Genealogy: Beyond the BMD: New England

Showing posts with label New England. Show all posts

Wednesday, 23 March 2016

Fishing and Guarding

If you have a fishing ancestor in the USA and you know the name of the vessel they worked on, you may find them in our Canadian waters or on our shores with vessels mentioned in the reports of the Department of Fisheries.

In Canada the reports of Department of Fisheries list names of US vessels that were issued fishing licenses in Canada, as well as vessels that came into port for repairs, shelter, or some other reason.

Our Coast Guard came under the Department of Fisheries from 1868-1936, and was called Fisheries Protection Service. After 1936 it came under the Department of Transport. In 1962 it was officially named the Canadian Coast Guard. In 1995 the Coast Guard was transferred back to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. US vessels fishing out of bounds were seized by Protection Services until fines were paid.

The August 1855 edition of the Monthly Nautical Magazine (published in New York) told of the Launching of "La Canadienne", the primary vessel used by the Protection Service.
The Fisheries Protection Services were responsible for enforcing Canada's fishery laws, issuing fishing licenses, providing aids to navigation and providing assistance to vessels in trouble.

"La Canadienne"

Irish Fisheries reports and returns of licenses are found in the Sessional Papers of the House of Commons of Great Britain.

Lists of those Canadians who were issued Masters & Mates certificates can be found in the Sessional Papers of Canada.

Relevant Links

Canada Fisheries Protection Service 1890

Salaries of Protection Services 1901 (wages)

List of those granted awards for saving life 1893

List of persons granted rewards for gallant and humane services in saving life, 1872

Fishing Bounties paid to Vessel Owners 1890 (name of vessel and owner)

Annual Reports of Department of Marine and Fisheries

List of US vessels in Port of Canso, Nova Scotia 1890

Lists of US vessels at different ports, 1893

Vessels boarded by Officers of the Marine Police 1873

Life Boat Stations 1893

Certificates granted to Masters and Mates, 1873

Names of Fisheries Officers 1887

Port directory of principal Canadian ports and harbours 1913

British Coast Guard

US Coast Guard

Denmark Fisheries and Protection Services

Irish Coastguards of Yesteryear

Returns of Applications for Oyster Fishing Licenses in Ireland 1867

Certificates granted for Salmon or Trout fishing, Ireland 1873

Nominal Return of every Salmon Fishery in Ireland; Amount ofLicence Duty Paid, 1862

A return for years 1890 to 1900 of prosecutions undertaken in Ireland of masters of beam or otter trawl vessels for infringement of the byelaws of the Fishery Board

Whaling History and databases *(added Mar 2018)

Related Posts: Sessional Papers - Masters and Mates Certificates

Sunday, 25 October 2015

Serendipity Sunday - Original Lists of Persons of Quality to 1700

This week while researching my ancestors, I came across this publication...

The Original Lists of Persons of Quality;

Emigrants, religious exiles, political rebels, serving men sold for a term of years, apprentices, children stolen, maidens pressed, and others who went from Great Britain to the American Plantations - 1600-1700: with their ages, the localities where they formerly lived in the Mother Country, the names of the ships in which they embarked, and other interesting particulars. - 1874

Here is a sneak peek...

"13 November. Grant to James Marquis of Hamilton, Henry, Earl of Holland, and others, all that continent, Island or Region commonly called Newfoundland, bordering upon the Continent of America, to them and their heirs." (Newfoundland mentioned in a few places throughout)

Includes records for New England, Newfoundland, Bermuda (Sommer Islands) and Barbados. List of Walloons (of Belgium) and French promising to emigrate to Virginia.

Wednesday, 16 September 2015

Colonial Dames of America

The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America

Search Keyword "colonial dames of America" for other publications of the Society.

Relevant Links

Constitution and eligibility lists of Colonial Dames of America

NSCSA - It's Beginnings, it's Purpose, and a Record of it's Work

Registers of the Colonial Dames of America

Officers, members and list of ancestors - Maryland Colonial Dames of America 1899

Monday, 25 May 2015

Flower Power

Spring is here for many of us. The risk of frost has past (hopefully, these days you never know) and thoughts are turning to sprucing up the front yard with flowers and shrubs... whether to have beautiful curb appeal or to attract hummingbirds and bees.

My Dad didn't know, or know anything about, his paternal line beyond his father who was estranged from his family. If he had known them, he would have realized he got his love of carpentry from his grandfather and great grandfather, and his love of flowers and gardening from his great uncle William Seale.

William was a member of the Ottawa Horticultural Society. Specializing in roses, his yard was "a flower lovers' paradise" and he won many medals, bars and diplomas in competitions. William's nephew Henry was also an award winning horticulturist and his specialty was gladioli. After winning The Viscountess Willingdon Trophy (for an exhibitor scoring the highest number of points in all classes) and many other awards for a number of years, and always winning in every class of Gladioli with at least 12 varieties, Henry's bulbs were highly sought after. People hoping to achieve award winning flowers could buy the Seale Gladiolus Bulbs for $2 a box.

At a young age my Dad's neighbor got him interested in growing Dahlias and gladiolus and year after year they won prizes at the Montreal West Flower Shows. I remember him growing gladioli at home, and he was also proud of his hibiscus. My brother Mike inherited his gardening gene and loved growing plants and vegetables. This is Mike with his First Prize winning carrot in a local vegetable contest in 1985.

Monday, 23 March 2015

Souvenir Books

With the completion of the railroad systems and people venturing further than their home town for holidays and adventures, the idea came about to make a souvenir book of the cities that the visitors would buy and take home to show to others, enticing their friends to make the trip.

In the late 1800's to mid 1900's souvenir books were printed for cities and villages, associations, jubilees and centennials, government officials, religious conferences, grand openings and unveilings, manufacturers, sporting events, wars ... the list goes on. I came across a few books titled Souvenir of .... Family, being genealogy books. Souvenir Albums were also published to commemorate floods, fires and earthquakes!

My 2nd great grandfather, Alexander Mavor, farmed in Compton, Quebec and spent his later years in Waterville, Quebec. I found a "History of Compton County", and I also found a Souvenir Book of Waterville from 1899 giving me a glimpse of what the village was like at that time. Some of the Souvenir books of cities are only pictorial, and some are Historical Souvenir books for an anniversary, writing about founding citizens and their homes, perhaps with a map, as well as photos of the beauty of the place.

I also found several souvenir books of the City of Kingston, where my paternal great grandfather worked and lived.

Search "historical souvenir", "souvenir [town]", "souvenir [association]", "souvenir old boys", "souvenir women", "souvenir des noces" etc... Some of the following titles may give you ideas of what keywords to use in your search. Also check local libraries for souvenir albums.

At Internet Archive there are 59 long pages of links to souvenir books, I managed to keep it down to 6 short ones, of links you may not think to search for. Many of them have photos of people and/or lists of names.

Relevant Links

Souvenir of Waterville, Quebec and vicinity 1899

Souvenir; List of Members Participating in the Grand Tour to Alaska 1891

Souvenir of John Alden - Pilgrim 1904

Bowling Souvenir - Tournaments Played - Brooklyn 1894-95

Album Souvenir XXIe Congrès Eucharistique, Montreal 1910

Souvenir and handbook of Feill a' Chomuinn Ghaidhealaich - Glasgow 1907

Red Cross "Carry On" Souvenir Programme, Brisbane, 1918

Bay of Quite Conference (Methodist Church) Souvenir; Picton, Ontario 1905

Golden Jubilee Souvenir - Karnata Historical Society - India 1970

Amalgamated Society of Engineers - Jubilee Souvenir London 1901

Souvenir.. South Carolina Bankers Association; Isle of Palms 1907

The Coney Island Souvenir (with maps) 1883

Canadian Manufacturers' Association Souvenir - 1893

Transvaal Souvenir - New Brunswick Contingent - 1899

Souvenir: Toronto contingent of volunteers for service in Anglo-Boer War 1899

Canterbury old and new, 1850-1900. A souvenir of the jubilee (New Zealand)

Souvenir Poster Show, Women's Hospital Auxiliary, Brantford, Ont 1906

Perry's Victory Souvenir, Battle of Lake Erie 1813 - The "Niagara" Keepsake 1913

Illustrated souvenir [of carriages] - Studebaker 1893

Centenary souvenir - Iron Founders of England, Ireland and Wales - 1909

The Klondike, a souvenir 1900

Souvenir d'artistes - L.E.N. Pratte, Piano Makers, Montreal 1894 (and list of clients)

Official souvenir; 16th Convention, National Negro Business League, Boston 1915

Loyalists Centennial Souvenir - 1887, St John NB

Complimentary Souvenir Book, National Education Association, California 1915

Art Souvenir of Representative men, buildings, businesses and hoes - Fort Wayne

Souvenir Indiana State Prison South- 1890

Brantford Lacrosse Souvenir - season 1904

Souvenir de Pâques, Trois-Rivières 1909

Souvenir of Canadian Winter Sports - 1904

Souvenir portrait gallery of Saint John, NB 1893-1894

Fête Nationale des Canadiens-Français célébrée à Québec 1881-1889

Welcome Home! Kingston Old Boy's Souvenir - 1903

Souvenir; survivor's association, Gettysburg 1888-1889

Catholic Order of Foresters - Souvenir Book - Montreal 1892

Souvenir Book of the World War - US 1918

The Standard's Valcartier Camp Souvenir 1914

Sponsor Souvenir album; history & reunion - Confederate Army 1895

Football souvenir of the Princeton-Yale game 1911

Souvenir of the first annual Master Painters and Decorators convention held in the Windsor Hotel, Montreal 1904

Souvenir Programme; 8th Central Conference of American Rabbis, Montreal 1897

Historical souvenir and book of the pageants of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec, the ancient capital of Canada - 1908

Golden Jubilee May Day celebration, New Westminster, BC - 1920

Souvenir of our public schools - Brooklyn, NY 1892

Souvenir décennal de l'Ecole Normale Laval, 1857-1867

Souvenir of the Federated Association of Letter Carriers, Hamilton Ont 1913

High Explosive Shells in the Making; a souvenir booklet, Maritime Mfg St John NB 1919

Souvenir of the Wisconsin School for the Deaf; 1852-1902

Historical souvenir of the Fremont Flood, Ohio March 1913

Souvenir, annual ball, Motion Picture Directors Association - LA 1923

Picture Player Camera Men's Ball; souvenir, Rutherford's, LA Jan 1914

A Souvenir, Goderich, Ontario 1897 - the healthiest and prettiest town in Canada

Souvenir, 19th annual Congress of the Assoc for the Advancement of Women, Mich. 1891

A souvenir of the village of Meadowvale-on-the-Credit, 1904

Souvenir des noces d'or des Soeurs de la Charité de Québec 1849-1899

With the American fleet from the Atlantic to the Pacific - Souvenir Edition 1908

Silver and Gold; a pictorial souvenir of the mines of Northern Ontario 1916

Souvenir offert par les magasins du Bon Marché f. par A Boucicaut 1894 (+map of Paris)

Visit of British Public School Boys to Queensland - Souvenir Programme 1926

Souvenir photo views of the big fire, Ottawa & Hull, April 1900

Joliette illustré; numero souvenir de ses noces d'or - 1843-1893

Souvenir of the Bristol Chess Club; 100 original games of chess recently played 1845

Hespeler Old Boy's Re-union; official souvenir programme - Ontario 1906

Souvenir Books of the various Exhibits of the Burroughs Wellcome and Company

Souvenir number of the illustrated war news: being a history of Riel's second Rebellion (with honour roll) 1885

Official souvenir program of the Yale-Harvard boat race, New London, Conn 1895

Souvenir; new exhibition of Canadian official war photographs in colour - 1918

The only official souvenir history of the street railway employees strike of SF 1902

Souvenir of Edmonton Schools, issued at the opening of the High School 1911

A souvenir of World's Fair women and wives of prominent officials connected with - 1892

Souvenir Program of the Women's citizens committee, 26th national encampment of the Grand army of the republic, Washington, DC 1902

Japan To-day; a souvenir of the Anglo-Japanese exhibition held in London 1910

A link of empire; Souvenir of the 70th year of incorporation of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company c1909

Official souvenir and stake program of the inaugural meeting of the Westchester Racing Association - Jockey Club 1905

Official Orange Souvenir; 212th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne - Toronto 1902

La Congrégation des hommes de Notre-Dame de Lévis - 1908

Farmington, Connecticut, the village of beautiful homes. Illustrating every home in the town, prominent people past and present, school children, local antiques, etc 1906

New Hampshire Homes - photographic views of city, village, farm homes, 1895

Sketches of old homes in our village - Vineyard Haven, Mass 1921

Norwood; her homes and people. Historical sketch of Cincinnati's suburban family 1894

Souvenir of Magnolia, Mass (with maps showing homes) 1886

Twin souvenir of Francis C Waid: 1892

"The Old House on the Hill"; historical souvenir sketch of the Marshall Family 1921

Monday, 9 March 2015

What's in a name?

While researching our ancestors we often don't find a female descendant because she changes her name when she gets married. That is particularly true when there are many young women in the same town with the same name, and the parents are not listed on the marriage records. We all have a few of those. Immigrants may have had their name changed by agents who couldn't pronounce or spell their names as they came through customs.

But sometimes we can't find a person because, for whatever reason, they change their name. An ancestor may decide to change his name for nefarious reasons, in which case we may never find them. But to legally change their name, a person submits a petition to the court and places an ad in the local paper.

I can see why this couple decided to change their surname to Fox. I guess he thought if he was changing his name he may as well go all out!

In some places if a woman gets divorced and wants to revert to her maiden name she must also petition the courts, as Mrs. Baer did in 1934.

In the UK notices are posted in the Gazette. Type "name change" in the search box, then in the left hand column check "people".

There are many reasons a person will change his/her name. My husband's aunt, Marie Otilia Nolin had her name changed to Sister Thérèse Joséphine when she became a nun. So religious orders are another place to look for an elusive ancestor.

Listed below are some links to people who have, for some reason, changed their name.

Relevant Links

List of Persons whose names have been changed in Massachusetts - 1780-1883

How to change your name by Deed Poll - UK

Index to Changes of Name 1760-1901 UK

English Province Society of Jesus - alphabetical catalogue of members who assumed aliases or by-names, together with said aliases. - 1875

Handbook of fictitious names: 1868

Register of changes of names during the war by deed poll and enrolment as announced in the "London Gazette." 1919

Monday, 9 February 2015

Teachers

My husband has teachers in his ancestry, Angélique and Marguerite Nolin who started the first school in the Red River Settlement for native and metis girls.

My great grandfather's sister Jean had two daughters, Edith and Margaret Swanson, and in 1940 both were teachers at the Strathcona Academy at 520 (Côte) Ste Catherine Road in Outremont, Montreal. Today this building, built in 1898, is home to the Department of Geography of the University of Montreal.

When WWII started more teachers were needed and the traits they were looking for changed - now not only were they to teach, but to be a role model for latch-key kids, who had absentee fathers and mothers who worked all day. The salary for a teacher depended on whether it was a male or female, and if they held a degree or not. Some "most successful" teachers received bonuses.

average teacher salaries 1899 -1900

There are a few people of Quebec mentioned (in passing) as being schoolmasters in the judicial records at BANQ... go to the Pistard section and search "maître ecole". (You can open in Chrome or use a translator for English). These are court records.

Take a look through the publications "The Education Record for the Province of Quebec", some list teachers: Vol 16 has list of students that received diplomas (page 359), the 1916 volume has a list at the end of "Superior Schools" and their teachers, following appointments to school commissioner (page 323), teacher bonuses and prizes (check each district report), members of the Provincial Association of Teachers (page 34 - 68), plus good information throughout.

Also look to school yearbooks for names and photos of teachers. Following are other materials I have found that give lists of teachers.

Relevant links

Educational Record of the Province of Quebec 1916

Educational Record of the Province of Quebec Vol 16 - 1896

Names and addresses of school teachers of the county of Middlesex, Ont 1899

Westborough Teachers Association (Mass) seniority list 1982-1983 (tenure teachers only)

List of teachers in school districts nos 9 and 10, Sutton, Mass from 1790 to 1897

List of high school teachers, city and county superintendents of Missouri, 1914-1915

Superintendents, teachers and principal officers of Ackworth School, UK 1779 - 1894

Candidates eligible for appointments as teachers - Boston

A handbook showing the names, positions, residences and salaries of the officers, professors & teachers under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education, together with the location of the colleges and schools - New York 1876

Annual School Directory 1909-1910: public schools of Munroe County, NY

History of the "Old High School" on School Street, Springfield, Mass 1828 - 1840; with a personal history of the teachers

Allen County, Indiana school directory - c 1897-1920

The Teachers List - complete alphabetic directory - UK 1872

A Portrait of Retired Black Teachers; a legacy of Nova Scotia's Black History.

Schools and Teachers in the Province of Ontario

Schoolmasters of New France

Ontario Teachers: at Olive Tree Genealogy

Return of Elementary Schools Supported by the Government 1880, Australia Teachers

Monday, 2 February 2015

Civil Servants

Canada Civil List

My great grandfather's brother William, a clerk in Kingston Ontario, applied for and was appointed to the Department of Indian Affairs. William and his wife Louisa had 2 children, but sadly both died in infancy. I can imagine that Louisa wanted to move away from a place of heartache, so they contacted her brother Henry who was on the Privy Council, and he got William the government job. They moved to Ottawa and William started March 18, 1893 as a messenger at Indian Affairs making $300 a year, and worked his way up to a clerk making $450 a year. How did I get all this information? From the Civil Service List of Canada.

A Civil Servant is a "person who works in the public sector for a government department or agency." These include, but are not limited to, public printing and stationery, geological surveyors, prison guards, police, militia, customs officers, postal workers, railways and canals workers, etc....

Australia Civil List 1920

These lists are great, because information you find here will include name, salary, date of birth, and date of appointment. To make it a little easier for you, there is an index of names at the back.

Do you have an ancestor listed among these pages?

Relevant Links:

The Civil Service List of Canada

Return of the names and salaries, &c. of the civil service employees appointed and promoted during the year ended 31st December, 1883

The Massachusetts civil list for the colonial periods 1630-1774

The New York civil list 1889

Civil List of the Province of New-York 1693

Indian Civil Service List for 1880 - India

Quarterly Civil Service List for Punjab; corrected, 1898

Bombay Civil List - 1877

List of Permanent Officers of the Commonwealth Public Service Australia 1920 + 1922

Official Register of the United States - 1883

Official Register of the United States - all

Le Livre Rouge : or, a new and extraordinary Red-book, containing a list of the (Civil Service) pensions in England, Scotland and Ireland – 1810

Related Posts: Sessional Papers

Monday, 15 December 2014

The Millionaire's Club

This year one of the movies premiering at Christmas time is a remake of "Annie", the classic story of Orphan Annie who gets adopted by billionaire Daddy Warbucks. When Christmas time is upon us, don't we all wish we were wealthy like Daddy Warbucks so we could really spoil the ones we love, getting them everything on their wish list??

In the 1800's a $Million would probably be worth a least a $Billion today. Even the people that had a net worth of $10,000 - $100,000 would be millionaires by today's standards.

I have found for you some lists of people and their worth, or the worth of their property. Also a couple of lists and bios of leading men of the city.

Here is an Inflation Calculator to help you find the values of the 1800's for today. Just choose the year from the drop-down menu and enter the value.

Relevant Links:

American Millionaires : the Tribune's list of persons reputed to be worth a million or more. Lines of business in which the fortunes were made - 1892

Boston - Our first men: a calendar of wealth, fashion and gentility: containing a list of those persons taxed in the city of Boston, credibly reported to be worth one hundred thousand dollars, with biographical notices of the principal persons - 1846

The wealthy men and women of Brooklyn an Williamsburgh 1847 - embracing a complete list of all those estimated possessions (in real and personal property) amount to the sum of ten thousand dollars and upwards, together with biographical sketches.

Wealth and Pedigree of the wealthy citizens of New York City and worth - 1800's

Present value of real estate in New York City (by wards) compared with that of 1842 and a list of the wealthy citizens of NYC forty odd - 1884

Memoirs and auto-biography of some of the wealthy citizens of Philadelphia, with a fair estimate of their estates - 1846

The industries of Dublin - historical, statistical, biographical. An Account of the leading business men, wealth and growth - 1887

Dear of Greene County; embracing facts and figures. Portraits and sketches of leading men who will live in her history - 1915

Griffith's list of men and women born in Maine who have risen to distinction - 1905

Queensland - A narrative of her past; with biographies of her leading men - 1900

Monday, 3 November 2014

It's Epidemic!

As long as people have been travelling to and from other lands, they have been spreading disease. Most epidemics in New France began shortly after the arrival of a ship. With travel so much easier and more common the outbreaks spread farther afield, as in the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the latest ebola epidemic, affecting multiple countries.

When I was a child I contracted the usual childhood diseases... measles, whooping cough, chicken pox (which is why I got shingles last year, ugh!). Some diseases it was thought better to have while young, so any kid in the area that got sick, all the other kids were sent to "keep him company". When my younger brother got mumps we had a house full of kids for a while. But my older brother and I never got it. Now you can get vaccinated for these diseases and they are not so common.

My grandfather's sister contracted tuberculosis in 1937 and was sent to a sanitorium. She died soon after, at the age of 31, and meanwhile my mother had been sent to stay with a relative in the country. In the 1950's there was a polio epidemic and our beaches were closed to swimmers, and public pools were heavily chlorinated.

Tuberculosis 1800-1922

Diseases that have been more or less eradicated across the country are making a comeback. "Measles is one of the most contagious and potentially harmful diseases that is preventable by vaccination. Since the vaccine was developed in 1963 there have only been rare cases... " until earlier this year where outbreaks have been reported in Europe, the US and Canada. During the outbreak in Canada some schools would not allow children who have not been vaccinated to attend class.

Some of the epidemics our ancestors may have experienced are typhoid, the plague, cholera, smallpox, yellow fever, dengue fever, measles and influenza. If you find two or more family members (and probably a few neighbours) dying at the same time, you can look for an epidemic occurring at that time.

Below are some lists of victims, and some information booklets or websites. Try local books and newspaper accounts at times of epidemics for lists of victims. For the last two newspaper links below I searched using keyword "epidemic" - try searching using one of the diseases as keyword.

Relevant links

A short account of the malignant fever in Philadelphia : with a statement of the proceedings that took place on the subject in different parts of the United States ; to which are added, accounts of the plague in London and Marseilles ; and a list of the dead, from August 1, to the middle of December, 1793

A short account of the yellow fever, as it appeared in New-London, Connecticut 1798

The malignant fever, prevalent in the city of New York and list of burials 1799

An Accurate list of persons who have died of the malignant fever in New York, including those at Bellevue - 1803

An account of the yellow fever in New York in the year with a list of deaths 1822

The Bilston Cholera Epidemic of 1832, list of victims (still on Wayback Machine)

The Grosse-Isle Tragedy and the Monument to the Irish fever victims, 1847

Immigrants at Grosse Île Quanantine Station (database) 1832-1937

The epidemic summer. List of interments in all the cemeteries of New Orleans from the first of May to the first of November 1853, with names and ages, cause of death, etc.

Death Roll from the Yellow Fever outbreak in Buenos Aires 1871

The Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878 and names of the victims in Memphis.

Dr Dromgoole's Yellow Fever Heroes, Honors and Horrors of 1878, Louisville.

Yellow Fever epidemic at Hickman, KY (including names of victims) 1878

Sketch of the medical and statistical history of epidemic fevers in Ireland, from 1798 and a comparative view of cholera morbus - Dublin 1832 (with 8 named cases)

Some account of the fever which existed in Boston during 1817 and 1818 (some names)

History and description of an epidemic fever, commonly called spotted fever; which prevailed at Gardiner, Maine, in the spring of 1814 (cases but no names)

Annals of influenza or epidemic catarrhal fever in Great Britain from 1510 to 1837.

A Tuberculosis Directory; List of Institutions - United States and Canada 1916

Interactive Timeline - Diseases and Vaccines (use slider at bottom to change year)

Cholera and The Thames (info website)

List of Epidemics world wide (Wikipedia)

Epidemic accounts in Newspapers (google)

Epidemic newspaper accounts - Trove

Pages