Hello Family and Visitors -
This web site is one way of sharing the family history data I've been compiling the past few years. Also included is a small sampling of scanned pictures, sibling lists, ancestor and descendant trees created from our family history for you to view.
All the family data has
been entered
into a genealogy software program called FAMILY TREE MAKER (ver.
8).
The data is exported to GEDCOM format, and dates of living persons are
removed
using a program GEDPRIVY97 (v. 1.01)
I then use another software called GEDPAGE (v 2.21) to make the data
available
on this website.
The original database has
much more
information than this web version displays.
Birthdates of living individuals have been marked
PRIVATE.
Currently (as of February 2010),
there
is information on over 1600 individuals in the
database.
WOW -
this page is over 4 years old! Much of this "News"
listed below is seriously out of date!
I hope to
update this entire page soon.
Recently, the descendants of my Great Aunt Edie Bronson MacKay wrote to me and filled us in on family we lost touch with years ago.
And the descendants of the youngest brother of my great-grandfather James Francis McBirney, Robert Andrew McBirney, contacted me from Melbourne, Australia.
The last we knew the family was in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in England.
With sincere affection and respect -
your kinsman Ronald Earl Thomas - February 2010
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Newest Stuff,
Latest Findings and News-
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McBirney Cousins Found
A very distant cousin
William Evaroa
of the South Pacific supplied us with details and stories of the
descendants of
his grandfather William McBirney of Rarotonga, Cook Islands. (William
and I are
4th cousins once removed) I
have
been
slowly
entering this data and updating the web page as I go along.
Our common ancestor is James McBirney of Mullaghglass Townland, Clare,
County
Armagh, North Ireland.
In late 2004/early 2005 I
was
concentrating on McBirney research, and wrote letters and
emails to people I'd found via the 'net who I thought were relatives.
Success!! - we are in touch with cousins who are descended from my
Grandfather Earl Carter McBirney's sister Mabel McBirney Benard and his
brother
Warren Clarence McBirney.
This web page was found by Bruce Henry McBirney III, a 3rd cousin, and
he has
shared many photos, including our g-g-grandparents James McBirney and
wife
Ellen Carter McBirney, and he supplied us with information on his
branch of
descendants.
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Seven more generations of Thomas'!
Via the 'net I ran across a Thomas family history that had my great-great-grandfather John Adams Thomas listed. We knew his death date, that he'd been born in Woodbridge and that he was 46 when he died on January 29, 1866. The data I ran across listed a John Thomas, born in Woodbridge, resided in Derby, and died on the same date at the same age. A match!! The gentleman who compiled the data to shared it with us, and it has been merged into the database. We now have information on seven more generations of Thomas ancestors and an extensive ancestry of Wheelers back to the 1400's! All this new information is sourced.
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The siblings of Harvey D. Bronson, and ten new generations of New England ancestors!!
In April 2004, I was contacted by Mr. Craig S. Ashley of Boston, Massachusetts, with information on the children of Harvey and Fanny (Munson) Bronson. Craig is descended from daughter Fannie Matilda Bronson (1810-1889) who married Isaac Buckingham (1799-1859). Fannie Matilda Bronson is the sister of my g-g-grandfather Harvey D. Bronson.
Craig's description of his research:
"The record of the family of Harvey and Fanny (Munson) Bronson is an extract from a manuscript concerning the descendants of Isaac and Fannie (Bronson) Buckingham. A typed extract of the manuscript was made by Mrs. Mildred Haines of Seymour, a Buckingham descendant, in 1974, but its current location is not known. The author of the work is not identified and the extract did not provide any citations to source material. However, the information in the manuscript agrees with all vital statistics, deeds and census records located for the Buckingham family. The information concerning Harvey and Fanny Bronson appears to have been derived from a family bible, as the vital record and church collections at the Connecticut State Library do not contain this information. In reference to Laura (Buckingham) Strickland, a daughter of Isaac and Fanny, the manuscript reads "Old Bible record says she was born Feb. 5, 1826, but grave stone in Hartford was marked Feb. 5, 1828". There was no other information concerning the Bronson family in the manuscript."
· Craig S. Ashley, Boston, Massachusetts, April 30, 2004
Craig also supplied us with information of ten generations of ancestors from Fanny Matilda Bronson and her siblings. These ancestors include our MAYFLOWER roots. I've added these into the database, though the entries are at present unsourced.
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Our famous ballet teacher!
"Lives in Canada. Mrs. Patricia McBirney
Nicolaysen (sister) thought she lived in Vancouver, B.C. She was
a ballet
dancer and now teaches and examins(sp) in ballet." (1961, SWM).
The entry above was a note that Stanley Ward McBirney had listed in his
manuscript as applying to Florence McBirney. However, Sean
McBirney
Carson stated in his work that a sister he called "Myra" was the one
who immigrated to Canada and became a famous ballet teacher.
In late 2003 I did some internet searches and determined that a "Mara
McBirney" was a well known ballet teacher in Vancouver. In reply
to
a request for information about Mona McBirney on the alt.ballet
newsgroup, Leland Windreich sent this to us:
---------------------------------
"I found a few facts on Mara in an electronic encyclopedia of dance
issued
many years ago. There is very little about her origins:
Born Mona McBirney in London, UK. No date given.
Studied dancing with Judith Espinosa. Trained at the Royal
Academy of
Dance and entered their teaching program.
Sent to Canada in 1946 to introduce a program for teaching children the
RAD
methods.
Opened her own studio in Vancouver in 1948. Co-directed a company
called
Panto-Pacific Ballet in 1949. Company folded within the year.
Over the next many years she taught some of the major figures in
Canadian
ballet. She was highly respected in the dance community and
although a
task-master, her methods were excellent and professional.
When I have time I shall try to track down the date of her death and
see if
there is an obituary for her.
I met her socially several times and found her very knowledgeable in
her
field. She was an incessant smoker, which accounts for her death
by lung
cancer. I believe she was inactive as a teacher for several years
before
she died.
I am going to forward copies of this message to people in the ballet
world who
have e-mail, and perhaps they can give you additional information,
having been
closer to her professionally than I was.
Cordially, Leland Windreich" January 2004
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"Kaija Pepper, who wrote the book THE DANCE TEACHER; A BIOGRAPHY OF KAY
ARMSTRONG ( Toronto, Dance Collection Danse, 2001) has this to say
about Mara:
Born Mona McBirney in London in 1905; trained as a home-economics
teacher
before turning to dance at 21; emigrated to Canada in 1946 as an
adjudicator
for the Royal Academy of Dance. Became a successful teacher in
Vancouver.
"She was known to keep a bottle of whiskey in a paper bag to which she
would resort during class. In the Province [Vancouver daily paper] in
April
1987, shortly after McBirney's death, Hugh Pickett [local concert
manager] is
quoted as saying "Mara had a real elegance about her - people used to
call
her the Duchess of Windsor." " "
supplied by Leland Windreich, January 14, 2004
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Ireland Trip
Time flies - we visited County Armagh and Belfast and the west and
south of
Ireland in May 2003. Was it that long ago? While I did not find
the
graves of James and Ellen Carter McBirney, I did learn when and where
they
died, and I also learned the identity of my great-grandfather James
Francis
McBirney's first wife. The townlands of Ballysheil Beg and
Ballysheil Mor
and the village of Clare in Co. Armagh were beautiful. Clare Glen
was
beautiful beyond words.
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Strange
Relationships
Due to the circumstance
of at least
three instances of cousins marrying cousins in the past, it has led to
some
very complicated relationships within the family.
John Wheeler (1694-1725/26) married his 2nd cousin Elizabeth
Burr
(1701/02-1769). (7th g-grandparents - Thomas side)
Ebenezer Bronson (1688-1768) married his 1st cousin Susanna
Langton
(1696-1775). (5th g-grandparents - Bronson side)
My g-g-g-grandparents Harvey Bronson (1774-1848) and Fanny Munson
(1780-1826)
were 5th cousins via their Baldwin ancestors
and 3rd cousins once removed via their Plumb ancestors.
So because of these marriages, my father Gordon Elliott Thomas Sr. is
also all
the following:
My 7th cousin once removed, 7th cousin twice
removed, 8th
cousin, 9th cousin once removed, 9th cousin twice
removed,
10th cousin, and 10th cousin once removed!!
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PICTURES and some stories
(be prepared - these are
large files
and will be slow to download)
Harry Burdette Thomas (1883-1939) A portrait as a young man.
Mary Van Orden Bronson (1857-1929) with her grandson Charles Bronson Thomas (1907-1954) and with her son Lewis George Bronson (1885 - 1944)
Charles Thomas (1853-1928) with his granddaughters Mary, Eva, and Thelma Thomas
A Family Gathering of the Bronson Family
-
August 17, 1930
(I could really use some help here identifying people!!)
A McBirney Family Portrait The James Francis McBirney family (circa 1910)
Frederick Peters and his 2nd wife (circa 1889)
A Smith Family Portrait The William John Smith Family (circa 1908)
TREES and LISTS
These links below are some 'trees' I made with the Family Tree Maker program. This cut'n'paste method works for some limited branches, but doesn't work with the whole database. In order for them to be readable, I made them large and you have to scroll around. Unfortunately, most of them do not print out very well from most web browsers.
Select a family tree you want to see:
Descendants of Harry Burdett Thomas II
Nana Thomas' Siblings (children of George Bronson and Mary Van Orden)
The Children of Harry Thomas and Bessie Bronson
This page last updated 25 February 2006.Temporarily updated February 2010.