Law and Order in Lucan

From the 1850s through to the 1880s, Lucan, Ontario had a reputation as "the most lawless town in Canada" and "the wildest town in Canada."

Exeter Times, 24 Sep 1874, page 2.

No mention of whether any Culberts were involved in these stonings, either on the throwing end or the receiving end.

The stonings took place in 1874, the same year as the Whiskey Riot. 

Never a dull moment in old Lucan town.

The Carscallen Kids Meet Their Grandmothers

Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while...but our hearts forever.
- author unknown

Left to right: Ann Jane (Wilde) Carscallen, Charles Newton "Charlie" Carscallen, Kathleen Ethel "Kay" Carscallen, and Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert, c1912.

These two Culbert descendant children, Charlie and Kay Carscallen are enjoying a day with both their grandmothers. Up until around the time this photo was taken, these children had never met either of their grandmothers!

Today, children can easily see and talk to their grandmothers via Skype. However, in the early 1900s, Charlie and Kay wouldn't have heard their grandmothers' voices until they met them. And having never met them, the only image of their grandmothers may have come from a black and white photograph, if they'd had one.

Charles Newton "Charlie" Carscallen (1906-2007) and his sister, Kathleen Ethel "Kay" Carscallen (1908-2003) were the children of educational missionaries, Hulda May Culbert and Rev. Charles Rupert Carscallen.

The woman on the right of the photo is Charlie and Kay's maternal grandmother, Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert (1858-1949) of Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario; wife of Richard Culbert (1853-1932). 

The woman on the left is their paternal grandmother, Ann Jane (Wilde) Carscallen (1839-1925) of Dresden, Ontario; wife of Isaac Newton Carscallen (1828-1912).

The photo looks like it was taken at the Culbert homestead (Poplar Farm) on the Coursey Line near Lucan, Ontario. That's where the children's Culbert grandparents lived, and that's where their mother, Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen was born.

This photo was taken while the Carscallen family were on furlough; a leave of absence given to missionary families in China so that they might visit their families abroad. The Carscallens first furlough was from late 1911 to 1913 so this photo was taken somewhere in that time period.

Little Charlie and his sister, Kay would welcome two more sisters later but for now, they were the sole recipients of their grandmothers' affections. Charlie and Kay were born in China and up until this furlough, they'd spent all their young lives there; this being the first time they'd met their grandmothers.

Charlie and Kay grew up and raised families of their own. Their great-grandchildren have methods of communicating with their grandparents that were unheard of a hundred years ago! Who knows what the future holds for their descendants?

How Many Culberts Can Fit on a Couch?

How many Culberts can fit on a couch? This group of first cousins shows us how it's done!

c1949-1950

Left to right:  
Terry Culbert and his sister, Dana Culbert
Wayne Culbert  
Greg Culbert holding baby cousin Ian Culbert 
Vicky Culbert (in front) 
Cam Culbert  
Marilyn Culbert

They all share the same set of grandparents: Myron Culbert and Effie Taylor from Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario.

Wayne died in 2016 so we're missing someone. But I'd like to see the rest of these cousins try to recreate this photo today!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 
I'd like to thank those of you who took advantage of the sale at Ancestry.ca to order your DNA test.  

You already know you're Irish but you may find other regions listed on your Ancestry DNA Ethnicity Estimate map as well. Keep in mind that the map is just an estimate and can't pinpoint exactly where your ancestors are from. Consider the map more of a toy than a tool. 

Also, we don't know for certain where the Culberts came from back in the mists of time before they migrated to Ireland. Some say they were French Huguenots; others say they were from Scotland.
 

Could the Culberts be from Scotland? Terry Culbert's ready, just in case.

For family historians like me, the best part of the DNA test isn't the Ethnicity Estimate map; it's looking at your DNA Matches. Your "matches" are other relatives who've taken the test whose DNA matches yours. That's where the treasure lies as far as my research is concerned.

I won't bore you with the ins and outs of how I do my research with your DNA results. I'll simply say that your DNA will help me fill in the blanks in our family tree. It's also possible that your DNA will help me trace other Culbert/Colbert families who are related to us, and who emigrated from Ireland or who may still be living there. And finally (fingers crossed) your DNA might help us discover the identities of our ancestors in Ireland, and find out where they lived. 

St. Patrick's Day is the last day of the sale. Every Culbert descendant who takes the test contributes to our research. Thank you. 

Now drink up, cousins!

p.s. Here's what Terry's cousin, Phil Culbert says about this photo...

“You can tell that my Cousin Terry is not a real Scotsman as a true Scotsman would not be wearing a pair of pants under his kilt. In fact, a proud Scotsman would not be wearing anything under his kilt.  Terry is, in fact, a true Irishman and as such by wearing the long pants under his kilt, he is protecting the integrity of the Culbert Shillelagh.“ 

The Colbert Report

♫Potato potahto tomato tomahto Culbert Colbert♫

Are the Culberts and the Colberts all from the same gene pool? DNA testing says yes! At least in some cases, we can be certain that the Culberts and Colberts are one big happy family.

It’s been said that our surname Culbert may have been Colbert in Ireland.[1] We don’t know for certain but it’s possible that our family changed the spelling to Culbert at some point after they came to Canada. Some families in Canada kept the original spelling Colbert while others replaced the “o” with a “u.” Families in Ireland tend to have varied the spelling as well.

Let’s look at Susanna Ward’s headstone in the photo below (Susanna was the mother of John Culbert’s wife, Mary (Ward) Culbert.)

Headstone of Susanna Ward and her son, William Ward in St. James Cemetery near Lucan, Ontario. Erected by Mary Colbert. Photo by Cheryl Claridge.

Notice that the headstone says "Erected by Mary Colbert in memory of her mother, Susanna Ward." The engraving shows Colbert with an “o.” Was this an error or had our family not yet changed the spelling to Culbert? We don’t know.

What is clear is that our Culberts have a DNA connection to the Colberts who settled in London Township (south of Biddulph Township), and to the Colberts of Goulbourn Township much further north near Ottawa. Some of these Colberts arrived in Canada in 1818, long before our Culberts arrived in 1840.

So if the names Culbert and Colbert are connected, is Steven Colbert our long lost cousin?

Possibly, but it’s a stretch. His ancestors came from Ireland just as ours did. Steven is Roman Catholic whereas our family are Protestants. However, Steven’s great-grandparents were married in the Lutheran Church so the conversion to Catholicism was recent in the grand scheme of things. So who knows?

If we can find out how we’re related to the London Township Colberts and the Goulbourn Township Colberts, we might be able to trace our roots back further in Ireland. But to do this, we need more Culbert descendants to take the Ancestry DNA test. Now is the perfect time to order your DNA kit. It’s on sale until St. Patrick’s Day! Please help us solve this puzzle as well as many more mysteries by taking the Ancestry DNA test.

Footnotes: ​ 

[1]Pioneers to the Present: Biddulph Township Sesquicentennial History Book 1850-2000, Lucan, Ont. : Corp. of the Township of Biddulph, 1998, 408.

Third Cousins

Third cousins? You mean I have more than just first cousins and second cousins? 

That’s right, folks! And I’m here to explain.

Let’s review, shall we? No, this isn’t a conspiracy meant to drive you insane although you may need to lie down with a cold compress and a hot cup of tea by the end of this.

What kind of cousins you are (first, second, third, etc.) depends on the most recent ancestor you share with your relative.

Your first cousin is someone with whom your closest (most recent) common ancestors are a set of grandparents. In other words, your first cousin is the child of your mother’s sibling or your father’s sibling. 

Your second cousin is someone with whom your closest common ancestors are a set of great-grandparents. You don’t share grandparents with your second cousin though. Click here for a refresher.

To demonstrate the meaning of third cousins, I (Mary Jane Culbert) have enlisted the assistance of my third cousin, Michael Gordon Dunsmore Culbert of North Bay, Ontario.

Michael Gordon Dunsmore "Mike" Culbert: my third cousin

Mike Culbert and I are third cousins. Our closest common ancestors are a set of great-great-grandparents named John Culbert and MaryWard. You might have heard of them?

 

John Culbert & Mary Ward are the great-great-grandparents of Mike Culbert & Mary Jane Culbert. These are the closest set of ancestors shared by Mike & Mary Jane. That makes Mike & Mary Jane 3rd cousins.

Mike and I don’t share grandparents. We don’t share great-grandparents either. However, we do share great-great-grandparents. 

My great-grandfather was Richard Culbert. Michael’s great-grandfather was Thomas Culbert. Our great-grandfathers Richard Culbert & Thomas Culbert were brothers, and their parents were John Culbert & Mary Ward. John Culbert & Mary Ward (our great-great-grandparents) are the closest set of ancestors from which we are both direct descendants.

Third cousins have a set of great-great-grandparents as their most recent common ancestors.

Got it? Good. Because we’re moving on now to third cousins, once removed. 

To demonstrate, I’ve enlisted the help of my third cousin, once removed ... Jillian (Culbert) Fleming of Powassan, Ontario.

Jill (Culbert) Fleming: my third cousin, once removed.

Jill (Culbert) Fleming is Mike Culbert’s daughter.

You already learned the meaning of “once removed” when you read about “first cousins, once removed.” Click here if you’ve forgotten. 

One generation of difference equals one remove. 

Jill is one generation removed (apart) from me and her father. Jill’s father Mike Culbert is my third cousin so Jill is my third cousin, once removed.

Mike Culbert (my 3rd cousin) with his daughter, Jill (my 3rd cousin, once removed)

Now that you're up to speed with the terms first cousin, second cousin, third cousin, and of course, “once removed,” you’ll understand when you read this article about how Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are third cousins through Queen Victoria, and are also second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark.

Cousins. Fun for the whole family!

Culbert Family History Blog's First Anniversary

Happy 1st anniversary to the Culbert Family History blog!

Mary (Ward) Culbert pops her cork! This is the earliest known photo of the John Culbert-Mary Ward family c1865. For details about original photo click here.

The Culbert Family History blog began on 7 March 2018 when I posted The John Culbert - Mary Ward Family: Nine Branches followed that same day by JOHN CULBERT & MARY WARD: Their 11 Children.

Since then, we've covered a lot of territory and there's much more to come.

Thanks to all you Culbert descendants, near and far, who have contributed to the blog. 

Now let's get this party started!

In Search of Family Photos

Calling all Culbert descendants!

Do you have any family photos to share with us? 

Terrence Patrick "Terry" Culbert with his first camera. Photo taken in his darkroom at home in Lucan, Ontario, 1959.

If you're a descendant of John Culbert & Mary Ward and if you have photos to contribute from any era, please email me. Otherwise, we're eventually going to run out of images to post on the Culbert Family History blog.

My email address is:

Thank you!