Grande Prairie & District Branch
Alberta Genealogical Society

I am very proud and pleased to serve as President of Grande Prairie and District Branch AGS. I look forward to working on your behalf with our new executive. Margaret has promised to help guide us, and I appreciate her assistance. It will not be easy to fill Margaret's shoes.

We have had many of our members step forward to volunteer in a variety of capacities at our branch. Thank you all. Without our volunteers, we could not exist. Without genealogy volunteers throughout the world, we would be unable to have the success we have in our personal genealogical research.

I would like to draw your attention to our upcoming quilt raffle. We are most fortunate to have Paulette a member of our Branch. It seems that whenever we need something to raffle, she is quick to volunteer to make a quilt. Thank you Paulette.

In the February issue of Relatively Speaking we were each given two petitions (one for the senate, one for parliament) for us to gather names to petition the release of post 1901 census. I hope you have all been working on getting your two petitions filled out and sent in as requested. It is of great importance that post 1901 census be made available to the public. Not only for our genealogical purposes, which are important enough on their own merit, but for those needing to track family members for assistance in health related matters.

Another important matter before you is voting in our Annual General Meeting April 21. You will have received your ballot package, complete with a return envelope for your ballot. I remind you that the ballot box will be closed at 5:00 p.m. on Friday April 20. Therefore, most of us will need to mail in the ballot this year, unlike other years when we were able to cast the ballot just prior to the meeting being called to order. This change has been made so that those persons responsible for counting and tabulating the ballots will not miss any part of the AGM. PLEASE REMEMBER TO MAIL IN YOUR BALLOT SO THAT IT WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE COUNT. Your opinion is very important. Remember that we will be voting for a 2nd Vice President as well as on a bylaw issue.

Our days are getting longer and the frost is quickly leaving the ground. It won't be long before we will once again have the chance to go out into the cemeteries of our area to record the inscriptions found there. If you haven't yet had the opportunity to take part in this branch activity, strongly consider doing so this year.

Enjoy your families
- past and present!

Judy

Quilt Raffle

The Branch is holding a raffle with the draw date set for June 19, 2001

Grand Prize: Quilt "Jacob's Ladder"

If you are able to sell tickets, ticket books may be obtained from Maxine Maxwell

---

They, our mothers, came from Saskatchewan in 1929. They came by train to Grande Prairie, with a stop in Edmonton where they had their picture taken. They were Mabel and Eunice STENSETH, and they were 21 and 14 years respectively. Their father and brothers had come ahead and built a rustic log cabin on a homestead north of Valleyview. These brave young ladies didn't know what they were coming to, I'm sure.

Mabel & Eunice Stenseth - 1929

Mabel married Rufus MORRISON in June 1932 and they lived west of Sexsmith, out along the Emerson Trail. They had a family of five boys and three girls. Mabel passed away in November 1987. Most of her family is scattered around the Peace Country.

Eunice married Graham BODEKER in March 1927 and they lived on a farm southwest of Valleyview where they raised a family of three girls. They still live in their home in the town of Valleyview and their family all live in 'the Peace'.

In this millennium year, full of celebrations, many family reunions were planned and enjoyed, and our family was no exception. It all began for us with an invitation to my mother, Eunice BODEKER, inviting them to a STENSETH-CHAPIN family reunion, at Regina Beach (just north of Regina), Saskatchewan. Being my mother is not well enough for such a long trip, I answered this invitation with a letter inviting 'the next generation'. This letter was answered in a very positive way, 'I was hoping that would happen', was our host, Kenda ASHTON's, reply. So here we goÖ

Mabel's daughters, Eunice WARD and Corene STEINKE joined Eunice's daughters, my sister, Phyl GORDON, and myself, Fran MOORE, and we were off on a wonderful week long adventure. Two sets of sisters - cousins, can make for a lot of giggles and nonsense, and was the making of a lot of new memories.

We included sightseeing and visiting, both on the way down and the way back. We stopped at Elk Island Park east of Edmonton on the first day before Eunice and Corene's sister, Carrie WITHERS, at Lavoy overnight. The second day we visited the Western Heritage Museum at North Battleford before visiting Phyl's sister-in-law, Evelyn GORDON, at Rockhaven.

Then came the reunion! Friday night was for getting acquainted and for asking many questions. One of the first questions I wanted answered was, "How do I find and get to the Bethesda Lutheran Church, out of Wilcox?" With this question, I got some good answers and made plans for a Saturday trip to Wilcox. Our cousin, Lorne STENSETH and his wife, Shirley, from Cochrane, Alberta arrived, so that made six from the Nels STENSETH branch of the family.

We met three of our mother's cousins as well as quite a few of their children and grandchildren. We also met some of the folks from the CHAPIN side of the family. There was a singalong around a fire and it was a very nice evening.

Saturday was most interesting as we, in two vehicles, drove south of Regina to find the little church that our mothers and their families had attended before moving to Alberta. We had good instructions, so had no trouble finding the church. Here we looked at the church, took pictures and wandered the cemetery finding many family gravestones and taking pictures of them. My genealogical interest was not wasted on my cousins; they all enjoyed the visit to this church and cemetery.

We were back to Regina Beach for a dinner and another evening campfire that night, and before we left the area we visited Kenda and Ken's home at Regina Beach on Sunday. We thank Kenda and her Aunt Evelyn for inviting us and being such great hosts.

The meeting and getting to know the second cousins and their families was great for all, a connection that can be made again, renewed and again renewed in the future. Keeping in touch is not easy but it is very much worth the effort involved.

On our trip home, we stayed one night at a lovely bed and breakfast near Battleford and then stopped at the beautiful Devonian Gardens west of Edmonton. We four, sisters - cousins, enjoyed and got more out of the week, much more than we had hoped.

So, when you get that invitation, make the effort!

Copies of the issues listed here are in the Grande Prairie & District Branch collection in the Isabel Campbell Room at the Grande Prairie Public Library.

FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE - Sept 2000
* The National Roll of the Great War 1914-1918
* There ís a Methodist in My Madness!
* Settlers of the Old Empire (West Indies/British Virgin Islands)

FAMILY CHRONICLE - Nov/Dec 2000
* Reading the Omens
* Footnotes Lead to Sources
* Railroad Records
* Getting Past the Brickwalls
* Becoming a Genealogical Detective

FAMILY HISTORY NEWS - Nov 2000
* Canadians in the American Civil War 1861-1865
* The Life & Times of Joseph WILLCOCKS
* The Scotsman Abroad - Early Migration

FAMILY CHRONICLE - Jan/Feb 2001
* Evaluating Evidence
* French-Canadian Roots
* Beware of Fraudulent Genealogies
* Fraternal & Benevolent Societies

EVERTON'S GENEALOGICAL HELPER - Sept/Oct 2000
* How to Deal with Boundary Changes in Eastern Europe
* Finnish Communion Books: A Window on the Parish
* The 1790-2000 US Federal Census
* Working with Church Records
* Searching County Records

DRAYTON VALLEY'S PAST FINDER - Nov 2000
* Preserving Newspaper Clippings
* The Vanished Hamlet of Holmes Crossing

BRITISH COLUMBIA GENEALOGIST - Dec 2000
* CLUTE Family
* Did Your Ancestors Homestead in the BC Railway Belt?

POWELL RIVER'S TREE TALK - Oct 2000
* What if They Had Known? MACAULEY - MACDONALD Lines

THE NOVA SCOTIA GENEALOGIST - Fall 2000
* Deaths of Some Nova Scotians Serving in the US Civil War
* Annapolis County Burial 1899-1903
* Nova Scotian Mariners Lost Out of Gloucester, Mass

BRANT CO, ONT, BRANTCHES - Dec 2000
* Births, Foundlings, Marriages & Deaths from the Brantford Courier 1888

BRUCE CO, ONT, BRUCE BULLETIN - Nov 2000
* Land Divisions of Ireland

BRUCE & GREY BRANCH - Nov 2000
* Grey Co Post Offices 1755-1895

HALDIMAND CO, ONT, HALDIMAND PAST TIMES - Sept 2000
* Births 1871-1900
* The Young Burying Ground - surnames YOUNG, NELLES HUNTER, LAIDLAW, GIBSON, ROUNTREE

HALDIMAND CO, ONT, HALDIMAND PAST TIMES - Dec 2000
* Harriet's Christmas at Glasserton - surnames JUKES, HYDE, HOLE
* Nicholas MULLER/MUELLER/MILLER - surnames DEWES (DAVIS), BILLO, WADEL
* 1884 Dunville Obituaries

HALTON-PEEL NEWSLETTER - Nov 2000
* Peel Co Insurance Company Policy Holder's List 1904-5
* Early History of Omagh - surnames BEATY, STEWART, FORD, MCBRIDE, WHITE, HOWELL, BUCK, DEVLIN, BIGGAR, LITTLE, HOUSE

HAMILTON BRANCH - Nov 2000
* Tombstone Rubbing Step by Step
* Deaths from The Hamilton Spectator 1846-47

HURON CO, ONT, ROOTING AROUND HURON - Nov 2000
* Canada Directory 1857-58 - Exeter
* The 161st Huron Regiment - March 23, 1916 and March 30, 1916

KINGSTON, ONT, RELATIONS Nov/Dec 2000
* The Importance of Birth - Birth Sequence Matters!

KENT CO, ONT, ROOTS BRANCHES & TWIGS -#3 2000
* Whoda Thunkit - surnames COLL, HOE, SHERMAN, MARTIN, WOOD, MOODY, CAMPBELL, MONK, SHOE, LEADBETTER, UNSWORTH, JENKINS, HULL

KENT CO, ONT, ROOTS BRANCHES & TWIGS -#4 2000
* Recollections of Kent Bridge - surnames REYNOLDS, ILER, JUNIOR, ARNOLD, EVERITT, MITCHELL, WHITE, WOODS, SMITH, PACKARD, KELLOGG, WILLIAMS, COLLINS and more.
* Nelson P, ARNOLD - surnames MILLS, JENKS, ARNOLDT, SCHAVER, STANLEY, REID, WEESE
* Origin of Various Dutch Surnames WOLF, VINK & VOS

LAMBTON CO, ONT, LAMBTON LIFELINE - Dec 2000
* John COURTNEY alias Jean Baptiste Courtney, Lambton's First European Settler - surnames SMITH, FINLAYSON, TRAXLER

LEEDS & GRENVILLE, ONT, NEWS & VIEWS - Nov/Dec 2000
* Internet Searching for Military Personnel & Unit Information
* Family Group Sheets (with notes) for William HOWLAND & Sarah WILTSE and their 13 children
* The Recorder & Times Deaths Feb 2 - 6, 1912

LONDON & MIDDLESEX CO, ONT, LONDON LEAF - Nov 2000
* Early Alumnae of London's Victoria Hospital School of Nursing 1887-1911
* London's Honor Roll in the Great War (to March 31,1918)

NIAGARA PENINSULA, ONT, NOTES FROM NIAGARA
* List of Voters - Twp of Louth 1876
* 1892 School Census of Pelham Twp
* Decorated Heroes Graves
* Pelham & Black Creek - marriages & births 1799-1856
* Historical Records of MCALPINES, CHAPMANS & FELLS
* Old Mingle Hill Chapel - donators to the erection of the Wesleyan Church in Gainsborough Twp

NORFOLK CO, ONT, NORFOLKS - Dec 2000
* Family Group Sheet - Selah L HALEY and wife Mariah, and 11 children
* Norfolk Co Marriages on the Web: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maryc/ontmarr.htm

OTTAWA BRANCH NEWS
* Surnames 2000 Issue - contains names submitted with some information on individuals being sought. Includes names & addresses of submitters.

OXFORD CO, ONT, THE TRACER - Nov 2000
* May We Never Forget the Price They Have Paid - A listing of those from Oxford Co who have fallen. Includes cause of death, when, where, military #, Unit, and often next of kin.

PERTH CO, ONT, PERTH COUNTY PROFILES - Nov 2000
* Remembering the South African War 1899 - 1902 with letter from Pte DUNSMORE
* 1911 Logan Twp Assessment Roll

QUINTE KIN
* 2000 Membership & Surnames Researched List

SIMCOE CO, ONT, SCAN - Nov 2000
* Some Marriages & Baptisms by Rev John McMurchy 1844-1854

THUNDER BAY & Dist, ONT, PAST TENTS - Dec 2000
* Extracts from Fort William Telephone Subscribers June 27, 1903
* Newspaper Extractions - Thunder Bay Sentinel 1881 - misc items

PEI GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY - Nov 2000
* PEI Members with surnames being searched
* Parochial Register Co of Argyll, Colonsay, Oransay christening 1796-1844

SASKATCHEWAN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY - Dec 2000
* Genealogical Study for Prairie Indian & Metis Families (websites)
* List of Village & Town Census Records in the Sask Archives
* Researching Your Russian Doukhobor Roots
* Sask Cavalry Officers of the Militia List 1905 - 1914

In June 2000, the Grande Prairie and District Branch of AGS received a letter from Mrs. Mary BLACKBURN at 27 St. Thomas's Road, Redbrook, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. She was asking for information on her father's brother Fred DEWHIRST. I had often heard my father speak of Mr. DEWHIRST and the COLBY's in the past so I volunteered to reply to Mrs. Blackburn's query.

Mrs. Blackburn stated her father's brother, Fred DEWHIRST, had lived in Grande Prairie, had a farm near the Smoky River, and that her brother Milton DEWHIRST and his wife Lily had come to Canada in 1949 to live with Fred. When the farm sold, Milton moved to New Zealand in about 1954 or 1955 where he still resides at Christchurch. Fred passed away in a hotel fire in Victoria, BC on 6th August 1970. Fred's wife Ida had already passed away when Milton came to live with Fred. Mrs. Blackburn wanted to know if the 16 April 1946 was the correct date of death for Ida Mae (COLBY) DEWHIRST (Fred's wife) as she (Mrs. Blackburn) was planning on getting a copy of Ida's death certificate. Mrs. Blackburn also stated Fred DEWHIRST and his wife were married at Bezanson on the 27th July 1920.

Again, many thanks to Mrs. Campbell for her Archival Collection in the Grande Prairie Public Library, from which I was able confirm for Mrs. Blackburn that Ida (Mrs. Fred DEWHIRST) had died 16 April 1946 and is buried in the Glen Leslie Cemetery. Also contained in Miss Campbell's indexed material were many items of info on the Dewhirst's and the Colby's. This info was to be a gold mine for Mrs. Blackburn. I sent her a list of the items available on microfilm of Fred and Ida DEWHIRST and Ida's family - the Frank COLBY's. Mrs. Blackburn replied with an excited request for several newspaper articles on Fred and Ida DEWHIRST. I then sent her Mrs. Ida DEWHIRST's obituary as well as that of her parents, Frank and Hattie COLBY (also buried in the Glen Leslie Cemetery near Grande Prairie); as well as several newspaper items that gave Mrs. Blackburn a good knowledge of Fred and Ida's life at Bezanson. Fred raised Chinchillas, he decorated wedding cakes, and was a successful farmer as outlined in a detailed newspaper article on him and his farm. Ida (COLBY) DEWHIRST was a local teacher in the Bezanson district. The homestead records provided land locations of the DEWHIRST and COLBY farms and the local history book provided a story for Mrs. Blackburn's reading enjoyment only.

Last fall, Mrs. Blackburn requested the desire to have the newspaper wedding announcement of Fred and Ida (COLBY) DEWHIRST (married 27 July 1920). However, it seems there was/is no wedding announcement! As Ida was a local school teacher at Bezanson, and Fred a local farmer and resident, it seems odd there is no mention of the event - not even in the Bezanson local news column which I checked for the time span of mid July 1920 to Aug. 31, 1920.

Wow! Although I have long had an interest in genealogy, it was not until gaining access to the Internet about 2 years ago and joining the local genealogical society a year ago that this interest really mushroomed. I had no idea how infectious a bite from the bug could be.

My appetite was whetted upon discovering the resources and vast wealth of information and communication that was to be found on the Internet, as fumbling around with it I was pleasantly surprised to find links to family I already knew about! But I wanted to take this farther and consequently joined the Grande Prairie Branch of the AGS.

What began, 2 years ago, with less than a complete 4-generation pedigree and less than 200 individual names now includes 64 ancestors of mine, 62 ancestors of my wife and over 5000 names of individuals. My journey has been both exciting and rewarding!

My first objective was to complete my 5-generation pedigree. So I proceeded with what I knew and worked back as suggested by our friendly "genies".

Researching my great grandparents, Friedrich Wilhelm August LAPPENBUSCH (1854ó1930) and Johanna Wilhelmina KRUSE (1854-1932) has taken me back through immigration to Nebraska in 1882 to Lippe, Germany, labouring through old church records and that infamous old gothic script, to my 3x great grandparents, Johanne Jobst Heinrich LAPPENBUSCH (1777-1848), and Anne Marie Elisabeth KOELLER (born ó 1785).

Joseph KEPKE and Henrietta (Nettie) CROSWELL, my paternal grandmotherís parents immigrated to, what is now, Alberta in 1904 from Spokane Co., Washington. Joseph, my great grandfather was born in Watertown, Wisconsin 1864 to Joseph KEPKE and Katherine SHEBLACK, German-Bohemians who immigrated to the US about 1862. Henriettaís parents, Charles Henry CROSWELL (1828-1908) and Christina LARMER (1830-1915) had immigrated to Ontario with their parents in the 1840ís from Yorkshire, England and Antrim Co. Ireland, respectively.

My motherís paternal grandparents, Ullysses Grant MUMERT and Minnie Etta FRIEND moved from Kansas in 1910 to Alberta with their four children. My 2x great grandfather, Alexander Bucher MUMMERT (1833-1916) is of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, specifically from the Palatinate, Germany, my 6x great grandfather, William MUMMERT (1726-1800), having immigrated with his parents to York Co., Pennsylvania. Sarah POPE, my 2x great grandmother (1837-1925), a native of Lincolnshire, England immigrated with her parents, to the United States in 1854. Minnieís parents, Joel FRIEND and Adeline HENRY, with the exception of Joelís English born mother, are of pre revolutionary American colonial stock from Virginia and New York.

My maternal grandmotherís parents are from Scot and Irish bloodlines. Her father, William RAEBURN (1872-1908), was born in Scotland and immigrated to Ontario where he married Helen ORR (1876-1949), a Wentworth Co., Ontario born daughter of Irish immigrants.

My wife is of Russian Mennonite stock. We have followed her ancestors back from Alberta through Mexico and Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Russia and, to the late 1700ís, Prussia.

Although many hours were spent perusing microfilm, organizing material, surfing the net and recording data, the journey thus far has been exciting. I have experienced that rush of new discovery. I have been in correspondence with distant relatives from Europe to North America. I have learned much about history, social mores and political climes. Ancestors have become real to me! I have seen some serve in the American civil war, some in the American Revolution and others with Napoleon on his ill-fated Russian campaign. I have seen others driven to persevere and triumph over pioneering hardships as they migrated westward, filling this continent.

Having completed my 5-generation pedigree, I have at present narrowed my research to two main areas: my motherís ancestry back to immigration to colonial America, New York and Virginia; and following my paternal lineage farther back in Lippe, Germany. This while staying open to any other leads that fill in the framework I already have, I do not see an end to this soon!

Respectfully submitted with thanks to all the older (longer time in the organization) members for their help.

Bill Lappenbush
email: lappenbush@yahoo.ca

My father, Henry Lappenbush, myself, and my sister, Sharon Lappenbush.	My son, Richard Lappenbush, and his 2 sons, Rhett and Payton Lappenbush.

"I like to think they are the kind of pictures my descendants
will appreciate 50 or more years down the road
as I like the old ones of my ancestors."
Bill Lappenbush

"The Periodical Source Index, or PERSI, is the largest subject index to genealogical and historical periodical articles in the world. Created by the foundation and department staff of the Historical Genealogy Department of the library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, PERSI is widely recognized as being a vital source for genealogical researchers. PERSI is a comprehensive subject index covering genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French (Canada) since 1800. The time period of the articles ranges from the 1700s to the present. More than 1.1 million index entries from nearly six thousand titles are represented by this work.

The bad news is that the index is not available online for free. The CD-ROM runs between $80 and $100, and is available at online stores like Ancestry.com. However, if you live anywhere close to a Family History Center, PERSI is available there for free. If you are a member of Ancestry.com, PERSI is one of the databases included in your membership.

To give you an idea of the information available, I obtained copies of the membership records at my great-grandparent's church. I also got the ledger of the little village store where my great great grandparents shopped. Because PERSI is an index of genealogy and local history articles, it covers such things as old copies of a genealogical society's newsletters or magazines--the places where those oddball kind of articles are likely to turn up."

Whether you own the CD-ROM, or access the information the FHC, this is only an index. If you live in Fort Wayne IN, you can go to the Allen County Library and get copies of the articles off the microfilms. If you don't live there, you can send a request to the library (form is located at: http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/ database/graphics/order_form.html)

You may request six articles at a time, and the charge is a flat $7.50 fee, plus $0.20 per page copied. Believe it or not, you don't enclose money with your request--when they send the copies they send a bill with it.

[from AncestorNews, An Electronic Newsletter for Internet Genealogists, V. 2, #3 - Jan 29, 2000. Used with permission]

Ed. note: Many public libraries with genealogy sections have this in book form, too. A number of local libraries now subscribe to Ancestry.com for patron use, so you can use that database.

The above information was obtained from "Genealogy Newsletter Editor's Corner" on the internet at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bjstockton/editors/persi.html

Births, marriages and deaths as contained in the Grande Prairie "Herald" newspaper. Continued from the September 2000 issue of "Heritage Seekers".

Sept. 18, 1923 Issue:
- "Wedding on Tuesday morning at the Presbyterian Manse, when Miss Marion E. MORRISON became the bride of Francis L. MCLENNAN, Rev. Dr. FORBES being the officiating clergyman. The bridesmaid was Mrs. A.B. HEDMAN, a cousin of the bride, while the groom was assisted by Mr. James EVANS, an old and close friend of the groom. Ö To reside in Vancouver, BC for the winter months and then return to Grande Prairie in the spring Ö The bride came here about a year ago from Boston, Mass., and has been in the employ of the Kelly, Douglas Company as stenographer. Mr. MCLENNAN is a well known citizen of Grande Prairie having been engaged in the contracting business here for the past few years Ö "
- "Funeral for Mr. Edward WARD Ö at the Presbyterian church. Rev. FORBES officiatingÖ Mr. WARD has brothers and sisters in Ontario Ö Settled near Clairmont, AB in 1911. Buried at the Flying Shot Cemetery Ö "
- "In Memory: of Louis M. PEEBLES who died Sept. 2, 1922 Ö By mother Cecilia PEEBLES."

Sept. 25, 1923 Issue:
- "Miss Minnie KNUTSON, born Sept. 14, 1905 at Canora, Saskatchewan, died at Calgary on Sept. 5, 1923 and was buried on Sept. 11th in the Spirit River Cemetery. The funeral service was conducted by Rev. OGATEN at the Presbyterian Church. She leaves to mourn a father, mother, three sisters and one brother."

Oct. 2, 1923 Issue:
- "Notice to Creditors and Claimants - In the Matter of the Estate of Charles STANDING RIBBON, late of Calais, in the Province of Alberta, Trapper, deceased Ö who died on or about the 17th of Sept. 1920 ..."

Oct. 9, 1923 Issue:
- "Wedding 8 a.m. Sept. 20th at the Anglican Church: Mr. H. SHEPHERD and Mrs. WILSON (first name unclear due to poor newsprint copy) Ö Mr. SHEPHERD is the engineer in charge of the construction for the Grande Prairie extension of the E.D. and B.C. Railway and has resided in the town since last spring. Mrs. WILSON is the widow of C.R. WILSON and has resided here for six years Ö Rev. R. LITTLE conducted the wedding ceremony and Mr. and Mrs. William MILLS attended the bride and groomÖ"

Oct. 16, 1923 Issue:
- No births, marriages or deaths found.

Oct. 23, 1923 Issue:
- "Born to Mr and Mrs. F. GUTHRIE, Oct. 20, Grande Prairie, a son."
- "Drowning Accident - at the Smoky River, Oct. 12th when Monty ORR, age eighteen, a farmer near the Smoky was swept off the raft that he and his brother Fred were on Ö (body not found) Ö The boys lived alone near Rooney's Store Ö Father away seeking employment Ö "

Oct. 30, 1923 Issue:
- No births, marriages or deaths found.

Nov. 6, 1923 Issue:
- "Born at Edmonton General Hospital, Oct. 19th to Mr. And Mrs. W.G. MAIR, a son."
- "Wedding at the Pro-Cathedral, Calgary, AB on Oct 22, when Miss Gladys M. THOMPSON, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R.D. THOMPSON of Grande Prairie married Mr. Clarence C. FLEMMING of Grande Prairie. Ceremony performed by Rev. Dean PAGET Ö To live in Grande Prairie, AB."
- "Wedding in Edmonton on Oct. 22 when Miss Roberta E. WILSON married Mr. H. Dewar THOMPSON. The ceremony was performed by Rev. J.M. MILLAR of Robertson College of Edmonton. Miss WILSON is the daughter of John T. WILSON of Grenville, Quebec. Mr. THOMPSON is the son of R.D. THOMPSON of Grande Prairie. Ö to live in Grande Prairie." (More on this wedding in the Nov. 27, 1923 issue of the Grande Prairie "Herald" newspaper.)

Nov. 13, 1923 Issue:
- "Wedding at Christ Church, Rev. LTTLE officiating, on Nov. 2nd when Miss B.S. JAMESON of St. Mary's. Ontario married Mr. F.L. CANNON of Aberdeen, Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. CANNON to reside at Sturgeon Lake where Mr. CANNON is manager of the Revillon Freres Trading Co."

Nov. 20, 1923 Issue:
- "Born at the local hospital to the wife of D.W. PATTERSON, Nov. 10, a son."

Nov. 27, 1923 Issue:
- "Wedding at the home of John REDMOND, Boulevard, when Blanche, the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell LECKIE of Rio Grande, AB married Ivor Berger BOLIN, only son of Ivor BOLIN of Rio Grande. Rev. Dr. FORBES officiated. Ö to live in Rio Grande."
- "Died - Mr. J. PIKE, at his home near Hythe Oct. 24th. Funeral Oct. 27th. Interred at the Valhalla Cemetery Ö Member of the Masonic Lodge. Came with his family from Champion, AB in 1919. Leaves to mourn, a wife and nine children."
- "Mrs. Wilhemina KIRSTEIN passed away Nov 12th at the home farm NE of Sexsmith Ö Age 59. Mr. and Mrs. KIRSTEIN are old settlers and came north about eight years ago. Mr. KIRSTEIN, four sons (Frank, Fred, Ernest, and Gustav) and one daughter (F. MUSKOWSKY) survive Ö "

Dec. 4, 1923 Issue:
- No births, marriages or deaths found.

Dec. 11, 1923 Issue:
- "Notice to Creditors in the Estate of Phillip John BRIERLY, late of the district of Athabasca, AB. Farmer, deceased Ö on 20 May 1917 Ö "

Dec. 18, 1923 Issue:
- No births, marriages or deaths found.

Dec. 25,1923 Issue:
- "Born to Mr. and Mrs. G.V. CARVETH, Dec. 21st at the Grande Prairie Hospital, a son."
- "Wedding at Christ Church by Rev. LITTLE Dec. 18th when Miss PIPER married Mr. Raymond MURPHY, both of Grande Prairie. Miss PIPER is the eldest daughter of Mrs. Agnes PIPER of Grande Prairie, and has resided in this town several years. Mr. MURPHY came to this town three or four years ago and is in the garage business. He is the son of Mr. And Mrs. James MURPHY of Huntington, Ontario. Miss Kate PIPER - bridesmaid and Mr. Alblan CLARKSON, the bestman Ö "

This query first arrived in October 1999 from Miss Julie SKERRATT of 11 Benton Street, Moston, Manchester, England M9 4NG. Initially, Julie was looking for information to trace the records on the homestead of James HAYNES in the Hythe area.

Miss Skerratt wrote the following:

In addition, Julie noted the homestead land location as NW 1/4 27, T73, R10, W6, that she had the original receipt for the purchase of the land, and that the land had been sold in the late 1920's or early 1930's by a firm of solicitors - Sutton Elliot and Co of Manchester, England. By that time, Julie's grandmother had remarried and was Mrs. C. SKERRATT.

Julie gave no reason for wanting the homestead records of a man who was no relation to her. Since I knew the automatic question to be asked when inquiring about this property would be "Why does she wish to know who currently owns the homestead of James and Carrie Haynes, as well as who bought it some sixty to seventy years ago?" Thus off went a letter to Miss Skerratt asking for her reason. I then received a phone call from Julie saying she wished to know who bought and now owned her grandmother's farm in the Hythe area as she hoped to visit Canada, and the homestead, and "see what her grandmother never got to see". As per Julie, Carrie HAYNES had never been allowed to come to Canada to see her property as she had several brothers who strongly disapproved, to the forbidding point, of her coming to Canada, let alone by herself, to the far northern part.

The County map had the land currently in the name of Margaret PFAU. Upon checking locally, I learned her name was now STERR and was away to the United States for the winter. I then wrote Mrs. STERR regarding Miss Skeratt's request, and asked her permission to tell Julie who now owned the James HAYNES homestead and if she (Mrs. STERR) would be a contact person when Julie came to Canada to see the "homestead".

In the spring of 2000, Mrs. STERR phoned with her approval. I then sent this info on to Julie, plus the address of the Land Titles Office in Edmonton so that Julie could get an "Historical Search" done on the homestead (for a $30 fee). I also sent Julie a photocopy of the portion of the county map which showed the homestead location, as well as a section of the Alberta Provincial Map that gave her an idea of the location of local places such as Grande Prairie, Hythe, and Beaverlodge. I also told her about the Hythe local history books.

Julie's reply stated how "thrilled" she was with the results of her query. Her own investigating by means of phones calls to the City Lands Office and the Federal Lands of Canada were all to no avail.

Julie then sent money and asked to purchase the two local history books, "Pioneer Round-Up", which cover the Hythe area. The original book was published in 1972 by the "Pioneer History Society of Hythe and Area". Since that time, a supplement to the original history book has been published.

Late last fall, Julie asked for some information on homesteads to understand what they were. I sent her a copy of the homestead info as published in the 1984 issue of "Relatively Speaking", Vol. 12, No. 4.

On Feb. 14, 2001, Julie excitedly phoned stating "She is coming to Canada in May 2001!" With her will be a cousin who has always wanted to see Canada as well. They will arrive in Vancouver first to see the sights there, and then off to Banff. They will drive from Edmonton to Grande Prairie about the 17th of May and will return to Edmonton on May 20th. Julie has made contact with Mrs. STERR to see the homestead and I plan on meeting her as well. As my daughter is getting married that weekend, our meeting in person may only be short but it will be neat to meet someone I have helped and talked to on the phone.

As you already know, I am moving to Edmonton this summer and Gail Shau has agreed to take over as the branch librarian. Gail and I will be meeting over the next little while to organize a library committee and to transfer the library records. I would personally like to thank Gail and those who volunteered to form the library committee.

I must admit that when Judy Bradley first told me she had found a replacement for the library, my initial reaction was similar to the empty nest syndrome - excited to be moving on to a new stage of my life but sad to leave my cherished "library." It has been a privilege to be the branch librarian for the past 10 years and to have been a part of the collection's fantastic growth. But most of all I will miss the many friends I have made over those years. Hopefully, many of you will drop by when you're in Edmonton or we'll meet at the AGS Conference each year.

"Be well; do good work and keep in touch"
Garrison Keillor

Some of the new books in the branch collection are:

• R GEN 015.712 3035 STR Alberta Newspapers, 1880-1982: An Historical Directory
• R GEN 929.102 5 GEN Genealogical Research Directory: National & International 2000
• R GEN 929.371 234 OBI First Addendum to the Obituaries Index as Published by the Brooks Bulletin for the Years 1990-2000
• R GEN 929.371 234 OBI Obituaries Index as Published by the Brooks Bulletin for the Years 1910-1989
• R GEN 929.371 6 PUN Nova Scotia Vital Statistics from Newspapers, 1769-1812, Number 5 (donated by Lynda Shopka)
• R GEN 929.509 712 ALB Alberta Sources: Cemeteries and Other Sources in the Master Surname Index

Please remember the deadline is April 1 for the indexing of the Herald Tribune Obituaries between 1965 - 1977. When this project is finished, Grande Prairie & District Branch will have easy access to all the obituaries printed in the Grande Prairie Newspapers since 1913. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this project.

Happy researching to each and every one of you!
Debby Was

1) http://www.gradfinder.com/

Great site for finding old schoolmates, teachers and reunions from your school. It is free and easy to register. It includes schools from all over the world.
(submitted by Debby Was)

2) http://www.streetmap.co.uk/

This site provides address searching and street map facilities for the UK. Currently street and road maps are available for the whole of mainland Britain. Sponsors are presently being sought for Northern Ireland.

Places can be located by London Street, Postal Code, UK place, OS grid, Landranger grid, Latitude & Longitude, or by telephone code.

Some, but not all, areas also have aerial photographs. For example, I searched using my sisterís postal code and the map showed all surrounding streets with an arrow indicating her exact house location. A click on a camera icon showed an aerial photo of her street.
(submitted by Margaret Kay)

A new column has been started in the 'Encore' edition of the Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune every Friday. The first column appeared in the Feb. 23, 2001 issue.

The focus of the column is the history of this area and is titled, "The Peace of Our Past". This is a weekly column written by Margaret Heath's brother, Les McLaughlin, who currently lives in Ottawa.

The first two issues are also available on the Daily Herald Tribune website at:

http://www.bowesnet.com/encore/
Click on 'Views'

Unfortunately, the third issue (as of this writing) was not included on the website.

Columns (to date):

• Feb. 23 A look back at the colourful history of Grande Prairie
• Mar. 2 Reverend Forbes and wife, Agnes, pioneers in local health care
• Mar. 9 Month-long journey brought Grande Prairie its first post office

I would encourage you to check out these columns. They make very interesting reading.
(Information from Joan Bowman and Laura Turnbull)
 

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  November 1, 2001