I used to hate Sundays. I had to go to Sunday school. I really didn’t understand why I had to attend because my parents just dropped me off. That’s right. They didn’t even go to church. And no one asked me if I wanted to go. After they picked me up, things got worse. It was homework time until lunch. Of course, I could have done my homework on Friday night but Fridays were reserved for movies on the television and reading in bed with a flashlight until all hours. And worst of all, some Sunday afternoons were for Visiting the Elderly Relatives. In my mind, my aunts and uncles were ancient. Plus ..read more

“Pop” Sherron and “Texas Betty” (his air-conditioned travelling mobile theatre bus) must have been a welcome sight whenever they pulled into small towns in and around Phoenix, Arizona, in the 1940’s. Sherron, my great-uncle, charged admissions of 40 cents per adult and 20 cents per child to enjoy “two feature picture comedies nightly” and “a different show nightly” on his travelling mobile theatre bus. Sherron’s Advertisement Flyer Roger Sherron (1895-1963) was a somewhat “reclusive” man or what one might consider a “hermit” and, according to a phone conversation with his nephew, his own famil ..read more

In the  Part 1 blog of “Honesty Pays Off” In the following linkhttps://genealogyensemble.com/2024/05/15/honesty-pays-off/we learned of the first leg of my father’s trip to Finland in 1934. He sailed aboard the Empress of Britain and spent some time in London before embarking on the second half of his journey to Petsamo Finland where he was instrumental in opening a nickel mine. Once Mond Nickel had prepared all the necessary documents, my   Dad set out from London to Helsinki, Finland, It would take two days by car, ferry, and train to reach Helsinki (where he most likely arrive ..read more

A piece of speculative genealogy fiction Antonia Willoughby, ancestor of Mr. Lumley Hodgson on his mom’s side.1 As is typical, I know little about the life of my great great grandmother, Ann Nesfield, a cook from North Yorkshire, UK except the basics: birth (1838), death (1912) marriage (1861) and children (10) but thanks to the Internet I know a great deal about her employer, Nathaniel Thomas Lumley Hodgson, a member of the landed gentry. So, just for fun, I have strung together this little fiction about my great great grandmother from some intriguing facts about Mr. Lumley Hodgson found onl ..read more

Can the trajectory of Canada’s development be shown in miniature by looking at the life of a small community on the shores of the Seine River between Winnipeg, Manitoba and Grand Forks, North Dakota? I hope so because the twists and turns in the nature of the town offer me hints about who my ancestors were and how they lived during a crucial period in the history of our country. The town, which is now known as Ste. Anne, has served as a haven for Aboriginal, Métis, French, Immigrant, and Catholic peoples over the years. It changed its name to match the most important value held by a majority o ..read more

In this article I refer to Robert Stanley Bagg by his middle name since it was the name by which he was best known. In other articles I have referred to him as RSB to differentiate him from his father, Stanley Clark Bagg (SCB) and his grandfather, Stanley Bagg. My great-grandfather Robert Stanley Clark Bagg, or R. Stanley Bagg (1848-1912), was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, however, working in the family real estate business was not what he really wanted to do in life. It wasn’t until after he retired that he was able to follow his true passion: politics. I never heard any ..read more

https://genealogyensemble.com/2024/03/28/heartfelt-losses/ For my last story, (link above), three children of my great grand uncle died within days of each other. I had tried to find which, if any, diseases were present in that year and area, but I could find none. Of course, diseases were present at all times in the 1800s with no vaccinations or protection available. The only way to find out the cause of the girl’s deaths was to obtain their Death Certificates which did not arrive in time to add to my last story. Now, I have received the girls’ Death Certificates from The General Register Off ..read more

“Of late she was somewhat weak in the mind.” This sad sentence concludes the obituary of Mary Boggie who died by drowning on September 6, 1884 when she was just thirty-four years old.1 Her death was a suicide and this one sentence tries to explain why. Of course, no one will ever know why she jumped off a cliff into the cold and inhospitable waters of the North Sea. What we do know is that it was a desperate and definitive act. Mary Boggie was Henry Boggie’s sister. Henry, my great-grandfather, was taken to court by my great-grandmother, Annie Orrock, in a paternity suit. He never lived with ..read more

– “Society Woman flees home in pyjamas after she elopes” – “Former Alberta Sherron keeps pledge with Dr. D.B. Cooper” – “Slips down sheet ladder in Germantown darkness as parents slumber” The Philadelphia Inquirer dated November 18, 1927, covered my great-aunt’s private life in great gossipy detail for its hungry readers. Alberta Sherron (1906-1992), my grandmother’s younger sister by 13 years, was just a girl in love at 21. Her 29-year old dentist boyfriend must have been equally enamoured as they couldn’t wait for the expected high society wedding that their well established families would ..read more

In January 1929, my Dad drove west to Tiger, Colorado where Royal Tiger Mines had hired him. It was his first job after completing his engineering studies. He was employed there for a mere two weeks. His honesty cost him his job. A page from the Mariner  Harbor High Yearbook 1923 My Dad, Kaarlo Victor Lindell was born November 14, 1905, and grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, the son of Finnish immigrants where Finnish was spoken in the home. He attended Ashtabula Harbor High School. He was a go-getter. He went about town reading meters, ran the projector in the local movie theatre, worked as an ..read more