HAPPY 150TH CANADA!

As we celebrate Canada's 150th birthday I will raise a glass, so to speak, to my ancestors who were the first of their ancestral line to arrive in this great place I call home. This won't be a complete list since I haven't researched them all yet, but the 'known' ones.

ADOPTIVE MATERNAL

THOMAS WALKER (1904-1987): Thomas is my grandfather. He was born August 22, 1904 in Netherton, Dudley, Worcestershire, England. He left from Liverpool on board the S.S. Letitia on June 16, 1928 and arrived in Quebec on June 23, 1928. He was 23 years old, an Engineer, and his destination was his aunt, Edith Henderson's house at 699 Pape Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.
SOURCES: 1911 England Census, Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935

CONSTANCE GWENDOLYN CARTWRIGHT (1903-1978): Constance is my grandmother. She was born January 19, 1903 in Stourbridge, Shropshire, Worcestershire, England. She left from Southampton on board the S.S. Empress of Scotland on July 20, 1929 and arrived in Quebec on July 27, 1929. She was listed by her middle name, was 26 years old and was a Teacher. Unfortunately, she couldn't find work as a teacher in Canada. My mom told me there were signs in business windows saying "British need not apply". She found work in a dog food factory. Her destination (and this makes my heart melt a little) was "Fiance: Mr. Walker, Thomas, 122, Chester Ave. Toronto. Ont."
SOURCES: England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index 1837-1915, 1911 England Census, Canadian Passenger List, 1865-1935

ADOPTIVE PATERNAL

SAMUEL JOHN BARDSLEY (1880-): Samuel is my great grandfather on my father's maternal line. He was born in November 1880 in Heywood, England. He left on board the S.S. Bavarian and arrived at Montreal, Quebec on May 2, 1903. His destination was Winnipeg, but from the records I found, he was in Dauphin, Manitoba for a short period of time before settling in Ontario, first in Toronto, then in St. Catharines.
SOURCES: 1881 England Census, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865-1935, 1906 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, 1911 Census of Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, Canada Voters Lists 1935-1980

BENJAMIN LEGASSICKE & MARY ANN ROBBS and son BENJAMIN JOHN LEGASSICKE (1861-1918): Benjamin and Mary Ann are my 3rd great grandparents and their son, Benjamin John, is my 2nd great grandfather, also on my father's maternal line. Benjamin John was born in 1861 in Lambeth, England. Benjamin John immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1863. Benjamin John settled in Toronto and was a butcher. He married Annie Jane Montgomery July 27, 1882 in Toronto.
SOURCES: England & Wales FreeBMD Birth Index 1837-1915, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865-1935, Ontario Canada Marriages 1801-1928, 1891 Census of Canada, 1901 Census of Canada

BIOLOGICAL MATERNAL

PETER WILLIAMSON (1875-) & ANN MARSHALL (1876-1967) and daughter MAGGIE BROWN WILLIAMSON (1898-1958): Peter and Ann are my 2nd great grandparents and their daughter, Maggie, is my great grandmother on my grandmother's maternal line. Maggie was born August 22, 1898 in Armadale, Linlithgowshire, Scotland. Maggie's father immigrated first, leaving from Liverpool, England on January 24, 1905 and arriving in St. John, New Brunswick on February 4, 1905. He was 28 years old, a farm labourer from Aberdeen and his destination was Toronto. Along with her mother and her siblings (Mary, Jas, Lizzie and Alex), Mary left from Glasgow, Scotland and arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 20, 1905. Ann was 29 years old, Maggie was 7 years old, and their destination was New Aberdeen. Although Toronto was Peter's destination as far as I can tell the family never lived there. In 1911 the family was residing in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, but by 1921 they had relocated to Hamilton, a short distance from Toronto. It was in Ontario that Maggie met her husband, Sidney Adams (my great grandfather) and they married August 1, 1919 in Waterloo, Ontario and settled in Welland, Ontario.
SOURCES: Marriage Record (ScotlandsPeople), Birth Record (ScotlandsPeople), 1881 Scotland Census, 1891 Scotland Census 1901 Scotland Census, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865-1935, 1911 Census of Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, Ontario Canada Marriages, Canada Voters Lists

WILLIAM MARSHALL (1710-1797) & ELIZABETH NASON (1714-) and son ISAAC MARSHALL (1748-1824): William and Elizabeth are my 7th great grandparents and their son, Isaac Marshall, is my 6th great grandfather. Isaac Marshall was born June 10, 1748 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts. They emigrated from Dedham, Massachusetts to Annapolis County, Nova Scotia in 1760.
SOURCES: New England Historic Genealogical Society - Family Data Collection Individual Records, Family Data Collection Births, American Genealogical Biographical Index, Massachusetts Town and Vitals Records 1620-1988, History of the County of Annapolis by William Arthur Calnek

MARY ROBBINS (1752-1817): Mary is my 6th great grandmother. She was born February 2, 1752 in Norton, Massachusetts. She married Isaac Marshall May 6, 1772 and their first son, Otis, was born February 21, 1773 in Clarence, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia so we know she immigrated as well.
SOURCE: History of the County of Annapolis by William Arthur Calnek

JOHN VIDITO (1737-1820) & SARAH (-1784) and sons JESSE VIDITO and JACOB VIDITO: John and Sarah are my 6th great grandparents, their son Jesse is also my 6th great grandfather, and their other son, Jacob is my 5th great grandfather. John and Sarah left New York with their children, Jesse, Jacob, Phebe and Charlotte, at the end of the American Revolution and settled in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Their son, Jacob, was born in 1781 in Long Island, New York. He married Mary Elizabeth Weatherby some time before the birth of their son, Robert Weatherby in 1816, presumably in Nova Scotia, as that is where Mary was born in 1796 and where their other children were born. Their son, Robert married Mary Ann Vidito, the daughter of John Vidito (and Ann Daley), the son of Jesse Vidito, who is Jacob's brother. Clear as mud? I'll give you a minute to sort that out in your head... Ok, moving on... Jesse was born about 1771 in Long Island, New York. He married Isabel Fisher some time before the birth of their son, John, about 1796. They lived in Nictaux, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.
SOURCES: Vidito: John Vidito of New York City and His Descendants: a Huguenot Founder of an American Family by Alice L. Priest, History of the County of Annapolis by William Arthur Calnek, Nova Scotia Canada Deaths 1864-1877, 1890-1960 (novascotiagenealogy.com), 1861 Census of Canada

JOSEPH RISTEEN (1750-1839): Joseph is my 5th great grandfather. Joseph was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1750. Admiral Digby recommended he receive land in Shelburne for "services rendered" as a Loyalist during the American Revolution. He was a wheelwright and was on the list of "Names submitted to be part of The Roseway Associates group of United Empire Loyalists evacuated from New York to Shelburne, Nova Scotia 1783."
SOURCES: Names submitted to be part of The Roseway Associates group of United Empire Loyalists evacuated from New York to Shelburne, Nova Scotia 1783 (globalgenealogy.com), U.S. and Canada Passenger Lists Index 1500s-1900s, New York Genealogical Records 1675-1920, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution, Vol. II, Journals and Diaries of the War of the Revolution with Lists of Officers and Soldiers 1775-1783, Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867, Vol. II

CATHERINE SPARLING (1764-1840): Catherine is my 5th great grandmother. She was born in New York in 1764. Catherine's father, Peter William Sparling was also a Loyalist, who was on the list of "Names submitted to be part of The Roseway Associates group of United Empire Loyalists evacuated from New York to Shelburne, Nova Scotia 1783." He relocated there with his wife, Margaret Fissell, and their children, including, Catherine, in 1783. Catherine met Joseph Risteen after moving to Nova Scotia. They eventually relocated to Jacksontown, Carleton, New Brunswick, where they are both buried. Catherine's parents remained in Nova Scotia.

SOURCES: Daniel F. Johnson's New Brunswick Newspapers (PANB), New Brunswick Cemeteries (PANB)

BIOLOGICAL PATERNAL

JOHN BIGGAR CHALMERS LOCKERBIE (1895-1967) & JOAN STRATHDEE FERGUSON and daughter JOAN STRATHDEE LOCKERBIE: Joan Strathdee Lockerbie is my grandmother on my dad's maternal side. She was born April 27, 1925 in Dunscore, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. She immigrated to Canada with her parents, John and Joan, and her older brothers, Thomas and Robert when she was 3 years old. They left from Greenock on April 13, 1929 on board the S.S. Duchess of Richmond and arrived in St. John, New Brunswick on April 21, 1929. Their destination was "Land Settlement Branch", St. John, New Brunswick. They settled in St. John, however, by September of 1967 John and his wife, Joan and returned to Scotland, settling in Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire. Their son, Robert had died in WWII and was buried in Italy. The other children remained in Canada. Their daughter Joan, after being discharged from the military on compassionate grounds in 1943 married my grandfather, James Harold Farrer a year later. They moved to Lincoln, Ontario where my dad was born. James died there, and Joan returned to New Brunswick. She died December 16, 1999.
SOURCES: Register of Births in Scotland, Register of Marriages in Scotland, 1901 Scotland Census, Canadian Passenger Lists 1935-1980, Register of Deaths in Scotland, Canada Voters Lists 1935-1980

So, thank you to all my Canadian ancestors, biological and adoptive for coming to and staying in Canada, and being in exactly the right place at the right time in order for me to exist and be able to say I AM CANADIAN!

I hope you all have a HAPPY CANADA DAY!