This photo is of my maternal Grandfather, Uncle and Great-Grandfather. Obviously, this is not a photo that I took (most in this blog are my own photos). This photo was taken in approximately 1935 at Steffen-Colmer studio in Vancouver. My great-grandfather was a police officer in Scotland, then immigrated to Canada and was a well-known inspector with the North-West Mounted Police. He was made famous helping solve the case of the “Beryl G”. It is a fascinating story, and one that we heard rumours of as children, but our family history was seldom talked about.
Two years ago I bought myself a subscription to Ancestry.ca as Christmas present. Lately, now that I’m retired again and not failing at it as badly this time, I find that doing some research into my roots is a fun and engaging activity. One of my close friends has been on Ancestry much longer than I have, and we found out that his 9th great-grandmother is my mother’s 8th great-grandmother.
This past week I came across a very interesting fact about my father’s family. Dad seldom talked about his family roots, except to say that he wanted to know more about the Irish roots (his father came from Ireland). But he never talked about his mother’s family from Sweden.
It turns out my father’s maternal grand-mother, Anna died in Essondale, BC. I had never heard of that town and being quite curious, I looked it up. Essondale opened in 1913. It was BC’s psychiatric hospital. Originally Essondale (later the name was changed to Riverview) was where the long-term mentally unstable male patients were sent. In 1930 a ward was opened for women. Anna died in 1956 at the age of 83, having given birth to 7 children in Sweden, and one more in Manitoba. Beyond that, I know very little.
I do know that my great-grandfather died in 1943 in Alberta. Their 8 children lived and died in many different provinces and states. No one seemed to live near other family members except the eldest son who lived near my grandmother. I also know that my grandmother wanted only one child. After my aunt died at the age of 4, they decided to have another child — my father. I know that I never saw any outward sign of affection between my grandparents, or from my father toward his children (or anyone besides my mother). Some things in my life are making a bit more sense even if I am filling in many blanks with my imagination.
Researching the family has been very interesting. If what I have found is correct, I have an ancestor (13th great grandmother) who was burnt at the stake in Scotland, accused of being a witch. King James VI who ordered the burning was the great-grandson of one of my other ancestors through a different line. This King James IV’s daughter was an illegitimate princess, child of his mistress. So many stories!
Reflections 