Archive for category Genealogy
#52Ancestors – No. 40 – Harry Trevelyan Saves Winston Churchill in 1899
This post is number 40 in the series of the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Harry Trevelyan Saves Churchill
Who is Harry Arthur John Trevelyan and did he really save Churchill’s life during the Boer War? According to an article in The Dearborn Guide on January 27, 1965, written shortly after Churchill’s death, the answer is “Yes.” Is it true, I don’t know for sure.
I have tried searching various Churchill accounts regarding his escape from the Boers to learn more and was not able to pin down the details. The article states that Trevelyan was one of a group of British soldiers who saved the 26 year old newspaper correspondent. Churchill later became Prime Minister of England. The article states Trevelyan was a Lieutenant in the Cavalry.
Trevelyan was a Canadian who join the fight against the Boers. I do not know if he joined the British military for fought under an Canadian group.
Who was Harry A. Trevelyan?
Harry’s naturalization papers state he was born in Winnipeg, Canada, on July 14, 1876. On May 15, 1901, he entered United States at Pembina, North Dakota, on the Great Northern Railroad. He states he settled in Michigan on November 1, 1908. A search has not yielded any clues of where Harry was from 1901 to November 1908.
On December 24, 1909, in Detroit, Harry marries Edith H. White, my great Aunt. The marriage record lists his parents as Samuel Trevelyan and Anne Barcroft. A search of Manitoba archives and other online databases sheds no light on this family. The couple, Harry and Edith, have no children of their own. My grandmother, Mildred Edith Anderson, as a young child, comes to live with them sometime after 1925. They considered her their daughter.
A man of many talents
Clerk Invents Calendar
Photo of Harry Trevelyan and Edith H. White
Trevelyan was an automotive engineer for Cadillac, Packard, and Studebaker. He was a member of the Composite Lodge No. 499 (Masons), his hobby was statistics, he wrote, collected British Royalty stamps, and he invented a perpetual calendar. My father has told me stories, that Uncle Harry had many travels, was in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and once was a Detroit Sheriff’s Deputy.
The RCMP officially started in 1920, after Harry’s immigration to the US. However, it’s predecessor the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) served the Canadian West. Harry could have been a constable in this unit. Members of the NWMP unit did join the fight against the Boers in 1898. In 1938, Harry is employed by the Federal Clerk’s office in Detroit. In his role as a clerk, he was mostly like deputized during the 1943 Detroit Race Riots. I don’t believe he was actually employed as a police office
Harry died on April 1, 1955. Somehow, I think he is playing the ultimate fools game on me. As I can find very little records regarding his birth and family origins. His death certificate and obituary imply that he his interred at Woodmere Cemetery, in Detroit. His ashes were actually interred elsewhere.
Sources:
He Saved Churchill’s Life in 1899, Dearborn, MI, The Dearborn Guide, January 27, 1965, page 6, col. 1. Microfilm located at Henry Ford Centennial Library, Dearborn, MI. Reel 29, December 10, 1964 to June 24, 1965.
Harry A. Trevelyan obituary, Dearborn, MI, The Dearborn Press, April 7, 1955.
Duane De Loach, “Clerk Designs Calendar Good for 500 Years.” Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI, November, 27, 1942
Photograph of Harry and Edith Trevelyan, circa 1950, Dearborn, MI. Copy in possession of Caroll Budny, Lynnwood, WA. Texas.
#52Ancestors – No. 39 – Nancy E. Fortney
This post is number 39 in the series of the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
I know I should be doing the happy researcher’s dance when I find an abundance of information on one Ancestor. However, I lament because there are many ancestors I just cannot find a snippet of information. It’s fall and my bountiful basket is filled with photos and stories in my Fortney line. Best of all, sources that can be verified.
My first cousin, four times removed is Nancy Elizabeth Fortney. Our common ancestor is Eli Alexander Fortney and Cynthia Nancy Scott. She is the daughter of James Scott Fortney and Netie Elizabeth Case or Cox. Born in Iowa on 14 March 1858. Nancy Fortney Hayes, died in 1941 in Ellensburg, WA. Just a short 2.5 hour drive from where I live now. Looks like she may be the first of my ancestors to migrate to Washington State. She and her husband, James T. Hayes, married in Missouri, they steadily went west to Colorado, Nebraska and then on to Ellensburg, WA.
Their trip west to WA probably took a month or two. I first migrated to Washington from Michigan using a U-haul trailer and car hauler in 1999. It took about three days. I moved back from Florida where it was too hot for me, and it took me about seven days.
One of their descendents, L Hayes posted several photos of Nancy’s family on Ancestry. The photos are from the late 1880’s to early 1930’s. The couple had ten children. They lost two young daughters, Elsie, age 5, died in Colorado. Daughter Cora, died in Ellensburg, WA at age 4.
Below are photos posted by L. Hayes at Ancestry. The three photos show Nancy over her life.
Nancy Fortney Hayes from 1880’s to 194’s.
Sources:
An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2097023
Hayes-Meadows Family by L. Hayes, Washington State
#52Ancestors – No. 38 – Boleslaw Borucki
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy, Polish Genealogy on September 28, 2014
This post is number 38 in the series of the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
I recently moved and have been waiting for the cable provider to give me “FIRE” aka, the internet. I am a week late with post number 38. So lets make this quick as post 39 needs to be written tomorrow to keep on track.
Records can provide clues to other possible family members. The birth record for Feliks Budny, No. 26, gives the names of two witnesses to his birth. They are Ksawery Borucki and Julianna Budna. I do not know how they are related to my great grandparents, Adam Budny and Marianna (Mary) Borucka. There was not any info passed down regarding Adam’s siblings. The family was told that Mary has a sister named Josephine who remained in Poland. Her brother, Ignacy, immigrated to the States before Adam and Mary and the families lived near each other. I suspect there may have been more Borucki siblings.
I did some research at http://geneteka.genealodzy.pl It is a site run by volunteers indexing Poland’s parish records. I found a 1900 birth record for Ksawery Borucki and Julianna Budna, son, Boleslaw Borucki. I still need to translate the birth date and see if any witnesses are listed.
Polish birth record for Boleslaw Borucki
On the left margin the priest has entered a marriage date for Boleslaw. The date is 18 February 1925. I am not able to read the bride, Marianna, last name. It looks like Sypiewicz. I think I will post the photo below on Facebook and see if someone from the Polish Genealogy group can help. I was not able to find a record on genetaka.
9/30/2014 Update
The brides last name is Maminska. The city they were married in is Sypniewie.
1925 Marriage date written on side margin of 1900 birth record
#52Ancestors – No. 37 – Monsignor John A. Naja
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy, Polish Genealogy on September 15, 2014
This post is number 37 in the series of the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Monsignor John A. Naja
A leaf hint appeared on my tree that caused me to scamper up the family tree of my mother’s first husband. I was delighted to finally find a passport application for someone that was in my (extended) family. In reviewing the passport, I discovered that the person attended the SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, MI, in the 1921. This past August 2014, I attended the Polish Genealogy course as part of Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) at the Polish Mission on the seminary campus.
My mother’s father-in-law, Stanley Gaber, had a sister named Caroline Gaber. Caroline married Frank Naja. Frank’s brother, John Antony Naja (1901-1980) became a priest. The Naja’s were saloon keepers and possibly an Undertaker back in the day. In the early part of the 1900’s, the Gaber’s and Naja’s families resided in Shenandoah, PA. John went to study for the priesthood at the Michigan campus in his mid teens.
In 1921, John decided he wanted to travel and go to school in Europe and applied for a passport. The application includes his photo and a follow up letter to correct the spelling of his name. His last name was incorrectly spelled at Maja.
Source:
Passport Applications, January 2, 1906–March 31, 1925. NARA Microfilm Publication M1490, 2740 rolls. General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Photo: http://www.poles.org/db/pol_parish/stladislaus_philpa/st.ladislaus_01.html
#52 Ancestors – No. 36 – Napoleon Groulx (Groux)
Posted by Caroll in French Canadian Genealogy, Genealogy on September 7, 2014
This post is number 36 in the series of the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Glad to know my five years of French through high school and college still has some use today. Not that I can speak the language anymore. Being able to recognize french words and handwriting styles comes in handy in deciphering French Canadian historical records. It is a necessary skill to have. One of the most useful Quebec vital records are the Drouin church records.
Drouin Marriage Record for Napolean Groux
I am a descendent of French ancestors who were settled Quebec in the 1600’s. In addition to my direct line, I have a few collateral lines who married individuals of French ancestry that I also research. I try my best to read the French records to glean information.
My grand aunt, Opal Anderson, daughter of Ernest Anderson and Minnie White; married Norman Joseph Groulx. Norman is the grandson of Napoleon Groux and Azilda (Exilda) Lacombe. Napoleon and Azilda were married in Ripon, Quebec, Canada, in 1869. The marriage was witnessed by Joseph Groux and Jule Lacombe.
I am not sure why the letter “l” was added to the name. It could be to help the pronunciation in English. My family pronounced the name as “Grew”. The marriage date is written in a flourish scroll, and I cannot clearly read the month. The date in French is; Le sept Janvier or Fevrier, [mil] huit cent soixante et neuf. Translated to 7 January or February 1869.
I have not been able to find a surname meaning for Groux. There is a church, Saint Groux, in France. Google maps displayed a couple of streets name Les Groux in several French cities. Since it is a collateral line, further research is usually when I get blocked by a wall and need a distraction.
Photo Source Information:
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