Family dinners

There are no stories that have been passed down about family dinners prior to my generation.

There is one picture of my great grand uncle George Burns and his family in Ogdensburg, New York, USA, with his family around the dinner table. To be sure that all the children were included, there is a picture of a son who was not there, on the table.

Burns family at dinner, Ogdensburg, NY, circa 1921: Left to right: George(father), Jen, Mary, Anne, Elizabeth Foster Burns (mother), Martin, Kate and Thomas. There is a photo of Jim on the table.

Apparently Elizabeth (Foster) Burns was a good cook. At one point she was a cook at a lumber camp where George was working shortly after their marriage. Son Thomas was born in the camp. This must have been a special occasion, note the fancy folded napkins.

We had family dinners every evening in the kitchen. On holidays and birthdays we ate in the dining room. Occasionally close relatives or family friends would join us. Mom always made a big deal of these occasions, making sure there was an appropriate seasonal tablecloth and centrepiece. We used the "good" dishes. For almost every holiday we had turkey with all the trimmings. For dessert there was usually only once choice on weekdays and weekends, but holidays often brought out some choices.

For the past 40 or so years, our go-to dessert was "chocolate log". This is the recipe on the box of Christie's chocolate wafers. Whipped cream, sweetened with a little bit of sugar and vanilla, was spread between the wafers and the whole thing formed into a log. We wouldn't think of having a family dinner without it.

For many years there was also Pecan Pie - made with Ritz crackers and crushed pecans, topped with whipped cream which softened the pie. It was not the gooey pecan pie one usually finds available in stores and restaurants. Often there were fruit pies, the specialties being raspberry or strawberry-rhubarb. The rhubarb was from our garden.

Longevity on both sides

How old were our oldest ancestors when they passed away?

We have no centenarians in my direct line, or even among the siblings of my direct ancestors. The oldest were in their 90s. In descending order from longest-lived to merely age 90, are listed here in descending order of age. Without a specific date of death for some, I have used only the number of years between year of birth and year of death and not taken into account specific dates.

Mary Elena (Tickie) McGrath: born in Ottawa in 1894; died in Ottawa in 1988. Tickie was my longest living ancestor. She was the younger sister of my grandmother. She was 94 when she died.

Ann Sunderland Bowen: born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England in 1879; died in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1973. Annie was also 94.

Serena (Irene) Sunderland Madill Cade: born in Ottawa, in 1890; died in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1984. Like her sister Annie, Irene was 94.

Mary Elizabeth Jean Burns: born in Ottawa in 1915; died in Ottawa in 2009. Jean was 93.

Arthur Byrne: born 1792 in Ireland; died 1884 in Throoptown, Grenville County, Ontario, Canada
Arthur was a wagon maker and tenant farmer on the Coollattin Estate of Earl Fitzwilliam in the 1820s, 30s and early 40s. He moved his family to Canada in 1847 and settled in Throoptown. According to various census records, the family home in Throoptown was a shanty. He survived extreme poverty, a couple of famines, and rough conditions in Ireland and Canada. So far, nobody among his descendants has lived as long as Arthur.

Eliza(beth) Kehoe: born about 1802 in Ireland; died in 1892 in Throoptown. She was Arthur's wife.

Edward Byrne/Burns: born about 1822 in Coolross, Clonegal, Wicklow, Ireland, was Arthur's son. He lived to be 90 years old. Edward came to Ontario with the family in 1847, worked and married in the US for a few years, and returned to Ontario in time for the 1861 census. After retiring as a farmer, he went blind, and moved with his wife Eliza McCullough, into the town of Brockville. Their last home at 93 James Street is still there in 2018.

Bert Dennis Madill: he was the son of Serena (Irene) Sunderland and Granville Madill. Bert was born in Edmonton. Alberta, Canada in 1923 and died there in 2013 at the age of 90.

52 ancestors in 52 weeks

Well like all good procrastinators, I came late to the party. But, I hope to start now and over the next few weeks, catch up with the crowd. The idea to stoke the fires of family history writing, is from Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks. Each week a new topic will be put forth and the followers are to share by writing or blogging or posting comments about it, possibly on Facebook.

Amy is very good at suggestions for capturing family stories and how to proceed in many aspects of our hobby. This year her mission is to get us to record memories in different ways. Hopefully each topic will lead not only to another topic, but possibly to multiple stories on that topic over time.

Family Photographs

The first actual writing was in Week 2 and the topic was Family Photograph. I have many to choose from - more than some folks and fewer than others. It was difficult to choose so I decided on two related pictures that could be described fairly briefly. I'll get better at this as I go - at least that is the expectation.

Two pictures of the same store. The one on the left from left to right: Harry Donovan, Thomas Leonard Burns, Thomas J Burns. The photo above is Harry Donovan at another time, showing more of the front of the store.


Growing up in Brockville, my Dad, Robert Leonard (Bob) Burns, loved visiting his Grandfather's store on King St in Brockville. His Grandpa, Thomas J. Burns, was a butcher, then a Customs Officer, and after he retired, opened a second butcher shop and grocery store very close to where the first had been.

The reason for opening a second store, was to provide employment for his son Edward. Tom feared that Edward would not find other employment as he was a bit of a loser. Edward was widowed, and had a young daughter to support. He served briefly in WWII but after discharge he was rather footloose.

Meanwhile, Tom Jr. had a good career with the government in Ottawa and was providing well for his young and growing family. He had no plans to follow in Tom Sr's footsteps. However, things don't always work out as planned and the family bond was very strong.

Edward remarried in 1924 and died suddenly a month later. Thomas Sr did not wish to continue alone and asked his son Tom if he'd move back to Brockville and work with him. Feeling that strong family bond, and with wonderful memories of his hometown, he resigned from his good-paying job and moved the family to Brockville.

This store was the site of many a good turn. Tom Sr would never turn away anyone looking for something to eat. He allowed his customers to buy on credit. Many never paid their bills. It also seems to have been the local story-telling centre. Tom's brother William, known as Will, had gone blind, apparently after having been kicked by a horse or literally falling off a wagon. [I will check that out.] He learned his way from home to the store and spent most days holding court with all who dropped by. Most of his stories were tall tales, made up in the moment. Some are really amusing.

Tom Sr, passed away in 1933. For a few years his son tried to carry on the business, but eventually it failed. He returned to Ottawa in 1936 and once settled in a new job, brought the family back there to live. Tom Jr passed away in 1941.