Johnny Murray: The Dashes Between B-M-D

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.

OTD: August 30: Raymond Stanislaus Krolicki Died (1986)

On October 26, 2017, I posted about Ambrose E. Moynahan who died "On That Day" in  1954.

Ambrose Moynahan was a mining engineer and is one of our Michigan/Colorado Moynahan ancestors. While researching Ambrose in 2017, I discovered two surprises:

1. I discovered (too late) that I had connected with Ambrose’s granddaughter June Woeber in 2002 on an ancestry message board. June passed in 2014 in California.(See: https://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/otd-oct-26-ambrose-edwin-moynahan-died.html)
2. I also discovered a familial connection to a Capt. James Minihan and his son Ralph (originally from Michigan) who are buried in the Buckskin cemetery, Colorado. (See: https://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/capt-james-minihan-1840-1899.html)

OTD: August 26, 1885 Denis Moynahan Died in Detroit

My daily genealogy practice since 2017 has been to create monthly calendars using my Family Tree Maker 2017 program that lists all of the births, marriages and deaths for the 3,072 ancestors in my family tree.

Each day, I look at the ancestors listed on that particular day and I:

1. honour them by saying their name and then looking them up on my Ancestry Family Tree
2. review all of the information that I have for that ancestor on ancestry.ca
3. search for any new information on that ancestor that may have become available since the last time I checked

Denis Moynahan

 My 3rd great-grandfather Denis Moynahan died on August 26th, 1885 in Detroit Michigan.

August 8, 1833: Mary J. Moynahan Born in Detroit

On this day, Mary J. Moynahan Parks was born in Detroit (1833) daughter of James (1810-1858) and Catherine (Hart) (1810-1871) Moynahan. Mary J. (Moynahan) Parks

Book Excerpt: Portrait of Denver and Vicinity, Colorado

OTD August 3: In Loving Memory of Hannah Moynahan

My daily genealogy practice since 2017 has been to create monthly calendars using my Family Tree Maker 2017 program that lists all of the births, marriages and deaths for the 2,946 ancestors in my family tree.

Each day, I look at the ancestors listed on that particular day and I:

1. honour them by saying their name and then looking them up on my Ancestry Family Tree
2. review all of the information that I have for that ancestor on ancestry.ca
3. search for any new information on that ancestor (shaking "green leaves") that may have become available since the last time I checked

I had been wanting to write about the Warnock family for some time and what better occasion than on the anniversary of Hannah (Moynahan) Warnock's death on August 3, 1948.

Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79808496/hannah-warnock

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)

On This Day: October 10: John Miller Moreland Died

I developed a daily practice that I call "On This Day" (or OTD for short) as a means to:

• honour the life events of my ancestors
• revisit my previous research, 
• check for new information online (i.e. on ancestry and Family Search)
• update any of my previous blog posts if new information was found
• share these #OTD memes on social media like my Facebook page (to share with family) and on twitter (to share with other genealogists)
• In some cases, I create new blog posts. (See: https://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.com/search?q=otd)

Today, October 10, my great grandfather John Miller Moreland died in 1940 in Kingston, Ontario.

My Great Grandfather John Miller Moreland 

(1882-1940)

My great grandfather John Miller Moreland (1882-1940)
with his daughter (my grandmother)
Dorothy (1909-2000)

William Sutherland's 1870 Emigration From Scotland

Calendar created with Family Tree Maker 2017; Edited to exclude living relatives

My daily genealogy practice since 2017 has been to create monthly calendars using my Family Tree Maker 2017 program that lists all of the births, marriages and deaths for the 1700 ancestors in my family tree.

Each day, I look at the ancestors listed on that particular day and I:

1. honour them by saying their name and then looking them up on my Ancestry Family Tree
2. review all of the information that I have for that ancestor on ancestry.ca
3. search for any new information on that ancestor (shaking "green leaves") that may have become available since the last time I checked
4. create an OTD ("On This Day") social media post on that ancestor to share with my extended family (see a recent example below)
5. create a blog post about an exciting new piece of information that I have found after doing number 1 and 2 above (like I am doing now for William Sutherland)

My 2nd great-uncle James Moynahan who was born in Maidstone, Ontario on Feb. 6, 1879

Above is an example of an "OTD"  that I recently created on February 6, 2018 for my 2nd great-uncle James Moynahan who was born in Maidstone, Ontario on Feb. 6, 1879. He married Miriam Bondy in 1903 and had three sons (Albert of Detroit and Norman & Lawrence of California)
http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2016/02/52-ancestors-no-48-moynahan-bondy.html

William Sutherland

I had no idea when I began my "OTD" research for William Sutherland that I would uncover such a tragic story and, at the same time, find NEW information about my 2nd great-grandfather James Henry Allan Annal's emigration to Canada!

William Sutherland (born February 7, 1781 in Aberdeen, Scotland) is the father-in-law of my 3rd great-aunt Jemima Almina Annal (1846-1920) and, when I reviewed recent ancestry.ca hints for William, the 1870 New York City (NYC) passenger list (below) caught my attention!

The 1870 NYC Passenger List

Source:Ancestry.ca; Year: 1870; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 336; Line: 34; List Number: 1031

I found William Sutherland on the passenger list of the ship Columbia that arrived at the port of New York, New York from Glasgow, Scotland on November 5, 1870. On this New York Passenger list I also found more Sutherlands and one Annal! The names on the Passenger List were a bit confused and I have clarified them (in the order listed) below:

• William Sutherland (1781-1870)
• Mrs Sutherland; Barbara (Barron) Sutherland (1804-1898)
• James Sutherland (1850-1933) the son of William and Barbara Sutherland.
• James Annal (1849-1930) This is my 2nd great-grandfather James Henry Allan Annal
• Mrs Annal; Jemima Almina (Annal) Sutherland (1846-1920)
• Barbara Annal; (1870-1929) baby Barbara Sutherland only 8 months old when she made the crossing

 My 2x Great-Grandfather Annal Found 
On The S.S. Columbia

I had always wondered under what circumstances my 2nd great-grandfather James Henry Allan Annal made his way to Canada. I knew that he was a sailor all of his life and so I imagined that, on one of his many trips across the Atlantic, he had simply disembarked and made a new life for himself in Ontario, Canada but now I know he traveled (at twenty-two years of age) in steerage aboard the ship Columbia with his sister Jemima's in-laws the Sutherlands.

The Sutherland Family 

of Chatham, Ontario

The family of James and Jemima (Annal) Sutherland; Chatham, Ontario

The story of James Sutherland (1850-1933) found in The Commemorative biographical record of the county of Kent, Ontario (p 513)

For William's son James, the trip across the Atlantic was worthwhile because he went on to become a "prosperous farmer and leading citizen of Gore of Chatham, Lot 7, Concession 1".

Unfortunately, the crossing over the Atlantic proved fatal for his ninety-year-old father William Sutherland.

November 1870: William Sutherland's Ship

Arrived in New York City Nov. 5th and He Died Nov. 9th

The ship Columbia left Scotland on October 15, 1870  and arrived at the port of New York, New York on November 5, 1870 with six family members from the Sutherland and Annal families. On Wednesday morning, November 9, 1870, the Rochester Daily Democrat Newspaper, (Vol. 38 #2054) reported:

SUDDEN DEATH --- This morning about two o'clock, Wm. Sutherland, who was with his wife and son on the emigrant train from the east, was found dead in his seat in the car on the arrival of the train at the depot. He was ninety years of age, Coroner Harder was called, but the holding of the inquest was postponed until today at 8 o'clock.

Then on Thursday morning, November 10, 1870, the Rochester Daily Democrat Newspaper, (Vol. 38 #2055) reported:

THE DEATH AT THE DEPOT --- William Sutherland, who died at the Depot in this city on Tuesday night, as mentioned in Wednesday's paper, was a Scotchman, on his way to Canada. With his wife and son and one or two other members of his family, he left Scotland on the 15th of October, and landed in New York on Monday last. Before arriving in Rochester, for an hour or two, Sutherland became quite sleepy and had to have assistance in getting on board the Falls train. Soon afterward he was found dead. He was ninety years old, and became much exhausted during the voyage to New York.
Coroner Harder investigated the case, but did not deem it necessary to hold an inquest. The deceased was buried yesterday, and the family left last evening for Canada, where they have relatives residing. 

 William Sutherland Buried at

Mount Hope Cemetery Rochester, Monroe County,  

New York, USA

According to Mt. Hope internment records (http://www.lib.rochester.edu/IN/RBSCP/Databases/IMAGES/MtHope/disc1/00000722.pdf ) William Sutherland was buried in the Public Grounds in Row 16 / Grave #35. 

Joel Shore (who takes headstone photographs for Find A Grave) has done extensive research on this area of the Mt. Hope cemetery in Rochester and the many changes made there since 1870. There is no marker for William Sutherland and it is estimated that his final resting place is captured in the area of these surviving markers in the photograph below taken by Joel Shore.

The Mt. Hope cemetery map is here: http://mcnygenealogy.com/cem/mh-intro.htm
 

Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York; Photo taken by Joel Shore (used here with his permission); Find A Grave

Mt. Hope internment records (http://www.lib.rochester.edu/IN/RBSCP/Databases/IMAGES/MtHope/disc1/00000722.pdf

Barbara (Barron) Sutherland Died 1898

William's wife Barbara (Barron) Sutherland died on November 15, 1898 twenty-eight years  after arriving in the port of New York, New York and losing her husband. She is buried in Plot 1011 at the Riverview Cemetery Wallaceburg, Ontario.

 The OTD Review Yields NEW Information

I had no idea that my 2nd great-grandfather James Henry Allan Annal's emigration story was filled with such tragedy and loss and yet I knew that this was common occurrence for so many Scottish and Irish emigrants who took a chance crossing the great Atlantic to make a new life in Canada.
 
These new facts about my Sutherland and Annal ancestors came to me by way of my regular practice to honour my ancestors through my daily OTD (On This Day) review. It is a really helpful practice that I highly recommend for other genealogists and as you can see from William Sutherland's example, you never know what you might find!

The S.S. Columbia
My 2nd Great-grandfather 
James Henry Annal's Emigration Ship
 

This Currier and Ives print is available for sale at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/140283.html

 1870 Anchor Line announcement for Routes on the Norway - Scotland service (Norwegian newspaper)

The S.S. Columbia was built in 1866 at Glasgow by Alexander Stephen & Sons and she was a : "Clipper stem, one funnel, three masts (ship-rigged for sail), iron construction, single screw and a speed of 10 knots. There was accommodation for 80-cabin and 540-3rd class passengers.(Source: http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=colun)

Her maiden voyage was from Glasgow to New York October 27, 1866 and the time needed to cross the Atlantic was fifteen days.

More S.S. Columbia Links

• A Souvenir of the Anchor Line Agents Excursion on the Steamer California ... By Anchor Line
• Ships of Our Ancestors By Michael J. Anuta

Previous Blog Posts About the Annal, Sutherland(and Hess) Families

• 52 Ancestors No.31 Meeting Distant Cousins from the Annal-Hess Clan
• Distant Cousins from the Annal-Hess Clan Part II 
  
• 52 Ancestors # 33: Orkney Sailor James Annal (1849-1930) 
• ANNAL: Family Photograph Mysteries 
• ANNAL: Fire Chief and Ice Dealer James Annal  
• ANNAL: Great Grandmother Elizabeth's Brother John  Annal 
• HESS - ANNAL: Hess & Annal : Feather Renovators (1906) 
• HESS - ANNAL Historical Ontario Vital Statistics Records Available Online for FREE 
• HESS - ANNAL: Annal-Hess
   

OTD: Oct. 26: Ambrose Edwin Moynahan Died

I have been using "On This Day" (OTD) each month as a way of recognizing my ancestor's birth, marriages and deaths (BMDs) with the intention to review and update their files with any new information that may be available on ancestry.ca.

My FTM 2017 October calendar for my Moynahan family tree

In the case of remembering, reviewing and honouring Ambrose Edwin Moynahan (1876-1954), I found myself falling further and further "down a rabbit hole" where I soon realized that I had been corresponding with Ambrose's granddaughter in 2002 on an Ancestry message board!

Headstone for Ambrose Edwin Moynahan. Located in Section 2, Block 17 of Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, Colorado.Source: Find A Grave Memorial# 113903832

Mining engineer Ambrose Edwin Moynahan is descended from the Colorado Moynahans that I have written about in detail before:

52 Ancestors No. 10: James Moynahan (1842-1919) Civil War Soldier & Colorado Miner http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/03/52-ancestors-no-10-james-moynahan-1842.html

 52 Ancestors No. 30: Department Commander James Moynahan 1917

http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/08/52-ancestors-no-30-department-commander.html

1899: James Moynahan Remained True To Lincoln

http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/04/1899-james-moynahan-remained-true-to.html

Moynahan Fire & Hose Company - Alma, Colorado

http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/04/moynahan-fire-hose-company-alma-colorado.html

James Moynahan is my Colorado 1st cousin (4x removed) (1842-1919) Source: eBook screenshot: Google Books: Park County By Park County Local History Archives

The Colorado Moynahans

As I fell further and further down this rabbit hole, I came across this 1940 photo (below) and I wondered if the man in the photo was Ambrose so I wrote to the South Park National Heritage Area and learned that the man in the photo below is NOT Ambrose but instead, this is Ambrose's brother James William Moynahan (1878-1957)

2718. Alma – Houses. 1940s. Spring house is in background. Back row left to right: William Moynahan, Glendour Moynahan, Nell Kelly, Elma Gates, Edna Moore, Laura Craig. Front row left to right: Jane Kelly, Frank Kelly, Betty Craig, Thelma Gransbury. Source: Park Co. Archives: http://www.parkcoarchives.org/photos/photos1/photos_alma_house.html

Read: Behind the Façade: The James  Moynahan House in Alma; Page 4/10; http://www.parkco.us/Archive/ViewFile/Item/1040 )

Ambrose Edwin Moynahan is buried very near his brother William (and William's wife Glendour) and many other Moynhans in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, Colorado

Headstone for Ambrose Edwin Moynahan. Located in Section 2, Block 17 of Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, Colorado.Source: Find A Grave Memorial# 113903832

From the South Park National Heritage Area:

Hello Cindi, 

I volunteer with the Park Co. Local History Archives and was asked to answer your email to the South Park Nat'l Heritage Area. Our office has a number of historic photos but unfortunately, none of Ambrose. We only have one that I know of of James.

The Moynahan family was so prominent in Park County as I'm sure you know. 

Also, I have obits on a Capt. James Minihan and his son Ralph. The Minihan obit says he was a cousin to James Moynahan so I thought you might like to see them which I've attached. Photos of their headstones also attached.  

Ambrose Edwin Moynahan's Family

As I tracked down more and more records about Ambrose Edwin Moynahan and his children and grandchildren, things got very interesting when I came across an old Ancestry message board message to me from Ambrose granddaughter June Frances Woeber in 2002 (see below)

 

Sadly, June Woeber who had contacted me through Ancestry, passed away in California in 2014. June never married (nor did her eldest sister and one brother), however, she did leave behind an extremely rich account of her Moynahan-Woeber family who moved from Colorado to California.

Because I have no idea what happened to all of June's genealogy work over the years (no longer on ancestry.com), I share it here in her honour.

Ambrose Moynahan's Grandchildren: 

The Woebers 

 

The Woeber family

The Woebers: Front Row: Lorenz, Philip, Zelda; Back Row:Edwin, James and June

June and Her Brothers

Jim and Ed both flew in the United States military and later flew as commercial airline pilots for thirty years each, (Jim with Delta and Ed with Western and Delta airlines). Ed never married and was reported in 2002 "in Nebraska hunting birds with his two hunting dogs." (Ed died in 2009.)

The Woeber siblings: June, Jim, Ed and Phil.

June Woeber (1930-2014)

In this message board entry below by June Woeber in 2002, she tells the story about how her parents met, how they made their way from Colorado to California and a some of what she remember from her paternal roots (Woeber-Stapleton)

The Older Sister: Lorene Woeber (1924-2014)

Lorene, the eldest child of the Moynahan-Woeber family, never married (like June) and the two sisters took care of their mother Zelda (Moynahan) Woeber who turned 101 years old on January 31 2002 (she died February 27, 2002).

Both sisters, after their mother passed in 2002, eventually finished their days moving in to the assisted living residence Hallmark Assisted Living in California in 2014 (where Lorene died eight months later and June died seven months after that)

 

This Post in Memory of June Woeber 
1930-2014

As I researched Ambrose Moynahan's grandchildren and discovered my 2002 connection to June Frances Woeber, I feel eternally grateful for our brief  encounter with one another and I dedicate this post about her grandfather to her.

June is buried with her sister Lorene 

 at Hillcrest Memorial Park Bakersfield Kern County California, USA GPS 
Find A Grave Memorial# 172004005
 

Burial: Hillcrest Memorial Park Bakersfield Kern County California, USA Find A Grave Memorial# 172004005

A Further Mystery?

Who are "Capt. James Minihan and his son Ralph. The Minihan obituary says he was a cousin to James Moynahan"?

Capt. James Minihan as pictured in
"A brief history of the Tenth Michigan Cavalry by Trowbridge, L. S., 1836-1912"

This is yet another Colorado cousin "genealogical rabbit hole" that will have to wait for another blog post in the future. For now, I leave you with the pictures that were sent to me by the South Park National Heritage Area

 They wrote, "The Moynahan family was so prominent in Park County as I'm sure you know. 
Also, I have obits on a Capt. James Minihan and his son Ralph. The Minihan obit says he was a cousin to James Moynahan so I thought you might like to see them which I've attached. Photos of their headstones also attached. 

Another Colorado cousin: Capt. Jas Minihan and son Ralph Minihan buried beside one another in Colorado (Source: South Park National Heritage Area)

Another "Colorado cousin": Capt. Jas Minihan (Source: South Park National Heritage Area) See: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSsr=121&GScid=57190&GRid=21574323&

Another Colorado cousin: Ralph Mininhan South Park National Heritage Area

Ralph Minihan's sad obituary (from the Fairplay Flume Newspaper dated 1894 December 6, page 4
): http://coloradogravestones.org/view.php?id=21851

Minihan, James; Capt. Jas. Minihan; CO. D.; 10 Mich. Cav.
Notes:  Buried in fenced area with Ralph C. Minihan .
 
Minihan, Ralph C.; Ralph C.; Son of James & F.E. Minihan, Died Nov. 
30, 1894; Aged 23 Yrs, 27 Ds; Minihan
Notes:  Enclosed in a fenced area with Capt. James Minihan; Son of 
James and F.F. Minihan

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21574289 

Source: 

Buckskin Cemetery, Alma, Park County, Colorado

http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/park/cemeteries/buckskin.txt 

Some Park County, Colorado Links.

• Park County Local History Archives: http://www.parkcoarchives.org/
• Park County Local History Archives: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PCArchives/
• Moynahan, A. E. "Future Gold Production Near Alma, Colo.;" The Mines Mag., 2/33.  (CC, CSM, DPLG)
• Parked in the Past - Early days at the Orphan Boy http://www.parkcoarchives.org/Archives_News_Orphan_Boy_012712.html
• COGenWeb http://cogenweb.com/

On This Day: October 2017

Births, Marriages and Deaths (Note: living relatives removed)

I did not manage to post as many of these remembrances called "On This Day" on social media as I would like. Below are some of the ones that I did manage to post.

OCT. 18

OTD: On This Day, Oct 18, 1928 : my 1st cousin (1x removed) Madeline Demarse aka Sister Paul of the Cross (G.S.I.C) (1928-2010) was born
Her story here: http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/04/52-ancestors-no-15-sister-madeline.html

OTD: On This Day, Oct 18: my 1st cousin (2x removed) Agnes Broderick was born in 1904. (DNA results: shared with one of Agnes' descendants: 95 centimorgans shared across 6 DNA segments )
Her story here: http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/10/52-ancestors-no41-nurse-agnes-broderick.html 

OCT 22

OTD: Our 3rd great uncle John Moynahan died Oct.22 (1841-1906) of typhoid fever. Father of well-known Essex/Kent auctioneer William Moynahan (Read about William here: https://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/01/52-ancestors-no-5-maidstone-auctioneer.html) John Moynahan is buried in St. Mary's Maidstone, Ontario.

On This Day: May 12

Wedding Day May 12, 1903
Patrick Broderick and Clara Moynahan
(Photo from private collection of Bernard Broderick)

On this day in 1903, Patrick Broderick married Clara Moynahan at St Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Maidstone, Ontario.

St. Mary's R.C. Church, Maidstone, Ontario
Image Source: Maidstone Cemetery Records

St Mary's church is located on Lot 293, North Talbot Rd., Highway 3, Maidstone, Ontario.

Many  of  our ancestors are buried in the cemetery there (https://essex.ogs.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Maidstone-ST-MARYs-Ess2818-INDEX.pdf)

Source: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.Original data - Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec,

Patrick had his brother Leo W. Broderick (who later became a detective) as his best man, and Clara had her sister Maud Moynahan (who later married Frank Flannery) as her maid of honour.

Photo of Moynahan sisters Maud Agnes and Clara
(Photo from private collection of Frank Lyons)

Unfortunately, Clara (Moynahan) Broderick died in 1919 at the young age of 37 years (after a lingering illness) leaving her husband Patrick with five children aged 18 months to 15 years.

Source: The Border Cities Star - Dec 13, 1919

At 51 years of age, Patrick remarried American-born Mary Josephine Kuehne (1876-1938) on November 28, 1922 in the Roman Catholic church in Amherstburg. Josephine was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Joseph Kuehne (born in Switzerland) and Sarah Darragh (born in Cleveland, Ohio)

Source: Essex Free Press (Essex, ON), December 8, 1922

The Broderick-Moynahan Family Tree

The Broderick-Moynahan Family Tree

I have written previously of Patrick and Clara and some of their children

• 52 Ancestors No. 7: My Oral History Interview with Bernard Broderick  
• 52 Ancestors No. 8: Christian Brother: Bernard Broderick 
• 52 Ancestors No. 34: Brother Berchmans F.S.C. - A "True Son of De La Salle" 
• 52 Ancestors No.41: Nurse Agnes (Broderick) Casey

I have not yet written histories on the Workmans (Indiana) , the Wheelers (California) and the Lyons (Windsor) who have descended from this marriage. My research has benefited greatly from an online ancestry connection to a Lyons distant cousin. I am very grateful for that.

More family facts

• Frank Broderick and Clara Moynahan's children were not only cousins to John Moynahan and Mary Broderick's children (like my grandfather Ernest Moynahan), they were double first cousins: They have both sets of grandparents in common.
• Double Cousins have happened more than once in our family tree
• Matthew Moynahan and Catherine Carr and Timothy Moynahan and Julia Ann Carr
• A new stone was erected for Patrick and Clara Broderick in 1989 (see photo below)

Bernard Broderick (1916-1992) son of Patrick and Clara Broderick
(Picture taken in 1989 at Bernard's parents new stone
at St Mary's Cemetery, Maidstone, Ontario)

On This Day: April 2 - Nellie (Annal) Simpson Was Born

 Nellie (Annal) Simpson (1899-1962)
(my 1st cousin 2x removed) 
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

For 2017, I have decided to use  "On This Day" (or OTD for short) as a means to:

• honour the life events of my ancestors
• revisit my previous research on them, 
• check for any new information online (i.e. on ancestry and Family Search)
• update any of my previous blog posts if new information was found
• share these #OTD memes on social media like my Facebook page (to share with family) and on twitter (to share with other genealogists).

In some cases, I have created new blog posts (see Francis Clifford Tomlin's Headstone and Ann (Moynahan) Jobin). Such is the case for Nellie - I want to dedicate this blog post to her on her birthday.

Nellie (Annal) Simpson (1899-1962)

I had written a little bit about Nellie previously in my blog post 52 Ancestors No.31 Meeting Distant Cousins from the Annal-Hess Clan . In that blog post I described how two distant cousin genealogists, Vicky Hess and Kim Simpson, were the reason that my Annal-Hess clan research was so far advanced. They had done ALL the work! I am sincerely grateful to both of them.
 

Nellie Lillian Annal was the daughter of  James and Mary (Wright) Annal

I had written previously about Nellie's father James Annal (1873-1921) as well in my blog post 52 Ancestors #36: Fire Chief and Ice Dealer James Annal . I was surprised that James had died so young (47 years of age) being described as "hale and hearty" and a "powerful, vigorous man" and James had worked as an "Ice Man" and Firefighter. Sadly, he did not live long enough to see his three grandsons born (the children of Nellie and Graydon Simpson.).

Pictures of Nellie with her parents James and Maggie Annal 
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

 Three Things To Know About Nellie

As a birthday tribute to the Nellie Lillian Annal who was born on this day, April 2 in the year 1899, here are three things you probably did NOT know about her.

Fact No. 1: Nellie had two sisters who died before their second birthday

How sad that Nellie grew up as an only child and how sad that her two sisters did not even live long enough to see their second birthdays. It must have been hard on Nellie's parents as well.

I love the poems that appear on Bessie and Rena's headstones and I am assuming that they were probably written by their mother (?). Both girls, Bessie and Rena, are buried at the Riverview Cemetery in Wallaceburg, Ontario.

I located a death certificate for Bessie and learned that she died from "gastro intestinal" according to the physician in attendance.

Nellie's sister Bessie Irene died at 1 year 6 months and 13 days old

Nellie's sister Rena May died at 8 months 11 days old.

Fact No. 2: Nellie had three sons

Nellie with her three sons
(left to right): Russell Lee, Graydon Douglas, and James Willard
(c. 1930s) Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

All three of Nellie's sons married and lived in Michigan and Nellie lived to see the arrival of six grandchildren.

Composite of wedding announcements for the three Simpson brothers (taken from the Detroit Free Press archives).

Fact No. 3: Nellie Lillian (Annal) Simpson was a quilter and "sewed for Britain".

I located a Detroit Free Press clipping dated March 9, 1941 (Page 43) that shows women "sewing for Britain" and one of them is Mrs. Graydon Simpson - Nellie!

Comfort Quilts

"Of all the services that women provided for wartime relief, perhaps the making of quilts represented the most intimate expression of comfort and care for those suffering the horrors of war. Women all over Canada gathered to sew quilts for bombed-out families in Britain......"(Source: http://halifaxwomenshistory.ca/canadian-comfort-quilts/)

I am so grateful to Kim Simpson for sending me photographs of a quilt made by Nellie from her private collection.

Nellie's Quilt
Photo credit: Private collection of Douglas and Kim Simpson

Nellie's Quilt (close up)
Photo credit: Private collection of Douglas and Kim Simpson

Nellie's Quilt (detail)
Photo credit: Private collection of Douglas and Kim Simpson

Nellie Lillian (Annal) Simpson Died in 1962

 

Death Notice: Detroit Free Press (6 Jun 1962): Simpson, Nellie l.

Nellie died in 1962 and is buried in Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens in Novi, Michigan alongside her husband Graydon who died sixteen years later (1978). There are no pictures available online of their headstone.

Death Notice: Detroit Free Press (18 Jan 1978): Simpson, Graydon

Links to War Time Sewing Clubs

•  The women's sewing circles that helped Britain win the war http://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/651255/Women-sewing-circles-helped-Britain-win-WW2-war-UK
•  Knitting for Victory http://elinorflorence.com/blog/wartime-knitting