52 Ancestors #15: DNA

My maternal grandfather, Douglas Howard Parker, always told a story about his mother, Frances Parker, that had a lot of mystery about it, especially when I started working on the family tree, and was unable to prove any of it.  Not that I didn't believe the tale, it was just that there was nothing to link any of the principle characters.

In 2017 I had my DNA done through Ancestry, and convinced my mother to do the same.  That took some talking, but she finally agreed.  When the results came back they were exciting, and confirmed some of the lineage that we knew to be true - nothing unexpected there.  We were British, British, British lol.  I created an account for my mom on Ancestry, and filled in the names of the people that I knew to be correct.

My great-grandmother, Frances Hannah Parker, was born in 1868 in Capetown, South Africa while her father was a member of the British Armed Forces serving during the Boer War.  Several of the children were born in different countries, as it was common for the entire family of servicemen to accompany them on their postings.  Upon her father's retirement from active service, the family returned to Devizes, in England. 
Unfortunately Charles Parker died suddenly and his spouse, Catherine, was left to look after the large family on her own.  So she packed them up and returned to her home in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire.  Frances entered the Kilmarnock Infirmary and graduated with honours as a Nurse.  She was 25 and the year was 1893.

Frances was able to find work as a district nurse, working for the local doctor, who would send her out as a home care nurse for new mothers, or critically ill patients, or individuals who required special nursing care.  One of those patients was a woman by the name of Mabel Twist (nee Warren) who was the spouse of Canon Thomas Howard Twist from Edinburgh.  It was during this time that the Canon made advances toward Frances.

My grandfather wrote his mother's story in a book and prefaced it with "this work is dedicated to the Memory of Frances who was deceived in love; bore her shame alone; and, with Faith, Courage, Integrity and Determination, fought to support her children in the face of great odds."

The story is no doubt not a new one, of a young woman seduced by her employer, but when I went searching, found that my grandfather's birth certificate stated he was "illegitimate".  I can only imagine what hearbreak that must have been for him to look at.  Douglas was born in 1897, and his sister Catherine in 1899.  I needed to prove that the story was true - not because I doubted it - but because there was the possibillity that there were relatives out in the world somewhere.  So I waited patiently and finally one day there it was: confirmation from Ancestry that Thomas Howard Twist was indeed my mother's biological grandfather,and my great-grandfather.  Frances Hannah Parker died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1958 and is buried on Mont Royal.

52 Ancestors #10: Bachelor Uncle

Turns out I don't have a lot of bachelor uncles in my family tree lol.  Well, none that I could find, so I decided to tell the story of a young man who was a cousin of mine, who has no family left to tell his story.
Alexander Shearer Hall was born on April 1, 1922 to Robert and Helen (Smith) Hall.  Helen was my maternal grandmother's sister (Agnes Smith) and was one of 11 children born to Isabella Raitt and Dempster Hector Smith.
When World War II broke out, Lex (as he was commonly known) signed up with the Royal Air Force.  He flew in the Battle of Britain and survived, and was then transferred to participate in the Commonwealth Flight Training program where pilots from the RAF trained new recruits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan

Lex was sent as a trainer to Weyburn, Saskatoon, a far cry from his home in Grangemouth, Scotland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCAF_Station_Weyburn

Before arriving in Saskatchewan, Lex was able to stop in Montreal, Quebec to visit with his Aunt Agnes and her daughter, Doreen (pictured here).  They were able to attend church together, but Agnes had to leave suddenly after having premonition about her young nephew.  According to my mother, my grandmother frequently had visions or premonitions and took them seriously.  In this case, she had a sense that this would be the last time she saw her nephew.

Sadly, her senses were correct, as during a night flying training session, Alexander Shearer Hall, was killed on July 30, 1942.  He is buried in the Soldiers Plot in Weyburn, SK.   His parents were devasted and never quite recovered from the loss of their only child.  

The Harvard was the training plane of choice and this picture shows what they looked like.  I had the pleasure of seeing one at the Air Force Museum in Trenton, ON.  It made Lex's story all the more real.  He will live forever in our hearts.

52 Ancestors #9: At the Courthouse

Woot, this was FUN!  Frankly until this past weekend I had NO idea how I was going to work a courthouse into my blog.  Then on Saturday, my Mom and I went through an old photo album with pictures from both the Parker and Beaman families.  One of the pictures was a group shot of my paternal grandmother, Jetta Augusta Mitton, and her father, George Mitton.  It was apparently taken in 1918 at the wedding of her sister Nellie to Arthur Nethercoat. 

In addition, there was this photo, marked simply as George T Beaman.  

I posted on a couple of Facebook groups that I belong to, and fortunately a few people recognized George T. Mitton and identified him as being a lawyer, and Justice of the Peace.  I had found my "At the Courthouse" connection. 

Source:
"George Thomas Mitton, the son of George Gilmore Mitton and Evangeline Price, was born at Steeves Mountain, Westmorland County, New Brunswick on 21 June 1895. He received his early education in public schools, and later attended Acadia Collegiate Academy and Acadia University. Mitton graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a bachelor of arts degree and a master of arts degree in 1919 and 1921 respectively. He pursued the study of law at Kings College and, in 1921, received his B.C.L. from Harvard University. He married Bessie Ayer Irving in 1934. In the early 1920s George Mitton practised law in Moncton, N.B. Among his early clients was Loundsbury Company Limited. Well-known in Moncton, Mitton was active in the Liberal Party and a member of First United Baptist Church. He died in 1979."
Source:
Prominent People of New Brunswick, 1937

In addition, George Mitton was also:

• named King's Counsel in 1950
• a judge of probate for Westmorland County, New Brunswick from 1960-1970
• past president of the Moncton Barristers' Society
• vice-president of the Canadian Bar Association for New Brunswick  
• honoured by the Canadian Bar Association in 1976 as a member of 50 years
• senior counsel in the law firm of Mitton and Mitton
• a 50 year member of  Keith Lodge Masonic Order, a member of the Luxor Temple Shrine and the Scottish Rite

I'm so thrilled to make the connection of a fourth cousin through this inquiry - and to learn about my paternal great-uncle George.  Since my dad is gone, it's a link to him that I will always cherish.

#52ancestors

52 Ancestors #8: Family Photo

I am fortunate enough to have a lot of family photos to choose from but my mom and I just spend a fun afternoon going through some albums for that one special picture.  I think this one shows an iconic Canadian family!

Taken in 1941 St. Lambert, Quebec, out front of my maternal grandparents home on Notre Dame Street.  Shown in the picture from left to right are: Douglas Jr, Agnes, Douglas Sr, Charles and standing in front, Doreen, aged 5.  

I'm not sure who "Mary" is but it's probably my grandmother's sister who was still living in Scotland.  I just love the boys' jackets and leggings and my grandfather's bowler hat.  

#52ancestors

52 Ancestors #7: Love

For this blog I thought I would share a story that my maternal grandfather (Papa) wrote for me in a collection of stories he gave to me for my birthday in 1976.  He and my Nana used to babysit me and my siblings -  I have a lot of fun memories of spending time with them.  Nana (Agnes Hector Smith) and Papa (Douglas Howard Parker) were married in 1922 and emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1923.


A Singing Sweetheart

This was our first date and not knowing the town I had to rely on my companion to lead the way.
We had coffee and a chocolate biscuit at a restaurant at the town cross, a procedure I was informed, practiced by the young folk of the town.
I suggested a movie, but the showbill in front of the only movie house in town did not look very interesting.
It being a beautiful evening my companion suggested we go for a walk.  On the way I learned that the route we were following was the favourite of the town's young folks on a Sunday afternoon; I also learned a lot about Kerse Parish Church, and especially about the choir which my companion attended.  Some of the incidents related about the choir were amusing, especially the way in which the choir girls decorated their bachelor minister's [bi]cycle while the poor man was in his study preparing his Sunday sermon.
When we reached the last street lamp, and because the road ahead looked dark and uninviting I decided we should turn, however, my companion suggested we stand under the lamp while she sang me a German song she had learned in school.  In a good contralto voice she sang stanza after stanza; I did not understand the German words but when she finished I congratulated her on her voice, her singing and her memory.
Strange as it may seem after all these years I listen to the same haunting melody each evening as Paul Reid concludes his 'Quiet Hour' with the same melody.  It brings back memories of almost fifty years of love, happiness, and a companionship which carried us along together in times of difficulties, of change and of pleasures.
The strains of that haunting melody comes over the radio each evening and fills my heart with gratitude for the life and times we shared together.
Yes! The Singing Sweetheart became - in time - your Nana!

Happy Valentine's Day


Footnote:  Paul Reid was a radio personality at CJAD in Montreal during the 1970s and hosted a program called Paul Reid Wonderful World of Music.
The "town" was Grangemouth, Scotland.  The church still exists today although is now a blended congregation.

Update:  I asked my Mom if she knew anything about the song and it turns out she knew some of the words and a little about what the song was about.  So I did a little research and we found the song.

https://youtu.be/num4zgWyFLU

52 Ancestors #6: Surprise

Mary had a little lamb
It's fleece was white as snow,
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.

It's a rhyme and a song that almost every child has heard; a story of a little girl who had a pet lamb who followed her to school.  The truth is sometimes a surprise, and in this case, the truth is that the story is not only true, it's about a little girl who is one of my ancestors.  Or not.

The little girl was Mary Sawyer and she was born in 1806 in the small town of Sterling, Massachusetts.

https://archive.org/details/storyofmaryherli00unse

http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/mary-little-lamb-yes-mary-little-lamb/

The funny thing is I was all excited to be able to post this story but the more research I did the more confused I got when I tried to link Mary Sawyer to my tree.

John Beaman, son of Gamaliel, was born in 1649.  He married Priscilla Thornton.  They had a daughter named Sarah.  Sarah married Joseph Sawyer and they had four children: Abner, Jonathan, Asenath and Mary.   Mary was born in 1715.  But if you look on the ancestry site you'll see all the comments have this Mary as being the Mary in the poem, but it cannot be as THAT Mary was born in 1806.  So it has to be another generation, or two later.  This is why you cannot depend on what is on Ancestry.

I'll keep looking cause I'm sure the family story has some truth to it - but I have to be sure.  Besides, I have two little white poodles who look an awful like sheep and I'd like to think I have some kind of genetic link to a little girl with an afinity for animals. 

52 Ancestors #5: At The Library

"At the Library" is the theme this week and I wasn't sure at first how I was going to make it into a post about an ancestor.  As it turns out, it was quite easy.

In August 2018, my niece and I travelled to Massaschusetts to do some research and one of our stops along the way was the Beaman Memorial Library.  Now I knew about this library through it's Facebook Page and although I wasn't sure what the connection was to my lineage, it was worth a stop just for the photo opportunity.  Turns out we found out a lot more than we bargained for.

Ezra Beaman, for whom the library is named, was born on October 4, 1736 in Lancaster, MA.  He married (1) Persis Keyes and (2) Mary Boylston.   While living in Boylston, a new meeting house was petitioned and there was an argument as to its location.  Several families travelled quite a distance to church meetings and wanted something closer to their homes.  So Ezra funded the construction of a new meeting house at the western edge of Boylston.  The location was so successful that a petition was made to the General Court to create a new precinct to encompass the meeting house, which was finally granted in 1808, and thus West Boylston was born.

West Boylston's library was founded in 1878, but didn't have a permanent home until 1911 when George Calvin Rice, a great - grandson of Ezra Beaman, donated $20,000 towards the construction of a permanent building.

When Rachel and I showed up at the Beaman Memorial Library initially we checked in and were advised that the local historian would be available later that evening.  So we returned, and had the great pleasure of a guided tour, including showing us Ezra's bible, some furniture and gave us lots of information about the town.

Ezra Beaman's Bible

 For more information on Ezra Beaman and West Boylston, and also the Beaman Memorial Library please check the following links.  #52ancestors

www.beamanlibrary.org
www.westboylston-ma.gov

Ezra Beaman's bible

The author out front of the Library Aug 2018

52 Ancestors #4: Meeting An Ancestor

This week's ancestor challenge is "who would you like to meet?"  I asked my niece, who I had taken on a trip to Massachusetts in 2018, and she said "Thomas Beaman.  So here's his story.

THOMAS BEAMAN was born in 1729 in Lancaster, MA, the youngest son of a family of nine children.  He served as a member of the colonial regiments sent to fight the French in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and was present at the capture of Fort Louisbourg, NS in 1759.  Shortly after returning he arranged to purchase property in the neighbouring settlement of Petersham and reconstructed the dwelling into a home for his wife, Elizabeth and his growing family.  He was an active member of the community, being a land surveyor and farmer.  Knowing that he was a land surveyor, it isn't surprising that General Gage sought his help to understand the lay of the land, as well as the sentiments of the colonials in the months previous to 1774-5.
In late 1774, the town of Petersham was notified by communication, that several of its residents were involved in signing a petition started by Timothy Ruggles, which identified them as being loyal to King George. By early 1775 the town council had banished Thomas for his Loyalist beliefs and actions and, leaving his family behind, he fled to Boston.

Welcome to The Old Oak Tree

Welcome!
This is my place to wax poetic about my family tree, so to speak.  Oak trees have always played a part in the Beaman family, from Gamaliel Beaman who planted the first one in the family on land he settled in Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1659.  That tree grew into the Beaman Oak, and lived for  more than 250 years.

Gamaliel Beaman was 12 years old when he arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts aboard the "Elizabeth and Ann".  He married Sarah in 1643 and they started a family in Dorchester until it was attacked and then they settled in Lancaster.  They stayed there until 1676 when Lancaster was attacked and the family returned to Dorchester where Gamaliel died in 1707.

This site is dedicated to my dad, Fred Beaman, who did all the legwork.