Great-grandfather Samuel Franklin Woodland and second wife Ida Moore. Click for larger view.

Here is a photo taken in Ontario (after 1916?) of my Great Grandfather Samuel Franklin WOODLAND (21 October 1870 – 18 July 1961) and his second wife Ida Moore.  His first marriage was to Isabella Mary NESBITT (my great grandmother) 13 December 1893.  She died in a run away horse and buggy accident when they were living in BC.

The second marriage was to Ida Pricella Moore on 26 January 1916 in Dundas, Dundas, Ontario.  Go here to view the marriage certificate.

Marriage Certificate of Samuel Woodland and Ida Moore

The application to marry reads:

AFFIDAVIT

Required before License of Certificate is Granted by Issuer of he Marriage Licenses by Provision of The Marriage Act.

Samuel Franklin Woodland, Morrisburg Ontario in the County Dundas make oath and say as follows:

1. I and Ida P. Moore of Morrisburg Ontario in the County Dundas are desirious of entering into the Contract of Marriage, and of having our Marriage duly solemnized at the Village Morrisburg in the County of Dundas.

2. According to the best of my knowledge and belief, there is no affinity, consanguinity, prior marriage or any other lawful cause or legal impediment to bar or hinder the soleminzation of the said Marriage.

3.  I, Samuel F. Woodland, have since the 1st day of May 1915 my usual place of abode within the municipality of Morrisburg in the County or District.

4.  I am of the age of 46 years, and the said Ida P Moore is of the full age of 18 years.

5. I am a Widower and the said Ida P Moore is a Widow.

Sworn by me at Morrisburg in the County of Dundas this 26th day of July 1916.

Signed:  S.F. Woodland

F.R. Chalmers (?), Issuer of Marriage Licenses at Morrisburg.

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The left side of the marriage certificate has the following details supplied by the minister.

BRIDEGROOM

• Name: Samuel Franklin Woodland
• Age: 46 years
• Residence when Married:  Morrisburg
• Place of Birth:  Ottawa
• Bachelor or Widower:  W (for Widower)
• Occupation:  Mechanic
• Religious Denomination:  Methodist
• Name of Father:  Stewart Woodland
• Maiden Name of Mother:  Eliza Godwin

BRIDE

• Name:  Mrs. Ida P. Moore
• Age: 60 years
• Residence When Married:  Morrisburg
• Place of Birth:  Hull, Quebec
• Spinster or Widow: W
• Religious Denomination:  Methodist
• Name of Father:  Erastus E. Kellogg
• Maiden Name of Mother:  Lydian Winehester

Signature of the Bridegroom:  S F Woodland

Signature of Bride:  Ida P. Moore

Name of Witness:  Mrs (Rio) Strike   Address: Morrisburg

Name of Witness:  Hazel Woodland   Address:  Morrisburg

I certify the above named parties were married by me at Morrisburg in the county of Dundas this 26th day of January 1916. Signature A J H Thike (?)  Address Morrisburg  Denomination:  Methodist

There is a big stamp on the upper right hand corner that is dated Jan 29 1916 Registrar General Ontario

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This record provides considerable information about my great grandfather.

We are given his full name, Samuel Franklin Woodland and that his age was 46 when he applied for the marriage license in July of 1915 and when he was married in January of 1916.  I also know he is a widower (not mentioned here but his first wife was killed in a horse and buggy accident when the children were quite young). I also know he is a mechanic, was a Methodist and who his parents were.  I know where he is born (Ottawa) and where he resided at the time of the second marriage (Morrisburg).   We also see his signature on two places on this record.  One of the witnesses is Hazel Woodland (his oldest daughter from the previous marriage, although not stated here).

His new wife Ida was 14 years older than him and we learn considerable information about her as well.

One tends to chase the bloodline documentation and perhaps not spend as much time on second marriages.  This document is a good example of one that gives considerable information about one’s ancestor.  I suggest considering the documentation from second marriages (if applicable) as good sources of genealogy material.

© 2010 Joan Miller (Luxegen).  All rights reserved.

[Source:  This document was obtained by a search using a world membership of ancestry.com.  There is a 14 day free trial available if you wish to do your own search without purchasing.]

Starched and pressed, shoes polished and bodies posed. This photo shows the graduates of the first nursing class from Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1925.

My grandmother Isabel (WOODLAND) IRVINE was in that class and can be seen in the front row, far left.  (CLICK on the photo for a larger view).  Grandma graduated fifth in the class and kept her nurse’s registration active until she turned 65.  She attended at my birth and before that at the birth of countless other youngsters in the hills near Young, Saskatchewan.  Her husband Bill Irvine was a homesteader in the area. Surnames mentioned on the back of the photo are Woodland, Mulraugh, Webb, Bennett, Morrison, Wheissel, Sterwart, McIlroy, Richardson, Curren, Byers, Lenohan, McLelland, Maxwell, McDonald, Farmer, Kemp, Mitchell, Payne, Reid, Nexon, Trott, Allison, Boyle, Currie.  (CLICK on the photo for a larger view.)   If you have connections or comments please use the form below.

He married Eliza Victoria GODWIN on 02 June 1857 in Ontario, Canada. 

They had one child Samuel Franklin WOODLAND.

Connections? 

Please comment below no matter how remote the connection might be.  Thanks!

My sister has red hair, my two kids have red hair and my husband used to have red hair. So did my Mom and Grandmother. My father in law too!

Red hair is the rarest natural hair color in humans (1-2% of the population) but you wouldn’t know it in our family. Redheads are found most commonly in northern and western Europeans and their descendents. The colour ranges from deep coppery tones to bright oranges and is the product of two copies of a recessive gene that has been associated with the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), a protein associated with fair skin, red hair and ultra violet sensitivity.*

It shouldn’t come as any surprise to know that our family, are of northern European extraction.  Our IRVINEs are from Ireland and so were the KERRs, most likely via Scotland originally.  One of my grandmothers was a WILSON from Scotland.  The other, a WOODLAND, also with northern European roots. 

My husband’s AUMACK side of the family has been traced back to Dutch settlers on the Isle of Amager, in Denmark.   His father, a MILLER and also a redhead is thought to have English ancestry.

With all those redheads in the gene pool it wasn’t a surprise that our two children turned out to be redheads. 

How many of YOU have redheads in your family?  Are they of northern European extraction?  I’d love to hear your comments.

*Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair

Here is the story of my Grandmother, the MAIL ORDER BRIDE…

My grandfather, William (Bill) IRVINE arrived in Canada from Ireland in 1911 at age 19 to make his way in a new land.  At age 20 he took up a homestead of 160 acres in the rocky hills 20 miles south west of Young, Saskatchewan.  The going was tough.  The winters were long and harsh, the house (basically a shack) and barn were built with the labour of his own hands, the soil turned and the crops planted.  When old timers talk about having to walk uphill both ways, this is what they meant!

My grandmother, Isabel WOODLAND was born in April of 1898 in Ottawa, Ontario, the second daughter of Samuel F. WOODLAND and Isabel Mary NESBITT.  Her father was a planer and a millwright and they moved west to make a living after losing most of their possessions in the Great Ottawa Fire in the year 1900.  The family lived in BC for several years before returning to Ontario to her grandparents’ house after the death of Isabel’s mother in a runaway horse and buggy incident.  Her grandparents were living in Morrisburg, Ontario at the time.

Grandma was a strong woman; a person of conviction and she had a dream.  She wanted to be a dentist. This in an era where most women didn’t have professional careers (early 1900s).  In preparation for a career in dentistry, she worked as a dental assistant for three years.  Imagine her dismay when she discovered her senior matriculation didn’t qualify her for dental school.  She then turned to nursing and graduated number five of the first graduating class of the Ottawa Civic Hospital on June 10, 1925.

Grandma was also a family historian and in her later years she recorded this story….

Isabel’s story in her own words….

“A couple of days before graduation, there was letter for me postmarked Young, Saskatchewan. The letters had started some time earlier when my cousin, John Woodland, had given my address to his friend, Bill Irvine. This developed into a continuous correspondence and we got to know each other quite well.”

At this point my grandparents had never met face to face. They were penpals and a budding romance had developed, all by correspondence. (how they would have loved the internet!).

Isabel’s story continues…

“Bill had a good crop and decided to check on his mail-order bride. Arrangements were made by letter and he arrived in Ottawa in January 1926 for a visit at which time he proposed. I showed off my new ring when I returned to specializing at the Civic Hospital. Wedding plans were made for February 18, 1926. My cousin, Vida Smith, was my bridesmaid and her friend, Allan Boyd, was best man. My dress was royal blue cut velvet and Bill wore a navy suit.”

This is an interesting family story and we are fortunate to have it but the story gets even better.  At this point we turn to Grandpa’s diary.

Grandpa William Irvine kept a daily diary for well over SIXTY years….

Under a heading of “Things of Paramount Importance” he wrote:

“Miss Isabel Woodland Sept 26, 1925.

On January 7, 1926 we find the following entry shortly after his arrival in Ontario to meet his penpal Isabel face to face.

“Out to see Isabel. Our discussion never to part. Those pleasant moment I will never forget.”

Grandpa was in love…

And on January 12, 1926 we find another notable entry in his diary.  Grandpa was never a demonstrative man and I find this following entry to be particularly touching.

“Gave Isabel Ring. W( I  I) W”

with a circle around the two”I”s for William Irvine and Isabel Woodland.

On the day William IRVINE married Isabel WOODLAND, his mail order bride, February 18, 1926 he wrote:

“The greatest event in life, got married. Married bliss.”

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This, in my humble opinion, is what makes a family history.

Warmly,

Joan

P.S. Special thanks to several family members for your help.  You know who you are..:)

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The moral of this touching story?  Please include as many stories as you can in your roots research and reports. Paste them into the notes section of your family tree software, record them in a word document, or better still audio or video record the stories of the elders of your family.  Whether you publish a blog post or a long report for the extended family, these are the stories that will enrich your family tree and make it truly a family history.