Flying Family ~ Clifton Alexander Lee

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 43 (TRANSPORTATION)

Plains, trains, and automobiles 

This week I'm focusing on my husband's grandfather who was a pilot licensed in 1937. 

                                   Clifton Alexander Lee

Clifton was frequently listed as C.A. LEE in documents which was why I was unable to find many records for him prior to discovering the usage of his initials.

Clifton's ground school flight manuals, early 1930s 

Clifton's parents (John & Mattie) were married the 30th of October 1901. John was 18, and Mattie 27. On the marriage license it states that John is 28 and Mattie 22. The 1891 census shows that John is 8 and Mattie 17. The birth and death registrations do not support the marriage license ages. The registration is for their marriage since the parent's names all match correctly. I'm guessing that they didn't want their age difference to be known.  6 1/2 months later Clifton was born on the 20th of May 1902. Maybe Clifton was born premature. The birth certificates of the past didn't list birth weights. We shall never know. Mattie passed away on September 5th 1902 of 'Angina of Heart'. 1   Mattie likely had Postpartum Cardiomyopathy. John was widowed with a 3 month old infant at the age of 19. 


John Franklin Lee
BIRTH 28 MAY 1883 • Northfield Centre, Brant Co., Ontario, Canada
DEATH 12 MAY 1952 • Burford Township, 1654289, Ontario, Canada
and
Martha J Isabel (Mattie) Smith
BIRTH 24 NOV 1873 • Ontario, Canada
DEATH 5 SEP 1902 • Brant, Ontario, Canada


John Franklin Lee married his 2nd wife
May Florence (Florence) Farrell
BIRTH 24 NOV 1882 • Ontario
DEATH 27 SEP 1973


I can not find the record for John & Florence's marriage. The 1911 census records them as married, and residing with 11 year old Clifton as the only child. The 1921 census has 19 year old Clifton as the only child living with John and Florence. Clifton was an only child.

Clifton Alexander Lee was married twice. With his first wife, Velma Shepherd, he had three children (John, Jim, and Eleanor). With his second wife, Eva Aspden, he had two children (Pegi and Mary).


My husband's grandparents:
Clifton Alexander Lee
BIRTH 20 MAY 1902 • Northfield Centre, Brant Co., Ontario, Canada
DEATH 9 SEP 1979 • Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
and
Eva Alice Aspden
BIRTH 4 SEP 1922 • Simcoe, Norfolk Co., Ontario, Canada
DEATH 23 AUG 2008 • Penticton, British Columbia, Canada

Clifton and his wife Eva are buried in Lakeview Memorial Garden Cemetery in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.


Clifton was a pilot whose two sons (John & Jim) were also pilots, and daughter Eleanor aspired to be a pilot. One of the two female flying students was my husband's grandmother, Eva Aspden, and soon to be 2nd wife to Clifton. 


The article below is from the Brantford Expositor, published on April 27th 1946.

"CHILDREN FOLLOW FATHERS TAKING TO AIR IN COURTLAND
CANADA's 'FLYINGEST' COMMUNITY"   

Closer-up of these two photos and captions below

  

Eva Aspden on the left (my husband's grandmother

Caption "No village in Canada has produced so many flying students as Courtland, Ontario, officials of the Brant-Norfolk flying club believe. The late Flt-Lieut, Jack Rutledge of Courtland, held the Canadian record for the number of operations over enemy territory with 105 missions. Instructor F.E. McFadden and two Courtland students, Eva Aspden and Marie Herron" 

2nd from left  Clifton's son John
2nd from right is Clifton's son Jim
3rd from right is Eva Aspden (soon to be Clifton's 2nd wife)
5th from left is Clifton Lee

Caption "All ages are bitten by the flying bug in the village. Two Courtland fathers have children who are fellow flying students. Left to right are Nancy House, John Lee, Jack Simmons, Marie Herron, C.A. Lee, father of John and James: Mary Troyer, Lloyd E. House, Nancy's father, Eva Aspden, James Lee, and John Troyer" 



Almost half the class at the Brant-Norfolk flying club were connected to Clifton!

Clifton gave up flying after he was badly injured in an accident. The family tells me that Clifton was able to keep a tractor upright while one of his sons made an escape. In doing so he tore the muscles in his chest causing a heart condition. After recovering he retired to raise his and Eva's children while Eva went to work to support the family. 


My husband remembers his grandfather always making him feel safe. He also remembers that his grandpa had the biggest hands, and always smelled like peppermint. 


Week 43 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge has me reflecting on how I went from being in an uncommitted relationship with my blog to publishing every week. This week my husband learned that his grandmother was working on getting her pilot's license. He never knew that his grandmother ever flew a plane. He now understands that his grandmother was way cooler before she became a mother and grandmother.

A shout-out to Genealogist Amy Johnson Crow for this fantastic opportunity. You will find a link to her website below. 


Keeping the stories alive!









This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





Related Previous Blogs:

Somehow Related Blog Spot,
Irish Twins ~ Hand-In-Hand
https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/08/irish-twins-hand-in-hand.html

Somehow Related Blog Spot,
Snake Hips - Swayze
https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/03/snake-hips-swayze-at-courthouse.html


Footnote:

1  Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1947 for Mattie Lee, 005429, Brant, registered October 18th 1902, Retrieved October 25th 2019 from Ancestry.ca



Sources:

Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM), American Heart Association, Retrieved October 25th 2019 from
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cardiomyopathy/what-is-cardiomyopathy-in-adults/peripartum-cardiomyopathy-ppcm

Village of Courtland has gone flying mad, The Brantford Expositor, published April 27th 1946.





Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

_____________________________________________________________________

Family Adventures ~ Making Memories

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 42 (ADVENTURE)


My ancestors were an adventuresome bunch. They left their home countries for new lives. Often without the language or finances to make their new home an easy transition. When I began looking for whose adventures to share this week I wasn't able to choose just one.


As a child we took many road trips. My brother is 2 1/2 years younger than I am. He was an early reader, and I was a late reader. I remember us being in the upper part of the camper (before seat-belts were required), and watching the signs go zinging by. My brother and I were watching for small graveyards. He had read "Little Burials Ahead" on a sign. Seems my interest in graveyards and genealogy began at a young age. 

There were no graveyards that we could see. The signs actually said "Litter Barrels Ahead". Not bad reading for a 5 year old to read off the signs as they were speeding by.

I then began thinking about the trips my husband and I took with our boys. The family adventures we hope they remember as fun when they are older. 


When they were small we watched the movie Lilo & Stitch. We loved that movie (watching it over and over and over again). I promised our boys that we would take them to Hawaii on vacation some day. It only took 15 years, but in 2018 we followed through with that promise. We had an amazing family vacation with our adult kids in Maui. Sitting on the beach we heard how this was our first family vacation. 


How could they think that?  We traveled all over Western Canada as a family. We had taken many trips with them. 

Our boys exploring, Hawaii, 2018

I then realized they were right.  We had traveled as a family many times, but this was our first family vacation.

Our boys, Maui Ocean Center, 2018

When the boys were small we had a 17' travel trailer we towed behind our Ford Bronco. We traveled across 4 Canadian provinces to visit family every 2 or 3 years. Along the way we took alternating routes to explore. In between those trips we explored closer to home on weekends or week long journeys.


My husband and I pored over maps choosing the route we would take to show different parts of western Canada to our boys. We carefully chose where we would stay to visit local attractions. One year, as we were finalizing our plans, I went out shopping to buy a portable dvd player for the upcoming trip. Instead I came home with 2 portable cd players. I had realized that if they were watching a movie while we were driving across Canada they wouldn't see what our country looked like. We traveled with a large lidded tote of audiobooks from the library. As they listened to their books they were seeing the landscape pass by. We wanted our boys to know what our country looked like.



In 2002 we took a 3 week trip. We left home, and spent our first night at a campground in Three Valley Gap. What an amazing place to visit. The guided tour grants access to the inside of the restored buildings. There is a Model T collection. You can see the rail car that our current Prime Minister (Justin Trudeau, age 10) was traveling on with his father, Pierre Elliot Trudeau when the famous “Trudeau salute” occurred.
Enlightening our kids to Canada's history - CHECK!  



Next we traveled to the Calgary zoo for the afternoon. Then on to Drumheller, Alberta where we spent the night in a campsite near the river for two nights. We spent the whole day at  the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, and explored Drumheller. 

We visited the Reptile Refuge Center

We viewed the local terrain

Dinosaurs, reptiles, local geography - CHECK!

We then traveled on to Winnipeg to visit with my dad and grandmother for a week. We visited the Manitoba Children's Museum, The Forks National Historic Site of Canada, and Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site of Canada.
Family Time - CHECK! Local history - CHECK!


As we left Winnipeg heading to Eastend, Saskatchewan a flock of Canadian Geese posed for us along the highway.
Wildlife - CHECK!  


In Eastend we set off to find the tiny dinosaur research facility called the T-Rex Discovery Center. When we visited we were the only visitors. It didn't take us long to go through the very informative and interesting facility. 
Science knowledge - CHECK!


As we left Eastend, Saskatchewan heading to Canmore, Alberta I was looking at the map. Map reading skills are not my greatest skill. As I was trying to figure out where we were & where we were going I happened to notice Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. I asked my husband if he had ever visited in his many trips back and forth across Canada as a child. He said he might have, but since he was always sleeping from the gravol his mom gave him he didn't remember if they had. 


I said "I always wanted to stop when I was a kid, but my parents were always in too much of a rush to get us to Ontario when we traveled so they always said no when I asked". With that, the car came to a screeching halt at the side of the road. My husband took the map from me, and said we are going. 


Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump was the best interpretive center I have ever visited. The information shared was enlightening, and the motion activated audio and lighting enhanced the experience. We stayed at the campsite nearby, and heard a coyote pack making a kill in the middle of the night. The boys were enthralled with the idea of the buffalo jumping off the cliffs.
Cultural history - CHECK!


Thinking back on why we would have traveled the odd route backtracking to Canmore I remember it had something to do with the dates of arrival either before or after. We always carefully made the plan to maximize how many places and people we could visit. We stayed with my husband's aunt & uncle for a few days while we were in Canmore. My husband was partially raised there so wanted to show the boys where he had hiked and fished when he was young. He enjoyed sharing his childhood memories with us. We hauled a few rocks home from the Bow River so we could paint them (one still lives in our garden). Nostalgia & making memories - CHECK!

After leaving Canmore we headed to the Frank Slide (Alberta, Canada), and then on to Fort Steele (British Columbia, Canada).
Geology - CHECK! Heritage town - CHECK!

After a few hours exploring Fort Steele we headed off to try to make the last ferry from the East side of Kootenay Lake to Balfour where my parents lived. As we traveled the dark windy road we made an alternate plan of where we would park the travel trailer to sleep in if we missed the last ferry of the evening. We made the ferry with two sleeping little boys. The next morning they woke up at Grandma's house. We spent the rest of the week visiting family and friends. 

We then headed home after spending 3 weeks on the road: traveling 4885 kms, spending 52 hours in the vehicle, visiting 12 attractions, & enjoying the company of family members in 3 provinces.  


Not to be forgotten is the souvenirs they each chose at every location. By the time we arrived home our vehicle was heavier, and our pockets lighter.
The new experiences and information we collected - PRICELESS!

We traveled a lot while they were growing up. Sometimes we spent a little bit of money by staying close to home or camping. Sometimes we spent a lot of money by traveling further away and doing lots of activities. 


When my husband and I look back on those trips we have fond memories. We loved introducing our kids to new experiences and new places. Only rarely did we hear "are we there yet?".  We took several trips that looked very similar to the one outlined here. 


Our boys don't remember the trips the same way we do. Would they honestly have preferred a 'real' vacation?  Then again maybe my husband's gravol-sleep trips were remembered differently by his parents. 





Making memories - One trip at a time!



This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***









Sources:

A B.C. museum says it’s preserved the railcar from which Pierre Trudeau gave the finger to protesters, National Post, published August 22, 2016, Retrieved October 15th 2019 from
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/a-b-c-museum-says-its-preserved-the-railcar-from-which-pierre-trudeau-gave-the-finger-to-protesters

Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, Alberta Wow, Retrieved October 15th 2019 from 
http://www.albertawow.com/hikes/Head_Smashed_In_Buffalo_Jump/Buffalo_Jump.htm

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Retrieved October 15th 2019 from
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/158/

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Retrieved October 15th 2019 from
http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/index.htm

Travels with Pierre, August 12th, 1982, Railroaders' Nostalgia, Train Orders, retrieved October 15th 2019 from 
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?18%2C2791016%2C2791016#msg-2791016

Three Valley Gap, Retrieved October 15th 2019 from
https://www.3valley.com/heritage_resort/roundhouse.htm

Trudeau Gets Asked: 'Why Did Your Dad Give Everyone In Western Canada The Middle Finger?' It became known as the "Salmon Arm Salute.",  published 01/27/2017, Huffington Post, Retrieved October 15th 2019 from 
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/a-b-c-museum-says-its-preserved-the-railcar-from-which-pierre-trudeau-gave-the-finger-to-protesters








Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

_____________________________________________________________________

Historical & Personal Context ~ Clyde Robertson (aka Max Pellack)

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 41 (CONTEXT)



Context breathes life into names and dates making ancestors real people.  When trying to figure out where & how to search context is what provides direction. It's in the context and stories where genealogy researchers bring ancestors to life.

When I first found out that my grandfather was not Scottish I would say his family immigrated from THE UKRAINE to Saskatchewan, Canada in 1909. I didn't understand why dropping THE was so important. 


Context provides the historical reasons for why it's just UKRAINE. When under Soviet rule by the Russians Ukraine was referred to as THE UKRAINE. Now their own country removing THE is part of celebrating their independence.


I grew up not knowing my cultural background or hearing family stories. It seems that some cultural preferences are inborn. I remember coming home from school in about grade 1, and asking my mom for boiled cabbage with butter and vinegar for my after school snack. 

My dad grew up Scottish. My mom grew up Scottish & English. Cabbage was not a part of their growing up. I loved cabbage prepared in any form from a very young age.  My body knew my cultural heritage long before I did. 


Context is an important part of understanding your family's history.


When trying to figure out why my grandfather changed his name, nationality, and birthplace I researched the persecution of Ukrainian people in Canada. My ancestors were not interned during World War 1, but many Canadian Ukrainians were. Although not interned they would have been registered as enemy aliens. Having recently left Ukraine where they faced hardship the family must have been terrified. This was likely why my grandfather and his younger siblings appear to have never had their home births registered.  My grandfather was a young child growing up in a country where Ukrainian people were persecuted during his early formative years. Worldwide Ukrainian folks were persecuted. Historically it appears as though the Scottish people were accepted. It's not a surprise grandpa would choose to be Scottish.


My family followed the Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic faith in Canada. Ancestry DNA showed European Jewish for at least one of his parents. When I compare my DNA matches in Ancestry I believe Alexander's ancestors were Jewish, but without knowing the history of my family I have no context to be sure. I am left making guesses.  

Alexander & Mary (nee Maximiw) Pellack
My great grandparents

In the 1926 Canadian Prairie census I found my grandfather with his usual residence listed as Edenbridge.  Edenbrige was a Jewish community that had about 50 families in the 1920s. 

Who exactly Grandpa was living with is a mystery. 

His family also listed him as residing on the farm in nearby Gronlid (Willow Creek). I'm guessing the census taker asked who usually resided there, and his parents recorded him. Possibly he didn't reside at Edenbridge full-time?  Maybe he was visiting family?

Grandpa's mother tongue residing with his parents was recorded as Ukrainian. With Edenbridge as his usual residence English was listed as his mother tongue. 


Already beginning to distance himself from his Ukrainian heritage? To the best of my knowledge he never spoke Ukrainian after meeting grandma in 1939. My dad never knew that his father wasn't Scottish. When my Ancestry DNA came back showing I was 14% European Jewish dad was confident it wasn't from his side of the family. A few months later when his results came back with 27% European Jewish he was shocked. Dad immediately embraced his heritage. Dad never knew before receiving the results.


Grandpa left home about 1930 with one name, and met Grandma in 1939 with the other. Where he was those missing almost 10 years is a mystery. How he chose the name - a mystery. 

Clyde Robertson (Max Pellack) and
Mary Elizabeth Thomson
abt 1939

Clyde & Mary (nee Thomson) Robertson
aka Max Pellack

Grandpa never talked about his childhood. He never talked about being Jewish or Ukrainian. He claimed Scotland for his heritage. Grandpa died before any of us could hear his story.

Born Ukrainian in Gronlid Saskatchewan as Max Pellack. 

Died Scottish in Winnipeg as
Clyde Robertson.




He was my grandpa. I loved him. I will never have enough context to truly understand grandpa's story. 

Me with my dad & grandpa
Clyde Robertson (Max Pellack)
I was 3 years old

Me with my dad, grandpa and grandma
Clyde Robertson (Max Pellack)
I was 9 years old

Collect the stories & context before it's too late!




This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!










***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





Related Previous Blogs:

Somehow Related Blog Spot,

Embracing my Heritage

https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2014/12/

Somehow Related Blog Spot,
I'm back -- news from the past two years

https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2016/

Somehow Related Blog Spot,

First Things First - Going Back to the Beginning of My Genealogy Blog

https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/01/first-things-first.html

Somehow Related Blog Spot,

Treasures from the Library - Interlibrary Loans

https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/01/treasures-from-library-interlibrary.html

Somehow Related Blog Spot,

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https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/02/surprise-im-ashkenazi-jewish.html

Somehow Related Blog Spot,

Max Pellack ~ I'm Not a Diamond Heiress with a Tiny Flluuuffy Dog in a Sparkly Flllluuufffy Handbag!
https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/03/not-diamond-heiress-with-tiny-flluuuffy.html

Somehow Related Blog Spot,

Reposting ~ If I Were a Man, and Wore a Cowboy Hat

https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/06/reposting-if-i-were-man-and-wore-cowboy.html

Somehow Related Blog Spot,

On a Virtual Walk - Visiting the Old Homestead

https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/09/on-virtual-walk-visiting-old-homestead.html

Sources:

Edenbridge Saskatchewan, Canada, JewishGen,, Retrieved October 5th 2019 from
https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Edenbridge/





Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

_____________________________________________________________________