AWWWWWW

A friend sent me photos of puppies. Should have made this one a wordless Wednesday.

I promise to use proper citation in all my reports. So help me dog.

John Hillman and the Rebellion of 1837

Amazing what you can find if you keep on digging. It would appear that John Hillman (1819-1906) was in the militia.

West Kent Militia; 2nd. Kent Militia: St. Clair Volunteers Pay List, 1838.

This is taken from a transcription by the Lambton Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, 1989. The original is found in the British Archives.
The St. Clair Volunteers included men from Zone township. For John Hillman this is the right geographical area. In 1838 he was in Zone. An interesting footnote is that apparently he could not read or write. He made his mark !

Wordless Wednesday - John David Hillman & Family

John David died in 1936 so this photo was taken before then. I still have to get the women in the back row straight; but I can identify some. From left to right bottom row - Lena Hillman (Peckham), William Wallace Hillman (My grandfather so I know I have that right), John David Hillman, Hannah Hillman (McKay), Henry Hillman. From left to right top row - second from left is Olive (Hillman) Dare, the man is Charles Bruce Hillman, next to him is his wife Hope Hillman (Lougheed).

Recent Keyword Searches

As in my other blog “Veterans Of Southwestern Ontario” I looked at recent keywords that linked to my blog. Interesting. Most seem to be historical rather than genealogical searches. I suspect hat a good deal of the searches are for school essays. It is interesting also to look at what search terms link people to the blog.


1.where were the hillmans from

My paternal ancestors were from Westbury in Wiltshire, England. Now if you look at the maternal ancestors starting from me it gets far more varied. English (from all over hell’s half acre), Scots (from the highlands to the lowlands. Apparently being a Scot was good enough for my ancestors), Cornish, German (the Rhineland via Pennsylvania to Ontario), and Dutch (via New York State to Ontario). If you start from one of my sons then throw Ireland into the mix. Which goes to show that the male Hillman is not choosy.

2.elgin county great depression

A big topic here, and not a lot available online. It looks like a library search. One thing that I have noticed is that there is a difference in the effect of the depression upon the rural areas as opposed to the cities.

3. world war 2 in elgin county

In a word - prosperity. With the “Commonwealth Air Training” came jobs and investment. Farmers received good prices for their produce, and at the same time coped with a labour shortage. Young men and women joined the armed forces. Conscription divided the urban and rural voters. As with the Great Depression you will not find a lot online so its library time again !

4. fenian raid effects

Locally very little. Nationally a great deal. Young men flocked to their local militia units, and several units were sent to Windsor or Sarnia to guard the borders. In fact, a good time was had by all.

5. hillman family history prince Edward Island

As far as I can tell not this Hillman family.

6. london history of latin quarter

I assume here we are talking about the restaurant/ballroom. I do have previous blogs on the Latin Quarter. The building is gone now but the memories continue.

Happy 91st. Dad !

Johm A. Hillman born January 10, 1920 in Rodney, Ontario. Happy Birthday !!!!

Christmas Memories Part 4 ( I think my counting is right?)

Ah ! Christmas morning and its 5 am., but who’s watching the clock? Time to check out the loot! First drag Mom and Dad out of bed - not that they can sleep through the whisperings any way. First we had to have breakfast ( personally I think that this was mom’s punishment for getting her up so early). Then we grouped around the Christmas Tree while Dad, whose job it was, handed out the Christmas presents. The rest of the morning was spent playing with our gifts, and checking out who got the largest haul. In the early sixties I would be found curled up on the sofa reading my latest Hardy Boys’ adventure.


In the afternoon we would be bundled up and hustled over to Grampa and Grandma’s. By the late fifties my grandparents had sold their farm, and relocated to London to be near Aunt Verna who was wheelchair bound. For my family this was a short trip while the rest of the clan drove down from Chatham. Looking back I suspect that the daughters-in-law did not have much of a choice. December 25 was also Grampa’s birthday, and my grandparent’s anniversary. Grandma was the boss.

The grandchildren did not object. There were thirteen of us, and on the whole we got along very well. The oldest kept the youngest entertained. I remember that grandma (ever the farm woman) put on a feast that probably could have fed a 30 man threshing crew with food left over. What I and my siblings remember the most is the hot fresh home made bread. I have tried over the years but never quite duplicated it.

We came home in the evening a very tired bunch.

We were not a church going family. That became, for me, an activity later in life. For us it was the dinners at our grandparents with the entire family of parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Christmas Memories - Part 3 (I’m pretty sure it is !)

What did we want for Christmas in the late 1950’s ? In a ten year olds’ mind a religious holiday be damned this was about the toys ! Of course, it also was about anything else you could haul in. By the 1960’s I was far more interested in girls, dinner, and girls. Pretty much in that order.


This is not an exhaustive list. At this stage I can not remember everything. I did not pay much attention to what my sisters’ got, although I can remember two or three things. I can not remember at all what Mom and Dad got for each other. I do remember that my sisters’ felt it was a huge joke to buy Dad a pair of the wildest boxers that they could find usually two or three sizes too big for him. I wonder what he did with them ? He must have had a half a dozen pair.

The most popular toy that my brother and I played with throughout the fifties was an electric train - Canadian Pacific, of course.

A hit for the whole family was a hockey game. I doubt that any Canadian household at that time did not have one. I was usually the Toronto Maple Leafs, and my brother the Montreal Canadians - sibling rivalry.

Archives of Ontario

Slinky was a must have.

Archives of Ontario

I had a set of Roy Rogers pistols in the early fifties - I would have preferred the Cisco Kid.

Board games were popular. As a family we would sit down and play. Activities that are missing in today’s world. As I remember, my sisters were a heck of a lot more ruthless than either myself or my brother.

As for my sisters, I do remember their first Barbie doll. Probably because they were so hell bent on getting one.

One of my sisters, and I forget now which one, had Mr. Potato Head.

Finally there was the Hula Hoop. Even tried it myself once. I was not very good at it.

Had I known that she was a Hula Hooper I would have practiced.

By 1960 interests changed, and I was into the Hardy Boys. That was what would be found under the tree for several years after. I wonder what ever happened to that collection?