52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 43. Prompt - Quite The Character

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 43

Prompt – Quite The Character

My mother was a very complicated person.  Her moods were every colour of the rainbow.  I have 6 siblings and I dare say that we would not agree on how to characterize her.  None the less, there were times that my mother, Lydia Vivian Peters or Vivian, could be quite a character.

I have scanned photos from the family albums that show a sillier side of my mother. Of all her characteristics, being silly seemed the least probable characteristic to explain who she was.

My mother giving her mother, Mary McLaughlin, a hard time about shrinking. 

What was the joke? My mom, Vivian, her mom, Mary, and Vivian's brother Wally.

Mom loved music.  So hiking up her dress to sit down to play drums while my brother's rock band was rehearsing in the garage at home was not surprising.

A cigarette, a coffee and a story as animated as she was. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Among her often sullen angry moods there appeared an almost childlike self that I believe was a longing to go back to a simpler time in her life. This silly side of mom showed up rarely.  However when it did, it was a breath of fresh air.  

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 42. Prompt - Proud

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 42

Prompt – Proud

 

Jacob Peters

Private, L74422.
Served in WWII from March 27, 1942 to March 15, 1946.
He served 49 months of which 37 months were in the U.K., Sicily, Italy, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. Part of his time was spent as a Truck Driver Class 1/C and part as Cook Class C.
He saw unspeakable things and did things commanded of him as duty to His Royal Majesty and the Canadian Army.
Jake came home silent and like so many other veterans rarely spoke of these things.

I am very proud of my father and every other veteran who served and continues to serve. I can only say these simple words to my father and all veterans then and now;

Thank you.

Jake Peters Standing Next to Army Truck - Circa 1943. 

Jake Peters Army Metals Ordered by My Sister, Bonnie and Received in 1973.

To me the prompt of proud is synonymous with my father's army photo.  Although early for Remembrance Day, being proud of your father is to be celebrated every day. 

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 41. Prompt - Newest

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 41

Prompt – Newest.

My father's youngest brother was Abraham or Abe Peters

I know very little about him.  This information is sourced from Susan Cliffe.   Susan is my cousin or Abe Peters niece.  I am not sure how she established his date of birth. 

 

Lt to Rt; Shirley Knoxel, Helena Heide, Abe Peters. Ca. 1980”s. 

Three siblings of my father. This is the only photo I have of Abe Peters.

I started perusing my newspaper.com database in hopes of finding an obituary. I did not find one (yet)! However I did run across this article in The Vancouver Sun dated September 15, 1987.  I found the following article; “No Finish in Sight in Fight For Homeless. Expo Evictee: Abe Peters Now Lives in 4 Sisters Housing Co-Op”

The photograph of Abe Peters in this article seems to resemble the only other photo I have of Abe.  It states his age as 61 and that fits with his birth date of 1926.   If this is my Uncle Abe Peters I have learned just a bit more about him.  It states he was a former PNE ride operator.  According to Jim Green of DERA (Downtown Eastside Residence Association), Abe was living in Regal Place Hotel at 146 West Hasting across from Woodward's.  Abe was served eviction orders under his door and because he could not read or write he had somebody else read it to him.  He had 5 days to move out.  However he came home one day and his locks were changed.  Jim Green goes on to say Abe eventually found another hotel to reside in, but that sounded as if it was never secure.  Upon which he moved into 4 Sisters Housing Co-Op

His resemblance, his age, his labour type employment, his illiteracy. and his low rental room living accommodations all come together to paint a background that is much like my father's other siblings, nieces and nephews who lived in Vancouver and we visited several times over my childhood.

This housing co-op is addressed as 133 Powell. Now here is the OMG in this story!. When I googled 4 Sisters Housing Co-op, it became crystal clear where this was.

I have been on that roof top patio and looked out over that same beautiful scenery of Vancouver Harbor. I have been inside that Co-Op housing and stayed inside several times; because it is where my daughter lives today!

This is my newest discovery in my genealogy journey and I don't know what to think about this coincidence, but it definitely has a spine tingling feel about it that leaves me in awe.

Can it be Serendipity?

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 40. Prompt -Oldest

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 40

Prompt – Oldest

The Oldest Photograph in my Genealogy Tree.

The Jahnke Brothers
Johann Friedrich Jahnke - The gentleman on the right.  Born: Nov 21, 1863 Died: February 3, 1945 This is Bill's Great Grandfather.  This Photograph was taken in Germany prior to their immigration to United States. The actual photograph is held by Bill's sister.  

The Oldest Document in My Genealogy Tree.

Maria Krikau October 3, 1911 Ship Inspection Card from the immigration ship, Birma.  This is my maternal grandmother.  She was 8 years old when the family left Privalnoje, Russia through Libau and across the ocean to Ellis Island, New York and then on to Saskatchewan by railway.  I have it in my personal possessions.    

The Oldest Correspondence in my genealogy. 

This postcard was sent March 16, 1911 from Lydia to Ida Bachmann.  They were cousins.  Ida Bachmann is Bill's maternal grandmother.  I love that the photo has a horse drawn buggy driving down the road in front of the Banff Hotel.  

The Oldest Wedding Photograph

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Johann and Emilie Jahnke.  This is the same Johann Jahnke from the first photograph.  They were married in Bromberg, Prussia on April 20, 1890.  It is 130 years old.  Will any of our digital photographs still be available 130 years from now (2150)?  Bill's mother, Clara Hoffart has the actual photo in her possession.  

The Oldest Ancestor Line in my Tree. 

Michael Miller born in 1665 + Marie Unknown  =

Peter Miller born 25 Sep 1694 in Amlach, Kärnten, Austria +Dorothea Santner born 15 Jan 1694 =

Peter Miller born 10 Nov 1721 in Unteramlach, Carinthia, Austria + Elisabeth Innerwinkler (1838) =

Peter Miller born 18 Jan 1768 in Ciorogirla, Ilfov, Romania + Susanna Stahl 30 Jan 1765 = 

Andreas Peter Mueller born 9 Jul 1798 in Wischenka, Tschernigow, Russia + Maria Penner (1794) =

Katharina Mueller born 13 Feb 1836 in Schoenhorst, Chortitza, Ukraine + David Peters (1835 -1919) =

Franz Peters born 29 Jul 1876 in Plum Couleem Manitoba + Elisabeth Dueck (1881-1872) =

Jacob Peters born 28 Mar 1917 in Hague, Sask. + Lydia Vivian Sullivan (1922 - 1987) = 

Wendy Peters born 1954 in Saskatoon, Sask + William Hoffart (1954) =

My daughters= 

My granddaughters.

That is 11 generations from the generation of my granddaughters.  Wow!  

Historically, 1665 was the outbreak of Bubonic Plague or Black Death in Europe.  Isaac Newton was just a college student in Cambridge. It was one year before the Great Fire of London that killed 15% of its population.

Wendy H.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 39. Prompt - Questions?

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 39

Prompt – Questions?

1. If my Grandmother Peters is blind, why does she wear glasses?   This question came to me recently in the middle of the night.  You know the nights where you are awake for no reason and your mind just wonders?

   
    
2. On my Grandmother McLaughlin's naturalization, she is listed as a subject of the United States when she never lived there.  Also she has listed she was divorced!   Before 1968, divorce was enacted as private acts of the government which was recorded and now on a searchable database. She is not in it!  Note her last name is listed as Sollivan and not Sullivan.
   

3. And you wonder why I never use the security question, “what's your mother's maiden name?”  I know that she was never adopted by her grandmother's new husband.  Thus, my mother's legal name was Lydia Vivian Sullivan.  But she went by Vivian!  In her wedding book she is listed as:

   
   
   
   
   
   And in her newspaper announcement she is named Lydia Vivian Sullivan McLaughlin.

4. On my father's Registration of Death, his address is listed wrong and it states that his father was born in Russia.  In fact Frank was the first Canadian born child to David and Catherine after immigrating to Canada.  These are the type of errors that send a genealogist in the wrong direction.

   
   5. Why does my maternal grandfather, Pat Sullivan have several different places he was born?  In his marriage certificate he says he is born in Pittsburgh, Pa., USA.  And on my mother's live birth registration it is Los Angeles!!!  His wife, my grandmother was the informant for the Live Birth Registration.
   
   
   
   
   6.Why do I not have any DNA matches in my Ancestry Tree to any of my maternal grandmother's side?   That is Krikau.  Again I really don't understand the whole DNA thing but since my Peters side has many many matches, it just seems I should have some on my maternal side too.  Am I adopted.?!

 

Wendy H.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 38. Prompt - Map It Out

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 38

Prompt – Map it Out

Malcoci, Tulcea District, Dobrudscha, Romania

 

It was early 1840's when the first German Colonists set foot in the Dobrudscha District.  Strangely they were not from Germany but from Bessarabia.  And those Germans had only arrived in Bessarabia in the previous 40 years from their homeland of Germany and in some cases from Alsace, France.

At this time The Dobrudscha Area would have belonged to Turkey and under The Ottoman Empire. These Bessarabians left their allegiance to the Czar of Russia and pledged an allegiance to a Sultan of The Ottoman Empire!  Of course, as in most immigration, the German immigrants had to be in good standing, not have been accused of crime, and the ability to work in farming and other crafts.

Bill's 2X Great-grandfather was Ignatius Hoffart.  While looking for any information on Malcoci, I discovered the website, Wild-Danube-Delta.com .  It had a short history of the city.

“The village was founded in 1843 by 25 German families, making it the first of a number of villages founded by German colonists in Dobrogea, led by Ignatiou (sic) Hoffart.”

Further I found this translation of Romanian Parliament Debates dated 7 May 2007.  It was about the old Catholic Church in Malcoci and it's demise.  Again it mentioned Ignatius Hoffart as founder. 

 Two separate on-line sights have listed Ignatius Hoffart as founder of Malcoci however I have not verified that by other sources.  Ignatius Hoffart married Marion Frank and they had several children. Their third child was Jacob Hoffart who is Bill's great-grandfather. 

Jacob and Eva were married 25 October 1885 in Romania.  They had 10 children and all were born in Romania.  One child died in Romania.   In 1913 Jacob and Eva Hoffart and 8 of the 9 remaining children immigrated to Canada.   They left from Antwerp, Belgium aboard a vessel by the name of S.S. Montreal.  They arrived in Quebec, Canada on 20 May 1913.  The 1921 Canada Census has Jacob and Eva settled on a farm in the area of Benson, Saskatchewan. 

The child who did not come at the same time as his parents was Rochus who is Bill's grandfather.  There is a family story that he fell ill at the time of boarding and was left behind.  He was hardly a child, he was 23 years old.  I am sure they weren't too worried about him being held back.  His immigration started with his departure from Glasgow, Scotland on 31 Jan 1914 arriving at St John, New Brunswick, Canada on 11 Feb 1914.   I am not sure where he lived during the 8 to 9 month stay.

Rochus' soon to be bride was Marian Gross was born in Romania and immigrated to Canada a few short months after Rochus.  Marion Gross was a passenger aboard the ship Dwinsk departing from Libau, Russia on 24 Mar 1914 and arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on 4 Apr 1914.  It feels like it was an arranged marriage but I do not know that for sure.  Rochus and Marion married a few months later on July 22, 1914.

From the time of their marriage until 1919 Rochus worked as a “boilermaker helper” in Aberdeen, South Dakota.  One or two of their first children were born in United States.  I have not been able to verify that.  None the less Rochus was in USA and at that time the draft was compulsory for WWI in USA.  He filled it out and dated the card June 5, 1917.  WWI ended and Rochus, Marion and family moved back to Canada.   His Border Crossing Card was filled out on 24 Jun 1919 at Big Muddy Crossing.  According to this card “the object of coming to Canada was to make a home taking up on land.”  He came across with $1000.00 in cash and belongings valued at $1060.00. He was admitted to Canada.

He took out his first homestead on Jun 7 1919 (yes that was two weeks before they moved to Canada) which was just north of Big Muddy Lake,  However part of his homestead was under water. He gave up this land and in May of 1929 he applied for his second homestead.  Their family had grown to 8 children. Bill's father, Anton Hoffart was born in Minton, Saskatchewan and was their 5^th child. 

Bill's 1^st cousin once removed is John Hoffart who is still living in Regina today.  He wrote this about the family's move to Neudorf.  Regina Hoffart is Anton's younger sister who is still living and in Saskatoon.

Bill's father, Anton (Tony) Hoffart married Clara Jahnke in Killaly, Saskatchewan in 1952 and they moved to Saskatoon where there children were born.  Their oldest son, William (Bill) Hoffart was born in Saskatoon.  Bill and I married in 1975 in Saskatoon.  We lived a year in Saskatoon and then moved to Regina for Bill's first engineering job.  We moved in the spring of 1989 to Edmonton, Alberta.  In September of 1996 we moved to Calgary, Alberta.  In the summer of 2015 we retired to Kelowna, British Columbia. However we moved back to Calgary in May of 2019.

The Hoffarts in my family tree begin in Germany or maybe Alsace, France. They immigrated to Bessarabia, to Malcoci, to Canada with a short time spent in Northern United States before settling in Benson, Saskatchewan.  Rochus Hoffart settled in Big Muddy / Minton before they moved north to Neudorf and then on to Regina.  In the next generation (Tony Hoffart) moves from Killaly to Saskatoon where he lived out the rest of his days.  And in our generation Bill and I moved from Saskatoon to Regina, Edmonton, Calgary, Kelowna and back to Calgary.  Our children, lived in Regina, Edmonton and Calgary.  Jackie moved to Vancouver for university.  Upon graduation she  moved to Omomichi, Japan and then to Tokyo, Japan and then on to London, England and came back to Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Hoffart name has travelled westward landing almost 1/2 of the way around the globe. Does it end there?  Who knows?

Wendy

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 37. Prompt - Back to School

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 37

Prompt – Back To School

My 11 year old granddaughter was so happy to be going back to school after being away for almost 6 months due to COVID.  It was so boring.  

Apr 9, 2020. 

Just weeks into the quarantine.

 

 

May 18, 2020 - Kelsey expands her bubble to include Grandma and Grandpa.

 

June 15, 2020 - Hanging out with grandma on the deck.

 

 

 

 

 July 1, 2020. Exercising while working on a puzzle book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 July and chilling with Alanna's dog, Milo. August swinging at the park and counting the days till school starts.

 

 

Back to school shopping went ahead despite not knowing if the school would open to children.  She got her supplies from the school list and a new backpack.  Her 1^st day of back to school clothes were laid out days before school started.  She had her hair colored red because well, you know, one needs a new look for back to school.  If she was nervous about the pandemic in school, she did not say so to me.

Parents had the agonizing decision to make whether to send them back to school.  Teachers were similarly wrestling with their return to school with the added urgency of their need to support themselves.  Choices were given to the parents. They could send them back to school or home school them.  However for most parents there was no choice at all.   They could not quit work and stay home to school their children.  And I know in the case of my granddaughter, she did not want to do virtual schooling at home.  She did not like it.

I had the privilege of picking her up after her first full day of school.   I believe she called it a safety day and only half of her class was there that day.  They learned all the procedures and rules they needed know to be in school during a pandemic.  Masks had to be worn while in the hall or in areas where there are many children together including wearing a mask on the bus.  Apparently their is no social distancing on her bus. They sit side by side but in assigned seats.   So many children so few buses or is it drivers?

Her classroom has all desks filled.  Perhaps they are distanced.   It was once suggested that they might have an empty desk beside them to put their coats, backpack etc onto.  They do not have lockers during the pandemic for some reason.  My guess is that it would cause the children to be too close to each other.  So all of her stuff goes on the floor under her desk.  The teachers move while the children stay in their classrooms except in those special classes such as gym, drama etc.   She was most disappointed by the lack of team sports this year.   During gym class their teachers scramble to find non contact sports for the children to participate in.

They eat their lunches at their desks in their classrooms and it sounds like they have two shifts so that not all the children go out at once.  Hand washing or as it is called at school, hand hygiene is the most important thing for the teachers and children.

She brought home a copy of the self screening questionnaire that she has to do everyday before going to school. 

When I picked her up after her first full day, I was expecting to hear all about the new rules. She did not dwell on any of those things.  She proceeded to tell me about her homeroom teachers, her other classmates in her new grade 7 class.  She was quite put out with the 6 day schedule.  Remember Day 1 through Day 6 and not Monday to Friday Schedule?   She thought that was a dumb idea.  She is worried about trying to remember what day it was so she can take the right books to school.  She was disappointed when she did not get her preferred optional classes.  All in all she was happy to go back to school.

Going back to school during COVID-19 was not about the mask wearing, the physical distancing, hand washing and non sharing.  It was about all the usual things that students talk about when going back to school.  That is teachers, classmates, classes, schedules and routine.   It is the routine that they all have missed the most during the pandemic. 

Kelsey after her 1st day of school.  All smiles!

Wendy