genbio's
 
 
NOTICE
     The administrator of this site, Al Henderson, will be "offline" for all of 2004 and, quite possibly, 2005. What this means to you is that there will not likely be any updates posted online during this time nor will I be reachable via e-mail. 
     I will, nonetheless, continue to do research and am always open to being contacted by other researchers. You can write to me at:
Al Henderson
1883 West Fraser Rd.
Quesnel, British Columbia     V2J 6J6
Canada
A Few Biographical Notes
please understand that this page is still "under construction"

 
     In the interest of space and "readability", I will refrain from using such statements as 'so far as we know', since that can, pretty much, be assumed of anything we might include in our family histories. Let us just accept that everything appearing on this page represents what I believe to be correct at the time of writing.
     Rather than stick this at the bottom of the page, I will ask, right now - if you have any information on these people or believe that we might be, somehow, related ... do, please, drop me a note, using the e-mail link below. Thanks - and I hope you enjoy this page!
     Oh - one more thing ... most of these photo's can be viewed at a larger magnification (and, sometimes, even more clearly) by right-clicking on the image and, then, choosing "view image". (This is, at least, the command which I choose, using Netscape in Windows95.) Use your browser's "Back" button to return to this page.

The HENDERSON Family

     Seen in the photo' below, taken at Niagara Falls around 1929, are (left-to-right) Donald Bruce HENDERSON, Edwirt Bruce HENDERSON, Robert Irwin HENDERSON and Dorothy Jane (DYNES) HENDERSON.
     Bruce (as Edwirt was known) was born in Hamilton, Ontario, 1899 ... the second child of Ed & Essa HENDERSON. At the young age of eight, Bruce was run over by a street car - losing one leg, above the knee. Apparently, this didn't hold him back, too much ... he developed his upper body stength and, as a young man, performed acrobatic stunts as part of a Vaudeville act with his sister, Lois. Musically gifted, Bruce could play a wide range of instruments and even assembled and led an orchestra.
     As an adult, Bruce had two radio shows - one on radio station CKTB, in St. Catherines, and the other - appearing as "Ed Bruce, The Old Philosopher" - on Brantford's station CKPC. Always interested in sports (although his leg prevented him from playing many) he coached & managed teams in both softball and basketball. In Hamilton, he was very active in the local YMCA ... and, in Niagara Falls, he managed the team that won the 1931 Dominion Basketball Championship. [In the event that anyone reading this can help, I would dearly like to find a photograph of that team!]
     In 1934, at the still young age of 35, Bruce was helping some Brantford neighbors de-limb a tree, when one limb struck him on the head. He was dead before reaching the hospital. As a sign of the high esteem in which he was held, the two softball teams that had been runners-up in the Ontario Championships - Calvary and Slingsbys - staged a benefit game, to aid the widow & children of Bruce "Pee Wee" HENDERSON.
     Dorothy Jane Dynes, born in Ingersoll, Ontario, in 1901, was the second of seven children born to Thomas Irwin and Ellen Jane (WATSON) DYNES. As a child, Dorothy's parents could never figure out why she managed to go through shoes so quickly ... until the day that they caught her playing football with the neighborhood boys! Perhaps that was part of the attraction between herself and Bruce, he being so sports-oriented.
     Donald Bruce HENDERSON was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1924 ... and, since he has a "spot" of his own, below, we'll leave it at that, for now. (*grin*) And, since I won't put any personal matter, related to living people, on this site ... and Robert is - as far as I know - still living ... I guess that's it, for "The Hendersons".
Anna Estella WEAVER
Born in Ancaster Twp., Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada on 21 April 1873, Anna Estella - or Essie, as she was more commonly known - was the only daughter of Ephraim WEAVER and Priscilla Francis MILLER. Essie grew up in and around Jerseyville with her two brothers, Walter and Albert.
     At a rather young age (around 10 or 11 yrs. old) she became interested in her family's history and began asking questions ... first, of those family members close by and, later, in letters written to distant relatives wherever she could find them. She kept up her interest for most of her life ... and it is through the efforts and vision of Essie that we have such an understanding of her branch of our family! She had the foresight to not only "keep a diary" but to keep those diaries - along with letters, notes and photographs - and pass them down for future generations!
     Now, just across the Ancaster/Beverly townline, in Lynden, there lived a handsome young man by the name of David Edwirt (Ed) HENDERSON, son of William HENDERSON and Mary Jane VANSICKLE. We don't know know just when or under what circumstances Ed and Essie met ... but it must have gone rather well, as they married on 22 April 1891. [more about Anna Estella]
Some of the McGRATH and COUSINS family members
Maud (McLEOD) COUSINS, with her son, William SOWERBY
Richard COUSINS
Olive Gertrude COUSINS
     Well, unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything about Olive - although I'd like to! - because, fortunately, she's still with us. I will say this, though ... isn't this a sweet photo' of Ollie and her dollie? (*grin*)
Andrew K. and Melissa E. (VANSICKLE) MILLER
Donald Bruce HENDERSON
VANSICKLE, MILLER, WEAVER and HENDERSON
     This terrific photo', taken around 1895 or '96, shows four generations of women in this family!
     On the far left, is Melissa VANSICKLE - the elder of these four. Melissa was born to  William Clossen VANSICKLE and Anne Elizabeth STENABAUGH - one of fifteen children, in fact! - in 1833. She married Andrew Kitcher MILLER and had five children of her own. Melissa passed away in 1917.
     Seated on the far right is Melissa's daughter, Priscilla Frances MILLER, born about 1853. Priscilla married Ephraim WEAVER, in Lynden, Ontario, on 22 May 1872. Together, they had but three children - a far cry from the performance of Priscilla's grandparents (*wink*)! Priscilla died in 1930.
Standing next to Melissa is her grand-daughter, Anna Estella (Essie) WEAVER. By the time this photograph was taken, she was Essie HENDERSON, having married Ed HENDERSON in 1891. Ed and Essie had three children - Daisy Melissa, Edwirt Bruce and Lois. Essie was a small woman, with a wry smile and a twinkle in her sharp eyes. In fact, in one photo', taken in the late 1920s to early '30s, she looks more like a pixie than any pixie I've seen! On 7 May 1955, Anna Estella WEAVER became one of the "dearly-departed".
     The child sitting in the middle is Daisy Melissa HENDERSON - first child of Essie & Ed and named for her great-grandmother. Daisy was born in February of 1892 and died in November of 1899 ... only two months after the birth of her brother, Edwirt Bruce.




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