This is my space to share my quest to collect as many broken branches as I can in my fractured family tree which resembles a bramble bush more then a proper tree.As I go forward in this blogging journey I hope to share how I have searched far & wide for family - with no regard for where they come from or if I should really want them. You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 20 (TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS)
For this week's blog I decided I didn't know anything about the occupations of my Dendy relatives.
My great grandmother Rose Honor (nee Dendy) Bayes was the first child born in Canada. She was born April 14th 1906 at R.M. of Pipestone, Bardal, Manitoba, Canada.
Great Grandma Rose Honor (nee Dendy) Bayes in center With Bayes sister-in-laws Ann & Vida
Her parents and 5 older siblings immigrated from England. One brother, Wilfrid James Dendy, died in 1903 at 22 months of age, and was buried in England. Including my great grandmother, 5 children were born in Canada.
After arriving in Canada X2 great grandpa, William Herbert Dendy, became a farmer. It was on their farm my grandmother's unexpected home birth happened. In England he was a soldier prior to marriage. On his marriage registry he is a bricklayer. Where the census records in Canada record occupation he is recorded as a Farmer.
X3 great grandpa, William James Dendy, was a Coal & Corn Merchant as recorded in the 1861 census. He resided in Streatham, Surrey, England, United Kingdom with his wife (Honor nee Gunnell). This marriage has intrigued me since I first found their records: On their wedding day he was 18 and she was 26. It was a first marriage for them both, they had no children prior to marriage, and their first child was born 5 years after marriage. I still ponder the 8 year age difference in this couple.
X4 great grandpa, Daniel Dendy, was: - a Gardener in the 1851 census - a Road Contractor in the 1861 census - a Farmer in the 1871 census - Farmer continues in the 1881 census with more details *(Occupation: Farmer Of 160 Acres, Employing 3 Men & 1 Boy) - a retired Farmer in the 1891 census He died in 1893. ***after his first wife (my X4 great grandmother Mary nee Mitchell) died he married daughter-in-law Honor's sister (Christina Gunnell) and had 3 more children.
I have only used occupation in the past to ensure the new document I am attaching is actually the same person. Going forward I will start looking at occupations as a means to understand who my people were, and where my story began.
Finding out how your ancestors made a living!!!
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***
1st cousin 10x removed Preserved Clapp BIRTH 23 NOV 1643 • Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA DEATH 20 SEP 1720 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
his son 2nd cousin 9x removed Preserved Clapp BIRTH 29 APR 1675 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA DEATH 11 OCT 1757 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
and via the same Thomas Ford/Elizabeth Charde line 2nd cousin 9x removed Preserved Strong BIRTH 29 MAR 1680 • Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA DEATH 26 SEP 1765 • Coventry, Tolland County (Tolland), Connecticut, USA
"Preserved supposedly got his name because he was born in a "great snow storm, and preserved, 'notwithstanding its severity, and the extreme cold weather following.'" (from the book John Lee, by Sarah Marsh Lee, Norwich, 1878, p. 135)" 1
When I first began researching this line I didn't understand the naming patterns. It was only in understanding the family lines were Puritan immigrants from England to Massachusetts Bay Colony that I was able to figure out why they named their children the way they did.
"The Puritans were a group of Protestant Christians with strict religious beliefs. They disagreed with some practices of England’s official church, the Church of England. The English government mistreated them because of their beliefs. The Puritans wanted to find a place where they could practice their religion in peace. In 1629 King Charles I of England gave a group of Puritans permission to trade and settle in America. The group was called the Massachusetts Bay Company." 2
The given names included: Wait, Unite, Desire, Thanks, Hopestill, Waitstill, Experience, Return, Thankful, Freedom, Supply, Mindful, Unite, Remember, Preserved, and many traditional names.
"Despite their eccentricities, the Puritans did leave us some beautifully resonant names. Names like Verity, Felicity, and Hope more than make up for the Humiliations, Die-wells, and Kill-sins." 4
This is the part of our Bramble Bush where my mother's maternal line & Chris' father's maternal line become overgrown.
Chris' 11th great uncle was John Winthrop
"The Winthrop Fleet consisted of eleven ships. The well-planned and financed expedition was lead by Governor John Winthrop, who transported seven hundred Puritan immigrants from the religious turmoil in England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the spring of 1630. "5
Chris' 10th great grandmother is THE WINTHROP WOMAN Elizabeth (Bess) Fones BIRTH 21 JAN 1610 • Groton, Babergh District, Suffolk, England DEATH 1 FEB 1673 • Astoria, Queens County, New York, USA She first married her cousin, Henry (Harry) Winthop then 10th great grandfather Robert Feake then may or may not have married William Hallett
Preserving the family history for those who come after me!!!
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***
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 18 (LOVE AND MARRIAGE)
Recently Family Search sent out an email about connections to folks with multiple marriages.
Connecting to this Bramble Bush is Glynn (Scotty) Wolfe.
Glynn DeMoss (Scotty) Wolfe BIRTH 25 JUL 1908 • Freelandville, Knox County, Indiana, USA DEATH 10 JUN 1997 • Redlands, San Bernardino, California, USA
"The world’s most married man is now the world’s least mourned.
Glynn “Scotty” Wolfe did one thing in life and did it often. He married. In his 89 years, he married 29 times, setting the world record for monogamous unions. He married teenagers and grandmothers, farm girls and drug addicts, virgins and prostitutes, preachers and thieves, taking and shedding partners as casually as a square dancer.
He married some women for years, others for months, a few for days, and he loved, honored and cherished each one in his own odd way.
Marriage was his life’s work, his mission, his lasting monument. But when he died penniless last month at a Redlands nursing home, the body with the symbolic forearm tattoo of a tied knot went unclaimed. The man whose family tree sent branches and sub-branches in every direction, the man who married more often than Zsa Zsa Gabor, Elizabeth Taylor and Henry VIII combined, the man who made 29 different till-death-do-us-part promises, was singularly alone at the end." 1
How exactly is Scotty connected to our Bramble Bush?
Glynn's 2nd cousin 6x removed was the 1st wife of Josiah Hunt Chris's 1st cousin 5x removed was the 2nd wife of Josiah Hunt Both through their mother's paternal lines.
Given he is the most married man it seems fitting to feature him for this week's prompt Love and Marriage.
29 marriages -
The list of his wives is so long that they barely fit in this blog post.
In case you can't tell - Scotty is the 2nd in from the right.
Check the sources below for full lists of all his wives.
A vlogger, Side Tripping with Cary, posted this video
The World’s Most Married Man! Rev. Glynn “Scotty” Wolfe (1908-1997)
Pastor Mark Adams from the Redland Baptist Church used his story as part of his sermon on marriage:
"Mr. Wolfe’s situation was unique though—because he was no ordinary man. In fact, he held a very special world record. You see he is listed in the Guinness Book as the Most Married Man, with 29 monogamous marriages to his credit. 29 times Glynn Wolfe was asked, “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife…forsaking all others do you pledge yourself only to her, so long as you both shall live?” Twenty-nine times Glynn Wolfe replied, “I do,” but it never quite worked out that way. His longest marriage lasted seven years and his shortest only 19 days.
It is said that he left behind several children, grand-children, great grand-children, and of course a number of living ex-wives, and innumerable ex-in-laws—but still, Glynn died alone.You would think that, after all the income Glynn sent his way, at least his divorce lawyer would have come to the service!
I share this tragic story—because I think it’s indicative of the tragic state of the institution of marriage in our culture. As I said a few weeks back, marriage statistics don’t look very good these days. Believe it or not—they look even worse than the stock market! We live in a nation where over 60% of new marriages end in divorce—and Christian marriages seem to be failing at an even higher rate than those of non-Christians. Unless things don’t change, Mr. Wolf won’t hold his record for very long." 2
***A link to the whole sermon is in the sources below***
Glynn (Scotty) Wolfe was said to be Reverend with the Baptist Church.
I was unable to find what church he had been associated with.
All the searches I did turned up his wives & not anything about his working life.
This is the only thing I could find that was even remotely connected to a faith based agency.
"Wolfe, a Bible-thumping minister who preached out of a trailer, was a relentless seeker of publicity." 3
The story of 31 wives seemed intriguing - almost amusing.
BUT then I looked more closely and discovered many of his brides had been young & vulnerable.
It appears that Mr. Wolfe may have been a predator....
"Wolfe took brides as young as 14, divorcing them before they hit their 20th birthday. Commenting on his teen brides, Wolfe once said he liked to "marry them young and train them the way you want." " 4
This amusing tale had taken a dark turn, and I pondered not writing about him to avoid adding to his notoriety.
I decided that since I I found nothing in my search that suggested Mr. Wolfe was anything but a misunderstood man seeking love & attention my questioning that would be a welcome addition to those seeking.
Then again - I have 2 followers and a handful of readers.
My primary audience is ME as a record of what I spend my time and money on.
When you find a distasteful relative, and you share it anyway!!!
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***
Screen clip from our Bramble Bush on Ancestry. Retrieved April 16th 2024.
Video:
The World’s Most Married Man! Rev. Glynn “Scotty” Wolfe (1908-1997). Side Tripping with Cary. Originally published August 5th 2022. Retrieved April 16th 2024 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFXfNn9WzPo
The book Our Courageous Pioneers : History of Gronlid and Surrounding Districts of Argus, Athol, Edenbridge, Freedom, Maryville, Murphy Creek, Sandhill Creek, Taelman, Taras, Teddington, was published in 1991, and included the photo below of my grandfather in his uniform..
It's in the World War 2 section of the book. It also includes his cousin Jack.
He is wearing the same uniform in the photo below (taken 1940) with my grandmother.
If Grandma is to be believed -
The man she met in about 1939 (in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) was Clyde Robertson. It wasn't until the early 60s that she found out he was also Max Pellack.
In 2002 I found the Pellack family via a random message on an Ancestry discussion thread. After I messaged them they were able to confirm that the Pellack family knew Max had been using the name Clyde Robertson at various times in his life.
They also shared that they had lost contact with Max/Clyde so hadn't been aware of his family details.
In collaboration we managed to add our line to their tree. I was finally able to add relatives on my paternal grandfather's side of this Bramble Bush.
In looking at the timelines we had a missing 10 years between him leaving home as Max Pellack and meeting Grandma as Clyde Robertson.
According to the family they lost touch with him after he left home in about 1930 until he returned in about 1961.
I have narrowed the missing 10 years some, but there are still 8 years in question.
A BIGGER question is exactly how the family had this photo of Grandpa in his abt. 1940 military uniform when he was apparently not in communication with his family of origin.
When a photo leaves more questions that 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***
Photos:
Clyde & Mary (nee Thomson) Robertson, Personal
Pellack, Max & Jack. 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). Pg 945
Taking a different approach to this week's STEP prompt I will write about Chris' 6th great grandfather, Johan STEPhen (Stephen) Claus (born Abt. 1695 in Waltersdorf, Germany, and died Abt. 1780 likely in Germany). His son was the immigrant ancestor for this family line.
5th great grandfather Johan Georg (John) Claus BIRTH 10 APR 1750 • Backnang, Württemberg, Germany DEATH 18 JUN 1824 • Vineland, Niagara, Ontario, Canada He was 56 years old when his daughter, 4th great grandmother Mary, was born via his 3rd wife.
John Claus was a Loyalist who settled in Ontario. He received land grants in what later became known as Ontario.
He was married 3 times.
He's buried with his 2nd wife at the Vineland Mennonite Cemetery.
"Another interesting feature of the site is that not all of the people buried there were Mennonites. In fact, just a row over from Mennonite pacifists lie John Claus and his wife Mary, United Empire Loyalists who came over as part of a group that included Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant. Unlike the Mennonites, who came from Pennsylvania, Claus and Brant came from Tryon County, New York, after fighting with Butler's Rangers (in Brant's case commanding his own warriors as a British ally), a fierce unit that fought guerrilla-style warfare and terrorized the New York countryside in support of the British Crown. The Claus stones are some of the earliest that have survived, a fact that is easily discernible by the amateur carving of the inscriptions, which have uneven lettering, and in the case of Mary's stone, is slightly slanted." 1
Chris descends from the only child, Mary, with his 3rd wife, Margaret. I haven't yet found where Margaret is buried. Their daughter Mary was born, raised and died in this area that became home. This was also the area their descendants remain in.
Mary Claus (X4 great grandma) BIRTH 1806 • Bayham, Elgin, Ontario, Canada DEATH 19 MAY 1879 • Bayham, Elgin County, Ontario, Canada married Isaac Williams (X4 great grandpa) BIRTH 19 MAY 1802 • New York, USA DEATH 19 MAR 1868 • Bayham, Elgin Co, Ontario, Canada
This is Chris' father's maternal line. It is their son who merged his father's maternal & paternal lines when he got married.
X3 great grandparents: Robert Henry Williams BIRTH 31 MAR 1831 • Ontario DEATH 12 FEB 1896 • Bayham, Ontario, Canada and Katherine E Rittenour BIRTH 11 OCT 1836 • Niagara, Ontario, Canada DEATH 18 SEP 1920 • Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
This Williams line also connects to Chris' mother's maternal line.
While Chris grew up primarily in Western Canada he was born in Southern Ontario where these first settlers arrived. The majority of his relatives continue to reside in the nearby vicinity.
When adding new folks to our Bramble Bush to this area it's a must to check if they are already there because there is a good chance they are since all of Chris' lines wrap back around to each other.
How the Bramble Bush visual was first created!!!
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***
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 15 (SCHOOL DAYS)
In thinking about School Days I began to reminisce about the movie Footloose. The roots of this Bramble Bush were in high school when this iconic teen angst movie was released in 1984. I was a fan. Chris was a fan. We watched the re-make in 2011, and still loved it.
Not too long ago I received an email from Family Search identifying how our Bramble Bush intersected with the actor Kevin Bacon who played the teenager from Chicago, Ren McCormack, who was the hero who fought to bring dancing to the small conservative town he moved to.
The email noted Chris's maternal 7th cousin 1x removed is Kevin Norwood Bacon.
YUP - thatKevin Bacon is related to Chris via his mother's paternal line!!!
The match is via Kevin's mother's maternal line.
This is also the same line that connects Chris to Patrick Swayze ... it seems dancing is in the blood via this branch
Read more about the connection to Patrick Swayze in my prior blog Snake Hips - Swayze
The 6th degrees of separation also connect to his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, who we now know is Chris' 10th cousin 1X removed on this same line via her paternal line since Kevin & Kyra are 9th cousins X1 removed in addition to husband and wife. This makes their children cousins to themselves - double cousins, and they will have pedigree collapse in their line.
Chris' 5th great grandparents via his father's maternal line are also his 4th great grandparents on his father's paternal line - this is an example of pedigree collapse and being a cousin to yourself. It makes figuring out where folks fit using just their DNA expected matches a bit challenging.
Back to the movie Footloose.
One of my fondest memories related to the movie FOOTLOOSE was dancing with my dad at a wedding to the song Footloose when I was a teen.
It was a super fun night, and I thought my Dad had all the best moves.
When memories leak....
Fondly remembering my dad!!!
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***
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 14 (FAVOURITE RECIPE)
Easter 2024 saw a change in our meal planning.
When our kids were small I did all the cooking including the feast type meals. Once I returned to full time work Chris shared cooking duties, but took over all feast meal preparation. Over the last few years I have been in a support role - I do all the sides, and he does the turkey & ham.
He always does a rotisserie ham on our Bar-B-Q for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Thanksgiving & Christmas includes a turkey done in the oven as well.
This year Chris was doing yard maintenance & pressure washing in the area of the Bar-B-Q so I offered to make the ham in the oven.
After a bit he reluctantly agreed, BUT first there was a discussion about the Scalloped Potatoes.
Chris asked me if I was putting cheese on top. I said I wasn't planning on adding cheese. He immediately launched off with a discussion about the importance of cheese in scalloped potatoes. I pointed out that traditional scalloped potatoes don't have cheese. As he continued talking I pictured him with a 'change my mind' protest sign.
Next he asked if I was going to use the mandolin he proudly bought - I said 'No. The potatoes need some meat on them.' The look on his face clearly showed he didn't agree.
The scalloped potatoes discussion finally ended with my statement 'if you want them done your way then you are going to have to do them'.
As we sat down to dinner a few hours later I realized special feast foods are rooted in memory from our family of origin.
The scalloped potatoes, and carrots were from my childhood.
The yam and squash were from Chris',
The ham was from neither: we both grew up in families that boiled the ham before putting it in the oven to bake.
My mother always put pineapple rings with a maraschino cherry in the middle all over the ham with a brown sugar glaze.
We began our marriage with hams boiled before baking with pineapple rings & cherries exactly as my mother made them.
By the time our children were growing up Chris was the master ham maker on the BBQ. He included grilled fresh pineapple as a nod toward my childhood memories. He made his own glaze that is a secret family recipe - I don't believe he has passed to our children yet.
After thinking about him grilling pineapple for me I decided to make the scalloped with a cheese sauce & grated cheese on top.
As we ate dinner Chris informed me he had only been asking for cheese on top, but not in the potatoes.
The recipe in the 5 Roses Cookbook my mother gave me agrees with Chris.
