Thursday, 27 July 2017

You Never Know Where You'll Find a Treasure




This is a photo I recently acquired of my 2x great grandparents, Alexander and Margaret (Bruce) Mavor, who immigrated from Scotland before 1859. After working and growing their family on Ile aux Reaux, next to Grosse Ile, they eventually settled in Waterville, Compton Quebec...




Did I get this photograph from an aunt? A cousin? Some other family member?
No.
I got this photo, along with other family photos and papers, from the great granddaughter of the brother of the guy that married my great grandfather's sister. That's right!

If on Ancestry I had not entered and researched my 2nd great aunt Jean's husband's family I never would have come across some photos that were posted of their house. I contacted the person that uploaded them and we got to chatting. We swapped info and she uploaded this photo for me that was in a box of photos and papers she inherited.

She also uploaded this letter, written by the Prime Minister of Canada Louis St Laurent to my Aunt Jean,and talking about his "old friend", my 2x great grandfather Alexander Mavor and mentions his working for Dr (George Mellis) Douglas who was a doctor at Grosse Ile. Too bad she does not have the photo he mentioned in the letter.




There was also a rather long announcement of Jean's wedding, naming all the out of town guests.  There I discovered clues of where to look for a couple of ancestors I had previously lost track of, and finding them led me to others.

I am eternally grateful.

If you can't find what you want from your immediate family, try going further out of the circle. You never know where you will find a treasure!





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2 comments:

  1. Anna Matthews27 July 2017 at 16:03

    That's fantastic! I'm actually headed to Waterville myself next weekend (from Long Island, NY). We will be at a family reunion in North Hatley on Sunday and spending Saturday visiting as many cemeteries as possible including Greenwood. Praying for good weather since they got six inches of snow on bare ground the night before our last visit!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dianne Nolin27 July 2017 at 16:12

    Their son John Married Ruth Carbee in Hatley then lived in Alberta. They named their ranch "Hatley".
    One of these times I visit Montreal I have to get out Waterville way and Eastern Townships and tour around all my ancestor homes.
    Have a wonderful time at your reunion!! If weatherman is right, you should have sunny and 75 on Sunday - perfect!

    ReplyDelete

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