Canada's story - the race to populate a nation

Winnifreth Florence Councell Davis - our Paternal Grandmother - Grannie Born on February 3rd 1897, at #5 Johnstone Row, Malcombe Regis in Weymouth in the country of Dorset, England.  In 1897 Weymouth was a popular seaside town of about 20,000.  Royalty holidayed here, and it became a significatn selltment and seaport in the 13th century.  The black plague was introduced to England through this very port in 1348. (see future posts on the spread of the black plague throughout England) Her parents George Robert Councell Davis and Florence Amelia Davis (formerly Nott) were 36 and 22 at the time. Winnifreth was the 157th birth of the year for the District of Weymouth.  The cost of registering the birth was 8shillings.  Her father is listed as a jeweller. She was the second child, her older brother named Robert Frederick Nott Davis was born 1 year earlier on Feb 14 1896. Winnies family moved to Checkerdon England where her little sister Guynie(or Gwynie) D...

Olive Ena Hunter aka "Mudder"  Olive Hunter christening Our grandmother(Olive) on Mom's side was born on March 15 1906 in Waskada Manitoba.   Olive was the oldest of three girls raised by her mother Alva Violet Edmanson. When she was 1 year old her sister Iva Everal was born and at the age of 9 her second sister Ada Lavina was born.  The three girls father is John Wilmot Hunter.  All three girls were raised on the homestead and were well educated for the times both in traditional school and music. Olive on the right -  The year of our grandmothers birth - her future husband Ned Pelser was 10 years old and living with his family in a large German community in Poland. Olive, her mom and two sisters moved to Swift Current in 1916.  am not sure why or where their dad went.  Mudder was 10 at the time.  These were tumulus times as Canadians heard news of the war in Europe. thousands of men signed up to fight.  This was the yea...

Ned/Nathanial PELSER/PELZER Ned Ned Pelser's birth place. Ned Pelser - our grandfather on our mothers (Rose-Anna) side was born on May 21 1896(also recorded as 1899)   He is of German decent born in the province of Mazowieckie, Poland.  An area in Poland with a large Galizian German population.  (see future posts for more information about the area)  The child of Daniel Pelser.   The name Pelser may be spelled Pelzer or Pelcer.  The story goes (from Mom) . His name was changed from Nathaniel Pelzer to Ned Pelser when he immigrated to Canada in order to be more "Canadian" and less "German". On his Canadian naturalization papers he stated he is from northern Russia and is Russian Slavic.  But on other documents he is listed as German.  His passport (from Moms memory) was German. Slavic decent is described as a branch of the Indo-European family including Belarusian, Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, Serbian and Croatian, Slovene, Russ...

Wendy, Dad, Peter, Linda Lee, John, Mom, Cathy, Judy The Kellys   -    our Canadian TREE We are Canadian.  Our ancestors, took an incredibly brave chance, left families, their home, everything they know.     I live in Canada with my six siblings and parents and large extended family. We enjoy the advantages and benefits of being Canadian because of those incredible journeys of our ancestors.    We are not unlike the 30 million other Canadians who have ancestors that immigrated or travelled themselves. The Kellys -  We are of English, Irish and German decent.  My step grandfather is Scottish.  Our ancestors arrived through St Johns Harbour in New Brunswick, Montreal Harbour in Quebec and Halifax.   One via Argentina.  They settled into Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta, migrated west in later years and most of us now reside in British Columbia.  We are 7 children, 19 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. ...