February 16

No stories after today for a while unless I can get creative while on vacation. One thing, it's always nice to have house sitters when  you are away. A cold rain here this morning 2C at the moment. Well let's see what I can dig out of my files.
This first is a short story from my book of short stories.

 I Remember Them

1. Adnas:

A

dnas was an old Indian from a reserve in central British Columbia.  I learned a great deal from this old man, mostly about fighting fire, but also some things about human nature.

 Adnas weighed about 110 pounds and probably stood about 5' 6". When I first met him he was 71 years of age.  He was a hereditary chief. I never ever heard him raise his voice, if he was annoyed or he needed emphatic communications to one of the other natives he would talk in the native tongue.

 The first time I met him we had a small forest fire across the lake from the reserve.  I had been told to contact Adnas and have him take a small crew over to the fire in a canoe.  I told him to round up 3 or 4 men and gave him some hand tools.  He asked me if he could take along his kid brother.  I said that would be OK, so he went into this house and came out with his 68 year old brother in tow! Now Adnas was over 71 so by definition, this was his kid brother.

 One time we had a fire right on the reserve and practically every able bodied man and many of the women got involved.  By the time I got there Adnas had everything pretty well organized.  I told him I would need to have a list of everyone who was on the fire and what function they were performing.  When we got together again a few hours later he had a list on a piece of paper.  He dictated every name, around 60 of them, with the appropriate information plus the time each person had started employment on the fire.  When I checked his list against the payroll I had filled out, I found it totally accurate and his order was exactly as he had dictated. So what?  A person might ask. Well, Adnas could neither read nor write that’s what!  What he had done was have some one else write all the information down as he gave it to them and from memory alone he was able to repeat it accurately back to me.

 Adnas had a son named Benny, every time we used Adnas on a fire we ended up with Benny also.  Benny was the opposite of his father in every way except for his good nature.  But no matter, to Adnas he was the proverbial apple and Adnas always tried to make sure that Benny was included.

 One small fire we were on together, I have always clearly remembered because of two instances.  The fire was a lightning strike somewhere above the fire that introduced me to the “kid brother”.  With Adnas and 4 young fellows, I drove as far up the hill as an old road would permit.  Then with our complement of hand tools we hiked further up hill for close to an hour.  We spread out in a search pattern and in a short time I heard a “cooey, cooey” being called out.  We all converged on the sound and there was Adnas sitting on a log in a classical Indian pose, feet under his bum, his knees to each side and his arms crossed on his chest.  I asked, “Was that you, did you find it?”  He nodded and grunted, ”Mmph.”  “Well where is it?” I asked.  He replied, “Sittin on it.”

 The rest of us gazed about and then sure enough there on a pine tree a few feet away was the tell-tale scar down the trunk, the earth was plowed up to the trunk of another tree and then we all saw where a fire was still slightly smoldering.  In moments we cleared away all the flammable material and using our tools quickly dug the fire out.

 After a short break, while we waited to make sure the fire was totally extinguished, we headed down slope.

As was usual I was in the lead, but one of the crew first started walking almost on my heels and as I went faster so did he.  Then another one came up along side, so I went a bit faster.  Everyone else (except Adnas) soon got into the game.  I just knew that when we got close to the truck it was going to be an all out race with the prize being “face”.  I was 25 years old at the time and my job demanded bush travel, I was in good shape! When I judged we were within a few hundred yards of the truck, I broke into a dead run and was easily first.  The other 4 arrived in a few moments, but no Adnas.  Perhaps 10 or 15 minutes later he strolled into sight and looking at me asked, “You win?”  I modestly acknowledged that I had.  Adnas gave one of his trademark “mmphs” then said, “Yeah you pretty good in the bush, but you know 40 years ago I sure make you look sick.” Then he gave a little smile and I smiled back.

 I didn’t doubt him at all.

 This second is one of my genealogy puzzles

A Lady of Mystery

and Questions that Remain

My great grandmother, Mary Jane (Jennie) Davidson has bequeathed an inheritance of unanswered questions.  Even some of the things I believe to be true, remain to this point in time, unproven.  According to her death certificate to which the informant was her youngest daughter, she was born in Stratford, Ontario March 24,1853.  I have a letter that was written to her Mar 27 (year missing)  in Mitchell Ontario, that says she had resided in what may have been a boarding or finishing school for the past three years and was being presented with a gift on the eve of her departure for “the far west”. It was signed by twelve girls or women.  I also have a photograph of 6 young women, fashionably dressed that bears the identification of a photographer in Mitchell, Ontario.

The next thing I have is an original wedding certificate for Jennie Davidson age 23 and William Prendergast age 25(both of Portage La Prairie) at St. Mathews Church, Brandon Manitoba, dated November 28, 1883.  (note that the gap between 1853 and 1883 is 30 years).  Then comes a letter written to Mrs. Prendergast, dated Mar. 24, 1886 in Winnipeg Manitoba, in which a gift is presented to her in honor of her birthday.  This is signed by 20 people which are also expressing their appreciation for residing in her home.  Two of the signatures are “J.C. Prendergast” and “J.J Harrison”.  (In a visit to Winnipeg several years ago, I confirmed that she ran a boarding house in Winnipeg at that time, and subsequently I secured the death certificate for William Prendergast, who died of Typhoid Fever only 3 ½ months after the wedding).   The next document is the wedding certificate for John J. Harrison and Mary Jane Prendergast dated September 2 1886. At this time Mary Jane gives her age as 25!  Obviously John J. Harrison is the boarder, J.J. Harrison.  From this last marriage, my grandmother, Jennie Bell and her sister Appie Victoria were born in Winnipeg.  At some point the family moved to Vancouver, BC and  according to a delayed birth registration (signed by Appie Victoria in 1964) the youngest child, John Noble Glover was born July 9, 1893 in Victoria, BC.  On  Mar 11, 1909 John J. Harrison died by his own hand.

Some factors that seem curious are:  some of the Prendergast family also moved to Vancouver and appeared to remain very close.  When I was a child in the late 1930’s and into the 1940’s I recall Prendergasts  visiting often at my great Aunt’s home.  One of the Prendergast’s was named Noble John and my Aunt was in close contact with him.  She also was the informant on the death certificate of one of the Prendergast women and signed herself as a Niece!  My Grandmother many years ago, handwrote an outline of who her paternal and maternal parents and grandparents were – she identified Mary Jane’s(Jennie’s) father as Arthur Davidson and her mother as Anne Robinson., the Prendergast marriage certificate says her father was William Davidson and her mother was Anne Robertson.  In the marriage to John Joseph, her parents were identified as William Prendergast and Anne Prendergast.  In the late Birth Registration, my Aunt contradicts herself by saying that her mother was born in Mitchell Ontario( refer to where she says Stratford above).

In the 1881 Census for Perth Co. Tsp Mitchell, I have found William Davidson age 80, his wife Ann age 66, Mary J. Age 23 and Sarah E. Age 21.

Some of the anomolies I have no problem with.  Even though I have possible birth years of 1853, 1858, 1860 and 1861, age variations are quite common and I suspect ladies back then preferred to be regarded as younger than they actually were.  The Robinson vs Robertson is not of great concern as I believe my Grandmother may have erred and as well with William vs Arthur.  However the questions that remain are: where was Mary Jane born?  Did she attend a boarding or finishing school in Mitchell?  What would prompt her to go  to Portage La Prairie (very rural in 1883)?  Why, when the family lived in Vancouver, was the youngest child born in Victoria and why wasn’t the birth registered at the time?  What circumstances lead to my great grandfather’s suicide?  What was the enduring connection to the Prendergast family, one that carried over into the next generation? With this last what is the significance of the two names – John Noble and Noble John?  William and Ann Davidson according to the census were born in Quebec, Portage La Prairie was originally a French Canadian settlement, the name Prendergast is a contraction of a french name – is there any significance in these coincidences?

Any Sherlocks out there!!