The document granting permission for a minor female to be transported from Ontario to the United States "for a visit" is dated July 9, 1952. It is typewritten on a notary public's letterhead, signed by the minor's mother, and notarized. I have no knowledge of the precise date the "visit" commenced. I do know its purpose. The minor, who was pregnant, unmarried, and only a teenager, was brought (or perhaps, sent) to the United States to give birth and for the baby daughter to be adopted by an American couple, my parents. My American mother was the adult granted responsibility for transporting the minor female for her "visit" to the U.S.
That was a significant (probably the most significant) element of my parents' final trip to Canada. For years, it had been their practice to vacation there every summer. My father loved to fish, and Ontario is awash (pun intended) with lakes and rivers. That's why my parents were in Ontario in 1952, about three months before my birth. They didn't go on vacation expecting to come home with me (in utero). But that's how it happened.
Now I am going back to that place where my parents vacationed and I originated. Illustrating the serendipity of the universe (or is it karma?), my aptly named "roots trip" is beginning on July 11, 2016, only 64 years from the original. My intent is not to connect with living people. Rather, I want to connect with place ... source ... ancestors. I have written before about my fascination and identification with Canada (Ontario, in particular) that began in childhood. This is my chance to experience it up close.
After flying to Ottawa, my trip will begin where that original trip began: Boulter, Ontario. Boulter today is a mere hamlet. Perhaps it always was. On some maps it warrants a small dot; on others, no dot at all. Somewhere nearby is Carlow United Church Cemetery where Dorothy, the minor's mother, and Dorothy's parents are buried. I hope to find that cemetery and fill in some of the gaps in Dorothy's life history, as possible. A newspaper office, public library, or other administrative source may hold material that I haven't been able to locate from afar. Obituaries are a goldmine of genealogical detail. I also hope to find a specific location -- more specific than a dot on a map -- for where that original trip might have begun. This one little dot has been allocated several days for my research.
After Boulter comes Buckhorn. It is a lake, actually two lakes, and another small dot on a map of Ontario that features innumerable lakes and many small dots. Buckhorn is a well-remembered name from my childhood: my father named his remote fishing cabin "Buckhorn" and I know the name came either from those lakes or that dot. Given my father's affinity for fishing, it was probably the lakes, not the dot. I still have a guest book from that cabin, a guest book with "Buckhorn, Canada" inscribed on its worn wooden cover.
Then, on to Napanee and Adolphustown. More dead ancestors to visit in Riverside Cemetery of Greater Napanee. Adolphustown is more than a cemetery. It is the site of one of the earliest settlements of Loyalists who fled the United States due to the American Revolution, and it was founded by one of my coolest (i.e., most renowned) ancestors. In terms of importance, one might think of it as a kind of Plymouth Rock, North. In addition to the monument to the Loyalists and the associated heritage center (centre, in the local vernacular), I plan to visit the archives to see what more I can learn about those intrepid Loyalists whose DNA I carry and so admire.
New York is next. I am descended from immigrants who arrived from the Netherlands in the 17th century (about 1655), and those immigrant ancestors settled in upstate New York. Those who became Patriots remained in New York during the American Revolution, and evidence of them exists to this day. In Canajoharie, NY (west of Albany), a family homestead built by Martin Janse about 1749 still stands. In Kinderhook (south), more dead ancestors, including Martin Van Buren (POTUS #8), reside in Kinderhook Reformed Church Cemetery.
After a short time set aside for my friend Sarah's wedding in Vermont, the roots trip will resume in Cornwall, Ontario (another cemetery, more Loyalist ancestors) before returning to Ottawa (with some potential for limited archive mining) and then home.
My goal is to blog along with my trip. Come along with me, as I visit little dots and dead ancestors!
