Canada Newspapers: Difference between revisions

Nineteenth century birth announcements are not very informative, but they do provide the basic information in the form:  

This at least provides the birthdate and place, and the father’s name. The form is somewhat incomprehensible, but the part omitted for reasons of space is ‘was delivered’ as in ‘was delivered of a son’. These very brief announcements provided the news and nothing more was considered necessary. The era’s view that the woman’s contribution was peripheral is obvious in the format. This family is indeed that of Timothy Eaton of department store fame.  

In the past, genealogists omitted reference to a stillbirth from the official record. Now, it is more likely they will want to include mention of the event in a narrative family history, although genealogies or generational charts may still omit them. For many decades after the turn of the 20th century, birth announcements were less common in newspapers. It is not clear why, although newspapers had begun charging for publication, which may be why, or it may be that people regarded the event as more private and the sending of printed or hand-lettered birth announcements through the mail had become the usual form. After World War II, there was a return to public announcement of births, which continues now.  

The full name of both parents now appears, including the mother’s maiden name, address, birthplace (hospital), date and baby’s name. The baby’s name may not be published if the parents have not made a final decision as yet.  

The most recent change in birth announcements deals with parents who have different last names, either because they are not legally married or because the mother has retained her birth name.  

It is helpful that the baby’s last name is clearly stated (which it often is not), since in modern families there may be some uncertainty on the subject. The residences of the grandparents will make some future genealogist happy, since it makes tracing them easier.  

Early wedding announcements varied more than births did, but they had a basic form:  

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| ''Miles-Hunking: In London, on the 9th inst., by the Rev. A. Brown, Mr. J. W. Miles, painter, to Lizzie, eldest daughter of Mr. Wm. Hunking. ('''St. Mary’s Argus''', 18 August 1881''

Genealogically, this is a good announcement because the researcher has the full date and place. The fact that the clergyman’s name is given will lead to further research to confirm the date using the church records. The church can be located by looking the clergyman up in a city directory of the time. The directory will connect the clergyman to his church, and researchers can then determine if the church still exists, if it has been replaced by another institution or if it is defunct, and where its records are now located. In addition, Lizzie’s position in the family birth order is given, a help if not known from another source. The use of ‘eldest’ tells us Mr. Hunking had at least three daughters.  

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| ''On Wednesday the 21st inst., by the Rev. Wm. Smart, Mr. Hiram Mott to the amiable Miss Selina King, both of Elizabethtown. ('''Brockville Gazette''', 30 October 1829)''

In the '''''Oshawa Daily Reformer''''' under the heading “Women’s Daily Interests” the following wedding appeared:  

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| ''Lyon-Fice A quiet wedding took place yesterday afternoon at the King street United Church parsonage when Minnie May Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Fice, East Whitby, became the bride of Norman Victor Lyon, also of East Whitby. The young couple were attended by Miss Gertrude A. Fise, sister of the bride, and Mr. John G. Lindsay, both of East Whitby. Rev. C. W. DeMille officiated. (7 January 1927)''

'''''The Vancouver Daily Province''''' of 25 April 1947 included a column headed “For the Brides-Elect” which illustrates both the rather coy manner associated with weddings at the time, and the types of parties our forebears might have enjoyed associated with their weddings:  

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| ''April is a month of showers, both those of the dewy nature which are part of the weatherman’s fare for this month of the year, and the bridal variety honoring those who will walk altarwards about the time May flowers are in full bloom.'' <br>  

Actual accounts of the wedding may include descriptions of the flowers and clothing, the bride’s dress getting detailed attention. <br>  

The unusual vocabulary (‘daintily attired’) is again in use. Some of the words—georgette, swagger suit—might require use of a thirties fashion dictionary. Extensive reading of weddings from the past reveals that many brides did not wear the huge white dresses which are universal today, but chose something more affordable, or which might be used again. The fabrics vary from time to time also, with satin popular in the 1930s, peau-de-soie everywhere in the 1960s and new man-made textiles appearing now. <br>  

The one-line death notice which is a familiar part of most early newspapers looks like this:  

These two deaths, which took place a week apart, were published in the same weekly newspaper as consecutive announcements. They tell a common story of the time, of a young wife’s death in childbed, followed by the death of the baby shortly after. We learn the date and place of death and a family connection from these announcements, and that is all. Occasionally a birthplace or occupation will be mentioned.  

The researcher has an interesting sentence to add to the family history, and can consult a medical expert about what might be meant by ‘an illness the same as cholera’. Causes of death were of great interest to the Victorians (and to us, as well) and were often included in death notices.<ref>The Keotsch notice appeared 9 June 1870. The Jahn notice was published 30 August 1866. Translated from the German by Patricia J. Kauk (manuscript index at the Kitchener Public Library).</ref>  

Here we face the old problem of vagueness, both about the dead woman’s name (which Mrs. Bass is it who died?) and her age.  

To those unfamiliar with the family, the name of the dead boy is uncertain—is his family name Squire or Cresse? However, a researcher searching for the family will know and will be glad of the detail, including the fact he died after a short illness in the afternoon.  

His exact age, in years, months and days, is in a form often given in death notices of this century. We may think that calculating his birthdate from this clear information would be easy, but the irregular number of days in months makes this difficult. There are formulae for making the calculation, which were often published in genealogical newsletters in pre-computer days. Now, it is easier to let your software make the calculation for you.  

This early 19th century death notice still gives Mrs. Wilson her own name, not her husband’s as would be common later, although in the form of initials. This is included to point out that the form ‘Mrs. Andrew Wilson’ was not universal or historical as some pre-feminists would wish, although we did see a use of that form from 1829 in the Beach birth announcement, above. The term ‘relict’ is one all genealogists should know, and means ‘widow’. It comes from the Latin and means literally ‘one left behind’.