I had heard of journals that my great grandmother had written and I have waited a very long time in anticipation of finally getting to see them. Back when I first heard of them in 2007 I mentioned that I would have them professional scanned to not only archive them, but to make them digitally available to anyone to read that wished to do so. Well, now that I finally have the box of them, I plan on still doing just that.
My great grandmother Nettie Martha (Smith) England began to journal when she was fifty nine years old, and kept at it until her death, January 22, 1963 at the age of 92 years! They cover a period of more than thirty years of family history. After her death the journals were in the possession of her son Gordon England. Then in 1978 my aunt Helen Ruth (Howie) Lorimer, the first child born to Ruth Augusta (England) Howie who was in turn the first daughter born to Nettie Martha (Smith) England traveled back to the homeland with Ellsworth Lorimer her husband. Gordon then passed them down to her. They then were passed down to her daughter Janice who then began the circulation to the family in 2007 to share our heritage. In the box were more than just ten journals. There is also a map, and a few pages from a photo album that reflects some mile stones for Rev. C.P. England and Nettie. To include anniversaries, a birth of a grand-daughter, and the trip of the seven Howie grandchildren to California. From what I can gain from the slow travel of the box of journals is that not everyone was able to get a chance to see them before their own deaths which is unfortunate. Rev. Clarence Philo England and his wife Nettie Martha (Smith) England had six children. However, only one of these, my grandmother Ruth Augusta (England) Howie had children. My grandmother Ruth A. Howie died before her own parents. The seven grandchildren of Nettie then moved to California in 1936 with their father William Rider Howie. I found the journal entry of his long drive across the United States, but have yet to find mention of the drive moving the children. Nettie had twenty-eight great grandchildren.
Here are images of the box and the contents.
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White felt box
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| On top HOWIE cookbook |
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| A letter from Janice to explain the contents |
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| A list and description of the 10 journals |
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| A map of Canada to locate areas mentioned in the journals |
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| 10 Journals over 30 YEARS from 1929 to 1963 |
I have so far got the photographs scanned which I will include in later posts to my blog, and looked through the journals for specific dates of interest to read.
I am now in pursuit to find a company to scan these into a digital e-book for everyone.
