Military Records ~ Things To Know & Things Best Left Unknown

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 47 (SOLDIER)



It all begins with a family story you hear growing up. Or maybe you ask Grandma about relatives as Remembrance Day approaches. Or maybe you discover Grandpa fought in the war. Or maybe you find a package with war medals. Or maybe you find out a  relative died for your freedom. 


Researching military records can be exciting. 


When I was growing up I was fascinated by the swastika stamped release papers my grandfather had received after being a Belgian Prisoner of World War II. I learned what the acronym POW was at a very young age. I also knew Grandpa wouldn't talk about his experience. He did share the Belgian prisoners weren't treated as badly as the Jewish people because they were seen as good farmers so were put to work in the fields. He shared that he and his fellow farmers could eat dirty uncooked potatoes if they were careful to not be seen so weren't as hungry as others in the camp. On the day they were released he and his Belgian comrades accepted the boots for their long walk home. They accepted nothing else from their captors. Later when I was researching the Holocaust I often viewed through the lens of what little of Grandpa's experience I knew. 

*my step-dad's father

Frans & Emma Boogemans

Shortly before turning 50 my Ancestry DNA results showed one of my great grandparents was European Jewish. 

Everything that I thought I understood about the Holocaust shifted. 


Now it was personal. 


My great grandfather was a guard at the Kananaskis Prisoner of War Camp during WWII. During WWI Thomas was with the 8th Battalion, Royal Scots. 


*my dad's mother's father

Private Thomas Thomson, Veterans Guard of Canada
with X1 & X2 great granddaughters

Private Thomas Thomson, Veterans Guard of Canada, born May 10th 1880 in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland and died November 19th 1940 in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada. He's buried at the Burnsland Cemetery in Calgary. 

We Remember!

My maternal grandmother's family lost two members of the family 15 days apart on the battlefields in France.


Harry Dendy born November 24th 1874 in Balham, Surrey, England, and died December 5th 1916 in France.


Frederick Herbert Dendy born January 26th 1896 in Wandsworth, London, England, and died November 19th 1916 in France.


Both were born in England, but fought for the Canadian Military after immigrating to Canada.


*my mom's mother' side, her uncle and great uncle

My father is retired career military. He was a Peacekeeper in Cyprus in 1965.

my dad, early 1970s

 I was born on a military base in Quebec, and started school on a military base in Alberta. I believed that Santa arrived on a helicopter since that is how he arrived to every Christmas party I went to before starting school and learning differently. 

Dad with my brother and myself

If you are searching for information on anyone who served in the Canadian Military  Library and Archives Canada is a fantastic resource.


The instructions on this website have examples of how to search the Library & Archives Canada website. You will also find many other articles.
http://regimentalrogue.com/misc/researching_first_world_war_soldiers_part1.htm




*****A cautionary tale*****

Searching military records is not for the faint at heart. 

You may discover things about your relatives that you honestly didn't want to know. 

Finding his military medical record online I now know that my 

 X    grandfather's publicly available military medical record notes that he had:

wound, abscess, swollen glands, syphilis, 

gonorrhea X2, and X2 ulcers on his penis 

This relative was 18 years old, single, and married my X__ grandmother 8 years later. 



My exact relationship to this ancestor is redacted to protect his reputation and anyone who adored him and may still be living. 



The things you can't unknow, now that you know!






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:

Dendy, Frederick Herbert, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from 
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1567107/dendy,-frederick-herbert/

Dendy, Harry, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/27659/dendy,-/

Military Heritage, Library and Archives Canada, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from 
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/Pages/military-heritage.aspx

The Regimental Rogue, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from 
http://regimentalrogue.com/

Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World War, Michael O'Leary; The Regimental Rogue, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from
http://regimentalrogue.com/misc/researching_first_world_war_soldiers_part1.htm

Thomson, Thomas, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from  https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2849835/thomson,-thomas/



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!

_____________________________________________________________________

On a Virtual Walk - Visiting the Old Homestead

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 39 (MAP IT OUT)


I sent away for the homestead grant information for my great grandfather, Alexander Pellack. When the envelope arrived from the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan I was very excited to see what had been sent.


My grandfather claimed to have been born in San Francisco. He was born in Gronlid, Saskatchewan, Canada. A small town in the northern part of Sasksatchewan. His parents arrived from Ukraine (part of the Austrian Empire at the time) in 1909 with their three oldest children. My grandfather was the first born in Canada. He was born on the homestead that would eventually be the family farm. I can find no records of grandpa's birth being registered. His younger brother registered his own birth as an adult. Having never been registered it would have been easy for Grandpa to choose a new name for himself as he did.

I had previously found these two maps and record at the Library & Archives website.. 

Name:

• Alexr Pelyck

Part:

SW

Section:

1

Township:

48

Range:

17

Meridian:

W2

Folio:

38

Liber:

633

Microfilm Reel Number:

C-6439

Item Number:

87918

I opened the envelope to find a Cummins map noting the homestead plots with the associated name. This is a very small piece of the 4 page map.

Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, Cummins Map

Also included was all of the pages of the complete Homestead Grant file. I noticed that my great grandfather did not sign the document. His mark was recorded. I now understood how the name Pellack ended up spelled in so many different ways: Pellack, Pelyck, Pelack, Pelec, Pelyk, 

His mark, Alexander Pelyck (Pellack) 
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan,

I loved seeing the farm grow

Pellack Family Farm is growing 
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan,

On October 9th 1914 my great grandparents became landowners having met all the requirements of the homesteading terms.

Pellack Family Homestead 
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan,

I tried to use Google Maps for a street view of the farm my grandfather had grown up on, but was not successful.   


I took a look to see where I might be staying if my virtual visit was real.

I then went looking for the church my grandfather attended as a child. The Ukrainian Catholic parish of St. Michael at Gronlid. His father wasn't included in the original church planning names, but his uncle was. Many of the names included are found throughout this part of my family tree. The original settlers began arriving in 1908, and by 1919 decided that a local church was needed. They began the planning and financing, and 

"By April 18, 1919 the framing was completed. On Palm Sunday
of that year the parishioners, without a priest, were directed by
Tymko Bodnarchuk and John Buriock in their first holy
service in the church. Subsequently, they met every Sunday
and on holy days for prayer services, hymns and Molebni.
There were very few priests in this area and they visited
the parish once or twice a year" 1

Using Google's Street View I decided to walk the streets of Gronlid, Saskatchewan finding:

The SALOON 

The FIRE HALL

The COMMUNITY HALL

I then took a walk down a rural road, and imagined my grandpa growing up on a farm that looked a lot like this one

Presumably not the family farm
I couldn't find the address using the homestead details
will need to visit in real life to see the family homestead

My first time visiting my grandpa's hometown via Google Street View!







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,
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

Surprise -- I'm Ashkenazi Jewish

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

Max Pellack ~ I'm Not a Diamond Heiress with a Tiny Flluuuffy Dog in a Sparkly Flllluuufffy Handbag!

somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/03/not-diamond-heiress-with-tiny-flluuuffy.html

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

Footnotes:

1 Church of St. Michael constructed 1949-1951 near Gronlid; R.M. 458. Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from

https://www.skeparchy.org/wordpress/about-us/parishes/gronlid-st-michael/



Sources:

Alexander Pellack, Homestead Record, Libraries & Archives Canada, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/land/land-grants-western-canada-1870-1930/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=87918&


Gronlid hotel, Google Maps, Retrieved September 16th 2019 from
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Gronlid+Hotel/@53.1565402,-104.5444177,11z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1shotel+near+Gronlid,+SK!3m4!1s0x0:0x9720b62a7a558922!8m2!3d53.1638578!4d-104.4314218?hl=en&authuser=0


Streetview, Gronlid, Google Maps, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from https://www.google.ca/maps/@53.1012373,-104.4652601,3a,75y,101.76h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1se4AErGQd1vairtOFANbXZA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3De4AErGQd1vairtOFANbXZA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D109.11898%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0

Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, Homestead Documents, received 2017

Church of St. Michael constructed 1949-1951 near Gronlid; R.M. 458. Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from
https://www.skeparchy.org/wordpress/about-us/parishes/gronlid-st-michael/





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!

_____________________________________________________________________