No Value . . . Immense Value

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

September 3, 2026

“No Value . . . Immense Value”

 

“These were their settlements. And they kept good family records.”^[1]

 

Don’t forget to look for the title which is embedded in the chronicle.

 

 

 

FAMILY ALBUM

Conrad and Phyllis (Bearse) Digennaro and their grandchildren, Bella and Joey, vacationing in New Hampshire with their son and grandchildren. They are in the Charles R Holmes line, and some of you met them at the 2016 reunion.

 

For photo, request an email. 

 

 

And I Quote:

 

Excerpts from my letters to the editor. Thank you.

 

 

Thanks Peg . . . and have a great vacation!  - Kevin Hoeg

 

I hope you have a great vacation! – Paul Worster

 

Have a great vacation! – Marvin Davis

 

1926 to 1928

 

1924 to 1928 are the years that our Holmes ancestors spent renewing relationships that had somehow fallen by the wayside but with organization, letter writing, and challenging travel – by hook or by crook – they managed to come together again. They reacquainted and rediscovered their family ties. And then, one by one, they died, and many of those ties died with them.

2026 to 2028

 

Between the wedding that I helped plan (no relation) and the arrival of my daughter and granddaughter, I spent some research time looking for records for another Holmes IRCC application. (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada – Citizenship by descent). That makes three lines that I have worked on – Peter, Charles, and now William.

Each line had a different issue – and William’s is by far the toughest case. Peter’s son had a name change, Charles’ daughter has an unknown to us sperm provider, and William’s is a lack of documented proof. In Peter and Charles’ case, not all of their descendants will have this issue, only the descendants of Cecil and Ella. In William’s case, you will all have an issue, and should you desire to apply for citizenship by descent, you will have to be creative and write a really succinct cover letter. No application is guaranteed; all must follow instructions to the letter and then, cross your fingers.

I do realize that some, probably many of you who have the opportunity to apply, are not interested. I do have to say – it is a great opportunity to learn more about your ancestors, to learn how to properly research and cite sources, and to follow the Genealogical Proof Standard. It is probably not unlike applying for DAR, SAR, or UE status.

We looked at what records we could find for William’s parents, Daniel Holmes and Charlotte Hoyt. We determined that, although records are elusive for both of them, the Hoyt family would probably be the better choice. Neither Daniel nor Charlotte have birth or baptism records. What we based our decision on was the land record of Charlotte’s father, James Hoyt III, son of a Loyalist, born c. 1784 either in New York or New Brunswick. He will not be the G0 (Generation 0), but James III and Frances (Ketchum) Hoyt’s information can be part of the cover letter – the proof that they lived in Canada and that Charlotte was a citizen by birth and their daughter. James’ probate, which is, as of August, at the NBGS website, states that James left £5 to his beloved daughter, Charlotte. We have death notices for James and Frances, and a newspaper marriage record for Daniel and Charlotte.

William is another story altogether – all we have for him is two census records, one which is barely legible. Of the twelve children of Daniel and Charlotte, all have baptismal records except for Margaret, who left no descendants, and William. Why they were not baptized or recorded, I do not know.

This leads me to believe, once again, that what we do in our lifetimes (good, bad, or otherwise; recorded or hidden) can profoundly affect not only our children, but descendants down the line who we will never know.

 

News from Holmes

Congratulations to Rylee Patterson, of the Charles R Holmes line, who married Tatam Beshears in August, in Arizona. Rylee is the daughter of Clay and Marika (McGinnis) Patterson.

Photos of Phoebe

I posted Phoebe’s birth announcement in the last chronicle, but I didn’t have a photo. Here’s a couple from Paul’s Facebook. The first is Paul and Leah with Phoebe, and the second is Phoebe with her two sisters, Ayla and Emmy.

 

Violetta Prossinger and her children, visiting Conrad and Phyllis.

 

For photos, request an email. 

FAMILY HISTORY LESSON

The Ballantyne History is courtesy of Jeanni Worster.

 

This is the only “record” that I have stating Charlotte (Hoyt) Holmes’ date of birth. It is not an official record and will be of no value to the IRCC. It has immense value to our family. The compiler of this little record book is not stated, but I attribute it to Kingsley A Ballantyne, the Holmes historian of the 1920s, who refers to Grandfather Ballantyne on one page, and Grandfather Holmes on another. Kingsley had one child, a daughter, Ruth, who did not marry or leave descendants. It continues on with Grandfather Hall and grandfather Merrill’s information – his wife’s parents.

Not all information is correct, and when I borrowed the booklet, I researched Kingsley’s facts. I do not have any issue with Kingsley’s information – every generation finds new records and information and needs to update it. Fenwick W Holmes updated it, I do it, and some of you do it. I appreciate those of you who share information with me.

One error with Daniel Holmes – he was not born in Parrsboro, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. There was another Daniel Holmes born in Parrsboro, with a wife Charlotte. Totally different family, and as far as I can determine, no relation to us. Our Daniel was born in the Amherst area, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. There are other small discrepancies, but one big error. Both Margaret and William Snider (Uncle Billy and Aunt Maggie) died in January, 1916.

One other thing - it states that Charles married Phoebe Corey. Charles actually married Phoebe McMonagle, daughter of Edwin and Elizabeth (UNK – unknown maiden name) McMonagle. Sandra Thorne speculated, after much research with few results, that Phoebe was a Blakeney. Perhaps she was. I don’t have Blakeney DNA connections. My Corey connections (and some of yours) are plentiful. Edwin McMonagle was said to be born in Intervale, NB (no record), which is not far from Havelock, NB, an area where many Coreys lived. I never paid any attention to this until today, August 18, 2026.

I must look into this again. Hypothesis: Elizabeth (MNU) McMonagle could have been a Corey. It could be that a Corey married a Blakeney. That would be a challenge to prove, but I had a quick peek and although I know I have Corey genes, I don’t know how I (and we) got them.

 

 

This ends week thirty-six of our centennial virtual celebration of 1926 – 2026.

 

What Changes Would a Year Bring?

 

               

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

August 6, 2026

“What Changes Would a Year Bring?”

 

“These were their settlements. And they kept good family records.”^[1]

 

Don’t forget to look for the title which is embedded in the chronicle.

 

 

 

FAMILY ALBUM

The 1926 Holmes Family Gathering. The photograph was taken in Hill Grove, New Brunswick.

 

 

And I Quote:

 

Excerpts from my letters to the editor. Thank you.

 

You missed that particular cranny because we weren’t supposed to go up to that chamber because of the stairs and at that time, the open side.  You must have been a little rebellious that day! – Cindy

                Perhaps I had just reached the age that I was allowed to climb the stairs, Cindy.

 

This was a fun chronicle, bringing back both memories and questions. Congratulations to Kristy and Jeff!  

 

And many thanks to wonderful people like Terry Bannister, who take the time care, and interest to do the hard work of repairing the old stones.   What a wonderful gift . . .

 

I enjoyed your ponderings and memories about Uncle Billy's violin.  How wonderful to have family history that is now recorded. - Jeanni

 

 

1926 to 1928

 

1924 to 1928 are the years that our Holmes ancestors spent renewing relationships that had somehow fallen by the wayside but with organization, letter writing, and challenging travel – by hook or by crook – they managed to come together again. They reacquainted and rediscovered their family ties. And then, one by one, they died, and many of those ties died with them.

2026 to 2028

 

This bi-weekly period, I have been busy with wedding preparations. The bride and groom are from Chile – no relation to us but dear friends. Poor old Uncle Billy and Aunt Maggie had to take a back seat. Thankfully, I had written out most of the history lesson in July, when I realized the reunion took place in August 1926 – so that was about ready to go.

 

The wedding takes place this Saturday, so that will free up some time, but my family arrives from Ontario in mid-August and I will need to get ready for that, so I can enjoy them while they are here. Therefore, I will take my vacation, and come back to you in four weeks.

 

Here is a newspaper clipping about another wedding between Ormond Jones, grandson of Daniel and Charlotte through their daughter, Hattie, and Jennie Snider, niece of Uncle Billy and Aunt Maggie. It took place at Uncle Billy and Aunt Maggie’s house in May of 1894.

 

https://newspapers.lib.unb.ca/serials/155/issues/22800/pages/166700

 

 

 

 

 

News from Holmes

Jeannie Worster sent me this birth notice about their new granddaughter, daughter of Paul Worster and Leah Nickel. Paul and Leah have a new baby girl, Phoebe Rose Wren Nickel Worster, a long handle for a wee baby. She was born on July 26^th in Massachusetts. Phoebe has two older sisters, Ayla and Emmy, who are thrilled to have a new sister. Proud grandparents are Stoney and Jeanni Worster.

 

FAMILY HISTORY LESSON

 

It’s been a century since our ancestors gathered in Petitcodiac, for their 1926 family gathering.

I am sharing an excerpt from “A Homestead on the Old Post Road.” Page 35 and 36. I made a few unimportant grammatical changes.

Just a few years ago, we cut down the trees in this photograph, taken in Hill Grove, New Brunswick. There is still a beautiful view from where the family was seated, along the driveway and to the left of Charles and Phoebe’s little house. The photograph is of such poor quality that I cannot positively identify many of the people, but I do have a record of who attended the reunion. From the minutes of the 1926 reunion, I have the list of names, and it appears to match the number of people in the picture:

                Peter K. Holmes; Charles and Phoebe Holmes; Carrie Steeves; Ormond Jones, Cuthbert Jones, and Mary Reeder; Eliza Allard; Lee and Eades Corey: Dan and Mae Holmes; Floyd and Minnie Holmes and their three children, Bryce, Margaret, and Jim; Ethel Colpitts and her daughters, Catherine and Phoebe; Arletta McKillop and her son, Cecil (and I believe her son, Ray, is there, although not mentioned); Kingsley and Laura Ballantyne and their daughter, Ruth; Walter and Villa Steeves and their children, Louise and Warren; Kate Ballantyne and her son, Roy; Walter and Mary Holmes and their sons, Richard and Carleton; Edith MacCallum and her daughter, Shirley.                                                                                                They left the food preparations to Minnie Holmes. She was a wonderful cook. The proverbial woman, she really did rise before the rooster crowed to bake bread for her family and the hired help. She also had a three-month-old baby and two children to look after, but she was used to hard work and I never heard her complain; it was expected of her and she did it. She made the meal, according to my mother, and the Association wrote in the minutes that they were entertained royally, all thirty-eight of them. They held their third gathering on the 12^th of August in Hill Grove, New Brunswick. Peter came from Sangerville, Maine, and Carrie from the Boston area. Some of Hattie’s children, who lived in nearby Riverglade and Salisbury, met their cousins for the first time. Since Hattie’s son, Ormond, and his wife lived in the homestead, the family was able to visit the place. They also visited the Petitcodiac Baptist cemetery and the cemetery in Hill Grove, right down the road from Charles’ farm, where they paid their respects to their parents and siblings. (DHFHA)                                                                                                                                   Neither James and Augusta nor William and Anna made it to the 1926 reunion. According to the minutes, Harry, James’ son, wrote that they would not be able to attend the reunion “due to the illness of Aunt Gusty.” Once again, distance could be the reason that William and Anna did not attend. William sent a letter “expressing his good wishes and interest in the meeting and tendering his resignation as secretary.”                                                                                                                                                                                                     In addition to visiting the Holmes homestead and going to the cemeteries, they also held a business meeting and chose their officers for the following year, with the only apparent change being the secretary. They elected William’s son, Walter Holmes, the new secretary.                                                                          Besides the children of Daniel and Charlotte – Peter, Charles, and Carrie – who were the people that attended the 1926 reunion? Phoebe, Charles’ wife, was there, as they hosted the reunion. Charles and Phoebe’s son, Dan, and his wife, Mae, came from Massachusetts. Their son, Floyd, his wife, Minnie, and their three children, Bryce, Margaret, and Jim; their daughter, Ethel, and her daughters, Phoebe and Cassie; and their daughter, Arletta, and her son Cecil – all lived in Petitcodiac or Hill Grove. Kingsley, Laura, and Ruth Ballantyne came from Maine, as did Kate Ballantyne and her son, Roy. They represented the Louisa Holmes Ballantyne line. Brothers Ormond and Cuthbert Jones and their sister, Mary Jones Reeder, children of Hattie, lived nearby, in Petitcodiac and Salisbury area. How pleased they must have been to visit their step-mother, Eliza Wilson Jones Allard, who came from Massachusetts. They must also have invited their Uncle Lee and Aunt Eades Corey, Augusta’s step-brother, who were home from Saskatchewan – the James Holmes line. Alfred and Carrie Steeves’ son, Walter, was there with his wife, Villa, and their children, Louise and Warren, from Maine. Their daughter, Edith, brough young Shirley, their granddaughter, with her from Massachusetts. Walter Holmes, son of William and Anna, brought his wife, Mary, and their sons, Richard and Carleton, from Maine.

                They would meet again in Lincoln, Maine, in early August of the following year, they decided. What changes would a year bring, and who would attend?

 

 

This ends week thirty-two of our centennial virtual celebration of 1926 – 2026.