One Hundred Years Ago

One hundred years is a long time and when you think about it the changes have been nothing short of amazing. I often hear people criticize the decisions and the actions of people in the past often by using the moral values of today. Yet our ancestors were the ones who built this country. I find that pursuing genealogical research is also a look into our own history. Perhaps also with a better understanding of how they thought.

London, Ontario, is situated roughly half way between Detroit and Toronto. John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of the new province of Upper Canada(which became Ontario) held back the land that would become central London as a possible capital of the new province. As a result, London is a fairly new city. It was not until 1826 that the site for a city was confirmed and the city laid out. It became incorporated in 1855. London was central to both branches of my family. My mother’s branch settled around and in London. My father’s family were on land about 40 miles to the west. By 1909 London had a population of somewhere between 50-55,000 people. Today it has a population of 457,000.

Three items held the interest of Londoners in September of 1909. Dr. Frederick Cook’s conquest of the North Pole, a fire that burned down two livery stables and a good part of a city block, and whether or not to increase the 10 cent fare on the Street Railway Company’s route to a favourite weekend picnic spot (Springbank Park) 3 or 4 miles away (The London Free Press, September 1&2, 1909). Sadly the railway no longer exists. It was sacrificed to the automobile after the Second World War, although I remember the tracks when I was a boy.

None of my grandparents were married in 1909. My maternal grandparents lived and worked in London. They were married in 1918. My great grandfather was a shoemaker in the village of Thorndale just north of London. The other great grandfather had died in 1892.

My paternal grandparents also had yet to marry. My grandfather was a farm labourer both in Ontario and during the threshing season in Manitoba. He was saving for a farm of his own. My grandmother was living with her parents in Detroit, Michigan. Her father was a blacksmith who work for the railroads. My other great grandparents farmed the land that my great great grandfather had pioneered in 1859 in Aldborough Township, Elgin County. My grandfather’s mother’s father was a Mennonite preacher in Elgin County. Bit unusual in a township full of hard shell Baptists- Eh!! Not movers and shakers but solid second and third generation working people.

The photos are from the London Free Press September 1&2, 1909. London has never been to this day the Paris of South-western Ontario fashion wise, and I am not so sure that that is not such a bad thing.

The Peckhams

My grandparents William Wallace Hillman(25 May 1881-25 Feb. 1966) and Corlena Peckham(1 April 1888-17 August 1983) were married on 25 December 1912. The Peckhams were an interesting family to research. Grandma’s father Orten(or Orton) Peckham was born in 1855 in Wellandport, Upper Canada and he married Margaret Turner(22 Feb. 1844-7 Jan. 1923) on 25 Oct. 1883 in Dunwich Township, Elgin County.

Orten’s(or Orton‘s) father was George Peckham(1831?-unknown) and his mother Corlinda Cribben(1836 Auburn, New York-13 Feb. 1872). Corlinda Peckham died in childbirth. Their children were:

Orten 1855-1935
Harriet 1858-?
Chauncey 1860-?
George 1862-?
Augusta 1865-?
Sarah 1868-?
Hiram 1872-?

For me Augusta seems to be a very interesting character. She immigrated to the United States in 1895, and as far as I can tell lived in Detroit. So far she seems to have been married three times, and managed to outlive each husband. I’m still digging for more information.

Canadian Copyright Laws

The Canadian Government has begun hearings on changing the copyright laws in this country. It is of great interest to those genealogists who are thinking of writing their research into book form. For example, Douglas Fevens found that his “Fevens- A Family History” was digitized by Google books without his permission. He writes in a letter to the editor to the University of Wisconsin:

“I wrote a book in 2004. It was not created to become a bestseller; only 200 were printed. But it was my book, about my family. I say "was" because the University of Wisconsin, in a commercial venture with Google Inc., has digitized it and now holds virtual copies, which I consider digital printing plates, and an infringement of my copyright.”
http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/letters/454959

David Canton a business lawyer and trade-mark agent writes in his blog E-Legal:
“The Federal government has just launched public consultations intended to lead to a new copyright reform bill. The last few attempts to revise copyright law have not become law - but have been highly controversial. This is an important topic that affects things we do every day. “
http://canton.elegal.ca/
How the new copyright bill evolves is of great importance to the genealogical community in Canada. Michael Geist writes in his blog “ In a nutshell, the government is asking Canadians to describe why copyright matters, how to ensure that reforms remain relevant, and what reforms would best foster innovation, creativity, and competition“. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4173/125/

Speak out on copyright changes by following Michael Geist’s new blog “Speak Out On Copyright” http://www.speakoutoncopyright.ca/ or join Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook Group.

It matters.

Latin Quarter 1945

Apparently, my mother's visit to New York was a little more riske that I thought. Not only did she visit two Broadway plays(reported in earlier blogs). There was also a visit to the Latin Quarter. Amazing what you can find when you go through your parents stuff that you never imagined existed.
The Latin Quarter is a magic name even for me. In the 1960's(when I was old enough to appreciate it) there was a Latin Quarter in London, Ontario. With waitress's dressed in bunny costumes, music by Johnny Down's orchestra, it was one of the romantic spots to take a serious date. The other was the Stork Club in Pt. Stanley.

Ancestry In Ontario Libraries

From the Ontario Ministry of Culture press release:
“We have completed negotiations for a two year license for Micromedia ProQuest’s Ancestry Library Edition. Ancestry is a genealogy research tool with data from census, military records, court, land, probate, vital and church records, passenger lists, etc. It covers Canada, the US, UK, and some European countries. The license covers Authorized Users of public libraries (i.e., library cardholders, walk-in patrons while they are on-site and library staff) through any workstation in any library branch. The product is not licensed for remote access“. 
All public libraries that submitted a participation agreement by an April due date should have been up and running by May 1st. Others will be added on a month to month basis. Its free(even though our taxes pay for it).
I tried it out at my local public library yesterday. Some of the search features a little different than the previous subscription. Other than that it’s the same old same old: however, I haven’t found a suitable alternative to ancestry that doesn’t involve wading through dusty moldy records. It is a two year agreement so use it or lose it people!

Newspapers In The London Area

For genealogists one of the primary sources for research is the local newspaper. Increasingly many of the major dailies are finding themselves online. Lots of luck for the newspapers of Middlesex and Elgin Counties. How are you with 20th century technology?
For Elgin County the Elgin County Library has microfilms of the St. Thomas times Journal, the Dutton Advance, and the West Lorne Mercury Sun.
For Middlesex County the London Public Library has microfilms of the London Free Press, the London Advertiser, and other smaller papers that were published in Middlesex County. The best and most complete microfilm collection is to be found at the University of Western Ontario. They just about have everything; however, be prepared to write notes as they will not copy any pages for you. For some reason the West Lorne and Rodney papers were put in the regional room separate from the other microfilms, and has gone missing. Darn they will steal anything nowadays!!

Steele’s and Thomas’s

My mother’s side of the family is an interesting one. Matthew Steele(1805-?) and Mary Ann Fletcher immigrated from Scotland to a farm in West Nissouri Township Middlesex County. Their farm was near the village of Thorndale just north and east of London, Ontario. They had five children Donald(b.1845 London-d. 10 December 1914 in Middlesex County), Archibald(b.1847-d. 28 July 1907), Andrew(b.1848-d.?), Laura(b.1841-d.?), John(b.1856-d.?). Donald Steele(my great grandfather married Mary Jane Coleman(b.20 June 1848 Middlesex County-d. 20 October 1933 Middlesex County). They were married 18 May 1881 in Middlesex County. Their marriage certificate shows Donald Steele as a shoemaker in Thorndale. They had two children William Fletcher(b. 15 May 1885 in Thorndale-d. June 1935 in London), Ethel Pearl(b. 1892 in Thorndale-d. ?). William Fletcher Steele married Hilda May Thomas 31 December 1918 in London. They had two children Audrey June(b. 15 May 1921-d.1989 in London), Cameron Fletcher(b. 8 July 1924 in London- d. sometime before 1999 in Hamilton, Ontario).
My grandmother’s family were from Cornwall. Her father Edward John Thomas(b. 1858 Cornwall-d. 13 February 1892 London), and mother Maria Gartrell Rickard(b. 19 September 1862 Callington, Cornwall-d. 2 June 1914 London, Ontario) immigrated to West Nissouri sometime around 1890 as they can be found in the 1891 Canada Census. There is some indication from their son’s census returns of 1911that they came via Boston. They had four children Arthur Edward(b. 17 October 1884- d.6 March 1919 of the influenza outbreak in London, Ontario), Maude Maria Beatrice(b. 2 July 1886 Cornwall- d. ?), Raleigh Ewart Cornelius(1889 Falmoth, Cornwall, England- d. ?). and Hilda May(my grandmother)(b. 29 April 1892 London, Ontario- d. 1970 London, Ontario).

The photo is of Hilda May and Maude Maria Beatrice 1918.