Well, Yankee-Doodle!

This month, I'm finally back to working on the novel. It's loosely based on family history - something that my family is utterly awful at doing.

In any event, I started with my mother, growing up near Dorintosh, Saskatchewan. My Grandfather and grandmother were homesteaders in the northern part of the province, which meant being granted a section of "unoccupied" land, then breaking ground, building a sod house, and farming it.

So I'm digging through various government archives, which of course leads to various web sites, which leads to... well, you know.... a rabbit hole.

One place that I found myself at was DorothyStewart.net. She's done the lion's share of documenting the family tree for my mother's side, the Angers. I already knew that my Grandmother originated in Hagersville, outside of Hamilton, and near Niagara. And I've learned that my Grandfather was born in Manitoba, before enlisting during the First World War.

But before that? It's quite a tale, I'm extracting it here as much for my purposes as your entertainment.

My Grandfather, ROBERT EARL ANGER was born on 23 Oct 1897 in Carman, Manitoba. He died on 07 May 1986 in Innisfail, Alberta. He married HAZEL MILLARD.

My Great-Grandfather ROBERT EDMUND ANGER was born on 27 Oct 1870 in Grey County, Ontario. He died on 17 Jan 1954 in Innisfail, Alberta. He married MARGARET BOWIE, daughter of Oswald Bowie and Ellen Laing, on 04 Jun 1895 in Stanley, Manitoba. She was born on 26 Aug 1870 in Ontario. She died on 12 Jun 1959 in Innisfail, Alberta,

My Great-Great-Grandfather ROBERT ANGER was born on 14 Nov 1841 in New Tecumseth Township. Simcoe Ontario. He died on 04 Mar 1879 in Melancthon Township. Dufferin County, Ontario. He married FRANCES ADELIA FOGAL on 27 Feb 1864 in Grey County, Ontario. She was born on 15 Dec 1841 in Vaughan, Ontario. She died on 22 Dec 1883 in Melancthon Township, Ontario.

My Great-Great-Great-Grandfather FREDERICK ANGER was born on 15 Mar 1791 in Bertie Township. Welland, Ontario. He died on 04 Jun 1857 in Melancthon Township. Dufferin County, Ontario. He married (1) BARBARA LEPPARD about 1813 in ON. She was born about 1795 in Greenwood, Columbia Co PA USA (then Northumberland Co). She died after 1825 in ON. He married (2) ELIZABETH THOMPSON about 1839 in ON . She was born in 1820 in ON. She died on 28 Oct 1850 in Melancthon Twp. Dufferin Co ON.

My Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather JOHN CHARLES ANGER was born in 1759 in Wyoming Valley, NE Pennsylvania Co (or 1766). He died on 27 Feb 1813 in Bertie Twp. Welland Co ON. He married ABIGAIL APOLONIA NEAR, about 1787 in Fort Erie, Welland Co ON. She was born on 29 Oct 1773 in Claverack, Columbia Co NY Col. She died on 02 Mar 1851 in Bertie Twp. Welland Co ON.

And, finally, his father GEORGE FREDERICK ANGER was born in 1721 in Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. He died in 1812 in Ridgeway, Bertie Twp. Welland Co ON. He married MARIA JUNG. She was born about 1721 in Germany (or 1715). She died about 1813 in Ridgeway, Bertie Twp. Welland Co ON.

The "Anger" name is actually a bad transcription of a German surname: possibly "Ehinger", or "Ahinger", who are described as having "settled at a place called Clobrock NY."

What's noteworthy from this comes from another source: J. Kelsey Jones, at mlake.net.

A tax list for 1776 shows Frederick Anger:

On this roll from 1777 it's spelled as "Anker".

One of the groups of Loyalists who opposed the American revolutionaries was a squad known as "Butler’s Rangers," which included German immigrants who had settled along the Susquehanna river in the American colonies, including at least some of my Anger predecessors. As Jones describes it:

When the war drew to a close in 1783, more than 40,000 men, women, and children
displaced from the colonies, settled in Canada. The greatest numbers removed to
present day Ontario, including the majority of the Susquehanna settlers.

So, much to my own surprise, I find that I am in fact (or at least likely) descended from people who fought against the American revolutionaries in 1776.

At a time when Trump is still talking about taking over Canada, and when the Premier of Alberta is actively supporting that notion, this make me feel a little bit better.