Genealogy Challenges

Monday, 7 May 2018

A - Z Challenge 2018 - Reflections

My Reflections on the The Blogging from A to Z Challenge

This is my second A to Z and 2018 was a real challenge for me as April is always a busy month, and this year I decided at the last minute to participate. So I picked a theme on the fly and had many late nights of writing.

Since my theme was My Family Tree Places, doing this challenge made me realize how far and wide my roots grow. During the challenge I decided to make a map of all the places I was writing about, and I think I may make another, continuing with all my ancestors.

I thank all who visited my blog for their support and kind comments. I enjoyed following other genealogy bloggers and was glad to see the late comer persevere and catch up. Everyone did an awesome job!

Will I participate again next year? Maybe, we'll have to wait and see.

Monday, 30 April 2018

A - Z Challenge 2018 - Z

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2018 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. The theme I chose is...
My Family Tree Places.

ZEBALLOS, BC

There are a few Z places on my family tree, but I don't know anything about them or the people that lived there. They are the ancestors of my Aunt, who was a war bride from the Netherlands. So I will stick to what I know, and at the same time give a nod to my husband who puts up with me always being at the computer, half listening to what he's saying because I'm in the middle of writing a post, and taking side trips to search through cemeteries with me.

While I am an indoorsy person, my husband Gary has always been an outdoor adventurer. In his life, besides the usual activities like camping and cross country skiing, he has enjoyed adventurous activities like rock climbing, sailing, cave diving, and scuba diving (which he taught). Living on the Island Gary decided he wanted to try ocean kayaking. One of his adventures was a 10 day kayak camping trip at Zeballos.

Zeballos is a village on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, Bc, on the Zeballos River at the head of Zeballos Inlet, and the gateway to Nootka Sound. The population went from 0 to 1500 with the discovery of gold, fluctuated with employment going between mining and logging, and now only about 190 live there year round.

Zeballos, BC

Gary's group stayed the first night in the hotel in Zeballos, then the next morning met their guides at the docks in the village. Besides their own equipment, all the supplies were distributed among the kayaks.

All the meals were provided, a couple of which were cook-your-own. One that he enjoyed was a breakfast of scramble-in-a-bag, for which you break a couple of eggs into a ziplock bag, add from a variety of diced items like mushrooms, peppers, ham, etc, zip it, shake it, smoosh it, and drop it the pot full of boiling water over the fire.

It is rare that Gary takes photos, so we have no photos of his trip. The trip took him up inlets, around small islands, along deep fjords and seeing secluded coves and camping on a different island every night. This area is abundant in wildlife... including black bears, wolves, orcas and grey whales, sea lions, otters and eagles... all depending on what time of year you go. Though we have seen them all over the years, this trip he only saw sea lions and eagles.

Saturday, 28 April 2018

A - Z Challenge 2018 - Y

YTHAN, UK to YPRES, BE

Both Y places came up in my ancestor places, and I thought I'd use them both as one is a beginning and one is an end.

Ythan River

The Ythan is a river in Scotland that flows through the towns of Fyvie, Methlick and Ellon then out to the North Sea. Alexander Mavor was born in Ellon worked for a time on a farm in Methlick. Margaret Bruce was born in Fyvie and worked as a servant to a family in Ellon. I can picture both of their families enjoying the sand dunes, beaches, estuary fishing and bird watching at the Ythan.

Photo from The Book of Ellon

Alexander and Margaret with their child left their home on the shores of the Ythan River sometime before 1859 and immigrated to Canada. I told of their Canadian story for the letter "I", from Ellon to Île au Reaux to Compton Quebec.

In Between

Their son Alexander Mavor II, my great grandfather, grew up on Île au Reaux and in Compton, later moving to the City of Montreal to get work with the Grand Trunk Railroad as a Brass Finisher.

From: The Royal Road to Wealth, pg 44, mark 69

Alexander married Rebecca Campbell in Montreal on 26 June 1889 and the couple had six children. They were members of the Salvation Army in Montreal, Rebecca a major and Alexander played the cornet in the Citadel Band. Alexander George and my grandfather Herbert James were the 2nd and 3rd born. As teenagers they played the triangle, having no other gift for music.

Herbert, Rebecca, Alexander Mavor

Both boys served in the First World War as did their Uncle James who was less than 20 years older than the boys. My great uncle Alexander George was also a brass finisher working 56 hours a week and making $365 a year. He enlisted at the Grenadier Guards Armory in Montreal on 31 Oct 1914 as a private and was placed with the 23rd Battalion. On 2 February 1915 Alex sailed to England on the Missanabie. On the 23 May 1915 Alex was transferred to the 4th Battalion.

Ypres, Belgium

On the 9th of April 1916 the 4th Battalion, including Alexander George Mavor, relieved the 1st Battalion in the trenches at "The Bluff" at Ypres in Belgium.

LAC War Diaries: 4th Battalion, April 6-13, 1916

The Battalion experienced heavy artillery fire for the next three days, but on the first day, 10 April 1916, Alexander was wounded in the stomach with a bullet that glanced off a periscope.