For the past while, I have been putting together some displays about our family history in preparation for a celebration with my father who turned 90 yesterday. In recent years, I have taken trips with him and recorded some of his stories. They represent only part of his life. He has also written some books and documented a considerable amount of genealogical information about our ancestors with the names of: Smith, Cooper, Lince (earlier spelled Linss), and Mainprize. It has been a wonderful experience to see family photos from the 1880’s and learn family names from the 1700’s. There were certainly some very large families with the name of Smith; extrapolating the number of boys who would retain that name makes it very easy to see why there are so many Smiths! The attached photo was taken about 1896. The child who is circled is Isaac Edgar Smith, my Grandfather. “Grandpa” is on the lap of his father, Robert, who is sitting next to his wife, Caroline, holding Edgar’s twin John Elmer. Note the icicles over their heads and remember how people had to sit still for photos at that time. I wonder how many photos they took to get such a lovely portrait! I’m sure dinner tasted particularly good that day.

Video links Smith Homestead Perth County (3 parts) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Ralph’s Story of School Life in Rural Ontario in the 1930’s

Ralph Smith’s Story of Maple Syrup

Isaac Smith family portrait from 1896