Samuel Bagshaw Ryder and Herbert, His Son.

In 1914, Canadians, as part of the British Empire, rushed off to fight the Germans and their Allies. The Ryders were no exception. Enlisting in the home guard Samuel Bagshaw Ryder (my Grandfather's grandfather) would be called to guard railway bridges in the Rocky Mountains. Samuel's two eldest sons, Samuel John and Herbert Henry, both enlisted in the forces to fight eventually reaching the trenches in France.

There are several more stories which I will later share however, there is one story in particular that I want to share here.

Samuel John enlisted into the army first, Herbert sometime after. Like other recruits Herbert went through training at the Vernon military camp before being shipped to Vancouver where his unit boarded a train and was then sent out East before boarding a ship and off to Europe.

As Herbert was preparing for his departure to Europe, his father, Samuel, was on the move as well, being sent to guard railway bridges. Samuel Bagshaw was in the Rockies long enough that Herbert knew he was there and where to see him. When Herbert's train reached his father's bridge Herbert and Samuel were able to touch hands one last time.

In April 1917, Herbert was killed at the Battle of Vimy Ridge with hundreds of other Canadians. An older gentleman that my grandfather knew said he remembers watching Herbert "go over the top."

Herbert on the left

Samuel Bagshaw on the right

Jabez Harrison Johnson

I recently discovered through a geneological search on new.familysearch.org the parents of my ancestor Jabez Harrison Johnson. As a family several of us have been looking for information on this man for decades. Thanks to a woman named Barb, with whom I have a common, though distant, ancestor I was able to finally acquire his parents' names.

What we know of Jabez is that he was born between 1839 and 1844 in Highland County, Ohio. The dates and specific town vary. The current theory on the conflicting birth years is that Jabez enlisted in the American Civil using an older brother's birth date; we are looking for more info to clarify. The differing townships of birth is explained by the proximity of the townships; Greenefield, Leesburg and Hillsboro, Ohio are mere miles from each other.

Jabez volunteered for the 81st Ohio Regiment in the American Civil War. The battalion saw lots of action, especially around the Atlanta region. Jabez served until 1965 when he was released. His veteran's pension card shows that he was classified as an invalid, largely due to repeated bouts of heat stroke caused no doubt by marching and fighting in the humid heat of Georgia.

I will record later all the locations but Jabez and his family moved several times before ending up in Enderby/Armstrong, BC a few years before his death in 1913.

Jabez married at least twice though someone has suggested that there may be a third wife. His first marriage to Mary C. Smith ended in divorce. His final marriage to Matilda A. Kunce  around 1887 in Iowa would last until his death. Matilda, 15 years (give or take) his junior, was known as a good baker and it showed in her physique. There is a legend in that family that she was a good pianist and due to the family's financial circumstances at the time of Jabez's death she sold her piano to buy Jabez's grave marker; her grave is next to Jabez's but remains markerless.

Jabez was called "Old Red Eyes" by some of his family members, as told to my grandfather by one of Jabez's brother-in-laws. Apparently when he was tired his became bloodshot quickly. He was a blue-eyed, red-haired, nearly 6 foot tall man. There was some affiliation to the Ku Klux Klan at some point in his history and we even had a picture demonstrating this.

Jabez and Matilda's daughter Daisy remained in the Okanagan until her death in 1948 and is my Grandfather's Grandmother. I am not aware of the fate of Harley though he did live in New Westminster for a time. 

The Ryder family stories.

I have, for many years, been recording a regular personal journal to document the triumphs and failing of my own personal life. At seven volumes my journals cover, sometimes in meticulous detail, who I am and what events have shaped me. As I have deliberately set about recording my own life my descendants will be able to learn who I am intimately, hundreds of years after I have passed from this realm.

What I have discovered over the years, and its an odvious observation, not all people are as dedicated to recording their life moments. As time fades the memories from psyche, precious lessons and joys are lost. This lose is amplified with the fading second-hand memories passed on and about ancestors. My hope is that with this blog my family can share stories of themselves and our ancestors and build a collection of who we are and where we came from.