On Saturday June 21, my niece Kim got married. We drove down to Kelowna on Friday, stayed overnight at Bankview Bed & Breakfast on Friday and Saturday and drove home on Sunday. The B&B was excellent. The king-sized bed was comfortable, we had 1-1/2 bathrooms to ourselves, the hosts (John and Mary-Anne) were really nice, the view of the lake was beautiful and the breakfasts were absolutely wonderful! Oh yes, and all of this cost us only $80/night! The wedding was a medieval-themed wedding and the bridal party and many of the guests arrived in medieval attire. It was at the Gellatly Nut Farm, a local park that was a commercial nut farm until about 1980. It was beautiful there, in the shade of the nut trees, much like Sherwood Forest might have been. The bride came down an aisle formed by the branches of two rows of nut trees, and wed her knight in shining armour. They had written their own vows, which said what needed to be said, before an authorized agent of the state, and duly signed the register as husband and wife. The reception was at a local hotel and they fed us very well and kept us entertained for nearly 3 hours. It was wonderful to visit with my brother Reg, his wife and their chidren. And Judy and I each got a hug from Kim, and a seedling tree to take home and plant. The trip home was pleasant and uneventful. It took us about 10.5 hours to reach home.

Willi Laurie, a cousin, emailed me scanned copies of over 20 family obituary and wedding notices. These have now been transcribed and can be found at http://tinyurl.com/44rduu

Yesterday was Fathers Day. It was a wonderful day. After we got home from church, Blaine and his family came to visit, then James and Karen, and Andrew (whose family are visiting his in-laws in BC for a week). There were phone calls from Laurel, Evelyn, my mother, and Rob.

I have been invited by the Alberta Genealogical Society, to be a speaker at their meeting at NorQuest College, Wetaskiwin on October 18th. I am looking forward to this.

Alberta Genealogical Society

http://abgensoc.ca/

AGS is the provincial genealogical society for Alberta, Canada. I invite you to check them out.

NorQuest College
http://www.norquest.ca/

209-3725- 56 Street, Wetaskiwin, AB T9A 2V6
(780) 361-1380

Also on Record Search I found the death record of Nellie Watson, my grandmother's niece, which gave the date and place of birth and death, which I didn't have previously. The page image gives many details that are missing from the abstract.



Name: Nellie Watson Death date: 13 Dec 1926
Death place: Toledo, Lucas, Ohio Birth date: Estimated birth year: 1913
Birth place: Age at death: 13 years 7 months 27 days
Gender: Female Marital status: Race or color: Street address: Occupation: Residence: Burial date: Burial place: Cemetery name: Spouse name:
Father name: Frank Steele Father titles: Father birth place:
Mother name: [Mary] Elizabeth Watson Mother titles: Mother birth place:
GSU film number: 1984618 Digital GS number: 4024345Image number: 332 Reference number: fn 75959Collection: Ohio Deaths 1908-1953

I have had a wonderful time on Record Search at http://familysearchlabs.org/ searching for the births marriages and deaths in Michigan, where the George Watson family (my great grandparents) lived for 20 years. Here is what I found:

Groom name: George A Watson Groom age: 31 years
Groom birth year: 1871 Groom birth place: Canada
Bride name: Carrie Schuster Bride age: 25 years
Bride birth year: 1877 Bride birth place: Ohio Marriage type:
Marriage date: 09 Jun 1902 Marriage place: Sault Ste Marie, Chippewa, Michigan
Father of groom name: Geo Watson
Mother of groom name: Agnes J Welsh
Father of bride name: Max Schuster
Mother of bride name: Catherine Martin
Marital status: Groom previous wife name: Bride marital status:
Bride previous husband name: Additional relatives: Film number: 2342521
Frame number: Digital GS number: 4208661 Image number: 544
Reference number: v 1 p 512 rn 102 Collection: Michigan Marriages 1868-1925

This gives a definitive answer to the names of Carrie's parents and evidence that she was born in Ohio, (as the censuses say) and not born in Wuertemburg, Germany (as reported elsewhere). It also supports her birth as being in 1877 and not 1872 as reported in the 1911 census.

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Groom name: Arthur Sheffield Groom age: 25 years
Groom birth year: 1869 Groom birth place: Canada
Bride name: Margaret A. Watson Bride age: 18 years
Bride birth year: 1876 Bride birth place: Canada
Marriage date: 24 Oct 1894 Marriage place: Detour, Chippewa, Michigan
Father of groom name: Joseph Sheffield
Mother of groom name: Emily Wallace
Father of bride name: George Watson
Mother of bride name: Jane Welsh
Marital status: Groom previous wife name: Bride marital status:
Bride previous husband name: Additional relatives: Film number: 2342498
Frame number: Digital GS number: 4207821 Image number: 253
Reference number: v 1 p 10 rn 111 Collection: Michigan Marriages 1868-1925

This adds the names of Arthur's parents!

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Groom name: Frank Steele Groom age: 21 years
Groom birth year: 1870 Groom birth place: Wisconsin
Bride name: Mary E. Watson Bride age: 18 years
Bride birth year: 1873 Bride birth place: Canada
Marriage date: 16 Jul 1891 Marriage place: Sault Ste Marie, Chippewa, Michigan
Father of groom name: James Steele Mother of groom name: Rosa Griffen
Father of bride name: George Watson Mother of bride name: Jane Watson
Marital status: Groom previous wife name: Bride marital status:
Bride previous husband name: Additional relatives: Film number: 2342490
Frame number: Digital GS number: 4208239 Image number: 361
Reference number: v 1 p 388 rn 67 Collection: Michigan Marriages 1868-1925

This gives Franks parents' names, which I didn't have before. I still can't find his parents in the census.

We have recently acquired a new member of our family! Our son James married Karin Stangeland on May 23rd in Edmonton. Karin is a wonderful girl and we are proud to have her as the newest Buchanan in our branch of the family. The newly-weds have returned from their honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico and have nearly finished organizing their new apartment in western Edmonton. Karin is intelligent and fun, highly organized, and has a bright personality that matches James' own. She has served with Katimivik, Canada World Youth, and the Canada Halifax Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has also completed a business management diploma. Welcome Karin! Great choice James!