A place to honour my ancestors: Moynahan, Coughlin, Broderick, Annal, Brennan, Hussey, Hess and Duffy. (Essex & Kent County Ontario, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Ireland, Scotland); and Creighton, Moreland, (Nova Scotia, England and Scotland); and Foreman (Ireland, Scotland and Norway)
Thanks to the Kent Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, when I reviewed the Ontario Township Papers for Sandwich, Ontario, I discovered 23 pages of correspondence dated 1835 to 1848 from my 4th Great Grandfather Matthew Moynahan (1770-1860)
My family tree has grown from 3001 ancestors in August 2019 to 4031 ancestors and I attribute most of the additions to my "On This Day" practice where I manage my online databases on the anniversaries of the ancestor's birthdays, marriage anniversaries, and death dates.
"Thanks very much for your excellent posts about OnLand, Cindi. With
respect to documents not (yet) online through OnLand, perhaps it would
be worth also considering the ongoing project to digitize FamilySearch
microfilms - among which of course one finds a large number (though not a
comprehensive set) of Ontario land records. For instance, and having
Matthew Moynahan in mind, digitized reels of Sandwich Township records
1847-1853 are already digitized (and accessible anywhere upon logging in
with a free FamilySearch account) and one hopes that other reels of
Essex County land records will follow soon. Seehttps://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/442459?availability=Family%20History%20Library"
Ongoing Project at Family Search
to Digitize Ontario Land Records!
I went to the Family Search link that James F.S. Thomson had posted immediately and there is PLENTY of "Land records of Essex County, 1779-1955", in fact the catalog says that there are 229 microfilm reels!
I started to scroll through the various township listings for Essex County and when I arrived at Maidstone, I notices that the catalog contained two symbols for the records: one with a "film reel" and one with a "camera".
The "film reel" symbols mean that the microfiche is available at the family history center and the "camera" symbols mean that the image is online.
I decided to look at the images highlighted above because I knew that my 3rd great-grandfather Denis Moynahan was located by Col. Talbot at 6 South Middle Road (S.M.R.), Maidstone, Ontario and I wondered if there was anything about him there.
When I opened up "Maidstone Township (v. C, 582-963) 1865-1868; DGS #8199152" I noticed that the first few pages were arranged alphabetically by surname. The letter "M" was found on Page 21 of 501 pages. and I found my 3rd great-grandfather Denis on Lot 6, Maidstone, Ontario.
I then searched for the page where #739 could be found and I located it on page 201 of 501 pages and the number refers to the entry number and not the page numbers on the upper left and right of the book.
A feature that I really appreciate is the "download" feature at Family Search and so I downloaded the full entry which I had never sen before.
The entry is a tripartite transaction in November 1866 naming my 3rd great-grandfather Denis, my 3rd great-mother Catherine and their first-born son Matthew Moynahan (my 3rd great-uncle) (1835-1910).
The Essex county land records that are available at Family Search for browsing right now, include:
Essex County (Index, no. 1) ca. 1796-ca. 1873; Film160151 8199157
this book is arranged alphabetically (i.e. the letter "M" begins at page 208 and ends at page 244 (of 407 pages)
Wills index (no dates) to the general register (A) and to will entries in the township and village land record registers DGS 8129011
General register (A), 1864-1877 (1-248), to transcripts of wills and
powers of attorney involving land transactions (includes own index) DGS 812901
I am incredibly grateful that there are two ongoing projects for digitizing Ontario Land Records and especially grateful to James F.S. Thomson for dropping by my blog to point out the great work that is underway at Family Search!
Lesley Anderson and Glenn Wright did a joint presentation of the "Ontario Vital Records" and did so in a very entertaining and informative way. I thought that I knew everything that I needed to know about vital statistics but I learned a LOT from these two experts.
Lesley and Glenn started off joking about some of the alternative names that they had discussed for this presentation (which they have delivered together several times). Names like "Hatch, Match and Despatch" or "Womb to Tomb".
Civil Registration in Ontario
For today, we stayed with "Ontario Vital Records" and Lesley and Glenn proceeded to take us through the slide presentation starting with births, to marriages and finally Deaths. Here are some highlights from my notes:
1919 Vital Statistics Act: As of 1 January 1920 a physician was to report a birth within
forty-eight hours and the cause of death within twenty-four hours
instead of “forthwith”.
Delayed registrations are important to note.
TIP: If you can locate the Registration books in digital format, it is sometimes fruitful to go page by page through the books to locate someone
TIP: In "birth search boxes", sometimes the forename is not entered so you can try searching using surname and gender only
Archives of Ontario: Pathfinder to Birth Registrations -
Word, PDF
Family Search NOT INDEXED Browse through 126,534 images: Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923 Description Baptisms, marriages, deaths and other records from several Roman Catholic parishes in the province of Ontario, Canada. This collection covers church records created 1760-1923, but the content and time period of the records will vary by parish. https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1927566
Pre-Confederation, marriage records are found in church records
Ancestors in border cities (i.e. Windsor, Ontario) can be problematic because they would cross the border for marriages and divorces
The most popular months for marriages were (in order) December, October, November, February and January because in these months, farm life was less hectic
Check the records for interesting remarks
Take a close loo at the witnesses to the marriage
Archives of Ontario: Pathfinder to Marriage Registrations -
Word, PDF
Archives of Ontario: Pathfinder to Pre-1874 Marriage Registrations Acquired from the Office of the Registrar
General - Word,
PDF
Archives of Ontario: Guide 210 - Finding Divorce Files in Ontario -
Word, PDF
I will report on the information provided by Lesley Anderson's DNA presentation on my next DNA blog post. Lesley offered us lots of tips about how to read the AncestryDNA results; sort through the matches and much, much more.
Archives of Ontario: Vital Statistics Table of Contents
As a family historian and genealogist, I know that there is only so far I can go in recreating the lives of our ancestors from paper records. The very best information about the lives of our ancestors is often found in thestories and conversations with their descendants and extended family.
In 2009, Carolyn Tomlin, (the grand daughter of Frank C.
Tomlin (1882-1918) shared a lot of information about our Tomlin-Nickerson Nova Scotian roots and I have her permission to share it here.
Francis Clifford Tomlin's Headstone (1882-1918)
Francis C. Tomlin's Headstone at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, N.S.
(Source: Photo taken by Carolyn Tomlin)
The Tomlin story starts with this photo of a headstone that held clues to anotherwise unknown factaboutFrancis C. Tomlin (a tinsmith who worked at the Hillis Foundry, Halifax) and the Halifax Explosion of 1917.
Carolyn explains:,
"This (head)stone is at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax.
Francis C. Tomlin searched day and night through the ruins of north
end Halifax and the next day's blizzard looking for bodies after the
Halifax Explosion. He lost his daughter, mother-in-law, 4 sisters-in-law
and their families; 3 brothers-in-law; all those who worked with him at
Hillis Foundry where he was a tinsmith. He caught pneumonia, typhoid
and then died of meningitis on March 21, 1918. The Halifax Relief
commission refused to give his widow, Maggie, a survivor's pension and
she was angry when she put the stone up - she made a point of carving in
stone that he was a victim, putting the date of the explosion before
the date of death."
Detail of Francis C. Tomlin's Headstone at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, N.S.
Read "Injured By The Explosion Dec 6, 1917; Died Mar 21, 1918" (Source: Billion Graves)
Francis Clifford Tomlin (1882-1918) is Effie (Tomlin) Creighton's Brother Our 2nd Great-Uncle
The tree above demonstrates how we are descended from Francis C. Tomlin
Carolyn said that when she was growing up "... in Halifax; our back yard shared a fence with my Dad's cousin Gladys (Melhuish) Garrison, whom ......was Effie Tomlin's daughter." See the picture below with Effie on the far right and Clyde Garrison (second from the left) who married Gladys Melhuish.
Photo fromBarbara Huston Collection: (L to R): Emily Creighton, Clyde Garrison, (my grandmother) Dorothy (Moreland) Creighton and Effie (Tomlin) Creighton-Melhuish (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Photo from Doreen Evan Collection: (L to R): Emily (Creighton) Rudge, Gladys (Melhuish) Garrison, and Edith (Melhuish) Laidlaw
A Missing Tomlin? Twin Albert Clarence Tomlin
According to Carolyn, a Tomlin
is missing from our family tree: "Effie's third brother Albert, who left N.S. for Massachusetts.
American census info indicates he lived in a boarding house, unmarried,
and somewhere else I heard he worked in factory."
When I looked, I found Albert at Family Search and he was a twin!
Twin boy: Albert Clarence Tomlin was born 12 Feb 1877 (Source: "Canada Births and Baptisms, 1661-1959," database, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLG4-MLB : 27 November 2014),
Albert C. Tomlin, 12 Feb 1877; citing Halifax, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 12
Feb 1877, reference ; FHL microfilm 1,318,438.)
Twin girl: Frances C Tomlin was born 12 Feb 1877 (Source: "Canada Births and Baptisms, 1661-1959," database, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLG4-MLR : 27 November 2014),
Frances C. Tomlin, 12 Feb 1877; citing Halifax, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 12
Feb 1877, reference ; FHL microfilm 1,318,438.)
I have been unable to locate the twin sister. She does not appear with him in the 1891 census so we can only assume that she died (a death record has not been located)
I did locate Albert. In the 1896 McAlpines Halifax Directory he is working as a cotton weaver and in Halifax at King's Place with his father Samuel.
By 1918, Albert is living in Massachusetts and enlisting in the Army for World War I.
Massachusetts, World War I Selective Service System draft registration cards, 1917-1918) Film
MASSACHUSETTS North Easton City, no. 41, T - Z Fairhaven City, no. 42, A - R
Source: "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBRT-HCM?mode=g&i=135&cc=1968530
: 14 May 2014), Massachusetts > image 136 of 652; citing NARA
microfilm publication M1509 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and
Records Administration, n.d.).
The Tomlin House
Carolyn wrote that "The whole family of Samuel & Emily appear in the 1881 Canadian
census, under the name Twomlin on King St. Halifax. The house still
exists, except it has been moved round the corner to Robie St. This
happened when I was a teenager; my Dad pointed it out to me as his
grandfather's house."
I checked the two following Wikipedia websites and could not see a house that fit this description.
I sent an email to Heritage Nova Scotia asking for assistance in locating this house (if it still stands) and I was redirected to the Nova Scotia Archives who responded:
"There was only one house part of James Dempster’s
North End Planning Mill on the 1879 Hopkins City Atlas of Halifax, Plate
No S. See Maps on our web site and you can look at the atlas. The Goad
Fire Insurance Plans of 1895, 1899, 1911
have a small two storey building or residence on the south side of the
street. By 1914, the house has a one storey addition at the rear. The street appears on the 1878 City Atlas but we did not find it laid out on
the 1889, 1895, 1899 Goad Atlas. The 1911
atlas show the street but it is unnamed. The 1911 Atlas calls it
Garrack Street.
We perused the Halifax City Directories on-line and
found Samuel Tomlin listed as a labourer at 84 Grafton Street. By 1880,
he is listed as a coal hawker and later as a coal carrier. The first
year he resided on King’s Place is 1888 and
his home was on the east side of the street. The only street in the
area where that fits this description is Love’s Lane later known as
Kings Lane and today is June Street. This street runs from Cunard to
West and was originally a cow path.
Please forget the previous. We checked a 1901
Halifax City Directory and found Samuel Tomlin living on King Street
which ran between North Street and St. Alban’s Street west of Robie
Street. This is where Francis “Frank” G. Tomlin and his
daughter Veronica Tomlin lived when they were killed as a result of the
1917 Halifax Explosion."
The Nickersons
The last of the oral history shared by Carolyn Tomlin is about the Nickersons:
" ....But Emily Tomlin was Emily Nickerson, daughter of
James Nickerson & Esther Purdy.
Plug those names into the search engine on
Ancestry, and it'll take you back to the 1500's in England.
The 1871 Census of
Canada shows Emily - but Esther is dead by then and a stepmother is there;
and in our home town of Clark's Harbour on Cape Sable Island there is the
Archelaus Smith Museum, which has hand-written records of the local families,
and one Emily Nickerson married to a Samuel Thomlin of Halifax. Voila! I have a
picture of it which I can't lay my hands on, but I will find it.
The Nickersons
came from Cape Cod after the expulsion of the Acadians to take over the Atlantic
fishery."
Carolyn Tomlin concludes her message by saying, " I kept my Tomlin name when I married because I am literally the last of the
Tomlins."
Halifax Explosion Postcards
I am grateful to another distant cousin (Doreen Evans) who is filling in more of the Nova Scotia gaps with wonderful photographs.
I have added four postcards below depicting the Halifax Explosion so that you can have a better idea about the conditions that poor Francis Tomlin searched for his lost family members. They are scanned from the photograph archive held by Doreen Evans (granddaughter of Effie Tomlin)
Daughter Veronica Tomlin died in Explosion
As you recall from the beginning of this post, "Francis C. Tomlin searched day and night through the ruins of north
end Halifax and the next day's blizzard looking for bodies after the
Halifax Explosion. He lost his daughter," and many, many other family members and co-workers.
You can
view the death certificate and other information about his daughter
Veronica Tomlin who died in the Halifax Explosion Dec. 6 , 1917 here: https://novascotia.ca/archives/remembrance/list.asp?ID=1731 Veronica is buried st Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax, NS.
You will read from the photograph of her death certificate that she died from "shock due to injuries in explosion" which was the standard cause of death in most of these death records at the time of the explosion.
Ashpan Annie, an infant survivor of the Halifax Explosion on 6 December 1917.
Another Explosion?
Doreen Evans also sent photographs of smoke clouds that appear to be coming from the opposite shore in Halifax and at first I thought they were related to the Halifax Explosion but then I looked more closely at the clothing in the photo below.
Above: Young folks walking with smoke visible in the background
You can see the young women above are wearing short dresses (below the knee)
which would make it a different time period than the 1917 explosion.
When I researched further, I came across a reference to the Halifax
Explosion II. This referred to an explosion of munitions at the Magazine
near Dartmouth, (The Bedford Magazine explosion) (July 18-19, 1945)
Above: Young Men in foreground looking at the smoke
Cloud of smoke over the rooftops
I cant be entirely sure, but I believe these photographs may have been taken of the explosion of munitions at the Magazine
near Dartmouth. If you have any thoughts, please add them to the comment section below.
Many thanks to distant cousins Carolyn Tomlin and Doreen Evans for helping to fill in the stories about the Tomlins, Nickersons and Melhuishes in Nova Scotia. There are so many more stories waiting to be told. Nova Scotia is a beautiful place with a wonderful history that I love to research.
The Archives of Ontario successfully signed a licencing agreement with Family Search International (FSI) to make available online several years of historical Ontario vital statistics records previously available only on microfilm. Starting May 30, 2015, the following records will be available online through the FSI website for free:
In reviewing the Moynhan records I was surprised to learn that my ancestors Jeremiah and Mary (Brennan) Moynahan waited two years (12 February 1873) to register the birth of Margaret (23 November 1871) and plead ignorance of the statute.
Some Interesting Findings - Hess
Mary Hess died 30 December 1927 in Chatham, Ontario.
When I looked at her death certificate - which I had not seen until the records were put online bu FamilySearch - the names of her parents were different than the ones in my tree? This will require more research.
SOURCES:
Margaret Moynahan Birth Record:"Ontario Births, 1869-1912," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FM3H-SVW : accessed 2 June 2015), Margaret Moynahan, 23 Nov 1871; citing Sandwich East, Essex, Ontario, Canada, registration number ; FHL microfilm 1,844,891.
Mary Hess Overview: Ancestry Member Private Tree: "The Forest
Mary Annal Death Record: "Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JK4W-JQ4 : accessed 2 June 2015), Mary Annal, 30 Dec 1927; citing Kent, Ontario, Canada, 18887, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,184,480.
