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| 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:
- honour them by saying their name and then looking them up on my Ancestry Family Tree
- review all of the information that I have for that ancestor on ancestry.ca
- search for any new information on that ancestor (shaking "green leaves") that may have become available since the last time I checked
- create an OTD ("On This Day") social media post on that ancestor to share with my extended family (see a recent example below)
- 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)
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| My 2nd great-uncle James Moynahan who was born in Maidstone, Ontario on
Feb. 6, 1879 |
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
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| Source:Ancestry.ca; Year: 1870; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237,
1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 336; Line: 34; List Number: 1031
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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:
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
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
New York,
USA
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Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York; Photo taken by Joel Shore (used here with his permission); Find A Grave
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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
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
Previous Blog Posts About the Annal, Sutherland(and Hess) Families
