February 28, 1913 "Lest We Forget"

Now, I've said this before and I'll say it again: This diary can be excruciatlingly BORING!! Aside from the nostalgic value to me or maybe it's the historical value from a family history standpoint, it's interesting. Interesting enough to take the time to post these blogs, anyway!! Clem died in 1955 at age 67. I was only about 2 1/2 at the time and my memory of him is more from the pictures that I've seen of him with my grandmother, or the picture of him holding me outside the house at 32-34 Tyler Street in Springfield, Massahcusetts. (That reminds me, I should track that one down and scan it for the blog) And, of course, this diary which is 100 years old this year! So for me, that's where he lives...in the photos and this diary. In that respect, this diary is important to me, and I hope that some of the readers can get at least a little something out of it!

[caption id="attachment_677" align="aligncenter" width="241"] "LEST WE FORGET" February 28, 1913[/caption]

Weather a little colder with a little snow. Cullerne and Steve went to town on the 1:30 AM. Steve left for Seattle.

I stay in the car and over in the office all day.

Thursday, February 27, 1913 100th Anniversary of This Entry in "Lest We Forget"

[caption id="attachment_676" align="alignleft" width="234"] "Lest We Forget" Thursday, February 27, 1913[/caption]

Weather a little warmer sun out all day

Steve and I lay in cat till 10 oc. I went up town and got a haircut. came back for dinner. got fooled they run out of water and we had to go up town for dinner. When we came back Steve and I made blue prints till 2:30

came back to car and had a sleep

Wednesday, February 26, 1913 "Lest We Forget"

[caption id="attachment_675" align="alignleft" width="236"] "Lest We Forget" Wednesday, February 1913[/caption]

Weather a little warmer The three of us stayed in the car all morning Cullerne working on a gravel Pit note Steve copyed note: I had a chance

In the afternoon I helped Steve to copy notes and check them

Tuesday, Februart 25, 1913 "Lest We Forget"

[caption id="attachment_674" align="aligncenter" width="235"] "Lest We Forget" Tuesday, February 25, 1913[/caption]

Weather much the same I did a little work Carried water and filled the barrells

In the afternoon I went to the drafting room stay about 3 hr while Steve and Cullerne were working in the car. Stene went to the big Caldy [?] in the morning

Not much "construction" going on today...maybe too cold? If you can enlarge the photo, can you figure out what the "big Caldy" might be?

I'm getting caught up this morning on the past couple of days of diary entries in order to get ready for the next BU module. So far, everything seems to be going well with the course. But I'm also scheduled to be in Brimfield this afternoon to teach session 3 at the Hitchcock Free Academy. That'll be 3 down, 1 to go!

Intro to Genealogy and Family Research: Classes, Lectures and More!

Plenty of classes, lectures and series coming up:

1) Tonight I'm beginning another 5-week course at First Church in Ludlow with up to 12 participants. We'll meet once a week for 5 weeks. That's a good number so that I can dig into any interesting cases that come up.

2) I'm halfway through a lecture series at Hitchcock Free Academy.

3) The Western Mass Genealogical Society is sponsoring an open house in April celebrating the 40th anniversary of their founding. I'm been a member to a few years there but I'll also be speaking at the event.

4) The first series of classes are now over at the Yellow House Center for Community Learning in Palmer. Apparently it was well received as they've booked me for 2 more series'. One will start in early June and the other in late July.

5) The weekly meetings at Chicopee Public Library will continue. March will bring an open house on the subject of genealogy with a number of speakers, myself including!

Please get in touch with me if you're interested in attending any of these genealogical events! Comment here on the blog, call me at (413) 233-4866, or you can always check the web site: Old Bones Genealogy and Family Research. I'll try to get everything updated on the site in the next day or so!

Monday, February 24, 1913

Weather very cold Cullerne did not come back. Frank Marimon came up from Edmonton and took Steve up to the big Eddy to run levels and back at noon.

I stayed in the car all day.

Sunday, February 23, 1913

Weather little colder and Cullerne went to town with Starry to see Dunk

Steve and I were in the car all day alone. I sleep all morning. In the afternoon I took a walk uptown.

Saturday, February 22, 1913

We arr. at Otley at 4 oc and had to stay on the bench till 7 oc and the sec foreman came and woke us up for breakfast we left items on the spreader at 8:30 am for Edson we got to Edson at 4:30 with levels all ok

100 Years Ago February 21, 1913

We did not work today because Cullerne did not get up in time to get the train and we had to stay in Edson all day In the after noon I went to the big Eddie with Bill & Frank, Stormer and Con. got back at 5:30 PM.

Then Cullerne came and told me at 1 oc Pm that we had to go to work the next day.

[The words "next day" appear on the bottom of the next page, February 22]

Thursday, February 20, 1913

THUR 20
Donald MacClemson [?] was in town him and I played a little pool all day We left Jenkins at 8 oclock for Otley 31 miles we want to get the before the local went through. I snow nearly all day and we lost a lot of time when we were about 1 1/2 miles from Otley, the local pasted us and then we had to machine the station we for it full out. it was snowing so hard that we had to push the car but we got there in time

Wednesday, February 19, 1913

This page has the 19th at the top and part of the 20th at the bottom. So, what you'll read here is just the 19th. I'll put both pages on the next post and start with what's at the bottom which is where the 20th starts.



Cullerne and I left for Edmonton to do a little job in town it took us about 1 1/2 and had to stay in town all day till 10 oc PM for a train and we went back to Jenkins

February 17-18, 1913

[caption id="attachment_655" align="alignnone" width="225"] February 17-18, 1913 "Lest We Forget"[/caption]

[NOTICE: Clem seems to have run the 17th and 18th together here. He crossed out the "8" and overwrote it with a "7". The story from the previous page seems to continue here, so it seems that was his intent. BUT! Since I'm transcribing, WYSIWYG....In other words, What You See Is What You Get!]

We left Entwistle at 9 oc and got out about 2 miles and it snow so hard that we had to come back and stayed for dinner with Mr Birt after dinner we made an other start for Jenkins. 10 miles got there about 4 oclock

[caption id="attachment_651" align="alignnone" width="237"] Monday, February 17, 1913 "Lest We Forget"[/caption]

Monday, February 17, 1913
"Lest We Forget"
Got up at 6:30 and had breakfast weather was fine and mild we started for Entwistle After we had started about an hour it started to snow and we push the car for a mile or two

Arr. at Entwistle at 4:30 20 miles and stayed with Mr Birt

I'm at the keyboard trying to get caught up!! February 16, 1913

[REMINDER: I try to "transcribe" the diary. That means you'll see it the exact way Clem wrote it, misspelled words, little to no punctuation, etc. Hope you find it interesting!]

Sunday, February 16, 1913
"Lest We Forget"
We got up at 8 oc and all went to breakfast. I came back to the car Cullerne and Steve went to the office. I had a washing to do it took me till 3 oclock. After that I wrote a leter to mother. I went to bed early because Cullerne and I had to take the train at 1:30 AM for Wadamum we got to Wadamum and had to sleep on the floor of the hotel.

Busy, busy, busy!

I've got 7 or 8 days of the diary scanned and ready to be transcribed and uploaded. But I also want to mention that I've been contacted by no less than 3 "new" cousins this week. All on the ROBISON, ROBINSON, ROBERTSON line and all seem to be interested in family research. But I'm so far behind on the work I need to do for the classes I'm teaching and the course I'm taking, I have to reset my list of high pay-off activites with a new list of priorities!

The weekend should be a productive one. We're forecasted for another big snow storm and I have been banished (by Karen) from snow removal duty, thanks to pulled muscles in my back from the last storm! The doctor has me on some strong pain meds and a muscle relaxant. So as long as I don't fall asleep, I'll get a lot of work done.

The diary updates for the end of February, 1913 will be up and I'll try to let everyone know about the new contacts I've been able to make and whatevver else that strikes me as appropriate.

Stay tuned!

DNA and a possible answer to a long standing question!

Just a couple of days ago, I stumbled across Jeffrey Robison's very elaborate, well structured and highly researched website at which strangely included many of my direct paternal ancetsors AND a link to my own maternal link to Mayflower passenger, John Howland. Wow! I quickly fired off some grave stone photos and offered to contribute more. At the same time, I asked if there was a direct link between us. If I am related to Jeffrey Robison who put the site together, and if the DNA results of his ancestors are accurate, I've found a major crack in the brick wall between myself and my Scotch-Irish ancestor thanks to his work!

I'm more concerned tonight about slogging through an assignment that is due tomorrow and 5 family descendant/ancestor reports that I need to complete for the 5 members of my class in Palmer. But looking at the Y37 report from Jeffrey and my own Y37 report.... this could be interesting!

I'll certainly be blogging about this toward the end of the week. I want to talk with Jeffrey on the phone rather than e-mailing or texting back and forth. I've got too many questions for that strategy!

This is great news!

Out of Town and Boston University

Transcribing "Lest We Forget" takes on a new meaning! I forgot!! I know it's the 17th and I've already missed the 16th and I'll probably miss the 18th! But, I'm with my sister in Upstate New York. Her husband is in the hospital and I wanted to spend a few days with her while everything settles down a bit. I'll be home either Tuesday or Wednesday and will get caught up...promise! I left in a hurry and could only remember to take a change of clothes and my laptop... Clem Dickson's diary, "Lest We Forget", is sitting right on my desk waiting for the next entries to be uploaded!

To complicate matters, I have a BU project due on Tuesday the 18th...and no grace period in this course! They have no sense of humor about turning in the work late. On time or not at all... And rightfully so! I'll get it done one way or the other! Anyone who wants to help me with my "Model Planning, Research and Analysis" for the Drummond Project, feel free to get in touch...SOON!!!

Thanks, Greg!

[caption id="attachment_621" align="alignnone" width="170"] Jordan Spreader, possibly very much like the one used in construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad[/caption]

Thanks, Greg Lovelace! Greg did the research that I should have done... Namely, he was able to find a Wikipedia article regarding a railroad "spreader" that Clem was talking about in a few of his diary entries. Here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreader_(railroad)

Thanks again Greg!

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Saturday, February 15, 1913

I'll have to do the transcription later tonight or tomorrow. I'm on my way to New York to visit with my sister and brither-in-law and it's getting late!

Stay tuned!

Sunday, February 15, 2013

Finally! I've got a few minutes to transcribe the earlier post...

Here it is:

Saturday, February 15, 1913
"Lest We Forget"
All night at stony plain we left there at 9:30 AM for Wadamum. We are at at 5 oc. 21 miles Had suppper with Mr Smith and waited for the 11:30 train for Edson got at Edson at 4:00 AM we went to bed

They were getting the "spreader" today?? Friday, February 14, 1913

Friday, February 14, 1913
"Lest We Forget"

We got up at 6 Ocl. to met the 8 ocl. train to get the spreader Cullerne was agraid that he might miss the train and looose the spreader because Starry called him down about the work. We left the north yards at 9:30 am and ran to stony plain arr. at 4:30 20 miles

I hope that I'm reading "spreader" properly, but it really doesn't look right. I just don't really know what type of equipment it is. It could be "spacer" but that looks like "ea" after the "sp". It certainly isn't "speaker" although it almost looks like that's what it is. So, at least for now, I'm going with "spreader". I'm open to suggestions!

By the way...Happy Valentine's Day...I hope everybody either bought or received roses today!

Where is Mr. Crommons---February 13, 1913

Thursday, February 13, 1913
"Lest We Forget"

We went down to Mr Crommons office to see if Starry would come in on the train but he did not show up. We went down to the fraching [?] plant and had dinner and stoke the levels we ran to the north yards they came back to town Im at Billie O'Callaghans

*****

I'm pretty sure that Clem should have used quite a bit more punctuation! But, other than the "frashing" plant, I think I caught the gist of most of this entry!

Feel free to offer your ideas on what the term "frashing" refers to or if it really is "frashing". Maybe there was too much Labatt's at O'Callaghan's!!

Wilbraham

Last night was the 4th and final in a series of presentations on genealogy and family research at the Wilbraham Public Library. Without a doubt, this was the best turnout I've had yet.

Two things struck me:

1) Except for the last night (the Monday after the "Nemo" storm) there were more and more participants as the weeks went by.
2) Everyone seemed to pay close attention, asked meaningful questions, and took notes!

I hope to be able to repeat the series in Wilbraham sometime in the May--June timeframe.

We covered all sorts of subjects: Vital records, census records, name variations, reading "ancient" handwriting, city directories, ship's manifests, dozens of genealogy websites, what records to trust and what records to take with a "grain of salt". I was able to share a few of familly relics that don't seem like much, but mean a lot to me because of how I came about acquiring them. For example, my Grandmother and then my Aunt Gert had a very old velvvet box full of spoons. The family myth was that they were crafted from the silver buckles of the Plymouth Colony pilgrims. Well, 2 problems with that. It is unlikely that the buckles on any pilgrims shoes---if they had buckles---were not made of solid silver! Secondly, they are stamped "1848" along with the name of the silversmith who manufatured them. But there's a neat story here. In the box of ephemera, there's a letter written in 1887 from "Auntie Perham" to "Frankie". I cannot pin down the exact identity of "Auntie Perham", but "Frankie" was certianly my 2nd great grandmother, Frances (Bailey) Tuggey. Auntie Perham was very upset about the spoons that she sent to Frankie on the express train and she hadn't heard back from Frankie as to whether she had received them or not. She had heard of a train wreck in West Springfield and, at the time, was convinced the spoons were on that train and possibly lost forever. Well, I looked at Genealogy Bank for a train accident around that time frame. Sure enough, a week before the letter was written, there was a horrible freight train wreck in the freight yards in West Springfield. There were several injuries and one death, according to the article. I don't have the response from "Frankie" back to "Auntie Perham", but I do have the spoons!

[caption id="attachment_260" align="alignnone" width="243"] Shipped to Enfield, Massachusetts from Oswego, New York in 1887[/caption]

A Genealogy "Psalm" by Wildamae Brestal

I was directed to this by a friend of mine today. It's a "rewrite" of a slightly more famous psalm that you may recognize!

Genealogy is my Pastime by Wildamae Brestal

Genealogy is my pastime, I shall not stray.
It maketh me to lie down and examine half-buried tombstones.
It leadeth me into still courthouses;
It restoreth my ancestral knowledge.

It leadeth me in paths of census records and ship's passenger lists for my surnames's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the shadows of research libraries and microfilm readers,
I shall fear no discouragement,
For a strong urge is within me.

The curiosity and motivation they comforteth me.
It demandeth preparation of storage space for the acquisition of countless documents.
It annointeth my head with burning midnight oil;
My family group sheets runneth over.

Surely birth, marriage, and death dates shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of a family-history seeker forever and ever.

"Lest We Forget" Wednesday, February 12, 1913

Ok, the best laid plans.... I've got a great new APP on my smartphone to snap a scan of the page directly out of the diary without having to put it on the flatbed scanner and risk hurting the spine. It converts the image into a PDF of JPG so I can file it and then upload it here for everyone to see. Well, my smartphone got "dumb" today, so I can only do the transcription unless I can get "Genius Scan" reinstalled and make it work. OK, here it is!

[caption id="attachment_602" align="alignnone" width="273"] "Lest We Forget" Wednesday, February 12, 1913[/caption]

Wednesday, February 12, 1913
"Lest We Forget"

Still in town. Cullerne stayed in to see Sttarry about some work up the line and I told Art to hold the spreaders [?] up in Edson.

This afternoonI went to a moving junctur shop and I in the evening I went to a play after the lies.

The last sentence sounds a little disoriented but that's how it reads. I really can't wait to get this page scanned and up to the blog. First, I can't believe I figured out what he's talking about here. He mentions "Cullerne" frequently and it sounds like he's one of the crew chiefs or supervisors. We've got the first mention of "Starry" or "Storry" and another mention of "Art". Art is the one who didn't send the spreader on Tuesday. I guess it doesn't matter, at least for now. And the word "lies" at the end certainly doesn't mean anyone was lying, I don't think. I just have a sense that it refers to laying the railroad ties and rails. It sounds to me that after that work was done, he went to to see a play. Lots of entertainment up there 100 years ago! Who knows how far he had to walk to get there. But when you think about it, you've got crews of construction men working their collective tails off. What a great opportunity for anyone to open a place for these guys to get a meal that wasn't cooked over a campfire and a little entertainment.

Carter...6 pounds 4 ounces

Had to share...

Carter Anthony Reid, 6 pounds, 4 ounces, 20 inches. He's a peanut! I'm accustomed to 9 - 10 pound babies!

[caption id="attachment_594" align="alignnone" width="300"] Carter Anthony Reid born February 7, 2013[/caption]

Tuesday, February 11, 1913 "Lest We Forget"

One of the followers of this post (and a BU "classmate") offered a suggestion. I've resisted putting the diary on a flatbed scanner for fear of damaging the spine. However, just a few days ago, I download an APP onto my smartphone called "GENIUS SCAN". Not being a "genius", I was understandably hesitant but willing to give it a shot. I've been playing around with some other documents but the suggestion gave me the impetus I needed to try it out on Clem's diary. The results are below. So, now you'll see the original with my transcription. If I misread a word, feel free to offer a suggestion!

[caption id="attachment_587" align="alignnone" width="274"] Tuesday, February 11, 1913 "Lest We Forget"[/caption]

Tuesday, February 11, 1913
"Lest We Forget"

Today Cullerne and I did not work because the spreader [?] did not come because Art did not send it.

I went up town in the after noon to the show. In the evening I went to Empire to a vod [vaudeville?] show it was very good. We stopped in Harry's room.

"Lest We Forget" Monday, February 10, 1913 Edmonton, Alberta

Arr at Edmonton at 9:30 Cullerne and I had breakfast and went out to stake out a crossing in town, worked about 1 hour. Then we went down to the [--?--] Office and stayed till dinner time. after dinner we lazed around the offfice. I fixed Louis's lamp for the blue print.

Hezekiah Robertson/Robison (1784-1852)

Hezekiah Robison was my 4th great grandfather, a well documented pedigree.  He was probably born in either Virginia or in what is now West Virginia.  I have never been able to locate anything other than references to "Virginia" as his place of birth on census records. His father was probably John or Jonathan, an immigrant from Colerain, County Londonderry, Ireland (now Northern Ireland).

But tonight, I found a reference to the military service that I had previously known only through the widow's pension application of Tabitha who survived him by 32 years. It took her nearly that long to collect it! That was for two main reasons: 1) She was illiterate and 2) Hezekiah had spelled his name at least 3 different ways, Robinson, Robertson and Robison. His pension file has him listed as all three at various times.

At any rate, I just saved "AMERICAN STATE PAPERS, CLASS V, MILITARY AFFAIRS, VOLUME III" to Google Play.  In it, Hezekiah is shown to be a private earning $8 a month as an infantryman in the Tennessee Militia under Capt. Henry M Newlin commanded by Col Philip Pipkin.  In 7 months and 7 days, he earned $57.80 from June 20, 1814 to January 27, 1815. He's on page 737 line 86.

Sunday, February 9, 1913---"Lest We Forget"---Somewhere near Edmonton, Alberta

Clem Dickson, construction worker for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Sunday, February 9, 1913 made this entry somewhere near Edmonton, Alberta:

This morning we all sleep in did not get up till 9 oc. We had breakfast and I came back and started my big washiing. It last till about 3 ocl P.M.

Sunday evening no place to go I wrote a letter home and one to Agatha. And Cullerne and I got ready to go to Edmonton to run levels from Clover [--?--] fri to Edson. left on the 1:30 train for Edmonton.

NOTE: Agatha was Clem's older sister who was born in 1885 while Clem was born in 1888. Three other sisters had died between 1885 when Agatha was born and 1888 when Clem was born: unnamed twin girls in 1886 and Frances who was born and died in 1887. He had another sister born in 1889 who was also named Frances. He had 5 other older siblings born between 1876 adn 1882. They haven't been mentioned yet in this diary.

Nemo February 8-9, 2013

"NEMO"...it almost sounds wimpy compared to "THE BLIZZARD OF 2013!"... The good news is that Governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut were way ahead of this one. ALL highways were shut down at 4pm on Friday. The Mass Turnpike was all but deserted by 6pm compared to the same type of storm in 1978 where there were thousands of cars stranded all along its length and all over the state. Businesses closed (smart), schools never even opened on Friday (also smart) and everyone, other than essential services, were told to stay home and let the roads and highways be cleared.

In spite of the fact that this is a genealogy blog, I thought I'd post a few pictures and videos of the past 24 hours. First, you should know that we have a new grandbaby waiting to come home from the hospital. Carter Reid was born early Thursday morning (6 lbs. 4 oz and 20 inches...Karen said this is important data to post!) to Karen's daughter Caitlin but neither can come home yet due to travel restrictions! Everyone is healthy and they'll all be home by early afternoon.

[caption id="attachment_559" align="alignnone" width="300"] Good thing the snow blower started this morning![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_563" align="alignnone" width="300"] This is why I couldn't get the back door open. I had to go in through the garage...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_562" align="alignnone" width="300"] View of the front of the house during clean-up[/caption]

February 8, 2013? 3 feet of snow.... February 8, 1913?

It's Friday, February 8, 2013 and we're getting up to 3 feet of snow. What did the weather bring 100 years ago on Saturday, February 8, 1913? As usual, Clem always gives us a brief weather report:

We got up at 6:30 weather very nice a little cold till the sun came up and then it was warmer. Steve and I left Otley for Edson at 8:15 and walked all the way 27 miles arrived at Edson at 5 o"clock a little tired.
Cullerne came in with the outfit on the local from Otley got here about 10:15 then Steve and I went to dreamland.

[caption id="attachment_542" align="alignnone" width="217"] Edson Joseph Chamberlin, President of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. He took over from Charles Melville Hays who died in the RMS Titanic disaster[/caption]

Although I can't find a listing for Otley, there is a description of Edson, Alberta in Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edson,_Alberta] once again, mentioning an executive of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway:

The town was originally named Heatherwood, but the name was changed around 1911 in honour of Edson Joseph Chamberlin, vice-president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Local history maintains that Edson (Heatherwood) was built in its current location because it was the first level spot after Wolf Creek. (The land at Wolf Creek was quickly bought up after the announcement of plans to develop a town there, which rendered it uneconomical for the railway.) When Edson was declared the local rail centre, smaller communities such as Rosevear (abandoned), Wolf Creek, Carrot Creek and Niton Junction fell into a decline that continues today. In the 1950s, upgrading of Highway 16 caused a dramatic increase in private, commercial and industrial traffic. Today, the Yellowhead Highway carries some of the heaviest traffic flow in Alberta and has been officially declared the second Trans-Canada Highway.

 

So it sounds like there were a few areas Like Rosevear that were abandodned. Otley must have been one of them! It was certainly there in 1913...Clem Dickson walked there with Steve!!!

Happy Birthday Carter!

Carter Reid was born this morning just after midnight. He's our latest grandchild and the son of Karen's daughter, Caitlin. He was born at Holyoke Medical Center where our good friend Ginny manages the the birthing clinic. Caitlin is a phlebotomist at the same hospital and knows just about everybody there...she has no lack of help and support, that's for sure!

Alberta, Canada...Grand Trunk Pacific Railway...February 7, 1913

From "Lest We Forget", Clem Dickson's diary entry for February 7, 1913:

Weather a little milder with sun shine all day. Steve and I took the Local from Otley to Leaman and walked from Leaman to Otley 15 miles. We got in about 4:30. We sat around the fire till supper. After supper I went out and had to cut some wood for the next day. Went to bed at 8:30 because we had a long walk.

[I can't find any contemporary reference for Otley but Leaman is a "populated locality" in Yellowhead County, Alberta.]

Busy Day for Genealogy!

Busy day for genealogy. The latest class began today in Brimfield, MA. This si the second series I've conducted at the Hitchcock Free Academy. Small group but we will still cover all of the material. As a matter of fact, we might even be able to get a little farther as there are fewer lines to research for the participants.

Next...and I should have been aware of this one... I had offered to make a presentation to the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society "this spring". I should have realized that February was the month that we discussed but I hadn't put it in my calendar. So, as I was getting ready for Hitchcock on Wednesday (and Yellow House on Thursday AND all the classwork for Boston U) I received an e-mail from WMGS containing their newsletter. The newsletter announced that I would be making a presentation! So, I raced from the class in Brimfield around 5:00 to get to Agawam for a 6:00 meeting. Made it!

Take a look at Old Bones Genealogy and Family Research for what's going on....but I suppose it would be a good thing for me to make sure it's up to date!

Too Cold to Work Today! February 6, 1913

Too cold to work!

Weather a little colder. We did not go out to work today. I cut wood in the morning. In the afternoon about 3:30 we moved to Ostley. Arrived about 4:30


NOTE: In the interest of true transcription, the ":" between "3" and "30" or "4" and "30" above were not in the entry...I know it sounds picky, but I haven't been able to figure out how to superscript or underscore in this blog format! Actually, it doesn't "sound" picky, it IS picky!

Genealogy Research Made Simple

There was a cartoon in the paper a while ago that I had to save: "Shoe" by Chris Cassatt & Gary Brookins. The character "The Senator" was being interviewed by the reporter who asks, "What initially inspired you to run for president?" The Senator goes on to explain his interest in tracing his family's roots, searching through old records, etc. only to discover that it took too much of his time. So he decided to get into politics. "What does all that have to do with a presidential bid" asked the reporter. Holding up the newspaper, the Senator replies, "Now, you boys in the press are doing it for me!"

So the real answer is that there's nothing simple about genealogy and the research it demands. Armed with the mantra that "Genealogy without research is Mythology", we delve into areas that we really had no idea ever existed! I'm going to blog about what got me started (it wasn't a presidential bid!) where its taken me and the challenges I face for my own background and that of the many people who have been attending my classes and asking for my assistance.

Suffice it to say for now that I've found many surprises, a few "lost inheritances" (NOT MINE!!!) and many new friends around the country who to whom I just happen to be related. The Moore's in Alabama, the Robison's in Missouri, the Robinson's in Indiana, the Blodgett's and the Lillie's in New York and Massachusetts, the Casey's in California, the Bassett's in ....well... all over! Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Hawaii... the list goes on. These aren't just names I found in old records; these are people with whom I've communicated, listened to their stories and discovered what a small world this really is.

I'm can legitimately count a couple of presidents in my "collateral" lines. William Howard Taft and I share a common ancestor, Deacon Samuel Chapin, one of the founders of the city where I was born, Springfield, Massachusetts. The deacon was also the progenitor of Harry Chapin and Marion Morrison who you would all know as John Wayne. Yes, they're cousins, albeit distant! I can count pilgrims and Puritans (there's a difference) from Plymouth Colony including a great grandfather who fell off the Mayflower and had to be rescued, John Howland. Look up his story! And I have no less than 12 direct ancestors who are Revolutionary War Patriots. My 4th Great Grandfather, Hezekiah Robion, was a veteran of the East Tennessee Volunteers in the War of 1812. I have direct ancestors who were Confederates and others who were Yankees.

And the list goes on and on. Stay tuned...

February 5, 1913....A Little Warmer!

There's a word or two in this post I can't figure out for a couple of reasons: 1) Clem's handwriting skill was atrocious and 2) Clem's spelling skill was atrocious! So, here's the best transcription I can offer based on the entry for Wednesday, February 5, 1913

The weather is much warmer but a high wind. And a little snow. Cullerne went to Edson this morning so Steve and I had the car to ourselves. Steve worked on nots [?] ahd I read Cradane [?] X all morning. This afternoon I went out and had to hunt for wood.

And Grampa, if you find the remote while your out there, text me!

More "Clem" news on the Grand Trunk Pacific---January 4, 1913

From "Lest We Forget", here's my grandfather's entry in his diary from Tuesday, January 4, 1913:

The weather is about the same 20 [degrees] below. We did not go out to work today because we had run out of coal and Steve and I had to look around for wood. Cullerne went to Carval and told us to get some wood. We asked he sec. man where we could get some and he told us he had some already cut. We went over and got it and told Cullerne that we had a hard time getting the wood.

First, telling his boss he had a hard time getting the wood strikes me as my grandfather's wry sense of humor. Instead of being tasked with chopping down trees with Steve, they just had to walk a little and pick it up from a pile of wood ready to burn!

Second, I have to tell you that I couldn't find the HDMI cable to hook up Karen's laptop to the flat screen. I was a little cranked about that. I finally tracked it down. Someone (me) had wrapped it up and put it in my carrying case to take with me to the next class at the Hitchcock Free Academy in Brimfield, MA. More on that later...I'll only have 4 or 5 students this go-around... No problem with that, I like small "cozy" classes! But when I read that my grandfather couldn't work because they didn't have any coal, it was too cold to work and their boss told them to go out and "get some wood"...kinda put things into perspective for me!

At least I haven't lost the remote in the past few days...

[caption id="attachment_494" align="alignnone" width="300"] This old wagon may have been around at the Carvel General Store when Clem was up there 100 years ago![/caption]

Here's a link to the Carvel General Store: http://www.carvelgeneralstore.ca/about-us.html

a cold morning in Alberta! February 3, 1913 "Lest We Forget"

Today I start transcribing again. The past few weeks had already been transcribed so posting was as simple as a copy/paste with a few comments. Here are the comments from the January 3rd entry, one hundred years ago!

Monday, February 3, 1913
We got up at 6 30 and the weather was much colder than Sunday. After breakfast and I got ready to go to Lemon on the rail change notes. We left at 9 30 and got to Lemon at 12 oclock sharp and had dinner. We did not start back till about 2 oclock because we did not want to get to early we would make the walks longer. We thought 22 miles iwas enough for one day. We got back about 4 00

Well, there you go! Walk 22 miles round trip for dinner??? In January??? In the CANADIAN WILDERNESS!!! And we worry about getting a parking spot right outside the entrance to the mall so we can wander around in a temperature controlled environment! I'll be honest, I'll take the mall over a walk in the woods to a place called "Lemon"....

February 2, 1913---Do They "Celebrate" Groundhogs Day in Canada???

Here's the last page that I've transcribed ahead of time. Starting tomorrow, I'll be transcribing directly from Clem Dickson's diary, "Lest We Forget". It's getting pretty fragile so I hope I can work with it without causing any additional wear and tear.

Sunday, February 2, 1913

We did not get up till 830 this morning. Our morning to sleep. We had breakfast in Jenkins. Then the day’s work starts.

By the way, Karen and I went to a fundraiser at First Church in Ludlow this morning called "Ice Cream for Breakfast." This a "really?" moment: Ice cream for breakfast? REALLY?!?!? The place was MOBBED!!! I think this will catch on....go figure!

And yes, "First Church in Ludlow" was the first church in Ludlow, MA. It was established in 1774 and the first minister was a guy named Pelatiah Chapin. By an outrageous coincidence, Rev Pelatiah turns out to be an early cousin of mine, a few times removed, of course! More on that in another post...it gets sorta interesting!

Dangerous Spam E-Mail!

WARNING! I just got an e-mail allegedly from PayPal. It stated that they had successfully changed my address. The "new" address was somewhere in California. Has nothing to do with me. There was a ZIP file attached which I DID NOT OPEN! I'm sure there a virus or a trojan buried in there somewhere. On closer inspection of the originating e-mail, it came from "help -at- notify.paylap.com" [I replaced the @ with at to prevent an e-mail address popping up] which could easily be mistaken for a legitimate e-mail from "help -at- notify.paypal.com" Can you spot the difference? I couldn't delete this one fast enough!!!

Here's a screen shot of the body of the e-mail

[caption id="attachment_485" align="alignnone" width="300"] SPAM e-mail with ZIP file attached[/caption]