Today marks 45 years since the death of my grandfather John Melody Dever, aka Jack. I was 4 years old when he passed, which means I have had to gather most of the knowledge about his life from records and peoples remembrances. John was born in 1897 in Montreal the son of Irish immigrant parents,…
The question started with “Did my grandmother attend school while she was living in Quebec City?” And it snowballed as it usually does when doing genealogy. I found a book on the BAnQ (National Library and Archives of Quebec) website about Protestant Schools in Quebec. The book is called “Molding our tomorrows: a survey of…
Yesterday I received a message from a cousin who said he had scanned a few more pictures from his dad’s collection. I had the time to look at the pictures last night and was surprised to see some military photos. One picture was from a Musketry School in Montreal taken in 1917. I quickly suspected…
In one month, it will be time to commemorate the centenary of Armistice of World War I. One century ago thousands of damaged soldiers were returning home, marking the resolution of the war to end all wars. Worldwide there were soldiers embarking on the journey home. Some hadn’t met their children or hadn’t laid eyes…
Digging into the family tree often leads to more questions than answers. This time I found the answer. Long before Library and Archives Canada started adding their WWI soldier files online I was systematically ordering the records of family members. (On a side note these records are a treasure and the fact that they are…
Today I am concluding the 11-day Military Challenge with photographs of the Memorial in the centre of Ottawa. It was a surprise trip and I can’t think of a more fitting place to be than our Nation’s capital this Remembrance Day. I am grateful for the service that my family has given in causes in Canada and further…
Day 9 of the 11-day Military Challenge One of my relatives Karl Louis Harrop was court-martialed during WWI. After looking at his service file I also ordered the records of his court-martial from LAC. The new papers had a few hard-to-read statements and no much. What happened to Karl? Karl Louis Harrop was born in…
Day 7 of the 11-day Military Challenge Leslie George Jordan was born in England to Rose Davis and Canadian John Brown Jordan. His Father John had served in WWI and it is likely during this time that he met Rose, who was a WWI widow of John Peters. Before marrying Rose, John would first have…
Day 5 of the 11-day Military Challenge Alfred was born in Sorel, Quebec in 1888 to parents Thomas Lee Norton, a baker and his wife Esther Douglas, joining siblings Thomas Lee and Alyce May. Four more children were born after Alfred but only one of his younger siblings survived. When Alfred was ten he lost…
Day 4 of the 11-day Military Challenge A tattered old newspaper clipping, tucked in amoung a stack of papers that are the remanents of my grandparent’s lives. Carefully unfolding the yellowed paper to see what will be revealed, three brothers off fighting for Canada in WWI, sons of Minnie Jay of 863 Cadieux Street in Montreal.…
My Genealogy Life 