Eh?

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

April 16, 2026

“Eh?”

 

“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

Left to right: Cecil Holmes, Minnie Colpitts Holmes (wife of Floyd), Nancy Holmes Lutes (daughter of Floyd and Minnie Holmes), Floyd Holmes, Lora Underhill Thornton (daughter of Carl and Ella Underhill), Phyllis Underhill Riley (daughter of Carl and Ella Underhill), Lillian aka Sis (daughter of Mac and Lillian Holmes Underhill Minella), Margaret Higby Holmes (wife of Cecil), and Janet Minella Nolte (daughter of Mac and Lil Holmes Underhill Minella). All in the Charles R Holmes line. Photo taken in Hill Grove, New Brunswick, in front of the farmhouse of Charles and Phoebe Holmes.

For an approximate date of the photo, Nancy (third from left) was born in 1932. I’d say circa 1950.

 

 

 

And I Quote:

 

I am keeping these citizenship application comments anonymous.

 

The one thing I brought back . . . was the Canadian pronunciation of the "ou" words.  I had been expecting to come back saying "eh?"

 

I remember August 1969 like it was yesterday. Some of us . . . spent the night in the station wagon. There was a nice frost on the ground. Later in the day, we went swimming in the brook. Brrr!

 

I promise to say the "ou" sound correctly!  In fact, I was teased . . . for saying "About . . ." like a Canadian.  See, I'm nearly there!

 

Thanks for all you do. The wonders of genealogy . . . Thanks but no thanks.

 

How many of you swam in the brook? I did, although it was more like played in the brook. There was only one deep hole where I played.

 

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

My work on the Citizenship by Descent is pretty much done for now – back to the family research I go. I have learned a lot by researching by the Genealogical Proof Standard method and digging deep. I also followed A Facebook group and learned some things from them.

One thing to note is – you (Holmes descendants) now have Canadian citizenship by descent – and a choice. You can do the work and apply for it, or you can ignore it. It is an option, not an obligation. You can get it, hang it on the wall, and never set foot in Canada if you don’t want to. Once you obtain your certificate, you can get a Canadian passport. Whatever you do or don’t do makes no difference to me. I am here to help if you want my help. I am a citizen, but I do not have a certificate to say so, so there’s nothing on my wall about that.

Although it was a learning experience and perhaps a help to a few of you, what does it mean to me?  I learned that the purpose of the amendment to Bill C-3 was to right a wrong. It puzzles me still. Why wouldn’t a person generally be the citizen of the country of their birth – with a few exceptions? What is wrong with that? I don’t have enough time or curiousity to follow through on my rhetorical question – it is what it is. Welcome, if you wish to come home, or to get a Canadian passport. However, we don’t have the infrastructure to immediately accept a gazillion people all at once.

This came up in my citizenship conversations – who would have thought? We realized that what our ancestors did over a century ago does or could have implications for their descendants, even decades or centuries later. Therefore, it stands to reason (at least to me) that what we do or don’t do can affect our succeeding generations. I’m not just talking about emigrating – that is just one example. It can be one or many of the choices we make, and it can be good, bad, or otherwise. Whatever decision we make, whatever action we take, potentially affects someone else. The threads weave in and out through the ages.

I am updating some information in the Westmorland chapter of the “Colossal Collection of Cousins.” I am putting copies and references of some records, like marriages, adoptions, and naturalizations for some of our people. See the family history lesson for a sample.

FAMILY HISTORY LESSON

This is one of the new records I found and inserted into the “Colossal Collection of Cousins,” in the section called Westmorland. It is the marriage record of Carl F Underhill of Boston, Massachusetts, and Ella M Holmes of Petitcodiac, New Brunswick. The marriage took place in Lynn, Massachusetts, on June 27, 1906. I do wonder how they met.

Thanks to Paula for your help in learning about the Naturalization Act of 1855 to c. 1920. Thanks to that act, Ella automatically became a naturalized citizen of the US, through her husband at the time and event of her marriage. She didn’t have to go through the process of naturalizing, as women who married after 1920 did.

Because Ella gave birth to a child and didn’t register the birth with the province of New Brunswick, we do not know the identify of the birth father. Or, do we? Hmmmm. I will watch that DNA until the day I can no longer work on genealogy. Because Ella chose to marry Carl, and give birth to six more children, many of her descendants are now in this group.

I also spent some time updating the seven children of Carl and Ella; I have scratched the surface. Their children’s names are Lillian, Edward, Lora, Adele, Phyllis, Ruth, and William. Going by the photos and memories of Mum’s stories, I believe Mum met all of them. She told me that she and her siblings called Lil “Mummy Lil.” At one or some of our reunions, we have met descendants of Lil, Lora, Adele’s husband, and Ruth.

My wonder is, what was Ella like? Does her granddaughter, our matriarch, remember anything about her? If so, I’d love to know. Stories and family lore are much more interesting than the necessary records.

 

This ends week sixteen of our centennial virtual celebration of 1926 – 2026.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canadian Citizenship by Descent

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

April 2, 2026

“Canadian Citizenship by Descent”

 

“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

 

I believe this photo was taken in 1924. I’d have to do some work to identify all these folk,

and I don’t have time this week.

 

And I Quote:

 

“I would like to request a pdf copy of "A Homestead" even though I have a hard copy.  One cannot have too many copies.” ~ Julia

 

I’ve had some chats with several of you, but I’ll keep them between us. I have two copies of my book, and of course the pdf, and that’s enough for me. Like our ancestors’ dresses, one is for everyday and one is for good.

 

 

1925 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.

2025 to 2028

As you will see in the history lesson, I have something altogether different for you this fortnight. I didn’t do anything else genealogy wise these past two weeks. I’ve been wondering what my next learning step should be, and that step plunked right into my lap.

An amendment to Bill C-3 came into effect in Canada’s parliament on December 15, 2025, changing the laws regarding citizenship for people of other countries whose parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or ancestor was a Canadian citizen. You are now a Canadian citizen. If interested, you just have to prove your lineage. Easier said than done, but generally doable. You can find a brief explanation here: 

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2025/12/bill-c-3-an-act-to-amend-the-citizenship-act-2025-comes-into-effect.html

You can now apply for your certificate of Canadian Citizenship by Descent. Shortly after I sent out my last chronicle, I heard from three of you who are starting the process.  All of you who actually descend from Daniel and Charlotte (Hoyt) Holmes, and your children and grandchildren, are now actually Canadian citizens. You don’t need to do anything about it, but if you wish to obtain your certificate by descent, you can apply. Be aware, the requirements are specific, and you need to read every word, and you need to obey every request.

News from Holmes

Brady and Aubrey Yee’s farm and temple were covered with mud by three floods in March. They have lots of help showing up for the clean up, but it is going to take some time to repair their long-time work. In the first photo, Brady is front and centre. The second shows one of the buildings. Today’s update shows the national guard, who showed up to help for a day. It gives a better perspective of the destruction.

To see the photos, request an email.

Brady is in the William N Holmes line.

FAMILY HISTORY LESSON

THE LOST CANADIANS

Are you a lost Canadian?

Credit to an applicant G4 for the title! The initial Canadian born citizen is called G0. Generation 0. The child of that parent is G1, and so on. Their ancestor had to live in Canada for at least three years. I will not identify them – they can identify themselves if they wish.

Any work I can do is the genealogy. Why would I do this, you may wonder, as it takes so much time? Two reasons: one is because you are my family; the other is to gain experience. I need to be aware of this as the media editor of the NBGS Facebook group. You need birth records, marriage records, and death records for sure; and maybe baptism (christening) records, census records, naturalization records, etc, and they all need to be printed in colour. I was curious about what to do if the record was in black and white. The answer is as simple as using the colour option setting on your printer for each document. It will give a clearer image.

I joined the Facebook group “Canadian Citizenship by Descent (Bill C-3).” It is a huge group and sure fills up my Facebook scroll. Like all Facebook groups, you need to take the information with a grain of salt. There are a few knowledgeable people, a lot of opinionated or confused people, and some novices who do not read the featured posts, which give good information. That said – best to read each and every word, paragraph, and document carefully.

Have you heard of the Genealogy Proof Standard (GPS)? I try to follow it generally, but for this, I am following it strictly to the letter.

“Genealogical Proof Standard

The purpose of the Genealogical Proof Standard is to show what the minimums are that a genealogist must do for his or her work to be credible.

There are five elements to the Genealogical Proof Standard:

1.       Reasonably exhaustive research has been conducted.

2.       Each statement of fact has a complete and accurate source citation.

3.       The evidence is reliable and has been skillfully correlated and interpreted.

4.       Any contradictory evidence has been resolved.

5.       The conclusion has been soundly reasoned and coherently written.

Any proof statement is subject to re-evaluation when new evidence arises.”

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Genealogical_Proof_Standard

So, if you really are a passionate genealogist or family history researcher, there is no lack of learning opportunities. I am taking giant steps right now. Fen! Thank you for starting me on this journey. 

All I, a non-professional but experienced genealogist, can do is find and supply the documents. The requirements are stringent. If you make a mistake, your application will be sent back, and another payment would be required to start anew. They mean business. For this reason, I will limit this kind of help to my family members - you folks.

Wishing you a happy, blessed Easter weekend. In Atlantic Canada, a safe Easter weekend.

This ends week fourteen of our centennial virtual celebration of 1926 – 2026.

Tear and Shriek and Whistle and Hustle

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

March 19, 2026

“Tear and Shriek and Whistle and Hustle”

 

“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

I know this photo is a review. Since completing and sending off my article for “Generations,” I have been working on “A Colossal Collection of Cousins,” Westmorland section.

This is one of the reunion photos, the first on in 1924, I believe.

Back row: Charles, Peter, Anna, William, and James

Front row: Hannah, Augusta, and Carrie

 

Charles wife, Phoebe, did not attend. Peter was married to Hannah. William was married to Anna, James was married to Augusta. Carrie’s husband, Alfred, had passed away by this time.

 

 

And I Quote:

 

Thank you.  Kennon read it and commented that this [award to Philip Anklesaria] was a big deal. Happy it made the newsletter.

~ Eleanor, on behalf of Kennon Wilson, on the honour that Philip received. Eleanor is in the Peter K Holmes line.

 

 

1925 to 1928

 

Those 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.

2025 to 2028

My article is in the hands of the editor of “Generations,” Dave. Dave has a 66 - page journal to compile and send out to members of the New Brunswick Genealogy Society every three months. It’s a big job, and not one that I would like to do. All that fitting and formatting – too much for me. I’m happy to submit an article to him once in a while, to help him fill the pages.

This paragraph is not because I am selfish, but because of the way copyright works. The journal is copyrighted by the society, and the article is copyrighted by me. That means, it cannot be copied without permission. I would not submit the same article to another journal. What does that mean for my Holmes family and friends of the family? It means that you can join the society and get a virtual copy on our website, or, for a price, request a paper copy. I will adapt it for our family, but my own copyright will remain on it.  It is called my “intellectual property." I am now working on the family’s copy.

So, about my article. I wrote about Uncle Howard ‘Fenwick’ Holmes back in 2014, in “A Homestead on the Old Post Road.” Since I wrote and distributed my book, I have learned a lot more about both Fenwick and different places and ways to research. Most of what I wrote in the book is basically correct, but I found a lot more stuff. Right now, I am taking that book about Daniel Holmes and Charlotte Hoyt, and their children and grandchildren, and updating it. I have inserted it into Colossal Collection of Cousins, in a section I call Westmorland. I don’t know if I’ll live long enough to do what I want to with CCC, but I am puttering away at it. I especially want to get this sectiondone. Trouble is, rabbit trails and holes abound, and sometimes I fall into their trap.

So, although I am using what I wrote for “Generations” as the basis for my update, I am adding more to it for the family, including some maps and photos I did not have permission to use (copyright reasons) or I didn’t have space to include them. I shrunk the article to nubbins, and now I’m growing it again, but I still want to keep it neat and tidy. You, the family, will have access to it, but I probably won’t distribute it much beyond the family.

By the way, I will now send family members and friends of the family a copy of “A Homestead” in a pdf format, if you want it.

Clarification

I want to clarify something about my last chronicle. I wrote about Maud Lewis, and a couple of you thought I was writing about Maud, wife of Fenwick Holmes.

Maud was a Nova Scotia folk artist, who was a destitute and little-known physically handicapped folk artist in my neighbouring province, Nova Scotia.  Som of her original works now fetch over $100,000. I went with my cousin to view an exhibit of her work at the Art Gallery in Halifax.

She is no relation to our Aunt Maud (English) Holmes.

News from Holmes

                Congratulations to David Moore and Jayde Goldsworthy, who married in Cleveland, Tennessee, on February 22, 2026. David is the son of Paul and Ruth Moore. David is in the Charles R Holmes line; he my nephew. Jayde officially changed her name to Jayde Michell Moore, after her aunt and David’s sister. Thank you to Ruth for suggesting this marriage announcement and photograph for the chronicle.

 

 

FAMILY HISTORY LESSON

It is time to start posting my family history lessons again, for those who are interested. They are generally more in depth than the rest of the newsletter, so I put them at the end. But what, I wondered, as I often do, should I share?                                                                                                                                                                My grandmother did what many people used to do – she kept a scrapbook. It’s mostly newspaper clippings, with a few other bits of news that interested her that she found in other places. She cut them out of local newspapers and glued or pinned them onto an existing newspaper. Behind her clippings are songs of Christmas.                                                                                                                                                                I decided to do this with my Fenwick and Maud (English) Holmes portion of the Colossal Collection of Cousins. Easier said than done. It would be so much easier to print them off and copy them onto a piece of paper and then scan the pieces of paper. Why, you may ask? Because MS WORD has a mind of its own, one that overrides my copy and pastes into it. Another challenge is putting all these bits of information in chronological order.                                                                                                                                                                             Gram’s scrapbook was random – it didn’t follow a timeline. It is a gold mine of information, and has helped me with information about my specific branch of the family.Most, but not all the articles I included in this scrapbook are referred to in the article. Even if I didn’t include them, they helped me understand the times and places that Fenwick and Maud lived: full descriptions of the Rat Portage fires, for example. Theoretically, a writer can think of them and subtly include details in their article. I did not include this article – mostly for the amount of room it would take and because, admittedly, the writer slept through the area of Rat Portage and quoted the guidebook. But, if you read the entire clipping, you get an idea of the journeys and surroundings that Fenwick and Maud would have experienced.

For the full article, go to this link:

https://newspapers.lib.unb.ca/serials/118/issues/19200/pages/143757?highlight=%22Rat%20Portage%22%20%20steamboat

This ends week twelve of our centennial virtual celebration of 1926 – 2026.

A Little Vacation

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

March 5, 2026

“A Little Vacation”

 

“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

“Our son, Philip received an achievement medal and citation from the Japanese Military (not a usual accolade). We are so proud of him.” Shared by Celia (Nolte) Anklesaria of the Charles R Holmes line.

 

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force

February 26, 2026

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Achieve Medal 3^rd Class

Awarded to

Major Philip Anklesaria

V-22 Pilot, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262

 

                Since assigned to Marine Tiltrotor Squadron 262 as a V-22 pilot in 2021, he has demonstrated exceptional pilot skills, a wealth of knowledge of operation, deep understanding of Japan and actively supported and cooperated to promote mutual understanding and strengthening not only for Transport Aviation Group, but Japan and US cooperation relationship.                                                                                                              In particular, bilateral airmobile operation with one company from Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade cooperated with III Marine Expeditionary Force during Iron Fist 25 in2025, we conducted consecutive landing operation into one Landing zone, with 13 aircraft within a short time frame. Despite this challenging situation, he provided active yet precise advice and proposals based on his wisdom for operation of controller aircraft and air traffic control, allowing Transportation Aviation Group to establish initial operation capability and improve the interoperability. Both exercises were never met with problems and accomplished safely.                                                                                                                               Moreover, his three-time participation of bilateral exercises with Transport Aviation Group has been the key piece to greatly improve our interoperability.                                                                                                                For these reasons, he is being awarded with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Achievement Medal 3^rd Class in recognition of his contributions and achievements with our sincere gratitude and honoring his distinct service to Transport Aviation Group.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             AOYAMA Yoshiji

Colonel

Commanding Officer

Transport Aviation Group

Japan Ground Self-Defence Force

 

And I Quote:

 

See the description of the header photo.

1925 to 1928

 

Those 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.

2025 to 2028

I don’t have a family history lesson for you this week, as I took a little vacation to the Halifax area in between chronicles. The only genealogy I did was to maintain my vigilance as editor of the NBGS Facebook group website. I have been in touch with Paula, who is editing my journal article. I know she will have an issue for me to deal with. I’m not sure what it is yet, but I think it might be the genealogy in the first part. That genealogy is there to demonstrate the difference between Maud’s early upbringing and Fenwick’s, but I don’t think I did it justice.

In Halifax, I saw history, both past and in the making. My cousin on Dad’s side, Cynthia, took me into Halifax where we walked the boardwalk, past little touristy shops and historical spots. We didn’t go into Pier 21, due to time constraints, but we saw some statues representing those who came to Nova Scotia in the 1920s, much later than our family members. We went through the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which represented many eras of sail. The 1917 Halifax Explosion and the Titanic story and items that floated to the surface were sobering and well done, in my opinion. We went to the Maud Lewis exhibit in the art gallery, which was lovely. They fixed up the real wee house (not a replica); it contains some of her art on the furniture that she painted. In case you don’t know, Maud and her husband were destitute; her art now fetches large sums of money.

 

As we walked to the Art Gallery, we passed peaceful but loud protesters on the sidewalk opposite, protesting on their lunch hour the massive budget cuts to the arts in Nova Scotia. This will have ramifications in our literature and publication, small archives, heritage, tourism and I’m sure, other areas. If the predictions come true, it will probably happen also in New Brunswick soon. As you may know, museums and archives often function on shoestring budgets, and rely on volunteers.

I think of the small museum in Petitcodiac, and the library that they are still working on preparations for it’s opening after several years. Will they survive cuts? I hope so.

I also had a couple of lovely visits with my cousin on Mum’s side, Cindy Steeves, and her husband, Greg. We sat around the table and told the same old stories and some new ones.

 

FAMILY HISTORY LESSON

I hope to be back with some family history in the next chronicle. I am redoing a bit of my article in preparation for my revision – not deleting much, but adding bits in different colours that I anticipate will be more reader friendly.

This ends week ten of our centennial virtual celebration of 1926 – 2026.

 

 The Maud Lewis House