From Birth (1926) To Death (2023) ~ How The Times Have Changed

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 12 (TECHNOLOGY)

Recently I was looking at 1931 census record for my grandmother (who was 4) & her family when I noticed they were recorded as not having a radio. In fact none of the families on that page had a radio. 

This got me to thinking about what changes my grandmother, who died last December, would have seen over her lifespan of 1926 to 2023.

This video from YouTube gives an intro to the 1920s in the United States - I'm sure Canada was not too different.

She lived in a world where a simple scratch could turn deadly. 

Grandma was almost 2 years old when penicillin was first discovered, but she was a teenager before it was successfully used in the general population.  

She was a child & teen through the Great Depression & World War II. 

She was 19 when the first atomic bomb was detonated.

Flight was in it's infancy when grandma was a child, but available as a form of commuting by the time she died.

As a child I remember grandma wearing her knee high stockings. She never left the house without them. She was a teenager before they were affordable for everyday usage.

"Nylon and nylon stockings were shown to the American public at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Women loved them!" 1 

Grandma lived in rural Manitoba, and I heard tales of how the comforts of her childhood and adult life were so different.

"In the 1940s, many Canadians lived in rural areas where most homes had no electricity, and even fewer had indoor plumbing." 2

A retired telephone operator Grandma had moved plugs on the switchboard to connect callers. At her bedside when she died every family member had a pocket sized computer that made calls. 

Photography wasn't common place, and yet Grandma and her family left behind photos for us to get a glimpse into her childhood.

And this last photo of the family (not too long before her brother died - grandma and her brother sitting graveside with their parents

Everything changes over 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***

 

 

Footnotes:

1  The History of Ordinary Things: Ladies’ Stockings over Time. Written by Doris Montag. 50 Plus Life. Retrieved March 16th 2024 from
https://50pluslifepa.com/lifestyle/history/2483-the-history-of-ordinary-things-ladies-stockings-over-time

2  Canadian War Brides. History. Veterans Affairs. Government of Canada. 
Retrieved March 16th 2024 from
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/canadian-war-brides

 

Sources:

The 20th and 21st centuries. Technology from 1900 to 1945. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved March 16th 2024 from 
https://www.britannica.com/technology/history-of-technology/The-20th-and-21st-centuries

How do penicillins work? Medical News Today. Medically reviewed by Zara Risoldi Cochrane, Pharm.D., M.S., FASCP — By Tim Newman on July 30, 2018. Retrieved March 16th 2024 from 
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/216798

Photos:

Personal

 

Videos:

Virtual History: Life 100 Years Ago. Stark Art & History. Retrieved March 16th 2024 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAUpK_3rnEg

 

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!

______________________________________________________________

Freemasons Secret Society ~ Thomas Thomson Stonemason

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2023: Week 12 (MEMBERSHIP)

I have always been fascinated by secrets. 

It's why I first began genealogy. 

I had a desire to find out who my grandfather really was. In the end I discovered there was more than one secret in our Bramble Bush, and I am confident I will find more.

I grew up hearing about the secret society of Freemasons. 

The idea of a secret society that was sort of public knowledge always sounded fascinating to me.

It was only this week that I discovered the original members were all Stonemasons. 

I was struggling to understand why Stonemasons needed to have a secret society with only other Masons accepted so decided to learn more about the members of this secret society for this week's prompt. 

I has always thought Freemasonry was a secret religion with secret symbols & rituals. 

Encyclopedia Britannica tells us

"Freemasonry evolved from the guilds of stonemasons and cathedral builders of the Middle Ages. With the decline of cathedral building, some lodges of operative (working) masons began to accept honorary members to bolster their declining membership. From a few of these lodges developed modern symbolic or speculative Freemasonry, which particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries adopted the rites and trappings of ancient religious orders and of chivalric brotherhoods. In 1717 the first Grand Lodge, an association of lodges, was founded in England.
Freemasonry has, almost from its inception, encountered considerable opposition from organized religion, especially from the Roman Catholic Church, and from various states. Freemasonry is not a Christian institution, though it has often been mistaken for such. Freemasonry contains many of the elements of a religion; its teachings enjoin morality, charity, and obedience to the law of the land. In most traditions, the applicant for admission is required to be an adult male, and all applicants must also believe in the existence of a Supreme Being and in the immortality of the soul."  1

It's still not clear to me how Masons evolved into this type of organization. 

The Grand Lodge of Ohio explains

"Freemasonry is one of the oldest fraternal organizations in the world. It unites men of good character who, though of different religious, ethnic or social backgrounds, share a belief in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of mankind. Freemasonry offers a system or blueprint for the good man to further improve his character and actions through its system of degrees, symbols, and fellowship opportunities.  ...

Modern Freemasonry was established in England in 1717, although its exact origins are lost in the unrecorded history of medieval times. Its roots are found in guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons. As a stonemason grew in his craft, he was entered into the appropriate rank: apprentice, journeyman (now called Fellow Craft) and master mason.
At each stage, the craftsman was entrusted with the secrets of each level, which include passwords and grips (or handshake) made known to him only upon due inspection of necessary proficiency by a master of the craft. This way, as stonemasons migrated across Europe to the next job, each man was assured proper pay and privilege commensurate with his skill level, and clients were assured of the quality of work. Today, Freemasonry shares this same system of secrets, ritual and growth, though the work has shifted from building edifices to building oneself in good character." 2

My great grandfather, Thomas Thomson, was a Stonemason. 

Thomas Thomson with brother-in-law Dave Slicer

My dad's notes about his grandfather's carvings as recorded
from conversations with his mom (daughter of Thomas Thomson)

I have never seen any records or symbols attached to him to suggest he may have been. At the same time, he was a Stonemason in Scotland & Canada during the right timeframe so he could have been a Freemason.

He is not the only probable member of the Freemasons.

In researching the Mason members in the areas where my husband's family roots are it's appears as though his family does have membership history with the Masonic Lodges. 

Recorded in the Grand Lodge, A.F. & A.M of Canada. In the Province of Ontario book (in sources below) a member by the name of FA Buchner died in 1985.

I have yet to figure out who that would be.

Searching Buchner & Freemason I found a reference to William H Buchner who was listed as alive in 1954.
It could be my husband's 2nd cousin X3 removed, but he died in 1953
William H Buchner
BIRTH 20 MAR 1871 • Ontario, Canada
DEATH 23 NOV 1953
This leaves me not sure if the William H Buchner is the same one in our Bramble Bush. 

I am still working on the the connection to the Buckner Masonic Lodge in Missouri.

Are the Buckners and Buchners related?

The Boughners and Buchners are related.

When your research leaves you with more questions than answers!!! 

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  Freemasonry - secret organization. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved February 22nd 2023 from 
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Freemasonry

2  What is Freemasonry? Grand Lodge of F&AM of Ohio. Retrieved February 22nd 2023 from 
https://www.freemason.com/what-is-freemasonry/

Sources:

Buckner Masonic Lodge #501. Retrieved February 24th 2023 from
https://buckner501.net/

Grand Lodge. A.F. & A.M of Canada. In the Province of Ontario. Retrieved February 24th 2023 from
https://dr.library.brocku.ca/bitstream/handle/10464/3337/grandlodge2001onta.pdf

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!

______________________________________________________________

Popular Name ~ Thomas Thomson

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 12 (POPULAR)


There is nothing more popular in my family research than the name 
Thomas Thomson.


As a Canadian searching online for family members it was difficult to find accurate Thomson information. The first 100 hits in every search were either the Canadian Artist or the Scottish Chemist. It was many years before I found my great grandfather's Canadian Virtual War Memorial page because it was just too far down the list of hits on any search.  

For reasons unknown his birth date and age is incorrect. 
Thomas was 60 when he died. 

Thomas Thomson
BIRTH 10 MAY 1880 • North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
DEATH 19 NOV 1940 • Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada

CANADIAN VIRTUAL WAR MEMORIAL
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2849835

Growing up in Canada we learned about the Canadian painter Tom Thomson in school. I always wondered whether he was related to me. Every so often I go back to research the artist, but haven't yet been able to connect our family lines.


My grandmother's Thomson line intersects with another Thomson line at my X3 great grandparents listed below. 

Henry Thomson
BIRTH 1825 • Buckhaven, East Wemyss, Fife, Scotland
DEATH 3 OCT 1901 • Buckhaven, Fife, Scotland
and
Agnes Thomson (maiden & married THOMSON)
BIRTH 1826 • Inverkeithing, East Wymess, Fife, Scotland
DEATH 7 FEB 1898 • Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland


A family member I collaborated with in my early days of researching was my dad's second cousin who lived in New Zealand, Murray. Early on I asked Murray why it was that his grandfather had a cool name that was easy to search. He told me that I should be pleased that my dad's grandfather carried the family tradition with the name Thomas Thomson, but honestly that didn't make me feel any better since his grandfather was James Devlin Glass Thomson. Now that was a super cool name - Thomas Thomson, not so much.

We were both happy to see Glass as a middle name for his grandfather because it confirmed the maiden name of their mom.

Parents of Thomas Thomson (my dad's grandfather) and James Devlin Glass Thomson (Murray's grandfather) were:

Thomas & Isabella (nee Glass) Thomson

Photo credit: Murray Thomson

Thomas Thomson
BIRTH ABT 1849 • Buckhaven, East Wemyss, Fife, Scotland
DEATH 22 FEB 1919 • Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
and
Isabella Glass
BIRTH ABT 1848 • North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
DEATH 29 JUL 1943 • Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, Scotlan
* James Devlin was the husband of Isabella's sister Mary


Researching the Thomson family line has been challenging because of the popularity of the given name Thomas where often there was no middle name added.

Both of my Thomson family lines come from the Eastern coast of Scotland. There is little publicly available about the artist Tom Thomson's family regarding their origins in Scotland. Whether we are related remains unknown. I have always been a fan of his art, and believe that someday I will find the connection in our family lines. 






Not so grateful for ancestors with popular names!







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!

___________________________________________________________