Annual Conference the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO)

I took the day off work today to attend pre-conference workshops for the 17th Annual BIFHSGO Family History Conference in Ottawa.

I missed Lesley Anderson's presentation "I can't find them anywhere -- effective searching, sharing and collaborating with Ancestry."  While I'm sure I could have learned a great deal from Lesley, I wanted to attend Kyla Ubbink's presentation "Storing and Preserving Family Archives and Artifacts."  Kyla is a local conservator with whom I've chatted at previous conferences.  Her talk gave us an excellent overview of the dangers that our archives and artifacts face in our homes as well as practical tips to ensure we store them in a manner that will avoid further degradation.  In addition to suggesting specific products and suppliers for archival storage and conservation, she offered hands-on demonstrations.  Kyla warned us that conservation requires patience, and the hands-on work cannot be done in a bad mood.  Sometimes you need to put the project down for the day; other times you need to take it straight to the professionals.  I can see a certain meditative benefit to cleaning off "old book smell" page by page with a soft brush, but I learned the hard way that removing staples is not my forté.  I must wait for a propitious day before attempting the dental floss technique to remove photographs from the old magnetic albums.

My afternoon session was Linda Reid's "Introduction to English and Welsh Family History Records."  Linda provided an excellent handout which summarized her key points and recommended resources.  Clearly it's time for me to start looking for English parish records for Sweetie's Burrows family.  In her talk, Linda showed how to use several key linking records to fill in a pedigree chart.  It's the same exercise that I took the Bean through earlier this year.  She may only be eight years old, but it's never too early to learn the importance of citing sources for the information on our family tree.

I had a few hours to kill before the evening lecture and spent much of it taking advantage of the resources at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), where the conference is taking place.  In its Canadian Genealogy Centre on the third floor, LAC has some databases prepared by the Société de généalogie de Québec with 20th Century Quebec marriages and deaths.  I was able to find Sweetie's Gita's second marriage as well as his Grandad's second and third marriages.  (Hmm, that may be a worrisome theme?!)   I was also able to confirm Grandad's death, which may now allow us to request his Canadian military records.

The Don Whiteside Memorial Lecture this evening was given by local author and columnist Phil Jenkins.  Phil's presentation, "Thanks for the Memories," was a thought-provoking (and musical) discussion of the potential for ancestral memory or the passing down of ancestral traits.

If you're in or near Ottawa this weekend, you may want to head to LAC, downtown on Wellington Street at Bay.  Walk-in registrations are available.

The conference continues Saturday and Sunday and there will be many interesting topics presented, this year focusing on England and Wales, and particularly on London and the Home Counties. 

If you see me there, come say hello.  And check out the BIFHSGO blogging buzz at Anglo-Celtic Connections, by conference co-chair John Reid, as well as the BIFHSGO Blog, and Elizabeth Lapointe's Genealogy Canada Blog. 

Before I close, I must extend my thanks to the BIFHSGO volunteers that make the conference a great success each year. 

Canada's Census 2011 -- Just say Yes!

Well, I've submitted my census questionnaire for 2011.  To all my Canadian readers:  please, please say "yes" to the question at the end requesting permission to share your census information in 92 years.

For those of you who have been researching your family history for some time, you know how useful census information can be for tracking our relations. 

I thank the censuses of Canada, the United States, England, Ireland and Wales for telling me:

• That Mino Bertolo came to Canada in1903 and was naturalized in 1907.
• That the uncle Patrick Moynihan went to Andover to live with was his mother's brother, William Harnedy.
• That my great-grandmother Margaret Leahy (neé Regan) had 12 children, not 11.  So there's one more baptismal record to look for.
• That Margaret's father-in-law Patrick Leahy was still alive in 1901 and was blind but still fluent in Irish.
• That Jno Lawrence is John Lawrence.  Who knew John needed a short-form?!
• That our Burrows family lived primarily in and around Bampton, Devon. 

I want to help future researchers, so I said "yes" to the StatsCan question.  I'll share my census information with future generations.

Will you?

Y is for Yeo

In 1912, Florence Burrows, daughter of James and Lucy Jane Burrows, married James Yeo in the Crediton District of Devon, England.  She was about 24 years of age.  Not long afterwards, Florence and James moved to Australia and her brother Alfred joined them before the outbreak of World War I. 

I would love to tell you more about their life in Australia and any family there, but there is little that I know, other than that they had a sheep farm on which Alfred worked before he enlisted in the Australian Expeditionary Force. 

I can tell you that Yeo is a common Devon name.  It derives from an old word for stream or small river.  Many Yeo families moved to Australia.

If you are researching the Yeo name, I suggest you check out the work of Mrs. Sheila Yeo of Devon at:

• the Guild of One-Name Studies Yeo One-Name Study, and
• the her site Yeo Family History and One-Name Study.

She has links to a number of helpful databases and sites, including information on a Yeo DNA Study, Yeo excerpts from civil records, short biographies of Yeo branches in Australia, even lists of Yeos killed in the wars.

X is for X Marks the Spot

Where eXactly was Martha Burrows born?

Let's start with an easier question:  who was Martha Burrows?  She was my sweetie's great-great-grandmother.  We think that she was Martha Perry before marrying James Burrows.  She was born around 1825 and had at least seven children:  Alfred, Samuel, Mary, Emma, James, Ellen and Ann.  She died in 1907.

But where did she come from?  All I can confidently say is that she was born in Somerset, England.  Here's what the census records tell us that she was born:

• about 1824 in Bathaelton, Somerset, according to the 1851 and 1861 Censuses of England, when the information was presumably given by her husband James as head of the household.
• about 1826 in Milverton, Somerset, according to the 1871 Census of England, when she would have given the information as head of the household (she was widowed by then).
• about 1825 in Hurstone, Somerset, according to the 1881 Census of England, information again from herself.
• about 1825 in Wiviliscombe, Somerset, according to the 1891 Census of England, where this time the information as likely given by her son-in-law Henry Cottrell.
• and finally about 1825 in Ashbrittle, Somerset, according to the 1901 Census of England, where the information would likely have been provided by her widowed daughter Emma Parsons.

That's five different birthplaces in six census returns.  When I first started tracing her, I wasn't even sure all these Martha Burrows were one woman, but I believe that they are.

Eventually, I looked at a map.  Hurstone was tough to find.  It doesn't appear to be a village or hamlet but a house or school near Waterrow, not far from town of Wiviliscombe.  The rest are villages and civil parishes forming a crescent moon shape in the far east of Somerset county, England very close to Devon.  All are now part of the Taunton Deane District but were formerly in the Wellington Rural District of Somerset.

I've noticed my West Cork relatives giving a variety of places of birth.  Having been born on a farm in a small townland, they gave the name of a nearby town when asked their birthplace.  I know to expect Bantry, Durrus, Schull and Ballydehob from the Moynihans.  I can imagine that if Martha was born in the country she may have done something similar, giving the name of any of the neighbouring villages.

It is frustrating to know that I may never track down where exactly she was born.  It was before civil records.  I did once find a possible Martha Perry on an index of Wellington District baptismal records.  I'll have to track that down, once I am more certain Perry was her maiden name.

TIP:  Consider the source.

I should take this opportunity to note that genealogists are frequently faced with conflicting information.  When a birthplace is given in a census record, it is considered a primary source when the information is provided by someone who would have first hand knowledge of the individual's birth, such as the person's parents.  Otherwise, it is generally a secondary source.  A spouse, child, in-law or employer may or may not know the correct information about an individual's birth.  Even the individual herself may not know her own birthplace if her family moved when she was very young.  Looking at Martha's six census records, I would tend to put the most weight on the information given when Martha herself was the head of household.  Yet Hurstone (near Waterrow) and Milverton are as far apart as any of her reported birthplaces get.

So, I must confess, X does not mark the spot.  I've spent hours researching and don't yet know eXactly where Martha was born.

Do you know?

Q is for Quotations, Familial Quotations

You’ve heard of Familiar Quotations. Here are some Familial Quotations.

Marital Advice
James Moynihan, to his daughter on her wedding day, "Now that you’re married, you’ve got to make the best of it." Initially I found that sad, but after twelve years of marriage I see it as wise. I only want one marriage. I picked the right guy. Now let’s make the best of it. If you look at the Bean, you’ll see we’re on track.

Luisa Bertolo, to one granddaughter on her marriage, "Feed your chickens in your own yard so they don't go pecking in the neighbours yard!"  She told a great-granddaughter to never let a man have all the money and to not let them drink or play cards. She told another granddaughter never to marry a drunk or a loud mouth.

Cooking Advice
Helen Kazuke, when asked how much of an ingredient to use in a dish, "enough."

Lina and Luisa Bertolo, "eat, eat!"

Familiar Sayings
Luigi Bertolo, whenever we arrived at his house, "What’d you bring me?" When his brother Frank died years later, I could see him being met by Louie at the Pearly Gates with the same question.

Floyd Freamon, almost any day, but especially during an energetic game of Pass the Ace, "great gobs of rat shit!"  And a favourite of one granddaughter, "bless your pea pickin' li'l heart."

Mary Freamon, "well, shit."

Gordon Burrows, after a sneeze, "God bless my pointy little head." Or when confronted by something sticky, "that sticks like shit to a woolly blanket." During a long, detailed reminiscence, "but he’s dead now."

Luisa Bertolo, "mamma mia!" and "eh, what you goin' to do?"  Then there is "mannaggia!" and my personal favourite, "accidenti!" both of which are roughly the Italian equivalents of "darn it."

The Unexpected
Vanda Moynihan, after a couple of weeks in Italy, thinking back on buying a bunch of gifts in Loreto, "Kathy, I think we got hosed on the rosaries."

James Moynihan, after I confessed to kicking a hole in the wall (aiming at my brother), "well, that’s a fine kettle of fish."

Kevin Moynihan, in response to his father’s suggestions for repairing a fan on a wonky stand, "I do NOT need a screw!"

Gordon Burrows, a man known for long stories and corny jokes: "We were so poor, my parents had to cut a hole in the front of my pants to give me something to play with." That’s a nice one to use on your son’s new girlfriend. Lucky for me, I’m not easily frightened.

Last words
Lina Bertolo, from her hospital bed, days before her death, "Kathy, I’m finished."

Gordon Burrows, as the priest finished praying over him, "Amen," which means "so be it."

And here is one final bit of advice from Ma, Luisa Bertolo:  "go to church."  You can start this Sunday.

D is for Devon

Sweetie's Burrows family comes from Devon, a county in the west of England.

His grandfather Alfred Burrows was born in Cheriton Fitzpaine, Devon, a village about halfway between Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks.  Two of his brothers were born there as well, but his father James and two eldest siblings were born in Bampton, Devon.  Bampton is located close to the Somerset border.  Alfred's mother Lucy Jane Ayre was born farther west in South Molton, Devon.  James Burrows' parents were born in Somerset, but moved to Bampton before 1851.

Burrows is not an uncommon name in Devon, and the spelling Burroughs is also found. However, according to Guppy's List of Devon Surnames, the names Burrow and Burrough are more common in the county.

Devon is known for Devonshire cream, which I highly recommend on scones.  Agatha Christie was born in Torquay, on the south coast of Devon, and set several of her books in the county.

A is for Addiction

I recall reading that people addicted to cigarettes are eight times more likely than non-smokers to have gotten a buzz from their very first cigarette.  Not me; I could never talk myself into inhaling.

I have another addiction:  genealogy.  And it appears to be contagious.

Recently, my little one (the Bean) has been asking to use my account on the laptop so she can use my Ancestry account to search for records about our relatives.  She wants to stay up to watch Who Do You Think You Are too.  She's hooked.

It's happening at work too.  One lunch hour, I was looking up a photo J had seen, to see if with my account we could find more info on the photo and who posted it -- it seemed to be a crop of an old family group shot she had at home.  Then in a mere 15 minutes we found a bunch of info about ML's grandfather's many marriages and even more siblings.  Next thing I knew, ML was spending five hours each evening on Ancestry, forgetting to have supper!

It made me think about when my Sweetie got the bug.  My dad had been corresponding with distant Leahy cousin in the States and Iwould print our cousin's emails for dad and send dad's stuff back to cousin.  Sweetie saw this all going back and forth and thought he'd look into his side of the family.  So he did what everyone should do as a first step:

TIP:  Start with what you know.

That wasn't a whole lot.  He knew the Burrows family was English and that his grandad, Alfred, had fought in WWI for Australia.  On to step two:

TIP: Ask your parents.  WHILE THEY'RE STILL HERE! 

It was a Sunday morning and the Bean and I were heading out to the mall.  Sweetie called his dad and learned:

• Grandad was born in Devon, England
• His siblings were Florence, Ernest, Albert and Sidney.

That was pretty much it.  Sweetie asked what Grandad's parents names were.  His dad only knew Alfred's mother.  They called her "Granny Burrows."

It wasn't much to go on, but to my surprise, by the time we got back from the mall, Sweetie had identified Granny's first name, Lucy, and his place of birth on Grandad's enlistment papers.  Then he'd gone on Ancestry and found the family living in Devon in the 1901 Census of England -- easy peasy, there was the family with a mother Lucy and all the right children named.  And bonus: Alfred's father was named James.  We had to subscribe to Ancestry to see more details.  And within a day or two, we had traced James back to his parents, James and Martha, and then traced widow Martha forward through the years.

It may be some gene somewhere that determines if you will become quickly addicted to cigarettes, but my theory is that with genealogy, the addiction comes from the perfect mix of instant gratification and challenge.  For many of us, just an hour of searching will turn up interesting information we never knew.   It's into that second hour that you start to feel like you're searching for a needle in a haystack (thank goodness I have very few Smiths in the family)!

The buzz from finding something new, erases the frustration of the searching.  I'm feeling a bit like a lab rat as I write this. I'm probably not the first to observe this phenomenon.

My name is Jim's Girl, and I'm a genalogiholic.  I hope you are too.

A to Z Challenge Preview

I'm in Washington now, limited to 30 minutes at the hotel computer, but I haven't forgotten my commitment to the A to Z Challenge.  I have prepared.

Through the month of April, every day but Sunday, I will be blogging about a topic beginning with a letter from A to Z.  Here is a taste of what's coming up.  Hope you will be back to read them:

• This being a genealogy blog, the first post is going to be "A is for Addiction."
• Stay tuned for "B is for Bannia" where I'll share a summary of the parish census from Bannia, a frazione of the Comune di Fiume Veneto in the Friuli region of Italy.  The census is from 1895.  Friends and family from Sault Ste. Marie will recognize many of the families.
• "C is for Caherolickane" -- it's not just hard to say, or even a pretty background picture.  Writing this blog helped me figure out a bit more about one leaf on the family tree.
• "D is for Devon" -- that's Devonshire, where the cream comes from, and my favourite Burrows gents.
• "E is for Ellis Island" -- if you're researching your family tree in North America, chances are you'll find one of your peeps coming through Ellis Island.

More to come.  I'm still deciding if F will be for Fano, where my grandmother was born, or for Uncle Frank's first marriage.  What do you think?  G is definitely genetti cookies (thank you Aunty Anna).  And there is much more to come about the Moynihans, Burrows and others in my family tree.

If this A to Z challenge intrigues you, please check out some of the other 800!! bloggers also covering A to Z through April.  You can find links to their sites on the Tossing it Out blog.

And any of you who ever have to pack a lunch or feed a little one, please check out Kim's blog The Lunch Box.  I first learned of the Challenge on Kim's site.  I can't wait to see what delicious and practical suggestions she'll have for us through the A to Z Challenge. 

So long from Washington.  Come on back Friday, April 1 for the beginning of my genealogical take on the A to Z Challenge.