August 17th 1922

Toronto Daily Star 
Thursday August 17
1922
Toronto Public Library

The morning of August 17 1922 dawned warm and sunny in the Brooks household on 100 Sparkhall Avenue. It was going to be another hot one, which was to be expected in August in Toronto. The Toronto Star’s 5 o’clock edition noted a temperature of 78 degrees, cooler than the 93 degree high the day before when a “coat today felt like a woollen blanket” and it felt “as if Toronto were shifting towards the Sahara desert”. The thunderstorm on the 16th had cooled the city down to more pleasant temperatures.

This picture of my grandparents was taken in the early 1920s. Before they were married my grandfather William Thomas "Bill" Brooks had resided in a boarding house at 88 Main Street, and later 44 River Street. Both these residences no longer exist.

Might's City of Toronto Directory 1922, archive.org

Both provided easy access to the streetcar line taking him to his place of employment George Street downtown. My grandmother Gertrude Maud "Gertie" Kingswell boarded at 29 Saulter Street (now a park) and took the Queen car down to her job as a stenographer at Eaton's. Her younger sister Chrissie worked alongside her older sister at Eaton's as a packer.

Might's Greater Toronto City Directory, 1920, archive.org

Might's City of Toronto Directory 1922, archive.org

Downtown Toronto 1920s. City of Toronto Archives

Gertie had moved back to her parents' home on 471 Queen Street East shortly before her marriage. The couple were married on June 7th 1921 in her parents’ living room by Reverend George I.B. Johnson of St. Saviour’s Anglican church. Home marriages were still popular in the 1920s but probably chosen in this case due to the difference in religions - Gertie’s family were strict Anglicans and Bill's were staunch Presbyterians. Bill’s family remained in Scarborough but Gertie likely wished to be close to her family on Queen Street (currently an empty lot). The house on Sparkhall Avenue seemed to be a perfect choice.

This is a picture of the house today. It's a lovely tree lined street busy with moms with their babies and dog lovers heading to the park with their pups

I was surprised at how quickly the couple purchased a home, especially as the cost would have been managed on one salary. Mortgages would have been secured from the bank at a rate in the 6% range, and according to the FSCO (Financial Services Commission of Ontario) website only monthly interest was paid on the loan while the borrower saved towards repayment of the original sum in full. This practice would lead many borrowers to financial ruin in the 1930s, including the Brooks. However, the 1921 census showed that 46% of residents of Toronto owned their home so many took advantage of the opportunity. 

The 1920s were indeed roaring in Toronto. The home was new when Bill and Gertie purchase it and according to the 1922 Toronto Assessment Roll was assessed at $1,000 and the land at $560. 

City of Toronto Assessment Roll, Ward No. 1, Div. No 3, page 119, May 20 1922

Toronto Globe, July 9 1921

   

In 1922 Bill worked as a Purchasing Agent and Timekeeper for John Hillock and Company, Refrigeration Manufacturers, after starting in the shipping department. A timekeeper kept track of hours worked by employees for payroll purposes. Hopefully the Brooks received an employee discount that helped them purchase this fine Arctic Refrigerator, one of Hillock's finest products! Bill likely earned a respectable $1,500/yr according to the 1921 census.

Located in the Riverdale area of Toronto, Sparkhall Avenue runs between Broadview and Logan Avenues. There were lots of activities available in the area for a young couple in the early 1920s. Riverdale Park was the perfect location for strolls, picnics and baseball games.

Riverdale Park 1922, City of Toronto Archives

The Riverdale Zoo had an astonishing number of exotic animals for all to marvel at.

Toronto Zoo, 1926, City of Toronto Archives

At the other end of Sparkhall there was Withrow Park with an outdoor skating rink. There were shops and services within an easy walking distance. The amazing Sunnyside Pavilion had opened earlier that year and would be a fun place to bathe and dance the night away. The Star on August 15th noted that “ Sunnyside in the west and the beaches in the east proved the most attractive spots to citizens. The former was simply crowded last night. As one humorist put it, there are so many automobiles flashing by at Sunnyside that there is bound to be a breeze”. 

Sunnyside 1922, Toronto Public Library digital archives

Center Island was an easy ferry ride away. And later in August the CNE would open with fun in the midway and tasty treats in the Pure Foods Building. Bill would likely have visited on Warriors Day to march with fellow World War One veterans and enjoy free admission to the park.

Warriors' Day 1922, City of Toronto Archives

It had been a hot few weeks and summer activities would have beckoned to Toronto residents. But on August 17 1922 Bill and Gertie had other matters to think about. Gertie would have resigned her position at Eaton’s at the time of her marriage as was the custom in the day. It would have been expected that she remain at home to manage the household. The Eaton’s catalogue of the time would have provided all the best supplies for a 1920s home and it was an easy car ride down to the store on Queen Street to shop. 

Eaton's Fall and Winter Catalogue 1920-21, archive.org

All that was needed to complete the home was a family. Gertie came from a family of 8 children that survived infancy, a large family for the time. According to the 1921 census the average family size was 2.35. Bill had only two brothers. This was a small family given that the family farmed and would have needed the help. Bill had no interest in the family farm and moved into the city as soon as he could, as did his brother George, leaving the middle brother John to take over the Agincourt farm.

The families were close and the young couple likely entertained at home. Gertie was a talented musician and loved to play the Heintzman piano that would have had a place of honour in the home’s living room. She also loved to read. But there would be no time for any of these entertainments today. For today Gertie would give birth to her first child. 

The birth certificate doesn’t give the time of the birth and for some reason I never thought to ask my dad when he was born. Given the heat of the day I hope it was early! Hospital births were becoming more common in 1922. There was a hospital in the area but the Riverdale Hospital was restricted to patients suffering from communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, and was known as the Isolation Hospital. Toronto East General was not built until 1929. So Gertie gave birth at home, attended by Dr. Roy Belfry whose office was located around the corner on Broadview in a fine home that still stands today. Her mom Fanny likely was also there to help her daughter through her first labour and perhaps one or more of her sisters.

I found this birth announcement in my grandmother’s papers. It was probably clipped from the Toronto Telegram which was my grandparents’ newspaper of choice given its Conservative slant. Unfortunately the Telegram hasn’t been digitized so I wasn’t able to produce a better copy but I did what I could to minimize the stains. Unfortunately neither the Star nor the Globe had a notification.

He was cute as a button and his parents were obviously pleased to have their first son. Gordon Russell Brooks was the first grandchild for John Andrew Brooks and Martha Walker. He was the fifth grandchild for Charles Kingswell and Frances Mary Wilkes. In the future there would be many Kingswell and Brooks cousins to visit and play with. Russ was joined in 1925 by his beloved brother Mel. My dad died on 29 September 1992 just past his 70th birthday. I miss him every day. Happy 100th birthday Daddy!

Branching Out: The Beslers of Landestreu

Heimat Galizien im Bild,  Hilfskomitee der Galiziendeutschen 

I've been researching my grandfather’s family in Galicia lately which is a perfect lead in for this month’s topic. The picture above is Landestreu, Galicia. My grandfather Jacob Besler left his home there in 1902 at the age of 18 to emigrate to Canada. He never returned to his homeland and never again saw most of his family. I don’t know if he exchanged letters with his family. If he did the letters have not survived. He was busy raising his own family and trying to survive in the harsh climate of Saskatchewan but he must have thought of his parents and siblings and wondered what became of them. Here’s what I discovered.

My grandfather was the 8th of 10 children born to Johann Heinrich Besler and Maria Barbara Baumung as well as the youngest son. Large families were common in the village of Landestreu and land was scarce. Most of the inhabitants of the village were described as Grundwirts or Landwirts which translates to farmer in English. A promising future was not in store for young Jacob so his decision to emigrate to Canada made sense. You can read my earlier blog post about his journey here. 

Survival into adulthood was difficult. Many children in these large families did not make it past their first year. Heinrich and Barbara’s first child Johann Christian was born in 1868. Their next four children died young: Katharina Elisabeth born in 1871 lived 2 1/2 months and died of Schwäche (weakness), Johann Philipp born in 1872 lived 8 months and died of Zahnen (teething), Jakob Adolf born in 1874 lived to 6 1/2 and died of Auszehrung (weakness/emaciation, possibly tuberculosis) and Maria Katharina born in 1876 lived just 3 weeks before succumbing to fraise (infant spasms). In other families masern (measles), keuchhusten (whooping cough) and rachitis (rickets) claimed many children, causes of infant mortality that we don’t see any more. Luckily for the Beslers their last 5 children were healthy and lived well into adulthood.

Heinrich died on 28 Nov 1912 at the age of 69 from some sort of cranial issue, perhaps a stroke? (Gehirnenig). Barbara died on 26 Oct 1920 at the age of 73 of Alterschwäche (old age). When Jacob married in 1915 he noted that both his parents were dead which leads me to believe that he did not receive letters from his family once he settled in Canada. Perhaps mail wasn’t coming through during WWI leading him to guess that they were dead. 

Record book of deaths. Ugartsthal-Landestreu commune agad.gov.pl

Once the senior Beslers died their oldest son Christian took over the family residence House #7. He had married Eleonora Löwenberger in 1895 and was listed as a Grundwirt or Landmann.

Record book of Weddings, Ugartsthal-Landestreu commune, agad.gov.pl

The couple had 8 children that I know of. I don’t know when or where Christian or Eleonora died nor the fate of 4 of their children.  Fred and his wife Minnie emigrated to Canada, settling in Winnipeg. My mother was close to their daughter Eleanor. Minnie and her husband Wilhelm Schick settled in Toronto. John settled in Toronto as well. 

I wasn’t able to determine the fate of Johann Georg Besler born in 1878. Perhaps he died young or moved to another village in Galicia.

Eleonora Besler married Johann Friedrich Lowenberger in 1896 and had 9 children that I know of. Friedrich died in 1920 of the Spanish Flu, one of a number of relatives that succumbed to the deadly virus. I don’t know of Eleanor’s fate but she remained in Europe. Two of the 9 children emigrated to Canada: Fred and his wife Hedwig and George and his wife Irma settled in Toronto.

Katharina Besler married Johann Reihl in 1913. They had one child that I am aware of. I do not know their fate.

Finally Dorothea Besler married Rudolf Kandel in 1906. This is the only sibling that my grandfather even saw again. First Rudy then Dorothy emigrated to Canada in 1912 with their two eldest children. They settled in Brandon Manitoba. My mother has fond memories of her Aunt Dorothy and stayed in touch with her cousins even when she moved to Toronto.

Hamburg Passenger Lists 1850-1934, ancestry.ca

Jacob and Dorothy were the lucky ones as they left Galicia before the first World War. The inhabitants suffered greatly but many residents remained even after the territory was divided after the War. Things improved in the inter war years but little did they know that the worst was yet to come in the form of World War Two. 

In 1939 Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union as a result of the Ribbentrop-Molotov agreement. One of the terms of this agreement was that those of German ethnic background were to be relocated from the Russian area to the German area. So the residents of Landestreu had to leave; likely they did not want to stay in Russian controlled territories though it was a difficult decision to leave their homeland. Always particular, the Nazis created Einwandererzentralstelle forms, translated as Immigration Centre documents. The documents were stored in the Berlin Document Centre and captured by the American army at the end of the war. Starting in 1939 hundreds of thousands of people were recorded as they packed up to leave their homes. 

In English Landestreu means “faithful land” and the Beslers were indeed faithful to their land. The family moved to Landestreu from Biedesheim in the Rheinland Palatinate in the late 1700s. The village was founded in 1783 and my 4x great grandfather Konrad Besler was listed on the first census of residents taken in 1788.   

 

Ludwig Schneider, Das Kolonisationswert Josefs II in Galizien

This was the only home they had ever known. Despite speaking German and worshipping in the Lutheran church their ties to German were very weak. They were moved to camps in German controlled territories in Poland and often into farms that were cleared of their original Polish inhabitants. The intent was that they would produce food and provide other services to support Germany and the Nazi war machine. 

The Galizien German Descendants has indexed many of the EWZ forms relating to Galizien residents.  The forms from 1940-1941 are available on Family Search to view. I was not able to find my great Uncles and Aunts though I did find a variety of more distant cousins. Then, by chance I realized I was looking at one of my mother’s cousins. Her record had not been indexed and I found it as I browsed the records looking for someone else.

Eleonora Besler was born on 13 May 1900, the second daughter and third child to Johann Christian Besler and Eleonora Löwenberger. Her birth record is not yet available but I located the record of her marriage to Jakob Weiss on 15 February 1920. 

 

Record book of Weddings, Ugartsthal-Landestreu commune, agad.gov.pl

After her marriage she lived a quiet life in Landestreu, until she presented herself and her 17 year old daughter Alwine to authorities in Pabianice on 23 February 1940. They had been moved from their home in Landestreu to nearby Manasterczany then to Zdunska Wola, near Łodz for processing. Today this is a 10 hour drive. Eleonora and Alwine likely spent many more hours on a train to get to the relocation camp. The photos are poignant. They look apprehensive and rightly so. They were headed to an unknown future in a new town. They were separated from Jakob who had apparently already been relocated. The form notes that they are of Polish nationality, the Evangelisch (Lutheran) religion and of the Aryan race (not likely that anyone would say otherwise to this question!). They both wished to apply for German citizenship. At the bottom a physical description is added by hand. Eleonora is 156 cm tall, slim with blond hair and blue eyes. Alwine is 148 cm tall, slim with blond hair and light brown eyes.

Stamblätter 1940-1941, Deutschland Einwandererzentralstelle FamilySearch.org    

 

Their post-war fate is unknown but likely tragic given their location in the path of the advancing Soviet army.  It was a sad end to what began as hopeful emigration and emphasizes how fortuitous my grandfather’s decision to emigrate was.  

To conclude here is a German newsreel clip from early in 1940 showing Galician emigrants in the course of their journey. 

No names are provided but likely some of the people in this film were my family members. The enthusiastic greeting by the Nazis was no doubt put on for the camera - I’ve seen anecdotal evidence that their possessions were stolen and compensation for the loss of their lands never provided. Today Landestreu is in western Ukraine and has been renamed Zelenyi Yar. The fate of this area of the world is once again uncertain.

Foundations - Archibald Thomson

This year I've decided to participate in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project. The topic for week 1 is Foundations. The word foundation applies to my 5x great grandfather Archibald Thomson in so many ways.

He’s the foundation of my family in Canada and indeed North America. Archibald was born in Westerkirk, Dumfriesshire, Scotland on 22 Jan 1747. He initially settled in New York State, emigrating from Scotland in 1773. I’ve written about his decision to stay loyal to the British crown in an earlier post, you can read this story here. He first petitioned for land in Kingston in 1790, becoming the earliest settler in Canada in my family. 

Library and Archives Canada, Upper Canada Land Petitions "T" Bundle Misc. RG 1 L3 Vol 511

While in Kingston Archibald was a model citizen, part of the foundation of this young community. He was granted town lots 34 and 35 in Kingston and subsequently was granted a water lot to build a wharf. In 1791 he is mentioned by the Upper Canada Land Board in regards to the land petition of John Catin who was previously refused land on the suspicion of his being a disorderly character. On 14 Dec 1791 the board heard that he had been in the employ of Archibald for a year and had behaved in an orderly, sober and industrious manner. Archibald also engaged to put of a house for him on the lot. The land was granted him accordingly.

Library and Archives Canada, Upper Canada Land Board Dec 14 1791 p.333 Vol. 7

 And this brings to another way in which Archibald is a foundation - he was a master carpenter. He was involved in other projects besides helping Mr. Catin and erected a wharf. His biggest endeavour was to act as the general contractor and carpenter on the first church in Kingston - Old St. George’s, erected in 1792. This was the oldest Anglican parish in Ontario founded in 1785.  According to "The Parish Register of Kingston Upper Canada 1785-1811" on January 9 1792 Archibald was retained to construct the church. His account totalled £113, 7, 3.

The Parish Register of Kingston Upper Canada 1785-1811 A.H.Young 1921

Not only did Archibald build the church, but his family attended the church and he served as vestry man and warden. Archibald also was a benefactor donating £2 to the church. It is worth noting that the Thomson family were staunch Presbyterians. However, at this point in time only Anglican churches were available. The Reverend John Stuart was the minister at the Kingston church and a fellow Loyalist. It is possible they were acquainted during their time in NY state and involvement with the Mohawk nation. In 1825 construction began on a new church. I haven’t been able to determine what happened to the original church; it was likely demolished. 

The Thomsons owned property and resided in Fredericksburg Township and the town of Newark (now Niagara on the Lake) before moving to the town of York. There they would have encountered Reverend Stuart’s son George Okill Stuart who had been appointed  minister of St. James Church.  He was appointed in 1801 and the original church was begun in 1807 and completed in 1809. There he married Archibald’s daughter Elizabeth in 1806 and baptized her daughter Mary in 1808.

Finally Archibald was the foundation of the Thomson family in Canada. Archibald was the second oldest of 8 children born to Andrew Thomson and Jannet Scott. His older brother William remained in Westerkirk but Archibald was followed to North American by his younger brothers Andrew and David. In 1796 he petitioned the Crown for land for his brothers as he had become accomplished in the process. The Petition notes that the family is on their way from Britain

Library and Archives Canada Upper Canada Land Petitions "T" Bundle 2 1796-1797 RG1 L 3 Volume 495

The brothers initially settled in the town of York then moved further east to settle in the new area of Scarborough. David and his family became the first family to settle in Scarborough and he and his wife Mary are commonly known as the mother and father of Scarborough. Once the Thomsons settled in Scarborough they donated land on which St. Andrew’s Church was erected in 1818, the first Presbyterian Church erected in Scarborough. Archibald died in 1819 and is buried at St. Andrews with his wife Elizabeth and his brothers.