I never knew my maternal grandfather when I was growing up. He made a brief appearance to walk my mother down the aisle, and then disappeared from mom's family right after.
 |
| My mom and her dad |
He had been in and out of their life for many years, but after mom's wedding he never returned. Years later when his mom was dying my mom and her sisters went to see their grandmother. They ended up seeing their dad during that visit, but I wasn't there so never saw John Robert Graham who was known as Jacky as a child & Jack as an adult.
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| Jack and his dad (Robert the 4th) |
I asked my grandmother what Jack's father's name was, and she told me Bob who was also known as Bobby. I asked her if Bob was his legal name. She said it was. I asked her where Bob was born, and she told me Manitoba. I had entered these details into my tree on Ancestry, but no hints arrived. I waited several months, and did searches without finding any real information. I finally sent away for my great grandparent's marriage license. When it arrived I discovered Bob's legal name was Robert, and he had been born in Scotland and moved to Manitoba as a small child.
There was a witness who shared his last name. I guessed she was his sister. I added the new information, and immediately the desired shaking green leaves appeared. I began researching the family line using records. I managed to track back 4 generations of Robert Grahams before I hit the brickwall that still stands today.
4 generations of ROBERT GRAHAM!
Robert (Bob/Bobby) Graham (the 4th)
BIRTH 3 MAY 1906 • Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
DEATH 10 AUGUST 1960 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
married
Nellie May (Con) Cannon
BIRTH 4 DEC 1904 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DEATH 14 SEP 1984 • Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Robert Graham (the 3rd)
BIRTH 23 DEC 1883 • Carluke, Lanarkshire, Scotland
DEATH 13 JAN 1929 • St Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
married
Jessie Crawford Gray
BIRTH 23 JUN 1884 • Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland
DEATH 17 JUL 1952 • Manitoba, Canada
 |
| Robert (the 3rd) & Jessie Crawford (nee Gray) Graham |
Robert Graham (the 2nd)
BIRTH ABT 1851 • Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire
DEATH BEF 1905 • Scotland, United Kingdom
married
Margaret (Maggie) (Mary) Burt
BIRTH 19 APR 1854 • Cambusnethan, Lanarkshire
DEATH 14 JUL 1933 • 61 Church St, Newharthill, Scotland
Robert Graham (the 1st)
BIRTH 16 JAN 1814 • Thornhill, Closeburn, Dumfries-shire, Scotland
DEATH 24 MAR 1892 • Forth, Lanarkshire, Scotland
married
Susanah (Susan) Hamilton
BIRTH 03 NOV 1814 • Carnwath, Lanarkshire
DEATH 11 APR 1894 • Forth, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Robert Graham (the 1st) was the child of
Peter Graham
BIRTH ABT 1788 • Closeburn, Dumfriesshire
DEATH Unknown
&
Ann Kirk
BIRTH ABT 1785
DEATH Unknown
Peter Graham and Ann Kirk are my 5th great grandparents. I have DNA matches that confirm them as the parent of Robert Graham. They are listed as parents on birth registries for 4 children, but those are the only records I can find - no birth, no marriage, no death.
I have made no progress in breaking down this brickwall in the past 7 years of researching. In my tree I have guessed that Robert's parents might be James & Elizabeth, and Ann's might be Robert & Mary. I have made those guesses based on Scottish naming patterns, and have noted that in the placeholders for them. My guesses may be way off because I don't know if I have found all of the children of their marriage. I do know that later generations did follow Scottish naming patterns, but I don't know if Peter & Ann (nee Kirk) Graham did.
Someday I may break through this brickwall.
*******
 |
| Jessie Crawford (nee Gray) Graham with her sons: Bob, Bill, Doug, Burt |
Now back to Robert the 4th's son Jack - my grandfather.
I understood Jack didn't spend much time with his dad's family after his parent's separated and divorced August 19th 1948.
 |
| Winnipeg Free Press, Manitoba, Canada, August 20th 1948 |
The divorce notice above says that Nellie and Bob were married on May 5th 1943, but the marriage record is dated November 16th 1927. Their son, Jack, was born on March 7th 1930.
And Jack's dad remarried October 1948 .
 |
| Winnipeg Free Press, Manitoba, Canada, September 11th 1948 |
Jack was an only child for both his parents. Bob had no children during his second marriage, and Nellie never remarried or had any other children.
 |
| John Robert Graham, known as Jacky/Jack |
After finally figuring out the family tree, and following the shaking green leaves I was able to connect with the Graham family in Canada, and get the children of Jack's first marriage into the Graham family tree. This was also when I found out that Jack had not stayed connected to his father's family any more than he had the children of his first marriage. Jack's 1st cousin had thought that he died young, and was shocked when I told him that Jack lived until the age of 81.
I found it a bit strange that everyone thought Jack didn't stay connected to the Graham family after I found this family photo that had Jack and Nellie in the photo, but no Bob.
Jack with his first wife and oldest 4 children
Never knowing quite enough about the past to truly understand the present!
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,
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2019 Week 2 (Challenge)
Brick Wall - researching Grahams from Holytown, Scotland who immigrated to Canada
https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/01/brick-wall-researching-grahams-from.html
Somehow Related Blog Spot
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2019 Week 18 (Road Trip)
Robert Graham ~ Scottish Carrier
https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/05/robert-graham-scottish-carrier.html
Somehow Related Blog Spot
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2019 Week 21 (Military)
Jack (John Robert) Graham ~ Navy Man
http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/05/jack-john-robert-graham-navy-man.html
Somehow Related Blog Spot
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2019 Week 38 (COUSINS)
Tale of Two Cousins ~ Ann(e) Kirk Graham
http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/09/tale-of-two-cousins-anne-kirk-graham.html
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!
___________________________________________________________
Maybe I need to start sending for some marriage certificates to break down some pesky brick walls. Good story!
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