I recently took out a book from the library about the Scottish settlers of Upper Canada(Ontario). My reason for wanting to look at this book was that it is about Scottish settlers in Ontario. All of my Scottish ancestors started off in Ontario and then eventually moved to elsewhere in Canada or the United States. This book has been my starting point for trying to find more about what drove my ancestors to come to Canada and once here what was the life like for them. The book is called The Scottish Pioneers of Upper Canada, 1784-1855, Glengarry and Beyond by Lucille H Campey. I am not to far into the book yet just a couple of chapters in but I have also jus browsed the book. I always browse books before deciding if I want to read or use them for ancestry research so I have an idea if they will be useful or not. So far this one has a wealth of information. This book has appendices on information about the ships and the passengers that travel from Scotland to Quebec.( the entry port into Canada). The book was published in 2005 so it is not a new book and although I did get from an academic library is definitely not a hard read or overly academic based. I do recommend it to anyone doing research on their Scottish ancestry that has connections to Ontario. I will mostly likely post more once I have read more of the book.
Tag Archives: immigrants
Too Many Mclachlans to count…Highlanders to Canada : An Introduction to the McLachlans
I recently discovered some more information regarding my Mclachlan ancestors(McLachlan was spelt many different ways I am chosing to use this way)and going to talk about and introduce them in this post.
My Great Great Grandmother was a Mclachlan. Her name was Mary but also went by Ellen(I suspect this was a 2nd name and also may to avoid confusion as her mother was named Mary as well). She was the son of Duncan McLachlan and Mary Mckechern. Mary Mckechern’s parents and family are currently unknown as the marriage information I have doesn’t provide parents name.
Duncan was born in about 1823 in Kilmeny, Argyll Scotland to William and Christina (Nee Bell)McLachlan. The McLachlans immigrated to Canada sometime in the 1830s with 5 children and later 2 more were born in Canada. (I am assuming all the children came with them to Canada as they were all young to care for themselves)
The children of William and Christina are:
Born in Kilmeny Scotland
Margaret 1825
Duncan 1823 married a Mary Mckechern
Flora 1828
Donald 1830
John 1832 married a Mary McIntyre (1st)and Isabella ? (2nd)
Born in Ontario Canada
James 1837
Mary 1840 married to William Currie
As Always, Thanks for reading
ancestrychick
John Drozdowich, who spelt his last name how he pleased…
This is a follow-up post to my previous post on the Drozodwich family. This about John Drozowich and his family. John was the son of Nicolai Drozodwich and Miorouola Zrko. I do believe he was the oldest child.
He was born 5 May 1898 in Czernowitz, Austria. This was in the Bukovina area of Austria-Hungary Empire at the time of his birth. The city is now called Chernivtsi and is located in western Ukraine.
It is believed that the family immigrated to Canada in 1910 when John was 12, they was at least one other child my Great Grandma who was around 5 -7 years old (according to 1911 census, their was a 3rd child a girl )
The family ended up by the 1911 Canadian census living in Mackenzie district of Saskatchewan with 3 children. John and My Great Grandma and a girl by the name of Annie(born in Austria as well).
On the 1916 Census there is a record for what I belive is John’s parents Nicolai and Mary (Mioruola)and John’s siblings. The problem is expect for the parent’s names, the siblings name appear to be wrong.
Here is the information from the census: The dates of birth and the immigration year is different from the 1911 census. I am basically not posting dates of birth yet but the immigration year is listed in 1902 or 1903( 2 different years are listed) which is a full 8 years earlier then the 1911 census. I highly think this is the same family as the location match up and the names.
The address is in Good Lake Saskatchewan.
Nicoli Drosduk and Mary Drosduk (Parents)
Somhera Drosduk is a daughter born about 1900 in Austria(I think this is My Great Grandma not positive)
Elia Drosduk is a son born about 1903 in Saskatchewan.
George Drosduk is a son born about 1904 in Saskatchewan.
Wasilena Drosduk is a daughter born about 1907 in Saskatchewan.
Frusa Drosduk is a daughter born about 1909 in Saskatchewan
The odd thing is there is no mention of a baby son that I know was born in 1915.
John is not on this census but I have found him on the 1921 census.
John is listed as living in Insinger Saskatchewan with his wife and one child. He is a farmer.
His wife name is Kateryna and listed as being from Bukovina as well. Her death date is listed 1918 but I believe that is incorrect as she appears on the 1921.
The child name is Maria born 1918 in Saskatchewan.
John also enlisted as a solider in the first World war in April of 1916 and is living in Calder Sarah Saskatchewan. He never served in World War 1 and suspect was married in 1917 or 1918.
As always this family is full of confusing and conflicting information.
As Always, Thanks for reading
Ancestrychick
Drozdowich or Droziuk or…….
This post is about the Drozdowichs. My Drozdowhich family immigrated from Austria in the early 1900s to Canada. Their were Ukrainians living in what was the Austria-Hungary Empire. The family was believed to have been of middle class as the story goes my Great Great Grandpa parents didn’t want him to go to Canada.
My Great Grandpa and his wife were Nicolai Drozdowich and Miorouola Zrko (not sure if name is correct)
3 children names who I know are correct and verified to be their children are
Margaret (Maggie) Drozdowich born in Saskatchewan date unknown and died in 1929 in Weyburn Saskatchewan.
Doleena Drozdowich (Dora or Doris) born in 13 Feb 1902 in Galicia Austria or died in Regina in 1994. She married John Bonazew.
William Nicholas Drozdowich born 15 april 1915 in Saskatchewan and died in 30 May 1969 in Beinfait Saskatchewan.
2 other children I belive that are connected to this family are:
John Drozdowich was born 5 May 1898 in Czernowitz, Austria. He is listed on a 1911 Census with his parents and 2 other children with Drozdowich spelled as Drosdolick. The parents name are Nicoli and Mary which mostly like was the english version of Miorouola.
There is 2 female children listed as well, one with the name of Gerry which I believe in incorrect and maybe Doleena and another female with the name of Anne. Annie is listed as being born in 1908. The area in Saskatchewan on the census in around the area were my Grandma grew up so it make sense to be the correct family.
John in also listed as have enlisted for the 1st world war and uses the spelling Drozdowich. The area in Saskatchewan were he is living, matches up with were his sister Doleena was married. Again I believe this to be family. His military record also states that he was Orthodox Greek.
I am going to do a follow up post about John as I have some more information on him.
Using Google Maps with Streetview in Genealogy
Using Google maps in Genealogy might sound kinda strange at first but it can be very handy and a valuable resource for those researching their family history. It most useful if you are planning an ancestry trip.
If one is planning an ancestry trip it is useful for getting an idea of a city or town. I know for example the town that my Grandma is from in Wales is quite small and mostly likely only accessible by motor vehicles. I used google maps with street view to find this information out.
For example, some records will give information such as addresses etc where one lived. If the address still exists, one can found the address and see what it looks like.
I have personally used Google maps with streetview myself for viewing cities towns etc that my family have come from. I find it more of a way of bringing the history to life sorta of.
As Always thanks for reading
ancestrychick
Aitkenhead, East Kilbride Scotland to Canada, forever united with the Yuills
This post is an introduction to the Aitkenhead family.
The Aitkenhead family immigrated to Canada abroad the same ship as the Yuill family and were part of the same immigration society. It is not known if the two families had connections prior to this.
The head of the Aitkenhead family was James Aitkenhead and he was married to Janet Croumbie. They had the following children:
Born in Scotland
Helen (Ellen) married Alexander Yuill (son of James Yuill Sr.)
John Aitkenhead
Janet Aitkenhead
James Aitkenhead married Barbara Yuill (daughter of James Yuill Jr.)
Agnes Aitkenhead married David Williamson Yuill (son of James Yuill Sr.) My line
David Aitkenhead
It is believed the family settled in Ramsay township same as the Yuills.
The two families are closely connected though many marriages.
As always thanks for reading
ancestrychick
Future Plans… Trips planned to find the past and maybe Robin Hood
Today, I thought I’d post about some of my future plans in furthering my family tree research.
Trip 1-mostly like planning to go in the Summer of 2014. I am planning to go out to the Ottawa area as that’s where the Yuill family originally settled. They settled in Ramsay Township around the town of Almonte. I would like to visit the town of Almonte and the cemetery there as there is many Yuills and Aitkenheads buried there.
Trip 2-My 2nd trip doesn’t have a timeline at the moment but mostly likely in the next couple of years. My plan is to go to the United Kingdom and do so family tree research there. I am planning to visit London as my great Grandma was born there and the building that she was born in still around so I would very much like to see the outside of it at least. I am also hopeful that I can locate the gravesites of her parents as they are somewhere in the East End of London but current location is unknown.
I also plan to maybe visit Birmingham as that’s where my great great Grandma was born.
As I have a huge amount of Scottish in me, I will visit Scotland. My Scottish relatives are from around Scotland. I plan on going to Glasgow and its surrounding area as that is where my Yuill and Aitkenhead families are from. My McDougall family is from the Scottish Borderlands so I plan on visit the town of Leitholm which is the town they were living in before they immigrated to Canada. I know that is the area there is some fairly far back gravestones and a rumour of a relation to Robin Hood(unlikely I know but pretty interesting).
As always thanks for reading and have a wonderful holiday season!
ancestrychick
Immigrants Experience…Getting an idea of what you ancestors went though…
Most of us, have some idea of why our ancestors immigrant to the New World (I am talking about Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States).
In many cases it was for a chance at a better life for themselves and their children, or maybe they were forced to immigrant.
In many ways, people’s reason for immigrating today and the methods of travel are still the same for some but different for some.
It’s hard today to imagine the journey that my Grandma and Great Grandma took across the ocean from the United Kingdom to Canada. I especially wonder what my Great Grandma thought travelling all that way on her own to a strange country to a different life. I think she must have been quite brave and quite scared but I think it was a better opportunity for her to be with her brothers and not alone in England. My Great Grandma was an orphan in England before she came to Canada, and was either in a orphange or a convent before she came.
The journey that my Scottish ancestors took before my grandmas came from England in 1914, was similar but suspect a rougher and longer boat journey and the Canada they came to, was much different then what they had left behind in Scotland. They were weavers turned into farmers. The image that came to mind when i think of them, is of a Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House On The Prairie.
I don’t know anything much about my Ukrainian ancestors journey to Canada. I do know generally that many of the ships carrying Ukrainians were crowed and overloaded with more people than the ship could hold.
I had the opportunity, a few years ago to visit Halifax. While I was in Halifax, I visited Pier 21 which is an a former processing immigrant centre. It worth a visit if you ae in or going to Halifax. It recently was recognized a national historic site. The museum has a family research centre that is staffed. It covers the immigration stories of those who pasted though Pier 21.
Here is a link to their website Pier 21
Thanks for reading
ancestrychick
Yuill or Youle Introduction
The Yuill Family I am related to is the James Yuill Family from Glasgow area who settled in Ramsay Township in the Ottawa area.
There is a lot known about this family in Canada as there is many branches who have done research.
I am descended from James Yuill Sr’s son David Williamson Yuill.
Anybody who has done research on the Yuill family knows there are close ties through many marriages to the Aitkenhead Family.
There is a couple good sources for finding information on the Yuill Family
First one is Yule family website
It covers yule families from northern Europe mainly Scotland.The link is Yule Family Website
2nd one is a genealogical book on the James Yuill family and his descendants. It is available through various genealogical societies and libraries or is available online for viewing only though the University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin. One could also try requesting a copy though interlibrary loan at their local library.
The book title is Genealogical sketches of James Yuill of Ramsay Township, Lanark County, Ontario and descendants.
Thanks for reading,
Ancestrychick
Muddling though your family's History 