Here is a photograph of my great grandparents Allan and Ella May (Young) Vansickle. Allan Vansickle was born on December 28th 1885 in Norfolk County, Ontario. He was the son of Edwin Vansickle and Elizabeth Herriman.
Ella May Young was born on March 24th 1893 in London, Ontario. She was the daughter of George Henry Foster Young and Jane Mary Bell.
They were married in 1913 in Jerseyville, Ancaster Township, Ontario and had four children: Hazel (my grandmother), Dorothy, George, and Jean.
I never met either of them, unfortunately, as they both died before I was born. But, I’ve heard some good stories about them. My Dad and my aunts and uncles referred to them as “Pa Sickle” and “Granny.” I can certainly see the resemblance between my grandma and her mother in this picture.
Belsnickel as depicted by artist Ralph D. Dunkelberger in Alfred L. Shoemaker, Christmas in Pennsylvania: A Folk-Cultural Study (Kutztown, PA: Pennsylvania Folklore Society, 1959), 75.
When you think of Christmas, I bet most people think about Santa Claus, the Nativity, family gatherings, tree decorating, carols, big feasts, and exchanging presents. But, what about some guy dressed in fur and antlers who visits your home a week or two before Christmas to check whether you’ve been good or bad?
That’s the gist of something called Belsnickeling. If you’re a fan of the TV show The Office you might’ve seen an episode where one of the characters dresses up as a Belsnickel for the company Christmas party. Now, I first heard of “the Belsnickels” from my Nan, Rose (Power) Mills.
She was born and raised in East Jeddore, a small rural fishing community, in Nova Scotia. It seems her family and neighbours partook in Belsnickeling. I don’t know how common Belsnickeling was in the broader Jeddore community or when it ceased to a “thing.” My Mom, who was born in Oyster Pond Jeddore thirty years after my Nan, never heard of it until her mother retold the stories to us. And, what stories they were.
Apparently, a group of men would knock on the door in the lead up to Christmas. My Nan described them as having antlers and being dressed in furs or pelts. Sometimes, they wore a mask for disguise and carried a stick to tap on the floor. They rang bells that were tied to their waist.
The Belsnickel would ask the children if they had been good or bad. They often demanded the children perform songs and then asked them for a small gift. This usually involved my Nan and her siblings going to the cellar to fetch a potato for them. Then, they were off…singing merrily on their way to the next house.
When my Nan told me about the Belsnickels, I thought it was the most bizarre (not to mention petrifying) Christmas tradition that I had ever heard of. Must’ve been a Jeddore thing, I thought. But, after doing some digging, I have learned that Belsnickeling is a very old tradition practised in parts of the world for centuries.
It’s rooted in German origins. The Baker family of Jeddore came to Nova Scotia from Germany, so I can only assume this is the connection to my Nan’s family. Nan’s mother was a Baker and they lived amongst other members of the Baker family.
If you want to learn more about the Belsnickel tradition, check out the links below. In the meantime, if you hear a knock on the door in the days before Christmas there might be a man dressed in furs and antlers on the other side of the door. You might be getting a visit from the Belsnickel.
Ephraim Baker was my third great grandfather. He was born about 1840 on Tancook Island in Mahone Bay in Nova Scotia. Later, his father Frederick Baker moved the family to East Jeddore in Halifax County.
Ephraim commanded a fishing boat named the Mary Jane. On December 18th, 1876 a snow storm caused the boat to run on a sandbar near Halifax. He and another crewman drowned.
The following obituary appeared in the Christian Messenger on January 10th, 1877:
Christian Messenger – Wednesday, 10 January 1877 – Page 14 –
Jeddore, Dec. 26th, 1876.
Mr. Editor, –
A cloud of gloom is hanging over this harbour, caused by the wreck of a large fishing-boat owned by Mr. Ephraim Baker. She left here on Monday, the 18th inst., for Halifax, loaded with fish. The wind being ahead and moderate, the crew thought it best to run back again rather than stay out over night. But when they came within two or three miles of the harbour, the wind breezed up from the S.E. Though late in the afternoon, they now concluded to run for Halifax. As night came on the wind increased, and brought snow with it. In the snow and darkness they ran on Thrum Cap shoal. Mr. E. Baker and F. Gould left the wreck in a small boat, and were lost in the breakers. The remainder of the crew – five in number, remained on the wreck until she broke up, when the deck, with them on it drifted ashore. The bodies of the two men drowned, were recovered next day, and taken on board the schr. Princess, owned by Mr. Enos C. Baker, brother of the deceased, and brought home on Wednesday. Mr. Ephraim Baker, was in the prime of life, aged 35 years, and an honoured member of the Baptist Church in that place. He leaves a wife and four children to mourn the loss of a kind father and loving husband. He will be greatly missed in the community, as well as in the family and the church. We trust his bereaved partner – also a loved member of the church, will be enabled by faith to pierce the gloom, and behold the bright lining beyond, for oft,
“God moves in mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust him for his grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.”
With what power and eloquence such events proclaim the words: “Be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” I hope the event – sad as it is, may prove beneficial to many of the large number present at his funeral on the 24th inst. But impressions made by such events too often prove “like the morning cloud and the early dew.”
Pictured here are sisters Arabella (Mills) Jennex (on the left) and Florence (Mills) Titus with their half-brother Colin Mitchell Greenough. Colin was my great-grandmother Arabella Mitchell’s son from her first marriage to Isaac Gaetz Greenough. Isaac died in 1896 when Colin was only six months old.
Arabella aka Belle (in the picture) was born in 1910 and died in 1969. Her husband was Roy Jennex. Florence was born in 1908 and died in 2002. Her husband was Herbert Titus. Colin was born in 1895 and died in 1952. He married Sadie Power.
This photo was taken in 1950 outside the Camp Hill Hospital in Halifax.
Here is a photo of my great grandfather Jonathan Wesley Finch with his five children (back l-r: Margaret, George / front l-r: Clifford, Cassie, and Nile).
Jonathan was born on December 10, 1866 in Glanford Township, Wentworth County, Canada West (modern day Ontario). In 1903, he married Nancy Ellen Reed. In the 1910s, they moved their family west to Manitoba. It was here where my grandfather Clifford was born. Sadly, a week after he was born Nancy Ellen died – leaving Jonathan with a newborn and four other children. Soon after, Jonathan would bring the family back to Ontario.
He was a farmer and apparently was a pretty good baseball player, as well. For some unknown reason, he also went by the name “Nicholas.” Jonathan Wesley Finch died on February 1, 1947 in West Flamborough, Wentworth County and is buried at the North Glanford Cemetery in Glanbrook, Ontario.
I found this photo in one of the my Nan’s photo albums. The man is her brother Robert Power. He died quite young in his 20s from heart disease. I don’t recall seeing a picture of him before, so it’s nice to put a face to a name.
The girls in the photo are two of my aunts (his neices) – Rose and Beulah Mills. The East Jeddore church is in the background.
Last night I saw a post on a Facebook Group I am a member of looking to connect with any descendants of Thomas Edward Mills. The poster had a letter he wrote to her great-grandfather, a man named Thomas Carroll. Of course, Thomas Edward Mills is my great-grandfather. I wrote a previous post outlining his life.
Below is the letter he wrote to his friend Thomas Carroll. He wrote the letter on December 5, 1915 from the Bramshott Military Camp in England, where thousands of Canadian troops were stationed during the First World War. He includes a Christmas card and a photograph.
Reading this letter written by my great-grandfather gave me goosebumps. The letter provides a fascinating first hand perspective of a soldier arriving in England, adjusting to life in the camp, and readying to go to the frontlines in Europe. Eerily, he foreshadows his own death early in the letter. He was killed in action September 5, 1916.
Thomas was originally from Liverpool, and he mentions visiting his sister (perhaps he stayed with her family over Christmas), having left Liverpool 21 years previous. It makes me happy to know that he at least got to see his sister again before he eventually lost his own life.
I’m very grateful to the lady who shared this with me.
This week’s photo is a picture that was is in an album given to my Dad by my Grandma Hazel (Vansickle) Finch. In what seems to be a rarity when it comes to old family photos, my Grandma nicely wrote the names of these folks on the back of the photograph. Yay!
Here are George Henry Foster Young and his second wife Jane Bell with two of their children, Bruce (on the left) and Francis (on the right).
George H.F. Young is my second great grandfather. He was born in 1864 in Brant County, Canada West (today known as the Province of Ontario). He was an iron moulder and a farmer. Jane Mary Bell was born in Clogher, Ireland, a small village in County Tyrone (which is actually now in Northern Ireland).
They were married in London, Ontario in 1892, where they resided until moving to Ancaster Township in Wentworth County. They had two other children: Ella (my great grandmother) and Charles.
This week’s photo is a picture of my great-grandmother Arabella Jane (Mitchell) Mills. She was born October 4, 1871 in Oyster Pond, Halifax County, Nova Scotia – the daughter of Colin Mitchell and Nancy Hurley.
In 1892, she married Isaac Gaetz Greenough. They had two children, including a daughter who died in childhood. Isaac died in 1896 at the age of 24. In 1902, she married Thomas Edward Mills (my great grandfather). The family lived in Gays River, Colchester County.
Thomas was killed in the First World War, and she moved the family back to her home in Oyster Pond. She died on Christmas Day, 1942.
I don’t know who the baby is in this picture. I’m assuming it is a grandchild.
Hallett and Alice (Mills) Beach with their son Leeland. Alice was my Grandad’s sister.
Sometimes, I really enjoy researching periphery families in the family tree. After all, you can only get so far with direct ancestors. Plus, the ancestors (and their descendants) on the periphery often provide you with clues to knock down a brick wall and go further back with your direct line.
Delving into the periphery families introduces you to newfound cousins who have their own stories to tell and old photographs to share. Likewise, you can share what you have with them. Win-win.
So, who are Alice Mills and Hallett Beach? Alice is an older sister of my grandad (Alan Mills). I didn’t know much about her other than the fact she lived in the Kentville area of Nova Scotia and eventually moved to Ontario. She died before I was born so I never met her. In fact, my mom had only met her Aunt Alice a few times (they had no car back in the day so no way to get to Kentville from Oyster Pond).
Alice Alexandra Mills was born on April 5, 1906 in Gays River, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, the second child of Thomas Mills and Arabella Mitchell. She was named after her paternal grandmother Alice from Liverpool, England. I suspect her middle name was given as a tribute to her uncle (Arabella’s brother) Alexander Mitchell, who died in an accident only a week before she was born.
Alice was just ten years old when her father was killed in the First World War. No doubt this would have had a big impact on her life. Not only did she lose her father, but as the oldest daughter she would have been burdened with the added responsibility of helping to raise her younger siblings – even though she was but a child herself.
Eventually, she married Hallett Beach, a farmer and lumberman, from South Alton, Nova Scotia. They raised six children: Maxine, Christina, Florence, Gertrude, Etta, and Leland. There was also a stillborn girl. Christina was the only one I met as she lived in Hamilton.
When I first got back into genealogy a couple years ago I made contact with Alice’s daughter-in-law (Leland’s wife) Helen. She has been a wealth of information and has shared pictures of the Beach family; she’s also helped me to identify photos I had of the family.
I have also connected with some of Alice and Hallett’s grandchildren – my second cousins. So, I’ve made a few new friends, too.
For anybody working on their family tree, I strongly recommend spending time on your grandparents’ (and great-grandparents’ and great-great-grandparents’….
