Neil
Voyager 
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Apr 28, 2010 19:45:14 GMT -8
Any other members have families who arrived in Canada by sea? This is something that has been uncommon probably since the 1950s, when trans-atlantic flight really became more the norm. Five months after Titanic sank, my father, along with his sister and parents, arrived in Quebec City from Liverpool. For my grandfather, it meant an escape from the coal mines of Durham. The branch of my family that eventually produced my mother arrived September of 1732 in Philadelphia, on board the Dragon, which I've not been able to find any illustrations of. This vessel, Victorian, arrived September 6, 1912.  (Maybe we should broaden the scope of this relatively lightly used area by re-naming it 'Cruise ships & passenger liners.) |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 28, 2010 20:54:59 GMT -8
Any other members have families who arrived in Canada by sea? My dad arrived in Canada at Halifax (from West Germany) in 1949. I really need to ask him if he remembers the name of the ship. |
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Apr 28, 2010 21:21:18 GMT -8
My dad arrived in Canada at Halifax (from West Germany) in 1949. I really need to ask him if he remembers the name of the ship. I found the name of the ship and exact arrival date , along with the handwritten passenger list, on the ancestry.ca site. That's where I've been spending most of my computer time recently. I don't know if passenger lists from 1949 are available. |
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078 
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Post by Nick on Apr 29, 2010 17:01:39 GMT -8
My grandmother on my mom's side came to either Halifax or Montreal from Rotterdam in 1962. I don't know the name of the ship though, I'll have to ask her.
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Post by lmtengs on Apr 29, 2010 18:23:04 GMT -8
Back in 1964, when my family immigrated to Prince Rupert from Norway, they took a plane. Later in the '60s, some of them decided to head back to Norway on the liner TSS Stefan Batory. They later regretted this decision, because they almost lost their house due to the rotten fishing economy there (pun intended). She was built in 1958 and scrapped in 2000. Here are a couple photos from their trip back:  My great-Aunt and her daughter on the liner  TSS Stefan Batory moored. |
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Quatchi
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Engineering Officer - CCG
Posts: 930
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Post by Quatchi on Apr 29, 2010 23:04:20 GMT -8
My paternal grandmother came from England through Halifax shortly after the second world war. My paternal grandfathers parents came to Canada from whales on Oceanic, shortly after she was put into service.
My maternal grandmothers parents came through Halifax in the 1900's from England while my maternal grandfather was found abandoned on a Ukrainian ship destined for Quebec in 1931 at the age of 6.
So, that's how my family got over here, we don't know to much about maternal family, but if I were to go ask my grandma she would remember the exact name of the ship she was on, but not my name.
Cheers,
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Post by Northern Exploration on Apr 30, 2010 6:30:24 GMT -8
My family at one point all came over by ship to either Halifax or Ellis Island.
On my dad's side, my paternal great grandparents came to Canada from England prior to the turn of the century. I don't remember my greatgrandfather but have a picture of the 4 generations of men when I was a baby. I do remember my great grandmother. My dad's maternal grandmother I also remember. Coming from England, we can trace the family back quite a few centuries before it gets murky.
On my mom's side, her paternal great grandparents (my great great) settled near Bomanville in Ontario, also prior to the turn of the century and he arrived from Scotland through Halifax and then to Toronto. My great grandfather married my great grandmother, who's family was already third generation Canadian. Her ancestors had arrived via Quebec City. I didn't meet my great grandparents (parents of my maternal grandfather).
On my maternal grandmothers side, I knew both great grandparents who lived on a farm outside of Three Hills, Alberta. My great grandmother was of german background and one of only two family members out a large family to escape Russia. The whole family was killed and their mill on the Volga River taken over during one of the periods of upheaval. She arrived at Ellis Island and went to Winnipeg and Denver before settling in Alberta.
I am lucky to remember 4 of my great grandparents. Many great aunts and uncles as well. All great grandparents lived to their 90's, one grandfather died at 74 and the other 88 (his sister to 101), and my maternal grandmother 91.
With the digitizing of so much information, such as local records and census information, it is getting much easier to do research even without paying for Ancestry.Com. My maternal grandfathers family in the Bomanville area have an easy to follow trail of information with marriage licenses and census information readily available.
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 1, 2010 19:37:09 GMT -8
I visited my parents this evening, and asked my father about his ship. It was the Beaverbrae, and he went from Bramerhaven to Halifax in December 1949, landing at Pier-21. I found some information on this ship, and the details in this quote tie into his story and circumstance. ie. he was the typical Beaverbrae passenger. from here: www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsB.html#beavship picture here: www.theshipslist.com/pictures/beaverbrae.htm========== My father was part of a family of 7 who were post-war refugees. They had started out as ethnic Germans living in "Post - Treaty of Versailles" Poland, they were then "liberated" by the German invasion of 1939 which brought German rule (my father got to join the Hitler-youth, I don't think he had a choice), they then survived the Russian push of 1944-45 and somehow ended up in Western Germany after the war. My father was the eldest son, and he was the first to travel to Canada, alone as a 21 year old. 1 year later, the 2nd oldest son travelled to Canada, and 1 year after that, the rest of the family travelled to Canada and were all together once again. They all took the Beaverbrae. The rest of the family disembarked at Montreal, because they arrived when the St. Lawrence River was not iced. Otherwise it would have been Halifax for them too. The sponsoring family in Canada was my Dad's aunt & uncle who had emigrated to Canada before the war (and who would later become Diana Krall's grandparents). |
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Post by Northern Exploration on May 2, 2010 6:01:46 GMT -8
I think it is great to know these details.
My great grandmother on my mom's side didn't want to talk about her family, her leaving to come to Canada, because she would say, "it is too terrible to think about." She was an open person and one of the sweetest but strong people I have ever met. She dug her own potatoes in her 91st year because she was tired of waiting for the men to do it.
So prior family history was ok, extolling how great Canada was as her home, and anything about current or long past. That window of time however she just didn't want to talk about. Some sketchy bits crept out over time. But when she died a lot of details and history were lost that are just too difficult to obtain.
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Post by BreannaF on May 4, 2010 19:42:18 GMT -8
I think it is great to know these details. My great grandmother on my mom's side didn't want to talk about her family, her leaving to come to Canada, because she would say, "it is too terrible to think about." Funny that you should say that -- we have been working on our family history for a while and had hit a dead end.. And it had to do with family pride. My mother (who died when I was 10) was always so proud about the fact that her parents had immigrated from Scotland, and was always talking about her Scottish heritage. I never really knew them well, as they were relatively old and couldn't visit too often. But she had plenty of stories about them coming from Scotland. Anyway, we started doing the genealogy research, and found that her father was born in the very Scottish city of Bellingham. Yes, the one in Washington. Her mother was from the Oregon Coast, and her maternal grandparents were Canadian. And, finally, one more step back, and her great grandfather's parents immigrated from Scotland to Canada sometime before 1867. Her great-grandmother's parents immigrated from Ireland to Canada in about the same time frame. The point of this? Well, lets just say that both my parents had told stories during their lives about their families that were enhanced a bit to make their family histories seem a bit more interesting. The funny thing is that, looking through public records and news accounts, most of their ancestors have life stories that are pretty interesting in their own right. So, I verify everything.  |
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on May 4, 2010 20:48:58 GMT -8
...Well, lets just say that both my parents had told stories during their lives about their families that were enhanced a bit to make their family histories seem a bit more interesting. The funny thing is that, looking through public records and news accounts, most of their ancestors have life stories that are pretty interesting in their own right. So, I verify everything. That's one of the many tricky aspects of genealogical research. Family records are essential to building the complete story, but memories can be faulty or embelished. The LDS Church's IGI and pedigree database is invaluable, but I've come to a couple of dead ends where the information is obviously bunkum. An 8th or 9th great grandfather was said to have been born in Massachusetts twenty years before any Europeans actually lived there, and another apparently married two women simultaneously. IGI data comes largely from submitted family histories and is not checked against official records (not that those records always are available). Even census takers record names and birthdates incorrectly. Birth places sometimes change from census to census, and so much in the way of vital statistics has not been digitized. Not to mention the reality that in 19th century Britain, parents seem to have named all their kids from a list of about forty names, twenty male and twenty female, making it difficult to sort one Robert or Anne from another. The IGI is just in the process of adding another 300 million names. With ancestry.ca offering searches across all databases along with every member's personal research, the opportunities for finding one's ancestors get better, but it's still an often frustrating puzzle. Some things simply can't be verified. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 8, 2010 10:05:49 GMT -8
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on May 11, 2010 14:56:25 GMT -8
I can understand your interest in cemeteries. I can spend quite a while looking at the names and dates, the people buried beside their spouses, the inscriptions, from those who cared about them or perhaps their own final words. The grave of some young child, recently passed, with toys and memorabilia, really gives me pause. Cemeteries are very reflective places. There's a quiet dignity to them, and it's difficult not to feel some sense of connection to those buried, even if you don't know the names. Perhaps it's the inherent reminder that we'll all end with the same fate, one way or another. While wandering around the old Ford property on Hornby in March, we came upon a circle made of rocks, under a large tree, which enclosed a sort of alter with candles, fragrances, pictures, writings and other things. It was apparent that this was a place where people had come together, in a circle, to remember Tempest Grace Gale, who was murdered last November. I can imagine that that spot will remain undisturbed, unless some mindless hooligans are so crass as to not understand what it meant to the people participating. Again, I never knew her, but the sense of a spot where people directed their energies toward someone for who they felt a profound sense of loss, is something common to all cemetaries and memorials. I suppose that as time passes we're determining that land can be better used than to hold the bodies of those departed. Maybe so, but cemetaries give a sense of connection to people and history that isn't easily replicated. One doesn't have to be morbid to appreciate them. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 15, 2010 15:04:46 GMT -8
Some more photos from my dad's family collection of their emigration on the MV Beaverbrae. "far from you day and night, nevertheless I only think of you"  My uncle in 1950, ready to leave Germany for Canada: - script at bottom of picture is a sentimental thought about coming and going. - this is at the Bremen departure centre for displaced-persons.  Another Bremen departure picture of my uncle in 1950: - note the sign for "Canadian Christian Council", who ran the emigration system from German to Canada.  It's now 1951, and the remainder of my dad's family, plus a couple of family/village friends are ready for their own trip to Kanada.  |
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Jun 17, 2010 16:40:20 GMT -8
Not exactly 'To Canada by sea', but still in keeping with the general immigration and ships theme... My great grandparents, Daniel and Hardenia Kepler, moved from Ohio to Orcas Island in 1885, lured by free or nearly free land. They had an apparently extensive fruit tree nursery and orchard in the Victorian Valley area, which was described by the Orcas Islander as "one of the showplaces of the island", growing apples, cherries, walnuts and other crops. Their grand daughter described how ..."ships picked up fruit at all the little docks around the island shuttling to Bellingham and Seattle." My grandparents married at Eastsound in 1909, my aunt was born there in 1912, and my great grandmother was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in 1914. The family property was maintained by my grandfather's brother Stanley until 1947; he too is buried on the island, and had been the postmaster for several years before his death. So all told, that part of my family had more than sixty years history on Orcas. Maybe EGfleet would have some record of what boats might have carried the Keplers to Orcas in 1885. Kline & Bayless are a bit vague on that part of Washington's history in their book Ferryboats: A Legend On Puget Sound. In 1914 or so, my grandparents got on another ferry from Orcas and took the short journey across the border to settle for a while in Saanich, before moving again across the strait to Vancouver. I do know that after their marriage in Eastsound, they got on PSN's Rosalie to start their honeymoon. From the aforementioned Kline & Bayless:  |
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Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Jun 17, 2010 21:09:05 GMT -8
 Here is the ship my great grandmother came over from Germany on in 1922. |
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Post by lmtengs on Jun 18, 2010 14:57:06 GMT -8
(Maybe we should broaden the scope of this relatively lightly used area by re-naming it 'Cruise ships & passenger liners.) I agree.... |
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