Canadian Carnival of Genealogy - Sadly, William Boyd made the news

 This Canadian Carnival of Genealogy is "a carousel" meaning we can talk about anything in Canadian genealogy that we want. Now that is more challenging than I would have originally thought. Sometimes, it is easier to come up with something to say when you get a word prompt.  When looking for ideas, I go to my photographs that are in my scanned files. Yeah, I found something.

William Boyd  - Now William Boyd is not a relative but he was the husband of my first cousin thrice removed, Maria Taylor.William was the son of James Boyd and Catherine Hartrick. William was born in Markham Township. The connection goes like this: William Boyd married Maria Taylor who was the daughter of James Taylor and Caroline Hemingway and the grand-daughter of Josiah Hemingway and Anna Stiver.

William Boyd about 1885

What is interesting about William Boyd is how he died. His death registration says that he was a constable and he was killed by a prisoner.

William Boyd was raised in Markham Township near Belford and he became a merchant.  During the mid-eighties he became a County Constable. He and Maria had four children: Mary, William B., Robert and Blanche. In 1891, they were living in Toronto

On the fateful day, June 4, 1901, William and three others were escorting three prisoners to jail  William was unarmed. The prisoners were part of the "Chicago Bank Robbers" aka "The Rutledge Gang" and they had been brought from Chicago and tried for robbing the Ross Bank at Aurora. An accomplice "tossed a hat containing three revolvers into the carriage and Rice and Rutledge had gained possession of two of them and turned them on Constables Boyd and Stewart, who were riding backward in the carriage, facing the prisoners."

Boyd was shot, the bullet had entered his skull above his right ear and entered his brain. He died about an hour after arriving at the hospital.

For more details on the day read details on the York Regional Police Association website.William Boyd is also remembered on the Toronto Police services web site. If you have any relatives/ancestors that died in the line of duty as police officers, you may be able to find information about them on the Internet, newspapers and in books.

Although, the family had only wanted a small family funeral service, representatives of the police service were there. The public lined the streets as the cortege passed.

What happened to the prisoners? They were all caught.
Thomas Jones died from not his bullet wounds but from the rough treatment from his fellows partners in crime.
Frank Rutledge, after being found guilty of robbery, jumped to his death knowing that he would be tried for murder.
Fred Lee Rice was tried and convicted of murder and was hung on July 18, 1902 at the Don Jail.
More on these individuals can be found in this appeal

More information can be found about the three men on a site that gives information about those who received the  death penalty in Canada. 

I don't expect that you will find any relative on this site but it is interesting to read some of the entries in this database. If you discover you have some black sheep in your family history, do a search, you may be surprised on what you might find. The Desperate Ones: Forgotten Canadian Outlaws by Edward Butts is another source of information on Canadian outlaws. It gives a detailed account of the Rutledge gang and the death of William Boyd. (an excerpt can  be found on Google books)


Back in 2003, I had an email from a relation of William Boyd who had found my Stiver website. He provided the photo above and has kindly given me permission to post this photo. Thank you Shane.
© 2009 Janet Iles

Kreativ Blogger

Cheryl Fleming Palmer over at Heritage Happens awarded me with the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks Cheryl for your support and visits to my blog.

 The rules as I have been told are to tell you seven things about me and to award it to seven genealogy blogs.

Now the seven things are supposed to be about something you don't know about me and that I am willing to share, of course, on the Internet. As we write more and become friends with many on Facebook, this is more difficult to do, so some of my readers may already know the following:

1. I have three shelves in my office dedicated to language related books, such as dictionaries, lexicons, grammar books in English, Spanish, German and French.
2. I taught public school French for two years, but not for the same school board.
3. I lived on a farm for one school year while I taught for the Central Algoma Board of Education.
4. I like cows.
5. I belong to a book club.
6. I have many projects on the go.
7. I love to sit and look at water but I can't swim.

At this point, I am to name 7  blogs to get the Kreativ Blogger Award.  I am going to have to do that later. I have work calling to me.


© 2009 Janet Iles

Creative Gene: Carnival of Genealogy, 84th Edition

Creative Gene: Carnival of Genealogy, 84th Edition

The most recent edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted by Jasia. Thanks for organizing it by the number of postings people have made to the COG and the personal comments you made for each one. Your encouragement is always appreciated.

If you have never read any of the postings of any of the other writers, this carnival of genealogy will give you an idea of what is involved and the types of articles that are written. If you are a genealogy blogger, be sure to give it a try, it is lots of fun.

© 2009 Janet Iles

Wordless Wednesday - Allan Gardens II

© 2009 Janet Iles

The Glass Castle

Our church book club is going to discuss The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls tomorrow. Jeanette Walls in her book shares her family's story.



No matter what happens in our lives and in the lives of our ancestors, we all have stories to tell even if they are not as dramatic as that of Jeanette Walls. 
© 2009 Janet Iles

What the Carnival of Genealogy Means to Me

What the Carnival of Genealogy has meant to you is the challenge of this Carnival of Genealogy.

The COG has been published twice a month for over three years now, 83 editions thus far! It's covered a wide variety of topics and introduced many, many new bloggers and even a new carnival. Here's an opportunity to look back and reflect on when you first discovered the COG and when you first participated in it.

1. What was your favorite topic to write about?

2. Have you guest hosted the COG?

3. Is there an article you've read in the COG that stands out in your mind?

4. What have you learned from reading or writing for the COG?

5. Have you ever recommended the COG to anyone?

6. If you haven't participated in the COG thus far, why not?

7. How has the COG helped your family history research?

8. Has it impacted your life in any way? 

 Jasia has really challenged us with these questions.
1. Favourite Topic - Do I have to pick one? I can't pick just one but favourites so far are:
Who would you invite to dinner  - Guess whose coming to dinner
Tribute to Women - My Great Aunt Margaret
A Place Called Home

There are more that I love. The ones I enjoy the most are those where I can include some photos along with the stories and the research.

 2. Yes I have hosted one - the last COG on musical instruments. It was fun and I certainly appreciate the work of other hosts.

3. I can't select one article that jumps out but I  have learned much from the writing of others: the different experiences and traditions of their family and different ways to present the informaton. I have laughed and cried when I have read the stories. I always hope that no one telephones when I am reading one of the articles that have touched me deeply. They might not understand why I am crying about someone I don't even know.

4. I have learned that I like to write. It helps to have a challenge and a topic presented that I might not thought would be a topic to include in the family history. It is good to have deadlines, otherwise I might not get it done.

5. Not to write but to read.

6.doesn't apply

7. The one way I think that the COG has helped my family history is that it has taken me beyond the researching of names but has added a greater focus on the stories. It has also got me looking through the photograph albums to see what photos that I have that relate to the topic of the day. The articles will give me material to add to the family history. The recent topic of Disasters had me thinking of historical events in relationship to my family and ancestors/relatives. I wrote about the Spanish flu. The research for that will give me material for an article for the local historical society.

8. Community would be the one word to sum it up. I had read a few COG articles before I started to participate. I had started the blogging in July 2007 at work. During Advent 2007, I participated in the Advent Calendar of Memories hosted by Thomas MacIntee but it had been first announced by Jasia. Having enjoyed the participation in that event, I was ready to jump on board to the COG. The COG has introduced me to new to me blogs and to the wonderful people who write them.

I have participated in 31. My first was back in January 2008 when the topic was Making Connections with Living Relatives

poster by fmMaven

Thanks Jasia for this topic. It has made us think about what the COG means to each one of us. I look forward to reading the postings of other participants.

© 2009 Janet Iles

Remembering Their Service to Our Country

"These five brothers in uniform are the sons of Mr. and Mrs. William Iles, 795 Seventh Avenue East. Their father served in the first great war. "Pte. Bill is the youngest member of the family and is stationed at Iperwash; Craftsman Manny is with the Ordinance corps. stationed in Britain; Tpr. Clifford is with the Second Canadian Armoured Brigade, B.W.E.F. in France; Sgt. Bob is with the Perth Regiment in Italy and Sgt. Wilfred is with the Pictou Highlanders  stationed at St. John, N.B. Two of the boys are married. Mrs. Wilfred Iles and daughters, Marlene and Winnifred, reside at 764 Seventh Avenue East, and Mrs. Clifford Iles lives at 604 Seventh Street "A" East."

text above and headshots of each of the men appreared in the Sun-Times date unknown



© 2009 Janet Iles

My bag is packed and I am ready to go - Smile for the Camera

 My bag is packed and I am ready to go. Where am I? I am at Union Station in  Toronto. Where am I going?

I am off for an adventure. I am travelling by train, first to Montreal via the Rapido and then I will transfer to a train for my overnight trip to Trois-Pistoles, Quebec.

During the summers of 1968 and 1969, I travelled  by train to Trois-Pistoles to spend six weeks studying French. Are you wondering if I was only travelling with only one suitcase? No, I had a trunk that I shipped with my clothes and books. I had been on a train once before when I went with my siblings from Owen Sound to Toronto to visit my great aunt and uncle for a couple of days.

When I went in 1968, I was leaving the familiarity of home and friends to travel by train to a place unknown to me. Would I make my connection okay in Montreal? What would it be like to speak only French for six weeks? What kind of home would I be in? Would I make any friends? What course would I take? How would I do?  Lots of questions as I headed out on my adventure.

When I returned in 1969, I travelled again by train but this time, I was excited to see who would be there and what teachers would be returning.

I wonder what our ancestors were thinking as they left their homeland to cross the ocean to new places and new adventures.

Did you notice that in the photo that I am a wearing a skirt suit? In the sixties a young lady would not think of travelling in casual attire.

© 2009 Janet Iles

Surname - Iles - Distribution

 Randy Seaver has given this challenge for our Saturday night Genealogy Fun. - Go to the public profiler site and see on the map the distribution of your surname.

I have done this search for the Iles surname. So first is the World Wide Map. - The United Kingdom and Australia have the highest concentration of the surname with Australia edging out the United Kingdom by a small fraction. They were followed by New Zealand, then Serbia and then Canada. . 

This map shows the distribution in the United Kingdom. The southwest now has the greatest concentration over the West Midlands area where our family came from before coming to Canada. The southwest area includes Gloucestershire where I have found the beginnings of the Iles family in my research. .

 

 In Canada, Ontario has the highest concentration with the Prairie provinces and Quebec having about the same.
© 2009 Janet Iles

4 Men from the Perth Regiment at Marignano, Italy

 

 on scrapbook page underneath photo says

Red      Parky

Butch Stubb

printed on back on back  of photo

January 28, 1945

S.G 10 to Marignano, Italy

SA Martin Postman

G Parkinson Driver

RJ Orr Butcher

HB Iles

[note on back in writing says] my regular driver was in the hospital at the time

[All members of the Perth Regiment]

© 2009 Janet Iles

Carnival of Genealogy - 83rd edition - Musical Instruments

Music is the way our memories sing to us across time.

--Lance Morrow

Thanks to the footnoteMaven for this attractive poster.

Welcome to the 83rd Carnival of Genealogy. Thank you to everyone who participated.

• Do you play a musical instrument or did one of your family members?
• What instrument do you play or did they play?
• If no one in the family played an instrument, what is your favorite instrument and what is your least favorite one?

Nature or nurture? Do you inherit the musical gene so that you are inclined to be a singer or play one or more musical instruments? Perhaps, these postings will help you to answer these questions.

Evelyn Yvonne Theriault presents A Picture Can Lie! posted at A Canadian Family, saying, "To my working class family, playing an instrument was something for the "higher" classes."

Denise Olson presents Chopsticks & Moonlight Sonata posted at Moultrie Creek, saying, "No amount of music lessons or bribery was going to turn me into a musician."

Bill West presents West in New England: 49 Genealogical Uses for Flutaphones: The Complete List! posted at West in New England, saying, "I am not musically gifted so I fell back on a running joke about myself and flutaphones to come up with a post for this edition of the COG!"

Charles Hansen presents Musical Instruments for COG posted at Mikkel's Hus, saying, "While I was not a great musician, I found out I was even worse as a band director."

Brett Payne presents Whistling Bird, the Arizona Cowboy and the Disappearing Lady posted at Photo-Sleuth, saying, "Very few of my family members have progressed much beyond the recorder in their early grades. However, my great-grandfather Charles Vincent Payne (1868-1941) did have something of a reputation for his singing voice, honed in travelling vaudeville."

Dorene Paul presents Steen and Doris Parker: They Liked to Sing and Play posted at Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay, saying, "My grandfather liked to play the piano, and my grandmother enjoyed singing. I only wish I could have heard them! Both passed away before I was born."

Jessica Oswalt presents Music in the Family ... posted at Jessica's Genejournal, saying, "A brief overview of family members and ancestors who were either musically inclined or were involved in music."

Greta Koehl presents Musical Instruments – More on the Fiddling Moores posted at Greta's Genealogy Bog, saying, "When I first learned of the subject of this COG, my heart sank. It's a subject dear to my heart, but I though I had covered it pretty completely in two previous articles on my family's love for fiddles and my Uncle Howard, the violin maker. After rummaging through my mother's old keepsakes, however, I found two articles on Uncle Howard that brought back a long dormant memory - of my Uncle Howard's old Violano Virtuoso."

Mary Beaulieu presents The Gift of Music posted at AncestorTracking, saying, "Memories of a beloved teacher and a remote father's legacy."

Linda Hughes Hiser presents Carnival of Genealogy, 82nd Edition—Musical Instruments posted at Flipside, saying, "Uncle John and his big band days!"


Tracy presents COG 83: Tone Deaf in a Family of Musicians posted at The Pieces of My Past, saying, "I am woefully challenged musically speaking, but am descended from a lot of musical talent."

Sheri Fenley presents My Musical Family - 83rd COG posted at The Educated Genealogist. GrannyPam has identified the instrument in the photo as a banjolele.

Lorine McGinnis Schulze presents Oompah, Oompah, Oom pah pah.... posted at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog, saying, "Who in my ancestral past had the DNA with the Music Gene?"

Travis LeMaster presents Sam the Music Man posted at TJLGenes : Preserving Our Family History, saying, "Information about Samuel Lambertson and his banjo, including a photograph."

Carol presents Carnival of Genealogy, 82nd Edition—Musical Instruments posted at Reflections From the Fence, saying, "We have quite a few musicians, even have 4 generations in a row that have played. The last generation are highlighted by photos, our pride and joy!"

John Newmark presents Carnival of Genealogy: Musical Instruments posted at Transylvanian Dutch, saying, "Past research has indicated I may have some musical heritage, though it's not certain. I did have some music lessons as a child, though."

Lori Thornton presents Music, Music, Music posted at Smoky Mountain Family Historian. Lori tells us about the different instruments that she plays. She also says that the voice is an instrument.


Jasia presents The Magic in Grandma's Parlor posted at Creative Gene, saying, "Here's the story of my discovery of a magical musical instrument and what it has meant to our family."

Miriam Robbins Midkiff presents AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors: Eight Musical Things about Me posted at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors, saying, "I'm reviving a meme I wrote nearly a year ago when I shared eight things about myself...I chose to write about eight musical instruments I either mastered or attempted. What's ironic is that I no longer am involved in any musical groups, either vocal or instrumental. Maybe someday...when I'm not so busy!"

Apple presents Musical Memories posted at Apple's Tree, saying, "The history of musical instruments in my family doesn't extend back very far so the recent generations are making up for lost time."

Valerie C. presents Begin with 'Craft': More Music in the Family posted at Begin with 'Craft', saying, "Musical talent ran in my maternal family line - including my GG-Aunt Ethel & her recording artist husband."


Caroline Pointer presents Family Stories: Play It Again, Sam posted at Family Stories, saying, ""Life" lessons are found in piano lessons."

I wrote about Brass Bands - How I love them  at Janet the Researcher. When I think of the Iles family and their musical talents, I think of them playing brass instruments. I never played a brass instrument but do I love to hear a brass band.

 I do not know if this was a first posting for anyone else but I extend a warm welcome to Alice and Gayle  on their first postings to a Carnival of Genealogy.

Alice Keesey Mecoy presents John Brown's Favorite Hymn posted at John Brown Kin, saying, "John Brown's favorite hymn, "Blow ye the Trumpet, Blow!"

Gayle Gresham presents The Christison Musicians posted at Colorado Reflections, saying, "Prospecting is in my Christison blood, but there is another talent that runs through the Christison family – musical ability. It seems that those who weren’t bitten by the gold bug honed their musical talent. And, in two cases, without music (and the U.S. Air Force) two marriages may never have happened."

Susan's posting shares the importance of music to her family during a difficult time. Thank you for sharing.

Susan A. Kitchens presents One month ago: Hootenanny in the Hospital posted at Family Oral History Using Digital Tools [News], saying, "This post is about a guitar. And singing. But it's also a post about why I have not been doing much blogging of late. Thank you so much for this theme, at this time-- it's the PERFECT way for me to segue from a looooooong bout of non-posting to posting again. With just the right touch. Oh, and there are links at the end of the story to two other stories about music and family. The This Land is Your Land link is about a banjo. And music. And family."

This is the end of the interesting articles about Musical Instruments and your family for the 83rd Carnival of Genealogy. I am sure you will enjoy reading them. I did. Thank you Jasia for giving me the opportunity to host this Carnival.

Call for Submissions!
The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be:
What the Carnival of Genealogy has meant to you.

The COG has been published twice a month for over three years now, 83 editions thus far! It's covered a wide variety of topics and introduced many, many new bloggers and even a new carnival. Here's an opportunity to look back and reflect on when you first discovered the COG and when you first participated in it.

• What was your favorite topic to write about? 
• Have you guest hosted the COG? 
• Is there an article you've read in the COG that stands out in your mind?
• What have you learned from reading or writing for the COG?
• Have you ever recommended the COG to anyone?
• If you haven't participated in the COG thus far, why not?
• How has the COG helped your family history research? 
• Has it impacted your life in any way? 

Share your COG experience with us and please indicate the number of COG editions you've participated in at the end of your article.

The deadline for submissions is November 15th and the next edition (#84) will return home to Jasia's Creative Gene blog.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of genealogy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

© 2009 Janet Iles

La Messe Québecoise

La Messe Québecoise - I remember

Two weeks ago at church, we sang one of our hymns in both English and French: I'll Praise Eternal God (Je louerai l'Éternel) The French words and music were by Claude Fraysse and translated and arranged in 2002 by John L. Bell. A very simple hymn of praise, but for me very meaningful in both languages.

This got me to thinking. During the summers of 1968, 1969 and 1983, I attended the University of Western Ontario's French summer school at Trois Pistoles Québec. During six weeks, we were fully immersed in the life and culture of this small community as we took university level courses. Because of the extra work I did to prepare, I was able after grade 12 to take the third year general language course. Although I am not Catholic, as part of the immersion, I attended Sunday morning mass during each of the summers I was at Trois-Pistoles. What I don't remember is singing hymns during the services. Perhaps, it is because we were accustomed to speaking only French that it didn't stand out as anything different.

In 1983, I took a leave of absence from the library along with my vacation so that I could take another course, this time in Commercial French. I needed more courses to complete my Diplôme de français pratique and to fulfill the residency requirement. We had classes in the morning and electives in the afternoons. I chose to be part of the choir again that summer. The highlight of the summer was when we sang at Église Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, the Messe Québecoise by Pierick Houdy. It was fun and challenging to learn all the pieces. It was fast paced with the singers accompanied by organ, fiddle and spoons. The musicians were all students at the summer school.