Wordless Wednesday (Almost) - Rural Gardens of Grey and Bruce Counties pt. 3

Day Two of this year's trip - July 12
We had a beautiful day for our excursion to places in Grey County, south of Owen Sound.

Blossom Hills  was our first stop out in the country. Marilyn toured us around their beautiful gardens.

Here are a couple of the photos that I took.

Footloose Too was our next stop. Vicki gave us a tour. Here are some of the photos that I took.

More photos to come next Wednesday.

© 2011 Janet Iles

Wordless Wednesday (Almost) - Rural Gardens of Grey and Bruce Counties pt. 2

More photos from Day 1 of this year's excursion.

Chimney Ridge Buckets and Blooms

Moreland Place

Tranquility on the Rock

© 2011 Janet Iles

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - My Heritage Pie

Saturday Night Challenge by Randy Seaver

16 Great Great Grandparents


16. James Iles, b. abt 1823 in Brimpsfield, Gloucestershire, England, d. 19 Jun 1907 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. He married Louisa Belcher, married 10 Jul 1845 in Brimpsfield, Gloucestershire, England.

17. Louisa Belcher, b. abt 1826 in Withington, Gloucestershire, England, d. 1 Mar 1903 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.

18. Charles Pugh, d. bef 1881. He married Hannah Cowley, married 13 May 1850 at King's Sutton, Northampton Parish Church.
19. Hannah Cowley, b. abt 1826. She married (1) Charles Pugh, married 13 May 1850 at King's Sutton, Northampton Parish Church, d. bef 1881. She married (2) William Clifford, married 7 October 1865 in Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire, b. abt 1825 in Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire.

20. unknown.
21. Ann Dudley, b. abt 1820 in Bromsgrove Worcester, England. She married? (1) unknown. She married (2) Thomas Niblett, married 10 Mar 1881 in Alcester, Warwickshire, England.

22. John Mucklow, b. in Oversley, Alcester, Warwickshire, England. He married Hannah James, married 11 Sep 1843 in Alcester, Warwickshire, England.

23. Hannah James, b. in Exhall, Warwickshire, England.

24. Thomas Love, b. in Aberdeen, Scotland?, d. 1852 in Dundas, ON?. He married Agnes Hamilton, married 26 Mar 1842 in Ardrossan, Ayr, Scotland.

25. Agnes Hamilton, b. in Ardrossan, Ayrshire Scotland, d. 17 May 1885 in Carnarvon Twp., Manitoulin Island, Ontario, buried in Mindemoya Cemetery, Carnarvon Twp., Manitoulin Island, Ontario. She married (1) Thomas Love, married 26 Mar 1842 in Ardrossan, Ayr, Scotland, b. in Aberdeen, Scotland?, d. 1852 in Dundas, ON?. She married (2) Henry Vincer, b. 1811 in Herne, Kent Co. England, d. 11 Jan 1897, buried in Mindemoya Cemetery, Carnarvon Twp., Manitoulin Island, Ontario.

26. John Robinson, b. 3 Mar 1828 in North Allerton, Yorkshire, England, d. 5 June 1905 in Manitoulin Island. He married Jane Fields.

27. Jane Fields, b. 17 Mar 1829 in Leeds, England, d. abt 1901 Ontario.

28. David Johnston, b. 26 Oct 1816 in Annan, Dumfries, Scotland, d. 6 Nov 1892 in West Toronto Junction, York Cty., ON, buried in Hagerman East Cem. Markham Twp. ON. He married Hannah Hemingway, married 26 Feb 1840 in Toronto, Ontario.

29. Hannah Hemingway, b. 4 Mar 1819 in Markham Twp., York County, Ontario, d. 13 Oct 1887 in Unionville, Markam Twp., Ontario, buried in Hagerman East Cem. Markham Twp. ON.

30. James Chambers, b. abt 25 Jan 1826 in Scotland, d. 19 Jun 1858, buried in Altona Mennonite Cemetery, Pickering Twp., Ontario. He married Mary McKenzie.

31. Mary McKenzie, b. 26 Oct 1826 in Dumfries, Scotland, d. 12 Sep 1875 in Ontario, buried in Altona Mennonite Cemetery, Pickering Twp., Ontario. She married (1) James Chambers, b. abt 25 Jan 1826 in Scotland, d. 19 Jun 1858, buried in Altona Mennonite Cemetery, Pickering Twp., Ontario. She married (2) James Wilson, married 10 Feb 1860 in Ontario County, b. 16 Nov 1816 in Scotland, d. unknown

At Birth:
1 unknown but most likely England
5 Scotland
1 Canada
9 England

My Heritage Graph

My Gernanic Ancestry requires going back another generation. Graph created with KidsZone

© 2011 Janet Iles

Wordless Wednesday (Almost) - Rural Gardens of Grey and Bruce Counties

Yesterday and today, my sister, Nancy and her friend Marie and I went on our 3rd Annual Tour of rural gardens in Grey and Bruce Counties. This year our focus was northern part of Grey County. For more on this organization visit Rural Gardens. Most of the gardens are at private homes. Some provide sales of items. The entry fee is usually $3 or $4. Each one is very different.

Here is a sample from each of the gardens that we visited yesterday. At two we were given personal tours by the owners. We certainly appreciated them taking the time to talk to us about their gardens.

Moreland Place

Tranquility on the Rock

Chimney Ridge Buckets and Blooms

More to come!

© 2011 Janet Iles

In Grateful Remembrance - Cemeteries in France and Belgium (map)

For the book, "In Grateful Remembrance," I will draw a map to roughly show the location of the cemeteries where those from Knox are buried or remembered in a memorial. This Google Map shows the areas. Not all are exactly at the location of the cemetery. It will help me place them on a map.


View Cemeteries World War I for our Knox soldiers in a larger map

Go to the larger map and zoom out a little to see the places that I have marked for the cemeteries in France. I hope it will help the readers put these places into context.

© 2011 Janet Iles

Wordless Wednesday - Flowers at Riverside Farm

photos taken 30 June 2011 during visit by Grey County Historical Society
© 2011 Janet Iles

Wanted Photos

In my previous post, I described the progress I am making on my soldiers' project. What I need now is some more photographs. I went through the manuscript to see what I had and what I needed.

I have great photos of Seth Enos Rawn (contact from Ancestry.ca), William Ira Fulford (contact found through Find-a-Grave) and John A. Thompson (contact to the Regimental Museum of the 48th Highlanders found through the Canadian Virtual War Memorial website).

I have received permission from each of these contacts to use these photos.

For some, I have photos that I found in the newspapers of the time. The quality varies. I have found photos for the following World War I soldiers in the newspapers: William Oswald Fraser, John Gershin Galbraith, Alexander McKay Gunn, Allen Beatty Malcom, Charles Edgar Orford and James Dawson Sheffield. It would be great to have better copies.

Then there are those for whom I don't have any photos. These include the following soldiers: Norman Birge, William Fawcett Campbell, Albert Edward Gaskell, Joseph McDonald, Robert Edward McDonald, Roy Brown McKenzie, Clarence Russell Porter, Cyril Slade, Arthur Frederick Thompson, James Watt and Louis Zeiggel.

"In Grateful Remembrance: Honouring the Men From Knox United, Owen Sound Who Paid the Supreme Sacrifice" will include photographs showing the church buildings through the year and photographs of the church organ, church plaques and local monuments.

Not mentioned in the previous posting is that Knox United Church, Owen Sound will cease to exist at the end of this year. It will be amalgamating with Division Street United Church, Owen Sound to create a new congregation with a new name. This has added to the urgency to have this story documented.
© 2011 Janet Iles

Goal set during the 101 Carnival of Genealogy - Revisted mid-year

At the beginning of the year during the Carnival of Genealogy, we were asked what were our goals for the year. I only set two. One was for the first nine months and the other for the last three months. Here is the first goal.

Goal 1: Complete the book on the Soldiers from Knox United (then Presbyterian) in the First World War. Most of the research is done, I think. I may find out differently when I go to work on writing about each one. I have started the writing on about four or five. There are 23 men involved with two being siblings.


Plan: To focus on one a week, finishing research and writing. That will take me to the end of June.

To decide how I am going to publish it and distribute it. It is not meant to be for a large distribution but I wanted the information about them in writing so that it is preserved for future generations.

Publish by September 14, 2011 (92 years after the organ was dedicated in memory of these men).

So, how am I doing. I am doing really well. I am almost finished all the writing. I have finished all but one man. I have included some church history. My sister has done copy editing of what I have given her. I do keep looking at it to make sure I am happy with everything.

At the end of last week, I downloaded a software (free version) that reads back what you have written. It is good to hear what you have read out loud. It is called to Natural Reader. I had done a search on the Internet to see what is available that I could try. [Warning that when you go to the site it will have a voice explaining that software.] Have you tried any? How are you using them?

I found it good to hear someone read it as I did another run through of what I had written. I went through about one half of the introductions to the soldiers. I will likely go through the last half today or tomorrow.

What I have left to do this week:
1. Finish writing about the one soldier - Alexander McKay Gunn - I wrote about him when I discussed Elizabeth Shown Mills - FAN club methodology. In it I talked about information that I learned about other people in the documents. In Alexander's obituary, it says that his parents died when he was young. Now, I had found the death of his mother when Alexander was only two weeks old. What happened to his father and why did he end up with his aunts? Where was his older sister, Bessie?

I found a marriage for a John Gunn to a Margaret Ireland 7 December 1887. [1] I thought it was likely Alexander's father but I wasn't a 100% sure.  I also found a John Gunn with wife Margaret in the 1891 census. In the household, there are the following people: John, 45; Margaret, 34; Betsy, 9; Christena, 2; John 7/12 and Betsy, 84. [2]

It is Bessie's obituary that made me realize that the above must be the correct family. I found her obituary in volume 1 of the "Surname Collection" prepared by the Bruce Grey Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and put on microfiche. The date written on it is 20 April 56. It mentions her brother, Alexander McKay Gunn, being killed in action in 1917. It mentions a brother Wesley Gunn of Sault Ste. Marie, a sister, Christina, Mrs. George Harbottle of Sault Ste. Marie and another brother who predeceased her, John Gunn of Richard's Landing.[3]

Having found Bessie's obituary, I feel that I can add the information about her father's second family. [I have now finished Alexander Gunn's section with information that I have presented here.]

2. Write about the church organ's history and its connection to this project.
3. Find more photographs if I can.
4. Finish putting it together.
5. Indexing
6. Have it proofread
7. Finish getting it ready for printing.
Although, there is still work to be done, I am on track with my planned schedule.

[1] John Gunn – Margaret Ireland Ontario marriage registration 004137 (7 December 1887); digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 12 April 2011), citing microfilm MS 932 reel 56, Archives of Ontario, Toronto.

[2] 1891 Census of Canada, Ontario, North Grey (district 68), Keppel (sub-district A), division 2, p. 25, family 2, John Gunn household; digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 10 June 2011), citing microfilm, T-6338, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.

[3] “Mrs. Leslie Penner Dies in Hospital,” [Owen Sound Sun-Times, 20 April 1956] in Bruce Grey Branch Ontario Genealogical Society, “Surname Collection” [microfiche]

Note: I have no connection to the software company that created Natural Reader.

© 2011 Janet Iles