Month: December 2022

Click here for images of Grampa Gallson’s WWI documents.

Below is information that Wayne sent me and I stored for the future.

The 52nd Battalion, 1915-1919

No sooner had Canada entered the war against Germany and its allies in 1914 than it was decided to raise an expeditionary force for battle overseas. The local militia, which mustered the day after war was declared, immediately began a recruiting drive to bring itself up to strength, and there was no shortage of men willing to fight. By March 1915 the 52nd battalion was formed as the first complete overseas battalion from this region of Ontario and, in short order, the 52nd had recruited 47 officers and 1,898 other ranks many of whom came from the old 96th. Before the war ended, more than 4,000 troops were to pass through the battalion. 

Within days of arriving in France in February 1916 aboard a cattle boat, the 52nd moved to the front, and was thrust into battle at the Kemmel Sector in early March of that year. Over the next three years 140 officers and 2,819 other ranks were casualties in battles such as Mount Sorrel, Flers-Courcelette, Ancre Heights, Vimy Ridge, Avion, Hill 70, Passchendaele, Amiens, Damery, Scarpe, Drocourt-Queant, Canal du Nord, Cambrai, and Valenciennes. The survivors told stories of rat infested trenches, full of mud, of sleepless nights on ground sheets under single army blankets, and of ineffective rifles. One even recalled walking to the front without a helmet or gas mask, having been told to pick them up along the way from the casualties. 

The Lake Superior’s (as they were affectionately known), had a reputation for independence and audacity; they would take a back seat for no one. Private W.C. Millar wrote of their encounter with the Imperial Grenadier Guards on a narrow road in the Ypres sector: 

When seeing a bunch of trench-mud stained, unwashed Canadians coming along, the sergeant-major in charge of the Guards shouted out, in a voice which only an Imperial sergeant-major can assume, “Make way for the Guards, Make way for the Guards!!!”. Our lieutenant who, I have no doubt was seeing visions of a talk and possibly a bottle of champagne when we reached our billets, refused to be impressed, and made this characteristic reply: “To H–l with the Guards! Carry on, Fifty-second”. Needless to state the 52nd “carried on” and for once in their lives, the Guards took the side of the road for the Canadians. 

The 52nd left France with 380 decorations, including a Victoria Cross won by Captain Christopher John Patrick O’Kelly at Passchendaele in 1917. Its battle honours were subsequently carried by Port Arthur’s Militia unit, the First Battalion, the Lake Superior Regiment. 

Here’s where the 52nd Battalion sat in the heirarchy:

3rd Canadian Division

The 3rd Canadian Division joined the Canadian Corps in June 1916. 

  a.. 7th Brigade 

    a.. Royal Canadian Regiment 

    b.. Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry 

    c.. 42nd Battalion: Royal Highlanders of Canada 

    d.. 49th Battalion: Edmonton 

  a.. 8th Brigade 

    a.. 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles 

    b.. 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles 

    c.. 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles 

    d.. 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles 

  a.. 9th Brigade 

    a.. 43rd Battalion: Cameron Highlanders 

    b.. 52nd Battalion: New Ontario Regiment 

    c.. 58th Battalion 

    d.. 116th Battalion: Ontario County Infantry 

Grampa’s return from the war is interesting in that it lists what his position was.  You can see his entry on the SS Olympic ship from Southampton to ____ (I’ll find it).  He is listed as SPR, which is an acronym for a Sapper.  Thanks to Wayne, I found out what a Sapper was.

I watched a movie once where the sappers were pushing bombs under the barbed wire with long poles attached to them with a string to fire it. Once they got the bomb under the barbed wire, they would pull the string and hope they blew up the barbed wire and not them selves. Some times the string would get hung up on something as they pushed it in and the bomb would go off and blow them up.

**Sap:the extension of a trench to a point beneath an enemy’s fortifications

Middle French /sapper/, from Old Italian /zappare/, from /zappa/ //”to make furrows with a hoe”

This is a link to a hoard of document Donna was able to get from …. somewhere …. regarding the 52nd Battalion which was Grampa Gallson’s Battalion (WWI).  The order of them is not likely logical was Word exported the documents in alpha order.  To be honest, I’m not sure what the first page would be.

CLICK HERE FOR 52ND BATTALION DOCUMENTS

Johannes’ (John Gallson) Father

The following is from Malle Jaagoa – May 13, 2002.  Its the register of births and christenings of year 1865.  It is from the church.

The first 2 columns translated = day and hour of the birth

For Mihkel Õunpuu translation = 25 Sept afternoon

The third column translated = day of christening (there were 3 children christenings on the same day) which was 29 September

In 1865, Estonia used the old Julien calendar.  The Gregorian (New Calendar) wasn’t adopted into the Russian Empire until Feb 1, 1918.  The difference is 13 days.  The birth dates of people born before February 1, 1918 were recalculated, and 13 days were added to the original birthdates.  Therefore, 13 days added to 25 September 1865 = 7 October 1865

Mom had and recovered from Colon Cancer when she was in her late 70’s. Her doctor found her cancer during a colonoscopy and “rushed” her (within days I think) to the operating table and removed a big part of her colon. Because the doctor “got it all”, Mom didn’t need to go through chemo or radiation. The evidence of her operation was one HUGE scar on her abdomen. She went on to live to a ripe old age of 92.

After 1993, when Mom was diagnosed, we (her children) were all told to begin getting routine colonoscopies.

Since then, I’ve had many. My first one was the most horrendous experience of my life. I decided I would be the smartest person by scheduling my first colonoscopy and my first mammogram on the same day. My goodness, how could I take TWO days off work for stupid medical purposes!! And deciding NOT to get sedation for the colonoscopy was my 2nd BIG HUGE mistake. But I digress…

Every colonoscopy I’ve had which were every 3 years, then every 5, the doctor found pre-cancerous polyps. EVERY TIME. Today, December 2022, I had my latest colonoscopy and the doctor found NONE.

What’s with that?! What happened?

Was the doctor in a hurry? She check the box “Excellent” for prep. The post-report shows she got around EVERY corner, right around to the “end of the line” – and she found NOTHING!

What changed?

Thinking… looking back on the last 5 years, there’s a few things I’ve changed but ONLY in my diet.

• I don’t drink cow’s milk anymore, only soy beverage
• I snack on nuts (almonds, walnuts, pastitsios)
• I don’t eat red meat (only Costco meatballs occasionally)

 These are records from the archives in Tallinn that Kaido Õunpuu got for me in 1988.  Kaido is Eduard’s son.  I put on the pictures of Karl and Aliise.  You can view all the children in the Photo Gallery.

All records indicate that “Margaret” was Mary Morrison, born Mary Margaret Morrison.

John was actually only predeceased by his 1st wife, Florence. The predeceased son referred to here was Donny Morrison, who came to live with John as a young boy with his mother, Mary Morrison. Donny and Jackie (John) were blood brothers, (sons of Mary) and not John Gallson’s biological sons.

 After Grampa returned from WWI, December 1918, and was discharged from the Canadian Army January 1919, travelled across the border on June 10, 1919 at Buffalo, and moved to Wheeling, West Virginia. (1320 Water Street).  

On December 16, 1920, Grampa filed a Declaration of Intention for Naturalization, then two days later, on December 18, 1920, he travelled to Howitzer Co., 6th Infantry, Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, and enlisted in the United States Army for 3 years for which he was awarded a $90 bonus and travel pay back to Wheeling where he likely had his physical and received a typhoid and paratyphoid shots on January 14, 1921.  He only served for 6 months and 21 days before being discharged due to “reduction of the Army…” at Camp Jackson, South Carolina. He final pay being $142.25.  

Sometime during that 6 months or after, he must have been in Adah, Fayette, Pennsylvania, as the United States Veterans Administration have an “index card” (undated) with his name on it.

Uncle Phil wrote to the United States Army asking for Grampa’s records and he was told that those records were likely destroyed in a fire.

Today (March 13, 2022), I filled out an online form at https://vetrecs.archives.gov/. 
Update: January 20, 2023, received envelope from National Archives with “reconstructed” documents from the 1973 fire. Sent a thank you letter with a request for explanation of Adah index card.

When Grampa file his Declaration of Intention for Naturalization (No. 1914) to the US government, he had 7 years from December 16, 1920 to complete the application.  The application shows a lot of information.  It states he crossed the border from Canada to the US on June 10, 1919.  I search on Ancestry.ca through all the June 1919 border crossings at Buffalo and could not find his name. (Side thought: perhaps because he went by train, those records are somewhere else.)

Joan’s Life in a Nutshell

Joan Vera Smith nee Gallson was born in Wauchula, Florida, January 4, 1925. She came to Ontario, Canada in 1929. She lived in Mattawa, Rutherglen and Toronto. She married Lloyd Smith in 1943 and lived in Rutherglen, Ontario where she had 4 children. Lloyd and Joan lived in Porcupine, Gravenhurst and then North Bay. After Lloyd’s death in 1988, Joan married Albin Miklautsch and continued to live in North Bay. After Albin’s death she remained in North Bay until she required assisted living. She then moved Huntsville to be close to her daughter Carol shortly before her death in 2017.

Posts about Joan

• What was Mom like (from Wayne)July 3, 2024
  What was my mom like? My mom was awesome. She always had my back . Even made my sisters angry because she spoiled me so much.  She was a city girl who had to become a farmers wife and she did most things better than the farm girls like. Knitting , CREWEL EMBROIDERY, CROCHET, QUILTING… Read more: What was Mom like (from Wayne)
• John Alone With 3 ToddlersMarch 25, 2024
  SEE UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM.  The pictures below are the only toddler pictures we have of my Mom (Joan), Aunt Jean and Uncle Phil.  Its very odd there aren’t more, because the picture of Grampa with Aunt Jean as a baby shows they had a camera.
• Joan Vera Gallson’s LifeJanuary 17, 2023
  Joan was born in Wauchula, Florida, January 4, 1925 to Florence Maude Peters of London, England and John Edward Gallson of Saaremaa, Estonia (born Johannes Ounpuu).  In 1929, the Gallson family, including her older sister Jean and younger brother Phil, moved from the United States to Widdifield, Ontario, area. Joan’s first memories are when she… Read more: Joan Vera Gallson’s Life
• Joan in TorontoDecember 12, 2022
  In 1942/43, my Mom went to Toronto to work at the Inglis factory which had been retrofitted for bullet and guns manufacturing in support of the war effort.  It was an opportunity for Mom to make the extra money she needed to pay for her wedding dress. She went with my Dad’s cousin, Iva Rose… Read more: Joan in Toronto
• Joan Gallson – GalleryDecember 10, 2022
• Joan Gallson – The TeenagerDecember 6, 2022
  Mom didn’t remember having any aspirations or dreams – only “to get the hell out of that house!” She consistently described her life as a child as horrible, filled with beatings and abuse by the hand of her stepmother who allegedly made unreasonable and impossible demands that could never be fulfilled.  Stories of sneaking food… Read more: Joan Gallson – The Teenager

Joan’s Pedigree

After the death of Joseph Henry Peters in 1910, Hannah would have struggled I’m sure to make ends meet.  Perhaps the Great West Railway helped her out. 

My curiosity got the better of my wallet and I paid Find My Past to see the 1921 Census for Hannah.  And I got a BIG surprize!

Hannah Peters; Head; 51y4m; F; Widow; … Office Clearner @ Great West Railway, Paddington
Ellen Peters; Daughter; 27y10m; F; Single; … quilt Machinist @ Manor Park Works, Harlesden
Edith Peters; Daughter; 18y4m; F; Single; …Quilt Machinist @ Manor Park Works, Harlesden
Albert Peters; Son; 16y2m; M; Single; … Shop Assistant @ Matthews & Steel, Harlesden
Phyllis Peters; Daughter; 7y5m; F; Father Dead; Full Time student
Rose Smith; Sister; 39y2m; F; Single; … Calander & Laundry @ Highfield Model Laundry

Phyllis? Daughter? Born 1924? When Joseph is dead and Hannah is 44? Nah nah, I say. (quoting John Pinet!!)

Who is this Phyllis?

This is totally Hannah throwing herself under the bus for someone.  And I have much admiration for her.  But who is she covering for?? Ellen or Florence?  That in itself is question that may never be answered, even with DNA.  But I know its one of them.  All I have is the evidence and you can make your own decision.

I now know where Vera comes from – Phyllis Vera Peters.  Gramma Gallson (Florence) named her 2nd born JoanVera.

Gramma Gallson’s oldest child, Jean, named her first “born” Colleen Phyllis.   She doesn’t know why she chose Phyllis – says she just “liked” the name.

We know that Gramma Gallson names her children after special people – how special is Phyllis Vera to her?  

Gramma Gallson was 16 when Phyllis was born (Ellen was 18) – could have been either.

My sister Carol thinks Gramma Gallson would not have left her child in England and immigrated to Canada in 1920.  But I think she may have, if she had the intention of bringing her over once she got established.  And with that in mind, she would have talked about Phyllis to her American born children.  Aunt Jean would have heard Phyllis’s name repeatedly.  Aunt Jean and Mom were VERY chatty people and Gramma Gallson was likely the same.

Phyllis looks amazingly like Aunt Jean.

If I have it right, Phyllis is a half-sister to Jean, Joan & Phil.  And now the children’s names had a “ring” to them: Phyllis & Phillip, Jean & Joan.

The resemblance could follow through Ellen as well.

So now I moved forwarded:

42A St. Mary’s, Willesden, London

Phyllis wouldn’t be of voting age yet.

1935 Electoral Register – 67 Victoria Ave., Wembley, London

1936 Electoral Register has the same address, same people

1937 Electoral Register – same address, same people with the addition of
Bernard Bramwell Thorpe.  Bernard and Phyllis were married Q2 1937

Interesting piece of history here:

About 1939 England and Wales Register

Historical Context

Initially taken due to the onset of war with the purpose of producing National Identity Cards, the register later came to be multi-functional, first as an aid in the use of ration books and later helping officials record the movement of the civilian population over the following decades and from 1948, as the basis for the National Health Service Register. The 1939 Register is an extremely important genealogical resource, not only for the rich detail and information recorded for each person and household, but also in helping to bridge a thirty-year gap in census data. The census taken in 1931 was destroyed during the Second World War and no census was carried out in 1941 due to the ongoing conflict. The register, as held by The National Archives, contains data only for England and Wales and does not include records from households in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

1939 Electoral Register
Same address, only Hannah, Ellen and Edith and one “still living” therefore redacted. Not sure who this would be since Phyllis and Bernard moved out. (see below) Perhaps Albert moved back in?

1939 Electoral Register

Hannah Louisa – passed away January 28, 1948 leaving £1070 to her two daughters.  I note that Phyllis is not mentioned and even though Phyllis was married and on her own, I think that if Phyllis were Hannah’s true daughter, she would have been included in the probate.

On paper, according to documentation, Phyllis Vera Peters is the illegitimate daughter of Hannah Peters, and sister to Florence Peters, my grandmother.

Phyllis Vera Peters showed up on the 1921 British Census, within the family unit of Hannah, Ellen, Edith and Albert Peters.  The mystery is whose daughter is Phyllis REALLY?  Her birth registration lists Hannah as her mother, with no father.  Hannah would have been 45 at the time, so I have come to the conclusion that Phyllis was either Ellen’s or Florence’s daughter.

I felt that if I could find a descendant of Phyllis, perhaps I’d get the answers I was looking for.  So I continued my search through the Electoral Registers.

1946 Electoral Register – 89 Tudor Court

1954 Electoral Register – 89 Tudor Court
Bernard is on the bottom of the previous column

Ellen has passed away.  I recorded her passing as 1962, however I actually do not know if this is true.

1962 Q4 Death Index
Ellen – 69 – fits the age.

1974 Electoral Register – 1 & 3 Otter Walk, Bedfordshire
1975 Electoral Register – 1 & 3 Otter Walk, Bedfordshire

1980 Electoral Register – 11 Devon Road, Bedfordshire

The DD/MM/YY is the date the person would turn 18.

1982 Electoral Register – 11 Devon Road, Bedfordshire

September 1982 – Bernard Bramwell Thorpe passes

1983 Electoral Register – 1 & 3 Otter Walk, Bedforshire
Phyllis and Edith are together.

1984 Electoral Register – 11 Devon Road, Bedfordshire
Stephen would turn 18 on May 27, 1984

1986 Electoral Register – 11 Devon Road, Bedforshire

Phyllis is living with her the Canning family – Brenda must be a daughter.

and one prior page in the 1986 book…

11 Charlbury Court, Merton Rd., Bedfordshire – Edith (age 83)

Google Map

1989 – June 28  – Edith passes away – age 86

My next step would be to try and find any Canning on Facebook and in particular Suzan Dove nee Canning and Brenda Canning nee Thorpe.  I felt that women might be more inclined to keep old boxes of photos and memorabilia.

I found a marriage between a Suzan Canning and a Dove.  Looking from the other “side”, I could find a marriage between a JONATHAN Dove and a Canning.

I searched Facebook for months, looking for a Suzan Dove, Suzan Canning, Stephen Canning or Paul Canning in England.  And then….. I find her.  Suzan Birdsall Canning, who has “Friends” who are Dove’s and a brother Paul!!  I messaged her a few time, but I saw she wasn’t very active on Facebook, but Paul was.  So I FB messaged him and he messages back promising to tell Suzan to message me. 

AND SHE DID!

This is a picture I already had of “Edie in her garden”.  This one and Gramma Gallson’s passport picture were the only pictures we had of the Peters.

Suzan sent me this picture of Edie! Ancestry has a “colorize” option. It looks great!

This is a picture of Phyllis and Bernard Thorpe.

Suzan let me know that her Mom, Brenda Thorpe was adopted.  Phyllis had a son, Phillip, who only lived a few days, and then 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, Hannah adopted her to save whatever scandelous repercussions against 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.  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 reached out to me on Facebook. She is Suzan’s younger sister.  Shelley had Aunt Edie’s scrapbook which is where the drawing of Gramma Gallson came from.  I hope to get more insight into this scrapbook soon.

UPDATE: Suzan Birdsall passed away January 2024, and her father passed away Christmas Day 2023.