Tag: Van Norman

52W Mark II – Week 50: “You Wouldn’t Believe It”

Old newspapers are a great resource for genealogists. However, I do more than read just the item I’m looking for. I enjoy seeing what else was in the news on the same day as an ancestor’s birth, marriage, death, or other newsworthy action. Not only because it provides context for the familial event, but also because there are some really fun or interesting items to be found. There are all sorts of things you wouldn’t believe.

This is page two of the Newmarket Era (Newmarket, Ontario) for October 1, 1875.

The item I was interested in is found in the bottom right-hand corner, marked in red. It announces the marriage of our sons’ great great great grandparents, Charles Crittenden Van Norman and Isabella Newman Carmichael.

However, there are lots of fun, interesting, and odd bits on the rest of the page. The first thing I noticed is immediately above the marriage notice: a great bit about what appears to have been a foiled plot to rob Windsor Castle, when Queen Victoria was on the throne.

Buried elsewhere on the middle of the page was an item about the first appointees to the newly created Supreme Court of Canada. Note that there were no appointees from west of Ontario, although the only western provinces at the time were Manitoba and British Columbia.

That’s right, you wouldn’t believe it, the Supreme Court of Canada did not come into existence until seven years after Confederation. It wasn’t even front page news. The placement of the item in the middle of the page, in the third column, below a piece on new regulations for local postmasters, indicates the relevant unimportance of the court at that time. It wasn’t even the highest court for the country. That role was held by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the UK until 1949 – 82 years after Confederation. Elsewhere on the page is an item noting that the first choice for Chief Justice of the new court turned down then offer – he preferred to remain in his position as the head of one of the provincial appeal courts.

A few columns over is an item that you wouldn’t believe – “A Monster Devil Fish”. An incredible story about “A Florida Devil-Fish That Almost Baffled Fifteen Men”! The item ends by noting that “only only of these singular fish” had been captured before, “previous to the war.” Obviously, readers at the time would have known what war the story was referring to. Today, given that the item came from an American wire service, it’s most likely the reference was to the American Civil War.

Above the Devil-Fish item is another story that not only you wouldn’t believe, you probably would not want to believe.  “A Singular Marriage” tells the story of a divorced single mother of three (a “brave little creature”). She ended up in such a state of poverty that she was left with the prospect of begging, starving or going to the poor-house, unless she took a job as the housekeeper and nanny for her ex-husband, his new wife, and their two-year old daughter. “All these things and even more did the poor woman undertake, never by sign, word or look exhibiting the least evidence of discontent. But bitter her feelings must have been!”

You wouldn’t believe it.

52W Mark II – Week 48: Troublemaker

Two “Troublemakers” come to mind for this week’s 52 Ancestors challenge. They are both ancestors of our children.

David Van Norman (Our Kids’ Gx4 Grandfather)

Up until the 1830s, the colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada (roughly modern-day Ontario and Quebec) were ruled by oligarchic elites. In Upper Canada, they were disparagingly called the Family Compact; in Quebec, they were called the Château Clique (even though they were largely anglophones, one of whom was John Molson, founder of the brewery company). Their rule was largely self-serving and the government was run through patronage. Discontent was further fueled by economic depression.

A Reform movement developed in both colonies. The Reformers initially tried to change the system politically, from within, including electing Reformers to the colonial legislatures. When this failed, rebellions broke out in both colonies in 1837: in Lower Canada in November and Upper Canada in December.

Reformer and Rebel William Lyon Mackenzie

William Lyon Mackenzie was the leader of the rebels in Upper Canada. He was a journalist, member of the colonial legislature, and the first Mayor of Toronto. He was also the grandfather of the longest serving Canadian Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. After losing re-election to the legislature in 1836, he concluded that political change could only occur through conflict. His small militia was quickly defeated. Mackenzie and some followers fled to the United States. In mid-December, the rebels established the Republic of Canada on Navy Island in the Niagara River. The British attacked and the rebels retreated to the US, where Mackenzie was arrested and jailed for violating the its Neutrality Act, which prohibited attacks against any country at peace with the United States. President Van Buren pardoned Mackenzie, who returned to Canada after reforms had been instituted and the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada had been merged to form the Province of Canada.

David Van Norman was born to Loyalist parents in Kingston, Upper Canada, in 1815. The Loyalists were those who supported the British crown during the American Revolution. After the war, many migrated to Canada. David began his working life as a school teacher. Later in life he turned to farming. David was sympathetic to the Reformers. David was imprisoned during the 1837 rebellion; however, I have been unable to determine whether he actually participated in the fighting. Whatever the circumstances, the government clearly considered him to be a troublemaker.

Apparently David knew Mackenzie and the two remained good friends until the latter died in 1861. David passed away in Keswick, Ontario.

Richard Newman (Our Kids’ Gx10 Grandfather)

Richard Newman (c. 1620 – 1695) was a barrister who supported King Charles I during the English Civil War between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians led by Oliver Cromwell (also referred to as the Cavaliers and Roundheads). Richard’s aid to the King included financial support by way of loans. Richard was appointed High Steward of Westminster during the Civil War.

Richard also fought alongside the King’s heir, Prince Charles (later Charles II) at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Richard served with the rank of colonel. After the Royalist loss there, Richard assisted the Prince by helping him to escape to France and by sending him money during his exile. Richard was imprisoned by Cromwell for his troublemaking. Richard was later released, presumably when Charles II returned to the throne in 1660.

52W Mark II – Week 41: Travel

I knew I’ve written a lot about travel for the 52 Ancestors Challenge over the two years I’ve been participating, but I was surprised to discover just how much when I went back through past posts to ensure I wasn’t repeating myself. I’ve written many times about my ancestors’ migrations, as well as my own genealogical travels: Fox Valley and Rastadt, Saskatchewan; Waarland, Noord-Holland; Leidschendam-Voorburg, Zuid-Holland; Brant, Alberta; and Cardston, Alberta, to name a few.

So seeking inspiration and a different perspective on the theme, I looked at our kids’ maternal side and their Gx3 grandfather, Charles Crittenden Van Norman. He was a merchant and businessperson and was involved in a number of enterprises. Charles’s many business interests involved a great deal of travel. To that end, Charles was an early member of the Commercial Travellers’ Association of Canada and he remained so for thirty years.

Charles was born on August 10, 1849, in Keswick, York, Canada West, Province of Canada. Charles began working around the age of 16. His earliest work included the wholesale and retail book and stationery trade. The 1891 census said he was a “greens clerk”. Later, he became a wholesale manufacturer of boots and shoes, retiring from that endeavour in 1902. Later in his career, he was a director of the Ontario, Manitoba & Western Land Company and was Vice-President of the McElroy Manufacturing Co. Charles also had a significant interest in the Alberta Farm & Cattle Company, in which he was Vice-President. Charles also had an interest in banking, primarily as a shareholder. While I have not yet verified it, Charles may have been a director as well.

The Canadian Patent Office Record and Register of Copyrights and Trade-Marks, Volume 23, 1896. Charles and his partners held a trade-mark in rubber boots, shoes, and other rubber goods.

Amongst his many endeavors, Charles was an executive and director of a number of insurance companies. From about 1880 to 1920, Charles was a manager and vice president of the Metropolitan Fire Insurance Company in Toronto. During the same period, he was a director and vice president of the Equity Fire Insurance Company in Toronto. From 1904 to about 1920, Charles was the president and managing director of the Independent Fire Insurance Company in Toronto, of which he was one of the founders. Despite his high position in these companies, for the 1911 Canadian census Charles modestly reported his occupation as “insurance agent”.

Charles retired in 1921, at the age of 72. He died on February 2, 1939 in Toronto.

The Commercial Travellers’ Association of Canada was founded in 1874. Its purposes included providing its members with travel and insurance benefits. Charles joined in 1880 and remained a member until 1910. He was a director and a vice president of the organization for many years and served two terms as its president.

The Commercial Travellers’ Association also provided what we would now call networking opportunities and frequently had banquets and social gatherings for its members. Its members had a considerable amount of influence, such that it was common for a Prime Minister or cabinet ministers to be in attendance. In 1989, the organization changed its name to the Canadian Professional Sales Association.

While he was a prominent and successful business person with many commercial interests, what I enjoy most is Charles’s occupation set out in the Marriage Affidavit and Certificate for his daughter Madeline (our children’s great great grandmother): “Gentleman”.

Extract from the Marriage Affidavit for the marriage of Madeline Van Normand and Robert Willan Mann, who married in Toronto on September 6, 1911.