Monday Memories (January 12, 2015) -- The O'Kane Siblings (circa 1930)

Daniel Joseph O'Kane, Sr. (1889 - 1950) and his wife Nora C. Hayes ((1893 - 1981) had six children -- five of whom are pictured here in a proof from about 1930. The eldest child, Daniel J. O'Kane, Jr. (1919 - 2007), is the father of my wife Molly and the maternal grandfather of our two sons. He is at the extreme left in the photograph.

The other siblings shown in the photo (from left to right after Dan, Jr.) are Thomas J. O'Kane (1922 - 2008), Edward O'Kane (1921 - 2002), Raymond G. O'Kane (1925 - 1988), and Mary C. O'Kane (1928 - 1993). The sixth and youngest sibling, Grace P. O'Kane, was not born until 1933 and so is not pictured in this family portrait.

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Image scanned from an original in the family collection.

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Copyright 2015, John D. Tew

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Saturday Serendipity (January 10, 2015)

The following are a few recommendations for inclusion on your reading list this weekend. 

1.  It's baaaack! RAOGK has returned and UpFront With NGS has a link to the details here. RAOGK, of course, stands for "Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness."  It is a volunteer organization with over 4,000 members around the world who have agreed to donate time FOR FREE to fulfill requests for assistance with genealogical research. [Their expenses such as copying costs, postage, parking, etc., do need to be covered.] If you want to join or make contact with a volunteer find out more at the links provided at the UpFront With NGS post.     

2.  If you are a New Englander, or if you have deep roots in New England, or if you have visited New England often, then you will know Yankee magazine ("New England's Magazine For 80 Years."). The January/February 2015 issue has an interesting and potentially useful article on the recent rediscovery and rescue of 2,000 glass-plate negatives of New England life from the 1890s through the 1930s.  The negatives were found in a box in the cellar of Yankee's offices in Dublin, NH, but they have now been donated to Historic New England (HNE), a preservation society based in Boston.  You can see some of the photos from the rescued negatives in the Yankee article at your local library if you do not subscribe. You can also see archival shots from HNE's Yankee Publishing Collection at YankeeMagazine.com/historic-photos In addition, there are many New England photos to be seen at  the website of Historic New England historicnewengland.org/collections-archives-exhibitions/collections-access/highlights/photography  

3.  I came across a post about linking particular blog posts as opposed to the home page of a blog. Most bloggers who have been at it for a while know how to link directly to discrete blog posts and why one should do it, but sometimes a link provided to a discussion of an individual post takes you not to the particular post in question, but to the blog home page -- and then you must begin the process of findng the post of interest. Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small blog addresses this issue and provides the reasoning and the solution.  Read Amy's post here -- which should take you directly to her post on specific posting.  ;-)  

4.  Two items of interest this week from The Vault.  You no doubt have seen the media coverage of the opening of the time capsule buried beneath a cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House in 1795. The capsule was placed there by Samuel Adams, the then governor of Massachusetts, with the help of Paul Revere. You can read about the opening of the time capsule and see nice photos of the contents here.      

5.  The second item from The Vault will be of interest to map and tree lovers in particular. The Vault post here provides a series of maps showing the state of American forests in 1884. You can see what the forests were like for your ancestors not only by the places they lived, but also by the kinds of trees with which they would have been familiar.                    

6.  We genealogists are universally fascinated with history -- and usually this means we look backward more than forward. [Although I have argued in posts at The Prism that we should also concern ourselves with creating in the present preservation of information and artifacts that will become historic to our descendants.] Here is a piece that looks forward in an interesting way. Wait But Why blog asks, "Who From Our Modern Era Will Be Universally Known in the Year 4015?  If this intrigues you as it did me, see the thoughtful analysis and predictions at the link provided. Do you agree with the author's assessments? Perhaps this can be a blog prompt for you to add your own predictions. If it is, please let us know the link to your blog post! 

[I have my addition to the list that relates to the biggest innovation in genealogy research of late -- and to the worlds of medicine, biology, forensics, anthropology, information storage and a host of other presently known and unknown science and technology branches. How about James Watson, Francis Crick, and -- one hopes by 4015 -- Rosalind Franklin for their work in the discovery of the structure of DNA!?]  

7.  Returning to historic New England and photographs capturing past images . . . If you remember the slogan, "Wednesday Is Prince Spaghetti Day!", then you need to see the photos at Life From The Roots blog by the Ambassador of Lowell, Barbara Poole.  Have a look here.   

8. Valerie Hughes at Genealogy With Valerie blog, posted thoughts on how to add additional information from a blog post to a Find-A-Grave memorial. Read about her efforts here.    

9.  And finally, CONGRATULATIONS to our favorite Legal Genealogist, Judy Russell, on winning the crown as the niche category champ in the American Bar Association's Annual Blawg 100! BUT, not only did Judy get crowned niche champion, she garnered more overall votes than any other blog in the 100 except Top Class Actions blog. See the ABA formal notice of winners here and see Judy's post here.

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Copyright 2015, John D. Tew

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Friday Fotos (January 9, 2015) -- G. Douglas Jeffs, M.D.

My wife's maternal grandfather (our sons' great grandfather), George Douglas Jeffs, was born in Havelock Township, Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada on November 25, 1893.  He was the younger of the two sons of Dr. William Henry Maines Jeffs and Minnie [Brown] Jeffs. He was known as Doug and, as an adult, went by G. Douglas Jeffs professionally.

On October 4, 1919, two years and five months after graduating from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Medicine, Dr. G. Douglas Jeffs married Eulalie Jeffs (same surname, but no known relationship). Doug and Eulalie met while both were students at the University of Toronto. They had two children: Doreen Jeffs (Molly's mother and our sons' maternal grandmother) and Robert Jeffs.

The first photograph above is of G. Douglas Jeffs (left) with his older brother, Howard Jeffs, standing (who also became a medical doctor).  It would have been taken around 1894. The next photo is of Doug around age two and so would have been taken about 1895.  The third is of Doug at Lake Simcoe when he was about three years old in 1896.

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All images from original photos in the family collection. 

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Copyright 2015, John D. Tew

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Treasure Chest Thursday (January 8, 2015) -- The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and Kathleen L. Jeffs

As stated in Wikipedia, The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is "the most junior and most populous order of chivalry in the British and other Commonwealth honours system." The Order was established by King George V on June 4, 1917.  There are five levels, ranks, or classes and both civilian and military divisions.  The five levels from most senior to most junior are as follows:

     1.  Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross of The Most Excellent Order of the

          British Empire (GBE).

     2.  Knight Commander or Dame Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British

          Empire (KBE or DBE).

     3.  Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British

          Empire (CBE).

     4.  Officer of The Most Excellent Order of the British

          Empire (OBE).

     5.  Member of The Most Excellent Order of the British

          Empire (MBE).

Kathleen Lorena Jeffs is the sister of my wife's maternal grandmother and thus is Molly's grand aunt, the great grand aunt of our two sons, and the 2nd great grand aunt of our granddaughter, Nora W. Tew. Kathleen, known as "Kay," was born on January 21, 1897 in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. She died October 31, 1948 in Toronto.

During World War II, Kay served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (R.C.A.F.) and rose to the rank of Wing Officer in the Women's Division (equivalent to Wing Commander). Kay was working as a dietician with the T. Eaton Co., Ltd. when the R.C.A.F. decided it was necessary to reorganize the food services for its forces during World War II.  Kay was "loaned" to the R.C.A.F. for the duration of the war and became the first woman entrusted with responsibility for organizing the food services for any of the Canadian armed forces. One hundred twenty-five dieticians served under Wing Officer Kay Jeffs at various stations in Canada and England during the war. For her dedicated and successful service she was awarded the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The MBE shown above is that of Kathleen L. Jeffs.

Kay Jeffs on the occasion of receiving the MBE.  Her sister, Eulalie Jeffs, admires the award and Eulalie's husband, Dr. G. Douglas Jeffs looks on.  Eulalie and G. Douglas Jeffs are Molly's maternal grandparents.

Kay Jeffs was a 1923 graduate of the University of Toronto. Her portrait was later presented to the Univeristy by the Messing Officers of the Women's Division of the R.C.A.F. in appreciation for her outstanding service as Senior Messing Officer Royal Canadian Air Force 1942 - 1945.  The portrait (shown below) was hung in the Household Science Building, University of Toronto.

Kay Jeffs and her teacher/mentor at the University of Toronto, Violet M. Ryley, are considered two of the pioneers of the dietetic field in Canada and dieticians across Canada established the Violet Ryley - Kathleen Jeffs Foundation in their honor.

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The original M.B.E. is now in the Jeffs/O'Kane/Tew family collection.

Originals of all photographs and articles shown above are also in the family collection.

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Copyright 2015, John D. Tew

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Wordless Wednesday (January 7, 2015) -- A Shore Pass For Yokohama, Japan (Sept. 1952)

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Images scanned from original Shore Pass in the collection of the author.

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Copyright 2015, John D. Tew

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Military Monday (January 5, 2015) -- U.S. Naval Reserve and U.S. Maritime Service IDs from 1951

In September 1951, as a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy - Kings Point, and as an officer in the Merchant Marine, my father also had a U.S. Naval Reserve appointment as a LTJG (USNR) following his service during World War II. His USNR identification card is shown above.

In December 1951, my father was still actively employed as an officer in the Merchant Marine. His identification card from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Maritime Administration, UNITED STATES MARITIME SERVICE is shown immediately above.

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Images scanned from original identification cards in the collection of the author.

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Copyright 2015, John D. Tew

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Saturday Serendipity (January 3, 2015)

This week there are again only a few recommendations for inclusion on your weekend reading list . . . and this regular post is rather late because of a quick trip to NJ to visit our granddaughter (and her parents).  We just got back home. 

This is the time of year when many genealogy blogs post about their top ten or so posts for the past year or the most popular search terms on their blogs, etc.  Many of them make interesting reading and you might consider stopping by some of your favorite blogs to see what was popular there during 2014.

1.  Do you have ancestors from England and Wales who lived there in the period from 1858 to 1996? If so, you need to know that 41 million wills from that period in England and Wales are now being made available for public viewing online.  Thanks to this tip from The Weekly Genealogist of NEHGS, one will be able to search the database and then buy copies for 10 Pounds. 

2.  Rebecca Onion of The Vault posted about five more digital archives and historical exhibits that were new to her in 2014.  Have a look at her list and explanations here. Many of us should find these archives and exhibits of interest and use in our genealogies.   

3.  James Tanner at Genealogy's Star blog has a thoughtful and interesting post titled "Genealogy is History and All History is Genealogy."  You can read his thoughts here.   

4.  Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings blog did a different Top Ten round-up.  He offers his take on the top ten genealogy news items of 2014.  You can read Randy's list here. 

5.  Diane Boumenot's posts at One Rhode Island Family blog are always interesting reads that provide insight to the meticulous research and analysis of a seasoned genealogist. As an example, I recommend Diane's latest post "In Search of Freelove Andrews" here. 

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Copyright 2015, John D. Tew

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Friday Fotos (January 2, 2015) -- David and Shirley Carpenter

Siblings -- David (1930 - 2005) and Shirley Carpenter

This snapshot was taken circa 1934-35 when my mother was about seven or eight years old and her younger brother, my Uncle David, was about four or five. The photo was most likely taken at 551 High Street in Cumberland, Rhode Island -- the Carpenter family homestead for four generations. I have memories of that wicker chair in which they are sitting.

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The scanned image is from the original snapshot in the collection of the author.

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Copyright 2015, John D. Tew

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