Movember Canada ~ Facial Hair & The Bramble Bush

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 45 (BEARDED)

Facial hair is an interesting thing. As a woman I remember the first time I found a wayward hair, and plucked it. At some point I discovered that facial hair really is a genetic trait, and I was very disappointed to discover I carried that gene. This year would have been a perfect opportunity to participate in Movember since leaving the house in 2020 requires a mask.  Do I really have to worry about those wayward facial hairs? Instagram has let me see what I might look like if I just let me facial hair grow as it desires.

My husband tells me he began shaving in grade 6.  

He is a paramedic so must keep clean-shaven where it would interfere with his respirator at work. 

His beard grows quickly as shown below - about a week into our camping vacation. 

About 1995

We have two sons. Our youngest definitely out-beards our oldest. Most folks who meet the two of them assume the younger is the oldest because of his facial hair. There are times he has it short and tailored as it is below, and times it is long and bushy. Our oldest has times it's longer, but his beard could never be described as bushy.

They get their facial hair from different parts of this Bramble Bush.
They get their fun attitude about life directly from their dad.

Is Your Dad A Guitar Hero - Father's Day competition
Awarded the title of Mr. Congeniality 
He wasn't the winner, but he was the photo featured in the paper 

When considering which ancestor to write about for the prompt BEARDED I went searching through the photos attached to our Bramble Bush. I was surprised at how few men in our Bramble Bush wore a beard. 

I kept searching with the idea that I would write about the longest beard.  I didn't find any photos depicting a long beard. 

In keeping with the theme I opened this blog with - 
I decided to write about a father and son duo who had impressive
(or at least I think they are) beards.

My husband's X3 great grandfather:

Robert Henry Williams

BIRTH 31 MAR 1831 • Ontario, Canada

DEATH 12 FEB 1896 • Bayham, Ontario, Canada

and his father X4 great grandfather:

Isaac Williams

BIRTH 19 MAY 1802 • New York, United States

DEATH 19 MAR 1868 • Bayham, Elgin Co, Ontario, Canada

As you can see the photo above is not the greatest quality. On November 2nd I mentioned to my husband that I thought I would have to renew my lapsed Ancestry membership because I wanted to find a clearer photo of X4 great grandfather Isaac Williams. 

I had no idea just saying it out loud would make something happen.

3 days later (on November 5th) I woke to an email from Ancestry letting me know I had received a message from another member. When I went to my inbox I found a message from my husband's 3rd cousin 2x removed. The message was full of details about the Williams/Claus side of the Bramble Bush, and had a link to an 83 page document full of photos and more details. This new cousin offered to send us more photos that aren't in the document. She also provided the information that Isaac and Mary had 8 children. I had only found 4 of them so far. I am so grateful for cousins who reach out to share.
This is what family is all about. 

Now back to X4 great grandfather Isaac Williams and his facial hair.  

The photo above that is very hard to see may not actually be Isaac. 

It has been widely circulated as a photo of Isaac
(the other half not included above is stated to be X4 great grandmother Mary, nee Claus). 

With the photo not confirmed as being Isaac I considered removing it from the blog post. 

I chose to keep it because that photo was where this search began. 

I did believe it was Isaac, and I wanted a clearer photo depicting his facial hair. 

Instead my new found cousin-in-law produced this copy of a drawing held by family members. In this one it is obvious which side of the family the facial hair descends via.

Reproduction of a drawing believed to be Isaac Williams

In looking at the photos of Isaac and Robert Henry it appear as though they are related. The fuzzy photo isn't clear enough to make a positive comparison, but on a quick glance it does appear to be the one that is not like the others. 

With the photos and details about this side of the Bramble Bush provided by the newly discovered cousin there is much research I will be working on for weeks to come. 

 

Returning to the theme of BEARDED. Movember happens every year in November. It's an opportunity to not shave for a whole month for a good cause. There are many other activities if not shaving isn't your thing. This year Movember added non-binary to their registration option. You can raise money for men's health. It's not too late to get started for this year, and next year you could sign up earlier.  

Click the link to learn about the different ways of getting involved with Movember Canada. 
https://ca.movember.com/?home

Wrapping up with another look at this Bramble Bush's facial hair

Instagram photos 

                                     not true depictions of the members of this Bramble Bush


You win some and you lose some when you play the genetic lottery!

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***







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

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