Where were you when the lights went out?

That's an age-old question. Where were you when you heard Kennedy was shot, or what were you doing when you heard the towers were bombed?

It is also a question we should ask of our ancestors when writing a narrative, or even a timeline. 

If you had ancestors in New France or New England in 1663 they would have experienced the big Charlevoix earthquake. Or perhaps the 1732 one of Montreal?

Those who lived during one of the many Street Railway strikes, like that in Montreal in 1904 or London in 1918 may have cheered or booed in the streets depending which side they were on. Perhaps it was Your ancestor that threw the brick that made my great-grand uncle crazy?

Where were your female ancestors when they were given the right to vote, and when is the first time you found one on a voters list? Were your ancestors involved in one of the voting scandals?

Where were your Australian ancestors when men were finally permitted to vote, the first railway came into being, or the Norwegian guy introduced skiing to the country during the gold rush?

Not many disasters had such a global affect as did the sinking of the Titanic. It is most well known because of all the hype building up to the maiden voyage and because the passengers were from many countries and in many walks of life. Maybe your ancestor was not on the Titanic, but what about their friends and neighbours? What about those involved in the rescue, any connection there? How did they hear the news? Sitting at the table, having coffee and reading the local morning newspaper? 

If not the Titanic what about another ship disaster? My grandparents were Salvationists and friends or acquaintances with many who lost their lives when the Empress of Ireland sank in 1914.

Look for historical timelines not just for the country but for the city or area where your ancestor lived (check local newspaper headlines too) and imagine how your ancestor felt or reacted and weave it into their stories. 

Check the almanac and newspapers for environmental facts for the stories. What time of day or year was the occurrence? Was it sunny and warm? Windy and rainy? Or perhaps cold and snowy? What time were sunrise and sunset? Does that area have a long or short twilight? Was there a full or quarter moon? 

Where was your ancestor when the lights went out?

Canada 150 - Fire in Three Rivers 1856

During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...

The 1856 Fire in Three Rivers / Trois-Rivieres

Proceedings of a public meeting of the citizens of Three Rivers to discuss the calamitous fire that occurred November 15th, 1856. 
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How the deplorable accident occurred

With list including name of property owner affected, amount of loss, occupation of tenant, etc. 

Relevant Links

Proceedings of the citizens of Three Rivers relative to the conflagration of 15 Nov 1856

Procédés de citoyens des Trois-Rivières au sujet de l'incendie du 15 nov 1856

Dedicated to the people worldwide battling flood waters

This year there is more devastation from floods than ever - in Canada, the USA, Indonesia, Peru, Australia, Dominican Republic... Yesterday I spent the whole day watching from afar the citizens of my hometown in Quebec try to save their homes, it is heartbreaking. Not just working around the clock to try to keep the waters out of their homes, but to think what they will have to face after. Some homes have been sitting in water since mid April and it is expected to get worse before it gets better.

Here are accounts of historic floods.

Flood of Michigan 1904

Some of the reports contain names of people who lost lives or property.

Relevant Links

The Flood List

Report of the Special Committee on Inundation appointed by the Council of the City of Montreal, on the 14th January, 1884

The Barrie Flood of 1890

Report of the secretary of the Flood Relief Commission:appointed to distribute the funds contributed for the relief of sufferers in Pennsylvania, by the flood of May 31st and June 1st, 1889

Official report of the relief furnished to the Ohio River flood sufferers, Evansville, Ind., to Cairo, Ills, with the two trips of the U.S. relief boat Carrie Caldwell, February and March, 1884

Report of the Citizens' executive relief committee of the cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, for the relief of the sufferers by the flood, of July 26th, 1874

Wyoming Valley Flood Scenes, March 2, 1902

The Arkansas River flood of June 3-5, 1921

Notes of the flood at the Red River in 1852

Inundation of York, Penn'a: a Graphic Description of the Great Flood, 1884

A Pictorial History of the Great Dayton Flood, March 25, 26,27, 1913

Report of Cherry Creek Flood Commission, May 1913

Pictures of the floods: Southern Queensland, Feb 1893

Report of the Passaic River flood district commission: Dec 1, 1906

Historical souvenir of the Fremont flood, March 25-28, 1913

Official souvenir history of the Shenango Valley flood, March 25-28, 1913

More Flood souvenirs books at HathiTrust

Report of the Royal Commission Inquiry into the Grand River Flood 1974

The North Carolina flood: July 14-16, 1916

Canada 150 - Victims of the Titanic

During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...

Victims of the Titanic

Fairview Lawn Cemetery: Photo by archer10 (Dennis) at Flickr

We are coming up to the 105th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. If you have been following my blog a while you know that in my Shipwreck post I wrote about my visit to a Titanic Exhibit at the Museum in Victoria, and I recommend it highly when it comes to a city near you.

The Nova Scotia Archives is a great place to read and learn about the victims of the Titanic that were brought to Halifax. Some of the sections include...


Booklet titled: Disposition of Bodies ex Titanic

Image of fatality reports for each person

First and Second Class Passengers lists

Check all the links on the right side of the page.
The people of Halifax stepped up and did right by the passengers who lost their lives.



Relevant Links

RMS Titanic Resource Guide, Nova Scotia Archives

Booklet: Disposition of Bodies ex Titanic

Image of fatality reports for each person

Steamboats - Ships, Captains, Passengers and Disasters

In Eastern Canada steamboats traveled up the St Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and back carrying goods and passengers.

Arrival of Steamboat "Valleyfield" at St Helen's Island, Montreal, c1907

Schedules for steamboats could be found in the newspapers and the Almanac. Here are some of the routes.

On June 25, 1857 the steamboat "Montreal" , running between Quebec and Montreal caught fire and 264 lives were lost. Here is an accounting of this disaster through several newspaper articles.





Relevant Links

Lloyd's steamboat directory, and disaster on the western waters 1856

Maritime History of the Great Lakes - Steamboats

St Lawrence Steamboat Co Passenger Records (The Ships List)

Steamboat disasters and railroad accidents in the United States 1840

Steamboat owners - New York and Long Island Sound: memorial of sundry proprietors and managers of American steam vessels - 1840

New York's awful steamboat horror, with photos and images, 1904

Report of the St. Andrew's Society charitable committee of the receipts and disbursements of the special fund for the relief of the sufferers by the burning of the steamer "Montreal" on the 26th June 1857

Report of steamboat "Montreal" fire in the True Witness and Catholic Cronicle, 1857 (pg8)

Up and down the Thames, from London Bridge... to the sea - Victoria Steamboat Assn

The Atlantic ferry; its ships, men and working 1900

Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, on the History and Causes of Steamboat Explosions, 1839

Oldest Anglican church in Montreal celebrates 185 years, with list of victims of the steamer Shamrock

Northern Prairie Steamboats (Manitoba Historical Society)

Fifty ears on the Mississippi 1889

Old Steamboat days on the Hudson River: tales and reminiscences 1907

History of steamboating on the Minnesota River, 1905

The Clyde passenger steamer, Scotland 1904




Related posts:

Maritime Pilots

Shipwrecks

Remarkable Shipwrecks and Naval Disasters 

Masters and Mates

Serendipity Sunday - Remarkable Shipwrecks and Naval Disasters

This week I have been taking a new direction in my research. I am looking into the descendants of my 9th great grandfather, Ambrose Frost born 1610 in Moretonhampstead (sometimes written Moreton Hampstead), Devon, England.

In so doing I came across a Gilbert Frost in this publication...

Remarkable shipwrecks; collection of interesting accounts of naval disasters, 1813

Fortunately Gilbert was not shipwrecked, but rather a name on the subscribers list for New York.  This gives me another avenue to follow.  Gilbert is a common name in the Frost Family and it looks like one of them immigrated to America. 

I do have a 5th great uncle Gilbert Frost that was in the Royal Navy.  According to Silvester Treleavens Diary, word was received in Moretonhampstead on July 7th 1800 that Gilbert died aboard the HMS Edgar (74 Guns) off the coast of France.

HMS Edgar took part in the Battle of Cap-St-Vincent 1780

Dominion of Canada -Deaths, Fires and Murder

A Sunday Bonus!!

I was browsing through the Dominion (of Canada) Annual Register and Review publications and for 1883 I came across a list...

Record of Accidental Deaths and Suicides for 1883

 

 

Shows the date, persons name, the city where accident occurred and cause of death. 

 

 

When I got to the end of the list... another surprise!

 

 

Record of fires in 1883

 

 



Shows date, name, place, property, amount of loss, amount paid by insurance.

If you go back the other way, there is a Journal of Remarkable Occurrences. These include murder and mayhem, as well as unusual temperatures and earthquakes.

 

Check index of names near the front or back of each publication, and further look up "deaths of criminals", etc...
Other years have Remarkable Occurrences also.

Check the Contents of each publication for what is there.


Relevant Links
Accidental Deaths and Suicides for 1882

Accidental Deaths and Suicides for 1883

Accidental Deaths and Suicides for 1886

Record of Fires and Insurance for 1882

Record of Fires and Insurance for 1883

Record of Fires and Insurance for 1886

List of available publications of Dominion Annual Register and Review



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Where's the Fire?

Fire can give us life or give us death. Some people are fascinated by fire. As a Girl Guide I made many fires in the woods with friends.  Now I love fire as long as it is in a fireplace or fire pit.

Burning of Parliament Building Montreal c1849 (McCord Museum)

The first "house" fire I remember was when I was quite young and a garage went up in flames one night, just 2 doors down from our house. All of us who lived on the street, and from a few streets down, were standing there, not too close as it was very hot and sparks were flying, mesmerized by the flames that no one could do anything about.  Our town had no fire department, and it was too late anyways. The owners built their garage first and they stored materials in that garage to start to build their house.

The second was the 1972 tragic case of arson at the Blue Bird Café in Montreal, leaving 37 people dead. The younger sister of my friend was one of the victims, there with some friends to see another friend off on a trip.

The third fire that touched our lives, was that of the empty old hotel right across the street from my house. I lived in the house built c1815 by Col John Scriver, the son of an Empire Loyalist.  John's son Julius had built his house across the street, and it later became the Frontier Inn. The Inn had been closed up for a long time, and the night it went up in flames the whole town came out to watch and mourn the loss of a beautiful historic building.  All the volunteer fire department could do, good as they were, was to keep the fire from spreading to near by homes.

Image from BANQ

Historically many a city has been destroyed by fire. A couple of the more famous being the Great Fire of London in 1666, the San Francisco fire caused by the earthquake of 1906, and the Great Fire of 1852 in Montreal.

Fire fighting has come a long way since those days, and the men and women who become fire fighters are a special breed. Many small towns have volunteer fire departments, which is not to say they are untrained.  Ours was one of the best in the country! Our village firemen came around and checked everyone's fireplace and chimney on request in the fall. I must say the Chief was quite impressed with our old Rumford fireplaces.

Was your ancestor one of these brave people that risked their lives for others?

I have gathered some links to fire departments and the men that served there. You can find more by searching using keywords "[city] fire department (+history)" and "firefighter roll of honour". Also do the search at HahtiTrust, they may have others and some photos may be clearer.


Relevant Links:

List of historic Disastrous Fires

Montreal's Blue Bird Café Fire 1972

Montreal's Blue Bird Café Victims

Fire fighters of Houston - 1838-1915

Reminiscences of the old fire laddies and volunteer fire departments of Brooklyn 1885

History of the Toronto Fire Department 1924

Our Firemen: faithful to duty, true to friendship NY 1891

Descriptive and illustrated price list of firemen uniforms - US 1893

The 30th anniversary and annual fire book of the veterans Fireman's Association of San Francisco, Inc - 1929

The Exempt firemen of San Francisco; their unique and gallant record 1900

1st to 21st Annual Report of the Commissioner of the Firemen's Relief Fund -MA 1911

Our Firemen: History of the New York fire departments, volunteer and paid; 1887

Our Firemen; the official history of the Brooklyn Fire Department 1892

Souvenir book of Indiana State Firemen's Association convention held at Fort Wayne 1920

Our Firemen: history of the Pittsburgh fire department, 1889

Our Firemen: a record of the faithful and heroic men who guard the property and lives of the city of Detroit - 1894

Souvenir program; Firemen's Relief Assoc - Manila, Jan 1909

History of the Calgary Fire Department 1910

Souvenir of the Vancouver Fire Department 1905

Souvenir of the Ottawa Fire Department 1905

Souvenir of the Saskatoon Fire Department 1905

History of the Fire and Police Departments of Paterson NJ 1893

South Australian CFS Fire Fighter Roll of Honour

South Australian MFS Fire Fighter Roll of Honour

Queensland Fire and Rescue Honour Roll

Toronto Fire Fighter Honour Roll

Victoria Australia CFA Honour Roll

Souvenir of the Silver Jubilee -  Avenel Fire Company NJ 1913

The Hibernia fire engine company, no. 1, NY 1859

Winnipeg Fire Prevention Bulletin, 1919

Annual Report of the Boston Fire Department

There's Gold in Them Thar Hills!

Irish Women of the Gold Rush (Ireland TV)

A friend of my husband has a small claim somewhere in BC and every summer he spends months on end searching for gold. He gets small traces once in a while, enough to keep him going, but has yet to find the mother lode.

From Wikipedia:

"A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold deposits. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere."

The first substantial gold find was that of Conrad Reed in South Carolina in 1799.
In the days of the gold rushes, writers and publishers hurried to crank out books on everything from how to get there, how to test the gold, how to survive, etc... so there is a lot of books to choose from at Internet Archive and in your local libraries. Many wrote about their experiences and included what to bring, the climate, the best routes, the prices of things, and wages.

In Australia in 1882 there was a flooding disaster at the New Australasian No.2 Deep Lead Gold Mine in Creswick and 22 men died. In 1936 there was a collapse of the Moose River Gold Mine in Nova Scotia.

There are websites that advertise gold mine claims for sale.  Interested?

Do you have ancestors that caught Gold Fever?


Relevant Links:


Gold Rushes by Country and by Year

Report on the Geology & gold Fields of Otago, NZ 1875

Klondyke & Yukon Guide - Alaska and Northwest Territory Gold Fields - 1898

Ready Reference and Hand Book of the Klondyke and Alaskan Gold Fields 1897 

Yukon Archives - Gold Rush - books, newspapers, etc

Gold Prospecting and Treasure Hunting leads for British Columbia (*sound alert - turn off on video at bottom of page)

The Rossland Homestake Gold Mining Company, Ltd - BC

Facts and statistics relating to the Edmonton Gold Mine, California 1866

Collapse of the Moose River Gold Mine - Nova Scotia April 1936

List of Employees of Acadia Coal Ltd who worked at Moose River (hit next for more)

The New Australasian No 2 Deep Lead Gold Mine - Creswick 1882

Instructions for collecting, testing, melting and assaying gold - 1848

History of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1851 - California Gold Rush

Mad Rush for Gold in the Frozen North (Dietz) 1914

Palm Sunday Avalanche - Klondike Gold Rush - April 1898

Women of the Klondyke 

Klondike Gold Miners - Alaska-Yukon-Klondike Gold Syndicate 1897

Bridgeton Evening News 1898

The National Gold Prospecting Association - photos and information 

Yukon Mining Claims Database

Irish Women of the Gold Rush (Ireland TV)

The Accidental Mine

My grandparents lived in a middle cold flat in Verdun, on one of the numbered streets that ran from the Aqueduct to the St Lawrence River. These were 3 story buildings that were all stuck together, did not have central heat, and in the beginning no hot running water. The rent was cheap. In the kitchen, against one wall, was a tall, round-ish stove that was coal burning and it heated the whole house.  Every couple of years 2 tons of coal was delivered by the alley and stored in the back shed off the kitchen. We visited often at my grandparents' house, and I always wondered how come the sooty, saggy floor full of coal didn't fall through to the unit below. It never occurred to me to wonder where the coal came from.... Grampa said it was delivered by truck.

This year, in May 2014 an explosion at the coal mine in Soma, Manisa, Turkey claimed at least 300 lives. It made me think of my grandfather's coal, and what others had to endure so my grandparents could stay warm during the cold Quebec winters. Through the years there have been many mining disasters.

The worst ever coal mine disaster is said to be the gas and coal-dust explosion in China, April 26, 1942 at the Benxihu Colliery when 1,549 workers died.

The worst single disaster in British coal mining history was at Senghenydd in the South Wales coalfield, October 1913, killing 439 miners and 1 rescuer.

The Monongah Mining disaster in West Virginia occurred on December 6, 1907, and has been described as "the worst mining disaster in American History". The explosion occurred in Fairmont Coal Company’s No. 6 and No. 8 mines, killing over 360 miners.

The 1902 Mount Kembla Mine disaster was the worst of Australia's history, killing 96 workers in the explosion caused by gas and coal-dust ignited by miners' torches.

The worst Canadian coal mine disaster was the explosion at the Hillcrest Mine,  Hillcrest, Alberta, June 1914. A total of 189 workers died.

One of my neighbours in Nanaimo, BC told me about her father being brought with his family on a ship from England to work in the mines, whose owners were in London. The families were greeted by those already here, who had hastily put up temporary shacks and gathered food for them, as the men were put right to work. There was an explosion at the Number One Coal Mine in Nanaimo in May 1877 that killed 150 miners, including 53 Chinese workers. Only 7 miners survived and the fires burned all day.

"Chinese workers were listed in the Government inquest as 'Chinamen, names unknown' followed by a tag number. BC employers did not have to report the deaths of Chinese employees until 1897."

Though coal mining has been around for thousands of years, it came into its own during the Industrial Revolution.  Coal was, and still is, used at many industrial plants and is mined in many different countries. 

This from Wikipedia: (Mt is Millions of tons)

"Global coal production is expected to reach 7,000 Mt/yr in 2030 (Update required, world coal production is already past 7,000 Mt/yr and by 2030 will probably be closer to 13,000 Mt/yr), with China accounting for most of this increase. Steam coal production is projected to reach around 5,200 Mt/yr; coking coal 620 Mt/yr; and brown coal 1,200 Mt/yr"

 
This article was inspired by the link for UK Coal Mining Accidents, posted in a group by genealogist Elaine Stockton Curran, whose ancestor was killed in the Pretoria Pit Disaster of 1910, Westhoughton, Lancashire. The explosion claimed the lives of 344 men and boys, just days before Christmas. You will find Elaine posting often and helping others at The Conservatory Facebook Group.

Pretoria Pit Memorial in Ditchfield Gardens, Westhoughton

If you had a coal mining ancestor, I have gathered a few links that may be of interest to you. The first is a list of mining accidents, and you can search for the ones I didn't list.


Relevant Links:

UK Coalmining Accidents and Deaths Database

World Mining Accidents

Turkey Coal Mine Disaster 2014

UK Coal Mining Accidents Click on reports for names of miners

Pretoria Pit Disaster, Westhoughton, Lancashire 1910

Pretoria Pit Disaster, at OPC Lancashire

Nanaimo BC - Coal Mine Explosion 1887

Nova Scotia Mine Fatalities - Database 1838-1992

NS Westray Coal Mine Disaster 1992

NS The Drummond Colliery Disaster May 1873

Number 12 Colliery, New Waterford, NS - July 1917

Explosion at Springhill Mines, Nova Scotia 1891 - Our Roots

Explosion at Springhill Mines, Nova Scotia 1891 - Internet Archive

Miracle at Springhill - 1958

Australia - Bulli Colliery Disaster 1887 (Newspaper)

Mount Kembla Disaster - 1902 Australia

Pike River Mine Disaster 2010 New Zealand

Ralph Mine Disaster - Huntly, Waikato, NZ 1914

Senghenydd, Wales Mine Disaster October 1913, Memorial

Hillcrest, Alberta 1914 Mine Disaster Memorial

Coal Miners of Sebastian County, Arkansas

The Monongah Mining Disaster (West Virginia) 1907

List of Names - Monongah Mining Explosions 1907

Wages and the cost of living in the anthracite industry of Pennsylvania1920

Serendipity Sunday - Joseph Philippe Lemercier LaRoche

In my article of May 29th titled Shipwrecks I mentioned about going to see the Titanic Exhibit at the Royal Bc Museum. My "Boarding Pass" was in the name of Mme Juliette LaRoche who boarded in France with her husband Joseph and their 2 daughters, travelling to Haiti. Joseph was born to a wealthy family in Haiti, and found it impossible in France to get a job that paid a decent wage, and what his training was worth, because of his colour. 

This past week, while looking for something unrelated to genealogy, I came across this article written last year about the family of Joseph Philippe Lemercier LaRoche keeping his memory alive. It is nice to see what became of the mother I was portraying and her family in the following years.

Maybe nothing was ever published of the family at the time, but I recognized the LaRoche name as soon as I saw it in the article, all because my Boarding Pass was in Juliette's name and I was interested in what happened to "my" family. Joseph.... Titanic the Artifact Exhibition, being shown at Museums around the world, is not ignoring your presence on that ship!

Juliette (b 1889), Joseph (b 1886), Simonne (b 1909), Louise (b 1910)

Story in Ocean County Register

Juliettte Marie Louise Lafargue

Simonne Marie Anne Andrée Laroche 

Louise LaRoche 

Shipwrecks

Living in an area where there is a shipwreck every nautical mile, I forget sometimes they are not just a draw for divers from all over the world. Was one of your ancestors aboard a sinking ship?

A hundred years ago today, on May 29, 1914, the Empress of Ireland on its way from Quebec City to Liverpool collided with the SS Storstad on the St. Lawrence River, sinking within minutes. A total of 1,012 passengers and crew members aboard perished.

On May 1, 1915 the RMS Lustiana left New York for Liverpool and off the shore of Ireland on May 7th the ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boat. The ship sank within minutes taking the lives of 1201 men, women and children.

The most well-known disaster was the sinking of the RMS Titanic when it collided with an iceberg on April 14, 1912, four days after leaving Southampton UK bound for New York. More than 1500 people died in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Sea.

the "Bording Pass" I received to view the Titanic Artifact Exhibition was in the name of Mme Juliette LaRoche, who boarded in France and was ravelling to Haiti with her usband and two daughters.  Her husband was Joseph Philippe Lemericer LaRoche, born to a wealthy family in Haiti, hoping to get a better paying job in his home country. I walked in Juliette's shoes as I wandered through this magnificent and emotional exhibit, seeing what may have been their 2nd class accomodations, the dishes they ate from, and the many personal items that had been carried by her and her fellow passengers. If you haven't yet seen the exhibit, I highly recommend it. 

Another preventable disaster was that of The Sultana, a Mississippi River steamboat that left Vicksburgh on the way to St Louis carrying over 2400 passengers – a ship that was meant to carry only 376 people. Most of the passengers were Union soldiers just released from Confederate prison camps near the end of the civil war.  On April 27, 1865, just a few miles after leaving Memphis the boilers exploded. The casualties were estimated to be about 1800 men.

In the 1800’s there were many lesser-known shipwrecks that, while their casualties were not in the thousands, they had been carrying beloved ancestors of someone.

 

 Relevant Links:

Graveyard of the Pacific (interactive site)

Passenger and Crew List of the Empress of Ireland 1914

Passenger and Crew List of the Titanic 1912

Titanic –actual docs at Find My Past $

Titanic info at National Archives – UK

Passengers who missed the boat - Titanic

The Sultana Steamboat Disaster (1865)

Canada Shipwrecks

Check out The Ships List for other wrecks in the 1800’s and their passenger lists

Australia Shipwreck Database

New Zealand Shipwrecks from newspaper accounts before 1900

New Zealand Shipwrecks