Easter Greeting Postcards

The three Easter postcards on today's blog post come from the collection of my dad's Aunt Elizabeth (Lizzie) Sinclair Morcom. It seems these greetings began at the turn of the century but after WW1 they were in their heyday.

Only one has writing on it and that identifies that it predates her marriage in 1930.  Her nephews, the little Fortune boys were born in the early twenties and  are the little boys in the picture below on the Sinclair house steps. Their little sister Irene, born in 1925 is being held by Nannie, their mother Jean is in the black tie.  Lizzie (with the glasses) and Jessie are on the right side.

The picture above shows Lizzie is sitting on the same steps with her brother Bill.  My sister Janice and I have said his wild hair gene may have been passed down to her son!  The postcard that appears to be in a car has Lizzie at the back (in the glasses), Nellie holding Irene but I'm not sure of the other two sitting in the front seat.  Hopefully my blog readers can help me identify them!

Happy Easter!

Talon Brooches

I'm baaack!  You must have guessed that I'm not finished with my stories now that the 52 Weeks is over since you're here.  There's so many more great stories to tell.  I can't say it will be every week but I have more to write about and keep learning more by hearing from family connections through this blog!

I published my year's worth of blog posts into a book using Blurb.ca that you can see the link to here   I had 2 copies printed, one for my Mom and Dad and one for me, and am really pleased with the finished product!  

But now to today's post.  The above wedding photo of my Mom's grandparents, Jeannie Morrison Jamieson and Alexander Milne was recently sent to me from cousin Greg from B.C.  It would have been taken near Rothiemay, Scotland where they were married on December 24, 1897. I put the picture on my computer as a desktop background and then noticed the interesting brooch on her neck as enlarged below.

 

It looks like a claw of some poor animal but it also brought back a memory for my kids as something they loved to play with at Grandma and Grandpa's house at Oak River.  On my last visit there, I found them in the box of toys and took the photos below.  With a bit of help from Google, I found that these are Bird Talon Brooches!  I have links to a few pages of similar ones here , here and here  

 The one above seems to be from a ptarmigan as is written about in this blog. She says:

Since the Victorian era when Scottish jewellery became popular, the birds foot of the Ptarmigan has been used in the jewellery industry, to produce claw brooches.
Originally worn on kilts, shawls and cloaks - it was prized for good luck especially when on a game hunting trip. Still very collectible vintage jewellery today.

It seems they were made in Scotland as well as Birmingham, England in the Victorian era, mid 1800's to 1900.

The one above is more like the one Jeannie is wearing in the photo and it looks a little worse for wear with only 2 talons remaining.  It would seem to be from a falcon, as it has less fur. 

These brooches originally belonged to my Dad's Mom's sister, Lizzie Sinclair Morcom.  She is pictured above in with her husband Jack in a Souvenir Photo from the Sheraton-Brock Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  The photo was likely taken when they were in Toronto for the Royal Winter Fair with their heavy horses, maybe in the forties.  Jack was from England and his father was a gold miner, in South Africa and later Bisset, Manitoba.  The brooches may have belonged to his mother or perhaps were given as gifts to Lizzie.  They are certainly unique and would raise eyebrows if worn today!  

Week 19 - John "Jack" Morcom

Jack Morcom (1899 - 1983)

Jack, husband to my Great Aunt Lizzie, was born on May 2, 1899 in St. Day, near the southern tip of Cornwall, England.  His father was William James Isaac Morcom and his mother was Nannie Michell.  He went to school at St Day School and also Truno College.   He came to Canada at the age of 14 with his mother and older brother Harry to live at NE 28-14-22.  A younger brother Bert stayed in England for a few years before joining them.  Jack's father was employed as a mining engineer in South Africa.   He came to Canada too but rather than farm, he worked searching for gold for the Central Manitoba Mines at Bissett , east of Lake Winnipeg, until he retired in 1935. Uncle Jack began farming for himself in 1927.

Although she was not certain, Aunt Dodie thought this picture was Jack's parents.

Below is the obituary for Jack's parents, found online from Roots Web.  (Gerry Perry had some old issues of the Oak River Post and typed many articles onto an online message board in 2002. These clippings have been so helpful to me in my family research.)

From the Oak River Post, Oak River, MB (now changed to The Blanshard-Harrison-Strathclair Post, Newdale, Man.)  11/9/1939  

MR. AND MRS. W. J. I. MORCOM, OAK RIVER, DIE WITHIN THREE DAYS
The Oak River community was profoundly shocked last week when two highly respected residents, in the persons of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. I. MORCOM, passed away within exactly three days of each other.
At 10:30 a.m. Thursday Mrs. MORCOM expired, following a slight stroke suffered the previous Sunday. The funeral took place Saturday afternoon to the Oak River cemetery, Rev. H. J. HARLAND officiating. The pallbearers were Messrs. J. A. HYNDMAN, H. H. GLINZ, W. SINCLAIR, Robt. GRAHAM, Rupert JONES and G. H. THOMPSON.
At 10;30 a.m. Sunday Mr. MORCOM died in the arms of his son, W. H.
MORCOM. He had been in failing health for over a year, and was unable to withstand the shock of his wife's death. The funeral was held Monday afternoon, conducted by Rev. Mr. HARLAND. Interment was made in the Oak River cemetery, beside Mrs. MORCOM. The Cardale Masonic lodge, supported by Freemasons from throughout the district, conducted the last rites of the order at the graveside. The pallbearers were Messrs. J. A. HYNDMAN, S. W. SMITH, R. L. COCHRAN, S. J. MC CORMICK and M. A. HYNDMAN.
Mr. and Mrs. MORCOM (nee Nannie MICHELL) were both born in St. Day,
Cornwall, England, the former July 5, 1865, the latter Oct. 29, 1862. They were married at Pachuca, Mexico, Dec. 29, 1890, where Mr. MORCOM held a mining position and Mrs. MORCOM was living with her parents. Mrs. MORCOM and sons, W. H. and Jack, came to Oak River from England in 1914 and located on the present farm 5 miles north of town. A third son, Herbert, arrived from College in England in 1916. Mr. MORCOM came from his mining position in South Africa in 1920. Mr. and Mrs. MORCOM are survived by three sons, Councillor W. H. and Jack, Oak River, and Capt. Herbert, Montreal.
Mr. MORCOM devoted his life to mining and electrical engineering. He
spent two years in iron mining in Minnesota, followed by five years in silver mining in Mexico. In 1895 he moved to South Africa, and engaged in gold mining in the Whitwatersand and diamond mining at Kimberly until coming to Oak River. In 1937 he concluded ten years service as chief engineer with the Central Manitoba gold mines.
Mr. MORCOM possessed a strong and attractive personality. He was always interested in Freemasonry, holding membership in Craft, Mark, Royal Arch and other bodies. He was responsible for the organization of two lodges in S. Africa. He was elected and served for a number of years on the town council of Krugersdorp, S.A., a suburb of Johannesburg. He was also president of the Transvaal Cornish association. During the Boer war Mr. MORCOM served as captain quartermaster.

William (Bill)  Sinclair, his brother in law, is standing beside Jack in this studio portrait from Martel's Studio in Brandon. 

Jack married my Grandma's sister Elizabeth "Lizzie " Sinclair in December of 1930.  

They began farming the east half of 20-14-22.  Dad told me a funny story about this farm being overrun with rats.  He remembers being there one night and when they turned on the car lights, rats of every colour ran in all directions!  (It's only funny because I wasn't there!)

Thirteen years later Lizzie and Jack bought land a mile east.  Their house was located on SW 22-14-22, pictured above.  My Uncle Bob and Aunt Margaret moved to this farm in 1965 when Jack and Lizzie retired to live in Oak River.  The next quarter north of this one what was always called "The Homestead" by my family because it was her father's original homestead and has an interesting story here. 

Jack specialized in purebred Clydesdale horses and he exhibited them at all the local fairs.  At different times, he had horses chosen to compete in the Royal Winter Fair at Toronto.   Among his winnings there was a shield for the top Clydesdale gelding bred, born, raised and owned in Canada.  Friend and neighbour Jerry Sparling accompanied the Morcoms on one of these trips to Toronto. Uncle Jack was a recipient of The Order of the Crocus in 1967 to recognize his contributions to Canada. 

    

They took at least one trip to the "old country" in the 1950's to see friends and relatives of Jack's.  The picture on the left was taken of them in the Sinclair house in front of the fireplace in the parlour.  The other is a studio picture, likely from the 50's I am guessing.  They celebrated 50 years of marriage in 1980 where the photo below was taken. 

This photo above was taken on the steps of the Simms house in the 1970's.    I am the one wearing the scarf on my head (why?) and my sisters and Lizzie are behind us.  On the other side of Jack in the green shirt is Fiona Perry , a neighbour of Lizzie and Jack's who spent a lot of time with them.
 

I remember Uncle Jack with his pouch of tobacco in his shirt pocket and him rolling his own cigarettes with tobacco falling out everywhere!  He was always one to tease and I remember him fondly. 

Week 18 - Lizzie Sinclair Morcom

Lizzie Sinclair Morcom (1898 - 1988)

Elizabeth was sixth born in a family of eight to James Sinclair and Elizabeth Henry in 1898.  She was educated at Bankburn School near the family farm and lived at home until her marriage to a neighbour farmer, Jack Morcom in 1930.  Her siblings include Nellie, Jean and Alexander from previous weeks on this blog, as well as my grandmother Mary.  Lizzie is always easy to spot in family photos as she was the only one who wore glasses. Luckily for me, she was a "saver" and many of her old photos, letters, and postcards continue to help me tell her family's stories with this blog.  

Lizzie with her stepbrother Jimmie Henry.

Lizzie on the right with  (I think) her sister-in-law Jessie Henry Sinclair on the left.

I am so glad that she saved the letter below that was written to Lizzie from her future father in law, to welcome her to the Morcom family after she and Jack had made a "young folks agreement".  My favourite sentence is

Of course, we are getting old & cranky you may find it hard to bear with us at times, you are looking to the front and we have to cast glances behind us, some of those glances may be with great regret, but there are others full of real happiness which makes up a great deal.

The following clip from the Oak River Post was found on Roots-Web:

12/25/1930 MORCOM - SINCLAIR
A quiet wedding was solemnized in Brandon on Tuesday, (Dec. 16) when Lizzie, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James SINCLAIR, became the bride of John MORCOM, second son of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. I. MORCOM, both of Oak River, Man.
The bride was given in marriage by her brother, W. SINCLAIR, and Miss Jessie HENRY was in attendance. W. H. MORCOM, eldest brother of the bride-groom, acted as best man. Following the ceremony, Mr. and Mrs. MORCOM left for Winnipeg, Man., where they will be the guest of the groom's cousin, Mr. P. F. ROUSE, 128 Emily St. Later they will return to Oak River, Man.

----Winnipeg Tribune.

After she was married, Lizzie was active in community life being president of the Busy Bee Red Cross group which was active during WWII. She was also a volunteer with Hospital Aid, 4-H, and the Agricultural Society. Being a director of arts and fancy work for the Oak River Fair was a long time calling. Lizzie showed her crafts at all the surrounding fairs in the summer while Jack showed his horses.  She was also an active member of the Oak River United Church. She decorated many wedding cakes, did embroidery and other fancy work and knit heavy "Mary Maxim siwash" sweaters like they are wearing in the picture below with Mrs. Percy Rouse between them.

Lizzie was known for her flowers and the greenhouse she operated for many years.  She and Jack moved off the farm into  the town of Oak River in 1965 and she continued to be involved in her hobbies.  Lizzie was a recipient of The Order of the Crocus in 1967 for her contribution to the welfare and development of Canada. 

  

I remember as a kid when my sisters and I played in their basement while the adults visited upstairs by playing on a swing hanging from the floor joists.  What fun to swing in any weather, even if there was a cement floor underneath!  It certainly would not pass safety regulations today and especially when you twist up the swing! 

Aunt Lizzie died at age 90 in 1988 and Uncle Jack had died five years earlier. She was the last in the Sinclair family to pass on.   They are buried in the Oak River Cemetery and their memory lives on through their nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews as well as in the community that they helped in so many ways.