[2024-11-16] Forebears, food and family

Today was all about forebears, food and family.

Forebears
This morning, Mel and I returned to Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa's Vanier neighbourhood to find the gravesites of several Hollington ancestors. Armed with detailed maps provided by Beechwood since our previous visit last Sunday, we went off in search of gravestones that would indicate where relatives had been buried. We learned several things:
  1. Cemetery records may be incomplete. For example, though a newspaper article in The Ottawa Citizen of September 1, 1923, stated that my great-great-grandfather James Hollington (1845-1923) was to be interred at Beechwood, the Cemetery did not have a record of him.
  2. Not all people buried in a cemetery have an existing grave marker. For example, though Beechwood could identify where my great-great-great-grandfather James Hollington (1805-1891) was buried, we could not find an associated grave marker. The same was true for my great-great-grandfather and both his first wife, Sarah (Ross) Hollington (1847-1882), and his second wife, Mary Jane (Dudley) Hollington (1854-1952).
  3. A detailed map indicating not only where the plot in question is located but also which graves surround it is a must. We would never have found the burial places of Hollington ancestors who did not have a grave marker if we hadn't had a map identifying the graves adjacent to those of my relatives.
Even though we did not find grave markers for Hollington relatives who had died in the late 1800s and early 1900s (though we did find some for great aunts and uncles buried in the mid 1900s), we were able to find the spot where our older forebears were interred, which was still useful. Often, when an experience doesn't quite pan out as we had hoped, we remind ourselves that we nevertheless learned something. We call that reconnaissance.

I also enjoyed our quick stop at Ste-Anne Church on Old St. Patrick Street in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood. My parents were married at Ste-Anne in 1958. According to a plaque inside the church, Ste-Anne was built in 1873 and was designed by architect J-P Lecourt of Québec City. Ste-Anne is said to be reminiscent of churches in Quebec and has been designated as a heritage property. It is now the home of St. Clement Parish.

Food
Our trip to Beechwood Cemetery provided an opportunity to check out a tiny café bakery: Union Street Kitchen Café in Ottawa's New Edinburgh neighbourhood. We selected a roasted cauliflower sandwich on grilled focaccia, two cookies (s'mores and cornflake chocolate chip) and two lattés. Though the café is too small to have indoor seating, we managed to nab a bistro table outside the café and enjoyed our lunch in the warm, fall sun. We would happily return to this café should we find ourselves in the area again, as the food was fantastic and the service was speedy.

Later, we stopped by Quelque Chose Patisserie in Ottawa's Vanier neighbourhood. We purchased six macarons in six different flavours. Our favourite was the tiramisu, followed by the salted caramel.

Family
The entire day—including a stop at Carlingwood Shopping Centre to purchase a few Christmas gifts—was one with and about family. I love exploring the city with my daughter. We often start with a plan, but add a few unplanned stops along the way. We were fortunate to have had success at every turn today, which isn't always the case. I also enjoyed partaking in the cemetery search with Mel. They say that two heads are better than one, which was certainly the case as we tried to interpret the maps of Beechwood. Our exploration of forebears, food and family made for a delightful day.