Research and Stories
This is a place where I can share some of my research pertaining to early settlement and family histories intertwined with the story of Lanark County, Ontario, Canada. I’ve been researching and writing for many years and want to make some of my work more widely available.
This blog was originally designed to share my artwork and creative activities during the years when I was exhibiting widely. My art has now taken second place to refining and publishing some of my research, but I have left the art posts available for perusal.
Whatever your interest might be, enjoy, and provide feedback if you can.
Diane
Posted by Diane Miller Duncan on August 19, 2018 in Community & Family History, Featured Flag | 0 comments
While taking a break from recording my personal story – I was documenting a difficult time in my life – I decided to tackle one of my long-time genealogy brick walls once again. Elizabeth Gilmour, my 4th great grandmother’s parents had been found but beyond that I knew nothing about her or her family line. I stumbled upon some fun stuff! I find some anomalies in the following document, it is still a work in progress. I am still doing verification via parish register transcriptions. The generations are listed in reverse order...
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Posted by Diane Miller Duncan on April 12, 2018 in Community & Family History, Featured Flag | 8 comments
The Challenge Prior to our four years of travel we downsized and parted with many of the larger items in our house. There was enough trauma associated with that exercise that most of the smaller treasures associated with our lives to that point were packed and put in storage. In 2014 we emptied our eastern storage locker and again parted with many items. The problem is we still have too much stuff! The other day I made the mistake of choosing another box from our ‘western’ locker to sort! Those of you fighting the...
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Posted by Diane Miller Duncan on February 23, 2018 in Community & Family History, Featured Flag | 23 comments
This material was gathered for a presentation to the Celtic SIG of the Alberta Family Histories Society in February 2018 and is based on research into my Palatine family roots. The story of the Palatines includes a mix of international conflict, religious unrest, politics and climatology. The following is a gathering of edited excerpts from articles found on the web that help tell their story. (sources are in the endnotes). Diane Miller Duncan, editor Introduction – The Poole Family from Ireland Back in the 1990s, my Dad and a family friend...
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Posted by Diane Miller Duncan on February 8, 2018 in Community & Family History, Featured Flag | 0 comments
When I began this series of articles focused on newspaper clippings from the six months around the time of my birth, I didn’t appreciate how much insight I would gain into the challenges faced by my parents during this period and the environment that helped to shape the person I would become. I did not anticipate how much would be revealed in the pages of the Perth Courier, a local newspaper, and as a result, these posts are long. Dip into the detail, or scan quickly, according to your interest. April 1946 Maple Syrup, Unpasteurized...
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Posted by Diane Miller Duncan on February 3, 2018 in Community & Family History, Featured Flag | 0 comments
“History Leading up to the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Perth”, Perth Courier, Thursday, November 18th, 1965; By Rev. Robert More, Jr., Pastor of the Almonte R.P.C. “I see no warrant in Scripture for using these hymns.” so spoke elder John Holliday in the First Presbyterian Church on Dec. 22, 1827. With this the first outspoken tendency toward the Reformed Presbyterian or Covenanter Church was seen in and around Perth. Since the Reformed Presbyterian Church (locally called “Cameronian” on occasion) in Perth was last seen in the...
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Posted by Diane Miller Duncan on February 3, 2018 in Community & Family History, Featured Flag | 9 comments
Fifty years ago, my husband and I were married in St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Perth Ontario. On 29 July 2017, this congregation marked the 200th anniversary of the first Presbyterian church service in the community. I believe it was about 1992 that my father, J.R. Ernest Miller, assembled a memorial history of the Perth Presbyterian churches “175 Years of Presbyterian Worship”. I dip into his work to share the following. I have augmented his published work with resources found in his research files. History of St....
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