Bill's Genealogy Blog

Bill Buchanan is a long-time genealogy enthusiast, living in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada. This blog will describe my experiences as I research my family history and help others.

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Location: Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada

I am a retired online school teacher. I love family history. Since 2007, I have spent much of my time providing part-time support for the world's largest free family history site https://familysearch.org This is very rewarding. I have helped others with the Family Tree and related FamilySearch products.
In 2010-2018 I served in the Edmonton Riverbend Family History Centre. I have a FHC blog at Bill's Family History Center Blog For information the Latter-day Saints and family history click https://www.comeuntochrist.org/

Friday, March 08, 2024

The Little Moose Bridge Truck Collision 1950 (Bill & Reg)


Bill was 8 years old and Reg was 6. The school bus had dropped us off and we were walking the 2 miles home to our parent's farm. A passing truck stopped to offer us a ride, as it would be passing our house. Reg joined the driver and his assistant in the cab of the truck and Bill rode in the grain box behind the cab. 

In the 1940s in our area, trucks often used sleigh trailers to carry logs or lumber to town. These worked fine, unless you needed to stop, since the sleighs had no brakes. 

 As we were descending the hill to Little Moose creek, a truck with a sleigh trailer loaded with lumber was descending the longer hill on the other side of the creek. The bridge was narrow and both trucks tried to stop.

The collision was like a slow-motion train wreck. We were coming down a hill onto the bridge when the collision happened. Bill was in the truck box and flew out onto the frozen creek, along with some sacks of grain and a couple of saws. The back of our truck landed on the ice as well, pushed by the heavier truck. 

Reg was in the cab and the guy riding with him decided to bail, he jumped out pushing Reg out first. Reg landed in front of the truck's rear wheel. The wheel wasn't turning because of the ice on the road and the fact that the driver had the brakes locked up. Reg just slid along on the ice in front of the wheel for a few feet, till the truck stopped. 

If the wheel had been rolling, Reg would have been crushed and possibly killed. 

We are thankful for the miracles in our lives.


[I decided to remove this story from the cold weather posting and post it here with a photo of a truck load of lumber on a sleigh trailer. Thanks for the photo Lloyd.]



Monday, February 05, 2024

Surviving the bitter cold

 Recently we experienced temperatures in the -40s in my area and a reported -50C at Keg River, Alberta.

How did our ancestors survive temperatures like these?

I grew up on an unmechanized farm, so I may have some valid insights.

Prepare a good supply of fuel in advance. 

Stay indoors and keep your livestock in the barn during the worst temperatures,

Dress warmly when you have to go outdoors,

Dad did logging during the wintertime. On his hands he wore leather mitts with knitted wool mitts inside. He used a "Swede saw" (bow saw) to cut down the trees and cut them into logs after removing the branches. He then used his horse to skid the logs to the pickup point  This was cold work in midwinter.

People who had automobiles would drain the cooling system to prevent the engine block from freezing solid and cracking open ... unless they had some of that ethylene glycol antifreeze. 

A small fire in a jam can under the engine would warm up the engine oil enough to allow you to crank the car. If one vehicle would start, it might be used to tow another vehicle until it would also start. (Virtually all transmissions were manual back then.) 

Trucks used sleigh trailers to haul logs and lumber to town. These worked fine, unless you needed to stop. I once ended up on a frozen creek when one of these rigs forced us off a small bridge. I was riding in the open box of the other truck. This experience created a lasting memory but no injuries..

Of course, these days, we have block heaters and attached garages, and every car has antifreeze. But there were occasions where batteries froze solid. Dressing warmly and avoiding unnecessary travel in bitterly cold weather is still a good idea.

Stay warm and stay safe.

Bill


Friday, November 24, 2023

Thanksgiving Traditions? (ideas from Lisa Louise Cook's blog)

She suggests "I have my memories of Thanksgiving from when I was a kid, when I was a young adult, and then later when I was married, and had small children versus older children. However, my kids have their own memories, and grandparents have their memories too. So, now’s the time to ask about those and write them down. Those memories might have to do with food, material culture, which I’ll define in just a second, or they may have to do with events." 

[My comments follow in bold italics.]

Food:

We have usually had a turkey dinner, sometimes with ham too.

We used to always make dressing (stuffing) by stuffing the turkey with bread and spices.

But we have found that in recent years cooking the stuffing in a crock pot gives a nicer result.

Vegetables from our garden have been part of our meal.

Judy has enjoyed baking fresh rolls for the dinner.

Desserts have included, cookies, cake, squares, pie and ice cream. Carrot pie has usually substituted for pumpkin pie, since we can grow carrots easily, and carrot pie tastes just like pumpkin pie.

Cranberry punch has been a popular drink. We used to make home-made rootbeer when we could.

To minimize cleanup, we liked to use foam cups and plates with plastic utensils.

Judy used to do everything herself, but in recent years family members have helped.

Everyone in the family is invited. This year we had 30 people come. It is handy to be able to use the sunroom and James's dining room.

We have had a blessing on the food that includes an expression of thanksgiving.

Then, time was spent visiting, eating, occasionally card games or other activities, such as leaf battles, computer games, tetherball, or trampoline jumping. This year we walked along the pond to the nearby play park, where the small kids could have fun on the playground equipment. Sometimes we reminisce on life on our acreage as our children were growing up. Occasionally there are stories of our ancestors.

"Document
What are some of the ways you can document your traditions? Well, you can do it with photographs.  You can share photos from the past Thanksgiving. Have everybody bring the photos they have. You can even create a Thanksgiving album for your family. You can gather photos, photos from recent Thanksgivings, and even take photos of this Thanksgiving. You can ask family members to write their memories. You could also interview family members and create a video."

I have created photo albums on familysearch.org  This year I had a sideshow of one of these albums running silently on out television. Family members would sometimes point out specific photos.

I also have videos of the kids playing in the leaves.

Family cookbook:
Several years ago Judy created a family cookbook and gave a copy to each of our children. I am not sue about other family members, but I know that Judy often used this cookbook.

Tablecloth: (This seems like an interesting idea.)
"Get a white tablecloth and bring out waterproof markers and ask family members to write their name. Write the date write events that have happened in the year. Write down memories if they want for little kids have them trace their hands, have them sign their name the best they can write their ages down. You can use that year after year, or you can preserve it for one specific year.

Share
"A lot of us have the habit of gathering information and then not really sharing it. But sharing it is what makes sure that things are preserved and ensures that it’s preserved that it goes down the generations. And it’s a good idea to have copies in case some are lost. Sharing is important. So how do we do that?"

Physically:
"We can do that by creating physical items like:
photo albums
flash drives (create duplicate flash drives and hand them out to the family.)
post things on social media, like a family Facebook page, or maybe a Pinterest board, or even your online family tree on Ancestry or FamilySearch
the cloud – where family members can download what they need when they need it. And you can continue to add family members over the years. And that might be done in a cloud program like Dropbox or Google Drive."

I shared the link for my online album of our family.

Any family member can download the thousands of family history items that I have attached to deceased people on FamilySearch.

"Preserve Your Thanksgiving Traditions Today
There are all kinds of ways that you can share Thanksgiving traditions and memories with other family members. Do what’s best for you what’s easiest for you, and what gets the information out there sooner rather than later. Thanksgiving is a special time and it’s something that we may all look forward to maybe because of the food or the family. I hope that you take some time this Thanksgiving to preserve your family memories. Happy Thanksgiving!"

Maybe preserve your own Thanksgiving memories and share them.

 https://lisalouisecooke.com/2023/11/22/preserve-thanksgiving-traditions/

Wednesday, November 01, 2023

Canadian Family History Research 2023

 As I was preparing some training for a workshop tonight, these are some of the Canadian resources I hope to mention:

Canadian Family History Research

2023

Canada Census 1851-1931 (plus fragments) https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/canadiancensus/ (The best of many such sites)
Canada, Prairie Provinces Census, 1926 https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3005862

Why use census records?

1. Everyone was supposed to be counted, not just the land owners or the jailed criminals.

2. People are usually listed as families.

3. They show how people's lives progress over time.

4. They provide valuable clues to other sources.


Provincial Vital Records - official government records of births, marriages and deaths

Alberta https://provincialarchives.alberta.ca/how-to/find-birth-marriage-and-death-records

British Columbia https://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy

Manitoba https://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/Query.php

New Brunswick https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/VISSE/default.aspx?culture=en-CA

Newfoundland and Labrador https://www.gov.nl.ca/dgsnl/vitalstats/

Nova Scotia https://archives.novascotia.ca/vital-statistics/

Ontario https://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/tracing/vsmain.aspx

P.E.I. https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/topic/birth-marriage-and-death-certificates

Quebec https://www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/en/default.html

Saskatchewan http://genealogy.ehealthsask.ca/vsgs_srch.aspx

[Note that some of these are free and easy to use and others not, depending on the info and date.
Alberta's are among the most restrictive and difficult to use, BC is one of the best.]

Some of my other favorite sites for Canadian genealogy:

CanGenealogy https://www.cangenealogy.com/

FamilySearch (Records and Research Wiki) https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/

Ancestry.com (or .ca) https://www.ancestry.com

Findmypast.com https://www.findmypast.com/

MyHeritage.com https://www.myheritage.com/

Google.com is great for finding obituaries and sometimes local histories, etc.

Findagrave.com https://www.findagrave.com/ Graves may include biographies, family members, etc.

BillionGraves https://billiongraves.com/

Ontario Marriage Registrations, 1800-1927 https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maryc/thisisit.htm

Ontario WM Baptismal Register https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~wjmartin/genealogy/wm-index.htm

Library and Archives Canada https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng
(includes Canadian Soldiers of the First World War, passenger lists, etc.)

Commonwealth War Graves http://www.cwgc.org

Metis Scrip Records (google it) Records created when Metis gave up Indian status.

Hudson Bay Company Archives http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/ (early HBC employees)

Google Maps http://maps.google.com/ How far apart are places?


Saturday, September 30, 2023

Sourcing Genealogy

In this context, 'Sourcing" means using historical records to document genealogy.

A common phrase is "Genealogy without sources is actually mythology." Of course, the further you go back in time, the fewer contemporary records exist.

While I strongly endorse sourcing, I have a few personal reservations about the saying "Sources prove your pedigree." life is not always that simple. (My great aunt Maggie's parents, as listed on her marriage record, never existed, but she was marrying a cousin and didn't want too many questions asked.) 

A more common problem is sources being attached to the wrong people, But usually this is easily determined. Of course,, if you have seven brothers who settle in the same area, and who name their sons after their brothers, it does get a little complicated. (e.g. "Old Andy's Young Andy's Wee Andy" and other Buchanans in Donegal, Ontario, after 1847)

Still, I spend a lot of very rewarding time sourcing my genealogy. I try to be extra careful when I know that there are other people in the community with the same names.

I try to live up to the standard required to make the saying true: "Sources prove your pedigree."

I wish you success in using sources.


Easy Sourcing
If you have a family tree on FamilySearch or Ancestry, I am happy to see that RecordSeek is working again. This is the free web app that I find so handy for creating sources for these sites from other websitesIt works slightly differently than before, but it works. Thank you for your work RecordSeek.  https://recordseek.com/ 


Saturday, September 02, 2023

My Early Family HIstory Efforts

 I received an email from a friend asking if I knew of an Isabella Buchanan who had married a Walter Hunter.

This brought back some memories.
I remembered visiting "Watt" and "Bella" Hunter in 1962.I had asked my relatives in Alberta for all the family information they had, then I hitch-hiked to Neepawa, Manitoba looking for more relatives. I was helped and blessed all the way. 

Someone at the newspaper told me "You should talk to Merv Buchanan who manages the Windsor Salt plant, He is interested in Buchanan family history."

Merv immediately invited me to stay with his family. and after supper each day we would drive off to visit out-of-town relatives that he thought might be able to help. While he was at work, I would visit relatives in town.

One of these was Bella Hunter, one of Dad's first cousins. When she answered her door, I explained that I was Bill Buchanan, son of William George Buchanan, son of Willie the Blacksmith.(There were so many with the same name that they used nicknames to tell them apart.) 
I mentioned that my dad was born in 1906 in Riding Mountain.

She said "No, your Daddy wasn't born in Riding Mountain, he was born on my parents' farm here at Neepawa, I know, because I was there when he was born. Aunt Lizzie stayed with my parents for a few days before the baby was due"

Wow. What amazing people. I returned home to Calgary with a stack of completed family group- sheets.



Dad had been trying to get his birth registered so that he could eventually get the old age pension. He had been told that if he could get an affidavit from someone present at his birth, that would meet the requirements. Bella was glad to do that for him. (a fringe benefit of my family history efforts.)

I hope that you are all making a record of your own history and sharing it with your families.


Bill

Saturday, August 05, 2023

I wrote the following in response to a family history query I received today.

I have been interested in family history for a long time. When I was about 9 years old I told my Dad. "I know the story of Mom's ancestors, but what id the story of the Buchanans?"

He said "My grandfather, John was a teenager when they left Ireland in 1847 during the worst of the great Irish famine. A million people starved to death during this famine. Andrew and Jane Buchanan and their children booked passage on a wooden sailing ship for Canada. When they were out to sea 10 days they ran into a terrible storm that damaged the ship. The ship never sank but had to return for repairs. On their second try they reached Canada but a plague of fever killed some of the passengers. They were quarantined on shipboard at Kingston, Ontario, where the father Andrew and a baby granddaughter died of the fever. They became pioneer settlers in an area densely forested with huge trees."

I think I was hooked on family history at that point. Of course over the years I have found additional sources and made friendships with fellow researchers. As you probably know, the name Buchanan was originally the name of the place granted to Anselan O'Kyan (O'Cahan).

Anselan was said the to be an Irish prince, a son of Dermid O'Cahan a regional king in northern Ireland. According to tradition, Anselan arrived in western Scotland with a band of followers in 1016 and helped King Malcolm II drive off two Viking invasions. His descendants used the name McAusland de Buchanan for a few generations, then Buchanan.

The two best historic records of the Buchanans that I have found are "Strathendrick, and its inhabitants from early times" and "Historical and genealogical essay upon the family and surname of Buchanan" by William Buchanan of Auchmar. Both date about 700 years after the time of Anselan, and appear to be compiled from earlier records that often are no longer available. Both these books can be found at the National Library of Scotland https://www.nls.uk/

The recent state of the Buchanan family tree in FamilySearch is somewhat confusing, as well-meaning people have sometimes merged different people together and added details without sources.

The two histories I refer to give very few details. Specific dates and places are usually missing, but other things are sometimes specified in detail.

There is a good Buchanan YDNA project at familytreeDNA,com (Wayne Buchanan is my second cousin once removed.) My line is described as "a typical chiefly line of Clan Buchanan".

By Auchmar's count, when the 22nd chief died in 1682 the estate was sold to the Marquis of Montrose to pay the debts. The ruins of Castle Buchanan at Drymen, Sterlingshire are of a castle built by the Montrose family, much later. Remains of the older Buchanan castle, "Buchanan Auld House" can be found at the Castle Buchanan Golf and Country Club at Drymen, (I think this is used as an address by the current Duke of Montrose.)

The clan was without a chief until a new one was recognized by the Scottish government in just the last few years, (Laird John Baillie Hamilton Buchanan, whose own Arnprior and Leny [Buchanan] lines contain amusing and inspiring stories.)

Perhaps you will be able to correct some of the errors that have crept into the Buchanan family tree at familysearch. Or maybe this winter I will see what I can do, or maybe we will both make our own contributions.

Thank you for contacting me. Bill Buchanan