Digging Up Our Family Tree

Henry Miller Henry Alexander Miller is my father's grandfather. His obituary calls him Harry but since every other record refers to him as Henry that’s what I’ll call him . He was born to Thomas and Catherine Miller (nee Young) on April 9, 1876 in Kinloss, Bruce County, Ontario . Henry was the 10th of 12 children. One wonders if his mother had much energy left to raise him after having so many children. In fact Thomas and Catherine were so busy with their farm and kids that they sent a neighbour to register Henry’s birth. He registered the name incorrectly, telling the registrar the baby’s name was Alexander instead of Henry Alexander. He got the parents' names right so I was able to identify him. By the time Henry was born Bruce County, Ontario was settled and had many amenities like a grist mill and store to make life easier. As a child Henry would have had many farm chores to do so working hard was instilled in him at an early age.  When he was ready to move...

For some reason I always thought that people in the “olden days” didn’t move much. Well, Robert Jerry and Sarah “Harriet” Smith moved around a lot. This, of course is coming from someone who lived in the same spot for the first 19 years of her life then moved 7 times in the next 20 years, but travel is so much easier now. Perhaps Robert and Harriet were restless or just looking for something better. Bethel Miller writes that at one point after they moved to Crozier, Rainy River, Ontario Robert “wanted to sell everything …and trek back east but grandma [Harriet] said he could go if he wanted but she had enough of moving and was going to stay here.” They stayed the rest of their lives in Crozier and were buried in the St. Mary’s cemetery until erosion made it necessary for their remains to be moved to the Riverview cemetery. (still moving) Robert was born in Pickering, Ontario in about 1843. Somewhere between 1861 and 1871 his parents, William and Hannah, moved to St Vincent Townsh...

I mentioned in my last post that Granddad Jerry (James Herbert Jerry) had one sister. He also had four older brothers and two younger ones. One brother, Justin was four years old when he died in 1881 in Essex County of mortification (gangrene or necrosis). This was before Granddad Jerry was born. Edward, who had meningitis when he was ten, died in Scarborough Township in 1884 when Granddad was two years old. “There was only one girl in the family so all the boys learned to knit. Grandma [Sarah Harriet] would start the stocking and the boys knit to the heel. Grandma always rounded off the heels and toes. One time the boys knit a two foot long leg for a joke and she had to rip it back before she could turn the heel. The boys whittled her a rolling pin out of wood so she could make them apple pie.” Robert Jerry, father, Albert, Sarah Harriet, mother,  back row Edward and possibly William William or Bill Jerry ca 1904 at the homestead William Barnet...

Sarah Ann Jerry is the oldest and only sister to Grandad Jerry (James Herbert Jerry). She's about 15 years older than him. It's unlikely he knew her well. Most of his life he lived away from her and she moved out before he was very old. Sarah Ann Jerry called “Annie” was born February 18, 1867 to Robert Jerry and Sarah Harriet Smith. There isn’t a lot of information on Annie. She was most likely born in St. Vincent Township in Grey County. Her parents lived there in 1871 but they moved around so she may have been born in Scarborough Township, Pickering Township or Essex County (these were some of the areas her parents were associated with).  She is the oldest child of Robert and Harriet. In the 1871 census she has an infant brother William. As she was growing up she knew many of her relatives. In 1871 grandparents on her mother’s and father’s side lived in St. Vincent Township along with aunts and uncles on both sides. She most likely played with her Aunt Adelaide...

Hey everyone, I've been focussed on researching and haven't bothered to post anything. Which is my downfall in family history, I like to research but hate to write about it.  I thought today I'd post some pictures of grandma and mom..sorry no writing but once I get the Jerry's organized I'll write again. Here are some pictures of Grandma Sitting on the bridge over Lavallee River I'm not sure where this one was taken. This is a picture I love. It didn't scan very well. It's the one Beth Caldwell took of her for the newspaper article. Gram is 88 in this picture.  Here is the picture of Mom. The back of the picture says Betty, Jack, and Joan children of Buster and Gwen Harrison at Clelland House in Brower with Opal Clelland. I'm sure we have a picture of Kippy where he looks exactly like Jack.

Herbert Jerry (holding gun) with his parents and brothers Edward, Bert, and Bill. I love this picture of Granddad Jerry. He looks so confident. I could have made it smaller so it didn't bleed into the rest of the blog but I wanted everyone (especially those of us who are older) to be able to see it clearly. When my siblings and I talk about Granddad Jerry we always mention the moss covered tree stumps on his property that we pretended were pirate treasure. One time while walking around the property with Granddad and Dad we saw a nest of baby snakes. At Rod and Donna McLeod's during my university days I met an older man from Lavallee area who knew Granddad Jerry. He told me while granddad plowed the fields he had one hand on the oxen reins and in the other hand was an axe.When he hit a tree root he’d slam the axe into the root to cut it. I picture him as a large and strong man. Jim and Jan remember the family going to his house on Sunday and he would give them canned ...