The War of 1812 Can Be Your Friend

The United States wasn't the only country that was affected by the War of 1812.
If it weren't for the War of 1812 Pensions many wouldn't know maiden names for their female ancestor, nor marriages among many other beautiful treasures that can be found in the War of 1812 Pension Files.I support the Preserve the War of 1812 Pensions Project because I think everyone that has a story needs to have that story heard and found. Believe me there are a lot of stories in those files.
This day, however, I am going to share another reason why I am grateful for the War of 1812.It was a source for one of my Hero's ancestor coming to the New World. William Stephen Sackley left England in the Service of His Majesty King George III to fight wars on other Lands' soil. In 1814, according to his Land Petition or later called a Land Warrant, he was in Canada in 1814 to fight for Canada's rights as their British Colony.This gave me fruit for thought looking at the war from a Canadian Perspective. Of course, they were the only representation of England at America's back door and so they would be considered a threat from a military way of thinking.There were those in power however, who thought of it as a opportunity to grab Canada as their own land if they won the war with England.The Canadians, on the other hand, didn't have any desire at that time to be "liberated" from Britain nor to be a part of America, which some Canadians had fled when the American Revolution was fought. Reading many sites about the Canadian Perspective of the War of 1812, I developed a great respect for their side of the story. This site has a nice write up and video "A Canadian Perspective on the War of 1812". The War of 1812 Overview is a place to learn from too.
Going back to why I, an 8 generation American girl, would be researching a Canadian Perspective, since I don't have any Canadian ancestors.
The Hero's (my special guy) ancestor John Sackley appeared on his pedigree chart as just a name. Nothing was known about him other than his siblings names from a note in a cousin's baby book.

Permission to use From Barbara Bonner.

As we started researching, we found from Census records he was from Canada West. Nice, but when I first started researching this, Canada was an huge unknown for me... My neighboring country and I knew more about Mexico (and no ancestors from here) than Canada, crazy right. Why hadn't I paid more attention in World History, for that matter American History. John became my brick wall in my research until I turned my attention to his siblings. His sister married a prominent man who founded a town in Indiana, and they mentioned her name as his wife and her father's name in passing. Now, I had John's father's name William Sackley. My first thought was to grab a William Sackley listed on the IGI who was born in Nova Scotia...wrong, not old enough... Another sibling, as a pioneer of a Nebraska township, had his biography written up in a history book of Nebraska. It gave when the family came to America, and the place that they came from in Canada...Napean, Carlton, Quebec,which now gave me a place to focus on. However, it wasn't until I found my wonderful Gene-Friend Lorine McGinnis Schulze's Blog The Olive Tree Genealogy which led me to her unbelievable website The Olive Tree Genealogy that is one of the most helpful resource guides for Early American, and Canadian research I have found. Ship Passenger lists, Censuses, Immigration, Land records,Canadian Census links to name a few things that you can find here. Through her links, I was able to order the Land Records which lead me find William Stephen Sackley (he went by Stephen until he came to America) and it in turn gave me the information on his service in the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot, in the English Military. The following is what I have gleaned from Canadian sites, and Researching the 37th Regiment.
I admit I am just starting here, but it was an awesome exercise in finding my Hero's ancestor's story. I know he joined the military during the Napoleon War, which for him extended to the War of 1812 between America and England. At the end of the War he found himself in Canada, a brand new country (for him), with an opportunity to stay and own land.Apparently he thought that was the best idea, for he stayed.
This has been my, so far, findings...What the British government offered what was described as very favorable conditions. Each private was to receive 100 acres, a sergeant, 200 acres, a Lieutenant, 400, a captain, 800;  and a colonel, 1000 acres.  The land was distributed through a "Land Petition" initiated by an ex-soldier, which would be converted to a "Land Warrant" after a certain amount of time. They would also receive their army pension (officers were placed on half-pay) as well as rations for the first 12 months. Each family was to receive a shovel, ax, hoe, scythe, knife, hammer, kettle, bed tick and blanket, hand saw, 12 panes of glass, one pound of putty for glazing and twelve pounds of nails (in three sizes). The community itself would receive two sets of carpenters’ tools. For the sake of protection and militia duties, muskets and ammunition were retained by the ex-soldiers. In addition clergyman and schoolteacher were to be dispatched. (4.)
A few 37th Regiment men can be found in the Richmond Military Settlement at Carlton. The 37th was in garrison in Canada from 1814-1825.  Many of these men took land grants in the settlement of Goulbourn near Richmond. The 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment had its beginnings in 1702 and continued until 1881
In the Land Records, Stephen is shown as having been granted 100 acres in Goulbourn and being part of the 37th Regiment.  The 100 acres shows he was a private according to the amount allotted.  He is shown in the 1st Carleton Regiment 1828 Militia Muster Roll, as Stephen Sackley age 35 having serving previously in the 37th Reg't.

Scrapbook page I created with what I have found. 

My next step is to see if I can obtain his English Military Records that hopefully will help be back to England.

Thanks for listening to my journey to Canada and hope your New Year of 2016 will find you breaking through brick walls. My journey was not an overnight one, it took many years to get here...

References:
1. National Army Museum, 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot., 7 July 2014, Online, 2 March     2015,   http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/37th-north-hampshire-regiment-foot .
2. Wikipedia, Results of the War of 1812, 19 January 2016, Online, 11 November 2014,          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Results_of_the_War_of_1812
3. FamilySearch Wiki, Canada in the War of 1812, 30 January 2015, Online, 6 July 2015,
     https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Canada_in_the_War_of_1812
4. Ron Dale and Wes Cross, The Regiments of the Richmond Military Settlement, The 37th, 99th and    100th Regiments, April 2008, 2 January 2014, Online, 5 May 2013,    http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~crossroads/barry/99th_regiment.html

Basic Nova Scotia Genealogy Research for New England Yankees

Like many other Americans with New England ancestry, I have some ancestral lines that went from New England, to Nova Scotia and back to New England with “The Planter Movement”.  This migration happened after the Acadian Expulsion of 1755, when the French Protestants were forced to leave Nova Scotia.  The area was re-populated with foreign Protestants and New Englanders.  Some New England Loyalists removed to Nova Scotia after the American War of Independence.   Other New Englanders of French extraction had their ancestors leave Nova Scotia after 1755 and arrive in the “Boston States”.   Later, some of these Planter families came back to New England after several generations.  The migrations back and forth, or from one country to the other continue until present times. 

If you look at the maps of New England and the Canadian Maritime provinces, you can see that traveling by water made these two regions very easily accessible to each other. I had ancestors from Cape Cod, Connecticut and Boston’s North Shore travel to Nova Scotia by water.  In 2007 I traveled from Bar Harbor, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia by ferry to trace my roots.  My route was the same one traveled by my ancestors, although they used coastal sailing vessels instead of a modern catamaran ferry.

If you have ancestors from Nova Scotia, or if you area resident of Nova Scotia with New England roots, it pays to become acquainted with the history of the two regions.   There are basic outlines of the Planter Movement, the Acadian Expulsions, the Revolutionary War Loyalists and Ulster Scots migrations online starting with short sketches at Wikipedia to more lengthy records at the Nova Scotia Archives website. 

You don’t have to travel to Nova Scotia to trace your roots.  Here is a list of helpful steps:

      1)       Try online searches at websites such as FamilySearch.org and Cyndislist.com to become familiar with the databases available for free and for subscription on the web

      2)      Search out genealogy societies such as the Canadian American Genealogical Society in Manchester, New Hampshire or local genealogy clubs

      3)      There are many websites and blogs available for Nova Scotia research such as Lucie LeBlanc Consentino’s “Acandia Ancestral Home” blog or check out the forums on Facebook for Nova Scotia genealogy

      4)      There are books on Loyalists, Acadians, Planters and I listed some below

If you would like to plan a "genea-jaunt" (research trip) to Nova Scotia you should try to do as much research at home ahead of time.  Map out the villages where you ancestors lived so you can plan your driving route, and research the times and hours of the local repositories of records.  Most archives will be closed on a Sunday, but we planned to be at the Baptist church in Billtown on that day, where my 2nd great grandfather, Reverend Ingraham Ebenezer Bill, had been the minister, or use that day for cemetery hunting (cemeteries don't close on Sundays).  Don't forget to photograph where your ancestors lived, worshipped, went to school,  and all the local landmarks.  

The Billtown, Nova Scotia Baptist Church
where my 2nd great grandfather was the pastor.
We drove our car and traveled by ferry to get here in 2007

Nova Scotia is accessible by air to Halifax, or by ferry from Portland, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  Driving is a long trip, through Maine and New Brunswick, but a worthwhile route if you also have New Brunswick ancestors.  We decided to drive one way (because Reverend Bill was buried in St. John, New Brunswick), and to take the ferry the other way because I had many ancestors in Yarmouth as well as in Billtown and Lunenburg.   We also visited Louisburg because I had many ancestors fight in the several attempts by New Englanders to overtake the French fort there.  

Sources:

Dictionnaire Genealogique des Families Acadiennes by Stephen A. White, 2 volumes, 1999

Planter Nova Scotia 1760 – 1815, by Julian Gwyn, 2010

New England Planters in Maritime Provincial Canada, by Judith Norton, 1993

Nova Scotia Archives   http://novascotia.ca/archives/   (formerly Public Archives of Nova Scotia)

The New England Planters website http://www.cyberus.ca/~bharvey/planters.shtml

The New Englanders in Nova Scotia database at the New England Historic Genealogical Society website (membership needed).  This database has 48,155 names from more than 650 families of Planters and Loyalists  http://www.americanancestors.org/search.aspx?Ca=096&Da=398

Nova Scotia GenWeb Project  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canns/

Planters Studies Centre, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

Chair: Stephen Henderson Email stephen.henderson@acadiau.ca

http://libguides.acadiau.ca/content.php?pid=4546&sid=27820

Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia http://novascotiaancestors.ca/   and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NovaScotiaAncestors

Family Search Nova Scotia Genealogy Records https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Nova_Scotia_Online_Genealogy_Records

American Canadian Genealogy Society, Manchester, New Hampshire   http://www.acgs.org/ 

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino’s “Acadian Ancestral Home” blog

 http://acadian-ancestral-home.blogspot.com/

Gail Dever’s “Genealogy a la Carte” blog    http://genealogyalacarte.ca/

Lorine McGinnis Schulze’s “The Olive Tree Genealogy” website, Nova Scotia resources page

http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ns.shtml

Nova Scotia Genealogy on Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/groups/novascotiagenealogy/

Genealogical Culture Shock

Anyone who has been involved in international exchange or, traveled and lived in another country, will be well aware of the disorientation or culture shock experienced when negotiating a new and unfamiliar environment.  I believe that genealogists and family tree researchers can experience something similar to culture shock when they start researching an ancestor who has lived in a country that they are unfamiliar with.

At the end of last year  I discovered an obituary for my great great grandfather Donald McDonald.  I knew, from his death certificate, that he had immigrated to Australia in the mid 1850’s and that he was born in Williamstown, Ontario Canada and his father was Malcolm McDonald. 

Obituary Donald McDonald

I have been able to find considerable information on Donald’s  life in Australia, where he worked in the gold mining areas of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. However, until the discovery of his obituary, his life before arriving in Australia was a bit of a mystery.

The obituary has provided a number of clues and starting points to further research the earlier years of his life and family connections in Canada. These clues include:  family links with the early days of the Hudson Bay Company, his the family came from the Glengarry district and that he had traveled to the gold fields of California before making the trip with friends to Australia.  A transcribed copy of the Obituary can be found on my post, Sunday's Obituary, Donald McDonald 1834-1913.

With renewed enthusiasm I started to delve into the genealogical world of Glengarry, Canada and the Scottish immigrants, only to find I was way out of my depth. I discovered that trying to trace a Donald McDonald or Malcolm McDonald in the Glengarry district of Canada, was very similar to researching a John Smith or Richard Taylor in the United Kingdom.  There are numerous generations of McDonald/McDonell’s with the Christian names of Donald or Malcolm!  In a way it was exciting to see that there was so much history related to the McDonald Family in this area of Canada.  However, it was also little daunting. Where do I start!!

So many questions arose!  How do I research birth, death and marriages in Canada? Are there on line newspapers? Where do I find immigration records? What was the history behind the Scottish immigration to Canada, what was their role in Canadian history?  All that assumed knowledge and familiarity with country history, culture, language  and resources that I rely on when researching family in Australia and UK was not there!!!! It was all new and unfamiliar!!  It then dawned on me that I was in a way experiencing “genealogical culture shock”.  Yes, all the signs are there, new cultures, both Scottish and Canadian, new social structures, information overload, so much to read and get my head around, new languages, and understanding the different historical circumstances that my ancestors had lived in.

So I thought I would approach my new research project on Donald McDonald and his family in Canada with an awareness of the culture shock that I was experiencing and use this awareness to develop a sensible approach  to my new research project on Donald McDonald and my ancestors in Canada.

To start with identify the signs of possible frustrations:

-         Lack of confidence in my knowledge

-         Loss of familiar connections - i.e. familiar websites, genealogical societies and connection with    fellow researchers     

-         Lack of direction, all over the place with no systematic connection

-         Not sure how to approach the research in a new country or who to contact

-         Very limited knowledge of the relevant  history

-         Very limited knowledge of the geography of the area

-         Frustration and irritation with lack of research progress

-         Disappointment after the initial excitement of finding the obituary

-         Discovery of new and unfamiliar set of cultural values and practices

-         Frustration with having to research documents in another language

There are a number of options:  you could become frustrated, embarrassed by you lack of knowledge and understanding of the new research environment and give up on your research or you could approach the problem with acceptance, and slowly work your way through the difficulties. The diagram below demonstrates the possible options:

Genealogical Culture Shock

As the diagram demonstrates the researcher can move from frustration through to new discoveries, or become frustrated and hit a brick wall and give up on the research.  After some careful consideration here are some suggested ways to move through the genealogical culture shock:

-        Collaborate and call on the experience of fellow researchers.  They may be able to assist you with some of your stumbling blocks.

-        Be open minded and share any knowledge you have, and make notes of every little snippet of information you come across, as these may mean more to you once you have a better knowledge. and understanding of the area you are researching.

-        Break down your research into a systematic, step by step process.

-        Read!!  Try and read as much as you can (from Internet and books) on the history of the area and the culture and customs of the people who lived in the time of your ancestor.

-        Familiarise yourself with the geography of the area you are researching, look at present day maps and older maps if possible.  A knowledge of the surrounding towns, proximity to rivers, sea can all be helpful.  A map with pins marking towns and significant events can assist as well.

-        Establish a new research network in that area by contacting local libraries, archives and genealogy societies.

-        Use social media to link up with other researchers or people with interests in this area e.g. twitter, google+, facebook and pinterest.  This can be done by searching the district, town or surname or even if you know it the occupation of your ancestor.

-        Search for blogs written by people who are researching this area or family.

Now all I have to do is to put these action points into practise and see if I can discover more about my great great grandfather, Donald.  I would be very interested to hear how other researchers approach this,  i.e. when they find themselves in a totally unfamiliar area of research, and of course I will welcome any advice that anyone can give me on researching in this particular area of Canada. 

 _______________

Resources:

1913 'Death of an Old Identity.', The Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (NSW : 1888 - 1954), 16 April, p. 2, viewed 23 February, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130422825