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What Was Important to Mom: The Last Roll of Film

  (An out of town trip waylaid continuing to write Jane's story so I have not completed the next post in the series. I'll be back to that next week, promise. In the meantime, here's another post I had ready to go.)   My mom—Ann Margaret Kozlina Gilbride—has been gone since 2010, but I got a glimpse into her life recently: I developed the last roll of film discovered in her 35mm camera. There was nothing really earth-shattering in the photos. Still, they spoke of my mom in subtle ways. And there were a few connections that I made to my current life. I wish I knew the exact years the images were taken, but I can only estimate. It turns out the date stamp was incorrectly set, so all the photos are stamped with '94. I'm guessing that the photos were taken between October when Mom had her birthday, and June or July of the following year. Other clues in the images tell me they were likely taken about 2005-2006, give or take a year.  There are no people in any of the ph...

Devotion: Three Generations Serve Catholic Ontario

N. Gilbride Casey

"I have always felt a special fondness for my ancestors who became Catholic religious. Perhaps it is because they had no descendants and occupy a solitary place in their family tree or because their individual stories have been overshadowed by siblings who married and raised families. I have wondered why they chose their path. Was it simply religious devotion? A chance to be educated or to relieve some family burden? An opportunity to serve? All the above?"

This quote is from my essay "Devotion: Three Generations Serve Catholic Ontario," which featured the stories of three Baker and Cassidy ancestors who became Catholic religious. I entered the essay in the Ontario Genealogical Society's Keffer Writing Contest in 2024 and was honored to be awarded fourth place. The essay was published in the August 2025 issue of Families, OGS's quarterly journal. I'm grateful to the society for allowing me to publish my essay here on Leaves on the Tree

If you have a special story to tell about your Ontario ancestors and wish to enter the Keffer Writing Contest, click here for the details. Deadline is December 31st. 

  


Until next time...

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2025. All rights reserved. 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you. I am glad I was able to memorialize these three ancestors.

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  2. Great job on your entry! I have a few religious members among my family, too!

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    1. Well that's super cool. It was fun to track down their information. Religious archives are a real boon! Thanks for reading.

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  3. Bonjour Nancy. Merci d’avoir mis en évidence ces prêtres et religieuse. Dans la grande histoire de ta famille, ils ne doivent en effet pas être éclipsés par leurs frères et sœurs qui se sont mariés et ont eu des enfants. Dans mon livre, je compte aussi inclure un chapitre consacrés aux ‘religieux’ de ma famille et ton texte ainsi que les recherches que tu as faites pour moi à propos des descendants des Trauscht m’inspireront sûrement.

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    1. Merci beaucoup, Daniel ! C'est vraiment un privilège de faire des recherches et d'écrire sur ces ancêtres, qui ont mené une vie de dévouement discret à leur vocation. J'attends avec impatience vos prochains chapitres. À bientôt.

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