Decorating My Genealogy Christmas Tree

Genealogy Mystery: What Happened to Cyril (Charles) De Meulenaere?

Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy is posting her Top 10 Genealogy Mysteries, and encouraging others to follow suit with their own.

You can read her Genealogy Mysteries at Top 10 Genealogy Mysteries

Here is my Top Genealogy Mystery: What Happened to Cyril (Charles) De Meulenaere?

My great grand uncle Cyrillus (Charles) De Meulenaere was born in Tielt Belgium in 1888. On 27 February 1937 he died in Detroit Michigan. The family lore has always been that he was killed - stabbed to death outside a bar in downtown Detroit.

Here is what I've been able to find out about Cyril (Charles):

• November 1915: Border Crossing states his last permanent residence was Berlin Canada (now Kitchener Ontario) and he is heading to Detroit. Has no relatives there
• March 31, 1916: Joined the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Forces) during WW1. Says he was born in 1881 (a lie) and living in Berlin (Kitchener) Ontario
• June 5, 1917: Joined the American Expeditionary Force. Says he lives at  2166 Mack Ave, St Clair Michigan and works for J. A. Cornille (of Cornille Bros) driving a team of horses.
• May 15, 1919: A document from the US Pension service states that Cyriel was discharged from service on May 15, 1919, and provides the date of his death as February 27, 1937. His name is written as Charles Demenllenere & Demeulenere. 
• September 3, 1932: Cyril/Charles attempts to cross from USA into Canada at Windsor. Says he is going to visit brother "Arthur" [Note: this is actually his brother Archie] in Bridgeport Ontario. Lives Detroit Michigan, American, sister Marie in Tielt Belgium. He was REJECTED.
• February 27, 1937: Cyril dies in Detroit Michigan
• March 1, 1937: his brother Archie tries to go to Cyril's funeral in Michigan but is deported. Archie's son always said that his father was escorted to the funeral by officials (Border Guards? Police?) and then taken back to the border and deported. 

I contacted Mt. Olivett Cemetery , Detroit Michigan where Cyril is buried. Here is their information:

Cyril Demeulenaere

Date of Death: FEBRUARY 27, 1937
Cemetery: Mt. Olivet Cemetery
Location: Section 44, Tier 25, Space 84

The cemetery owns the grave and buried him for free due to a financial hardship of some sort.  They did not have an address of where he lived at the time.  Below is all the information that the cemetery had for him:

Date of death - 2/27/1937
Date of interment - 3/3/1937
Funeral home - VanLerberghe
Church - Our Lady of Sorrows
Age - about 48 

Next step was to contact the funeral home and the church.

VanLerberghe Funeral Home answered re Cyril's death:

Cyril Demeulenaere
Age 45, passed on February 27, 1937
Born in Belgium
Buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan
Funeral Services held at Our Lady of Sorrows Church on March 3, 1937 at 10am.

Our Lady of Sorrows Church burned down 1963 but I found the new church where the parish and the records went. They also replied to my email with this information:

Our Lady of Sorrows death records indicate that Cyril Demeulenaere died on February 27, 1937 and was buried March 3, 1937,at Mt.Olivet cemetery here in Detroit following a mass at Our Lady of Sorrows celebrated by Rev. H. Syoen. There is no further information listed.

I would like to know exactly what happened to Cyril!  There are two things I am hoping for:

1. An obituary or death notice or newspaper article about Cyril's death on 27 February 1937. I'm willing to bet there is a write up in a Detroit Newspaper. If anyone has access to these papers, I'd be very grateful for help.

2. A photo of Cyril's grave at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

Homeless Man Arrested for digging in historic Salem graveyard

A historic Boston graveyard was vandalized recently when a man managed to dig about 4 inches into the ground of a grave, exposing the original headstone. A new stone had been placed on the grave and the original laid flat and buried with the grave.

The graveyard, which dates back to 1637, is supposed to be locked at night, but rarely is. Read the full story at Homeless Man Arrested for digging in historic Salem graveyard

The Coffin Plate Of Frank Brown 1899

Frank Brown 1881~1899

Frank Brown

Died Nov 11. 1899

AE 18Yrs 10Mos 10Dys

For more coffin plates go to

http://ancestorsatrest.com/

Important ancient tomb discovered in Greece

The Tomb

For the past few years archaeologists have been working on excavating a massive burial mound not far from the ancient city of Amphipolis in Greece. Located just 370 miles north of Athens and dating from the era of Alexander the Great, many have speculated that one of Alexander’s military commanders or family members may be buried inside. Archaeologist Katerina Peristeri dates the burial tomb to between 325 B.C. and 300 B.C. in the era just at the end of the reign of Alexander the Great. Archaeologists have not yet entered the tomb but expect to in the next few days.

King Richard III to be burried in Leicester Cathedral

King Richard III

Officials have finally decided on the re interment details for the remains of the 15th-century English ruler King Richard III.

His remains will be laid to rest on Thursday, March 26, 2015, in Leicester Cathedral during one of three services to honor the English king.

The king's remains, which were found under a parking lot in Leicester, England, in 2012, will be placed in a tomb made of Swaledale fossil stone and black Kilkenny marble crafted by Michael Ibsen, a descendant of King Richard III's sister Anne of York. 

The Wine Cup Of Pericles

A ceramic wine cup that is believed to have been used by Classical Greek Athenian statesman Pericles has been found in a pauper's grave in north Athens. The cup was found smashed into pieces but after piecing it back together, archaeologists were amazed to find the name "Pericles" along with the names of five other men.

Pericles

Experts are sure that the cup was used by Pericles, as one of the other names listed is that of Pericles elder brother Ariphron. The name Ariphron is extremely rare so having it listed above that of Pericles makes a strong case that these are the two brothers.

Pericles died of the plague in 429 BC. The cup is to be displayed at the Epigraphical Museum in Athens.

Militants blow up Prophet Jonas’ tomb in Iraq

The monument to the purported burial place of the prophet Younis was erected around 1393

In a sad act of vandalism The shrine of Jonas – revered by Christians and Muslims alike – has been turned “to dust” near Iraq’s Mosul.

Ancestor Death Record Finder now available as an E-Book on Amazon

Lorine McGinnis Schulze of The Olive Tree Genealogy has just published!   3 Guides to help you find alternate sources for  Vital Statistic records. If you want to have a peek, here are the links for each guide. Oh and did I mention they are only $1.15 each?

Also, you don't need a Kindle reader to read these. The Kindle Cloud Reader is free and it allows you to read any Kindle book on your computer  and the free Kindle Reading App works on your smartphone, tablet and computer.

Ancestor Birth Record Finder: Tips on Finding a Birth Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall is available on Amazon as an E-Book for only $1.15

 Ancestor Marriage Record Finder: Tips on Finding a Marriage Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an E-Book on Amazon for only $1.15

 Ancestor Death Record Finder: Tips on Finding a Death Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an E-book on Amazon for only $1.15

You can also see a list of all Olive Tree Genealogy's published E-books on the Author page

Twenty-five skeletons found on farm

Archaeologists have unearthed more than two dozen skeletons in what is thought to be an ancient cemetery at Chester Farm, near Irchester.
It is hoped the exciting discovery may shed further light on the 2,000-year-old Roman settlement and give another glimpse into what life was like in Roman Britain.

Read More About The 25

Living With The Dead

HIDDEN between tomb stones and ancient crypts, this Filipino graveyard has become an unlikely living city for poverty stricken families.

North Manila Cemetary in the Philippines is home to more than 10,000 people too poor to afford rent in one of the most densely populated places on Earth.
Originally home to caretakers, the living population of the cemetery started to grow as generations hit by poverty moved into their family crypts, sleeping with the deceased remains of parents and grandparents.

Read More

 

Skeletons of war dead from 11,000 BC go on display

Oldest War Dead

Lying on their sides, curled together, the two skeletons on display for the first time at the British Museum look peacefully laid to rest. But the razor-sharp stone flakes scattered around and among the bones are the remains of ancient weapons, with a myriad breaks and slash marks on the skeletons. The two are among the oldest war dead in the world, men who died a brutal death after violent lives 13,000 years ago.
The cemetery they came from, on the banks of the Nile in what is now northern Sudan, is famous among archaeologists: dating from about 11,000 BC, it is among the oldest organised burial grounds in the world. However, the finds, including the shattered bones of scores of men, women and children and the remains of the weapons that killed them, have never been exhibited before.

Read More About War Dead

The 'oldest tree in Europe' discovered in a Welsh cemetery

5000 year old yew tree in Wales

I don't normally blog about trees (well perhaps Family Trees) but as this one is in a cemetery its worthy of note. Experts say a yew tree found in St Cynog’s churchyard in Wales, is probably Europe’s oldest living thing.

The tree is more than 5,000 years old, that's 3,000BC. It started growing about 500 years before the Pharaohs in Egypt built the Great Pyramid of Giza. And it was a sapling at about the time work first began on building Stonehenge.

If only it could talk.

Down syndrome in medieval France

The 1500 year old skull of a young girl with Down Syndrome

New research by archaeologists in France have discovered what is believed to be the oldest case of Down syndrome in the archaeological record. Archaeologists had originally discovered the skeleton of a young girl aged about 6 years old in 1989, when they excavated it along with 93 other skeletons from a 5th to 6th century cemetery located near the Abbey of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes in northeastern France. Researchers had suspected at the time of the excavation that the child may have had Down syndrome, but they believe they can now confirm the diagnosis.

End of the World in in Ancient Egypt

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an epidemic in Egypt so terrible that one ancient writer believed the world was coming to an end.

Read More About The Epidemic

The Coffin Plate Of William Burke 1898

The Coffin Plate of William Burke

This simple coffin plate is for William Burke who died at the young age of 12 in the year 1898. Its not a fancy or expensive coffin plate so I would say that Williams family were not wealthy.  

The Oldest Pants in the World

The Oldest Pants in the World

A team of scientists has recently discovered the worlds oldest pants in some ancient tombs in northwest China. Radiocarbon dating puts them at 3,000 to 3,300 years old.

I wonder if my Levi's will be around in 3,000 years.

Eight decades in the wrong grave: Map collection helps solve family mystery.

WW1

For 84 years, Private William Phillips was missing, lying underneath another man's headstone.

The soldier was killed in the final months of the war, when the front lines were moving quickly. He was buried on the battlefield near Bray-sur-Somme, but when the graves were moved into cemeteries in 1919, he was recorded as missing, his body classified as an unknown soldier.

 
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Remains of 40 Confederate soldiers discovered in Virginia cemetery

Their remains sat, unmarked, in shallow graves at the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Va., for decades. Now, some 150 years after the Civil War, the bodies of 40 Confederate soldiers discovered over the past two months will receive a proper memorial.

Read More About The 40 Confederate Graves

Large mudslide reported at Baltimore cemetery

In what could have been a very upsetting event, video captured Thursday a huge mudslide at Western Cemetery in Baltimore. The video shows several headstones that were dislodged. Some ended up at the bottom of the mudslide. Officials at the cemetery stated that no graves were damaged.  They said while some tombstones were dislodged, the area where the mudslide occurred was where those tombstones are stored.

To read more about the mud slide at Western Cemetery in Baltimore go Here

Were Ancient Romans poisoned by lead?

A Roman Lead Pipe

Some historians argue that lead poisoning plagued the Roman elite with diseases such as gout, and may even have hastened the Empire’s fall. How far the gigantic network of lead pipes used in ancient Rome compromised public health in the city is unknown. However, lead isotopes in sediments from Portus – the harbour of Imperial Rome  – register the presence of a strong anthropogenic component during the beginning of the Common Era and the Early Middle Ages.

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Coffin Plate Of Emanuel C Beam

Emanuel C Beam

This coffin plate for Emanuel C Beam is without a date but we can tell from the style of plate and the frame it is displayed in that it dates from around 1880~1890. The photo was taken in Washington NJ so I went and had a look in the 1880 USA Census and found Emanuel living in Mansfield, Warren, New Jersey.

1880 United States Federal Census

Emanuel Beam born 1868. Son of Joseph and Mary living in Mansfield, Warren, New Jersey.

 For more Coffin Plates try Ancestors at Rest

GGGGGGREAT Gramps was a Neanderthal

Is he in your family tree?

Neanderthals and modern humans, tens of thousands of years ago, had sex with each other in Europe and Asia. For this reason, we as modern humans still carry Neanderthal DNA in us. Researchers from Edinburgh University and Wageningen University come to this conclusion based on a comparative statistical analysis of DNA from Neanderthals and humans.

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Saxon bones are significant archaeological discovery

Bones unearthed by landscape gardeners laying a driveway at a house in Purley have been hailed as a significant archaeological discovery after it was confirmed they are at least 1,200 years old.
The skull and thigh bone discovered in Riddlesdown Road on April 14 have been analysed by experts who say they are Saxon and date back to between 670 and 775AD.

Read More On The Saxon Bones

Sharing Memories Week 12: Gardening

Olive Tree Genealogy blog has a Genealogy Writing Challenge. It's 52 weeks of writing your own memoirs.  Lorine will be posting a weekly prompt each Sunday on Olive Tree Genealogy blog under the topic Sharing Memories

The first week's prompt was about Kindergarten. You can read Lorine's blog post for the first week at Challenge: 52 Weeks of Writing Our Memories - Kindergarten Days

This week's prompt is Gardening

For some reason I didn't inherit the Gardening gene that runs in my family. My paternal grandparents loved to garden, as did my great grandfather Massey. My grandparents always had a huge vegetable garden chock full of tomatoes, potatoes, even asparagus.

My parents always had a vegetable garden and grew their own tomatoes, beans, onions, cucumbers and more. My sister is the same. But not me. I hate weeding and all the work involved. The sun is too hot, the bugs are thick, all in all it's not fun.

Flower gardens are the same thing. Many of the females in my family have beautiful gardens. In fact my mother's garden was on a Gardening Tour in town. I appreciate how great their gardens look but it seems like an awful lot of work!

The only kind of gardening my wife and I do is a small herb garden. That's my wife's thing but I help out with watering. Other than that, I keep away from it!

52 Ancestors: Crabby Uncle Bill Massey

I'm writing about my Uncle Bill Massey as part of Amy Crow's Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks .

 

Bill Massey in WW2

Every family has its characters and one of the characters in my family was my Uncle Bill. Everyone called him Groundy but I don't have a clue how he got the nickname or what it meant. A life-long bachelor, he was one of the crabbiest people I ever met! 

He was my grandfather's brother and was the second oldest of 9 children. I remember Uncle Bill vividly because my grandfather took me to visit him frequently. But I didn't know him well at all because I was very young and he never spoke to me, nor did I speak to him. I just sat and listened. He probably didn't care for children much. And I was only 13 when he died.

What I remember most is the image in my head of him at the kitchen table drinking with my grandfather. Uncle Bill was a heavy drinker and always had a whiskey nearby. His house was almost empty of furniture but he kept it very tidy and clean. I remember sliding in my sock feet on his hardwood living room floor. You could get a good run at it and slide a long way as nothing got in your way. Everything had its place and nothing was ever moved.

His early life is a mystery to me but someone once told me he worked at the St. Mary's Cemetery at some point in his life. I have a vague memory of being told that he once lived in a trailer by a gas station. It seems sad to not know anything more. 

He volunteered in WW2 and I was told that he drove a jeep in Europe as the driver for a film crew. But the one and only time I asked Uncle Bill if he ever got any medals, he scowled and told me it was all a bunch of "BS". So I never asked again. My grandmother told me that the only time Bill talked about his time in WW2 was when he was very drunk. 

While Bill was a life-long bachelor I know that during the war he had a girlfriend. It didn't work out but he must have cared for her very much because he kept her photograph until he died. I now own this photo but I don't know her name.

Uncle Bill was an amateur woodworker and a blanket box that he made is in my house. 

When I was 13 years old, Uncle Bill died of a heart attack while shovelling snow. His death came as a shock to me because he was a family character and as such you figure they will always be around. In some ways he is still with us because he's one of the members of our family whose name comes up most frequently when I'm talking with anyone else in the family. Everyone remembers Uncle Bill.

More ancient skeletons uncovered

 

Black Death

Yet another clutch of ancient skeletons has been uncovered during excavations for the Crossrail transport project in central London. It's thought that the group of skeletons dates from the time of the 'Black Death' - the plague which wiped out about a third of the British population in the middle of the 14th century.

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The Coffin Plate Of Elizabeth Scafe 1878

Elizabeth Scafe Coffin Plate

Elizabeth Scafe

DIED

June 2 1878

Aged 23 Years

For more Coffin Plates go to Ancestors At Rest

Coffin Plates

Sharing Memories Week 17: One Ringy Dingy Two Ringy Dingy

Olive Tree Genealogy blog has a Genealogy Writing Challenge. It's 52 weeks of writing your own memoirs.  Lorine will be posting a weekly prompt each Sunday on Olive Tree Genealogy blog under the topic Sharing Memories

The first week's prompt was about Kindergarten. You can read Lorine's blog post for the first week at Challenge: 52 Weeks of Writing Our Memories - Kindergarten Days

This week's prompt is One Ringy Dingy Two Ringy Dingy  All about telephones.

When I was little all the phones were rotary dial. I don't know if pushbutton phones had been invented but no one I knew had one. I imagine there are lots of young people who have never seen or used a rotary dial telephone.

My mother told me that when she was a little girl they had an old-fashioned crank phone and were on a party line. She said everyone on that line listened in on everyone else's conversations. You had to memorize your ring (2 short or 1 short 2 long for example) as everyone on the party line had their own ring.

My grandparents had a party line and I could never figure out whether or not we were supposed to answer it. I couldn't remember our pattern of short and long rings. But that didn't matter because my grandparents didn't believe that children should be answering the phone anyway.

My grandmother, who lived in a very small town, was an operator for Bell Telephone for many years. I remember her telling me how the operators liked to listen in on other people's phone calls even though that was strictly against company policy. She said that way they knew all the gossip. So if you are worried about Google and big tech companies looking at our stuff online, guess what? It's been going on forever, just in a different format!

Credits: "Vintage Telephone" by Daniel St.Pierre on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

52 Ancestors: Oscar Massey Accused of Stealing Rifles in 1919

March 1919. Pueblo Chieftan

My cousin 3 times removed was Oscar Massey. He was born in Colorado in 1893. While researching him (because I research all siblings of my direct ancestors) I found some interesting news articles about him being arrested in 1919.

It seems that in March 1919 Oscar and a buddy Grover Roberts were arrested and charged with stealing rifles and pistols from the Sante Fe Railway. Oscar got off eventually but I've never been sure he didn't do it. I think it might have been a case of having friends on the jury and being well-known and liked in the town.

In any case here's his story in newspaper clippings:

 Accused Burglars Attend Courts of Numerous Degrees Prisoners, Charged with Robbing Box Cars Arraigned before Justices (News Article)

Date: 1919-04-05; Paper: Pueblo Chieftain, published as: The Pueblo Chieftain

Jury is Picked to Try Oscar Massey (News Article)

Date: 1919-05-24; Paper: Pueblo Chieftain, published as: The Pueblo Chieftain

Massey Freed of Burglary Charge (News Article)

Date: 1919-05-25; Paper: Pueblo Chieftain, published as: The Pueblo Chieftain

The Coffin Plate Of Florence A Moise 1877

Florence A Moise Coffin Plate

Florence A Moise

DIED

Feb 22nd 1877

Aged 34 Years

For More Coffin Plates Try Ancestors Ar Rest.com

Sharing Memories Week 10: Movie Time!

Olive Tree Genealogy blog has a Genealogy Writing Challenge. It's 52 weeks of writing your own memoirs.  Lorine will be posting a weekly prompt each Sunday on Olive Tree Genealogy blog under the topic Sharing Memories

The first week's prompt was about Kindergarten. You can read Lorine's blog post for the first week at Challenge: 52 Weeks of Writing Our Memories - Kindergarten Days

This week's prompt is Movie Time!

The first movie I remember going out to see was Star Wars. That was around 1977 and I went to the Drive-In with my sister and her boyfriend. I was only 6 years old and I fell asleep in the middle of the movie!

The first movie that I saw all the way through without falling asleep was Star Trek The Motion Picture around 1979. My sister took me to see it and since then my sister and I have gone to see every single Star Trek movie together. It's a tradition.

My parents weren't movie goers and I don't remember going with them to see any movies. I do know that the last time my parents went out to the movies was in 1973 to see Robert Redford in The Sting!

Credits: "Popcorn" by Salvatore Vuono on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There Are One Million Buried In Mass Graves On A Forbidden New York Island.

Heart Island

Most New Yorkers don't even know it exists. But a million forgotten souls are buried in mass graves dug by convicts on a tiny, forbidden island east of the Bronx.
Since 1869, still-born babies, the homeless, the poor and the unclaimed have been stacked one upon the other, three coffins deep, on Hart Island.


Read More

Free Civil War Records on Fold 3 Until April 30

  To remember the commencement of the Civil War in April 1861, FOLD 3 invites you to explore all records in its Civil War Collection for free April 14–30.

Explore Civil War documents featuring everything from military records to personal accounts and historic writings. Soldier records include service records, pension index cards, “Widows’ Pension” files, Navy survivors certificates, Army registers, and much more. Other record types include photographs, original war maps, court investigations, slave records, and beyond. Items such as the Lincoln Assassination Papers, Sultana Disaster documents, letters to the Adjutant General and Commission Branch, and the 1860 census are also contained in the Civil War Collection.

Confederate-specific records include Confederate service records, amnesty papers, casualty reports, and citizens files, as well as Confederate Navy subject files and Southern Claims Commission documents.

Join Fold3 in its commemoration of the Civil War. Discover information on famous participants as well as your own Civil War ancestors through documents, photos, and images that capture the experiences and vital information of those involved in America’s deadliest conflict. Then commemorate your ancestors by creating or expanding memorial pages for them on Fold3’s Honor Wall 

 

Archaeologists Discover 3,300-Year-Old Tomb in Israel

Israeli archaeologists are announcing the discovery of a tomb, which contains bronze and ceramic artifacts, and a ceramic coffin, from the Bronze Age, some 3,300 years ago.
Inside the tomb archaeologists found a small golden scarab inscribed with the name King Seti I of Egypt who is believed to be the father of Ramesses II. Many of the other items in the grave suggest that whoever was buried in the tomb was Egyptian, however there is also some Canaanite items so it is not clear who the tomb was built for.

Rita Balloni Coffin Plate 1919

The Coffin Plate Of Rita Balloni 1919

Oct 1, 1919

Rita Balloni

Aged 83 Years

For More Coffin Plates Go To

S. R. Turley 1896 Ledger Book, Culpeper Virginia ONLINE

Great news. The S. R. Turley Ledger Book from Culpeper Virginia for the year 1896 is now online and available for download as a PDF file. There are 5 files total on the Ancestors At Rest website.

There are many names of customers in this one-of-a-kind ledger book. Each page has a customer name and the list of items purchased that year plus the cost. Some customers have more than one page of items. It's very interesting to see what food cost in 1896 and what an ancestor was buying!

S. T. Cornwell in the image on the left, bought eggs, candy, oil, flour, socks, shoes and more. One pair of shoes cost $1.15 that year.

In some cases, one page has several customer names on it, such as the page on the right. If your ancestor lived in Culpeper Virginia in 1896 there's a good chance you will find his or her name in this gem.

I had a quick look for some of these names and found several of them living in Prince William County, Virginia. It seems Mr. Turley was a very bad speller as many seem to be phonetic representations of the person's name.

For example there is a "Page Bumery" buying laundry and gloves on one page. However his real name  is Page Bumbery. We also see "Tasker Fisher" and "Georgiana Fisher" A search of the 1900 census shows a black man Tasker Fisher and his wife Georgia in Prince William County, Virginia. 

All pdf file downloads are freely available. I am scanning adding the ledger books I own as quickly as he can, so be sure to keep checking on Ancestors At Rest for updates

52 Ancestors: Great-Grandmother Myrtle Massey Had a Difficult Life and an Early Death

The Sandercock Family in 1916

I don't remember my Great Grandmother as she died many years before my birth. She was born Myrtle Louisa Sandercock on October 29th 1895 in Middlesex County Ontario. She was the only girl in a family of seven children born to Samuel and Ann Sandercock.

At some point before her marriage to my Great Grandfather John Massey in 1913 the family had moved to St. Marys Ontario. I do not know how John and Myrtle met each other but John's father Thomas worked for the J.D. Moore company who just happened to own the building right next to the hotel that Myrtle worked in so that may have something to do with it.

Myrtle with a tray at the hotel in about 1910 - 1913

At her marriage Myrtle was just 18 years old but her life was not going to be easy over the next few years. Myrtle and John had their first child in May of 1914 and over the next 16 years she would have a total of 9 children. But 1914 would also bring the start of the Great War - a war that would see her two oldest brothers killed and her father sent home due to ill health.  Myrtle was particularly close to her brother James who was killed in 1918. I still have a letter James sent to his sister in 1918 that she kept until her death.

Of course there were the usual struggles for Myrtle and John as well. Money was in short supply as it was for many. John always worked but with 9 kids what he made did not go far. I remember my Grandfather telling me how when he was older and had his first job his mom would resort to taking coins from his stash that he kept in a cup in his room. He shared this room with his 8 brothers. He never said anything to her about it as he knew she needed it.

So the Great War of 1914 - 1918 saw the death of her two oldest brothers. The 1920s were a struggle for her, being pregnant and nursing young children most of the time. The 1930s brought the great depression and then to top it all off 1939 saw the start of another war. A war poor Myrtle had to see her own sons take part in. I am sure she could not help think about her own brothers who died in the first war as she watched her own sons go off to the second. 

John and Myrtle about 1942

Myrtle died at the young age of 49 in 1944. My grandmother told me that "Myrtle was doing the washing in the morning. She told her husband Jack that she was not feeling well and went to lie down and never woke up. It was a brain aneurysm"

Her Funeral card reads:

"Entered into rest suddenly at her late residence, Water St. South, St. Marys on Monday October 2, 1944, Myrtle L. Sandercock, beloved wife of John Massey in her 49th year. The funeral: Resting at the above address where funeral service will be held Thursday October 5 at 2p.m. Interment in St. Marys Cemetery"

St. Marys Journal-Argus, October 5, 1944, p.4 - Obituary - Mrs. John Massey

Stricken suddenly on Monday morning in the midst of her daily work, Mrs. John Massey, formerly Myrtle Sandercock, died in her 49th year at her home on Water St. South.  She had been in apparent good health and on Sunday had gone on a walk and on Monday she started her washing as usual.  Around 8:30 she was unable to continue and died about two hours later.
Born near Prospect Hill, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Sandercock who reside in the West Ward, she had lived in Lucan before coming to St. Marys as a little girl.  Here she attended both Public School and Collegiate Institute, and 30 years ago married John Massey who is employed at Maxwell Ltd.  She was a member of St. James Anglican Church and had been among the first members of St. Marys Home and School Association.  She was a faithful worker for Red Cross objectives.Mrs. Massey was the devoted mother of nine children, four sons being in the Services: Charles, in the Army at Debert, N.S.; Pte. Bill  Massey in France; Pte. Cecil Massey in England; John with the R.C.A.F. at Jarvis; and Kenneth at home;  Mrs. C.J. Langford(Marjorie) and Mrs. G.E. McKinnon(Helen), both of St. Marys; and Dorothy and Evelyn at home.She also leaves four brothers: Jack, in the U.S. Army; Harry, overseas; Wilbert of St. Marys and Frank of Detroit; besides four grandchildren: Tommy and Jimmie(twins) of St. Marys and Billy and  Jimmie of Kingston.The funeral service is being conducted this afternoon at her late residence by Rev. M.H. Farr of St. Paulís Anglican Church, Stratford, with interment in St. Marys Cemetery.

Oswego, Oswego County, New York Samuel Stevenson Saw Mill Ledger Book List of Electors

Oswego County, New York Samuel Stevenson Saw Mill Ledger Book List of Electors

 
This is a 1850s ledger book from a saw mill in Oswego, Oswego County, New York that I now have online in PDF format. The book starts in 1858 and ends in April 1859. The ledger contains 8 pages of great genealogical and historical information for Oswego, Oswego County, New York.
The original owner of this this book was Samuel Stevenson. I found Samuel Stevenson in the 1860 United States Federal Census for Oswego, Oswego County, New York.
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: Samuel Stevenson
Age in 1860: 38
Birth Year: abt 1822
Birthplace: New York
Home in 1860: Oswego, Oswego, New York
Gender: Male
Post Office: Southwest Oswego
Household Members: Name Age
Clinton Stevenson 23
Clarasa Stevenson 23
Lewis Stevenson 5
Clara Stevenson 7.12
Samuel Stevenson 38
Ellen Park 18

This ledger book is a fantastic one-of-a-kind genealogy resource for Oswego County, New York.


 List Of Electors Oswego New York.

Ledger Books Index

Interviewed on The Genealogy Professional

Marian Pierre Louis interviewed Lorine of Olive Tree Genealogy a few weeks ago for her ongoing podcast series called The Genealogy Professional. If you haven't been listening you should. Marian has interviewed some fascinating bloggers and genealogists around the globe. 

Her Podcast interview and biography can be found at TGP 18 Lorine McGinnis Schulze – Focus on New Netherland

Bernville, Berks County, Pennsylvania 1863 to 1870 Haag, Kline & Co Ledger

Bernville, Berks County, Pennsylvania 1863 to 1870 Haag, Kline & Co Ledger

I now have the Bernville, Berks County, Pennsylvania 1863 to 1870 Haag, Kline & Co Ledger online in PDF format. This great old ledger book is from Haag, Kline & Co in Bernville, Berks County Pennsylvania. Bernville is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The ledger starts in 1860 and ends in 1870 and has over 300 names. I had a look in the 1860 United States Federal Census and found a few of the folks that are listed in this ledger. Some of the Berks County names you will find in the Haag, Kline ledger are Adams, Becker, Burkhard, Bright, Bressler, Baus, Bickel, Boyer, Bassler, Brossman, Bentz, Bean, Bear, Berger, Conrad, Cummings, Derr, Daniel, Ernst, Fisher, Fox, Groff, Haag, Hix, Kalbach, Kauffman, Miller, Reed, Shutz, Shade, Snyder, Taylor, Weaver to name just a few.

 If you want to have a look go to
 Haag Kline Ledger Book

If you would like to see the index to all my ledger books go to
 Ledger Books Index