Week 12 - Misfortune

Week 12's prompt is Misfortune.  The polar opposite of last week.

There has been a lot of misfortune in the Edwards line.  Follow each line back far enough and you will find a convict sentenced to a period of time in Australia.  Theft seems to be the most common cause. 

On the Edwards line, my great times a few grandfather, Robert Edwards was convicted of stealing 6 yards of canvas and was sentenced to 7 years in Australia when he was 16.  He was then sent on the ship Eliza from Liverpool to Australia. 

He never left Australia and eventually married my great (times a few) grandmother, Ellen McEvoy.

Another great grandfather, Thomas Lansdown when he was 19 was sentenced to 9 months and being twice whipped for larceny.

It's funny to think back of these as misfortunes when they lead my ancestors to Australia.  I'm sure life wasn't pleasant, but they were the beginning of a foundation of what our family is today. 

Week 11 - Lucky

Again this week I found the prompt to be challenging.  Hence the delay in posting.

Lucky.  The ideas that were given were as follows:  Do you have an ancestor who was lucky at something? Lucky to be alive? Lucky at cards? Lucky in love? Maybe you have an ancestor with a name that reminds you of luck or fortune. There's always "luck of the Irish." Maybe you have a story of how luck played a role in finding an ancestor. 

This one was tricky too.  I don't have any stories at luck in my genealogy.  Really I can only think of one.

I figure that I was extremely lucky to get involved in genealogy when I did.  Little did I know at the time that i only had three years left with my grandpa Edwards.  Because I got involved in genealogy when I did, I was able to acquire all of his work and materials when he passed away.  I know it gave him peace, knowing that all his efforts wouldn't be lost after his death.  
When I look at what I have acquired, there are some real gems in there.  My great-grandmother conversion story.  Life stories of past ancestors.  Pictures and a lot more.  

I have journals that are decades old and it allows me a glimpse into their lives at a time when I didn't know them.  

Just this week I borrowed all of the recipes and cookbooks from my Grandma Edwards to scan them all.  It is going to be a much bigger task than I originally thought, but I am excited to do it.  The best part for me was opening up the cookie recipe box and seeing a family recipe, waffle brownies, sitting right at the front.  Possibly the last cookie recipe she used.  And my favourite cookies.  

As I scan these recipes, and documents, I'll share more, but for this week at least, I do consider myself lucky.

Week 10 - Strong Women - Irene Elizabeth Gladys Chown Edwards

So strong women.

Who to choose?  I've known a lot.  My wife?  One of the strongest people I know.  Physically, spiritually, and more.  She has and can accomplish anything.
My mom, grandmothers, all of them are and were strong.

But I had one person on my mind a lot the past week.  My great-grandmother, Irene Elizabeth Gladys Chown Edwards.  I knew her a little, but I was only 7 when she passed away.  I do remember meeting her a few times, but not a lot of specifics.

But she was strong.  She had 12 kids and fostered others.  She lived in Australia during some hard times.  In the words of her husband, he described her as having a heart of gold.

Irene at age 18.


Both her and her husband converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in 1922.  They decided to uproot their family and moved to Canada for the sole purpose of being able to raise their children where the Church was strong.  They wanted their kids to have a solid foundation for growth in the Church and wanted them to marry Church members to have strong families.

Not an easy thing to do with that many kids.  But she succeeded.

So why has she been on my mind the past week?  I was going through some old papers of my Grandpa Edwards and found her handwritten account of her conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.  I didn't know that I had this and it honestly made my day finding it.

Now to distribute it to all that I can.

Thanks Grandma Irene.

Week 9 - Where there's a Will - Finding a Grandpa

This week's theme is Where there is a Will.  It could be a will as in a probate document, or unbreakable determination.
I don't have a lot of wills that I have come across in my research.  Maybe a couple, but none that come to mind right now.
So I thought of what I have spent the most amount of time on.  My personal brick wall. 

And that is finding my maternal grandfather.

See my mom never knew her dad.  Supposedly she only met him once after birth, and that was as a baby in a carriage.  Her mom was pushing her in a stroller when they happened to see him and he said hi and left.  Classy guy.
She grew up not knowing anything about him.  As an adult she learnt that his name was Bert Tanner.
He lived in Vancouver in the early 1950's and he told my Grandma that he worked in the mines.

That was it.

Mom never really had a huge desire to know who he was until recently.  Even then I think it scares her to learn more about him.  But me?  I'm a genealogy nut and have an insatiable desire to know things.  I need to know. 

So I took a DNA test and had Mom take one as well.  What did we learn?  A little, but not enough.

We found some 2nd cousins of Moms from Nova Scotia, all descended from Patrick Brown and Johanna Lannon. 

And none of their descendants are named Bert Tanner.

We thought we had it figured out.  One guy was a strong possibility.  We even had help from a newly found 2nd cousin, and this guy's daughter took an Ancestry DNA test to see.

Nope.  Not him. 

Starting fresh.

Now I'm looking at a couple of other possibilities.  One is Simon Thomas Toomey, who did live in Vancouver.  Lots more digging to be done.

Eventually I will find him.  It is just taking more work that I had hoped.

But as to the theme?  A Will?  I've got that in spades. 

Week 8 - Heirloom. Grandma's Spoons

This week's prompt is a little easier.  Heirloom.  Something special that has been handed down in your family.

There are a few things that I can think of that fall under this category.

My mother has old china dishes that were her Grandma Curliss'.  We only ever were allowed to eat off these dishes for some reason when we had stew for supper.  Never any other time.

My grandma Hogenson gave me a stuffed dog that was made from the fur of her fathers coat.  20 dogs were made total and for some reason she gave me one of them.

But I wanted to talk about my Grandma Edwards' spoon collection.

Growing up, I always remember her collecting spoons.  She had so many.  Display cases hung on the walls of her home.  Every time we went anywhere, or really anyone she knew, went anywhere, we would give her a spoon from the trip.  She had spoons from literally all over the world. 

When she died, there were hundreds of spoons that needed something to be done with them.  All the grandkids were at her house trying to clean, get rid of stuff that Grandpa wouldn't need, and more and there were these spoons. 

I had each of my kids choose one spoon for them to keep and I chose one as well.

It is in my bedside table and I see it every now and then and am instantly reminded of my Grandma.

The kids all put theirs into their special boxes and often ask to look at them.

It's a small thing, but something that I appreciate.

Week 7 - Valentine

I struggled with this prompt.  So much so that I delayed in posting a blog that week.  In fact I am now 4 weeks behind.  Partly because I was stumped on this prompt and partly due to a family holiday.
But now I am attempting to get caught up.
So.  Valentine.  The prompt is a love story in my family history.  Or an ancestor named Valentine.

I really cant think of one.  Even now, after thinking for a few weeks, I am stumped.

I think I'll have to come back to this one. 

Week 6 - Favorite Name - Ellen Edwards

So the prompt this week is Favorite Name.  What is your favorite name in your family tree?  One that makes you smile? Or an unusual one.

Unlike other weeks, I didn't have an initial thought when I read the prompt.  Usually I see the prompt and know exactly what I want to write about.

I guess my initial thought is my great-great-great-great grandmother.  Her name according to records is Ellen Hughes Byrne McEvoy Edwards.  The reason I first thought of her was that I don't know her parents.  I don't have any record of her before she was sent to Australia.

I have her on the Ship Asia in 1830.  She was initially sentenced to 7 years for stealing butter to provide for her kids.(no record if that is one child or two).  I can find a request that she made once in Australia to be allowed to marry again.  (It was denied).  I can also find her official release paperwork.

She was married to my great X 4 grandfather, Robert Edwards in 1832.

So why is this so difficult?  I don't have any record of her in Ireland.  No birth records, no census (too early) or christening forms.  I don't even know her maiden name.  I assume Hughes, but I don't know.  I have a date range for her birthday, but nothing more.

She came over to Australia with at least one son, whose surname was McEvoy.  So did she marry in Ireland?  Did she marry more than once?

No records of this at all.

I wish I could find even just one.  I would love to find her parents, siblings, etc.

So thats the story of Ellen Hughes Byrne McEvoy Edwards.