Find your ancestors on free databases on Olive Tree Genealogy
brings you

Past Voices Letters Home. Find your ancestors in letters!

Find your ancestors in old letters

Search free Canadian ancestors' letters Find Canadian ancestors in War of 1812 letters, American Revolution letters, Riel Rebellion letters, World War 1 letters. Search your ancestry and find your genealogy. Find your roots and hear your ancestors' words. Discover your origins in old letters as ancestors tell their stories and details of family history. Learn how to preserve old documents, family treasures and heirlooms.

FIRST NAME

LAST NAME

LOCALITY

Home | Share Letters | Genealogy Shop | Ancestor Letters USA | Ancestor Letters Canada | Ancestor Letters UK | Search | Free Newsletter | Genealogy Tips


Your Name in History
Your Name in History
Enter your surname for a list of genealogy books with fascinating facts and history about your family name
 
Find Ancestors


Free trials are a great way to find ancestors. Try the Complimentary Trial on Ancestry.com or 14 Days access on Ancestry.co.uk
Multiple Site Search!


Google Custom Search
Search Olive Tree Genealogy Family of Websites
Spotlight on....
Account Books 1772-1925 Find your ancestors in unique collection of original ledger books from stores, schools and individuals in USA & Canada
includes FREE Picassa for photos
Ancestor Photographs
Lost Faces Civil War era ancestor photo albums online
Genealogy & Historical Documents
Paper Trail Assorted Documents: Wills, land records, marriage certs, passports, indentures, slave records, estate inventories...
Family Bibles Births, Marriages & Deaths Family Registers
AncestorsAtRest - Death Records: Wills, obits, funeral cards, memorial cards, death cards...
Paper Trail Genealogy & Historical Documents
Must see!
Coffin Plate Collection Private collection of over 400 coffin plates with names of ancestors plus birth and death dates
Olive Tree Newsletter
FREE subscription Be the first to know about great offers! Weekly updates of new databases. Get tips, research advice and other helpful ideas for finding your elusive brick-wall ancestor
Finding Ancestor Letters
Scrapbooking
Immigrant Collage  Scrapbooking Paper *Immigrant Collage Scrapbooking Paper
*Scrapbooking with Old Cards and Letters
Genealogy Gem
* GenealogyBank.com - search Historical Newspapers 1690 - 1977, Historical Books 1801 - 1900, Historical Documents 1789 - 1980, America's Obituaries 1977 to current, and Social Security Death Index 1937 to current
Quick Links
Search Ships passenger lists, census, vital stats, church records, military, find your ancestorsOlive Tree Genealogy - Ships passenger lists and more!
Search Ships passenger lists, census, vital stats, church records, military, find your ancestors Naturalization Records
Search Ships passenger lists, census, vital stats, church records, military, find your ancestors AllCensusRecords.com USA & Canada Census Records
Search Ships passenger lists, census, vital stats, church records, military, find your ancestors AllEnglishRecords.com English Genealogy Records
Search Ships passenger lists, census, vital stats, church records, military, find your ancestorsThe OTE site Passenger Lists, Orphan Records, Almshouse Records and more!
Search Ships passenger lists, census, vital stats, church records, military, find your ancestorsShips Lists Online
Search Ships passenger lists, census, vital stats, church records, military, find your ancestorsCanadian Military Heritage Project
Search Ships passenger lists, census, vital stats, church records, military, find your ancestorsAncestors At Rest - find death records
Search Ships passenger lists, census, vital stats, church records, military, find your ancestorsOliveTreeBlog - Tips, New Databases...
Brick Wall Help

 

Sgt. Alexander Ferris
46 Batallion Saskatchewan Regiment
Killed 1918

"The weather is a little bad on the front where we are, quite a bit of snow & rain so it makes the trenches bad...." Alexander Ferris, France 21 Jan. 1917


Letter dated January 21, 1917:

Dear Sister:

Just a few lines in answer to your letter of Dec. 5th which I received a short time ago & was glad to hear from you & that you are all well.

I was in hospital & rest camp here from December 28th to January 7th with a touch of Grippe but am feeling fine again now, that is as well as can be expected under the circumstances.

The weather is a little bad on the front where we are, quite a bit of snow & rain so it makes the trenches bad. But I guess we must expect that this time of year.

I was lucky last Tuesday, they sent me away on a machine gun course & expect to be away till a week from tomorrow, so I will miss a trip into the trenches.

It is fine here at the school. We have a Y.M. & a church Hut, both fine places. Also a good canteen where we can buy anything we want. We sleep in tents but have plenty of blankets & sleep close together so we are quite comfortable. Of course the weather is not so very cold here. It freezes at nights but is not too bad in the days.

Do you know a man in Stratford, Mr. Lowe. I think he used to run a drug store. He is a Lieut. in the 46th--was in command of the Co. that I am in. He is certainly a fine man & all the boys think a lot of him. He is away from us now, though. He was operated on for appendicitis, & I think went back to England. I may have his name spelled wrong, but it is something like that.

I had a letter from Selina a short time ago. Things seem about the same as ever in Brantford. I hear from Herb & Lottie regular. Also from Cranstons whom I used to live with in Edmonton. I expect a bunch of mail when I get back to the battalion after this course. How is Wayman getting along, still punching the dough? I would like to be back there for a few weeks to help him. It would be a rest for me, but I don't think it will be so very long before we will be able to beat it back. Only a few months I think, but we are liable to have some hard work before the finish.

Well, I must close, be sure & write soon & I will try to drop you a letter or field card often. It is sometimes hard for us to get mail written especially when we are in the line.

So long.

Alex

#437536 I Co 46 Can. BEF Army PO London.

Lost Faces Ancestor Photos from the 1800s

Wishing you had an ancestor photograph? Check out the 1800s photographs and antique photo albums on Lost Faces. There are over 2,500 photos in this growing genealogy collection

Contributor: Christine Klatt. This is a letter from my maternal grandmother's younger brother, killed 18 Octoberr 1918 in France. The Norine he mentions is my mother.

Note from Lorine: He is one of the soldiers found on Veteran's Affairs Canada Virtual War Memorial. He is also found in the First World War Book of Remembrance on page 407

Canadian CDs: Canadian Genealogy CDs

Past Voices suggests...

Search for your Canadian ancestors in the following genealogy databases

Free Trial on Ancestry.ca (no credit card required)
Why Should You Use Ancestry.com or Ancestry.ca to find ancestors?
Soldiers of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) searchable database
Index to 1871 census of Ontario NAC database
Canadian Census Records 1851 to 1911
Canada Passenger Lists & Naturalization Records
Canada Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1857-1932
Olive Tree Genealogy Canadian Databases
Post Offices & Postmasters of Canada

Alexander Ferris Collection

7 Feb. 1916 | 21 Jan. 1917

   

 

URL is http://www.PastVoices.com/   All rights reserved. Website © Lorine McGinnis Schulze

FAQ - Submit a letter - Search - [Contact Lorine (Change the AT to @ in the email address)] - Copyright - Partner Sites - Site Map