Church Canon Laws - baptisms, marriages, burials and more

 

The Canon Laws of a Church dictate the way its members should live, salaries of church clerks and pastors, allowable penalties, and also includes the rules of baptisms, marriages and burials. 

Marriage laws were actually dictated by the civil courts, but the church could give penalties if a marriage went against what the church believed.

In some of the earliest church laws if a child was not baptized within 30 days of birth the father was fined, and if the child died before being baptized the father had to give up everything he owned! Baptisms differ only slightly in religions as to who can be baptized, as the church wants as many souls as possible. (Turn page for who may be sponsors). A conditional baptism is often seen in early records.

Canon Law of Catholic Church 1920

Some gave rules about god-parents or sponsors.

Presbyterian Law 1884

One of the canon laws that was discussed since at least 1761 in all the churches at some time or another, is the "marriage with a deceased wife's sister". 

Presbyterian Law 1882

I don't know about you, but I have at least a couple of ancestor relatives who married their sister-in-law when their wife died. Especially when there were young children involved.

 

The laws of the church were also strict about who could be buried on holy ground. 

Church of England - Burials 1850

All religions have canon laws and you can look up what they were for the religion of your ancestors. 

Relevant Links

What is Presbyterian Law as defined by the Church Courts 1884

A Dictionary of Canon Law, Catholic Church 1920

Laws and Canons of the Church of England 1850,  Vol 1

Laws and Canons of the Church of England 1850, Vol 2

Today's Code of Canon Law - Catholic Church

Church Handbook for members of the Anglican Communion 1907

The Parson's Handbook, Church of England 1902

Laws of the Church of Scotland 1830

Supplement to the Laws of Church of Scotland 1836

Laws and Discipline of the Methodist Church in Ireland 1889

Catholics and the Marriage Bill 1866

Marriage with the Sister of the Deceased Wife Presb. 1868

Marriage Act - various years and places

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?

Annuaire de Ville Marie - Montreal's Beginnings

The Annuaire de Ville Marie is a set of books that tell the history of Montreal, named Ville Marie at the time. You can go to the Index to see what the books are about. 

We will take a look at this 1872 Supplement to the 1874 edition, as it has helped me most in my recent research. This edition has names of streets at the time and a plan of Ville Marie.

Besides the lists of religious figures and students, there is also a list of all the Marguilliers of Montreal from 1657 to 1864. A Marguillier is a churchwarden, and part of his job is the maintenance of the church. The Marguillier was elected, and he had a special pew in the church, as befitted his important position. He kept an account of the parishioners, who paid their tithes (dîmes), who needed alms, etc. He may also have kept the registers. 

There is a section about the registers of Ville Marie with a list of the first baptisms and marriages. One of the families I am researching had a baby that was the fourth ever to be baptized in Montreal!

 Another section has the heading...

"Prémices du sang que Ville Marie a versé pour la colonisation et le salut du pays, durand les vingt premières années de sa fondation."

First spilling of blood that Ville Marie shed for the colonization and the salvation of the country in its first twenty years.

Names of people slain

The issue titled Premiere Annee 1863 is mostly about the religious people, the economy, the institutions and the societies, with names of officials, and is partly bilingual. See below for links to the different volumes, including one on Boucherville. Take a look at the indexes, and have a flip through to see what can help with your early Montreal anncestors. 





Relevant links

Annuaire de Ville Marie 

Annuaire de Ville Marie - Premiere Annee

Annuaire de Ville Marie - Supplement to 1864 edition, 1872 

Histoire de la paroisse de Boucherville

Histoire des paroisses de Diocèse de Montréal

Annuaire de Ville Marie: Hôtel-Dieu, Hôpital-Général – 4 volumes

Related Posts:

Montreal Official Book of Reference

Churchwarden's Accounts

Kinship in Genealogy

There are two types of kinship... by blood and by marriage. Then there are degrees of kinship. You can read about them here.


The Department of Anthropology at the University of Alabama has a Kinship Glossary on their website. This is actually where I got my Letter Z for the A to Z challenge in 2016.  Did you know that Z is for sister?   

Genealogy Abbreviations

  
Scrolling down the page author Michael Dean Murphy has compiled a list of Kinship Terms and Concepts for many cultures. 

Examples:

Did you know that a  Matrifocal Family consists of a mother and her children? 

Fictive Kin are those not related by blood or marriage, such as godparents, close family friends, blood brothers and informally adopted children. This is family you choose!




Relevant Links

Kinship glossary, terms and concepts - university of Alabama

Kinship terms at Linguistik Online

Family words in various languages

Bazaars, Markets and Fairs

A BAZAAR is a marketplace. Some places had permanent Bazaars, the precursor to the mall, and in some countries called a mall. 

Some were outdoors with different shops or stalls, and some indoors with booths. It was prestigious to finally get a place near the door or entrance. 

15 Sept 1642, France
Nicholas Albert, drapery merchant, sold to Francois Maupetit a stall located at the halls in the drapery row and which contained a trove (bay), for the sum of 40 livres which he paid in cash.

At times a short-lived Bazaar would occur during the year, perhaps when a special shipment of items newly arrived from overseas, or for a fundraiser for a charity. 

Some markets were just for livestock and breeders would come from all around to sell their cattle, pigs, sheep and horses. My Bruce ancestors went to many town markets in Devonshire to sell their cattle.

(A stot is a castrated male calf and a quey is a female calf)

A FAIR was a local gathering to sell homemade goods or their farm products, present their best livestock and participate in contests.  They typically occur at different times throughout the year so a person could travel to fairs in a different town. 

1862 Schedule of Fairs in Devonshire where my King ancestors lived 

I went to many Fairs in the small down where I grew up and it was always an exciting event to look forward to.  It was mostly homemade crafts and baked goods for display and sale, with games and costume parades for the kids. As I got older I helped out my grandmother at her church bazaars in the city. 

My kids grew up in a more rural area and the yearly fair they looked forward to had farm equipment exhibits, livestock exhibitions, horseback riding events, tractor pull, etc as well as the craft and baked goods displays. 

A local library or archives may have info on local fairs and bazaars. Also check in newspapers for winners of different catagories.  



Relevant links

Souvenir and handbook of Feill a' Chomuinn Ghaidhealaich (The Highland Association Bazaar) 1907

Report of the Christmas Bazaar: Ladies' Hospital Relief Assn, Rochester N.Y 1863

Davis Brothers Golden Rule Bazaar (San Francisco)

Grand Bazaar: School of Industrial Art, Philadelphia 1896

Old Moore's almanack: Fairs and Markets in England 1862

Ye boke of ye grande Masonnic fancie fayre & bazaar ofye oldene tyme, in ayde of ye Belfast Masonnic charyties – 1883

Ye List of ye Happnynges at ye Grand Bazaar. School ofIndustrial Art, Phila. 1896

The lady's bazaar & fancy fair book 1880

Souvenir book Providence teachers' bazaar 1901

Did your Ottawa (Illinois) ancestors move away or pass away?

Many of us find our ancestors in directories and census, and then they disappear!

If that happened to you, and your ancestors were from Ottawa.. you may be in luck! 

Gives a little blurb about the former residents...

Update:  I should have mentioned this is Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois 

 
Relevant Links

LaSalle County Centennial - Directory of Former Ottawa Residents 1831-1931

Who's the Boss?

Do you take an interest in the people your ancestors worked for? I like to look into the lives of their employers and try to get a sense of what kind of people they were. 

Conversely, if my ancestor IS the boss, I like to see about the people that worked in their household or in their business. 

Jane Mavor was my 2x great grandfather's sister.  According to the 1891 and 1901 census Jane worked as a cook for the Crombie family in Aberdeen. She must have been a good cook, as she seemed to be in their employ a long time. Theodore Crombie, his wife Margaret and their children lived at 18 Albyn Place, Aberdeen, next door to the female orphan asylum. Theodore was head of J & J Crombie and manufactured woollens at the Grandholm Mill in Aberdeen. The company supplied gray cloth for the confederate army during the American Civil War, and supplied officers uniforms for the British forces in World Wars One and Two. The Crombie brand is famous for its luxury coats.


As a young man my 2x great grandfather Alexander Mavor and his brother Francis worked as labourers on the farm of Jonathan Whitehead Esq. of Little Methlic, just a short 10 miles from his home in Ellon.  Johnathan Whitehead had his animals listed on 14 pages of the 1855 Coate's Herd Book as a breeder of fine shorthorned cattle.   

1855 Coate's Herd Book, pg 326

When Alexander Mavor immigrated to Canada he worked as a farm servant on Île-aux-Reaux for Doctor George Mellis Douglas, who owned the Island at the time.  Douglas was a doctor at Grosse Île quarantine station in Quebec. When the good doctor committed suicide in June of 1864 Alexander still worked on the island farm until sometime between 1871 and 1874, when he got land in Compton, Quebec.


On the boss side....

Thomas Prowse was born in 1844 in Charleton, Devon.  In 1861 he was 17 years old and was living in the household of my ancestor George King, working as a carter at the mill in Woodleigh. George died in 1864 and in 1871 Thomas was a gunner with the Royal marine Artillery aboard the Penelope at Harwick. In 1881 Thomas is a Leading Seaman aboard the Achilles, moored off neutral ground in Gibralter.

In 1884 Thomas married Margaret Edgecombe from Loddissell, and they had at least four children. On the 1891 UK census they lived in Marlborough and Thomas is a labourer.  Thomas died in 1893.

Usually my farmer ancestors had family living with them, and on censuses were listed as servants. Some were farm labourers working outside and some were domestics working inside. As example we look at John Singleton's family in Preesall, Lancashire. In 1861 in his household are listed Rachel Myerscough, George Hodgson and Thomas Cumpsty. There are too many George Hodgson but I did find who the other two were.

Rachel Myerscough b.1837 was the sister of John's son William's wife, Margaret Myerscough. John Singleton died in 1863 and Rachel went to live with William's family, with her brother John and her sister Elizabeth's illegitimate child William. The three of them were in the Singleton household on the 1871 census. Rachel had two illegitimate children, Mary Ellen b.1856 and Joseph b.1878.  Rachel married Robert Blackburn in 1883. 

Thomas Cumpsty was the son of William and Martha Cumpsty, who lived next door to William and Margaret Myerscough, the parents of Margaret and Rachel. Thomas married Mary Kirkman in 1869. In 1911 Thomas was living with his family in Fleetwood, Lancashire and working as a dock worker for a railroad company.

Sometimes I contact people that are researching these employees or bosses and have a chat with them about our families. Oftentimes they didn't dig us as much info as I did!!

Who is the boss and who is the employee on your family tree? 

Canada 150 - Men's Wear Review

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...

Men’s Wear Review

Throughout there are portraits of company and store owners or managers. 

Directors of Semi-Ready Ltd, Montreal 1911

Look for a personal section...

Of A Personal Nature, 1916

Relevant Links

The men's Wear Review 1911-1922

Canada 150 - Dry Goods Review

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 Canadian Dry Goods Review

There are twelve months of issues in one volume.  Look for personal column, and business changes column in each issue. Published in Toronto, but for all of Canada.

November 1891, pg 10, mark 255

And....  a French version published in Montreal.

Tissus et nouveauts

Relevant Links

Style: Dry Goods Review 1891-1922

Tissus et nouveauts 1900-1913

Is DNA testing right for me?

Many companies are offering DNA testing for genealogy, and a DNA test is not cheap, over $100 and more a pop! Even when it is on sale it is a lot of money to spend for a trend.

I have never been a follower.  I weigh the pros and cons to decide what is right for me.

The structure of part of a DNA double helix

You do not need a DNA test to know who you are.  You are the sum of your upbringing and your life experiences. I know and am confident in who I am.

I also know where my heritage lies. Some of our family recipes and traditions were passed down because of our heritage. I know where I come from.

On my paternal side I have my Dad's father's line back to Ireland in the 1600s and his mother's line back to Scotland in the 1500s.

On my maternal side I have my Mom's father's line back to Aberdeenshire in 1800 and her mother's line back to Devonshire in the 1700s.

Taking a DNA test may help you to find a cousin or two (if they also tested with the same company) and hopefully they can then help you with your research.
Via my tree on Ancestry, through genealogy forums, and a couple of times via genealogy groups on Facebook, I have virtually met dozens of cousins (I'm a poet) in all my lines and we share information, records and stories. I find that with all the media attention genealogy is getting these past few years, more Gen X and Y people are looking into their family history, giving us a better chance at meeting family.

From what I have read on both sides of the DNA coin, I see no upside to my taking the DNA test.  I don't think that the information DNA testing can tell me is specific enough to be worth $100. For me it is more of a fun thing, like going to a good fortune teller. I would rather put the money towards my travel fund to go to Scotland and do more research in Aberdeen. Or subscribe to British Newspaper Archive to find more stories on my ancestors.

Many people are not as lucky as I am with their research and may not know where their deep roots are buried. All I am saying is don't take the DNA test just because everyone else is doing it. But DO take it if you have weighed all the scientific information and decide for yourself it is right for you.

I am open to any reasons you can give me of why I should test my DNA and how it will help me know more about my ancestry. I don't know everything!

What is your experience with DNA testing?



Relevant Links

The business of heritage: what’s the deal with genetic sequencing? (McGill University)

How does DNA testing work, BBC Science

DNA Testing: An Introduction for Non-Scientists 

DNA Fact or Science Fiction, Family Tree Magazine

Tracing Your Ancestry, MIT Technology Review

Understanding genetic ancestry testing, University College London

Coffee, Tea or.... More Coffee!

It is not known exactly when people started drinking coffee, but there are theories.
I am a coffee drinker.  Always have been.  When I was young my Mom would make hot chocolate for my brothers and sister, but I had Mom's version of Café au Lait... heated up milk with instant A&P coffee stirred in.

And I'm with Juan, I don't like flavoured coffees. I like my coffee to taste like coffee. With lots of cream, probably from my Café au Lait days. My family and friends know not to talk to me in the morning until I've had my coffee.

Tea or Coffee Pot - Patent E.E. Crook 1989

I also like my Coffee.. crisp (Canadian joke)



Relevant links

The tea & coffee trade journal

Coffee: its history, classification and description, 1894

All About Coffee. 1922

How to make Perfect Coffee, 1922

Coffee Planters Manual, 1880

Coffee: production, trade and consumption by countries, 1912

Coffee and Substitutes, 1918

The Mexican Gulf agricultural company. Inc under laws of Missouri, 1896

Presented with compliments of Chase & Sanborn: Importers of and wholesale dealer in teas and coffees, 1882

Kato Coffee: souvenir of the Pan-American Exhibition, 1901

Patent - tea or coffee pot, E E Crook, 1898

All patents on file at Canada Patent Office for a Coffee Pot

Canada 150 - Women's Canadian Club

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 Women's Canadian Club

Try looking at a local library for other Women's Canadian Club - Vancouver, Ottawa, Fort William, Edmonton, etc



Relevant Links


Women's Canadian Club of Toronto 1911-1912

Constitution of the Women's Canadian Club of Montreal 1907

Constitution of the Women's Canadian Club of Montreal 1912

Women's Canadian Club of ST John, NB 1911-1912

Luck or Fate?

Have you ever had your future foretold by a Fortune-telling Machine? There was once everything from table top Swami fortune telling napkin dispensers at the local drug store to mechanical exotic gypsy fortune telling machines at carnivals and fairs.

You can buy a Zoltar Fortune Teller here!

Do you believe something happened to you because it was luck, good or bad, or because it was fate?   If you lost your job was it because you walked under a ladder, or because you were destined to get a better job?

What does your future hold?


Relevant Links


The Universal Fortune Teller, 1860

True Fortune Teller; or universal book of fate, Glasgow 1800s

Everybody's Book of Luck, 1900



Related post:  Enter if you Dare!

Serendipity Sunday - Generations of Birthdays

Update: 13 Dec 2016

Mom has passed now and is with her mother and grandmother looking down on me as I celebrate yet another birthday. My Mom always made birthdays special, not just for us but even for strangers I would bring home that had no family close by. That is a gift I gave to my children as they are doing now for theirs!




I came across some old birthday books, and it just happens to be my birthday!

I love birthdays! They are always a celebration in our family, as they were in my parents', grandparents' and great-grandparents' families!

Mom getting kisses from her great grandchildren on her 90th birthday, 2015

Granny getting kisses from her great-grandchildren on her 90th birthday, 1984

My great-grandmother with her grown children on her 75th birthday, 1942

I sure hope I am around to get kisses from my great-grandchildren on my 90th birthday!

I have one daughter that was born Christmas Day.  I made sure her birthday was separate from Christmas, with a celebration at lunch with balloons and birthday-paper-wrapped gifts.  She liked having a Christmas birthday, just don't ever send her a Christmas/Birthday card (which we all did for her 30th hehehe!).

My grandmother never forgot an anniversary or a birthday.  She always bought her greeting cards ahead of time and kept them in her Birthday Organizer.  It was a book of envelopes in which she could place the cards for each month and write on the line for the right day the names of people having birthdays or anniversaries.
Something like this....

Every year I got a greeting card from my Granny and Grampa in the mail, and when I was young the card always had $2 tuck in it. When we went to my grandparents' for their birthday, my Granny always made a birthday cake with waxed-paper-wrapped money baked in it. Some nickles and dimes and one quarter. That was fun for us kids! Who would get the quarter?

In the 1800's to early 1900's it was popular to give someone a Birthday Book.  Some of these books had sayings or poems from famous writers, some had birthdays of famous people entered. There were lines to add the birthdays of family and friends.

From Astrological Birthday Book, 1915

I guess I am old enough to have seen some of the movies made by the actors in the Actor Birthday Book. Or, I just like old movies.

How do you celebrate birthdays differently, or the same, as your ancestors?




Relevant Links


Actor Birthday Book, 1908

Past and Present Birthday Book, 1899

The Comic Birthday Book, c1900's

The Canadian Birthday Book, English and French, 1887

Astrological Birthday Book, 1915



Related post:  The Day Granny King Turned 75

Join the Genealogy Community

There are still many people researching their family tree who are missing out on a great resource!  People who actually live in the places you are researching.  Where do you find these people?  On Facebook.  Oh no.... don't shut me down yet.  Read on!

Some of the Groups I belong to

You don't have to put your life on Facebook, just start a profile with minimum information (some people give false info, not that I condone this, but just saying..) That's all¹. You don't even have to post anything. Then you can join any of the thousands of Groups that cater to genealogy research and learning. You can leave and receive private messages with people in groups. Thousands of people all over the world are ready to answer your questions, help you find out where to look next for records, go walking in their local cemetery, look up something in the archives, check out old newspapers, and do the happy dance with you as you make new discoveries. It is a great community of genealogy helpers and well-wishers!

Who knows, you may even make friends with fellow family genealogists or find long lost cousins!

Katherine Willson has compiled a list of Genealogy Groups on Facebook, which she updates from time to time. You can download the latest version of the list in PDF at her website. Besides the ones specific to my areas of research I like to ask for help at "Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness".  There is a group that is USA specific and an International group. All fabulous and friendly people!

Once you sign up here....

Every blog post I write is posted to my Facebook group page here.  By joining my group page you get extra information I post from time to time.  Also under the File tab on the group page menu I have uploaded pages of every list of links from all my articles (except for Serendipity Sunday or the few articles that have only a couple of links.) These files are free to download and share!

So give yourself a gift this holiday season and join the Genealogy Community on Facebook.


¹PS: with so many spammers leaving unwanted ads and such these days, with some groups you may have to private message the administrator to tell them you are legitimate.



*Note: I am not promoting Facebook per se, just the wonderful people on Facebook who give of their time and expertise through this social media platform to help others in the Genealogy World every day!

Serendipity Sunday - Old Manors and Houses in Quebec

A while ago I came across this book...

Old Manors, Old Houses - 1927

After the Table of Contents in the back is an index of names.