Dec. 5: Happy Birthday Margot Wheeler Wherever You Are

I honour my ancestors with my daily practice of reviewing their birth, deaths and marriages using my "On This Day" (OTD) calendar.

According to my Family Tree Maker (FTM) calendar, my second cousin (1R) Margot Wheeler should be celebrating her 82nd birthday today but the only concrete information that I have about Margot was the photograph pictured below of Margot with her sister Patti and her uncle Bernard Broderick taken in 1943.

1943 photograph of Marg and Patti Wheeler with their Uncle Bernard of Ontario (Source: Bernard Broderick photograph archive)

Distant Cousins from the Annal-Hess Clan Part II

In this morning's inbox was an email from ancestry.ca saying that I had hints for Jemima Almina (Annal) Sutherland (1846-1920)

When I visited the ancestry.ca hints I found one that connected me to Find A Grave with photos recently added by Sandy Sutherland.

Source: Sandy Sutherland, Find A Grave

I had to check. Most of the information that I have received about the Annal-Hess branches in my family tree, I have received through the generous sharing of cousin Vicky Hess. Another distant cousin, Kim Simpson, shared information on the Simpson branch (and I wrote about this in my blog post 52 Ancestors No.31 Meeting Distant Cousins from the Annal-Hess Clan.

Distant Cousins: Annal-Hess descendants: Simpson & Sutherland branches
(Find A Grave profiles)

I was excited about the possibility of Sutherland cousins so I emailed Sandy Sutherland to ask for permission to use her Sutherland family photo (below) .

Jemima Almina (Annal) Sutherland (1846-1920)

Jemima is the older sister of my 2nd great-grandfather James Henry Allan Annal (1849-1930). She married James Sutherland (1850-1933) an only child, son of William and Barbara (Barron) Sutherland of Pomona Island, north of Scotland (better known as the Orkney mainland).

My 2nd great-grandfather
James Henry Allan Annal (1849-1930

James & Jemima Sutherland Headstone
Riverview Cemetery Wallaceburg, Ontario
Source: Sandy Sutherland, Find A Grave

Source: Vicky Hess: Wallaceburg Newspaper page 1 May 27 1920

On the photo below, Sandy Sutherland wrote,

Family photo. Jemima is seated next to her husband James. William Sutherland is standing behind her. If you can label anyone else in the photo, please do so, or let me know.

Source: Sandy Sutherland, Find A Grave

Commemorative biographical record of the county of Kent, Ontario (p 513)

Following the branches on your family tree is so important. 

In the Commemorative Biographical Record above for James Sutherland (above), detailed information is also given on my 3rd great-grandparents James and Elizabeth (Wiley) Annal of Orkney, Scotland.

This biography makes me curious:

• Why are two children: James Henry Allan (1849-1930) and Mary C. Annal (1851-1918). omitted?
• Why did all the children stay in Scotland except for sisters Jemima, Mary and their brother (my 2nd great-grandfather) James Henry Allan Annal?

Screen shot: My Annal-Wylie Family Tree on ancestry.ca

Meeting cousins like Vicky, Kim and Sandy through genealogical research has been one of the many benefits of my genealogical research. Another benefit is being able to share the information and photos with other descendants so that they know more about the story of their ancestors.

LINKS

• Commemorative biographical record of the county of Essex, Ontario : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and many of the early settled families
• Commemorative biographical record of the county of Kent, Ontario : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families (permalink) 
• Orkney Annals: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cockerline/orkney/annal.html

Abandoned Mt. Moriah Cemetery - A Heartbreaking Beauty

Today's blog post is about an abandoned cemetery: Mount Moriah Cemetery in Pennsylvania. 

Founded in 1855, Mount Moriah Cemetery was one of the popular rural burial grounds for the victorian elite of Philadelphia.

http://hiddencityphila.org/

Estimated  to be 380 acres, abandoned since 2011, the 85,000+ graves are now hidden by overgrown grass and weeds and home to wild foxes and deer.

Historic map of Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Pennsylvania
Source: Friends of Mount Moriah

Ownership of Mount Moriah Cemetery is in complicated legal limbo similar to many other cemeteries in North America where management responsibilities (and costs associated to maintenance) are in a state of constant confusion and "Perpetual Care Funds" dry up.

Thankfully, genealogists and local historians cherish these historic treasures and, in the case of Mt. Moriah, the "Friends of Mount Moriah" are actively involved. Their website http://friendsofmountmoriahcemetery.org/  is filled with information and documentation.

Mount Moriah Cemetery
Source: Find A Grave

Links

• Find A Grave: Mount Moriah Cemetery
• Roadtrippers: Mount Moriah Cemetery
• Hidden City Philadelphia
• Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery website
• The Friends Of Mount Moriah Cemetery: Facebook
• Video: Friend of Mt Moriah: Ken Smith (*so lovely*)
• Video: Antiquity Echoes: Mt. Moriah
• Atlas Obscura: Mt. Moriah
• Maps of Mt. Moriah cemetery grounds
• Internment.net: Incomplete Headstone Records = 298
• Wikipedia: Mount Moriah Cemetery
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1634 "Mount Moriah Cemetery Gatehouse" 
• Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. PA-4-A, "Mount Moriah Cemetery, Mt. Moriah Soldiers Lot" 
• Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. PA-4-B, "Mount Moriah Cemetery, Mt. Moriah Naval Lot"