Uncle Peg’s Chronicles
September 14, 2023
“The
Very Same Mop of Curls”
This photo made me smile this week. More about my visit
with Carolyn Brown later.
This week, I have included some descendant charts. If you
see errors or omissions, please let me know.
I
am grateful again to Jeanni Worster. Always. Have said it before and I’ll say
it again. Almost every week, a critique. Honest and thoughtful. This week’s
made me laugh – an excerpt: “But
you became a grandmother in 1921?? Love the genealogist's muscle memory on
dates!” Yes indeed. According to my last chronicle, Steve Holmes, Doug Holmes,
and I all became grandparents in 1921. It’s a miracle.
A Christmas Project Request
Missy Corda posted this in our Facebook
group this week. “We want to do
something very special for my Nana for Christmas. Her pride and joy is her
photo room; we want to update her family photos. Please help me by sending me a
cute family pic you would like her to have.” I clarified. Missy would
like photos of the greater family, complete with explanation of who’s who is in
the photos. Missy’s Nana is Sharon Oksen, sister to Glenn, Kristin,
Marie and Patricia, and mother of Jim – those are her folks in the Facebook
group. Sharon does not use the computer, so we can’t spoil the Christmas
surprise. Eleanor started the ball rolling – let’s make this a fun project for
Sharon’s Christmas. If you are not on Facebook but would like to send along a
photo, email it to me and I’ll forward it to Missy.
Featured this week are Victoria Griffith and
Jean Fogg-Brock.
I haven’t met Victoria but I know where she
fits in the family. Victoria is in the Peter K Holmes line, and she is the
daughter of Gerard and Janet (Holmes) Griffith. She has a sister, Kristy, and they
live in Severna Park, Maryland. Victoria’s Aunt Eleanor shared a photo of the
sisters in our Facebook group this week, in Missy’s post.
I met Jean and her siblings, Dana and Phyllis,
at the 2016 reunion, but I knew of her shortly after I began researching our
family history, if not before. Jean is in the Charles R Holmes line, and is the
daughter of Richard and Prudence ‘Prudy’ Thornton Fogg. She is married to Harry
Brock, better known as Chip. Both Chip and Jean are artists. Google either of
them, but for Chip, be sure to include “of Provincetown,” as there are two
artists by that name. The other fellow lives in Alaska. Jean painted two paintings
for me – one of Daniel and Charlotte, based on their photos; one, a rendition
of the Holmes homestead on the Old Post Road which we later found to be very
realistic, as I was given some better photos after the fact. I won’t snatch
photos of her other artwork, but here are the paintings she did for me. Scroll
on down for a newsy letter written to my grandmother from her grandmother.
~
My genealogy goals for this week were:
- Chronicle
several times, and publish on Thursday morning.
- Keep
writing my next article for Generations, which is about the will of
William Lotham. Francis Holmes is mentioned in his inventory both as owing
money and being owed money.
- Continue
indexing old New Brunswick obituaries and death notices for the NBGS
website project.
- Spend
a bit of time on Moore family research.
- Think
about and make lists for a welcome back in person party for our genealogy
society branch in October. It will have a book theme – old
genealogy/history books on a popup library display, and a for sale table
for books we longer need. Two short speakers, five to ten minutes each
tops. Leftover time will be for reacquainting and meeting new people, and
looking at books.
- Find
four speakers for January to May of 2024, for the genealogy society.
- In
the evening, after chores are done, edit the Fanny Holmes Ballantyne
family (first daughter of Daniel and Charlotte) the same way I did the
Louisa, William and Carrie lines. No rush on that.
Visit with Carolyn Brown of Ottawa, Ontario; a distant Holmes cousin.
I hardly even looked at my William Lotham
article.
~
This is a
good resource for those of you researching the early settlers of Bedford, New
York. It includes John Holmes, etc.
~
Thinking
about Jean Fogg-Brock made me think of my box of old letters so I went through
it again. Here’s a voice from the past. From Lora Thornton to Minnie Holmes, a
letter dated 1964.
Aunt Min is
my grandmother, Minnie Colpitts Holmes, wife of Floyd O Holmes of the Charles R
Holmes line. Lora is Lora Underhill Thornton, daughter of Ella Holmes Underhill
and granddaughter of Charles R Holmes.
Here’s an identification
of the people Lora mentions in her letter: Carl and Ella Holmes Underhill had
Lillian aka Lil (adopted by Carl), Edward, Lora, Adele, Phyllis, Ruth and
William aka Bill. The three children of Prudy, daughter of Lora, are Dana,
Jean, and Phyllis. The two children of Nancy, daughter of Adele, are Judy and
Sandy. I believe all five “children” are in our Facebook group. Donald was the
son of Adele, and he did have more children. Jim, Bryce, and Nan are children
of Floyd and Minnie Holmes. Lil married Mac, aka Angelo, and Lil is her
daughter, as is Janet. Janet’s three are Brett, Celia, and Julia (Emily wasn’t
born yet). They are all in our Facebook group. Bertha is a sister of Ella. On
the descendant chart of Ella, step-children are not included. When I am done
with this, whenever that may be, I’ll try and figure out a way to get them on
there.
~
Descendant
Chart of Francis Ballantyne
If I had
printed off the chart with the notes, it would have been ten pages. I’ll wait
until I complete the Frances Holmes Ballantyne research for the time being, and
then offer them to whoever wants them. In the meantime, here are some notes for
Adam Ballantyne and Janet Wilson. I have posted them before; this is for the
benefit of new genealogists. Remember, it is from almost two hundred years ago.
Times were harsher.
Compear: from
Merriam Webster dictionary. Appear. Specifically, Scot’s law: to appear in
court personally or by attorney.
For
reference: https://www.oldscottish.com/castleton.html#HoFs
Name: Adam
Ballantyne
Date:
08/01/1832
Case type:
Fornication
Address:
Ovenshank
Role:
Compeared
Details: '
Compeared, Adam Ballantyne residing at Ovenshank, desiring to be taken upon
discipline by our Session; in consequence of his having attended the Church for
a very short time previous, he was interrogated if he intended to adhere to the
Church in the time coming, when he answered that he did; whereupon he and Janet
Wilson his wife were rebuked for the sin of antenuptial fornication and
absolved.'
Other names:
Adam Ballantyne; Janet Wilson
Castleton
Parish Records
Name: Janet
Wilson
Date:
08/01/1832
Case type:
Fornication
Role: Mother
Compeared
Details: Adam
Ballantyne's wife [see his entry on this date]
Other names:
Adam Ballantyne; Janet Wilson
https://www.oldscottish.com/castleton.html#JanetWilson
Poor Relief Register Index - Search
ResultHelp
Name Janet Ballantyne or Wilson
Occupation Widow of a Mason
Residence Castleton
Year 1850
Age 39
Estimated
Birth Year 1811
Birthplace Castleton
Sex F
Register Castleton Register of Poor
County Roxburghshire
NRS Reference HR75/11/2 p. 6
Notes widow of Adam
Ballantynehttps://www.scottishindexes.com/poorentry.aspx?poorid=750100603
~
A
Cousin Visit with Carolyn
I received
this message on Ancestry on April 5, 2022:
“Hello, Holmes cousin. My name is Carolyn Brown and I'm a
descendent of Zorobabel Holmes, son of Samuel Holmes and Elizabeth Fountain.
Like me, I see you don't have his wife's last name on your tree. She's a real
mystery. She does not appear to be buried in the same cemetery (Athol). Any
clues? I'm trying to find her too. It would be a good idea for us to keep in
touch and share any info.”
Carolyn and I met this week, had tea and crumpets (well,
sandwiches and pickles and apple cake and peaches and tea), and talked
genealogy non-stop. Between bites, genealogy. First thing out of the car we
compared hair genes, and nope, I guess I was wrong. She has her mother’s hair
genes. But, I wouldn’t out Jennifer and Emily’s hair – it’s the very same mop
of curls. So perhaps she has hair genes from both sides. I only have waves and
frizz. Oh, I could settle it down if I had a mind to, but hair is not high on
my priority list.
Here's our ancestor charts going back to Samuel Holmes Sr,
where our DNA intertwines. She has one more generation than I do. That makes us
– fifth cousins once removed, I think. (Zorobabel is spelled various ways.)
Carolyn Brown – Earl C Brown – S ‘Blanche’ Gilroy – Rachel
‘Leveda’ Holmes – Zorobabel Holmes – Joseph Holmes – Zorobabel Holmes – Samuel
Holmes Sr.
Peg Moore – Margaret Holmes – Floyd Holmes – Charles R
Holmes – Daniel Holmes – Samuel Holmes Jr – Samuel Holmes Sr.
Carolyn’s father did some genealogy the old-fashioned way –
without benefit or hindrance of the internet. She took note of his boxes of
genealogy and decided she’d better learn what genealogy was all about. He
challenged her to do it correctly. She flew to Ireland and found a birth
certificate, and he was satisfied. She carries on, but will have more time for
it when she retires. That’s her beginner’s story in a nutshell.
How did I get started? I looked at the young internet,
gingerly typed up my father’s name, and found it. I was hooked. But, I’ve
always liked to find things and ponder them. Now my interest had a name; soon I
had a passion. My parents didn’t challenge me, but they took an interest. Dad,
a couple of years before he died, insisted that he take me to Woodstock to see
the stones of his Moore grandparents, and then we backtracked to Fredericton to
see the stones of his Hovey grandparents. I am so grateful I went; I can still
picture that trip. Mom answered my plethora of Holmes and Colpitts questions.
She had a great memory and had a great storyteller in her grandfather, Charles
R Holmes. That’s my beginner’s story in a nutshell.
Carolyn left me her ancestral chart. I’m putting her notes
into my tree and I’ll work on them gradually. She has a scale for sources:
Bronze, Silver, and Gold. It’s like you can imagine: bronze is good, silver is
better, but gold is best. Even though bronze is good, who wears the biggest
smile when the ribbons are placed around their neck? Bronze records are
initial, unverified. Silver has sources attached to them, compared with others
where possible. Gold would be original records, also compared and contrasted
with other records; all verified to the very best of our ability. If unable to
verify, they remain bronze or silver. Many of my sources would be silver. The
exception would be those that I have found from the original records, like
probates, town, and land records, not transcribed; also verified.
Carolyn will retire in a couple of years, she told me. She
is an editor, working for people in fields of science and medicine. She also
knows transcription of documents and is able to read secretary hand. (Francis’
will was written in that handwriting style, common in the 1500 – 1700s.) If I’d
known her during the pandemic . . . well, maybe it’s better I didn’t. I might
have pestered her away.
Knowing
that Carolyn is an avid, knowledgeable, thorough and careful researcher, and
learned from her father of the same credentials, what then, would you call her
records that I am inputting into my tree, just like that. This is your
question for the week. It is not rhetorical. Are her records that are now in my
tree bronze, silver, or gold, at this point?
~
It
is quite likely that we will have an encounter with Hurricane Lee this weekend.
If you email me or message me and I don’t respond, it will likely be due to a
power failure. Or, maybe, H Lee will change course and it will be nice and
sunny. It is not looking good.
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