R. Robert Mutrie ~ A Credible Source

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2021: Week 7 (UNUSUAL SOURCE)

In the years I have been searching for broken branches of our Bramble Bush there has been a few unusual sources, but the majority of my searching has been through very traditional sources. 

In 2018 I attended a Genealogy Conference, and struck a jackpot find on the freebie table. There were Ontario Archives public record books that included my husband's 4th great grandfather in it. You can read about that find here:  |Jacob Buchner ~ A FRESH START in Canada

One of my early sources for the Buchner family line was
"R. Robert Mutrie, Norfolk County researcher, writer and publisher of more than four decades, is quite simply, "Mr. Long Point Settler.". " 1

Mr. Mutrie's writings and documentation has helped build our Bramble Bush. His information can be counted on to be accurate. I have read many of his writings, and quoted him as a source in many of my blog entries. Mr. Mutrie is a credible source. 

This week's UNUSUAL SOURCE is that we recently found an Ancestry DNA match to a person who I suspect is Mr. Mutrie's wife. My husband shares 21 cM across 3 segments (Unweighted shared DNA: 34 cM, Longest segment: 19 cM) with her. The Predicted relationship is 4th–6th Cousin. My husband does not match Mr. Mutrie himself. His match is to an account managed by Mr. Mutrie hence I suspect his wife.

What makes this UNUSUAL is that it appears as though my husband is related on all 4 sides of his lineage. This unusual discovery was made when looking at the shared matches. This unusual discovery resulted in the creation of a new DNA profile picture:

The DNA match is small. The value of the match is in the shared matches. As I have found many times in searching my husband's side of the Bramble Bush the lines intersect so often that it makes it very hard to determine the exact relationship. 

The best part about this unusual discovery is knowing the research that has gone into our Bramble Bush is correct. R. Robert Mutrie is a credible source in the Ontario Genealogy community. Our Bramble Bush matches the tree I found on Ancestry. It is a great feeling when credible sources confirm your research.

When your family has such long roots to the area that all 4 sides of your lineage are interconnected! 

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 The Author, R. Robert Mutrie, St. Williams Ontario, History, . Retrieved February 14th 2021 from   https://sites.google.com/site/stwilliamsontariohistory/robert-mutrie

Sources:

The Long Point Settlers, Retrieved February 14th 2021 from
https://sites.google.com/site/longpointsettlers/Home?authuser=0

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!

________________________________________________________________

 

Walk a Mile In Those Shoes ~ When Photos Tell the Tale

 

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2021: Week 4 (FAVOURITE PHOTO)

We have so many photos that choosing just one seemed an impossible task. 

Once I decided which branch of the Bramble Bush to write about this week the decision became more obvious. 

I remember the first time I saw this photo:

Great Grandpa Alonzo with my husband

This is my husband with his great grandfather Alonzo Vannatter. 

The book (sourced below) was a present for my husband from his grandmother in 1993. She wrote a personal message to him in the front of the book. She also included notes of who was who.

I read that book cover to cover. I have always loved history, and this one had personal connections to our family.

When I arrived at page 84 I shared the photo with my husband. 
I commented that it appears his belief in his personal value was instilled in him young. 

Even today $145 a mile is a tremendous amount of money. He had never seen the book or heard the story before I showed it to him.

The book is a history of the Brethren in Christ Church in Frogmore, Ontario, Canada.

Intertwined is part of my husband's family story.  

Great Grandpa Alzonzo & Great Grandma Vera  when they were younger

In this photo are:
two of my husband's X2 great grandfathers: George Williams & Ben Vannatter, one X2 great grandmother: Fidella (nee Foreman) Vannatter
and one X2 great aunt: Florence (nee Aspden) Williams
  (who is related by marriage paternally, and blood maternally)

Back far left is my husband's grandmother, Nina
on her left, her sister Reta

Finding family photos & stories in published works!

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:

Sider, Morris E., & Vannatter, Alonzo. (1978), Fruit From Woods And Sands: The Story of Houghton Mission. Nappanee, Indiana: Evangel Press..

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!

________________________________________________________________

 

As If Born To ~ Grown Under Their Hearts

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 34 (CHOSEN FAMILY)

By the time I was 8 years old I had 2 dads.
The 1970s were well known for the high divorce rates so we weren't unique.
What was unique is that my brother and I were accepted into our new extended family 'as if born to' without a formal process. We were never adopted. 
A by-product of the high divorce rates of the 70s was that many children grew up without a father to love and care for them. 
We were blessed.
We had two fathers who loved us.

How did we become part of the Boogemans family? 
You can read all about it here 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 19 (Nurture)

This part of the tale all started during our journey across Canada. We moved from British Columbia to Ontario during the spring I was about 8 and a half years old. My brother was soon going to be 6. That trip happened in an orange Volkswagon Camper Van that started on fire somewhere in the prairies. Our new dad was a heavy duty mechanic and welder, and somehow fixed all that was damaged in such a short time our trip wasn't delayed too much. 

On that long journey our new dad taught us to say 'How are you?' in Flemish 

"Oe ’wis’t met jou?". 

We practiced for the entire journey wanting to say it exactly right.
He corrected our pronunciation showing us how to hold our mouths just right.

When we met our new grandparents for the first time I smiled and said 
"Oe ’wis’t met jou?".  My grandma got super excited with the biggest smile and said to my dad " you found a nice Flemish girl". I was so proud that my pronunciation was perfect enough to make her believe we were Flemish. 

I immediately loved my new grandparents. They both had the warmest smiles. 

They always looked like they were ready to get into mischief, and let us join in.

Grandpa used to feed us cookie sandwiches.
They were made with windmill spice cookies served between two slices of buttered white bread sprinkled with brown sugar.
Grandma would complain that we shouldn't be eating such things.
We knew she didn't mind when she continued to smile.
We loved visiting grandma and grandpa on the farm. 

The roots of this chosen family began in Belgium when two people who probably weren't really supposed to get married did. 
One was a Walloon (Grandpa) and one a Flem (Grandma).
You can read more about this in the article 
An Introduction To The Flemish-Walloon Divide in the sources below.

As a small girl I was enamored by the story or how love conquered.
Against these odds my grandparents were:

Frans Boogemans

BIRTH 30 OCT 1910 • Belgium

DEATH 15 MAR 2000 • Exeter, Huron, Ontario, Canada

and

Emma Louisa Florentina Van Loo

BIRTH 18 MAR 1910 • Heist Op Den Berg, Antwerpen, Belgium

DEATH 18 DEC 1988 • Dashwood, Ontario, Canada

They were married on October 23rd 1937 in Heist Op Den Berg, Belgium.

They had 5 sons.
My dad was their youngest, and the prettiest.
The only one with brown hair in a family of redheads.
That's him in his mom's arms. 

They lived in this beautiful house in Heist Op Den Berg, Belgium.

In June 1955 the Boogemans family immigrated to Ontario, Canada
leaving all of their extended family members behind. 
This photo was taken shortly before they departed to Canada.
It includes Frans' parents and siblings.

The family of 7 settled onto farmland in Dashwood, Ontario.
They built their new house (pictured below) to look very much like
the home they left behind in Belgium.

This photo was taken on one of their trips to B.C. to see us.
Grandma, Grandpa, my dad, my brother, and myself.

When Grandpa died I wrote a poem, and asked a cousin to read it at the funeral.
The only line I remember is 'As if born to - we grew under your hearts'.
I wish I had kept a copy of that poem. 
I have written quite a few poems over the years.
I never kept a copy of any of them.

Frans & Emma together at rest. 
___________________________________________________________

The dad who chose me when I was 8 years old is a part of who I am today. 



Blood is only one part of the family equation!







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:

An Introduction To The Flemish-Walloon Divide. Van De Poel, Nana. Culture Trip. Published November 24th 2016. Retrieved August 23rd 2020 from

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/belgium/articles/an-introduction-to-the-flemish-walloon-divide/

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!

___________________________________________________________

Rooted to the Land ~ Germany to Canada

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 17 (LAND)



My husband's family is solidly rooted to the land in Southern Ontario. Much of the land was originally granted for loyalty to Britain. His family is spread all across Ontario with some still living on their original land grant. 

There is much history attached to the Buchner name. 

My husband shares a name with a X5 great uncle whose home is a historical site in the Niagara Falls area.

"The property was part of a larger holding purchased by Christopher Buchner
from his father-in-law, James Forsyth, in 1799. The lands were central to the
fighting of the Battle of Lundy's Lane on July 25, 1814. A house belonging to
Christopher and Sarah Buchner on the southwest slope of Drummond Hill was
noted in military papers which recorded the battle proceedings. Christopher
Buchner was a lieutenant in the 2nd Lincoln Militia and was standing, with his son John, only a few hundred yards from his house when the first skirmishes began. The extent of the damage, if any, which the house sustained during the battle is unknown." 1

Source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Lundy%27s_Lane.jpg

When I first got married I don't remember who told me: 'if you aren't born to or married to a Buchner - not to worry you will be related to Buchners before you die', but they were right. As I navigate across the Buchner side of the Bramble Bush I have discovered that the statement was funny because it was true. I spend a lot of time untangling the wraparound vines. The intertwining requires careful consideration before adding a new person to this side of the bramble bush.  


In Ontario many Buchners are still farmers or lease their land to other farmers. Many run businesses from the land descendants still own. When searching for Buchners alternative spellings Boughner & Buckner will result  in long lists of folks and businesses throughout North America.


Long before the battle of 1812 my husband's ancestors called Unnau, Germany home. 

Red is the village Unnau
Source: Google Maps

"All genealogies begin with the German ancestor Merten Buchner (died 1694) who lived in Unnau, a village in the province of Nassau-Dillenburg. This is located in the northernmost part of the Westerwald Region of the present state of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany and northeast of the city of Koblenz. The genealogy follows his family in the records of nearby Bad Marienberg Evangelical Church. Merten’s son Johan Bäst Buchner (baptized 1663) lived in Unnau, as did Merton’s grandson Johann Martin Buchner (baptized 1705), the immigrant ancestor to America.

Martin Buchner with his wife Elisabetha Maria Zehrüng and family emigrated to America on the snow Rowand landing in the Port of Philadelphia in 1753 then settled in Amwell Township, Morris (afterwards Sussex) County, New Jersey where Martin was a schoolmaster." 2


Johannes Martin (Martin) Buchner
BIRTH 29 JAN 1704 • Unnau, Nassau (now), Westerwald, Germany

DEATH 1780 • Sussex County, New Jersey, United States of America
and
Elsa Maria (Elizabeth) Zehrung
BIRTH 14 OCT 1704 • Fehl-Ritzhausen, (now Marienberg), Nassau, (now) Westerwald, Germany

DEATH 1780 • Amwell, Sussex, New Jersey, USA


Martin and Elizabeth (nee Zehrung) Buchner are my husband's 6th great grandparents through their son:
Johannes Theis (John) Buchner (my husband's 5th great grandfather)
BIRTH 18 SEP 1729 • Unnau, Westerwald, Hessen, Germany
DEATH 11 SEP 1791 • Hardwick Twp, Sussex, New Jersey, USA
and his wife Catherine (I have't been able to confirm details). 


My husband's part of the bramble bush arrived in Ontario, Canada via his 4th great grandparents
**** and 5th great grandparents explained in another blog linked below ****

United Empire Loyalist (UEL)
Sergeant Jacob Buchner
BIRTH 31 MAY 1763 • Hardwick Twp., Sussex, New Jersey, USA
DEATH 11 AUG 1841 • Woodhouse, Norfolk County, Ontario
and 
Catherine Shelar
BIRTH 20 SEP 1767 • Sussex County, New Jersey
DEATH 8 FEB 1855 • Woodhouse, Norfolk County, Ontario

I do not yet have a record of their arrival in Canada, but the first recorded child born in Canada was 1789.

My husband's 3rd great grandfather is their 7th child born in 1908.
Jacob Clasnor Buchner
BIRTH 20 APR 1803 • Woodhouse Twp, Norfolk County , Ontario, Canada
DEATH 29 JUN 1886 • Houghton Twp, Norfolk County , Ontario, Canada
married to
Amy Catherine Matthews
BIRTH ABT 1801 • Woodhouse, Ontario
DEATH 10 MAR 1880 • Cultus, Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada
who was a widow of George Warwick when she married Jacob.


Their descendant works in healthcare, and finds peace rooted to the land. 

Working hard to pollinate2020 Mason Bees 

5 generations later still loving the land!







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,
When Two Lines Become One ~ Clarissa (nee Buchner) Rittenour
http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2020/03/when-two-lines-become-one-clarissa-nee.html



Footnotes:

1 Buchner House, 6172 Buchner Place, Council of the Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls , Bylaw Amendment, Ontario Heritage Act e-Register. Retrieved April 25th 2020 from
https://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/fr/oha/details/file?id=4733


2 The Ontario Pioneers and Available Genealogies, The Long Point Settlers. Mutrie, R. Robert. Retrieved April 25th 2020 from
https://sites.google.com/site/longpointsettlers/ontario-pioneers-genealogies/settlers-b/ontario-pioneers-brady-to-budd?authuser=0




Sources:

Buchner House, Canada's Historic Places. Retrieved April 25th 2020 from
https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9749

Lundy's Lane Battlefield, Niagara Falls Museums. Retrieved April 25th 2020 from 
https://niagarafallsmuseums.ca/visit/lundyslanebattlefield

Nassau, Historical Region, Germany, Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved April 25th 2020 from https://www.britannica.com/place/Nassau-historical-region-Germany

Niagara Falls, Fort Erie Local History. Retrieved April 25th 2020 from
https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9749





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!

___________________________________________________________

Father & Son ~ Explosion At Work

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 15 (FIRE)


It was a Thursday.
January 19th 1905 when Michael Aspden went to work at the sawmill in Cultus, Ontario, Canada. He, like many of the local farmers, made extra money during the winter at sawmills. 

Whitehead's Sawmill, 1905

That day, like any other winter day, he probably said goodbye to his wife & children. Maybe he kissed his wife Maggie goodbye?  

Michael & Maggie (nee Murphy) Aspden
My husband's X2 great grandparents

Maybe his kids chased after him?  Maybe he left with a full heart?  Maybe he left worried about things?  What exactly he was thinking about we don't know.  

What we do know is that Michael went to work at the sawmill. He was working that day with his oldest child John, and third oldest child Tom.  He likely met them at work. 


By 1905 Tom likely was not living at home. In the 1901 census he was listed as  living nearby with the Fleming family. By 1905 he may have moved back home since he was not married. 

Oldest son John had gotten married just a few weeks before on December 28th to Jessie Burger. He and Jessie likely lived nearby as was typical of that era. Maybe John met up with Michael & Tom to go to work, or maybe he met them there.


The day likely began & progressed just like any other work day. Just before quitting time John bent over to pick something up off the floor. That moment would save his life. 


At about 5:00 p.m. the boiler at the sawmill exploded. Tom and coworkers Charles Hainer, and George McCallum were killed instantly.  Michael & Freeman Moffatt critically injured. 

Simcoe Reformer, January 27th 1905 

An Aspden family member wrote the following after hearing the stories at a family reunion. 
"We can imagine the horror of John when he straightened up and gaped at the wreckage around him. His younger brother, Thomas, was dead. So too was the hired help, Charles Hainer. At first glance, Michael was in shock, badly burnt, but looked like he was going to make it."1


It was 6 days later that Michael succumbed to the injuries he sustained that day. 

Thomas Aspden & Charles Hainer died instantly
Michael Aspden died from inernal injuries 6 days later

When I decided to write about Michael & Tom Aspden for this week's blog, using the prompt, FIRE I thought I knew the story well having heard it from my husband's aunt who had heard it from her father who was 21 at the time of the explosion that killed his father and brother. 


I found researching fairly difficult because of the errors and misspellings in the past. There were a lot of media articles that listed Tom as George Aspden. The name Aspden was spelled as Ashben, Aspben, and Ashpen, and other ways. Once I finally figured out the sawmill wasn't owned by Michael as the family believed, but was owned by a gentleman named George Whitehead, researching became a little easier. 


It was known as Whitehead's Sawmill. The family story only included two killed, and one injured. There was much of the tale that we didn't know.


The insurance company released the information below. It doesn't list Charles Hainer who was included in the death registration above. Nor does it list Michael as dying from the injuries.I wasn't able to find Charles Penard so it's possible that the Charles listed below is the same Charles listed above. Which name is the correct one can't be determined, but likely the burial information is correct. The death registration isn't fully correct since Charles' age was not 18. Charles. This burial record appears to be accurate:

Source: Ancestry.ca

"(36.) — A boiler exploded, on January 19, in Whitehead's sawmill, at Cultus,
a small town near Langdon, Ont. Charles Penard, George Aspden, George McCallum, and Freeman Moffat were killed, and George Whitehead, Michael Aspden, and Charles Whitehead were injured. The property loss is estimated

at $15,000." 2

Below is part of an entry I found in a local history book: 
"Another incident occurred at the Whitehead sawmill east of Fairground on December 19, 1904, when a steam boiler ran dry and someone tried to replace the water with the result that four men were killed and a fifth died on January 25, 1905. Four other men were injured. Charles. Hanner and Thomas Aspden were killed instantly, the latter by a brick driven through his skull. Freeman Moffatt of Cultus lived ten hours and George McCollom lived just a few minutes after being carried to the nearby boarding house. Michael Aspden died later in Langton on January 25, 1905. The injured were John L. Gee, Wally Whitehead and Allan Moffatt. Aspden was blown out of the fire hole about thirty feet beyond the west end of the mill. Wally Whitehead, nephew of John Whitehead, the owner of the mill, had just arrived on the scene when the explosion occurred and was hit by a flying object in the shoulder and arm, disabling his arm. John Aspden and Walter Stansell were the first to gather up the dead. The latter was mistaken for a doctor as he came upon the scene carrying a satchel." 3

After the explosion
Lower right of the photo is a hat - believed to be Michael Aspden's

In the photo above you will see a hat in the lower right. The family had been told it is Michael's hat. The family was told that Tom was decapitated. In the excerpt above it was described that a brick was driven through Tom's skull. It must have appeared to the family member who identified him that he had been decapitated. 


John was first to gather up the dead which included his father, brother, and colleagues. If he wouldn't have bent over right at that moment in time he too would have been injured or killed. His wife left a widow after only 22 days of marriage. His first child born 11 months later would never have been.  Like Tom's family line John's would have ended that day at work. 



In the book excerpt above the date of the explosion is wrong. After reading it I realized I needed to research this story more. I was able to confirm the date with the registration of Freeman Moffatt's death. I was not able to find George McCallum's death registration, but did find his death information on Find-A-Grave (sourced in the section below). Death records for both confirm the date of the explosion as January 19th 1905. 

Once the details were correct it was possible to find articles about the explosion. 

The Daily News, January 21st 1905

The Ottawa Journal, January 21st 1905

Manitoba Morning Free Press, January 21st 1905 

Toronto Daily Star, January 20th 1905

The Buffalo Times,  Jan 23rd 1905

The Windsor Star, January 20th 1905

When considering all the details presented the story passed down to the family regarding this tragic accident are mostly correct. The family's belief that the sawmill was owned by Michael Aspden isn't correct. I can find no connection between the owner George (or John or Charles) Whitehead and the Aspden family. 


There were 10 men working at the sawmill on the day the explosion happened. 5 were killed, 3 recovered from their injuries, and 2 were uninjured. 


The lack of safe work practices in the past is why we now have rules & legislation around safety at work. Everyone should come home at the end of their work day. 





Taking a moment to remember those who didn't come home from work in our Bramble Bush Family Tree. 






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 Our Aspden Roots In Lancashire, England: A Tradition of Stationary Engineers and Sawmills, Aspden, Murray Bruce.  Self published eBook, 2016, pg 4

2 The Locomotive, Vol. 25, The Hartford Steam Boiler Insepction and Insurance Company, The Case, Lockivood & Brainard Company Printers, Hartford, Connecticut, October 1905, pg 213   Retrieved April 14th 2020 from
https://archive.org/details/locomotive25hart/mode/2up

3 Sims' History of Elgin County Volume III.  Sims, Hugh Joffre. Elgin County Library St. Thomas, Ontario,  The Aylmer Express Ltd., Aylmer, Ontario, Canada, 1988, pg 160.  Retrieved April 12th 2020 from

https://inmagic.elgin.ca/ElginImages/archives/ImagesArchive/pdfs/REF15_Sims%20History%20of%20Elgin%20County%20Book%203.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0Ujt5P2b81GpcST5fBqzx6FLc39j24nNTvgJALmnYw8l3xLJiBw3J8qDo


Sources:

McCallum, George Thomas. Find-A-Grave, Retrieved April 12th 2020 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109151264

News Articles unsourced belong to the newspaper who published them.

Our Aspden Roots In Lancashire, England: A Tradition of Stationary Engineers and Sawmills, Aspden, Murray Bruce.  eBook, 2016

Vital statistics records, Ontario, Canada, Ancestry.ca


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!

___________________________________________________________