A very exciting discovery! (at least for myself)

10 years ago, I began researching my PALMER side of the family. I wrote a blog in those days, and in Jan 2013 I discovered the English censuses. At that time I used the public library to access them. Now I subscribe to Ancestry and other genealogy sites, like FindMyPast, which is the only site to have the 1921 English census. I had purchased the copy of the census which has my great great grandfather, George Palmer, listed as living in Stoke sub Ham, Somerset. I didn't notice until very recently that he was a fabric glove cutter for SOUTHCOMBE BROS LTD, which has been in business since 1847. Back in 2013, when I saw he was a glove cutter, I looked at an old map of the area, and wondered if he worked for Southcombe Gloves, as he lived very close to them. I emailed the company but they didn't have the records of that time, and really doubted he would have worked for them. Now I have the proof that he did! It only took 10 years to confirm.

By Loretta (Williams) Houben

Christmas Day 1969....in England and in Vancouver BC

While my Grandma was enjoying herself in England far away, my sisters and I were having fun too on Christmas Eve. Well, I assume Grandma enjoyed her visit, although her poor little notebook is filled with descriptions of cold, illness, snow etc.

Back to the notebook:

Thurs Dec 25, 1969

Christmas Day

" Got up and had Christmas dinner with Gin and Bert."

Fri Dec 26

"Much better. Home by myself."

Sat Dec 27

"We motored to Bristol to visit Harry. A four to five hour drive. I'm staying at Harry's, from Bert's place."

Sun Dec 28

"Harry drove us out to Worle, an hour's drive. It's in Weston Super-mare, to visit Isabel (Gordon) at her aunt's. We went to a very old stone church; St Martin's, built in the 11th century. The pew seats were 800 years old. Monks used to use it. The Lord's Supper all in alabaster, sculpted most lovely. I left a tract there."

I tried to find out more about St. Martin's Church, but there isn't much on the internet. It's still an active church, and I saved a few photos from the website. I will post them down below.

St. Martins Church in winter.

Inside the church which Grandma visited in Dec 1969.

The lovely alabaster carving of the Lord's Supper. I can find nothing out about it.

Edited by Loretta Williams Houben

1969....Grandma's trip to England

28 Pember Road in Kensal Green, London England.

Where Eleanor and her daughter Vera lived in 1965, according to the voter's list from Ancestry. In this year, a Melvyn Simpson also was living with them. Now who is he? A son?

From Grandma's notebook:

Sat Dec 20, 1969

"Visited Elynor. Cold drafty house. 

Elynor, Vera and I went shopping in Kensington. Bought a skirt for 2 pounds, 15 shillings. Elynor has 2 cats and a French poodle dog. Bought a pair of pillow slips for 3/11d each. Took a cold there and was sick in bed 4 1/2 days."

Sun Dec 21

"Wind blowing hard, raining hard, sick in bed in the night. Took 2 buses to Bert's house. Cost me 3 shillings. We have to pay cash on every bus. No transfers here."

Mon Dec 22

"In bed sick. Gin and Bert at work. Nasty day."

Tues Dec 23

"In bed sick. Little sun today. Cold.

Violet sick."

Wed Dec 24

"Not well. In bed. Flu."

Poor Grandma! She certainly had a miserable week.

I'm delighted, though, that her notes confirm she visited Eleanor and Vera. If only she had a picture of them together! I have no photos of either. Eleanor lived on Pemberton Road for a long time, since the 1940's, renting, so I assume if she was there in 1965, she must have been there in 1969. But the voter's lists only go up to 1965 on Ancestry.

Edited by Loretta Williams Houben

December 1969....Grandma's visit to England

This photo isn't from 1969...but it shows Grandpa and Grandma, their children Audrey, Bob, Dennis and Ruth at their home on E 22nd Avenue in Vancouver BC. (circa 1954 or 1955)

Here is some more of my Grandma's notebook from December 1969 and her memorable trip to England and Wales.

"Sunday Dec 14, 1969

Bad weather, very windy and raining and the jets going over our house, one plane a minute on account of airport. Bad weather conditions, awful noisy here. House cold as a barn but have electric heater and blanket in bed still cold. Only one fire place in house. Three bedrooms upstairs. 50 miles an hour wind. Slept on and off all day Sunday until 6:45 pm."

Poor Grandma must have had jet leg!

"Wednesday Dec 17, 1969

At Violet's. Cold. Snowing.

Phoned Isabel (Gordon) but poor contact, missed her."

"Friday Dec 19, 1969

Went to Hampton Court to visit house. Wonderful place. Cost me 4 shillings bus fare then went by train to Kensal Rise to Elynor's. Cost me 1/6d train fare. Very cold house, drafty. Elynor pays 4 pounds a week rent. Used to be 10 shillings a week and 9d for gas. I'll be glad to be home again. Too cold in these houses."

I believe Elynor must refer to Grandpa's sister, Ellen. Her first name was Elizabeth, but she was known by her middle name. I don't know of any other Elynor in the family. Grandma always misspelled names! Elynor is Eleanor.

This is a 2015 Google map snip showing 28 Pember Road where Eleanor and her daughter lived for a while according to the voter's lists which I've found on Ancestry. 

The above list is from 1953. This is located in Kensal Rise, so it may have been where Grandma visited, if Eleanor still lived there. 

Edited by Loretta Williams Houben

December 1969...my Grandma's visit back home in England.

Christmas 1969

My paternal Grandma, Alma May (Palmer) Williams was given the opportunity to visit England for the first time since 1927, forty two years previous! She had a longing to see her Dad, Herbert Palmer, who had gone back to England in 1932 with his two young children, Harry and Violet, the twins aged 9. His first wife, Florence, had died in Humboldt SK at the age of 47. His 5 years of living in Canada had ended sadly. 

Here is Herbert Palmer with his 2 daughters from his first wife, Violet and Alma May. On the right is his second wife May by whom he had another daughter, Veronica.

I have a small notebook of my Grandma's in which she's written a few notes of her trip to England in Dec 1969.

I thought I'd write them out here.

"I left Canada for England on Dec 12th, 1969. Bus reached Seattle after 12. Plane left airport at 2:45.

Landed in Ireland at midnight, 9 English time.

Board plane 10:20 in Ireland. Left airport Vancouver time at 2 am in morning. Very shaky plane ride. Landed at Gatwick airport 11:45 pm English time. 

Nobody at the airport to meet me. Waited nearly 3 hours for Bert. Nobody came. 

At the airport my name was called out over the loud speaker for me to come to the desk. The man asked me if I had lost my purse. I said no. He said 'Is this yours?' and lifted up a man's hat and there was my wallet! I had forgot to pick it up at the wicket where I changed my money into English money. All my money was in it. I was shocked. I said thank you so much. He said that lady over there saw my wallet and brought it over to him. Oh, what an honest woman!"

Can you imagine Grandma losing all her money? Maybe she had a head like a sieve back then! She was 61 at this time, soon to be 62 in January. She traveled alone, and it was her brother Jack who kindly paid her airfare so she could make this trip. It was a very cold and snowy winter, with a flu outbreak. Poor dear Grandma....

Edited by Loretta Williams Houben

August 11, 2018; ninety years ago.

90 years ago, on August 11, 1928, my paternal Grandparents, John Griffith Williams and Alma May Palmer were married in Naicam, Saskatchewan at the Pastor's Manse.

They had eloped from Spalding Saskatchewan in John's horse and buggy, but they had to wait until nearly midnight as Pastor Kemlo wasn't home! 

The photo above was taken in Vancouver BC in 1942. There are no wedding photos, nor was there a wedding dress. I think my Grandma's mother didn't want her to marry a man who was 20 years her senior! But the marriage lasted until 1974, when John passed away in June. They were married 46 years and had 7 children.

By Loretta Houben

Death certificates in British Columbia

This is the link for death certificates in British Columbia.

(I keep losing this link)

My Grandmother's school in South Wales.

This photo was taken in 1969 when my Grandma, Alma May (Palmer) Williams visited Penygraig, Wales.

I never knew where this was when I visited in 2007.

I didn't even know the name of the school!

So back in 2015 I looked up where schools would be on Google map in relation to #15 Wyndham Street where the Palmer family lived at the time. On September 10, 2015 I was looking at old photos in my Dad's stash, and came across the one at the top of this post. I zoomed in on the photos of the schools but nothing looked like my photo.

So I then searched Google images of the two schools and found this one, which is identical!

I knew I'd found the school!

It's Penygraig Infants School at Hendrecafn Road in Penygraig, Tonypandy RCT CF40 1LJ

I thought I'd blogged about this, but I hadn't so it took me some time to wonder if I'd put it on my Williams/Palmer family Facebook page, and lo and behold I had, way back in September 2015! I checked in the photos and then scrolled back 2 years. That was a job!

But here is the information. My Grandma's siblings would have attended this school too. 

By Loretta (Williams) Houben

How to find death certificates in Vancouver BC

DEATH CERTIFICATES

Well, this isn't really exciting, but ever since Family Search web site no longer shows the death certificate images (and I have no idea why) I wish to provide another way of accessing them, which a genealogy group member showed me.
Here is the link:
RoyalbcMuseum/Genealogy

You can also find marriage certificates here.
This is a link to my Grandfather's death certificate:
John Griffith Williams

Easter Memories

Happy Easter!

I created this collage today.

It's a fun thing to do with old photographs.

I confess I don't remember this Easter. It was shortly before Leona was born in May that year.

I loved the dress my Mom bought for me. It was pale blue, with hand embroidered birds.

I assume I was crying in the picture above because I wanted to eat the chocolate bunny.

The professional photo, now faded, was taken in January 1962. I believe the dress was purchased at Helen's Dress Shop on Hastings in Burnaby BC.

It was a beautiful dress. I still have it.

Although I can't remember this Easter, I do have happy memories of other Easter times. It's my favourite season in the whole year.

Enjoy your old photos, and have fun with them!

By Loretta (Williams) Houben

Family tree tip!

A genealogy tip:

For all those of you out there addicted to family tree research, I would highly recommend Ancestry if you can possibly afford it. In August 2015 a relative (cousin of some kind) contacted me because he studied my Roberts family tree on Ancestry and realized we are related. He shared his photos and info with me, and I did likewise. This was highly satisfying I can assure you! He and his wife are visiting Vancouver in August to meet us and other family members in person.

For the past week I've been updating my Cork family tree. Emma Cork (1851-1931) married one of the PALMER family, and they are my great great grandparents, so I was working on her massive side of the family. There is a ton of info on Ancestry for the Corks, but they all had huge families with the same names of course, so it's hard to pin everything down. I used to copy family trees and save the info but that is NOT a good thing to do. I have to find my own documentation and this takes hours and hours.

I noticed that Emma's parents on some family trees seemed to have moved to the USA, along with many of Emma's siblings. So I contacted one of the owners of one of the trees, and she replied to me yesterday, stating that we are indeed related, and she has been researching the Cork/Palmer line for 40 years! She says that yes indeed, Thomas and Hannah Cork (Emma's parents) are my Corks too, so that opens up a whole world of possibilities, as they lived in WI. 

I find this hobby VERY ADDICTIVE.

By Loretta (Williams) Houben

February 22, 1917 to February 22, 2017: Rest in Peace, dear William.

100 years ago on February 22, 1917,

my great uncle, William Joseph Williams

gave his life in WWI, age 24, in Salonika, Greece. 

He fell in a skirmish against the Germans, and was

hit at close range in one of his legs. The newspaper clipping below gives a good description. His leg had to be amputated, and William didn't survive.

William was born in Blaenau Ffestiniog,
North Wales in 1893. I haven't yet sent away for his birth certificate, so I don't know the date of birth.

He joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers in Wrexham, Wales and on Sept 5, 1915 was sent to France.

I only have 2 photos of William, so I did a bit of photo-shopping and added William's head to this lovely Royal Welsh Fusiliers head shot of another soldier!

I had thought maybe this year, 2017, I would visit William's grave but I don't feel like that part of the world is safe at the moment.

William was part of the Machine Gun Corps during the last few months of his life.

The above clipping states William passed away 

"on the 6th day at the Casualty Clearing Hospital", so this means he would have been injured on Feb 17, which was his older brother's birthday.
(my Grandpa John Griffith Williams)
It also states that Miss Ellen Roberts, William's aunt, was the only person that the sender of the news had an address for, although the person knew that
"your nephew used to write to his girl very faithfully".

The clipping is cut off at this point. I'd love to know who wrote the letter, but I haven't yet been able to find it online. That sentence makes me cry every time I read it.

The above is the UK army register of Soldier's Effects, for William Williams. His brother is the one who received them, Robert David Williams, who was on the HMS Violet. 

Henry Hargreaves (should have initial C not E) was the chaplain and wrote this lovely letter.

I recently was given a link to the Welsh newspapers online which shows the above, "Williams, 14842,

W. (Blaenau Festiniog)" under
DIED OF WOUNDS.

No wonder I couldn't locate an obituary without any help! This was found in The North Wales Chronicle.

And this is where William is buried.
His plot is in section D, #828.

I'm so thankful I purchased the photo of his

grave, from the War Graves Photographic

Project online.

William's medal index card, showing his enlistment and his date of death.

I created a collage for my Facebook page, to remember great uncle William.

I've done my best to learn all I could about you, dear William. One day I hope to meet you in Heaven.

By Loretta (Williams) Houben

Our visit to Florence May Palmer's grave in Humboldt SK.

To date, this is the crowning achievement of all my genealogy research!

This past June I began to consider, "What if I asked family members to contribute to purchasing a grave marker for my great grandmother?" This is Florence May (Bellamy) PALMER, who is buried in Humboldt Public Cemetery in Saskatchewan. I had asked Robert if he would drive to SK on our upcoming trip in July to Calgary, AB. Florence is my great grandmother; my Dad's grandmother.

I'd joined a FaceBook SK group which was very helpful, and Gord Neish who works at the Naicam Museum had posted a price list and a contact for Forever Memorials for those of us who wished to have our loved ones remembered in this way.

Florence had died 85 years ago, on June 20, 1931.

I felt it would be fitting, provided others helped pay the cost.

I'm not sure why Florence's children didn't rally together and do this years ago; it would have been much cheaper. I know to begin with they had a rough life, but in later years some of them were well off. I guess she was out of sight and so out of mind, although I know that my great Uncle Syd Palmer and his wife Joan visited the cemetery in the 1980's.

Here are a list of the donators: 

My parents, Jack & Susie Williams

My uncle Harry & aunt Lil Williams

Denise Surowski (Harry & Lil's daughter)

My uncle Bob & aunt Marilyn Williams

Heidi Wallace (Bob & Marilyn's daughter)

Jacqueline Vesterinen (great uncle Syd Palmer's daughter)

My aunt Audrey & Fred Town (John & Alma May Williams daughter)

Robert & Loretta Houben (Florence Palmer's great granddaughter)

It's thrilling what a group of people can accomplish!

Thanks to Jennifer Flasko of Forever Memorials, I arranged everything by email!

First I had to find out if Florence's grave could be found, so I contacted the city of Humboldt to see who was in charge of the cemetery. It turns out the city is. They sent me a form by email for me to sign, so that Jennifer would be able to install the marker. I sent it back by email after signing it and scanning the form. Next everyone very quickly sent me paper cheques, which Robert scanned into his cell phone and deposited to our account. I had already mailed the amount owing to Jennifer, as I was very anxious to have the marker installed before I reached Humboldt at the beginning of August!

I trusted everyone to send in their cheques and they promptly did so. 

Just before I left on our trip to Calgary AB on July 22, I emailed Jennifer one last time.

Unfortunately, Saskatchewan had so much rain this summer, she hadn't been able to install the marker because of 7" of rain! But she promised she would have it done in time, and she did.

On August 1 we traveled from Calgary to Humboldt. That's one long drive!

After checking into our hotel, we hurried to the cemetery before supper.

I was so anxious to see it!

(In the photo above, I'm talking with my Dad, Jack Williams, and describing his grandmother's grave to him.)

Alas. I didn't even know where it was.

My heart fell. I told Robert to start at the back, and I'd start looking at the front.

Before long the awful brutes of mosquitoes had found me. Ack! I tried looking for a new marker, but was being eaten alive. I waved to Robert, and he came running as he thought I'd found it.

He didn't say a word, but I told him we'd have to come back in the morning as I was being bitten too much. He said "Well, I didn't find Nellie's grave, but I did spot a new one that said Florence May Palmer." 

I just stared at him, and then I shrieked. 

For some reason he thought I was looking for Nellie Williams grave. (buried in Spalding)

So the whole point of this story is this:

When your spouse helps you on a long trip like this, please make sure you understand the full NAME of the person you are seeking, and much time will be saved!

Anyhow, all's well that ends well.

Florence Palmer's grave marker is in a plot of un-marked graves, so Jennifer made sure her stone was elevated so the grass mower wouldn't run over it. 

This was a very thrilling moment for me.

By Loretta (Williams) Houben

Visiting your ancestors in cemeteries.

There are a few graves I haven't visited yet, and hope to remedy it soon.

One is the un-marked grave of my great grandmother, FLORENCE MAY (BELLAMY) PALMER.

She is buried in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, many miles from here.

Recently I had asked my Williams/Palmer Facebook group members if they would consider making a money contribution towards getting a grave marker installed on Florence's grave.

Many agreed, and so they sent me generous cheques for $50 each and I quickly had enough to send to  Forever Memorials in St. Front, SK, who have made a monument and will be installing it later in July. I think it's thrilling that Florence will have a name and date at last!

The marker will be black granite and state:

"PALMER

FLORENCE MAY

Nov 20, 1883 - Jun 20, 1931

ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS"

When I visit her grave I will put the vase and roses on it, along with her framed photo, and take many pictures. She is the only one of our family in Humboldt Cemetery.

Another grave I haven't yet seen is in Bigstone Cemetery in Spalding SK.

That belongs to my paternal grandpa's first wife, ELLEN (EGERTON) WILLIAMS, known as Nellie. She was buried with many other people with one large grave stone.

Her name is "Mrs. John Williams" with the date 1926 on the grave.

I blogged about discovering her grave online, HERE. I've learned so much more about here since that time! I'd love to write a book about her and her adventures in Canada.

Although it's sad she died, I'm so glad she did, as I wouldn't be here if she had lived.

Just think about it....

By Loretta (Williams) Houben

Florence Bellamy Palmer, my great grandmother.

My great grandmother, Florence Bellamy, born on November 20, 1883, in Roath, Cardiff, South Wales, to William and Elizabeth Bellamy. Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Vesterinen.

Here is the register of birth, so that I could order her birth certificate.

Here is the first census on which Florence appears, living at #396 Zinc Street in the parish of Roath, Cardiff, South Wales. Her father, William, works in coal but I can't make out his profession. She has 3 brothers; Joseph, William and Edward, and 2 sisters; Deborah and Elizabeth.

In 1901, Florence is 17 and a servant at #10 Preswyfla Street in Cardiff, South Wales.

Her employer is George B Newton and his wife Kate. The census has the family split on two pages, which is something you have to watch for when searching for your family!

The 1911 Welsh census which shows Florence married to Herbert Palmer, with three children; Herbert, May and Norman. (May is my grandma) Here she is age 25, but it should read age 27. Maybe she didn't wish to appear as two years older than her husband, who was born August 11, 1885 and was age 25.

Yesterday, June 16, 2016, I had the delightful thrill of discovering my first family member in the newspapers! The Naicam Progress newspapers are online at this link.

Some of the years have been digitized. I knew Florence had died on June 20, 1931 which was 85 years ago, so I looked at the newspaper closest to her date of death and her obituary was on the first page! I was quite thrilled to find her.

By Loretta (Williams) Houben

May 31, 1916.....100 years ago: The Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland happened 100 years ago on this day.

6,097 British lives were lost. Over 2,000 Germans died.

I had never given much thought to this battle until I recently discovered that an ancestor perished on board one of those ships. I've blogged about Alfred George Palmer before, so I won't repeat all the details here. Please CLICK HERE to read that story.

If I ever return to England I'll try to look up this memorial.

I think it would be thrilling to visit it and pay my respects.

I found a battle fleet chart online, and you can see the Broke ship in the 4th Flotilla:

Here is a LIST of men killed on board HMS Broke.

By Loretta (Williams) Houben