This year, 2021 is the 150th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Canadian Artillery. In 1871 the British Military were handing over the reins of guarding Canada to its own people. It was not as prestigious as it may sound, in 1905 the reminisces of William Jordan were given to the Kingston newspaper The…
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…
This week the prompt from Any Johnson Crow is Longevity for the 52 Ancestors challenge. This brought to mind the longevity of the Jordan family’s involvement with the Royal Canadian Artillery. In 1871, William Jordan was the first soldier to join the newly formed company, the first to serve sentry duty and the first to…
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.…
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…
If you have any military ancestors in Canada it is likely that you are aware of the indexing of the WWI Soldier’s service records by Library and Archives Canada. They are over 1/2 done and the last update took us to the surname Russell. Here a few other resources that can be investigated to help…
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…
This photograph of Sergeants’ Mess was probably taken in Quebec City, I came across it on a visit to my great Uncle Herbert Jordan who lived in Montreal. The photograph belonged to his grandfather William Jordan who was a Sergeant in the Canadian Artillery in the 1880s. He started out as a bugler during the…
I don’t have Jay’s in my family tree but in case anyone is out there searching for them I found an old newspaper clipping in my grandmother Beatrice Jordan’s papers. The newspaper mentions Mrs. Jay of Cadieux street, Montreal, her son’s names were George Arthur, John and William. The connection to my family is likely George Arthur…
My Genealogy Life 