Last week I had “one of those days.” I woke up stiff from a rogue bed spring, had a much too serious conversation before I was truly awake, and then proceeded to hit a road-block in every chore I had set out for the day. Seeking relief, I decided to pick up my family history research for a moment or two. Yes, I know, I just completed a major family history project and have umpteen other pressing concerns. I was only going to poke around a little on a new branch: my Scottish ancestors.

When beginning research, the starting point is always with the present and what you already know; then you proceed to work backwards in time. I began by finding all the Canadian census records for my Granny’s family. This gave me birth-dates for some of the family and locations where they had lived. I knew she was born in Manitou, Manitoba, so, I started by looking for resources specific to the area. I found a treasure trove at the Pembina Manitou Archive which allows searches by community, era, or record type.

I researched the Manitou community, but saw only a passing reference to my family. Sadly, I found no evidence that they had associated with the great social activist (and one of the Famous Five), Nellie McClung, wife of the Manitou pharmacist. I looked for issues of the Manitou newspapers around the dates of family births, marriages and deaths, but did not find any mention of my people. I then took another look at the marriage registration of Granny’s parents, which I already had, and noticed that the residence of the Reverend who married them was listed as the nearby community of Morden.

Fortunately, the archive did have a Morden paper of the right vintage to potentially contain a report of the marriage. I eagerly read through it, and was thrilled to find a description of the festivities:

There was a large gathering of friends and relatives present for whom a sumptuous marriage dinner was provided. In the evening, the younger members of the party conveyed [the groom] and his bonny bride, the belle of the Mountain, to their new home where the young folks spent a happy evening, as Manitoban young folks know how, music, games, tripping the light fantastic, &c and what for no — Long life and happiness to the young couple.

Besides this fabulous account, there were also significant details: the wedding occurred at the home of the bride’s widowed mother in the locality of Thornhill. This gave me another area to investigate. Referring to a map of Manitoba, I found the settlements of Manitou, Morden and Thornhill, were very close to each other, so the puzzle pieces of my ancestors’ lives began to fall into place.

I then looked for local histories of these communities on other websites like Our Roots  and Manitobia. I also did a google search for Thornhill, Manitoba and found the title of the local history book. Unable to track it down online or in my local library, I made an interlibrary loan request. Who knows what details about my ancestors’ lives are contained within it? I do have to wait about a month for the loan to arrive, though. So, I guess there will be time for me to tackle all those chores that I could not complete before I began my latest family history quest.

It is true that I spent more than just a few moments conducting the research I’ve outlined above, but the success I experienced turned my day around and gave me energy to face the hurdles that had seemed so insurmountable before. It also gave me a great idea about how to spread the joy. When my aunties and uncles open up the Valentine’s Day cards I am sending, they will find a surprise: the newspaper clipping about their grandparents’ wedding. Perhaps they will read it aloud in a false Scottish brogue and giggle about the “bonny bride”!

This article was originally printed in the BERGEN NEWS and is being reprinted with permission.