Real Talk!

First off... I would like to wish all Canadians a happy Canada Day!

I feel very fortunate to have been born in Canada... and, since working on my family tree, I have learned a lot more about being Canadian.

Many native cultures share a reverence for "ancestors"... and many carry a common belief that each of us is affected by the 7 generations that came before us- which translates into our own responsibility for the seven generations that will follow us.

I certainly have discovered anecdotal stories (during my quest for information related to my family tree) that are astonishingly connected to the family as it exists today.

& from this work,also, I have a new and greater understanding of the history of North America, the people and politics... culture and philosophy... spirituality and character... and so much more...

Today, I thought I'd share the names that I have (and the gaps, too) going back 7 generations in my own family tree... it is very indicative, I think, that I am quite a typical Canadian citizen of today... with roots that run deep into the history of North America, a number of them back to Europe.

In sharing these names, I'm hoping that I might inspire others.. perhaps connect with relatives... truthfully, I sometimes believe that I will connect us all...

to date, I have 10314 individuals in my family tree and almost 800 stories and some 1500 photos- all relating to these folks and their families.

Some people are quite celebrated and some are not... however, I have no doubt that each one had their lessons, struggles and happiness, all of which has contributed to the world in which I live.

From my father’s paternal side:

Jean Didier 1795-1820 Savoie, Rhone-Alps, France
Perrone Guillermin 1794-1954

Pierre Gaillard France
Jeanne Damesin

Pierre M Goudreau 1764-1838 Quebec
Marie Ann Pilon 1770-1828 Quebec

Pierre Botineau 1793-1870
Madeleine Charron de Ducharme 1800- abt 1825

I Theodore Seguin 1775-1858 Quebec
Marie Reine Anne Leduc 1782-1823

Pierre Vallee 1773-1848 Quebec
Elisabeth Robillard 1774-1844

Missing 4 Grandparents of Marie Zephirin Villineuve 1855-unknown Quebec

From my father’s maternal side:

Missing 4 Grandparents of Richard Hynes 1825-1917 Ireland-Ontario
And missing 4 Grandparents of Richard Hynes’ wife Margaret Farrell 1843-1902 Ireland-Ontario

Unknown Parents of Timothy Sheehan 1803-Ireland
And Unknown Parents of Timothy Sheehan’s wife Catherine Hanlon 1808 Ireland

John Baptiste Reaume 1772-1829 Ontario
Suzanne Trudelle 1781-1829 Ontario

The parents of Charles Reaume’s wife- Sophia

From my mother's maternal side

William Hanning 1776-1871 Scotland
Catherine Lorimer 1781-1856 Scotland

James Carlyle 1758-1832 Scotland
Margaret Aitkin 1771-1853 Scotland

James Amit Morden 1762 Pennsylvania-1740 Ontario
Margaret Parliament 1771 New York-1868 Ontario

Lewis Davis <1763 New York-1823 Ontario
Miriam Lawrence 1764 New York-1840 Ontario

Francis Vandervoort 1763 New York-1836 Ontario
Hanna Acker 1765 New York-1850Ontario

Francis Hogle 1773 New York-1840 Ontario
Margaret Hartman 1777 New York-1855 Ontario

Jacob Franklin 1754- England
Jane Bull

William Lewis 1786 Wales
Mary

From my mother's paternal side:

Unkown Parents of Richard G Clingan born 1820 Ireland

And Unknown Parents of Mrs. Richard Clingan (Rebecca Walmsley)born 1822 Ireland

John Hewitt born 1779 England
Deborah Clark born 1777

Unknown Parents of wife of Mrs. John Hewitt Jr. (Elizabeth) born 1813 Wales

John Hughes 1795-1883 Wales/England
Ann Sarah Jones 1799-1832

Joseph Chadwick born England
Ann

James Cunion 1800-1883 England
Jane 1801-1880

William Symmonds 1811-1886 England
Margaret 1811-unknown

Yup, it's all around the mulberry bush... with other surnames like DeMille, Bogart, Pepin, Herrington, Carlyle, Bishop, McCrae, Vanderbilt, White, Molyneux, Quesnel, Palmer,Bergen, Atherton,Morrow, Eaton, Cole, Vernon, Redner, Munro, Durham, Bowerman, Babcock, Hawley, Mainwaring, Lake, Joly, Baldwin, Cleveland, Doig, Miteouamegoukoue, Meyers, Glossop, Lindbergh, Putnam, Ruttan, Cotton, Hickock,Trico, Young, Clapp, Pickford, Snelling, Ashcroft, Earhart, Chrysler, Abel, Rapalje, Blundell, Douglas, Wilde, Pettit, Raizenne, Apps, Quackenbush, Robinson, Burden, Quinn, Bergen, Hinsdale, Nims, Smead, Machequayzaince, Bailey, and Lawrence, among others.

Oh... and St Clair... or St Clair-Hughes, but I've verified that the St Clair part was first just a stage name.

Yup. Who knew?

Tangled into all the stories (of all of these people)is the truth about being a Canadian...

There's a lot to it. We're not just Red Rose tea, Hockey, Maple Syrup, beavers, Mounties, donuts, Pablum, toques, newfie screech, canoes, timbits, toboggans, back bacon and poutine, eh!