ISSN 1475-4614 TESKEY NEWSLETTER No 38 December
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ISSN 1475-4614 TESKEY NEWSLETTER No 38 December 2013 Page 1 Ken McDonald Telephone: From UK: 01279 813226 2 Greenfields International: + 44 1279 813226 Stansted, Essex E-mail: [email protected] CM24 8AH England Dear Cousin, Later in this newsletter, you will see that my family research has been minimal this year, but recent immersion in Teskey family matters has provided material – and inspiration – for this latest Newsletter. I hope you enjoy it. The burst of activity was sparked by participation in the Irish Palatines Ontario Tour and the Teskey family reunion immediately afterwards. In the last Newsletter I mooted the idea of a Teskey Reunion if there was sufficient support for that and for the Ontario Tour to justify them going ahead. For a while both events were in doubt, but a late rush of bookings meant that both took place in September. Life for event organizers would be so much easier and less stressful if people committed earlier! If you are a member of the Irish Palatine Association (www.irishpalatines.org) you will be able to read my full account of the Ontario Tour in their next Journal, but here I will focus on some of the Teskey moments of the Tour. Then I will report on the Teskey reunion in Toronto. You will recall that Teskey was the name of just one of the thousands of refugee families that left the Southern Palatinate of Germany in 1709, and one of the hundred or so families that settled in Ireland in the area around Rathkeale, County Limerick. That group became known as the Irish Palatines. When the 1709 refugees left their homeland that had been ravaged by war and harsh winters, they had no idea they would end up in Ireland. Probably most of them had never even heard of Ireland! Many had hoped that their flight from the Palatinate would take them to North America. However, they made a relatively comfortable life for themselves in Ireland and the dream of North America was forgotten. Some years later, when life became harder in Ireland, younger generations once again started to dream of a better life on the other side of the Atlantic, and from around 1760 some Irish Palatines found a way of realising that dream, joining the early trickle of Irish migration to America. In the early years, migration was to the British colonies, but after the American Revolutionary War of 1775 to 1783 (also called the American War of Independence), migration from Ireland (which was part of Great Britain) was focused on the more northerly American colonies that later became Canada. That trickle of Irish going to North America grew and grew until it became a great flood of humanity by the mid 1800s, the time of the Irish Famine. The Irish Palatines contributed to that general migration. As far as we know, it was not until 1823 that the first Teskey (John 1769) joined the westward migration, but he was followed by several more pioneers, as I call them. For the last 25 years, the Irish Palatine Association (through its website, annual journal and museum in Rathkeale) has provided a focal point for preserving and promoting the story of those Irish Palatine refugees and their descendants. The IPA has organized tours of Ireland and Germany – indeed Janice and I organized their 2004 tour of the Southern Palatinate, which is known locally as the Pfalz. More recently, there has been a growing consciousness in Canada of the Irish Palatines who settled there. The main Canadian family history body, Ontario Genealogical Society (www.ogs.on.ca), established an Irish Palatine “Special Interest Group” and it was this group that organized the ISSN 1475-4614 TESKEY NEWSLETTER No 38 December 2013 Page 2 eleven-day Irish Palatines Ontario Tour, which Janice and I were so pleased to join in September 2013. The 36 members of the tour group were descended from many of those 1709 Irish Palatine families, and 13 had Teskey ancestry. These were: Bill and Lisa Teskey; Barbara Pittam (née Teskey); Janet (née Teskey) and Bob Martin; Lorna Shier (whose mother was born Teskey); myself (mother born Teskey) and Janice; plus those with more distant Teskey ancestors: Christy Switzer, Steve Stockmeyer, Barb Madry and John and Liz Venn. The Teskey geographical mix was pretty typical of the overall tour group – John and Liz from Australia, Janice and me from England, Lorna and Christy from Ireland, and Barb and Steve from the USA. Of the five Canadians, Barbara hails from British Columbia, whilst Bill, Lisa, Janet and Bob are from Ontario. Janice and I had met all of them before, and many others in the group were also old friends from previous tours. Some of the new faces were also known to me through their contributions to online Irish Palatine discussion groups. Lisa and Bill Teskey were members of the organizing team that put together an entertaining and varied coach tour around much of southern Ontario. We visited tourist sites, met with local Irish Palatine communities and explored many cemeteries. The organizers provided us with lots of genealogical information, including some Teskey data that was new to me and requires future research. I will recall a few of the special Teskey moments. The biggest “Teskey” day was when we were joined on the coach by Laureen Harper, née Teskey, the wife of Canada’s Prime Minister. The coach stopped in Appleton (once called Teskeyville) where we saw that the picturesque ruins of the old Teskey mill had now completely disappeared and no longer enhanced the view across the Mississippi River. We also saw some of the substantial stone houses that were built by the sons of the first Teskey pioneer, John 1769. Today they are lovely homes, albeit no longer inhabited by Teskeys. We weren’t expecting to visit, but a couple of the tour organizers took Laureen to one door and were invited in for a brief visit – after all, what does one say when Canada’s first lady calls? A lovely surprise for me in Appleton was to meet Carole and Doug MacFarlane. Doug is descended from the Appleton Teskeys and his wife Carole has been a most helpful correspondent for nearly 20 years, but I had never met them before. We were able to sit together for lunch in nearby Pakenham. There, as on a number of other days, we dined with other Irish Palatine descendants from the local area. ISSN 1475-4614 TESKEY NEWSLETTER No 38 December 2013 Page 3 I had another welcome surprise in Pakenham - meeting a Teskey that I didn’t know – Garth, pictured here with Lisa Teskey. I was soon able to place him, and immediately felt bad after telling him he was not an Irish Palatine Teskey. I have since sent Garth a copy of the last Newsletter in which there is a photo of Teskey’s Terrace Hall, the dance hall run by his uncle Cecil. Cecil and Garth are descended from the Collingwood branch, descendants of Stephen Teske who migrated to Canada in the 1860s directly from Germany. At Pakenham, a superb display had been mounted by Appleton Museum and Lanark Archives. This mostly related to the Appleton Teskeys who had clearly prospered and accumulated some lovely possessions. Here is one display which included a silver coffee urn that was presented to John Adam Teskey (1837-1908) on his retirement from Mississippi Woollen Mills. For many years, I have sent a copy of the Teskey Newsletter to the Appleton Museum, so it was a treat to meet Sarah and Doreen who run it and who had assembled the display. I will divert briefly from the story of our Ontario visit to tell you a little about what they have made available online. APPLETON MUSEUM The North Lanark Regional Museum at Appleton has accumulated a sizeable collection of Teskey artefacts, archival documents and photographs and has produced a virtual exhibit on the "Mills of Appleton". This can be viewed at: http://www.northlanarkregionalmuseum.com/NLRM_Virtual_Exhibit.html The museum website also features a storyline on the early settlement of the Teskey family in Ramsay Township, including the sawmill and gristmill built in Appleton. Please see: http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous- community_memories/pm_v2.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000835&sl=9362&pos=1 A second storyline, relating to the Mississippi Woollen Mills built by Robert Teskey and operated by the Teskey family until 1900 can be viewed at: http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous- community_memories/pm_v2.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000835&sl=9363&pos=1 ISSN 1475-4614 TESKEY NEWSLETTER No 38 December 2013 Page 4 Let me return to my account of the “biggest Teskey day”, which was about to get even more special. When Laureen heard about the planned Ontario tour, a year beforehand, she was keen to get involved and offered to entertain the tour group at 24 Sussex Drive. This is the Prime Minister’s official residence in Ottawa. It’s not an office, but the family’s home, and it has been the Harper family home since 2006. And so our tour bus parked outside and, after security vetting, we all trooped in for afternoon tea. The Teskeys sure do things in style! Laureen is a charming hostess and everyone soon felt at ease. What a privilege! Here, Laureen (in the white dress) poses with most of the Teskeys. Laureen’s commitment to get involved wasn’t over yet. That evening our coach pulled up beside Ottawa’s Parliament building and Laureen gave us a private guided tour.