After A Memorable 7 Years ~ This Blog Comes To An End

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 52 (MEMORABLE)

After 7 memorable years of following Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Week I will not be siging up for 2026.

I had begun this blog in 2012 with the idea of writing about my research, findings, and family.

From 2012 to 2018 I only wrote 4 blogs, but that all changed in 2019 when I signed up for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. 

That first year I honestly didn't think I would follow through on writing weekly.

It was in discovering who my audience was that writing became easy.

1st - me
Creating tangible evidence of what I spend my time & our money on along with an easy to find place to share our Bramble Bush genealogical finds.

2nd - my children
They have never been interested in my genealogy stories, but someday when I can no longer tell them the stories they may be interested in hearing them in my voice.

3rd - a future me
Someone who is searching for where they fit in their own genealogical story, and find their people in my stories.

With this in mind - I hope the 368 stories I have left behind will be found by those seeking my stories or my voice.

This is me - 

Thank you for joining me for my stories over the past 7 years!!! 

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***

Photos:

Personal

Links:

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

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!

______________________________________________________________

A Childhood Friend ~ If Only For A Few Short Months

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 51 (MUSICAL)

Grade 3 was a complicated year for me. 

That was the year my parents got divorced, my mom moved us from Alberta to British Columbia, and then to Ontario.

I was in 5 schools in 3 provinces that year.

I was in my 3rd school when I made a new friend who taught me to play a song on her piano.

At our highschool reunion recently I mentioned how important she had been to me.

She seemed surprised to hear that.

I was not surprised to hear that she didn't actually remember this incredibly momentous event.

In fact I don't think she remembers me at all from that year at South Nelson Elementary School in Nelson.

For her I was a girl in her class that was there for a few short months & then gone.

For me - she taught me something I had never known how to do before at a time of great chaos and confusion in my life.

I felt smart and accomplished after learning to play that one song.

The song was Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo - and after all these years I can still play the beginning of the song from memory even having just had right thumb joint replacement a couple of weeks ago.

At our reunion this past summer, I asked her if there was a small creek between the apartment building where I lived and her house. 

She confirmed there was. 

I shared that I remembered following her over a creek on our way to her house. 

I clearly remember watching her feet effortlessly crossing over that small creek while I followed exactly in her footsteps to avoid falling into the water. I felt so proud when we arrived safely on the other side of that tiny waterway.  

I hadn't been sure my memory was accurate until she confirmed the landscape.

Memory is a funny thing - a random moment in time is so clear & yet other more momentous moments are long forgotten. 

Looking back to the moments that shape us!!! 

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***

Photo & Video:

Personal

Links:

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

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!

______________________________________________________________

Handed Down ~ Metal Tea Pot

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 50 (FAMILY HEIRLOOM)

Last week I wrote about tea parties.

This week I will write about a tea pot I received from my mother when I moved into my first apartment. 

She told me my paternal grandfather had given it to her when she and my dad were first married, and she thought it should go to me.

While growing up I had never seen this tea pot because she had it stored away. 

She shared she thought it might have value.

In all the years I have had this teapot I have never once used it for tea because I wondered if it was made of lead. I have always used it as a decoration.

I am unsure what metal it's made out of, but I am pretty sure it's not lead because it doesn't weigh enough. 

I am also pretty sure it's not silver because I have never polished it. 

The staining inside looks like tea staining to me, but it also might be rust.

 It has no markings on it that I can find.

My guess is it's pewter, and given it's age likely has some lead in it as well.

I have looked online occassionally over the years curious about value, but have never found one like it. 

Keepsakes passed down!!! 

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***

Photos:

Personal

Links:

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

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!

______________________________________________________________

Tea Parties ~ Plus Books

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 49 (WRITTEN)

In 2012 I was taking Library Services for Children with the Community Library Training Program. 

For my final project I hosted a Fancy Nancy Tea Party at one of our local public libraries.

I knew I had planned a successful children's event when a woman burst into tears at the desk after finding out her child didn't make it off the waitlist so wasn't able to attend the Tea Party. 

Since I really have a hard time saying no to tears her very small 4 year old was handed an invitation resulting in one over our planned maximum numbers.

What a fun event:

Story books

Crafts

Activities

Bubble Gum Tea

Cupcakes

So many feather boas, tutus, and tiaras.

You can't see them, but I was wearing lacy socks in Fancy Nancy fashion, 
“Lace-trimmed socks do help me to play soccer better,” 1 

i do like a good tea party.

Tea parties & books are my thing!!! 

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***

Footnotes:

1  O'Connor, Jane. Fancy Nancy. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, HarperCollins, 2009. Page 5

Sources:

O'Connor, Jane. Fancy Nancy. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, HarperCollins, 2009.

Photos:

Personal

Links:

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

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!

______________________________________________________________

Irish Cream ~ Mom's Recipe

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 48 (FAMILY RECIPE)

Every year we would join my mom's extended family camping in the Kootenays at Garland Bay.

Every year there would be a fishing derby.

Here is Chris with his winning fish from one of those years.

Every year for this camping trip I would follow my mother's Irish Cream recipe bringing along a batch or two.

The mornings began with Irish Cream & Coffee, and ended with a dram around the fire. 

Mom's Irish Cream Recipe

made with her homemade

I loved mom's Irish Cream, and the memories that go with it.

To be honest I think about her whenever I have Irish Cream even though it's been many years since I have made a batch.

Fondly remembering family recipes of the past!!! 

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***

Photos:

Personal

Recipe Clips

Links:

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

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!

______________________________________________________________

2 Names ~ The Same Person

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 47 (THE NAME'S THE SAME)

Last month I received a message on Ancestry from a DNA match who believed Catherine (Kate) Cameron Powers in our Bramble Bush was the same person as Catherine Ross in his tree.

He asked if I thought it was possible. 

After years of searching without success, and coming to that exact same conclusion previously, I felt a quiet ah-ha moment.

I repled with a link to my 2 previous blogs about searching for great grandma Kate.
Catherine Cameron Power ~ Seeking the Source of Power
Catherine (Kate) Cameron Power ~ When The Paper Trail Disappears

Catherine Cameron (Kate) Powers 
birthdate: 5 Jul 1888 (Tain, Rosshire, Scotland)
mother: Margaret Connor
father: Donald Powers

Catherine Ross
birthdate: 2 Jul 1886 (Inver, Tain, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland)
mother: Margaret MacIntosh (her mother's maiden name was Cameron)
father: Donald Ross

When I was 20 years old I went to the downtown Vancouver RCMP station for a criminal record search for employment.

An officer took my paper from me, and then almost immediately asked me to follow him where he left me alone in a small room. About 10 minutes later he came back in and fingerprinted me. After he left I tried to open the door wanting to go and wash my hands. When I found the door locked I realized I wasn't free to leave. In the 20 or so minutes I waited there I began to ponder if I hadn't actually gotten away with the teenage infractions I thought I had. None of them were serious so I talked myself down from the beginning panic thinking this is just how a criminal record search is conducted. I was relieved when the officer came back in & told me I was free to go. 

A little over 6 months later I needed another criminal record search for school. I had moved back to Nelson so set off for the Nelson City Police station. The officer took my paper, and a few minutes later said thank you. As I stood there thinking ... that's it, I asked him why I had been fingerprinted in Vancouver. He laughed saying they thought they had this person while he held a very long strip of attached printer papers. He followed it up saying that he knew it wasn't me since he knew my family, BUT he understood why they thought we were the same person. She shared my birth name with alternate spelling, she was born in the province beside me, she was born the same month only the day and year were different. He explained this is commonly how folks using an alias will alter details. 

In looking at great grandma Kate that same rational appears to fit. 

Same birth month: July
Date: 5 became 2
Year: 1886 became 1888

The middle name Cameron is seen in some of her siblings as a middle name over various documents so it's possible that was her actual middle name.

Catherine Cameron Ross
became
Catherine Cameron Powers

Mapping DNA matches supports this supposition.

At the end of what I view as a reasonably exhaustive search I have concluded our Catherine/Kate is the same Catherine found in many records as the daughter of Donald & Margaret (nee MacIntosh) Ross. 

Why our Kate changed her name remains unknown.

Maybe she wanted a fresh start, maybe she had a disagreement with her family, maybe she was keeping an early marriage to Powers secret from her new husband (her name was already changed on the ship's manifest to Canada).

Chris' Great Grandparents
Thircul & Kate Aspden

When a reasonably exhaustive search results in two names for the same person!!! 

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***

Photos:

Personal

Links:

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

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!

______________________________________________________________

Honouring Those Who Served ~ Lest We Forget

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 46 (WARTIME)

Thank you for your service 

Chris Buchner

Artillery, Army, Canadian Military

My Best Friend

Alex Robertson

Air Force, Canadian Military

My Father

John Robert (Jack) Graham

Navy, Canadian Military

My Grandfather

Clyde Robertson
aka Max Pellack

World War II, Army, Canadian Military

My Grandfather

Frans Boogemans

World War II, Belgian Military

My Step-Grandfather

Thomas Thomson

WWII, Veterans Guard of Canada, Army, Canadian Military.

WW1, Royal Scots, British Army
My Great Grandfather

Honouring those who served!!! 

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***

Photos:

Lest We Forget. McCrae House National Historic Site of Canada. RichardBH from Hamilton, Canada.
Attribution:
RichardBH from Hamilton, Canada, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Retrieved November 5th 2025 from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:In_Flanders_Fields_02.jpg

Personal

Links:

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

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!

______________________________________________________________

Robert Graham ~ Same Name Over 4 Generations

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 45 (MULTIPLE)

Scottish family naming patterns can make it challenging to keep who is who accurately recorded.

As shown here I have 4 generations in a row of Robert Graham, and all have no middle name.

When researching multiplie relatives with the same name over many generations it becomes a bit challenging to be sure sources, documents, and facts are assigned to the correct person.

Over many years of researching I have full confidence the above generations are accurate

Looking back to ensure all is correct!!! 

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***

Photos:

Clip from Ancestry, retrived November 4th 2025

Links:

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

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!

______________________________________________________________

Ewhurst, London, Canada ~ Rural, Urban, Rural

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 44 (RURAL)

My 4th great grandfather was from Ewhurst, Surrey, England.

"Ewhurst is a village about 35 miles south west of London on the Surrey Sussex border. Close by is the larger village of Cranleigh and the nearest towns of Guildford, Dorking and Horsham, are each about 10 miles away." 1

In looking at DNA Ancestral Journeys and matches there is a solid connection back to Ewhurst.

My 4th great grandfather

Daniel Dendy

Birth 1819 • Ewhurst, Surrey, England
Death JAN 1893 • England

His parents were James & Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) Dendy.

This is as far back on this line I have found records for to date.

BUT we know the family was in the Ewhurst area as far back as the Tudor timeframe.

"The Weald became a centre for glass working. The industry centred on Chiddingfold and Wisborough Green and the two sites at Ewhurst, at Ellen's Green and Summersbury, are the most northerly. The names of Huguenot families known to be involved in glassmaking are found in the Ewhurst Parish lists for the Surrey Musters of 1583/4. (The purpose of the Muster lists was to identify able bodied men available to fight if the Spanish invaded)

During this period a new social class emerged. Yeomen were prosperous farmers, who owned their own land, but were below the status of gentlemen. The Rydes of Oldhouse were a typical family of yeoman farmers in the parish. At various times different branches of the family were in possession of Bildens, Longhurst Hill, Coxlands and Mapledrakes. Other prominent local families included the Dendys who were associated with Somersbury, Breach, Woolpit and Downhurst; the Knights of Isemongers, High Edser, Bramblehurst and Slythehurst; and the Hills of Hillhouse, Pollingfold and Rumbeams." 2

The Surrey Index of Names (sourced below) lists 721 records for Dendys in the Surrey area, 217 of them are in Ewhurst specifically.

When I first began researching this Bramble Bush I had thought our Canadian roots were very deep. I was surprised to find how shallow they are in various parts of the tree. Via this line I am a 4th generation Canadian. When the Dendy family immigrated to Canada in 1903 from London they immigrated to rural Manitoba. 

Daniel was married twice
I descend through 1st wife

Mary Mitchell

Birth 1821 • Wotton, Surrey, England
Death 29 MAY 1856 • Wandsworth, Surrey, England

his 2nd wife was his daughter-in-law's sister (making her my 3rd great aunt as well as my X2 step great grandmother).

Christiana Gunnell

Birth abt 1816 • Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England

Death Jan 1892

My X3 great grandparents

William James Dendy

Birth ABT. 1841 • Ewhurst, Surrey, England

Death 1909 • Horsham, Sussex (formerly Surrey), England

and

Honor Gunnell

Birth ABT 1832 • Hambledon, Buckinghamshire, England

Death 12 JUL 1882 • Hambledon, Surrey, United Kingdom

My X2 great grandparents

William Herbert (Herbert) Dendy

Birth 27 JUL 1866 • Balham, Surrey, England

Death 25 DEC 1929 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

and

Amy Louisa Baker

Birth 18 MAR 1875 • Ealing, Middlesex, England

Death 23 DEC 1949 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

My X2 great grandparents
William Herbert & Amy Louisa (nee Baker) Dendy
My immigrant ancestors

My great grandmother was their first child born in Canada

Rose Honor Dendy

Birth 14 APR 1906 • R.M. of Pipestone, Bardal, Manitoba, Canada

Death 17 SEP 1974 • Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
married to my great grandfather

Earnest (Ernest) Helmer (Elmer) (Hap) (Ernie) Bayes

Birth 17 JUL 1903 • Campbellford, Northumberland, Ontario, Canada

Death 19 OCT 1986 • Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

How the family went from rural England to urban England to rural Canada is a story I am still researching!!!

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***

Footnotes:

1  A brief history of Ewhurst. Ewhurst – the Village and Parish. Ewhurst Historical Society. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025 from
http://www.ewhursthistory.com/about-ewhurst/a-brief-history-of-ewhurst

2  A brief history of Ewhurst.Tudor Ewhurst. Ewhurst Historical Society. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025 from
http://www.ewhursthistory.com/about-ewhurst/a-brief-history-of-ewhurst

Sources:

A brief history of Ewhurst. Ewhurst – the Village and Parish. Ewhurst Historical Society. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025 from
http://www.ewhursthistory.com/about-ewhurst/a-brief-history-of-ewhurst

A brief history of Ewhurst.Tudor Ewhurst. Ewhurst Historical Society. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025 from
http://www.ewhursthistory.com/about-ewhurst/a-brief-history-of-ewhurst

Dendy. Surrey Index of Names. West Surrey Family History Society. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/sindex/siList.php?sisurname=dendy&siforenames=&siplace=&btn=Search

Ewhurst. Exploring Surrey's Past. Surrey Heritage. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/places/surrey/waverley/ewhurst/

Ewhurst St. Peter & St. Paul. Surrey Churches Index. Surrey Graveyards. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://www.surreygraveyards.org.uk/waverley/ewhurststpp.shtml

Ewhurst, Surrey. Britain Express. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=3325

Free Resources. West Family History Society. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from 
https://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/freeresources.php

Some Memorials of the Dendy' Family. By Sir William J. Collins, K.C.V.O." M.P. Transactions of the Baptist Historical Society. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://biblicalstudies.gospelstudies.org.uk/pdf/tbhs/volumes/05-3.pdf

Photos:

Ancestry DNA Ancesteral Journeys Clip. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025. 

Google Maps Clip. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025.

Links:

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

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!

______________________________________________________________