Remembrance ~ Home of the free, because of the Brave

A Day of Remembrance

Every year on November 11, Canadians pause in a silent moment of remembrance for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace. We honour those who fought for Canada in the First World War (1914-1918), the Second World War (1939-1945), and the Korean War (1950-1953), as well as those who have served since then. More than 1,500,000 Canadians have served our country in this way, and more than 100,000 have died. They gave their lives and their futures so that we may live in peace.



http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/history/other/remember


The Canadian Goverment site about Remembrance Day lists the first group of Veterans that we honour being the ones that fought during WWI .... but my thought and prayers during November 11 go back farther than that.   I come from a very proud Military family with documented references back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

it didnt dawn on me until I was writting this blog that I have another "3 Generations" to honour, especially today.

William James Reid  (1881-1967)

~ my Great-Grandfather, was a career soldier.   from what I've been told, he never met a war he didnt like !!
 the picture shown of him here is dated 1899, and was taken while he was a member of the GMP (Garrison Military Police) during the Boer War

1902 ~ he was with Regiment #912 of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Riffles stationed in South Africa

he spent 15 years with the 12th North York Rangers (as per his Attestation papers when he enlisted for WWI in 1914)

in April of 1916 he was struck by a mortar and laid in a foxhole for 2 days before being found & brought to hosptial.   there was shrapnel in his chest, head and his leg was severly crushed/broken.    just before Christmas of that same year, he surprised his wife by walking thru the front door of their home .... a plate in his head, and only 1 1/2 legs (leg was amputated just above the knee) .... "Merry Christmas Dear, I'm home !!" (apparently my G-Grandmother fainted at the site of him walking in the house on only 1 leg)

John Henry Reid (1910 - 1942)

~ my Grandfather.   I grew up hearing very little about my Grandfather.   He died when my Dad was very young, leaving my Grandmother with 4 children under the age of 4.

this picture was taken outside of The Armouries in Hamilton.    it's interesting seeing him holding a bugle and the drum in the background.   I'm "assuming" that it was taken prior to them being shiped overseas ... he was a member of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, R.C.I.C.

Jack was killed on August 19, 1942, Dieppe France.   his death certificate states that he was "Previously reported missing in action now for official purposes presumed killed in action".





~ My Dad ... the 3rd Generation to serve in the Armed Forces.  served one tour with the 82nd Airborne from 1957-1959    What else can I say, this is just one of many reasons why I'm so proud of my Father <3
 

3rd Generation Soldier Boy

1958 ~ Ft Bragg, North Carolina

More Family Military History ....

Christian Price UEL (1757-1832) ~ my 5th Great Grandfather

•  1784 ~ Butler's Rangers (as per New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920)
• 1786 ~ From The Old United Empire Loyalist List: Price, Christian.... Home District, Butler's Rangers, wife, P.L.N. 1786, Niagara stamped book.

Oliver Tallman (1737 - 1788) ~ my 5th? Great Grandfather (not proven)

• the son of Jeremiah Tallman, was born at Portsmouth, R.I., June 15, 1737. He resided at Long Branch, Monmouth County, N.J., prior to the Revolutionary War, where he owned a considerable estate. This he forfeited by becoming a Royalist.  During the Battle of Monmouth, he fought on the British side, while his son, William fought under Washington.  At the end of the war his estates were confiscated and sold, and he, accompanied with two of his sons, Peter and Daniel, withdrew to Canada, on the North shore of Lake Ontario, near St. Catharines, where lands were ceded to him for his loyalty to the Crown.

William Tallman (1810-1893) ~ my 3rd Great Grandfather

• Private in the home guards under Captain Huston & Gordon.   stood one of the first sentry on the heights at the rebellion of 1837-38

Henry Downie Watson (1873-1935) ~ my Maternal Great Grandfather





1914 ~ Henry Downie Watson ("x")

• joined the 3rd Battalion scottish Rifles in 1890 at the age of 16
• 1900-1902 ~ 3rd Volunteer Battalion H.L.I (Highland Light Infantry)
• 1900-1914 ~ 7th Battalion HLI (during summer training)
• 14 December 1901 ~ 3rd H.L.I. ~ mobilized and readied for service in the war against the Boers in South Africa (January 1902 ~ disembodied and sent home)
• July 1902 ~ 4th Battalion H.L.I ~ regiment took part in the Coronation celebrations of King Edward VII, and recieved their colours from the Duke of Connaught, their honourary Colonel
• May 1909 ~ Lance-Sergeant of A Company ~ selected as on of the Colour Party to proceed to Windsor Castle by London England to receive from the hands of His Majesty, The King, King Edward VII, King's and Regimental Colours
• 1918 ~ Royal Air Force, 2nd Class Air Craftsman
• 4 March 1919 ~ completed service with the Royal Air Force, and also with the Britsh Army

Final Note ....

I dont mean to ignore all of my cousins, uncles and aunts that have been part of the Armed Forces .... Army, Navy, Air Force .... I'm honoured to call you family, and proud of your contribution.   It's amazing, once I sat down to think about it, how many family members I have that chose the Armed Forces as their career.

http://daliscar.deviantart.com/art/Remembrance-Day-Poppy-Day-67984839

What am I ...

I just finished reading "The Stone Thrower" by Jael Ealey-Richardson.   Jael is the daughter of famous CFL Quarterback Chuck Ealey, who I remember watching play during his CFL days especially when he played for the Hamilton Tiger Cats.   The Stone Thrower is a moving story about race and destiny written by a daughter looking for answers about her own black history through the story of her infamous father.   A big part of the story, or at least it seems like some of the motivation for writing it was not only to honour Jael's Father's legacy, but to question her "blackness".  Especially being born and raised in Canada vs the United States like her Father.

now, being a pasty white girl, I've never understood how the colour of your skin constitutes a "culture" ... any more than there being a culture for "green eyed people" or "left handed people" (both of which I'd be a member of), I always thought "culture" was akin to "heritage".   I think Jael's journey in researching and writing her book has given her some comfort in who/what she is .... but it made me wonder about my own identity .... so, what am I, what is my "culture"  ??!!

well that's easy ... I'm Canadian !!  ok, let's look closer at that .... defining a "Canadian" today isn't like it was a few years ago.   I'm polite (at least I like to think I am); like Hockey, poutine and maple syrup; and love to see a Mountie in full dress riding his horse ... does that make me Canadian?   it seems like the influx of "new age" immigrants coming to Canada aren't here to embrace the Canadian culture and become "one", they are coming here to further bend the already weak backbone of our Government and change what ever culture we have as Canadians.   Services must be provided in languages other than our 2 national languages, bank machines screens aren't showing up in English/French (unless you specifically choose it), there are areas on Ontario where street signs and store fronts aren't printed in English/French, Government uniforms had to be changed to accommodate immigrant cultural dress, immigrants want Canadian laws changed to agree to the laws of a country that they left, etc.    anyway I could go on a rant, but that's not what this is about ..... the question is, am I Canadian, and by what definition?   the stock answer is "only Natives are the TRUE Canadians"

Excellent .... then I'm Native !!!!    well, at least part of me is.    Maria Jane Milligan (1843 - 1890) is my paternal 2nd Great Grandmother, and to our knowledge was an Ojibwa Indian.   now granted, that's a few generations back, so although the blood line has been diluted a wee bit I'm Native !!!    that being said, other than my Dad taking my Mum and I to the 6 Nations Reserve in Brantford a few times when I was younger to visit friends of his or attend the odd festival, I have absolutely no connection to Native culture.    in fact, my Dad didn't know that his Great-Grandmother was Native until I discovered it during my research of his Dad's side of the family.  My Dad has friends from the 6 Nations Reserve because he grew up in Mount Hope and went to school with a number of kids from there .... not because we shared a culture with them.    OK, so other than being proud of my Native ancestor, maybe I cant really consider myself "Native".

Staying on my Dad's side ... I must be French-Canadien then !!!!   Eva Rose Arbour (1917-1981) was my Paternal GrandMother, and there's no doubt that she was French-Canadien.   My 7th Great-Grandfather, Michel Arbour (1647-1699) emigrated from Normandie France to Neuville Quebec in 1671.   That same year he married Marie-Catherine Constatineau in Quebec.  Skipping ahead a few generations, in 1883/84, my 2nd Great-Grandfather, Joseph Magloire Arbour (1845-1924) brought his wife Leocadie Cartier dit Robert (1850-1926) and children to Simcoe County in Ontario.   My Great-Grandfather, William Joseph Arbour (1884-1965) was the first of their children born in Ontario.   my Grandmother's Maternal side, Robillard were also from Quebec, coming to Ontario in the 1870s.   the Giroux family came from Quebec to Ontario in the 1850s.  The families all settled in the Victoria Harbour area, until my Grandmother's Parents moved to Hamilton with their children before WWII.   My Grandmother didn't marry into the French-Canadien "culture" and I don't think I ever heard her or any of her siblings and their families speak french (unless prompted by me because I had a french test the next week).   my French-Canadien culture is my ancestry connection to French-Canadien families (some of whom were instrumental in building the foundations of Ontario, Quebec and Canada), a simple dessert my Grandmother would make me called "tremper" (slice of bread, soaked in milk and sprinkled with sugar ... it was yummy, but she never put enough sugar on it), and of course Tourtière at Christmas time.    OK, so other than being proud of my French-Canadien ancestors, maybe I cant really consider myself "French-Canadien".

so on my Mother's maternal side .... I'm UEL !!!  um, or am I ??   WHAT ??!!!    OK, first of all, UEL = United Empire Loyalist.   The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British failure in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris.  well, technically, I'm not a UE .... yet.   My Mum, daughter and I are currently going thru the application and proof process to see if we will be accepted .... but for sake of argument, let's "assume", shall we  :~D   I've always thought of, Doris Adelia Elliott (1911 - 1979), my Maternal Grandmother as "British".   part of that I think was due to the Scottish/British influence of my Grandfather, but after doing research on her side of the family I see how much of her own British culture she brought into our family, even though both of her Parents were born in Canada.   her Maternal Grandfather, Joseph Woon (1835 - 1897) was born in Cornwall England, and with his trade & business as a tailor travelled back to England almost yearly to purchase new materials for his shop.  her Paternal side was a mixture of English (Woodlans & Warr families from Somerset England, arriving in Canada in 1848) and Canadians (possibly UEL ?).   her Maternal Grandmother, Mary Ann Tallman (1837 - 1877) was a UEL daughter, on both of her parents side.   it's interesting how, although the assumption of "culture" around the UELs today is a very British background, many of them (most in my case) originally came to the United States from Holland, Belgium or Germany ... but it was so long ago, there can hardly be a connection to any of those cultures, except for maybe a special Loyalty to Britain ... but other than that, is UEL really a culture ?

so again, on my Mother's side ... I'm Scottish !!!   um, or am I ??     I am a Watson, there's no doubt about that .... but does that make me Scottish??   The Watson's are VERY clannish, proud of their Scottish heritage ... but how Scottish are they really ?   my Grandfather, Robert McCracken Watson (1911-1977) and all of his siblings were born in Glasgow Scotland, as was their Father Henry Downie Watson (1873-1935) ... that's 2 generations born in Scotland .... before that, from what I've researched (almost) everyone else was born in IRELAND (OMG, if that isn't sending some of the Watson's spinning in their graves nothing will !!!).    well, other than a history of ancestors born in Ireland, the most recent being 1850, I don't think I can really consider myself Irish .... but what about my 2 (or so) generations born in Scotland.    well, based on what a Canadian was when my Scottish relatives came to Canada, I may be of Scottish descent but I'm a true Canadian.   But, based on the immigrants of today, where their homelands seem to be of a high cultural priority than their chosen homeland, then yes I guess I'm Scottish ... or based on that logic, am I Irish; with the same number of generations born in Canada as in Scotland, should we go back to Ireland for our heritage/culture ??   at least I have more connection to Scottish culture than any other that I have claim to ... I look Scottish (pale white skin with a ruddy complexion, freckles, red/auburn hair, green/hazel eyes); I grew up with a family full of Scottish accent speaking relatives (especially after a wee dram or 2 on a Saturday evening); I was raised around Scottish/British foods, slang terms, television programs & entertainment; my Daughter was a Highland Dancer; I play the bagpipes; we attend the yearly local Highland Games ... but most importantly, I grew up being TOLD by my Watson family that we are Scottish.    I am very proud of my Scottish heritage, but I'm the 2nd generation to be born in Canada, and have never even been to Scotland for a visit .... maybe I cant really consider myself "Scottish".

so, now that it's all as clear as mud, what am I ??    now, don't get me wrong, I'm as proud as I can be of my Scottish ~ French-Canadien ~ Native ~ ULE roots, without them I wouldn't be who, or what, I am today.   without the varied heritages and cultures of my ancestors, their courage to all come together in Canada, to accept and honour the Canadian culture over that of their homeland without showing any disrespect from where they came from .... because of this, I know who I am ...

I AM CANADIAN