John Robert (Jack) Graham ~ & The Deer

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 38 (ANIMALS)

This is my grandfather, John Robert Graham - he was known as Jack.

I never knew grandpa Jack because he left the family before I was born.

For that reason I was never able to ask him about this photo.

It appears that he is with a deer. 

The deer appears to be tame.

Then again, maybe that is not his house & it's  a game farm.

I'm not sure why it bothers me so much that I will never know why the deer is just standing beside Grandpa Jack.

Maybe Grandpa Jack was a deer whisperer.

I will never know the context of this Jack/Deer story. 

Remembering the grandpa I never knew:
John Robert (Jack) Graham 
B: 7 MAR 1930 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
D: 5 AUG 2011 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

His parents were:
Robert (Bob) Graham 
B: 3 May 1906 Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland
D: 10 Aug 1960 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
and
Nellie May (Con) Cannon 
B: 4 Dec 1904 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
D: 14 Sep 1984 Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

When it's too late to ask the questions!!! 

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!

______________________________________________________________

The Wheels On The Pram Go Round & Round ~ Remembering My Mom & Her Parents In A Happier Time

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 20 (WHEELS)

This week I shift my style of blogging.

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.

~

This week's photo features a happier time in my maternal family line. 

Jack & Amy with their firstborn child Jacki who would grow up to be my mom.

I chose this photo for 3 reasons:

1. there are wheels on that stroller even if you can't see them
2. this year was my 11th Mother's Day without my mom 
3. this is an important point in the tale of how my story began

Looking at this young family you can almost feel the joy, and aren't they pretty!

This happy moment wouldn't last - Jack & Amy's marriage would dissolve, but for this photo shows they were happy at one time.

Amy Almeda Bayes

Birth 8 NOV 1926 • Hamiota, Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada

Death 23 NOV 2023 • Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
and

John Robert (Jack) Graham

Birth 7 MAR 1930 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Death 5 AUG 2011 • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Jack & Amy were married on May 28th 1949 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Their divorce was finalized sometime in 1980 after many years of separation and reconciliation (last abt. 1970). 

Seeing this happy moment in time!!! 

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!

______________________________________________________________

Grandpa Jack ~ Earning a Living in the Canadian Navy

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 6 (EARNING A LIVING)

I have discovered that elbows are integral in the act of typing. 

I am currently dealing with an elbow injury, and am not able to type for any length of time. For the next while my blogs will primarily be photos. 

Meet my grandpa Jack Graham (AKA John Robert Graham) - he earned a living in the Canadian Navy

John Robert (Jack) Graham
BIRTH 7 MAR 1930 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DEATH 5 AUG 2011 • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

 When a photo says it all!!! 

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!

______________________________________________________________

When Your Birth Name Is An Assumed Name ~ Mistaken Identity

An elementary school project started me on pride in who I was and where I came from. 

I wrote up my family tree to my grandparents on both sides.

I learned the Robertson family motto "Glory is the reward of valour" 1

The Latin phrase Virtutis gloria merces at the top means, “Glory is the reward of valor.”
The Gaelic phrase Garg ‘n Uair Dhuisgear at the bottom means “fierce when roused.” 2

AND made the Clan Robertson War Cry mine "Fierce when Roused"  3

I begged for a Robertson Clan Kilt

How I wanted to take Highland Dance Classes
Dancing with swords (Oh My!!!)

Developed my list of special treats

Picked my favourite snack - scones & jam

I felt like I knew exactly who I was. 

The name on my birth certificate was easy to research & learn about. 

I took pride in knowing I came from a long line of highlanders who fought fiercely in the Jacobite rising!

AND at age 29 (pregnant with my second child) I discovered I wasn't a Robertson... 

I was Ukrainian on my paternal side - my grandfather had changed his name and decided Robertson was the one he wanted. 

A random name on my birth certificate.

My identity was rocked when I lost the Robertson name. 

I had grown up believing I was 75% Scottish & 25% English.

By 30 years of age I realized that I had no idea who I was or where I came from and my journey to find where exactly I fit in my own genealogical story began.

DNA testing let me know my heritage.  

Ancestry DNA report

23 & Me DNA report

23 & Me DNA Timeline report

Finding out who you really are!   

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 Robertson Clan, Scots Connection. Retrieved June 30th 2022 from
https://www.scotsconnection.com/clan_crests/robertson.htm

2 The Robertsons, Clan Donnachaidh of Athol, Visible Procrastinations. Retrieved June 30th 2022 from 
https://visibleprocrastinations.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/the-robertsons/

3 Our History, Clan Donnachaidh Society. Retrieved June 30th 2022 from
http://www.donnachaidh.org/our-history/

Photos:

Candy, Jam. Personal photos

Clan Donnachaidh Arms. The Robertsons, Clan Donnachaidh of Athol, Visible Procrastinations. Retrieved June 30th 2022 from 
https://visibleprocrastinations.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/the-robertsons/

DNA. Screenclips. Retrieved from Ancestry and 23 & Me personal account.

Highland Dancers (cropped). John Haslam from Dornoch, Scotland - Highland Dancing Competition - Dornoch Highland Gathering 2007, Retrieved July 1st 2022 from  ttps://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39436370 

Robertson Kilt. Athletic Lass Package. Retrieved July 1st 2022 from
https://sportkilt.com/product/athletic-lass-package/

Sources:

Clan Donnachaidh Society. Retrieved June 30th 2022 from
http://www.donnachaidh.org/our-history/

Robertson Clan, Scots Connection. Retrieved June 30th 2022 from
https://www.scotsconnection.com/clan_crests/robertson.htm

The Robertsons, Clan Donnachaidh of Athol, Visible Procrastinations. Retrieved June 30th 2022 from 
https://visibleprocrastinations.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/the-robertsons/

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!

______________________________________________________________

Same Name ~ Father & Daughter

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2021: Week 10 (NAME'S THE SAME)

Yesterday my grandfather would have turned 91. 
He died 10 years ago at the age of 81. 

John Robert (Jack) (Jacky) Graham
BIRTH 7 MAR 1930 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DEATH 5 AUG 2011 • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

I never knew him.
He left the family before I was born.

He briefly returned to walk my mom down the aisle for her marriage to my dad.

No one from his first family knew of his death until several years after he had died. 

I have written several posts about grandpa Jack which left me pondering if I should write about him again.

I decided YES!

This is my genealogy blog, and I get to decide the rules. 

To be honest it's really my mom that I am missing. 

It's just a few days until the 6 year anniversary of her death.

Her father's birthday reminder from Family Search last week left me thinking about my mom. 

Memory is a funny thing. 

I can almost hear her say she loves me to the moon and back again.

I can almost smell her perfume.

I kept a bottle of her signature scent while emptying her house for sale after her death. In the 6 years since I have only once taken that bottle out to spend a moment of time with my mom. I do have to make the decision carefully because I am allergic to mom's favourite perfume.
The sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes usually stop within the hour! 

I can almost feel her touch:

Top to bottom: Mom, Me, my youngest brother
The special blanket my mom's sister made her

It's been 6 years since mom died, and I miss her everyday.
I still start to pick up the phone to tell her about something that happened before I remember she can't answer my call. 

This year will be my 7th Mother's Day without mom.

I know it's still 2 months away, but I can still feel how painful that first Mother's Day without mom was. In the years since it hasn't gotten any easier. When I was emptying mom's house about a month before that first Mother's Day I found the card I had sent her the previous year. Inside the card she had written "I LOVE THIS CARD" in capital letters. She never told me that she loved the card I had sent her on what would be her last Mother's Day. I am grateful for the message she left behind. 

I don't think I will ever stop missing her. 

Mom was named after her father.
She is her father's oldest child. 

Jack's first family (missing 2 sons yet to be born)

Her father was John Robert Graham. He was known as Jacky as a child, and Jack as an adult. My mom was named after her father: Jacki-Roberta Graham. 

Remembering my mom on her father's birthday 

It seems this topic is an annual event in my genealogy blog.

I wrote about mom and her father 1 year ago. 

It's important to look back every now and again for new ideas and hints!

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/

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!

________________________________________________________________

The Sea Chase ~ Searching For Jack In A John Wayne Movie

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 39 (SHOULD BE A MOVIE)

Family tales begin with a nugget of information, and then the search is on.

Hey Family
- cousin Doug shared that grandpa Jack Graham was in a movie.....
He says:

"It was only a small part near the end of the film, but John Wayne was a Captain of a British/Canadian? destroyer, and it sank a German Cargo boat, and as the survivors climbed on board the destroyer, Jackie was one of the guards." 

"Doug says - near the end of the film, Jackie is standing with a gun as the survivors climb on board.... he says it was black and white."

I wasn't surprised to hear that Grandpa Jack has been in a movie. I had heard the stories about Jack through the years, and saw the photos. Jack was a confident attractive guy. On that set he would have made a gorgeous sailor any director would have wanted in his movie. 

With the details from cousin Doug I began searching for a John Wayne movie that fit the description. I found THE SEA CHASE. As usually happens with family lore there were a few details amiss, but not terribly different. It was surprisingly easy to find the movie. What wasn't easy was trying to find a venue to watch the movie. In the end Amazon provided. 

The replies I received to the message I sent at the top helped fill in a few details. 

"I know that he was in a movie. Gram was an usher at the theater in Victoria. Every time his scene  would be coming up they would run and get gram to come in and see him on screen."

"I'm pretty sure Dad was in his uniform with other soldiers on the deck of the ship while something was happening with John Wayne and the other stars."

"Dad was in a John Wayne movie. Mom took us to see it when we were very little. She said we were watching and then all of us were yelling Daddy when his face appeared"

Jack's three little girls about the time the movie was released 

Jack with his wife, three little girls and mother
(about the time THE SEA CHASE was released)

"mom dressed us all up and marched us down to the theatre so we could see him."

An example of how they were dressed up alike - a few years later 

Going back to cousin Doug's description I watched the movie waiting until a scene fit.
I was delighted when the described scene appeared:

As the scene came to an end I wondered how those little girls even recognized him since neither guard turned around. Thankfully I was watching with my husband who said "I don't think that's the right scene. It sounded like his face was on the screen." We continued to watch the movie. 

At the end I had no idea if I had just seen my grandfather in THE SEA CHASE. All I knew was that grandpa Jack was tall, dark haired, and thin. 

It reminded me of the year I lived in Vancouver when I stared at every bus driver to try to figure out if it was my grandfather. 

I never knew if my grandfather was the driver of the bus I rode on or if I had seen him in the movie I just watched. 

The legacy of a fractured family tree with broken branches. 

A few days after watching THE SEA CHASE my father came over for dinner. He had known Jack, and offered to help me figure out where Jack was in the movie. 

Dad wondered if that was Jack in the background of the photo below. 

Could that be Grandpa Jack behind?

Thinking back to the reply I had about Jack being in uniform I wondered if Dad was right. I compared the sailor in the scene above  with the photos I have of Jack from about the same time.

Definitely a maybe. 

When I sent the screenshot to my mom's sisters it remained a maybe. 

After looking at the stills of the scenes with actors in the background in the photos below we still aren't sure where Jack can be found in THE SEA CHASE.

Do I know which was Grandpa Jack in this film? No. 

Do I know I have the right film? Yes.

Remembering my Grandpa

John Robert (Jack) (Jacky) Graham

BIRTH 7 MAR 1930 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

DEATH 5 AUG 2011 • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Chasing the family stories!

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:

Farrow, J. (Producer) & (Director). (1955). The Sea Chase [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers.

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!

___________________________________________________________