After major computer problems (two 8G sticks of RAM memory replaced), two bouts with human viruses, a month of travel and a tight art show deadline I am going to once again get back to my blog! In the near future I hope to have some website updates and to separate my art and my genealogy postings but for now they will both appear in my Diane Duncan Art Blog.  That said we are into the Christmas anticipation mode with a six year old visiting...

Research notes Where did the Poole family settle in Wexford? On June 30 1922, during the Irish Civil War, the Public Records Office of Ireland, located at the historic Four Courts in Dublin, was severely damaged by fire resulting in the loss of a huge number of records. The 1881 and 1891 census were pulped during the First World War, probably because of the paper shortage. These are just a couple of the reasons why tracking Irish ancestry has...

Choosing the most likely of the three options for my first in-depth look at history I needed to learn more about the Palatine Pooles. I discovered a website that focused on the Hartrick family, another family from this group. The name caught my interest because John Hartrick married Susanna Poole in Ossory in 1807.John George and George Hartrick were among the families who settled in Old Ross. Lester J. Hartrick, a Chicago descendant has...

My Great Grandmother was Alice Charlotte Margaret Poole who married John Ferrier 24 Mar 1886. Until recently I’d not thought much about this family connection but a phone call, out of the blue, from an acquaintance of long ago, age 91, started me thinking about it. I can go back to my2G grandfather and 3G grandfather, and identify their family members without too much trouble, but there the trail starts to get muddy. My interest is in the story...

  I disappeared for a few days… to my sewing machine!  Every September, after a summer of this’s and that’s, I have a mind that dances all over and has trouble settling on art priorities and letting me get down to business. I’ve discovered a bit of a pattern developing. I turn to my Someday pile.     In 2013 I spent the summer making quilts – I think it was seven quilts to be exact that I completed...

As new information becomes available – For the moment I jump to 1944 and a report of the Ramsay Unit of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) meeting in Appleton. From the Almonte Gazette:  In addition to a speaker from Renfrew County who spoke of the need for farmers to unit behind the OFA to get better prices for their crops, Alex Stewart, Past President of the Appleton Junior Farmers gave a report about the Lanark County Junior...

Today I’m stirring the pot a little more. Over the weekend I’ve had some great conversations with friends from the past and with new FB friends about the Lanark County Junior Farmers. We are all in agreement. We have lost everyone with memories of the early days, we are losing the second generation of alumni and the younger generation is still too busy with life to worry about the early history of the organization. As a result there...

From the Memoirs of J.R. Ernest Miller, Glen Tay, ON My father spent many years documenting family genealogy and was using his third computer before he passed away in 1997 . The family managed to convince him to document some of his life story and the following is a chapter from his memoirs. JUNIOR FARMERS In 1939, a group of young men in their twenties being no longer eligible for 4H and having grown up together felt that they should have an...

Yes I have been doing art and art things but I’ve been diverted …to one of my other interests, family and community history! Just before leaving for Phoenix I received a phone call – a voice from the past. Alvin wanted me to get in touch with someone who was urgently trying to find out information about the Lanark County Junior Farmers. I delayed in making the requested phone call to Barclay Nap until Wednesday and as a result...

A SOS call from my son led to a fast trip to Scottsdale last week. Surgery was scheduled and the medical team would not proceed until  he organized post surgery assistance. Mom to the rescue! Between 40+ degree temperatures that didn’t moderate much at night and my son’s recovery it was a quiet week. I managed a couple of evening walks in this park and a few shots of flora and skies that I would like to share.      ...