Kingston

Military Resource: Royal Military College, Kingston

Canada’s Royal Military College is located in Kingston, Ontario, opening in 1876 with the first class of 18 students graduating in 1880. More history on the college can be found on the Government of Canada’s website.

The Royal Military College Museum houses many resources that are of interest to genealogists.

The RMC Museum’s website has digitized online the Commandant’s Reports from 1876-1920 with some years missing. Scrolling further down on the same page and another amazing resources is the yearbooks RMC Review that cover the dates 1920 – 1940. There are some issues missing, a big gap between 1927-1934 but still worth a look if you suspect an ancestor attended the College.

Another website that have copies of the RMC Review digitized and online is the Toronto Public Library, they have 15 issues; 4 from 1920-1929 and 11 from 1930-1959.

RMC Review front cover 1924

The Museum also contains artifacts, photographs, uniforms, art, etc. and is also a part of Fort Frederick, in Kingston, Ontario. I have added it to my growing list of places to see AC (After Cov-id).

*photo of the Royal Military College (1910) was found on the Toronto Public Library website and is in the public domain.

Newspapers at BAnQ

I live 4,000 kilometers away from where I need to do most of my genealogy research and because of that, I rely heavily on what I can locate online.

I often go back to a web site and redo searches, try new variations in the hopes that I will come across something new.

Yesterday I searched the newspapers (again) at the Quebec Archives site BAnQ and had success.

The first article was a death announcement for Caroline (Jeffrey) MacKay. Caroline was the daughter of Robert Jeffery and Elizabeth Tipper. She was married twice, her first marriage was to Frederick Yates / Yeates in 1841. By 1851 they had buried two children and Caroline was a widow. She married a second time to James MacKay in Montreal in 1851. By Caroline’s death in 1885 at the age of 63 she had buried two more children. The only mention in the newspaper of all these tragedies was little notice in the Quebec Morning Chronicle & Commercial & Shipping Gazette in May 1885 of Caroline’s passing.

Jeffrey Caroline d 1885 Morning chronicle and commercial and shipping gazette, 28 mai 1885

At Richmond, on the 20th of May, Caroline Jeffery, eldest daughter of the late Robert Jeffery, Master stone cutter, of Quebec, and beloved wife of James McKay, Esq.

My favorite find was the notice of death of John Tipper. I had been searching for what happened to John for years. What I knew was that he was born in 1803 in Kingston, Ontario to John Tipper & Gertrude Cudlipp. John’s mom Gertrude had died in 1805, John’s father was a soldier with the Royal Artillery had gone blind and had been put to pension. John Tipper Jr. married Catherine Unkles Taylor in Quebec City in 1839, he was a butcher by trade and had one son that survived childhood. His wife Catherine and son end up in New Jersey with no trace of the father. I always wondered what happened to him, and now I know. On August 10, 1849 John died in Quebec. I have yet to find the record in a church for his death or a burial location, but at least I know have a date to work with.

John Tipper d1849

On the tenth inst., aged 46, Mr. John Tipper, Butcher.

One little line with no details other than his age, death date, and occupation, but I was so happy to find this notice yesterday! I did spend some time looking through the church records on Ancestry but so far have not found his death entry. To date I have not found the burial location in Quebec City for John’s parents, some of his siblings and their children, it has been frustrating not knowing where this family is buried. I keep hoping to find one death record that mentions where their final resting place is.

One other small notice that made the paper is John Tipper Jr.’s son, again John Tipper traveling to Richelieu, PQ from New Jersey in 1887.

John Tipper - L'Étendard, samedi 17 septembre 1887

John Tipper – L’Étendard, samedi 17 septembre 1887 M. John Tipper et sa dame, d’Englewood, N.J. sont enregistres an Richelieu

The hunt for the Tipper family continues!

 

 

Not Coming Home – Leslie George Jordan WWII

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 to divorce his Canadian wife, no record of the divorce has been found.

After WWI John worked in England for the Imperial War Graves Association, in 1921 his son Leslie was born. Leslie grew up in England and it is possible that did not meet his Canadian 1/2 brother and sister, Syd & Bea.

At the outbreak of WWII it is not surprising that Leslie signed up, he became a Flight Sergeant Observer with 108 Squadron.

In 1942 Leslie was in Egypt where he and others had the task of bringing Liberator AL577 plane to England. The plane left on March 15th with nineteen men onboard, the flight was going well until they encountered a storm. Liberator A577 crashed near Dundalk, Ireland killing fourteen people, Leslie was amoung the dead.

Most of the information about Liberator AL577 was found on the site WWIINI Archives and Foreign Aircraft Landings in Ireland – WWII.

Leslie is Remembered with Honour on the Brighton (Downs) Crematorium.

JORDAN_LESLIE_GEORGE (1) copy

I found a tribute video on Youtube for the people killed on AL577, but I was sad to see they, like me, did not have a photograph of Leslie.

Leslie’s parents returned to Canada where his father John passed away in 1958 and was buried at Cataraquai Cemetery in Kingston, Ontario, his mother Rose Emma Mathews Davis died in England in 1979.

 

Jordan, John B & Rose

Leslie’s parents John Brown Jordan and Rose visiting family in Montreal

 

My next step is to try and track down the people mentioned in Rose’s will in the hopes of finding a photograph of Leslie.

#mymilitaryancestor

*Featured Image from Wikimedia Commons of 36th Bombardment Squadron B-24 Liberator in Adak Alaska.

My Military Ancestor – Samuel T. Jordan

Day 1 of the 11-day Military Challenge

Samuel T. Jordan was a career soldier serving with the 8th Royal Rifles and later as an instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston.

I recently found a picture of him on a trip to Kingston hanging on the wall at the RCHA social room. He is in a group picture of Warrant Officers and Staff Sargeants of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, with each person thankfully identified.

#mymilitaryancestor

IMG_1544

IMG_1549

E. Hubley, H.Brown, E. Marshall, T. Turner, W. Finney, F. Temple, S. Slater, W. Borland, J. Pearson. T. Egglestone, W. Lowry, S. Jordan, J. Slade, J. Huberland, D. Pennie, AA. Blackley, H. Bray, A. Light, C. Adams, J. McDonald, J. Laflamme, W. Peppiatt, W. Gimblett, W. Rolson, W. Hopkins, O. Curry, G. Birbeck, W. McIntyre, W. Newman, P. Rider, McKinnon, A. Smith, W. Hird, W. Shipton, W. Stevenson, W. Clifford, P. Hewgill, R. Hazelton

A Fine Celebration

One of the things that I inherited from my grandmother Beatrice (Jordan) Dever was a Royal Canadian Artillery reunion booklet.  She may have attended the event or collected it as her grandfather William Robert Jordan was honoured at the event. The reunion was held in Kingston, Ontario and was reported in the Kingston Whig-Standard on May 23, 1930.

William attended, placing a wreath on the R.C.H.A. memorial along with Mr. W.R. Abbott and Major General R.W. Rutherford.

The reunion booklet contains the programme, the committee members, a history of the regiment and photographs of members.

I have scanned the front page.

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Cover of the reunion booklet.

 

The Royal Artillery Museum has a write up about William Robert Jordan on their website.

John Brown Jordan & His WWI Service

John Brown Jordan was born August 12, 1888, to parents William and Agnes Brown in Kingston, Ontario. It is not surprising he heeded the call to serve in WWI as his father was a career soldier, as well as his older brother Samuel. John was not new to soldering, he already served nine years with the Royal Canadian Artillery and seven years with the Canadian Army Service Corps. John married to Celina Collins in 1905 at St. Matthew’s Church, Quebec City and they had three children, Celina Agnes Becroft (Bee) born in 1906, John William Sidney (Syd) born in 1908 and Mary Patricia arrived in 1913.

John enlisted September 10, 1914, and is described as fresh complected, with dark blue eyes and medium brown hair. He wasn’t the tallest in stature measuring in at 5’4”.

He sailed on the S.S. Alaunia which transported the first Canadian troops to head overseas. John left for France July 19, 1915, joining the 3rd division and was mentioned in dispatches Dec. 28, 1917. John’s daughter Mary Patricia died while he was gone in 1918. John survived the duration of the war and returned to Canada Sept. 6, 1919, sailing on the S.S. Minnekahda.

John continued working for the military, returning to England and working there as a clerk to the Imperial War Graves Association. John and his wife Celina divorced, and John married Rose Emma Matthews Davis, a widow from England. Rose and John’s only child, a son Leslie was born in 1921 in England.

Leslie also became involved in the military, in WWII he was a Flight Seargent with 108 Squadron. Leslie’s plane crashed in Dundalk, Ireland killing seventeen people. Leslie is remembered on a plaque in Brighton (Downs) Crematorium in England.

John Brown returned to Canada after WWII, and he and his wife settled back in Kingston.

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Rose and John Brown Jordan visiting relatives in Montreal. c1950 

John died there in 1951; he is buried at Cataraqui Cemetery.

  • A memory that told to me by John’s nephew, Herbert Jordan was that John was very hard to understand as he had been gassed during the war and had a hole in his throat.

A Mother Gone Too Soon – Fearless Females

March 11 — Did you have any female ancestors who died young or from tragic or unexpected circumstances?  Describe and how did this affect the family? Blog prompt from Lisa Alzo.

When reading this prompt the first person that came into my mind is Anne Reddy.  Anne had her share of trials in her short life, at the age of 26 she had given birth to 7 children, 6 sons and 1 daughter. She was not new to loss as her own mother Margaret (Pendergast) Reddy passed away when she was 8.

Anne named 4 of her boys William, none of whom survived infancy. In 1879, her third William aged two died 1 day after his 5-year old sister Mary of Scarlatina. Anne passed away one year later giving birth to William number 4. Anne and her children are buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Quebec City.

Taken from ancestry.ca

Taken from ancestry.ca

On the thirtieth day of April one thousand eight hundred and eighty we the undersigned priest have interred in the cemetery of this church the body of Anne Reddy wife of William Jordan aged twenty-five years, deceased on the twenty-eighth instant in childbed.

_____ Jordan also Mary & William. St. Patrick's Cemetery, Quebec City. After a visit to the cemetery in the 1990's no sign of this cross was found.

_____ Jordan also Mary & William.
St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Quebec City. No sign of this cross was found in the 1990’s.

The 1881 census for Quebec City shows the two surviving Jordan children, Samuel & Peter living with their grandparents. Their father William, who was in the military being stationed in Kingston, Ontario. While there William met and married his second wife Agnes Brown. Peter, my great grandfather, grew up not knowing his mother.

I do not know much about the Reddy family other than what can be found in the records. I would like to know where they were from in Ireland, when they came to Canada or anything at all about their lives. It is a tragedy to have lost two generations of women before their children could know them or their stories.

Letter From A Female Ancestor – Fearless Female

March 8 — Did one of your female ancestors leave a diary, journal, or collection of letters? Share an entry or excerpt. Prompt from Lisa Alzo.

I do not have a diary or journal for any of my female ancestors (or male for that matter). I do have a few copies of letters that my grandmother wrote. I believe she used carbon paper when typing which created a duplicate of her correspondence. Not all her letters have survived, but the little glimpse into her life is priceless to me and inspires me to write about my life.

The letter I picked t share with you is written by my grandmother Beatrice Dever, she is replying to a letter from cousin Ned Frost in Kingston, Ontario. His original letter (which I have) is inquiring about the Jordan family and anything she knew of the family’s history.

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Letter by Beatrice Dever to her cousin Ned Frost.

Most Unusual Name – Fearless Female

March 3 — Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you’ve come across in your family tree.

The above is a blog prompt from Lisa Alzo. I do not share a first name or a middle name with any of my ancestors that I know of.

Next up is unique or unusual names and the closest I have is Gertrude, which I don’t find that unique or unusual. Many female names in my direct line are Mary, Elizabeth, Beatrice, Caroline and Bridget. With names like that I have to go with Gertrude as being the most unusual. Little is known at this time about Gertrude. I know she was married to a soldier named John Tipper who was Scottish. I do not know when or where they married or Gertrude’s maiden name. I know Gertrude had 4 children and the family was living in Montreal, by 1801 they were in Kingston, Ontario. By 1805, Gertrude had died leaving her husband and children to fend for themselves. I hope I will be able to discover Gertrude’s birthdate, where she was born and who her parents are.

No matter what, Gertrude is a female not forgotten.

52 Ancestors: #7 Grace Brown

I don’t have any photos of Grace Brown (Coffey) but I feel like she has such an interesting story, which is yet undiscovered. Grace was born in Ireland probably Dublin, to parents John Brown and Mary Boyd. Grace grew up in Kingston, Ontario with her 8 siblings. She married William Coffey on the 22 March 1860 which lasted for 42 years until her husband’s death. Grace was a widow for the next 20 years until she passed way in 1922. Her obituary is below.

Postcard_of_the_Kingston_waterfront

The Daily British Whig Tues. Aug. 22, 1922

The Late Mrs. Coffey

Mrs. Grace Coffey, widow of the late William Coffey, of this city passed away at the home of her daughter Mrs. Joseph McAuley Gananoque on Sunday after a short illness. The deceased was born in Ireland eighty-seven years ago but resided in Kingston most of her life. There are surviving two sons, William and Thomas, and one grandson William, and six daughters Mrs. George Kennedy, Stratford; Mrs. W.F. Lowe, Los Angeles; Mrs. Hughes, Port Hope; Mrs. Kayes, Rivers, Man.; Mrs. McAuley, Gananoque and Miss Coffey, Montreal.

The remains were brought to Kingston, Monday, and the funeral took place from 315 Johnson street the residence of William Coffey, to Cataraqui Cemetery at 3 p.m. Tuesday, under the direction of James Reid, undertaker, Rev. Mr. Duncan pastor of Bethel Church officiated. The casket was banked with beautiful flowers from relatives and friends, expressing the affectionate regard in which the deceased was held.