Tag: FMP

UPDATED

March 27, 2024: Email response regarding an query I made for information from the E-J Tanner and Shoemake Archive:

Thank you for contacting the Syracuse University Libraries. I’m copying our Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) on this message, as this department maintains the papers of members of the Johnson family.

The SCRC appreciates your interest in our collections and your inquiry has been added to our reference queue. We receive a large number of reference questions and answer all inquiries in the order in which they were received. Please note that we prioritize inquiries from current Syracuse University affiliates (faculty, students, and staff).

Thank you for your patience. You’re welcome to contact us directly at scrc@syr.edu at any time if you have a question about the status of your inquiry.

Sincerely,

Abby

Abby Kasowitz-Scheer (she, her, hers)
Head, Department of Learning and Academic Engagement
Syracuse University Libraries

222 Waverly Ave., Syracuse, NY 13244
library.syracuse.edu

Syracuse University

This is the building where I believe the Gallsons lived in 1928/29 in Endicott, NY.  Its address is 200 North Street.  An early memory of Joan, was going up a flight of stairs to get to their home and at Christmas there was a Christmas tree at the end of the hall.

The Endicott City Directory of 1928 is below.  John Gallson is a tanner.

The Gallsons are also in the 1929 Endicott City Directory, although he is a shoe maker then. 

While looking in Google at early 20th century maps of Endicott, trying to find exactly where the house may have been, I came across this, also on North Street. the Endicott-Johnson & Co. Tanneries & Shoe Factories.

Below is a Google aerial view with the Tannery/Shoe Factory boxed on the right (currently BAE Aerospace Systems) and 200 North Street boxed on the left. 

From what I've read about this company, even though being a tanner was a very difficult and gruesome job, they treated their employees very well.  The Gallsons would have benefited from "the Square Deal", which included health care right at the factory. And they also made employees shareholders.  There's a lot of information about the company in 1928 and 1929.  It looks like in 1929, there was a downturn in shoe sales, so Grampa may have been laid off because he hadn't been there very long.  And since Grampa doesn't seem to have ever completed his Naturalization, he left Endicott.

Below is a excerpt from Wikipedia...

George F. and the Square Deal

The E-J story is dominated by George F. Johnson (1857–1948), or George F as he was popularly called, who rose through the shoe factory ranks to become the half-owner of E-J, and its highest executive until his death in 1948.

George F's reign was dominated by his Square Deal version of welfare capitalism that, like progressive movements of the early twentieth century, advocated providing parades and churches and libraries to "uplift" workers. George F's Square Deal consisted of worker benefits even in harsh economic times that were generous and innovative for their time, but also meant to engender worker loyalty and discourage unionizing. The company had a chess and checkers club.

For workers, the Square Deal consisted of a chance to buy E-J built and E-J financed homes, a profit sharing program, health care from factory-funded medical facilities and later (built in 1949) two worker recreational facilities. But the Square Deal was more than an employee benefit program. E-J and the Johnson family also provided or helped to finance two libraries, theaters, a golf course, swimming pools, carousels, parks and food markets, many of which were available to the community without charge. Reminders of the source of that generosity were inescapable:

Endicott was a community planned by E-J and incorporated in 1906. It was named after Henry B. Endicott (one of the grade schools was named Henry B,) who owned the business that became E-J. Lestershire was renamed Johnson City, New York in honor of George F. All of the tanneries and the vast majority of the shoe factories were located in Endicott with a few satellite locations in Johnson City and Binghamton. The Johnsons lived in Endicott and George F's mansion was donated to the Village after his death and became the public library. Most of the jobs were classified as "piece work." Racks of shoes moved through the factories with "coupons" attached to each rack. When the worker completed his/her operation on the rack of shoes, he or she removed the appropriate coupon which was worth a few pennies. At the end of the week the worker turned in his coupons from which the payroll department calculated pay. The work was hard and the pay was low, but the extensive benefits were offsets. The windows in the factories were painted so workers wouldn't be distracted by the outside. The company needed a large labor pool and initiated a recruitment program aimed at southern Italy and the Slavic countries and so Endicott became a small town with a rich ethnic mix. Many of the sons and daughters of these immigrants graduated from Union-Endicott High School and went on to become teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, and successful business people. Very few went to work in the factories.

Source: Endicott Johnson Corporation - Wikipedia

There's also a large document that is VERY interesting about the company and there's alot in it about what was going on with the company in 1928 & 1929.  www.ejhistory.org  In particular, Chapter 2 "The Rise of the 'Square Deal' " (starts page 37, and page 48 in particular), Chapter 3 "Workers and the Work" (starts page 63, particularly pages 77/78) and interesting pictures starting page 99.

Below are pictures from the document of men working in the tannery in 1930, the year after Grampa would have left.

😀There is also a vast amount of information about the tannery on the historical site for Endicott.

http://tomdef.com/history/Resources/resources.html

🤨After reading up on the Endicott-Johnson Tanners and Shoe Makers and watching this video, it begs the question: Why did the Gallsons leave on July 31, 1929 to head to Ontario. .🤞🤞On March 23, 2024, I emailed "Marlene" at the historical site to see if there's any chance that there's an employee record archive. UPDATE: Marlene isn't associated with this anymore, but she did pass along an email address of a contact from a Facebook page. See UPDATE at the top of the page.

Post UPDATED...

Suzan was the daughter of Brenda Canning and the granddaughter of Phyllis Vera Peters.

Suzan Birdsall Obituary, Death - January 21, 2024 - London, England – Suzan Birdsall, who was affectionately known as Sue, passed away, and it is with profound grief and heavy hearts that we share this news with you. Earlier today, at 16:46, she left this world while surrounded by her devoted family, bringing an end to her time on earth. Her departure occurred in the embrace of her family. We are acutely aware that many of you had a great connection with Sue, and while we are conveying this sad news through this medium, we are also grateful for your support. We like to express our deepest condolences to her family and friends on the demise of this beloved member of our family.

Sue was a treasured friend, a confidante, and a source of delight for those who had the luxury of knowing her. She was more than just a coworker; she was a source of joy. There was a big turning point in the lives of individuals who worked with Sue because her presence at the workplace lasted for more than a decade. Beyond the domain of professional endeavours, our connections became stronger, and they eventually developed into a friendship that endured the ups and downs of life. We were able to lean on each other in times of need and celebrate the basic joys that life had to offer, which was frequently accompanied by laughing and the occasional drink that was shared.

We have been overcome with grief, and the vacuum that it has left in our hearts is unimaginable. All of you who knew and loved Sue are experiencing a profound sense of disbelief and shock as a result of this tragic loss. A heartbreaking reminder of the camaraderie that characterised our friendship was provided by the opportunity to see her in the hospital during her final hours. This opened the door for the interchange of memories that we both shared.

Sue was more than simply a friend or a colleague; she was a lovely spirit who left an unforgettable effect on our lives. Her legacy will live on forever. As we say our goodbyes, we will carry in our memories the warmth, the generosity, and the innumerable moments that we enjoyed together that characterised our time spent together. The melancholy departure of our wonderful friend will constantly be tempered with the experience of having Christmas tea with Santa, which was an event in which she participated as a joyful participant.

As we go through this period of grieving, let us come together to pay tribute to Sue’s memory. It is my hope that the joy and companionship that we experienced together will be the enduring legacy that will outweigh the sorrow that we feel over her absence. Dear Sue, may you rest in peace knowing that your memory will live on in the hearts of those who had the privilege of being able to include you in their circle of friends.

---

Suzan is survived by her husband Mark Birdsall, brother Paul Canning and sister Shelly Canning. She has 5 children.

When I first connected with Suzan in November 2021, she let me know that her Mom, Brenda Thorpe was adopted.  Phyllis (who had married Bernard Bramwell Thorpe) had a son, Phillip, who only lived a few days, and after adopted Brenda.  I was a little disappointed but Suzan also told me that her "Gran" (Phyllis) was very dear to her and she had great memories of her.  Brenda died a couple of years ago (around 2020ish).

Suzan also had very fond memories of Aunt Edie and then revealed the open family secret:  Brenda was actually the daughter of Aunt Edie and when Aunt Edie was dying she told Brenda that she was real family - not an outsider.  Edie was born in 1903 and Brenda was born in 1943.  The story is likely true.  Phyllis would have known that when SHE was born, her mother Hannah adopted her to save the fallout of the scandal and the reputations of Florence or Ellen.  So Phyllis likely didn't think twice to adopt Aunt Edie's baby as her own, her only son having died as an infant.

Suzan was born Canning and married Jonathan Dove (not the composer).  They had 3 children and then Jonathan died.  Suzan entered into a relationship with Giovanni Lisi and had 2 more children.  She is now with Mark Birdsall and goes by Suzan Birdsall.

Shortly after this, Shelley Canning, Suzan's younger sister, reached out to me on Facebook. Shelley has Aunt Edie's scrapbook which is where the drawing of Gramma Gallson came from.  I hope to get more insight into this scrapbook.

Updates

The memorabilia collection that Suzan had was passed onto her brother, Paul, in the fall of 2023. Now I'm waiting for Paul to get through the photos. So far, Paul has sent me an additional picture of Florence standing beside a chair and a picture of Edie, Ellen and Phyllis sitting on a park bench dressed in their Sunday best.

On February 2, 2024: Suzan's husband Mark Birdsall committed suicide. This information is from Paul Canning, Suzan's brother. He also sent me a picture of Suzan's three oldest children. Note Samantha's red hair. Paul also said in his message that Auntie Edie had "really red hair."

March 17, 2024: I convinced and offered to pay for an Ancestry DNA kit for Shelly Canning, Suzan's sister. I'm hoping this will answer the question: Was Brenda Canning (nee Thorpe) adopted or was she actually Edith Peter's daughter?

Click here to read update

I finally decided to make an application to the Archives of Ontario, under the Freedom of Information Act, to get any documentation existing on my grandmother, Florence Peters. It was surprizingly easy.

I filled out a very simple form, giving very brief information about GG (Gramma Gallson), why I wanted the documents and who I was, submitted and waited.

What I received was no surprize, as it confirmed what the Archives of Ontario supplied to me decades ago, but with the actual documents they used to get the information: the population change on the day GG died - proof that GG, in the end, was just an administrative entry and a statistic.

The Archivist explained that:

It is unfortunate that I could not locate a casefile. I did do some extra research into the administration of the records. It appears that Lakeshore did not regularly send their case files to the Archives of Ontario and ultimately a large amount of case files were destroyed. I did search the remaining casefiles, but they are mostly from the early 1900s. As for St. Thomas, case files from 1945 to 1976 were destroyed.

Astoria Felix
Information & Privacy Analyst
Archives of Ontario | Archives Division
November 2023 Email

I then sent the Archivist the letters that Carol received from St. Thomas Hospital in 1976 and 1980. This is her response:

Since this letter is from 1976/1980, it would make sense that they still had some information in the file at that time. The destruction of St. Thomas’s case files was done in 2001, in the same year that it was divested to St. Joseph’s Health Care in London. The records that were sent to the Archives of Ontario was the St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital index and the St. Thomas Patient Registers. The rest of our records are administrative and unfortunately doesn’t include patient health records.

You may try to contact a current hospital to see if they hold historical records, but I will say that it may be unlikely. As mentioned above, St. Thomas was divested to St. Joseph's Health Care in London in 2001. Upon its divestment, the Hospital was renamed Regional Mental Health Care, St. Thomas, which appears to be permanently closed now. Since the hospital (and the divested hospital) closed down, I’m not sure what the correct institution is to contact. I did find St. Joseph’s Health Care London, which is a St. Joseph’s hospital that appears to treat St. Thomas patients, the link on how to request records is here: Health Records | St. Joseph's Health Care London

As for Lakeshore, unfortunately the hospital permanently closed in 1979.

Ibid

She included a link where I could communicate directly with them about any surviving records. I emailed them and we'll see if I get a response.

I also asked the Archivist if, by chance, she could find out if the Archives has any records of warrants, as GG was admitted "under warrant".

What now haunts me is the: "The destruction of St. Thomas’s case files was done in 2001..." I was researching before then!! Why didn't I apply for the documents before 2001 under the Freedom of Information Act? UG!!

So, as per the archivist’s suggestion, I emailed , and just received this response:

Good Morning,

We have received your request for a medical record of your grandmother dated November 23, 2023.

After reviewing your request, we are informing you that the medical record pertaining to Flora Gallson, D.O.B., November 12 (or 21), 1897, is no longer available as per the hospital Record Retention and Destruction Policy.

Should you have any questions or concerns about the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please accept our sincere apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience this may have caused.

Thank you for your understanding, and we appreciate the opportunity to assist you with your inquiry.

Wishing You a Wonderful Day 😊

Kind Regards,

Email, December 11, 2023

I guess I should admit to myself, that the records are gone.

Now what I’m holding out hope for is a positive response from the reference library, also suggested by the Ontario Archives Archivist, about the warrant that I’m very much hoping is NOT part of the medical records that were destroyed. Two people (a lawyer/prosecutor and a child of mother who was committed) said that Gramma must have done something “really bad” for there to be a warrant.

UPDATE: Today (January 23, 2024) I applied for more information from Ontario under the FOI (Freedom of Information Act) regarding Gramma Gallson.

UPDATE: February 15, 2024, I received an email from Ontario and again only received information that I had already. They included these documents:

I think I'm definitely at the end of the rope here. The only extra information I have now is the warrant number: 10948, and I'm not sure what good that will do me. It's not a police warrant or a criminal warrant. I believe the Ontario Department of Health had their own warrant system.

I'm nothing but tenacious and in saying that, I've filled out yet another FOI form for any documents from Children and Social Services from 1929 to 1943 for Widdifield Township and Papineau Township. There must be a file on the Gallson family. Mom remembered the teacher at school calling social services who came and checked out the Gallson children. She remembered Grampa Gallson telling Mary to ease up on beating the children or they'd be taken away.

February 16, 2024 - Ministry of Social Services call me this morning to say they wouldn't have anything on this, that it would be the local Children's Aid Society, and that I need to connect with them. Many moons ago, when Mom was still living on Main St. W. in North Bay, Mom took a letter to the Nipissing Children's Aid Society asking for information. Many months later, they said that all these records would be stored off-site and next to impossible to go through. We never heard from them again. The CAS is private, not a government body, so I think the FOI wouldn't apply to them. Sigh! I'll call them.

March 17, 2024 - My battle continues. I received a call from a woman who said that the Children's Aid Society is a private organization so I would be unable to access documents through the Freedom of Information Act. In the meantime, I received an email from the IPC (Information & Privacy Commissioner of Ontario) saying to fill out the form to receive information. Now I'm confused, so a filed a "complaint" with the IPC to get a correct answer on how I can access the Children's Aid Society data and/or the Foster Children's data and/or Social Services of Nipissing District.

Ever since I was little, I loved old things.  From the days of exploring my Great-Aunt's abandoned and dilapidated home across the country road from our farm, I can remember holding viewer cards and envisioning myself as a long dead relative looking at them with amazement.

Old Eaton's catalogues with pictures of corsettes and bustles grabbed my attention as I thought of myself as a consumer from the late 1800's.

Continue reading "Challenges of Genealogy"

Below is a drawing sent to me by Shelley Canning, who is the granddaughter of Phyllis Vera Thorpe (nee Peters) (I'll add a post about this later).  Long story short, Phyllis was registered at birth as the daughter of Hannah Peters, Gramma's mother, so, on paper, Gramma's half-sister.  Gramma's older sister, Ellen, and younger sister, Edith, never married. Edith, as older adult, lived with Phyllis and her family.  Shelley says this drawing is from Aunt Edie's scrapbook and there’s nothing written on the back.

This drawing opened a pandora box of questions, and, of course, using observation, logic and conjecture and some discussion with my sister Carol, this is what I believe.

This is a self-portrait.  As soon as I saw it, I recognized where the original picture came from and I recognized Gramma's way of writing her capital "F". (see her signature below).  It is wonderful to have a rendition of the full photo that Gramma used as her passport picture.

So Gramma was VERY detailed in drawing this picture.  She took alot of time to get every detail right, not something that a mother of 3 would have time to do.  

• The whisp of hair on her forehead
• The watch on her wrist
• The slight slant of the indent between her nose and her top lip
• Something hanging from her neck - a necklace?

But there are few things that tell me SHE drew this and not her sister, Edith.  

• Gramma's signature upturned nose is missing.  I believe there's a possibility that her nose was a trait that she didn't like, so she made her nose "normal"
• Who ever drew the picture, had the full photo
• The drawing is dated 1921, but Gramma wasn't F. Gallson until 1922
• Edith would have written her full name on it "Florence..."
• I believe her darkened eyes show the depth of her depression

This last thought leads me to believe Gramma drew this while she was in the hospital.

Hannah married Joseph Henry Peters on Christmas Day 1890.

Because Smith is such a popular name, its important to find a few collaborating pieces of evidence.  So addresses and occupations are important here.Joseph: 23 Walmer Road - Fa:Joseph Peters - Seaman (deceased by 1890)
Hannah: 21 Walmer Road - Fa: James Smith (b. 1843) - China Dealer; Hannah is 21 so b. 1869 (consistent)

Hannah Louisa Smith - born March 1, 1869, Kensington, Middlesex (London), England

Continue reading "Hannah Smith’s Rabbit Hole"

St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital - abandoned now, in St. Thomas, Ontario.

This website has LOTS of pictures of the hospital in its abandoned, run down, condition.

St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital - Ontario Abandoned Places (talkingwallsphoto.com)

Interesting note on this webpage:  "January 2020 – Actor Jason Momoa intends to film a post-apocalyptic television show inside the former hospital. It will be titled ‘See’ and will be released on Apple TV."  My curling teammate's daughter, Shayla Brown, has gotten acting parts in this series.  Reading further on this, seems that because of COVID-19, the 2020 taping was postponed, so not sure if they ever filmed there.