Fan Club ~ When It's Your Child's

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 25 (FAN CLUB)

This is week 6 of my blogging style switch

For the next several weeks I will post a photo and a brief description. 

This new style of posting is due to CMC Arthroplasty surgery on my left thumb. 

I will continue with this style until my thumb has sufficiently recovered.

~

In 2004 our oldest found an ad in the newspaper for Model & Talent Search. 

He really wanted to go.

I had reservations about the field of acting, and was reluctant to take him.

Additionally I thought it was scammy.

Chris convinced me we needed to support our child in what they wanted to do reminding me he had wanted to be a pilot as a child and his family didn't support him.

He also told me that nothing would come of it because it was scammy, but our child would know we supported him.

The only concern Chris had was the event was during CSI, and he would be missing the episode (this was pre-pvrs so he really did miss that episode).

We went off to that convention with no  expectations beyond enjoying a family visit in the city with fantastic hotel discounts.

Our oldest left that convention signed to an agent.

In the weeks after he received 3 callbacks he didn't attend due to already being represented by an agency.

Turns out belief that nothing would come of this venture was mistaken, and now we were committed to supporting however we could.

This led to 3 years of multiple trips a week into Vancouver for auditions where he memorized pages of script to compete with others.

He decided he wanted to have more time for school & friends so left the acting business. 

He joined a local youth theatre group where he performed in many productions. 

AND continued to receive random cheques in the mail years later.

Head Shot (1 of 4 different ones used that year)

He has a page on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), and was an apprentice with The Union of British Columbia Performers (UBCP/ACTRA).

Not all of his projects are listed on IMDB.

There was this short filming about bullying he was cast as the popular boy who bullied the not so popular boys.

back row right in the classroom scene

On set I had to be within sight & sound of our son due to his age. As I watched all the goings on I realized 'this is where all those school films come from".

He was also a model for an author's illustrations for a fantasy adventure children's novel.

The short film, Shadows,  below he was a voice actor in.

His younger brother Child Voice 2.

He wasn't an actor, but the the Director heard him talk while we were waiting for his brother and asked him to join his film.

In another project our son played a child soldier named Daniel in a project with with Matilda Aslizadeh. The film was called Hero of Our Time

Matilda Aslizadeh explained the film:

"Hero of Our Time” (2009), tells the story of a child soldier in a fictional and unmentioned country. In it, the fictional sequences are combined with video games, a miniature model city, an operatic aria, documentary images from the internet, and footage of the location where the fictional sequences were shot, which happens to be the site of a residential school in Mission BC. This varied and layered approach attempts to turn the well-meaning documentary about unspeakable violence happening somewhere else in the “third-world” on its head." 1 

The film can be viewed at this link
https://vimeopro.com/matildaaslizadeh/matilda-aslizadeh/video/69898719

During our son's emotional death scene I inhaled a mosquito. 

The mosquitos were so bad that day.
The actors were being bitten so many times that day because crew members had to stop waving them off while the cameras were running.

If memory serves correctly Reace had more than 50 bites that day.

BUT back to my inhaled mosquito ... there are times over the past many years I have seriously pondered what exactly that mosquito is doing in my lungs.

I hope when he thinks about his acting years he remembers the fun & that his parents supported him in pursuing his dreams.

Our oldest had a fan club that included his parents!!! 

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  An Interview with Designer of Genocide Monument in Vancouver. Saghdejian, Karin. Armenian Weekly. Originally published May 7th 2014. Retrieved May 15th from
https://armenianweekly.com/2014/05/07/interview-designer-genocide-monument-vancouver/

Sources:

An Interview with Designer of Genocide Monument in Vancouver. Saghdejian, Karin. Armenian Weekly. Originally published May 7th 2014. Retrieved May 15th from
https://armenianweekly.com/2014/05/07/interview-designer-genocide-monument-vancouver/

Dresser Child 1 Voice. Reace Buchner. IMDB. Retrieved May 15th from
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2469297/?ref_=tt_cst_t_1

Dresser Child 2 Voice. Brayden Buchner. IMDB. Retrieved May 15th from
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5266404/?ref_=tt_cst_t

Hero Of Our Time 2008. Aslizadeh, Matilda. Retrieved May 15th from
https://vimeopro.com/matildaaslizadeh/matilda-aslizadeh/video/69898719

Matilda Aslizadeh: Child Soldiers, Born and Made. Canadian Art. Originally published May 29th 2008. Retrieved May 15th from
https://canadianart.ca/features/matilda-aslizadeh/

Shadows. Director & Writer: Shawn Swankey. IMDB. Retrieved May 15th from
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2288015/?ref_=ttfc_ov_bk

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!

______________________________________________________________

Perry Mason ~ My 8th cousin X3 removed Erle Stanley Gardner

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 25 (STORYTELLER)

When I was in grade seven I won an essay contest writing about the fire that burned our school when I was in grade five. 

When my teacher told me I had won she mentioned the judges had said I was a very good storyteller. 

For a hot minute I wondered about being an author for my career. 

All these years later I still weave a tale, but my audiences aren't always delighted with the amount of detail and long-windedness those stories contain. 

As I watch their eyes glaze over I will hear my Polish neighbour's voice in my head -  'get to point'. 

Sometimes I follow her heed, but other times I just can't skip over what I view as important details. 

These are not the details my audience necessarily feels are important! 

I need to learn the art of short story writing where not one extra word/detail is included.

In thinking about Storyteller I decided to write about an author that is in this Bramble Bush. 

I used WikiTree and Famous Kin to discover an author connected. 

I read the list of of Famous Kin for my 10th great grandparents, Thomas & Elizabeth (nee Charde) Ford for an author that intrigued me. 

I found my 8th cousin X3 removed, Erle Stanley Gardner

BIRTH 17 JUL 1889 • Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 11 MAR 1970 • Temecula, Riverside, California, USA

Erle's 7th great grandparents are my 10th great grandparents:

Thomas Ford

B: 6 Jan 1589 Powerstock, Dorset, England, United Kingdom

D: 28 Nov 1676 Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA
&

Elizabeth Charde

B: 1589 Thorncombe, Bridgeport, Dorsetshire, England

D: 18 Apr 1643 Windsor, Hartford,  Connecticut, British Colonial America

Erle was the author of the Perry Mason series. 

"Erle Stanley Gardner
(born July 17, 1889, Malden, Mass., U.S.—died March 11, 1970,
Temecula, Calif.) was an American author and lawyer who wrote
nearly 100 detective and mystery novels that sold more than
1,000,000 copies each, making him easily the best-selling
American writer of his time. His best-known works centre on
the lawyer-detective Perry Mason."  1

Although no longer in first runs during my childhood the re-runs must have been popular because I remember the theme song very well!

When you hear or see something that immediately takes you back to childhood!!! 

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  Erle Stanley Gardner, American author. Encyclopedia Brittanica.
Retrieved June 19th 2024 from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erle-Stanley-Gardner

Sources:

Famous Kin of Elizabeth Charde.  Elizabeth Charde Genealogy. Famous Kin.  Retrieved June 18th 2024 from 
https://famouskin.com/famous-kin-menu.php?name=6418+elizabeth+charde

Famous Kin of Thomas Ford.  Thomas Ford Genealogy. Famous Kin.  Retrieved June 18th 2024 from 
https://famouskin.com/famous-kin-menu.php?name=6417+thomas+ford

My Connections: Featured Connections.  My WikiTree. WikiTree.  Retrieved June 18th 2024 from https://www.wikitree.com/

Photos:

Erle Stanley Gardner.  John Atherton, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved June 19th 2024 from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erle-Stanley-Gardner-1966.jpg

The Case of the Stuttering Bishop poster. Warner Bros. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Case_of_the_Stuttering_Bishop_poster.jpg Warner Bros., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. 
Retrieved June 19th 2024 from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Case_of_the_Stuttering_Bishop_poster.jpg

Photo of Raymond Burr as Perry Mason and Barbara Hale as Della Street from the television series Perry Mason. CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved June 19th 2024 from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raymond_Burr_Barbara_Hale_Perry_Mason_1958.jpg

Photograph of William Hopper, Barbara Hale and Frank Sully in the CBS-TV series Perry Mason. CBS Television (photographer unknown), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved June 19th 2024 from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Perry-Mason-Hopper-Hale-1958.jpg

Video:

Perry Mason Theme. spudtv. Retrieved June 23rd 2024 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA9t1nSGXXE

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!

______________________________________________________________

Time Flies ~ Photos To Remember

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2023: Week 25 (FAST)

Time flies.

Faster than expected.

This week my husband received a box of memories from his grandparents house.

In the box was a photo that I remembered seeing, but no one I asked over the years had a copy.

I was delighted to find this photo in the box.

Our son, his father, his father, and his father!

The 1st born male of each of these 4 generations to carry the Buchner family name. 

Also included in that box of treasures was this family photo that I don't remember ever seeing, but I know it arrived at Chris' grandparents house via my sending it to them.

When we were in the thick of parenting with babies and little ones I remember someone saying 'the days are long, but the years are short'. 

Looking back now that we are empty nested this sentiment hits me in the feels.

Realizing how fast the the years have gone by!!! 

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:

B

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!

______________________________________________________________

Family Heirlooms ~ A Wooden Walking Stick

 
Recently we traveled across Canada to spend time with our children & extended family members. 

On this trip my husband's grandfather gave him this family heirloom:

Close-ups -  bottom to top

The photos do not do it justice. This is an incredible piece of woodwork. It's carved from a solid piece of wood...
It's a BROKEN BRANCH fitting this week's theme. 

Starting from the bottom the carvings tell the story of the Old Testament: Adam & Eve, Noah & the Ark, the 3 wise men following the Star of David to the manger, ending with the the Crucifixion of Jesus.
Or at least that is what we thought it was telling.  

Between Noah & the animals disembarking and the arrival of the 3 wise men is a beaver & a turtle. We wondered if it was to represent the Indigenous Creation Story alongside the bible's. Alternatively they could represent Turtle Island (North America) & Canada. 

Family lore suggests it might have been a talking stick used by missionaries.

On closer examination we aren't sure that it is telling the story of Old Testament from the bottom. 

The first four symbols have people carrying objects that appear to be an axe, a sled, a rosary, and one unidentifiable. Then livestock, a small boat, and a person carrying nothing followed by the beaver & the turtle. Then a man holding 3 fish & a key. Then a square with 2 wedges on either side with a platform above. Then the 3 wise men following a star to a place with livestock with a baby in a manger. Then a family - 2 adults with 1 child. Then another animal that might be a squirrel or a salamander. Then 2 more people who may be fighting. Then the symbol of Jesus on the cross. Around the cross is tools: an axe, a square, a hammer, a saw, a pair of plyers, and a spear. Above all of the that is a rooster. Then a man and a woman holding hands. Then a leaf (or a tree or a plant) with a bird sitting at the top. From bottom to top encompassing the entire story is a snake. 

Online searching resulted in our discovering it's a Folk Art Cane/Walking Stick. 

***If you have any knowledge of this walking stick we would love to hear from you***

His grandfather remembers the walking stick being at his grandparents house when he was a child. 

Mark Rearely & Anna Barbara (nee Walser) Buchner

Mark Rearely Buchner

BIRTH 24 FEB 1838 • Woodhouse Twp., Norfolk Co., ON, Canada

DEATH 12 JUN 1931 • Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
&

Anna Barbara (Barbara) Walser

BIRTH 13 APR 1860 • Teufen, Appensell, Switzerland

DEATH 1950 • Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada

Until the provenance can be established the origins before my husband's X3 great grandparents can't be known.

His grandfather told us that the family believed it originated 2 generations higher with 

Jacob Buchner Sargeant, UEL

BIRTH 31 MAY 1763 • Hardwick Township, Sussex County, New Jersey , USA

DEATH 11 AUG 1841 • Woodhouse, Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada
&

Catherine Shular (Sheelar)

BIRTH 20 SEP 1767 • Sussex County, New Jersey, USA

DEATH 8 FEB 1855 • Woodhouse, Norfolk County, Ontario

Folk Art Canes were typically from the Civil War to WW1 which put the X5 Great Grandpa Jacob tale a bit out of reach, but could fit for a generation below (X4 Great grandparents)

Jacob Clasnor Buchner

BIRTH 20 APR 1803 • Woodhouse Twp, Norfolk County , Ontario, Canada

DEATH 29 JUN 1886 • Houghton Twp, Norfolk County , Ontario, Canada
&

Amy Catherine Matthews

BIRTH ABT 1801 • Woodhouse, Ontario, Canada

DEATH 10 MAR 1880 • Cultus, Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada

We do know the walking stick has been passed down to the oldest male of each generation starting with the children of Mark's second marriage. 

This left us wondering if it was possible the walking stick originated with X3 great grandmother Anna Barbara Walser's family. Alternatively it may have been that she gave it to her oldest son vs. Mark's oldest son (from his 1st marriage). We aren't sure where it came from before X3 great grandparents Mark & Barbara (nee Walser) Buchner obtained it. 

Grandfather to grandson happened this time because my father-in-law died last year. Our son is the oldest male of the next generation allowing the walking stick to continue 6 generations through the oldest male. 

In today's world the practice of passing down father to son ignoring daughters seems old fashioned & unfair. Since we have 2 boys and no daughters we can follow the tradition without discrimination. 

Treasures passed down the direct male line!!!

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***

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!

______________________________________________________________

Strange Groupings ~ Mosquitoes & Homestead Grants

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2021: Week 25 (GROUPS)

British Columbia, Canada is in the middle of a heat wave that is shattering long held records. This week our community is set to break the record for hottest day ever, and yet officially summer has barely begun. 

We live on the WEsT COAST - we get a lot of rain here. When we have a hot dry spell areas normally kept wet year round experience the hatching of a bizzillion mosquitoes. Those eggs have been just waiting and waiting and waiting for this type of drying to finally hatch & begin their search for blood. 

Standing in our yard you can see GROUPS and groups of swarming mosquitoes the moment a living thing arrives. 

My husband and I take turns going out to water the hanging baskets. If only one of us went daily during this hot spell we might be in need of a blood transfusion before the weather turns back to our normal cooler temperatures.  

The photo above is a close up of the shirt that I gave my dad many years ago. He's retired Canadian Military, and lived in Manitoba at the time. The Canadian Prairies are well known for their large mosquitoes. 

This is one of the treasures we have found while helping my dad declutter & downsize for his move to a smaller place.

I also found this Homestead record which I didn't know about when I ordered copies of my own from the Saskatchewan Archives several years ago. I opened an envelope, and realized I could have seen the homestead grant years before I paid to get a copy. 

I also found the documents for my maternal great grandparents home in Calgary, but that will wait for another day!

Back to my theme of groups of mosquitoes. When my great grandparents arrived to Canada in June of 1909 from Ukraine they were introduced to mosquitoes while traveling by oxen & wagon with all their worldly goods from Star City to brother Mikita's homestead in Gronlid where the family would eventually obtain the nearby homestead above.

The family of 5 (Alexander, Mary, 11 year old Johanna, 6 year old Harry, 3 year old Stephania) traveled on the ship Willehad. They left the Port of Bremen on June 2nd 1909, and arrived in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on June 19th 1909.  

I can't be sure they didn't already know mosquitoes because my searching suggest Ukraine does have mosquitoes even though the memoirs I read of the Ukrainian immigrant experience suggested they didn't. Maybe it was just the size of the Canadian mosquitoes that were different. 

"... The family departed by train from Skoroki to the port of Bremen, There, a wait of several days ensued while sufficient cargo of livestock and people were assembled to make the voyage profitable. Livestock were placed in the bottom and people were placed in the middle deck. Sometime in May, 1909, the leaky ship set out to sea With numerous stops for additional cargo and delays caused by traffic and icebergs, the voyage took some sixteen days. Quebec felt cold. From the large gathering hall which was the dispersal point for all immigrants, the family was shuffled onto a train bound for Winnipeg and eventually to Star City.  Alexander's brother, Makita who immigrated to Canada two years earlier, met them at the train with a cart and oxen which he had hired from a neighbour. It was a long trip from Star City to the homestead east of Gronlid. Imagine bumping down cut lines, over stumps through sloughs. It was an unforgettable experience, a dark rainy night, with their first encounter with mosquitoes! ..." 1

"When the women saw their little log cabin, which was to be their home for a while, they wept, and almost ganged up on their husbands, and if they had ropes, I believe they would have lynched every last one of them. We are going right back they said, we are not remaining here to be eaten alive by these big elephants, which you call mosquitoes ..." 2

112 years & 1 week after their arrival in Canada I write this blog.
I am Canadian because my great grandparents left all they knew behind to call Canada home. All that I have, and all that I am, I owe to their desire to make a new life. 

Keeping the stories of our ancestors alive!!!

Cause ... 




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

This is why I search - 

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

Footnotes:

1 "Our Courageous Pioneers : History of Gronlid and Surrounding Districts of Argus, Athol, Edenbridge, Freedom, Maryville, Murphy Creek, Sandhill Creek, Taelman, Taras, Teddington,." (Melfort Saskatchewan: Phillips Publishers , 1991), 188

2 Rosenberg, Norman. "Edenbridge: The Memory Lives On." (Melfort, Saskatchewan: Phillips Publishing, 1980) 62

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!

________________________________________________________________

Unexpected ~ Not Related To My Husband

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 25 (UNEXPECTED)


Many years ago I first heard the tale of the Meharg's in my husband's side of the Bramble Bush.



As the tale goes this line of the family had been sheep thieves. When they made the decision to leave their sheep thieving days behind they reversed the spelling of their name for a fresh start. Graham became Meharg.


My husband's X2 great grandmother was a Meharg
Rosa Lulu Meharg
BIRTH 12 JUL 1882 • Glen Meyer, Ontario
DEATH 23 DEC 1962 • Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada


My mother's maiden name was Graham.


There was little doubt in my mind that my husband and I were related via Clan Graham.


Flash forward many years, and we receive our Ancestry DNA results which show we are not related.


BUT wait -- what if it's too small a match to flag for Ancestry.
Off to GedMatch for final confirmation

Nothing in my family tree was as unexpected as finding out my husband and I had no in common DNA segments via the Graham family line.


I went in search of the story we had heard. There are many records of exact and similar stories out there which may suggest there is some truth to the tale about a fresh start after a life of thievery.  


There are also many sources that Meharg is an Irish name that had nothing to do with the Grahams of Scotland.

This very unusual Irish name is believed to originate from Galloway in Scotland where it was originally spelt as Mac Giolla Chairge - 'the son of the servant of Carraigh' - a personal name meaning 'the rock'. There are number of alternative modern spellings including MacIlhagga, McIlharga, MacElhargy, Maharg and Maharg, these alternatives being found generally in counties Antrim and Derry. The abreviation of 'Mac' to 'Ma' or 'Me' is common in Ulster for reasons of dialect. The name also appears in The Famine Record for 1845-46 as Mahagin (son of the son of 'Harg') and Michael Maha, as well Joan Maharg of Liverpool, described as a lady who eimgrated to America in 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mac Giolla Chairge which was dated 1659 the All Ireland Census during the reign of Richard Cromwell, The Lord Protector 1658-1659 Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. 1

My husband's X3 great grandfather arrived from Ulster, Ireland
John Franklin Meharg 
BIRTH 24 JUN 1832 • Rathfriland, Ulster, County Down, Ireland
DEATH 7 JUN 1909 • Norfolk, Haldimand, Ontario, Canada

John Franklin & Mary Etta (nee Longstaff) Meharg, and their children
source: Ancestry 

my great grandfather arrived from Scotland
Robert (Bob/Bobby) Graham
BIRTH 3 MAY 1906 • Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
DEATH 10 AUG 1960 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

My great grandfather Robert (Bob) (Bobby) Graham is not in this photo
his son (John Robert (Jack) and ex wife Nellie (nee Cannon) are
along with his mother and siblings and their families
source: family photo

The Meharg line of our Bramble Bush is from Ireland, and the Graham line from Scotland. 



The roots of this Bramble Bush are not intertwined!

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 Last name: Meharg, Surname Database, The Internet Surname Database, Retrieved June 20th 2020 from 
https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Meharg



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!

___________________________________________________________