The naming of my oldest brother......

We have now moved into our condo, where we hope to remain until we tip over.  Got home April 15th, from Arizona via Penticton, and all our furniture was here, everything unpacked.  In the spare room closet were our 8 BIG Rubbermaid tubs of photos and paraphernalia, as well as about the same number of cardboard boxes with stuff like that!

So, Stefan and I decided, since we had NO unpacking or anything to do, we'd tackle these bins etc first thing..........and that's what we did.  Took us the better part of a month but we whittled it down to 2 bins - one containing photos etc from the time we were married, forward; and one that contains heritage/history info/stuff.

While going through everything, I found a photo copy of a bible that must have belonged to my maternal great grandparents, the Millars.  Alexander McDonald Millar (1853) and Fanny McAlpine (1855) My grandmother, Elizabeth McAlpine Millar, was their 2nd child and first daughter, born in July, 1878.

OK - now to the story of my brother, Danny's, birth.  He was born on September 19, 1938, in Prince Rupert, BC.  Mother didn't say how his name, James Daniel, was chosen (well, 'James' was obviously after our father, James Edward) but I do remember her telling me that Grandma (her mother) was quite incensed about her choice and said 'I wonder that you'd name him an Irish name like that'.  Mother said she replied 'well, you named your first born after somebody's behind!' (her older sister was named Fanny).  Anyway, it was a funny story - and typical of Grandma - she was quite a critical person - I remember her always saying things like 'I wonder that you'd wear your hair like that...' and things of a similar nature. 

So, back to the copy of the family bible........  I don't remember seeing these pages before now so I was super interested in reading it.  AND, their 5th child, born December 18, 1884, was named JAMES DANIEL MILLAR!  I was super shocked when I read that, let me tell you, because I clearly remember mother telling me Grandma's reaction when she chose the name!  Then I thought, 'well, maybe that brother died really young and Grandma had forgotten about him....'.  Checked the page - nope, he married Isabel Neill on June 6, 1917 and died on July 16, 1962.  So, the whole name thing remains a head scratcher....  :-)

The photo copied pages don't list where the marriages or deaths took place but, as far as I know, all of the Millar family moved to Canada - and I know Grandma and Grandpa's wedding, on July 16, 1909, took place in Winnipeg.  I wonder how many Millar relatives I have in Manitoba.  I don't think mother knew many of her aunts, uncles and cousins, unfortunately.  There was one, Ruby, who lived in Calgary, but I don't know whose child she was - just that she was a cousin on mother's maternal side. 

I've rejoined Ancestry for another year - only the Canadian one, though - might have to bite the bullet and pay for the 'world' one so I can do more work in Scotland.  We'll see............