The lost digit

Like all good story-tellers Gordon had an ability to create a verbal-movie with sufficient drama and tension to make the story truly memorable.  Here is one such story that has been repeated  several times over the years.  While, certainly, I  enjoyed the sense of horror the story creates, I sometimes questioned whether it was factually true.  The story involves two of my grandfather Jack's first cousins - the children of Alexander McEwan who lived on the original family farm next to Black Creek Cheese Factory.  The protagonists are Bessie and Robert the second and third youngest of Alex's nine children.  One day Bob and Bessie were in the woodpile presumably chopping wood for the family cook stove. As Gordon wrote it "Bob placed his fingers on a block and looking up at Bess who had the axe in her hand he uttered an unusual request: "Cut

them off, Bess!" he dared.  No sooner said than done -- and from then on Bob had a problem doing up his shirts with that hand."  As I have said already, I sometimes wondered whether the story was actually true or whether it was told to explain a bigger truth about the hardship of farm life in the late 1890's. Recently I came across a family photo of Alex McEwan and his family.  I have attached both the photo and a close-up of Bob's hands.  You can judge for yourself whether there is a digit missing on the pointing finger of his right hand and whether that is sufficient evidence to verify Gordon's story.

MacEwans: The New Zealand Cousins

After close to 50 years I have re-connected with our MacEwan cousins who live in New Zealand.  The first connection was made in England and occurred under one of those rarest of coincidences.  Here is how it happened. In the Fall of 1967 after I graduated from university I travelled to Montreal, toured the Expo site and then flew to London, England to have "some new experiences".  Since I didn't have much money I immediately began looking for work and within a week I had a job teaching in a Junior School on the huge Dagenham housing estate in Essex, east of London.  Shortly after I began working in the Matthew Arnold Junior School, the Head Master mentioned that he had had a recent contact with a family from New Zealand who had the same last name as mine.  Coincidentally, Ian MacEwan from New Zealand a distant cousin of my father was at that time staying with my parents while he attended a conference in nearby London, Ontario.  Ian was able to confirm that, indeed, the family in England was his son and daughter-in-law and their children. I visited the MacEwans and the first link was established. After that visit I went off travelling on the continent, the MacEwans returned to New Zealand and after three years I came back to Canada. In the meantime my parents heard that Ian had had a stroke and then everything went silent.  That was until recently when I noticed that Callum MacEwan was managing a genealogy web site on which he has created an extensive family tree which includes some of the Canadian ancestors. Callum has expressed an interest in hearing more about the Canadian McEwans particularly stories of why three young men chose to travel across the globe to begin new lives in New Zealand.  I know a little about that history and I will write down some of the stories which I have heard.  In the meantime and to begin the narrative, I am attaching a picture of the brothers - George (I believe), Arthur and James

who left Canada in the early 1890's and who emigrated to New Zealand.  The second picture taken in my parents' home is of my father Gordon McEwan and his New Zealand cousin  Ian MacEwan in about 1968.   

What a Difference an "A" Makes

At birth Lois was registered as Lois Hearn: H-E-A-R-N.  That’s the way her father Bob spelt his last name and that’s the the way that Bob Hearn’s older sister Ada spelt her name.  But their younger brother George wrote his name as Hern (without the letter “A”).  Family lore blamed Ada for wanting to rise above her station and for thinking that the “A” made the name appear to be more posh.  While there may be some truth in the story that Ada wanted to be more posh, it also appears that this family simply didn’t have a consistent way of spelling their name.  Here are three examples of how the name was spelled.  The first example is how the census taker spelt the name in 1861 after the family left Devonshire England to settle in Bowmanville, Ontario.  The signature at the top left is how Robert signed his name on a document in 1920.  And finally, here is the explanation for why some signed their name as Hearn and others signed their name as Hern. For many years, according to this affidavit the name had been “indifferently spelt”.  For those of us who are interested in this type of thing, it means that we who spell our name Hearn  can claim a blood relationship with Riley Hern whose name appears in the Stanley Cup.   We are all of the same family.

Lois McEwan 1914 -2014

After a very long and a very happy life, Lois McEwan died at her home on St. George in St. Marys on April 16, 2014. Born on the 29th of March, 1914 Lois was the daughter of Robert Hearn and Mae Rolston whose ancestors were among the earliest settlers in Perth County. Lois’ philosophical acceptance of life’s recurring rhythm of happiness and sadness may be rooted in events which she experienced as a teenager. In the summer of 1932 a chance encounter with Gordon McEwan as they exited a ball game at SS # 4 Downie led to an impulsive request for a date for an open air dance that evening. Lois fell in love with Gordon and that love led to a happiness that remained strong until their deaths. The tragic event which precipitated great sadness occurred several months later. Following a cold and wet ride home in an open democrat from a Farm Women’s meeting Lois’ mother Mae Hearn contracted a severe cold which turned into pneumonia. In the era before penicillin there was little that could be done and when Mae died shortly afterwards she left a family of seven children, two of whom were under the age of four. Lois took over as “mother” and remained in that role until her marriage to Gordon in December 1937. Lois leaves her four children and their spouses: Lou and John Cull, Loiey and (the late) Ken Moir, Bob and (the late Jean) McEwan, and Terry and Linda McEwan. She is also survived by her much loved nine grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. Lois’ brother Vic (Marie) Hearn, her sister Roberta (the late Nelson)  and her step-brother Doug (Sharon) Hearn also survive. In addition to her parents and her step-mother Jean, Lois was predeceased by her brothers Lyle, Kelly, Ivan, Don and her step-brother Jack. Her sister-in-law Kit Hearn survives. Lois McEwan’s overarching quality was her intense love and loyalty to her family – both immediate and extended. Her open-mindedness and her ability to reach out and connect with all types of people were legendary. As a lifelong homemaker, the wife of a rural school teacher, the mother of four children, and a daughter of the Great Depression Lois became an excellent seamstress, a prolific knitter, and she knew how to make the Sunday roast last until Thursday. She loved sports, music and dancing and she was always ready for a “good laugh”. Lois Isabel (Hearn) McEwan – 29 March 1914 to April 16, 2014 – lived a long, generous and contented life. She was able to rise above the hard parts and see the enduring good in the world. She will be missed by her family and friends. 

The Hemsley's

Gordon's grandfather Robert McEwan married Harriotte Hemsley a young woman whose family lived around the corner and down the road from the McEwan home in Downie Township. Harriotte was the daughter of Thomas and Harriotte Hemsley.  I have two  pictures of Harriotte's parents. But, aside from the pictures and the dates of births, deaths and other factual material that found its way into census and church records, I know almost nothing about who they were. What I do know is that Thomas Hemsley and Harriotte Patching were born in the early 1800's in Sussex County, England. They grew up in neighbouring villages a few miles north of the English Channel. They were married in 1831 (Remember that date. It is essential to one of the few stories I know about them) when he was 29 and she was 23. Sometime between then and 1845 they emigrated to Canada either following (or with) Thomas' younger brother William. It was William who first leased the land in 1842, and later purchased the deed to the farm which was located on the first concession of  Downie Township.  Now for my three stories:   Story 1.  From what we know Thomas and Harriotte had been childless from the time of their marriage in 1831 until they arrived in Canada.  And then it happened: Daughter #1 was born in 1845, followed by daughter # 2 in 1847, daughter #3 in 1848, and finally daughter # 4 in 1851. This story of the sudden fecundity has been told enough times in the family that I have made notes of it on at least two occasions.  When Gordon recorded the story in his reminiscences he suggested that it was something in the "Canadian clime" which allowed them to be blessed with four daughters.  Well, that is one possible explanation.   Now, to story 2: This story was told by Gordon's grandmother Harriotte about her father.  The family grew turnips on their land and it was the job of the girls and their father to hoe the turnips.  I am sure that it was a hot, dirty and tiring job.  Thomas, the father, would tell the girls that they only had to hoe until they found the magic turnip and that would be the signal to quit work for the day.  When questioned further about how they would know when they had found the magic turnip the father always reassured them that they would know when it was found. Of course, it was always he who found the magic turnip and it was always just about the time when the evening meal would be ready back at home. I am sure that no one was fooled. Story 3. This comes from Annie Warden a granddaughter of the Hemsley's.