happened before and you were the only ones  that knowed I had it.”  I think I cried the rest of the day.  She came in and found me that way and  tried in feeble way to cover up but she didn’t have love for anyone so it still hurt.  We had some member  of the bishopric come and investigate later in the day and where it was there was a showing in the snow  where the meat had been dragged thro the snow and traced it to the Bill Cherry home.  That was one  time I looked over something I never tho’t I could but I remember I never bought a bit of fresh pork for  a very long time.  She had the mane of being “nasty” to everyone. One night not so long after that she  knocked on the wall and ask me if I would bring the children in and she would make us a bed on her  Winnipeg couch in the kitchen.  It was bitter cold and the children were in bed(my husband was working  night shift).  I was a bit reluctant to disturb them but couldn’t refuse her, she seemed disturbed and  said she tho’t we would be warmer on such a cold night.  I consented and took my little ones (after  going around and making our bed in her kitchen) one by one, wrapping them in the flannelette sheet  they had on their beds and we took refuge in our new sleeping quarters.   As everyone else, or most  everyone did, she let her fire die out with kindling wood and coal ready to relight it in the morning.   Around 2 a.m. I was awakened by a faint call for help, a gurgling sound also.  I finally realized where  AI was and that Sister Merrick was trying feebly to awaken me.  I ran to her bedside and found her  gasping for breath in a choking manner.  I did what I could for her and then she became a little easier  and ask e to go for Ellen.  Ellen was a midwife and everyone’s nurse (Ellen Morgan).  I told her I would  make the fire first and put some water on to heat.  She wanted me to go but seemed reluctant to let  go of my hand.  I started out, it was a bright moonlight night when every star seems to stand  out alone.   I could hear my footsteps squeak in the hard snow path and just a bit lonely and fearful I made my way  to Ellen’s as quickly as I could.  I thought I should never be able to awaken her.  My pounding on the  door echoed thro’ the big empty house(I say empty as they had neither carpet or linoleum and very little  furniture in their home) the door was loose and rattled back and forth as I pounded.  I at last was  rewarded with a faint “Whose’s there?”  I gave her my message and she ask me to wait a minute .   The door was unlocked  so I entered and  told her I would have to hurry back, my responsibilities there  were urgent.  I was afraid the children would waken and not know where they were become panicky.   Also Sister Merrick needed me or may, and then my freshly lighted fire might not be just right so I  hastened back.  Everything was under control.  Ross was awake, he was a few mo. over three years  but as always he was lying there quietly wit his arm around baby Connel never making a sound of  complaint, as was his nature.  When he saw me he said “Where was you mama, I was afraid you was  lost.”  Ellen stayed thro’ the rest of the night, and as usual the Lord answered my prayers.  Tho’ I had  a patient on my hands for a few days  and a difficult one.  But she felt more her accusation of the meat  night.  We moved from her house in the spring to Brigham City, Utah. I liked living there very much.   The people were so friendly and hospitable.  That is where I met Lettie Cheney-Clin her husband and  my husband worked for the same orchard Co.  We lived in a duplex house and enjoyed our days together.   Her eldest child Glenn was just 3 or 4 months younger than Connel. Hazel was born when Connel was four  years old and then it was no question my happiness was complete.  Two fine little boys and now a girl.

If we could have looked at life the same way, their dad and I , no greater happiness could have been  me.  But life isn’t like that for me it seems. When Hazel was 2 months old, we moved a mile south of  Brigham City, rented a large orchard and there we lived a bout 2 years.  When the “moving bug” bit once  more and we were on our way back to Franklin, Idaho once more.  It proved to be as all other moves,  fruitless, as far as contentment and settling down were concerned.  So when Hazel was almost three  years old, 2 1/2 to be exact, Grandpa Whitehead come down to be with his mother during her last few weeks on earth, and he tho’t it best for us to come back to Alberta.  So we were on our way once more.  At that time I was taking care of my invalid mother and have many times regretted leaving her.   What greater mission could I have had.  But the teaching of wives cleave unto thy husband, which is in the Bible, once more prevailed.  I am a believer of that, if all try to make it worth the cleaving.  I also believe in “husbands cleave to thy wife”.

Teaching the Youth

https://lds.org/youth/family-history?lang=eng

Yesterday I had the awesome opportunity to teach over 140 youth aged 12-18 about how to research their family history.  It was great to see these youth trying to find their roots.  Many of them did not know the names of their great grandparents.  They were able to log in to newfamilysearch.org and access the records of their families if there had been names already entered.
Family history research is for all ages.
When I presented Elder Bednar's presentation to the youth one of his main points was that if you know where you came from, you know more about who you are.  Amen!!