Fathers’ Day

Pictures are wonderful things to remember people by. I am fortunate that I have so many in my library that I can turn to.

My Dad was a very open man. You pretty much knew what was on his mind all the time. He rarely was angry that I can recall but there were instances, especially work-related when he was annoyed or disappointed.

William Calvin Shepheard was born 10 December 1914 in his maternal grandfather’s home in the small town of Irricana, Alberta, just 30 miles or so northeast of Calgary. He did in Calgary on 3 November 1983. I wrote about my dad on the anniversary of what would have been his 100^th birth (A Special 100^th Birthday) – 16 December 2014).

Bill was a sociable man, growing up and in his adult life. He remembered and was remembered by all of his relatives. I wrote before about the closeness of he and his cousins in the rural community in which they grew up, something many people do not experience today. (Growing Up With Cousins – 14 April 2015).

I share a few things with my father, his sometimes single-mindedness and the restlessness that enticed him to do different things in his life, even change careers. He was good with his hands and with planning and carrying out small and large building projects. I do that. He built our first family home in 1949. I designed my own family’s first house and renovated our next two. We both had/have a pride of family and, while generally satisfied with our own accomplishments and disappointed in our personal setbacks, we very much enjoyed/enjoy the success of our families. I don’t have my father’s patience, though. I’m not sure where that comes from – perhaps that Shepheard stubbornness many of our family members share.

I am very glad my sons, one of whom is also a father, inherited some of the good traits from their grandfathers. I can see things in them that are very like their ancestors. They are not afraid of tackling new challenges – much like their grandparents and great-grandparents, some of whom crossed the ocean or the continent to seek out a new life. Both are very outgoing, like their mother and her father. They do not have the great interest in family history that I have – but they still have many years left to discover it.

Anyway, at this time of year I like to remember all the fathers from our family. I also wonder how much we are like all those fathers who have gone before us and what unique traits – genetic and learned – each passed along to their sons. The one thing I can do is pull out all the photos of many of them and compare the physical aspects. Here they are, all the fathers and future fathers of my direct family line (Sorry ladies!):

Book Review: A Cold Welcome

A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter with North America

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2017

Author: Sam White, Associate Professor, Department of History, Ohio State University

LCCN 2017016539 / ISBN 9780674971929

376 pages

This new book by Sam White, details the period of the 16^th and early 17^th centuries during the time the Americas were being explored and colonized. Mr. White deals with the contemporary perceptions and science about climate change over the past several centuries, climate reconstruction and the effects of the Little Ice Age in North America, climate and weather-related challenges of the new colonies and how climate affected the interaction with aboriginal societies.

The events and settlements described, with accompanying maps include:

·         Early Spanish explorations around the southeastern coast of North America (Florida & South Carolina)

·         The Roanoke colony and surrounding region (North Carolina)

·         The Frobisher, Davis, Waymouth and Knight expeditions (Labrador Sea)

·         The Jamestown colony and surrounding region (Virginia)

·         The Gosnold and Waymouth expeditions (Massachusetts, New Hampshire & Maine)

·         The Popham (Sagadahoc) colony (Maine)

·         The voyages of Henry Hudson (North Atlantic Ocean, Barents Sea, Labrador Sea, Hudson Bay, Nova Scotia & New England to New York coastlines)

·         Routes of the Coronado and Onate expeditions (Mexico and the western states of Texas, Kansas, Arizona & New Mexico)

·         Early Spanish exploration of the California coast (Mexico & California)

·         The Cartier expeditions (Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick & Quebec)

·         Champlain in Canada and New England (Quebec, Nova Scotia, New York & New England coastline)

Information was gleaned from archaeological, historical and scientific studies, and every obtainable written record in the archives of the nations who sponsored the expeditions.

White explains how the Europeans were unprepared for the lands they tried to settle in, the inhabitants already there and the difficulties in obtaining food to sustain themselves. He compares the various colonies and exploratory ventures in many part of the continent, drawing parallels in their common failures, largely due to the climate prevailing at the time.

New visitors to the New World encountered very different physical conditions and climates than they were used to at the same latitudes, partly due to the relative position to the oceans and the size and variability of the North American continent. The period of the Little Ice Age was one of harsh environmental conditions worldwide, or at least in the world these people knew. Life was no less challenging in North America, in many instances more-so.

The book will be on interest to family historians who are looking for answers to why their forebears left Europe for the colonies of the promised lands of the New World and what conditions they found that affected their new lives.

There is also a presentation by the author on YouTube.

Genealogy and Natural Phenomena: A new (old) focus

There are a myriad of blogs and other articles, books and miscellaneous publications that promote the study of family history. Lots of help in finding records – all over the world – is available for the serious-minded or just curious family historian. This blog has presented a few tidbits over the years to assist researchers in locating documents, showing examples of how ancestors were found and connecting families. I’ll continue to do that when subjects arise that are of interest and value.

But, in the last few years, my genealogical work has taken me in a different direction, or should I say back to my professional expertise – Earth history. I have looked at many examples of how the environment has affected people and communities, some of which have been presented here during the past several months: Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Droughts, Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Floods and climatic perturbations.

Most of these blog posts have focused on disasters in which many scores of people died. These are, of course, the most memorable of natural events, ones that make the headlines and the stories of which may be told for generations. But natural phenomena take many different forms, most of which are gradual in development. Changes to habitat over years or decades are no less impactful, though, and may have been primary causes of families having to relocate when their livelihoods were seriously affect or even lost.

As an Earth scientist I have a familiarity with how natural processes work and how landscapes change. I tend to look at family history through the lens of how the physical environment affected lives and livelihoods.

I published a paper of Your Ancestors and the Little Ice Age (Family Tree, Christmas 2017 issue). I have another coming out in that magazine’s September 2018 issue about Losing the Land to natural events. As I noted in my blog of 24 April 2018, my book, Surviving Mother Nature’s Tests, is now out. In it I describe many different types of natural events and how they helped shape the histories of families and communities.

 

Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565 – Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

Many readers will have collected information about the migration of their ancestors to other parts of the world, mainly North America. They may be most interested in the reasons these people decided to come so far or what conditions drove them to emigrate. The earliest of these migrations were to new colonies set up by governments and private groups in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. In almost all cases they encountered severe hardships, as much brought on by harsh weather and climate as by their unfamiliarity with the new world they arrived in. That, having already left areas with similar problems!

I have put together a presentation titled Genealogy and the Little Ice Age, in which I describe many of the conditions under which people lived during that long, inhospitable time. I have two other talks in preparation that cover other aspects of natural phenomena and their effects on our ancestors, using some examples from my book. A few dates have been booked to give those talks and would like to spread the word about Mother Nature’s tests even further.

Anyway, in future blog posts I intend to often discuss the impact of changes in habitat and natural events to the lives of our ancestors. I hope you enjoy them.