Footprints
Gordon Thomas Whitney
When we
came around the end of the house, we noticed a shiny car sitting near
the back door.
Cliff stopped, leaned down to look at the hubcaps and read, “D - O - D
- G - E.”
As we walked into the kitchen, Spurge was telling Dad a story about the
jobs he had worked at and his years of being employed at the Chrysler
Plant in Detroit. He went on to say that the only make of car he would
drive was a Chrysler product.
Gordon Thomas Whitney, who was born at Whitneyville, Northumberland
County in 1916, wrote a personal account of his life called "Footprints" in which he reminisces
about the variety of jobs he held before embarking on a lengthy career
in the management ranks of the Ford Motor Company of Canada with
postings in several provinces and at the head office in Windsor,
Ontario.
Gordon's great-great grandfather, Ebenezer Whitney was the first of his
line to come to the Miramichi around 1785, where he received an
allotment of land from William Davidson and John Cort, who had a
100,000-acre township grant. He had married Huldah Mooers at Sheffield,
in Sunbury County in 1769. They had twelve children.
Their son Samuel married Sarah Young of the Nashwaak River Valley, near
Fredericton. From this union came ten children, one of them being
Edward Whitney, who married first Hannah Rogers, who died in child
birth, and later Lydia Allison. Their son Hiram Fish Whitney married
Ethel Ernestine Forsyth, and they were the parents of Gordon Thomas
Whitney.
Lydia’s parents, William Allison and Susannah Kingston wished to marry
in 1831. But Susannah’s parents did not approve of the courtship, so
William arrived one summer night in his canoe and they eloped down the
river and were married.
Another of Gordon’s great-great grandfathers, Robert Forsyth, was a
soldier with the North Carolina Volunteers in the Revolutionary War and
came to Saint John in 1783. He too settled on the Miramichi and
abducted his future wife, Jane Martin, from her parents' home at Red
Bank. They took him to court but the case was dismissed when they
didn’t show up to testify against him.
Gordon married Roberta Rose (Bertie) White, whose maternal great-great
grandfather, James Johnston and his wife Mary Bell emigrated from the
Parish of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, to the Miramichi in the early 1820s.
The 2004 176-page publication “Footprints”
by Gordon Thomas Whitney is stated to be “a personal narrative which is
also of interest for the light it sheds on the many people, places and
organizations with which he was associated in the course of a long and
eventful life.” A 26-page photo section adds a very personal touch.
The book can be viewed at the Legislative Library of New Brunswick in
Fredericton.
* *
Query 1354
Gibson: I am
looking for information about Alexander "Boss" Gibson's family. My
Great Grandfather is Harry Alexander Gibson who I think is Boss
Gibson's Grandson. Harry moved to Vancouver in the 1920's, and since
then this part of the family has lost contact.
SEAN ALEXANDER GIBSON
322 N. Patterson Street
Prince George, BC
Canada, V2M 3J2
E-mail tetrabytepg@yahoo.ca
Query 1354
Lackie - Harvey: I am
seeking information about the descendants of Robert Lackie and Susannah
Harvey, who lived at Salt Springs, Kings County, New Brunswick. I am
also searching for the newspaper report of the house fire that took
Robert's life in February of 1891. I would appreciate any information.
JEAN McCORMICK
HC 48 Box 1155
Roberts, Montana
USA, 59070
E-mail jeaned@imt.net
Query 1355
Chandler: Can anyone
provide me with information on Edward Barron Chandler - as to his
parents, siblings and descendants?
Mrs. SUSAN TURNBULL
7 Sorrel Crescent
St. Albert, AB
Canada, T8N 0K4
E-mail turnbulls@spschools.org
Query 1356
Lyon: Who were the
parents of Nathan Lyon, who was born 1788 in New Brunswick, relocated
to Ontario in 1801, died 1874 in Grovesend, Ontario? He married
(1) Elizabeth Bridgman and (2) Mary Beemer. His four children were,
William, Hannah, Nathan, and Calvin.
TERRY LYON
13345 Montour Street
Brooksville, FL
34613, USA
E-mail talyon36@earthlink.net or talyon36.bellsouth.net
New and Used Genealogical and Historical books of
New Brunswick for sale.
|
Ruby M. Cusack is a
genealogy buff living in New Brunswick, Canada. Send your New Brunswick
genealogical queries to her at: rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca.
Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of the readers of
the newspaper who do not have access to E-mail but could have
information to share with you. Please put "Query"
followed by the surnames in your query. For more information on
submitting queries, visit http://www.rubycusack.com/Query-Instructions.html
Ruby
contributes a "Family History" column to the Telegraph-Journal on
Tuesdays
