Sidetracked by Grandpa Fowler

I spent a long time planning which ancestor I would research first.  I chose to do my first family history search about my maternal grandmother, Caroline McMurray Davies. She was a young, girl who grew up in southern Alberta, Canada,circa 1930.  Her family was of Scottish descent, and she married a young man whose family ancestors hailed originally from Wales.

I have enjoyed my memories of my dear grandmother, but as I search, I remember more. Questions come to mind, some I will have to research.  Luckily, I can still ask my mother for some of the answers, and I need to do that while her memories are still accurate.

However, today I got a little sidetracked.  I was moving some journals from one shelf to another and came across a wonderful picture of my paternal grandfather, Douglas Bradshaw Fowler. I knew him as my grandpa, but he was also a family doctor in southern Alberta, Canada.  The untold story is that he went to Pharmacy School at University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta to become a Pharmacist, but after doing that work for a while, he left his wife and young family to go to Ontario to go to medical school and later returned as a Doctor.

I need to do some more research  to get all the details, so I will try to not get too sidetracked, but I need to find out all about it.

"When the folks went to town..."

This was a story about  my mom, Glenna Elaine Davies.   This story takes place when she was a young girl, but old enough to stay home alone when her folks had to go to town.

Occasionally, George and Carrie Davies would go to town and leave the girls home. One time Glenna was trying to keep herself entertained and was doing a little snooping around.  Her house didn't really have any closets or built in cupboards either upstairs or on the main floor.

However, in the living room, there was a window with a window seat. Many parts of the year the family didn't even use the living room as it was too cool or cold.

A "store set" similar to this.

She went in the living room and decided to lift up the window seat lid to see what was there. Inside the window seat she found an amazing site. An entire little store set, very authentic and, just like you would find at the store. There was even a little cash register to ring up sales.

This was an absolute treasure!

For the next few months, every time her folks went to town, Glenna would go into the living room and play with the little store set. There was never any thought in her mind about why they were there or whose they were, it was just a huge bonus to have them there to enjoy.


A few months passed, and then it was Christmas morning.  

Her folks were so excited as they had saved and scrimped to be able to purchase a store bought gift of a little store set. Glenna  was not very excited at all, by now these were well-played with and there was no novelty about this gift. 

Hauling Water -

Caroline McMurray Davies -  

Water - Easy to Take for Granted

It's Saturday morning, and my firm commitment for family history sleuthing will help me press forward today as I clean my house so latter I can sit unencumbered to work on family information gathering.

I will be thankful for the modern appliances I have that help make my life easier. I just put the linens in the washing machine and turn a few dials. They will be washed (through no effort of my own)and then I can move them to the dryer and in a short time they will be dry and I can  take them upstairs and remake my California King size bed..

My mother told me that while she was growing up, her mother, my Grandmother Davies had to haul all the water she needed everyday into the house,  then she had to haul it all out. They kept a reservoir (steel or tin tub of some kind) on one side of the stove so that they always had some warm/hot water. Imagine for a day that everything you needed water for you had to walk to the well, carrying a bucket, then pump the water or pull it up from the well and carry it inside, then heat for cooking and bathing, and laundry, and for any other needs. Then once the water had been used it all had to be carried outside again.

I have no excuses about getting my laundry done today.  I won't even go into other details of my easy life- that can come later.

Richard Orr and Caroline Derricott

 

Caroline Derricott - Grandmother to my Grandmother

Caroline Derricott, was born October 1, 1843 at Oakengates, Shropshire, England.  She was from a family of 12 children.  Her father was Charles Derricott who was born in England in 1806.

Caroline was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when she was a young girl.  Those who joined the Mormon church at that time were baptized at night because the people were so bitter against those who joined.

The family moved to Neuslain, Willinghall, England due to persecution.

She met her intended husband Richard Hoar, when she was about 18 years old.  Richard was considering going to America to Zion so he got consent of Caroline's parents to go with them and they would be married in Zion.  At this point in time it was not possible to marry anyone outside of your own class or title and so he would not have been able to marry Caroline in England.

My grandmother- Caroline McMurray 
Her mother - Sarah Ann Orr  (my great-grandmother)

Her grandmother - Caroline Derricott (my great-great grandmother)

The "Monarch of the Sea" and beyond...

Caroline's parents wanted their children to go to Zion as they already had one daughter in Zion who had gone across the plains with a handcart company.

In May 1861, Richard and Caroline set sail for America on a sailing vessel called the "Monarch of the Sea".  They were married June 18, 1861 the day before they landed in New York Harbor.  they were married by Elder Jabus Woodward; he had presided over the group on this voyage. they stayed a year in New York to make some money for their journey to Zion.  In spring 1862, they made their way to Winter Quarters, Florence, Nebraska. In May 1862, they hired out to Wagon Master John R. Young.  Richard was to act as teamster to four yoke of cattle wagons of merchandise from Winter Quarters to Salt Lake city for the John R. Murdoch Company.  Caroline also had to drive a team.

more to come....

Caroline Orr's parents - 
Charles Derricott 1803-1885
Mary Ashley 1805-1885

Richard Charles Orr's parents - 

Charles Hoar 1813-1887
Elizabeth Webb 1816-1841

Sailing on "The Monarch of the Sea"

In 1861, Richard Orr and Caroline Derricott sailed from England to the New York harbor. They were married on board the ship in the harbor, June 18, the day before they docked.

  A ship similar to "The Monarch of the Sea"

There are several first-hand  accounts from other passengers on "The Monarch of the Sea".  When I read them I try to visualize what it was like for them as they traveled.

"At Liverpool we embarked on the Monarch of the Sea, a very old and rickety ship and entirely unseaworthy.  The sea was so rough and stormy that the waves washed over the top of the deck. When the people were frightened the captain said. "We'll land in New York all right.  We've got Mormons on board and we always get through when we have Mormons."  On its return voyage The Monarch of the Sea, loaded with cargo, sank, but the captain and the crew were saved.

We were on the ocean six weeks.  All of the Mormon families traveled in the steerage. the voyage was very rough.  I can remember the chest sliding and banging from side to side across the wooden floor and all of the other chests and trunks with it.  I can also remember my mother sitting and clasping her hands, praying that we would get to America in safety.  She was a very devout and courageous woman.   We slept in bunks on the sides of the boat.  In the center we children played during the daytime and ate our meals.  Our food consisted of hard tack and a little bacon and coffee.  We used our chests and trunks as tables when we ate our food.  Sometimes the captain would be kinder than usual and send down a little soup."

From -
Alma Elizabeth Miner Felt. Journal, An Enduring Legacy. Volume 7. Salt Lake City: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1984

Sanpete County and the Sanpete Valley Railroad

Circa 1877

Richard and Caroline Orr moved their family to Sanpete county.  They homesteaded two miles east of Moroni and the boys ran the farm while Richard ran a freight train on the Sanpete Valley  Railroad.
three more children were born here: Oliver, January 1, 1875, Joseph, January 8, 1877, and Bertrand Oscar, April 28, 1880.

At this time the nearest church was at Moroni, Utah, and the family didn't get there too often.Caroline began to worry about the children growing up without the benefit of the gospel which she and her husband had left England to keep.  They began to make active plans to get the family closer to church activities and family relations.

When the 10th child arrived, Arthur, born July 13, 1882, they sent a letter of announcement to one of Caroline's brothers (Charles Derricott) in Liberty, Idaho.  He wrote and advised them to come to this area as there were several church in the area as the church had been colonizing this part of Idaho along the Bear River.

Salt Lake City, November 1862

Richard Orr and Caroline Derricott Orr arrived in Salt Lake City in November 1862.  After a year they moved to Morgan county in Weber Valley and rented a farm and went into farming.  By now, they had 2 children.  Thomas Charles Orr, January 16, 1863 and  Elizabeth Caroline born on June 1, 1865.  Three more children were born in Morgan; Sarah Ann Orr, December 29, 1867 (my great-grandmother), Rosa Lee Orr, January 28, 1869, and Josiah Orr, September 11, 1870.  He worked for Union Pacific Railroad, and then the Utah Southern Railroad.

Richard was the engineer on the train that hauled rock from the quarry into Salt Lake City to help build the temple. They moved into Salt Lake again where the sixth child was born, Richard Orr on September 30, 1872.

President Brigham Young called him to go down to Kanab.  It was about this time that their surname was changed from Hoar to Orr by Utah Legislation for the good of his daughters growing up.


Sarah Ann Orr, born  December 29, 1867  was my great-grandmother.

The Move to Canada

Richard Orr and Caroline Derricott Orr

After 8 years of farming and railroading in Sanpete County they moved to a farm at Liberty, Bear Lake Country, Idaho, located on a land later called Sharon.  While they were here, two more children were borne: Mary Rebecca, born  November 9, 1883 and William Ernest born April 19, 1886.

While in Liberty, Idaho they became more active in the church and had 5 of their children baptized on the same day - June 3, 1883.

In the 23 years they lived in this area they raised sheep and cattle, grew some grain and lots of hay.

Then they moved to Canada where some of their sons had moved a few years previously.

James Stevenson McMurray 1863-1948

James Stevenson McMurray - my great-grandfather, was married to Sarah Ann Orr.  She was the third child of Richard and Caroline Orr.

My mother, Glenna Davies had these memories of him: "Grandpa McMurray made cedar chests for his daughter Carrie and Lila and for some of his granddaughters.  He didn't come to Carmangay very often, but one time he came and built some steps on the front porch ... before that time we had had quite a struggle to get up on the porch. Grandpa was a quiet man, but was always up early. He liked to exercise and he tried to eat healthy and nutritious food."

In 1946, Mable McMurray Hull helped Grandfather McMurray by scribing this short history.  These were his words:

"I was born at Grantsville, Utah, U.S.A., 13 July 1863 and lived with my parents until 1870 when they were called to settle Bear Lake Co. at Liberty, Idaho.  I also lived there with them.

In 1901, I moved to Canada.  There was an impelling feeling that prompted me to come to Canada.  Josiah Orr and family, Alfred Sillitoe, George Sillitoe, and J.T. Derricott all came together. We sent a delegation to Cardston- to Stake President Card and he told us there was not better place to settle so we got busy and settled where Orton is today. I had three quarter sections of land and had a struggle to pay for them.  We had good crops till  1909, and in 1910 it was very dry and only summer fallow was worth cutting.  I figured on 12,000 bushels and got 1,200.  In 1911, it was very wet, froze and rusted.  All my children except for my two youngest were born n the United States.

I buried my first wife, Sarah, on 28 August 1909. she died of blood poisoning brought on by Erysipelas.  Lila was the baby, just 4 months old. Lottie was about 17 and the oldest living girl.  She helped by looking after things.  There were 9 children at home."

Caroline Derricott

Caroline Derricott - Grandmother to my Grandmother

Caroline Derricott, was born October 1, 1843 at Oakengates, Shropshire, England.  She was from a family of 12 children.  Her father was Charles Derricott who was born in England in 1806.

Caroline was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when she was a young girl.  Those who joined the Mormon church at that time were baptized at night because the people were so bitter against those who joined.

The family moved to Neuslain, Willinghall, England due to persecution.

She met her intended husband Richard Hoar, when she was about 18 years old.  Richard was considering going to America to Zion so he got consent of Caroline's parents to go with them and they would be married in Zion.  At this point in time it was not possible to marry anyone outside of your own class or title and so he would not have been able to marry Caroline in England.

My grandmother- Caroline McMurray 
Her mother - Sarah Ann Orr  (my great-grandmother)

Her grandmother - Caroline Derricott (my great-great grandmother)

Oral History Interviews

Oral History Interview Techniques

When you are planning a trip to visit relatives and you want to do some oral history interviews here are a few tips that worked for me. I like to have a bag all packed and hanging inside the front coat closet, then I don't have to look all over for the things I need and run the risk of forgetting something very important.

• digital or cassette tape recorder (bring a microphone it there is not one built in)
• AC cord
• supply of cassettes if using a tape recorder
• labels for the tapes
• extension cord
• extra batteries
• notepad and pens
• list of questions, or a book on oral history with sample questions
• address book to note relatives' names and addresses the person you interview may give you
• a research notebook with pedigree charts and family group sheets
• watch or cellphone so you don't overstay your welcome (one hour is a good amount of time for an interview)
• photocopies of any documents you've gathered to show the relative- they may be good conversation starters
• photographs that your need to identify
• magnifying glass, in case the relative needs to have the picture amplified
• cell phone or other digital camera to take picture of items or documents that cannot leave that home

A lap-top is also really good to have when you go to an oral history interview.

Killing Turkeys for Market

Carrie and George Davies

"Every year we had some turkeys, and usually about ten survived the skunks and coyotes. We would usually keep one for Christmas and then decide when we could take the others to Lethbridge to sell.  Two days before we would go to sell them, George would slit their tongues to kill them.  They were then hung by their feet so all the blood drained out.  Then they were laid out on the kitchen table to get all the feathers out.then we laid them on some newspaper on the living room floor. There was no heat in the living room, so it was pretty cold in there. Over night they would freeze.  The next day we took the frozen turkeys to market to sell them."

Caroline McMurray Davies

I found this short bio on my grandmother- I don't know what it was written for, but it is just a short, concise piece:

Caroline McMurray was the 9th child of James S. McMurray and Sarah Orr. She was born on march 11, 1902 in Orton, Alberta, Canada. Her parents and seven siblings moved from Idaho in march.  It was cold and windy, they had no house, and lived in a tent for a few weeks.  Being very windy in March many times her parents and older brothers would stand outside and hold down the tent poles.

Carrie, as she was called, also had a younger sister named Lila. They were the only ones born in Canada.

When Carrie was nine her mother died of a rare disease. Lila was only four months old. Carrie was very sad and lonesome. Her older sisters helped take care of her and little Lila. Before her mother died, Carrie would stand at her side with a fan to help keep the flies from bothering her.

She attended school to sixth grade. She lived with some of her older siblings to help take care of their children. Late she worked for several different families helping with housework.  While she was doing that kind of work she met George Davies and they were married.

About 18 months after George died in 1957 she attendend Nursing School in Calgary and became a successful Nursing aid and worked at three different hospitals until she retired.

She died June 1, 1981 after being ill with Parkinson's disease.

Tuesday Task - Find a Flag

England

Wales

When one of my sons was about 12 years old he was working on the Genealogy Merit Badge for Boy Scouts.  One requirement was to do a 4-generation pedigree chart.  He carefully filled it out by copying the information from both of his grandmas.

Scotland

Then we went to a store that sold small flags and bought a flag for each country that was on his pedigree chart. It was a good visual to show how diverse our heritage and background can be.

Norway

Gold flecks - Now why don't you search for information on your own ancestors...

Pony Express Rider

Thomas Owen King, Jr.

My father: Allan King Fowler     1928-1971
His mother (my grandmother): Louise King     1898-1987
Her father (my great-grandfather): Thomas Owen King     1869-1946
His father ( my great-great-grandfather)  Thomas Owen King Jr.   1840-1921

Experiences of Thomas Owen King Jr.

Pony Express Rider

In March 1860, T.O. King was employed to ride the pony express.  The first work he performed was with several other men distributing horses to the stations for one hundred miles east of Salt Lake City.  He was left at the mouth of echo Canyon to ride to Bear River -- forty miles distance -- when the rider from the west reached that point.  

He started on his first trip 7 April, 1870.  He was 20 years old that year.  Mounting his pony at 12 noon, he rode twenty miles, when a yell brought out a man from a station with a fresh horse.  He went five miles further and encountered a heavy snow with only a narrow path.  He lost the path, but recovered it and got through on the scheduled time. George Leonard, the next rider had given out and King had to double back.


"My longest ride,"  he writes, was from Salt Lake to Hanis Fork, 140 miles and return the next day; making the trip in 13 hours and I remember I went out walking that evening with my best girl.  I don't know how far I could have ridden in those days, with just time to eat a little.. I never tired."

When the semi-weekly express was put on, I rode from Salt Lake to Bear river -- 80 miles -- and opposite me rode Henry Worley, going and coming in the night.  Often the hostler would ask me where I met Worley, and I would say I hadn't even seen him.  It was the same with him; we were both asleep when we passed each other but our horses were going the same old gait.

The Pony Express, a system of transportation which employed ponies in relays, was started by private parties in 1860.

The ponies employed in the service were splendid specimens of speed and endurance.  There were fed and housed with the greatest care, for their mettle must never fail the test to which it was put.  Ten miles distance at the limit of the animals pace was extracted from him and he came darting into the station flecked with foam, nostrils dilated and every hair reeking with perspiration while his flanks thumped at every breath.


The case of letters carried made a bundle no longer than an ordinary tablet.  Twenty pounds was the limit of weight of mail carried.

The pony rider was usually a little bit of a  man, brimful of spirit and endurance.. No matter what time of day or night his watch came on, and not matter whether it was winter or summer, raining, or snowing, hailing or sleeting or whether his 'beat' was level straight road or crazy trail over mountain craggs  and precipices or whether it lead through peaceful regions or with hostile Indians, he must always be ready to leap into the saddle and be off like the wind!


There was no idling time time for a pony rider on duty.  He rode 50 miles without stopping, by daylight, moonlight, or the blackness of darkness.


The riders dress was thin, and fitted close; he carried not arms - he carried nothing that was not absolutely necessary for even the postage on his literary freight was worth $5.00 a letter.  His horse was stripped of unnecessary weight also.  He wore a little wafer of a racing saddle with no visible blanket.  He wore light shoes or none at all.


The stage coach traveled about 100 to 125 miles a day (24 hours), while the pony express riders about 250 miles.

Caroline -

  - the Garden and the Chickens

Carrie loved helping Mrs. Davies with the garden and with the chickens. She enjoyed weeding the garden early in the morning before it go too hot.  She could be alone outside, and could daydream about George, and how wonderful it was when he kissed her. She daydreamed about the possibility of George and her having a place of their own someday.

She took good care of the chickens and also learned how to chop off the head and pluck the feathers and get that chicken in the pot quickly.

The Davies seemed to all be waiting and watching to see how quickly she learned everything and before you could "shake a stick"   they were getting married; George was 27 and Carrie was 23. They lived in a two room house north east  of Claresholm for a few years until they could buy a farm.

Saturday's Story...

 

Thoughts . . . . Caroline McMurray 

 

Alberta, Canada

Happiness does not just happen; you have to work really hard for it, and still it comes in its own time.

In 1909, when Caroline McMurray was a young girl of seven, she saw her mother die from errasipitus. She remembered fanning her mother to keep the flies off her up in her bedroom in the days before she died.  Her little sister, Lila was 4 months old, so she really missed having a mom, as did the four older brothers and four older sisters.

After a while(1914) her dad married a young girl from England just two years, who was to be the new stepmother. There was lots of work to do marrying into a family with so many children, and she made them all work hard.

She didn't teach, instead just yelled at the kids to get the work done. Carrie would have loved to be taught how to make bread, grow a garden, keep a tidy English home and take care of the chickens, but instead she resented Elizabeth trying to take her mother's place and wanted to get away.

She wasn't very nice to the kids, so Carrie quit school early and went to stay and help out at some of her older brother's homes.  Eventually she felt like she had worn out her welcome and that she needed a new place to go.

 

. . . Carrie McMurray - Working

After staying at her different brother's homes and having the opportunity to see different ways of doing things she was feeling rather grown-up and felt she was ready to be out on her own.

Growing up in southern Alberta there were not  many jobs available for a young girl who wanted to earn some money. Many girls hired themselves out as a helper to a farmer's wife. A hired girl could be the one taking care of the children, or doing the laundry, helping with cooking or even taking care of the animals.  They could usually count on making about one dollar a week.  During this time a dollar of cash money was worth a lot.  It meant they could use the money for the necessities of life instead of going without or using credit. No one ever really wanted to go into debt because there was too much chance that they would not have the money to pay when it came due.

Carrie got a job on the cook wagon for a threshing crew.  She had to provide three meals a day for a bunch of hungry men.  This was really hard work, but she learned a great deal and then was ready for another new adventure.

The next opportunity/adventure came in the chance to work on the Davies farm located east of Claresholm in the Starlight District in southern Alberta. The work on that farm was just as hard as at my own home, but the Davies boys were all so handsome: George, Ivan, Glen, Charlie, and Victor. the older sister, Janie had moved away and little Mary was too young to help.  Mrs. Davies really needed help.  the boys were all big enough to hlep, but they were always our helping with the farm, so she really needed my help.  i certainly never dreamed that one day she would be my mother-in-law.  Maybe she knew, and that was why she was so nice to me. She was kind and patient and made sure I knew how to fix all the family favorites. She taught me many different ways to serve potatoes, and how to make a nice flaky pie crust so I could make a chicken pot pie or a fruit pie.

 . . . more about Carrie & George

When George and Carrie Davies moved to their own farm it was their great adventure. They bought two sections of land - there is 640 acres to a section.  He was going to be a dry-land farmer and grow wheat. (as a dry-land farmer you count on rain to water your crops)

The house was two miles south and five miles west of Carmangay. They said the house faced east, but actually east was the direction they came out of the house because they came out the kitchen door. The house was small, but there was a barn with a fenced corral, and a shed and a chicken coop.

Carrie was very excited about the chicken coop.  George told her that she could sell any eggs over what they needed  and use the money any way she wanted. She would also be able to sell the extra cream and butter.
Another opportunity for Carrie to earn some cash money was to trap and kill gophers, the government paid a penny for each gopher tail.

Looking off her back porch Carrie could see the chicken coop about half a block away - she called the chickens "her girls".

She made plans for a garden down the west side of the house, along the edge of the road.  She was going to plant beans, peas, cucumbers, beets, carrots, corn, dill weed and lots of potatoes. George would dig a potato pit which would to store the potatoes. A potato pit is dug down deep and the pit is then lined with boards and a there is a ladder for climbing down into the pit.  The pit is covered by boards and will store many bags of potatoes to keep them fed through the long, Canadian  winter.

Carrie really enjoyed working in the garden early on the summer days, before it got too hot. After working in the garden for a few hours she would come into the house and make breakfast for George.  His favorite breakfast was a steak, bread and milk gravy; but most times his breakfast was hot cereal, usually oatmeal and hot chocolate.

Learning to Embroider

Family Story...Embroidery

Beginner stitches

Some intermediate stitches

Grandma Caroline McMurray Davies -

My grandma taught me embroidery stitches.  She gave me some fabric, and embroidery hoop, some needles and some embroidery floss. With the exception of the hoop, it all fit into a Whitman chocolate box. She taught me some basic stitches, and then got me started on my first project, a pink toaster cover with a picture to embroider on the side. I did pretty good - I thought, but when I needed to take out a stitch I ended cutting into the fabric, so the little bear on the side had to have a patch job in the middle of his nose.  The rest of the embroidery was quite good for a beginner. Later I learned more stitches, and did embroidery work on some pillow cases, several table clothes, and even some pictures for the wall.
It was really special to learn from my grandma as my mother didn't do much handi-work. She did her creating with her sewing machine.(I am glad my mom taught me to sew with a machine)

A Photography Hobby

Douglas Bradshaw Fowler - A Photography Hobby

Grandpa Fowler took and developed his own photographs. I always thought of it as just a hobby he had.  However, when I read his life sketch that he wrote it tells of how he first started to develop film.

" In 1912, at age 14 he commenced as an apprentice in Pharmacy. An apprentice was only paid $10 a month. He had to find some way to pay his way through University.  He took on the extra job of Night Operator on the telephone exchange that was in the drug store.  He opened the store at 8 a.m. and got an hour for lunch and dinner and closed the drug store at 8 p.m., and went on the switchboard at 9 p.m. until 7 a.m.  .  He had a cot by the switchboard and could get some sleep between 1 a.m. and about 5 a.m.using a buzzer on the board to wake him up for calls. After he gave up the switchboard, he fixed up a dark room at home and developed and printed the films that were left in the drug store - often working in the dark room until 2 or 3 AM.  In this way and with some help from his  parents he was able to complete his University and graduated with the second class that the University of Alberta graduated.  He was then a Registered Pharmacist at the age of 18."

One of his philosophies of life - "one can accomplish anything one makes up their mind they can accomplish".

Last Names - become - Middle Names

Last Names - Middle Names

John Stevenson 1806-1862 - married to Mary Vickers 1814-1867
father of
Elizabeth Stevenson 1838-1914 - married to James Hutton McMurray
mother of
James Stevenson McMurray 1863-1948

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

John McMurray 1798-1853
husband of 
Mary Hutton 1801-1896
mother & father of
James Hutton McMurray 1829-1919- married to Elizabeth Stevenson   
father of
James Stevenson McMurray 1863-1948

Technology for Family History

 

Went to a Family History Fair in Elk Grove, California.
In the class on technology, Mr. Weber taught that the only technology you need to be successful is a pencil and paper.


But- with the enhanced technology starter kit it makes it a lot easier:

Family Group Sheet

Research Log

Pedigree Chart

• Pencil
• Blank Family Group Sheet
• Blank Research Log
• Blank Pedigree Chart

 

 

This is really all you need to get started!  AMAZING!

Hangout at a Cemetery?

You can find so much information on a visit to a cemetery. Some folks like to plan their vacations around checking out cemeteries for birth and death dates.

You may want to pack a lunch and have a picnic surrounded by your ancestors. Let your kids see how special this can be, not morbid at all.

Once again I suggest having a tote bag already packed for the occasion.  Make sure this tote bag is a bright color- just not green or brown.  Why? You will probably get so distracted as you go from grave marker to grave marker that you will leave your tote bag somewhere and if it is brightly colored it will  be easier to find.

Another suggestion is to have it waterproof so the contents will be protected if the ground it wet or snowy.

• notepad, pens and pencils
• research notebook with pedigree charts and family group sheets
• apron with pockets for carrying items as you go from tombstone to tombstone
• knee pads like you use in the garden- I always have to kneel down closer to see something on the tombstone
• garden shears to cut away overgrown grass
• little whisk broom to remove dirt and grass
• sunscreen- you will always end up staying out there longer than you planned
• bug repellent
• wet wipes- to wash your dirty hands before you eat
• digital camera
• spray bottle with water- you might need to wet the stone a bit to make the image show better for photographing

Gravestones are historical artifact. Don't do anything to harm them, and don't try to clean them.

Don't forget to take your camera!

William George Davies

George Davies --- by Caroline Davies

This was page 405 of an unidentified book.  I only have a copy of this page.  But since my grandma wrote it, I have to include it, even without the source.

Russian thistle

The George Davies family came to Carmangay district in April, 1928.  We had two daughters, Shirley Maxine, two years old, and Glenna Elaine, three months. We bought the Stanley Robinson farm of three quarters, seven and one-half miles west and south of Carmangay. It was a real struggle the first few years -- so much wind and the soil was so light, so had lots of soil drifting and I guess that's why they called it the dirty 30's.

1930's tractor

We farmed with horses for a number of years, later we were able to buy another quarter section joining our south quarter from Jack Gillespie. We were able to sell our horses (although many tears were shed) for a second-hand tractor and later a Johnson blade and that was the answer to soil drifting.




Grasshoppers were terrible for a number of years and took so much of our time spreading bait. Russian thistles were also a menace and we used to burn them in the spring.

grasshopper

We had to haul out drinking water in a stone-boat in barrels, baling it by hand for our own use and the livestock, later getting a pump.

gopher

Gophers were plentiful too -- the municipality offered one cent a tail so we bought traps and I trapped for days.  Earl Blaine was teaching school at Prairieville and boarded at our place -- he used to shoot the gophers and let me have their tails.  I made $7.50  -- so that was quiet something!

We took in the Christmas concerts at all schools for miles around and also went over to the Starline every two weeks to dance to Mackie Russell's orchestra.  We didn't have a babysitter those days so we took the girls tucked in the bottom of the buggy.

Glenna went to Burwash School when she was five years old to help keep the school open as they needed six pupils.  Miss Hazel McAllister was the teacher.  Pupils at that time were Pearl Russel, Eileen and Phyllis  Simmons, Helen Anderson, Shirley and Glenna. After the school closed the girls went to Ryckman.  Josie Hubka was teacher. They went to Rykeman for a number of years and then were vanned to Carmangay.

During the country school days dances were held in one school or the other every week, and those were the best times ever.  Everyone was welcome. Ladies brought lunch and everyone enjoyed themselves.  We had the best stampedes at Carmangay for years and people came from many miles away. Agricultural Fairs were an annual event, also Bobbie Burns concerts.

coal bucket

On January 31, 1939 our only son, Murray George came to our house and our family was complete.  We hauled coal from east of Carmangay and Champion as we had only coal stoves and furnaces.  What a treat when we could finally afford a wind-charger, 32 volt electric plant.  We got plenty of wind and could really enjoy some of the comforts of living.  Had my first power washer when I was 46 years old. Later we got Calgary Power. First telephone June 4, 1945.

Grab a cardboard box ---

To help organize your personal and family records so you can use them when you write you life history.  Actually, it doesn't really matter what type of box, but put it in a very obvious place.  When I was doing this, I used a couple of different boxes.  I had one in the hall upstairs, and one on the dining room table.(I didn't want to make going up and down stairs an issue on whether it would get put in the box, or whether I would set it on a shelf or counter.

The next thing to do is casually go about your daily work around the house, but now with your eyes, mind and heart focused on finding important papers. Over the next few weeks you can collect and put into the box records of your life.

• birth certificate
• certificates of ordination
• certificates of graduation

Everything that you can find pertaining to your life - diplomas, honors, awards, photographs, a journal or diary goes into the box.  Anything that is written or registered or recorded that testifies what you have done during your life.

The process takes a while, that is OK,  don't rush it.  You will probably find that these things are scattered all over the house. I truly found them all over the place.  I found some in several boxes in our shed. A few more were discovered in a box under a bed, and several important pieces were located in various other boxes in closets and in the garage. ( I was looking for important paper documents for all my kids...so I really had to search all over.)

Gather all the items and keep them together in the box, and keep collecting.  When you get to the point that you think you have everything available you can go on to the next step.

Next steps:
Sort everything out on a table and divide your life into three periods -

1. Start with the birth certificate and sort every record that goes with childhood- photographs, records and other documents until age 12. Arrange them in chronological order.
2. Then pull together everything that pertains to your youth - from 12 to 18 years of age- put it all together chronologically.
3. Then all other records fit the section for the rest of your life.

Line up all these records - the certificates and the photographs and all other items and keep them safe in an other envelope or box..

By gathering these items you have began to compile the important information you will need when you want to start your family tree or do a pedigree chart.  

Diphtheria in the 1930's

"In the early 20th century diphtheria outbreaks evoked fear around the world. Until the 1930s it was one of the most common killers of children in Canada and the United States."

I found this quote on the site from the Canadian Medical Association and talked to my mom to see if she knew anyone who had diphtheria. It jogged her memory and she told me that she remembered hearing that her father, William George Davies had had diphtheria when he was a child and even missed a year of school to recover. Her dad was very close lipped about many things so she had not heard this from him, but it was shared from her Aunt Sis (her dad's sister). She wished now that she had asked more questions.

Canadian Medical Association

Roses for Glenna

 

According to a book about flowers- 

ROSES: The person who loves roses is sentimental and good-hearted. They will hold onto cherished memories and share stories of the past with children who always seem to look up to them.  Because of this, elders respect that person and the characteristics of what you have become, and what you stand for.  That person will  have an active imagination and will love the natural beauty of the things around them .

My mother, Glenna, loved roses, and she is my inspiration for holding onto the cherished memories, and for wanting to share the stories of the past.

When I was born, my dad, Allan King Fowler brought a water globe with some fresh roses in it to the hospital for my  mom - I guess that was instrumental in the subconscious passing of  the love of cherished memories and family stories to me.

Your Life Story

Why Should You Tell Your Life Story -

Paper and Pen

By writing your story you find what has real meaning in your life.

Laptop

Struggles and hardships, as well as our achievements and blessings teach us our life lessons.  Together with your experience, your strengths and your weakness and all your hopes and dreams help to make a unique story that is "YOU"!

Manual typewriter

To share with others who you are and what you are all about, and especially what you believe in is passing on some very valuable personal history.

Family History Terms

Let's get started with some Family History terms- it will make it easier if you become conversant with these definitions:

• Abstract - summary of important points of a text of document
• Administrator - person appointed to manage or divide the estate of a deceased person, especially one who died without a will, feminine: administratrix
• Alien - noun: a foreigner, citizen of another country; verb: to transfer property to another
• Ancestor - person for whom you are descended; a forefather; a forbear
• Ancestry - all forebears of a person, from parents backwards in time
• Archives- records of a government, organizations, institution, the place where such records are stored     
• Attest - to affirm: to certify by signature or oath   

• Banns - public announcement of an intended marriage
• Bequeath - to give personal property to a person in a will, noun: bequest
• Bond - a binding agreement to perform certain actions or duties or be required to pay a specified sum of money as a penalty; at different times rewired of estate administrators or executors, grooms, certain elected officials. A bondsman, often a relative, acted as surety.
• Bounty land - land promised as reward or inducement for enlisting in military service

Launa Fowler Stout - My Own Story

One spiral notebook

Thinking about my ancestors has made me think about writing my own story. I should be journaling my  experiences but also need to go back and write my past.

In 1979 we moved to Ft. Riley, Kansas. I was taking a class where the teacher challenged us to write everyday in a journal.  I didn't feel that my life was special enough to go out a buy a nice journal. I was also worried that my handwriting was not going to be neat enough, so I just bought an orange spiral notebook. I filled up several orange spiral notebooks over the next year or so.

What did I learn from that experience?
My life as I was in the day-to-day of it didn't seem too spectacular, but when looking back on the experiences from the writings in my journal, it was pretty amazing.  I found that by reading those pages floods of memories came to my mind, and now, because it is in print and I can read it,  I remember the year we spend in Kansas as one of the best years.

I wish I had bought a nice journal when I started, because my life was worth it, and it didn't matter that my handwriting was not perfect.

Sickness and other Health Conditions

 

Thinking about my grandfather having diphtheria as a child caused me to think about other health conditions that my parents or grandparents had to deal with during their lives.

My grandpa Fowler (Douglas Bradshaw Fowler) died of leukemia in 1965. He suspected and diagnosed it in himself.
My grandma Fowler (Louise King Fowler) died in 1987- I don't know why.

I remember my Grandma Davies (Caroline McMurray Davies) had Parkinson's  Disease, that eventually landed her in a care home where she lived until she died in 1981.

My grandpa Davies (William George Davies) died in 1957 when I was 4 years old. I think he died of a heart attack- I better check my facts.

Illnesses of my Mother - I remember hearing about some bad rash she had on both hands and she had to be taken to the doctor in Lethbridge for treatment, and had both hands bandaged and it was a really problem when she needed to use the washroom.

Illnesses of my Father- (Allan King Fowler)  -              

Thomas Fowler

Thomas Fowler - my great, great-grandfather

Father: Samuel Fowler (12 March 1813 - 24 Dec 1893)
Mother: Ann Linton (21 Jun 1811 -  30 June 1891)

Individual Facts -
Birth - 28 May 1837 in Droitwich, Worcestershire, England
Baptism - 11 May 1853 in Droitwich, Worcestershire, England (age 15)
Emigration - 22 Mar 1856 in Liverpool, England (age 18)
Emigration Ship - 5 May 1856 in Enoch Train (age 18)
Pioneer Company - 26 Sept 1856 in Edmund Ellsworth company (age 19)
LDS Endow - 7 Aug 1857 in Fort Heriman, Utah (age 20)
Patriarchal Bl - 12 Feb 1858 in Fort Heriman, Utah (age 20)
Death - 14 Feb 1901 in Lehi, (Utah). Utah (age 63)
Burial - 16 Feb 1901 in Lehi, Utah County, Utah (age 63)
Obituary - 16 Feb 1901 in Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah (age 63)

Occupation - Law Enforcement (1871 to 1900)
Description - Medium sized build with dark hair and a large handlebar mustache most of his life.

Thomas Fowler - Handcart Pioneer

My paternal great-great grandfather...

Emigration - Thomas Fowler was on the very first Perpetual Emigration Handcart Company (the Edmund Ellsworth .Co. of 1856).
He responded to the following call from the First Presidency of the LDS Church to "Come to Zion" from Worcestershire, England.  He submitted his one pound note as a deposit to the Church Elders (which her received back once arriving in the Utah Territory), and signed on the sailing ship "Enoch Train".

Grandma Davies

I Had a Grandma Who Baked

It totally goes without saying that if I am going to research and report about my Grandma Davies I have to tell about her fabulous, famous, Sugar Cookies.  Maybe they were only famous with her grandchildren, but to us they were (and still are) the only true sugar cookie.

She rolled them out on the counter and cut the big round cookies with her cookie cutter...but one time when she was visiting us and she didn't have her cookie cutter with her, she took a can of fruit (we ate the fruit), took the top and bottom off the can and made sure there were no sharp edges and then she used it for her cookie cutter.  She told me that before she got a cookie cutter she had always used a can for cutting out the cookies.

Grandma Davies Sugar Cookies

Recipe for Grandma Davies Sugar Cookies

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup sour cream

Mix the dry ingredients together.  Work in the butter like pie crust (use a pastry cutter or two knives).  Make a well in the center and drop in 1 egg, add 1 cup sour cream. ( may need a little more, but just enough to make a soft dough.  Roll 1/8 inch thick, cut, sprinkle with sugar.
                 
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in 375 degree oven until light straw color. Cool on counter.

William John Davies

On November 25, 1896 William John Davies and Sarah Amanda Nowlin were united in marriage. They farmed in the Shelton district in Idaho, their nearest town being Idaho Falls, Idaho.  Mr. Davies was born in Wyoming in 1872 and Mrs. Davies was born in Utah in 1878.  Their were five children born to them in Idaho, Janie, George, Ivan, Glenn and Charlie.

In March 1908, Will decided to sell his farm and come along to Canada along with several other families, brother and sisters of Will and Sarah.  In early March all their belongings, such as machinery, household effects, livestock and, yes, the family, were loaded onto a train and headed out for Canada.

However, upon arriving in Great Falls, Montana, they found all their livestock had to go through inspection and had to be put through disinfection, so there was a delay of several days.

All the women, with the children, went to a hotel.  There were five or six women and somewhere around eighteen children in one hotel, so the children had a hilarious time, lots of noise and excitement with lots of mad patrons in the hotel.

One man was so mad because George Davies and Leland Nowlin knocked on this door; he opened the door and said he would kill them if they didn’t stop, so they went out on the street looking for a policeman.  While they were looking they ran into Charles Nowlin’s family, who had left a few days later and were looking for the group. They returned to the hotel with the boys.

In a few days however, it was discovered that Charlie Davies, seven months and Harold Nowlin, four months, had chicken pox. The babies were wrapped in their shawls, and all the women and children left for Claresholm by train with Jabus Nowlin, as leader and protector.

Upon arriving in Claresholm, the group was met by a brother of Sarah and Ernest Nowlin, from Carmangay, so the two men with the women and eighteen children marched from the station to the Wilton Hotel, with all who were able, carrying bags, suitcases, etc. As we went along the street, we heard people say, “There goes a bishop and his family”

 William and Sarah moved onto a farm in the Starline district with their five children and in 1910 Victor was added to the family and in 1916 Mary was born. Mary died in young childhood at the age of eleven and a half.

William Davies bought and farmed several parcels of land in the Starline district and was a very successful farmer from 1908 until his death in 1935.  Sarah and sons Glenn and Charlie farmed a few years, then Sarah moved to Claresholm, then on Christmas day in 1945 she passed away after several years of failing health

Janie married Harry Taitinger, a son of Nick Taitinger. George married Carrie McMurray of Cardston. Ivan married Rachel Lepard of Claresholm.  glen remained unmarried.  Charlie was married to Zelpha Newby of Lethbridge and victor married Mabel Johnson of Claresholm. There were nineteen grandchildren.

Earliest Recollections

William George Davies - Monday Memories

I have been trying to remember my earliest memory.

How old was I when I have a conscience memory and  what was the situation surrounding it.  I have to be careful not to make the "memory" something that I saw in a photograph.  I was borne in Lethbridge, but lived the first years of my life in Edmonton.  My dad was in school and latter had graduated from University of Alberta in Edmonton, but in the summers my folks would move home to Lethbridge and live in a little house on the farm.  My older sister and I were June babies.

Some random memories were about the day my parents had been gone for an hour or so, when they came home they called us all in from the back yard, and  I remember my dad had a stern voice.  When we came in the house I remember thinking it was strange that my mom still had her coat on.  We were all told to sit on the couch.  Then my dad said, "I know you girls have been wanting us to have a new baby- so here is an addition to our family" and my mom opened her coat and pulled out a little white puppy. We named her "Lady Pup", she was a terrier/Pomeranian mix.

I can remember going to the farm where my other grandparents lived, Grandma and Grandpa Davies.  I remember they had a horse and I went outside with Grandma and had to step over a big puddle of water to get inside the barn or chicken coop.  I remember sitting on Grandpa's lap and he had a Chinese bamboo back-scratcher hanging on the wall by the table. He would take that and scratch my back, I remember liking that a lot. Also, while sitting on his lap I got to see him roll his own cigarettes, and other thing I remember was that he would tear two small pieces of something like a brown paper bag and lick his two pointer fingers so the paper would stick on them and then he put his hands below the table edges so that I could only see the pointer fingers with the paper pieces on them, and he did the little rhyme about "two little Dickie birds" sitting on the tree, and when he had the "fly away" the paper would come off the finger and then they birds fly away and return. This grandpa (William George Davies) died when I was about 4 years old, so that may be my first memories.

Other memories of things that happened while we lived in Edmonton: (we moved to Richmond, British Columbia and I started 1st grade there)- so all these memories happened before I was five years old

• white cat with blue and green eyes
• birthday cake made to look like a doll with a dress
• having my tonsils out

• 

  Howdy Doody

• the day my mom discovered my neck/head was crooked
• surgery to correct my crooked head
• cousins coming for Christmas
• getting a nurse doll for Christmas
• going to "Play School"- the Canadian equivalent of kindergarten
• field trip to the television station
• having to sit at the table, long after the others - to finish my dinner
• I didn't like onions- they squeaked on my teeth
• our "Lady Pup" having 6 puppies
• watching my favorites on television - "The Friendly Giant" and "Howdy Doody Time"

I am amazed at the memories as they come rushing in....when I sat down this morning to start the post I really wasn't sure how many I would even have.

What are your earliest memories?  Take time to think and to write them down.