I too have an ancestor who was a very regular person but gave her children beautiful names. My great-great-grandmother lived in a small village in the Gaspé, but she had been a former school teacher and gave her children names out of romantic French novels: Rodolphe, Lumina, Agnès, Théophile, Ludger...
I loved the split image! I need to incorporate these in my writing!
That is so beautiful! I love looking at naming patterns, I think it says so much about the person. I was pretty surprised by the split image of the Lunenburg Academy myself. I was actually looking for vintage streetscape photographs to use in the story, when I saw the Academy photo. I thought it looked very similar to a photo I took in 2023 and was pretty amazed when it lined up perfectly!
Great story! We moved from Lunenburg before I was school-aged but my siblings all went to Lunenburg Academy. Also, I think my grandmother trained as a teacher there in around the turn of the 20th century.
The Lunenbrug Academy is such a fantastic building. I'm so glad it has been preserved exactly the way it was. It's fitting that the South Shore Genealogy Society is locate within the building. I feel I have to go back as I know a lot more now than I did when I visited two years ago. I wonder if our ancestors were connected, Lunenburg was a small community!
The architecture in Lunenburg in general is breathtaking. It’s very fitting that the genealogy society is in the Academy. I’d love to go back sometime soon, there is so much more I want to research.
Abigail is my great grandaunt. She was the sister of my great grandfather Fostan (Faustan, Foster, etc, etc.). Not sure what that makes us , lol, maybe cousins 3 times removed?
Oh my goodness! Yes,Fostan was Abigail’s brother, and I actually have his photo. We’re definitely related! I believe that I have been in touch with one of your relatives about the Feindel genealogy for quite some time, and I even have a DNA match with your surname who I now suspect is related to you. What a wonderful coincidence, or perhaps serendipity! I seem to keep crossing paths with descendants from this very branch of the family, and it never stops amazing me. I’ll send you a message.
We may be related somehow. My grandmother was a Feindal from the family who founded New Germany. I may write a story about that. The Feindals arrived in Lunenburg with the German Protestants in 1752. There other names in my family including Tanner.
Oh! I have Feindel in my family tree as well, my 3rd great-grandmother was Abigail Feindel 1833-1917, daughter of John Jacob Feindel and Mary Ann Weagle. Abigail was born in New Germany, married Matthew Veinot and they lived in Mahone Bay later in life. I think all Feindels can be traced back to a single ancestor, so there would definitely be a connection!
Emily, what a fascinating study of your third great-grandmother and her descendants! Wonderful gaps in the story, too. I can relate to your desire to visit the places where the ancestors once lived. Having done that on both sides of an ocean, I still long to return to the old country and learn more. Such experiences can be catalysts for writing historical fiction. I look forward to meeting you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and for your kind comments. I'm very much looking forward to your workshop on the 30th and diving deeper into the topic of writing with ancestors!
I too have an ancestor who was a very regular person but gave her children beautiful names. My great-great-grandmother lived in a small village in the Gaspé, but she had been a former school teacher and gave her children names out of romantic French novels: Rodolphe, Lumina, Agnès, Théophile, Ludger...
I loved the split image! I need to incorporate these in my writing!
That is so beautiful! I love looking at naming patterns, I think it says so much about the person. I was pretty surprised by the split image of the Lunenburg Academy myself. I was actually looking for vintage streetscape photographs to use in the story, when I saw the Academy photo. I thought it looked very similar to a photo I took in 2023 and was pretty amazed when it lined up perfectly!
Great story! We moved from Lunenburg before I was school-aged but my siblings all went to Lunenburg Academy. Also, I think my grandmother trained as a teacher there in around the turn of the 20th century.
The Lunenbrug Academy is such a fantastic building. I'm so glad it has been preserved exactly the way it was. It's fitting that the South Shore Genealogy Society is locate within the building. I feel I have to go back as I know a lot more now than I did when I visited two years ago. I wonder if our ancestors were connected, Lunenburg was a small community!
Our family is connected to the Lunenburg Academy through a friend who sat on the board. Love the historical feel of it!
The German Protestants were a hardy lot. My husband descends from them s well.
The architecture in Lunenburg in general is breathtaking. It’s very fitting that the genealogy society is in the Academy. I’d love to go back sometime soon, there is so much more I want to research.
Abigail is my great grandaunt. She was the sister of my great grandfather Fostan (Faustan, Foster, etc, etc.). Not sure what that makes us , lol, maybe cousins 3 times removed?
Oh my goodness! Yes,Fostan was Abigail’s brother, and I actually have his photo. We’re definitely related! I believe that I have been in touch with one of your relatives about the Feindel genealogy for quite some time, and I even have a DNA match with your surname who I now suspect is related to you. What a wonderful coincidence, or perhaps serendipity! I seem to keep crossing paths with descendants from this very branch of the family, and it never stops amazing me. I’ll send you a message.
We may be related somehow. My grandmother was a Feindal from the family who founded New Germany. I may write a story about that. The Feindals arrived in Lunenburg with the German Protestants in 1752. There other names in my family including Tanner.
Oh! I have Feindel in my family tree as well, my 3rd great-grandmother was Abigail Feindel 1833-1917, daughter of John Jacob Feindel and Mary Ann Weagle. Abigail was born in New Germany, married Matthew Veinot and they lived in Mahone Bay later in life. I think all Feindels can be traced back to a single ancestor, so there would definitely be a connection!
Emily, what a fascinating study of your third great-grandmother and her descendants! Wonderful gaps in the story, too. I can relate to your desire to visit the places where the ancestors once lived. Having done that on both sides of an ocean, I still long to return to the old country and learn more. Such experiences can be catalysts for writing historical fiction. I look forward to meeting you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and for your kind comments. I'm very much looking forward to your workshop on the 30th and diving deeper into the topic of writing with ancestors!
My pleasure, Emily!
Beautifully written.
Thanks, Anne!
I’m almost disappointed when the stories end. So fascinating. I feel as though I were a fly on the wall secretly listening in on their lives.
Thank you once again.
Aunt Linda
Thanks, Aunt Linda. Glad you enjoyed this one.
Emily, what a moving tribute to Ada. I am endlessly amazed by the hardships our ancestors endured to make a better life for their descendants.
Yes it’s amazing to reflect on those hardships in a big picture kind of way. Thank you for reading Ada’s story!
I look forward to reading this, Emily.