Faraway Places

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

May 18, 2023

“Faraway Places”

 

 

This photo of Eric and Anjana Holmes and their twins made me smile this week. It’s so otherworldly.

 

 

 

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New this week are Paul Moore and Brady Yee.

 

I am very familiar with Paul Moore of the Charles R Holmes line. I was three years old when Dad brought my mother and little brother, Paul Stewart Moore, home from the hospital. We had fun and of course some sibling rivalry, and when our baby sister, Pat, joined us, there were more adventures. What did we like to do together? Well, we made a little camp up the path from home. It was just an opening in some alder brush, but it was ours. We spent many days at the farm. We had picnics in the back yard and on the Gorge Road, by the brook. We played in the playground right down our street. We had ongoing-for-days games of Monopoly and Stock Ticker. We travelled with our parents to faraway places like Prince Edward Island and Ontario. Sometimes our grandparents went with us to the island. We went there almost every year for a while, and we are all still fond of the place. We sing with gusto on the rare times we drive over together. The trip to Ontario was by train, and we visited my Holmes cousins, Karl, Mike, Doug and Brenda. We picked blueberries for Mum over the tracks, the same hill where we went sliding in winter. We read a lot. Not sure if he read my Nancy Drew books, but I read his Hardy Boy books.  Mum and Dad read Bible stories and prayed with us every night before we went to bed. When it was Paul’s turn to pray, he prayed for every old person he knew. Every missionary he knew. Every sick person he knew. I think maybe he didn’t want to go to bed. Anyway, we three peas had lots of fun. He really enjoys skating and hockey, especially with his kids and grandkids. He is a helicopter mechanic in Alaska, with approximately one year to retirement. He has four children and four grandchildren.

 

I never met Brady Yee of the William N Holmes line, but just watching his Facebook is an adventure. I think Brady has been almost everywhere. Perhaps not Atlantic Canada. They are like fish out of water, on the water, and in the water – surfing, snorkeling, and diving. They hike and stay in the most amazing faraway places. I’m only a wee bit jealous. What an education he and Aubrey are giving their two children. 

Watch for your name.

 

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My genealogy goals for this week were:

 

·         Chronicle several times, and publish on Thursday morning.

·         Start researching and writing about Daniel Holmes for the “Where There’s a Will” article.

·         Complete the William Holmes line for the Lincoln Historical Society when FTM is fixed.

·         Continue indexing old New Brunswick obituaries and death notices for the NBGS website project.

·         Get ready to scan Uncle Billy’s guest book for the NBGS website.

·         Get ready for the AGM for NBGS and for our branch, both in May. Write a teeny tiny welcome speech.

·         Revisit “Fairfield” of CCC.

·         Spend a bit of time on Moore family research.

I piddled around a genealogical bit, but my main focus was the AGM for the branch on the 13^th and NBGS on the 27th. I got the date wrong and started scrambling on Thursday, when I realized the meeting was on May 13 instead of 20. Oy vey, the recording secretary, past president, director to NBGS and program committee member is losing it. Anyway, I got it done. I am very discouraged with doing the job of nominating committee. “No.” “No.” “No.” I transcribed a couple of pages of Daniel’s probate.

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Congratulations to Gracie Patterson, daughter of Clay and Marika (McGinnis) Patterson and granddaughter of the late Robert and Beverly (McKillop) McGinnis. Marika told me that “as she moved her tassel over at graduation, her first thought was of Gramma Bev and how she wished she could be there for this.” Gracie graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Communications.

She works for Harp’s, a grocery chain in Arkansas, as their Social Media Coordinator. She also has her own photography business, and spends most of her weekends shooting weddings. She looks forward to marrying Callans Flanagan in the fall.

I will post a few more photos in our Facebook group in a couple of days.

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This is an excerpt from an update from Theresa, Mary Ellen’s sister.

 

“I have an update on my Beautiful Sister Forever Friend Mary Ellen Mavrides Fielding. She is in so much excruciating pain . . . It sure broke my heart to see her that way!  Strict rules from hospice and Dan...NO VISITORS UNLESS FAMILY, AND ONLY IF AWAKE 5 MINUTES.  DO NOT WAKE HER UP. She needs to let the pain medication completely work. I am thankful that I did go down and see her! Mary Ellen Loves and appreciates each and every one of you for your Beautiful Cards, PRAYERS, Support, & Your LOVE! Please Keep Praying for her, Thank you! God Bless”

 

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My special thanks this week to Marika Patterson for her sweet words.

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I’ve talked about this before, and no doubt I will again. This is about cousins, and how quickly we lose touch with each other. I know all of my first cousins personally, but if I had not pursued genealogy, I doubt that I would have known all their children’s names, and they would have been lost to my memory. And that disturbs me. Why? I’m sure it’s because I am a genealogist. I help to keep the Holmes family records and reconnect cousins, as best I can.

Years ago, my cousin, Karl Holmes, sent me scans of some old photos that he could not identify. Lost souls. Cousins that have been lost forever, unless we can figure out who they are. I am 99% sure that I have identified two of them, probably three. I put them out there, in our group and on my own Facebook. Here are the two lost souls and an identified family group photograph. Do you not love Anna’s beautiful dresses? Her twin sister, Jessie, was a dressmaker. Perhaps she made the dresses.

I believe the gentleman is Charles Henry Goodenough, and the lady is Anna L ‘Annie’ Ballantyne, his wife. The studio photo was sent to me with the people identified. Sorry, I forget who sent it to me, although I think I know. In the studio photo are Charles H Goodenough, Anna L Ballantyne, and three of their four children, Frances A ‘Fanny,’ Charles ‘Rex,’ and Nellie ‘June.’ Nellie June was born in 1895, so I assume the family photo was taken about 1896.

Annie was the daughter of James W Ballantyne and Frances A (Holmes) Ballantyne. Charles was the son of Sylvanus Reed Goodenough and Polly Ann (Palmer) Goodenough. Annie was born in Ontario, Canada, c. 1863, and died in California, in 1931. Charles was born in Wisconsin in 1859, and died in Iowa in 1911. I think that in the separate photos, they look younger than in the family photo.

And here is my guess. I think that, since these two and possibly one other are grandchildren (and a spouse) of Daniel and Charlotte Holmes, someone invited them to one of the 1920s reunion – I’ll guess the 1927 one, as that is when (I assume it was Kingsley, it’s anonymous) Kingsley Ballantyne started recording our family history. I think that Kingsley wrote to all his cousins that he could find, inviting them to the reunion, but if they couldn’t come, asking them to send photographs and updates of vital stats and whereabouts.

Does that make sense?

What do you think?

Karl, we have a start on your lost souls.

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Have a great week. I hope you have an adventure.