CAN-ONT-ALGOMA-L Archives

Archiver > CAN-ONT-ALGOMA > 2000-09 > 0970019023


From: "Mr. & Mrs. V. Hibbard" <>
Subject: Diaries
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 21:43:43 -0400


What a wonderful idea that Doug Eastman had - to give us the index from a diary. Too bad I could not find any of my family names there!!

I too, have in my possession my great-grandmother's diaries - written by Edith Clementine Bailey, nee Cann, wife of Thomas Ward Bailey. They raised their family on a farm in the Thessalon area. I saw many mentions of Sowerby and Livingston throughout the diaries, as well as Sault Ste. Marie. There are many neighbour families mentioned, but I do not have any index. The almost daily diaries cover the time from 1912 to 1969. All the earlier years were in Thessalon areas. The later years involved trips to southern Ontario and the prairies - where their children had settled. The main families involved are the Tom Baileys, the Robert Baileys, several married Cann sisters, and my own Hotchkiss ancestry. The main church family involved is the Church of Christ in Thessalon and also the Soo, for which Tom Bailey was the minister for many years.

If you are wondering about your family in this neighbourhood, send me the time frame and I can skim for any mention of that name. I have almost all her originals and up to 1939 were transcribed many years ago by one of her sons. I hope to do the rest some day and maybe scan the 1912 - 1939 one into a text program where I can maybe index it as well.

This is a wonderful way to preserve the daily life of a family. Take note, though, that often times the person who wrote the diary did not know that someone else who be trying to figure out who all the people are - they often don't mention last names of family members. Those I will have to ask the rest of the family for help on.

Great idea Doug. I hope it will help others.

Margaret

***********************************
Margaret (Hotchkiss) Hibbard
Sarnia, Ontario

This thread: