This is one of my favourite pictures in my collection. I love the two horses and the old cabin in the background. It was in my great grandmother Arabella (Mitchell) Mills’ photo album. Like too many old photographs, the people or location aren’t identified.

The man on the far right could be my great grandfather Thomas Edward Mills, but I’m not certain. If it is him, perhaps the photo was taken in the lumberwood near Meagher’s Grant, Nova Scotia, where he worked as a cook.

The picture above was actually digitally restored and colourized from the original below.

I thought I would start sharing the many photos I have gathered or that have been shared with me. The goal is to post a picture a week. So, here goes.

This week’s Photo of the Week was sent to me by my cousin Todd. I had never seen this picture before.

Here is a photo of my Grandma, Hazel Vansickle (on the left), and her siblings: Dorothy, Jean, and George. I’m guessing this photo was taken early 1920s.

By the time I was born there were only a few people alive that had any memory of my great-grandfather Thomas Mills. Even my own grandfather never met his father. So, he’s always been a bit of a mystery. I knew he was from Liverpool, England and that he died in the First World War. But that was about it. Over the years, though, I’ve been able to learn more about this man. I’m not sure if he is more or less of a mystery now, though.

His story begins in England. He was born on August 1, 1872 in Summer Seat in Liverpool – the son of Frederick and Alice Mills. You will not find a birth record for a Thomas Mills born in Summer Seat to Frederick and Alice, though. It turns out that Thomas was actually born Albert Edward Mills.

The family lived at 17 Summer Seat. There were other siblings, as well as Alice’s mother and brother, living in the household as recorded in the 1871 England Census. Albert appears in the 1881 England Census as a “9 year old scholar” (which is how school aged children were typically enumerated). By this time, the family lived at 85 Arkwright Street. And, mother Alice has died as Frederick the father is listed as a widow.

In 1890, Albert served briefly in Liverpool’s King’s Regiment. He disclosed this military service years later on his First World War attestation. (Again, you will not find any records of a Thomas Mills serving in the King’s Regiment; he is listed under his birthname Albert Mills.)

After being discharged from the British army, Albert left Liverpool for a new life in Nova Scotia. It’s unclear when or why he changed his name, but by the time he was living in Nova Scotia he most certainly went by Thomas. He appears as Thomas Mills in the 1901 Canada Census in Meagher’s Grant – where he is listed as 28 year old “helper” from England – living in the household of James Kerr. His future wife, Arabella, was also living in the Meagher’s Grant area at the time.

Thomas and Arabella were married on July 21, 1902 in Halifax. She was a widowed teacher and had a son (Colin Greenough) with her first husband. Colin’s father had died when he was only a year old so his stepfather Thomas was the only father he knew.

Thomas and Arabella raised their family on a farm in Gays River. He was also a cook in the lumberwood. They had six children in addition to Colin: Harland, Alice, Florence, Belle, Albert, and Alan.

In 1915, Thomas and Colin joined the war effort and enlisted with the 40th Battalion (Nova Scotia) Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was training at the Valcartier military base in Quebec when his youngest child Alan (my grandfather) was born in September of that year.

Thomas arrived in England aboard the S.S. Saxonia on October 28, 2015. He was eventually transferred to the 13th Battalion. On September 5, 1916, Thomas Edward Mills was killed in action in Courcelette, France. He is buried at the Courcelette British Cemetery.

My brother, sister, and I visited our great-grandfather’s grave marker at the Courcelette British Cemetery in 2004. Despite its name, the cemetery is dominated by Canadian soldiers who fell in the Battle of Courcelette. It’s a very well-kept cemetery in a peaceful rural setting. His name is also included on the war memorials in Gays River and Oyster Pond.

Thanks to the Internet, I have been able to connect with third cousins on the Mills side of the family (great grandsons of Thomas’ sister Elizabeth Mills) who still live in or near Liverpool. Ironically, one of these men was an officer for Canadian Pacific Steamships and had been to Halifax many times throughout his career but hadn’t known about the Nova Scotia connection with his family.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial for Private Thomas Edward Mills

Since the baseball all-star game is being played tonight, I thought I’d share a photograph of my great-grandfather Jonathan Wesley Finch. He played baseball in the Glanford area.

Unfortunately, there’s not much documentation for those early baseball teams, according to the Glanbrook Historical Society.

The particular photo was sent to me from Dad’s cousin Verna. A pretty neat picture.

My great-grandmother, Nancy Ellen Reed, was born on this day in 1881. I have only recently starting delving into the Reed line in my family tree. But, others have done quite a bit of research already. I thought a nice way to celebrate her birthday was to build out her profile on Wikitree.

Nancy Ellen Reed was one of seven children born to Nathaniel and Harriet (Howard) Reed. The family lived in Glanford Township, Wentworth County, Ontario where Nathaniel was a farmer for many years. Eventually, they moved to Hamilton.

On April 23, 1903, Nancy married Jonathan Wesley Finch, my great-grandfather. Together they had five children: Margaret, George, Nile, Charity “Cassie”, and Eric Clifford (my grandpa).

Around 1910, Nancy and Jonathan – along with her parents – took the family west to Birtle, Manitoba. I’m not certain why they decided to go to what looks to me like the middle of nowhere. Perhaps cheap land and better job prospects influenced their decision. Clearly, though, they felt their future was brighter on the Prairies.

Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out the way they expected. Nancy’s mother, Harriet, died in 1911. Then, sadly, in 1917 Nancy Ellen died as a result of childbirth complications a week after my grampa was born. She was only 36 years old. Soon after, the family returned to Ontario.

I knew very little about my great grandmother growing up. I just knew that my grampa never knew his mother as she had died shortly after giving birth to him. My cousin shares her name, so it’s nice that her legacy lives on.

My Dad’s cousin Verna shared pictures with me of both Nancy Ellen’s and her mother’s grave markers, two monuments to remind us of our family’s brief presence on the Prairies. They’re buried in a small cemetery in Solsgirth, Manitoba. It looks like a very peaceful spot. One day I hope to visit this cemetery “in the middle of nowhere” and pay a visit to these women.

Coming across old family photos can be a genealogy goldmine. Unfortunately though, so many of these pictures can’t be identified because there are no names written on the backs and people who might know anything are long gone. But, sometimes we can follow the breadcrumbs and make a pretty good guess as to who the person in the photograph is. Such was the case of this photograph that was in an album belonging to my great grandmother Arabella (Mitchell) Mills. Another family member has a framed, colourized version of the same picture. So, clearly this individual held some importance to our family at some point.

The photo of this unknown soldier was taken by Fred Bremner, a Scottish photographer known for his portraiture work in British India in the late 1800s. But, that’s the only information I had. I shared the photo on a Facebook group specializing in identifying British miliary uniforms, and the consensus was that this gentleman was a gunner in the Royal Artillery circa 1890. A little bit more information, but still no idea who this could be. I put the photo aside and turned my genealogy research elsewhere.

Then, last weekend I went down the shaky leaf rabbit hole on Ancestry. Sometimes these hints can be really helpful. I got a hint while researching my great grandfather’s family in Liverpool, England. Very little was known about them because he died in the First World War. My own grandad never met his father as he had gone off to war before my grandad was born.

There was a hint for my great grandfather’s brother Frederick. Apparently, he served in the military. I was able to fetch his entire military service records from Find My Past (as an aside, I also discovered that you can purchase individial records on FMP instead of having to take out an expensive subscription).

Anyway, it turns out that Frederick Arthur Mills (my great-great uncle) was a gunner in the Royal Artillery. He served twelve years in the Royal Artillery from 1887 to 1899 – and most of that time he was stationed in India! The evidence suggests that the unknown soldier is most likely my great grandfather’s brother Frederick Arthur Mills.

Frederick Arthur Mills was the oldest son of Frederick Deaton Luscombe Mills and Alice Lyon and was born 28 April 1866 in Liverpool . He married Elizabeth Winrow in 1895, a few months after returning to England from India. I need to do further research on whether or not they had a family of their own. But, for now it’s nice to put a name to a face.