Hadden

Sentimental Saturday – Every July Meant A Week At Grandview Lodge Resort

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I’m posting photos from my collection of family photographs on Saturdays with a brief explanation of what I know about each picture.

The annual family vacation always meant a week at the Grandview Lodge Resort, located on Sparrow Lake in the Muskoka District of Ontario. It meant a week of relaxation and fun. The lodge staff took care of the cooking and cleaning, we took care of the playing and lounging.

It became an annual tradition for my late wife and I and was especially fun for our children, providing many happy memories.

Each year, I would rent a small fourteen-foot aluminum boat with motor that was used for fishing and family tours of the lake.

In the photo below, my son John was driving the boat, one of his favourite activities while his sister Lisa tries to enjoy the ride. The photo was likely taken around 1992 by my late wife Karen who was sitting at the front of the boat with our youngest daughter Jenna tucked in beside her.

John Hadden 'driving' the boat on Sparrow Lake, Ontario with his sister Lisa enjoying the ride (Your Truly can be partially seen behind Lisa and Grandview Lodge Resort can be seen on the far shoreline)

John Hadden ‘driving’ the boat on Sparrow Lake, Ontario with his sister Lisa enjoying the ride (Yours Truly can be partially seen behind Lisa and Grandview Lodge Resort can be seen on the far shoreline)

Sentimental Saturday – Granny

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I’m posting photos from my collection of family photographs on Saturdays with a brief explanation of what I know about each picture.

This is one of my favourite family photos. It is a picture of Agnes (Little) Hadden. To me, she was Granny.

Agnes (Little) Hadden (1908-1958)

Agnes (Little) Hadden (1908-1958)

Although I remember my paternal grandmother, the memories are a little foggy and faded as I was very young when she passed away.

Granny stood only four feet, ten inches but was always described to me as quite the ‘fireball.’ She certainly kept a close eye on her children and, like most mothers, she seemed to know what they were up to even when that seemed an impossibility.

Born in Greenock, Scotland, Agnes immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1928. Granny was famous in the family for her expression, with her strong Scottish accent,  “Me tongue is me passport.”

Sentimental Saturday – Play Ball!

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I’m posting photos from my collection of family photographs on Saturdays with a brief explanation of what I know about each picture.

Sometime in either the summer of 1971 or 1972, I found an old Polaroid camera lying around the house and, it still had a couple of film ‘sandwiches’ inside the cartridge. My recollection is that it was a Polaroid SX-70 model camera, not the type of camera my father usually used but clearly had experimented with for a very brief time.

My brother Bob and I proceeded out to our backyard where I snapped this photo of my younger brother (the shadow of my left arm and head can be seen in the lower right of the photo), not knowing at the time that I was producing evidence of a time when my brother had a full head of hair.

The tell tale remnants of chemical ‘gook’ used to instantly develop the photo can be can be seen across the top. And from the trees seen in the distance, it appears the photo was taken in the early spring as there do not appear to be leaves on the trees. It would have been a time of transition for us, from playing hockey all the time to occasionally mixing in some baseball.

Did you ever use Polaroid cameras or some other type of instant photo camera?

Robert Anthony (Bob Hadden abt. 1971-1972 (Photo by Ian Hadden)

Robert Anthony (Bob) Hadden abt. 1971-1972 (Photo by Ian Hadden)

Visiting My Ancestral Homelands (Part 5) – ‘Oot ‘N Aboot’ Aberdeen, Scotland

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This is the miscellany of my recent visit to Aberdeen, Scotland, the home of my Hadden ancestors.

1. Befriend Your Pilot (after all he or she will have your life in their hands)

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Ellen Hadden with Air Canada pilot extraordinaire Murray Garrison

2. If There Is A Street With Your Family Name A Photo Is Obligatory

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You can see the excitement on my face?

3. See The Sites

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Ellen and Ian Hadden at Dunnotar Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

4. Sneak In A Little Genealogy When No One Is Looking

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The Kirk of St. Nicholas and Cemetery, Aberdeen, Scotland

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The gravestone of Alexander Sturm, merchant in Aberdeen, died 20th November 1844 (located in the Kirk of St. Nicholas cemetery)

5. Don’t Forget Why You Are There!

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Ian, Jenna and Ellen Hadden at Piccolo Restaurant, Aberdeen, Scotland

Visiting My Ancestral Homelands (Part 4) – An Ancestral Home in Aberdeen, Scotland

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There are various records that provide me with the addresses that some of my ancestors lived at in Aberdeen. Although my recent visit to Aberdeen was not aimed at genealogical pursuits, I did take the opportunity to visit one of those addresses that was conveniently located as it turned out, not far from our hotel.

This rather plain-looking house at 57 Bon Accord Street is where Janet ‘Jessie’ (Jamieson) Hadden lived and died.

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James Hadden was my 4X great-grandfather, the son of a crofter named William Hadden and Agnes (or Ann) Robb. James was born around 1807 in Fetteresso, Kincardine, Scotland. On May 25, 1833 (182 years ago yesterday), James married Mary Smart in Inverurie, Aberdeen, Scotland. Sadly, Mary died just seven years later in 1840, leaving James to care for their three young children.

So James married again. His second wife was a widow named Janet Jamieson who was usually referred to by the name Jessie. Jessie had two young children to care for from her first marriage to a man named John McKnight.

James Hadden died in March 1871 of bronchitis and was buried in a family plot he had purchased in St. Peter’s Cemetery on King Street in Aberdeen.

Rather than move in with one of her by then adult children following her husband’s death, it seems Jessie chose to live on her own. Census records tell us that 1891 she lived alone in a flat at 41 Bon Accord Street in Aberdeen, sustained by an annuity.

On March 7, 1896, at the age of 76, Jessie suddenly fainted and passed away. This event occurred according to her death registration at her home located at 57 Bon Accord Street, Aberdeen.

There is a deep, touching joy in the recognition that you are walking in the footsteps of your ancestors. A connection suddenly made tangible. And, so it was for me, as I walked the same street as Jessie and, as I took a moment to physically touch the house that she lived in.

Of course, I think that somber moment was lost on the delivery man who was watching me with my head slightly bowed and hand on Jessie’s house. I suspect he was thinking that it was too early in the day for someone to be inebriated!

Sentimental Saturday – Camping

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I’m posting photos from my collection of family photographs on Saturdays with a brief explanation of what I know about each picture.

Growing up, we were not a family of campers. I don’t know if my parents simply enjoyed cottage life, or maybe even better a hotel room, over the ‘roughing it’ style of camping.

In the late 1960’s, we decided to give camping a try. We didn’t venture too far from our home, choosing a provincial park close to home for a few days of communing with nature. Toasting marshmallows over an open campfire appears to be something we quickly developed skills with.

Below, my mother Anne (O’Neill) Hadden, yours truly, and my sister Lou-Anne enjoy a camping treat, circa 1968.

HADDEN Ian with Mom and Lou-Anne camping abt 1968

Sentimental Saturday – Spending Time With Uncle Jim

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I’m posting photos from my collection on Saturdays with a brief explanation of what I know about each picture.

My uncle James (Jim) Hadden (1935-2005) and yours truly spent some time contemplating the mysteries of life and our plans for the universe.  Actually, I was probably trying to convince him that getting an ice cream cone was a really good idea. The photo was taken around June 1958 when I was visiting my paternal grandparent’s home at 53 Darrell Avenue in Toronto.

Uncle Jim was a career firefighter in the city of Toronto and was very well liked by his colleague firefighters who enjoyed being on shift with him because he was an exceptional cook! They were not as thrilled with him, on that one occasion, when he required that they eat an appetizer of haggis before he served the main meal.

HADDEN Ian and Uncle Jim June 1958

Sentimental Saturday – Spring Is Just Around The Corner

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I’m posting photos from my collection on Saturdays with a brief explanation of what I know about each picture.

Spring is trying to arrive in my part of the world (southern Ontario, Canada) after what has been one of the coldest winters on record. With the arrival of the new season, it will soon be time to think about cleaning up the yard and assessing the ravages of the winter.

This photo of yours truly was taken about the time I was three  years old. It appears to have been taken, likely by my father, in the backyard of my paternal grandparents John Gaull Hadden and Agnes (Little) Hadden. Their home was at 53 Darrell Avenue in Toronto, Ontario. Clearly, child labour laws weren’t the same back then.

My mother, as I recall, seemed to particularly like the pants, or ‘rompers’ with small zippers at the side of each pant leg as she called them. I don’t recall getting a vote on my wardrobe selection.

HADDEN Ian working in backyard May 1958

Hadden – Where Alexander Got His Bean

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Alexander Bean Hadden is my 3X great grandfather and I recently was asked by Hadden cousins to share my ‘theory’ on where his middle name of Bean came from, so here is what I think is a reasonable conclusion in the absence of any contradictory evidence.

The odd thing about Alexander is that he was commonly known with a middle name of Bean however, I have found no records in which his name is recorded as Alexander Bean Hadden. Records simply provide his name as Alexander Hadden.

Below is a list of the records in which I have found Alexander:

  • Alexander Hadden christening record (O.P.R. 249/0020 0079 Udny)
  • 1841 Census of Scotland (Census 1841 225/00 002/00 007)
  • 1851 Census of Scotland (Census 1851 225/00 011/00 011)
  • Marriage registration for Alexander Hadden and Mary Smart (Statutory Marriages 223/00 0008)
  • 1861 Census of Scotland (Census 1861 097/00 009/00 005)
  • 1864 birth registration for daughter Mary Hadden (Statutory Births 173/00 0066)
  • 1866 birth registration for son John Hadden (Statutory Births certificate 3919892 CE)
  • 1867 birth registration for daughter Ann Hadden (Statutory Births 173/00 0045)
  • 1871 Census of Scotland (Census 1871 234/00 001/00 010)
  • 1881 Census of Scotland (Census 1881 203/00 004/00 013)
  • Marriage registration for Alexander Hadden and Ann Fraser (Statutory Marriages 207/00 0007)
  • 1891 Census of Scotland (Census 1891 203/00 004/00 013)
  • 1911 Census of Scotland (Census 1911 168/01 005/00 005)
  • 1914 death registration for Alexander Hadden (Statutory Deaths 168/03 0167)

As can be noted, I have yet to find Alexander in the 1901 Census of Scotland. The hunt for that record is still in progress.

So Alexander in all of those records is simply record by the name Alexander Hadden. No Bean name is recorded nor is there a middle initial of ‘B’ used. So where could Alexander have received the middle name of Bean by which he seems to have become commonly known by, but unrecorded? Evidence that he was known by Alexander Bean Hadden is found, for example, in his daughter Mary, naming her first son, Alexander Bean Hadden Wright,  after him.

My theory is based on Alexander’s baptismal registration from 1836, shown below:

HADDEN Alexander

(Note: I apologize for the small size of the image but I’m still getting used to the new blog platform!)

The names of the witnesses to the baptism of the infant Alexander were a man named Alexander Bean and a second man named Alexander Smith. I imagine that Alexander Hadden’s parents James Hadden and Mary Smart chose these men carefully for their first, and as it turns out only known son. So my theory is simple: Alexander Hadden was called Alexander Bean Hadden, his middle name being ‘adopted’ in honour of his godfather Alexander Bean. Further, in Scottish naming tradition, Alexander as the first son would have been named William, after his father James’ father. As it happens William was also the name of Alexander’s mother’s father. But William wasn’t used and instead James and Mary Hadden named their first son after someone who must have been very close to them but as far as I know not related by blood nor marriage.

So that’s my ‘story’ and I’m sticking to it, that is, until evidence presents itself that causes me to have to re-think the issue of ‘Bean.’

Happy Robbie Burns Day!

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Today is the day that Scots around the world commemorate the birth of Scotland’s favourite son, poet Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796).

It is a day that was celebrated in my family most notably following my father joining the Highland Creek Pipes and Drums. A couple of years after my father joined the band as a piper, I joined the band as a drummer.

Ian Hadden, member of the Highland Creek Pipes and Drums, 
with his son John abt. 1984


Each year the band organized and held a large Robbie Burns night that included dancing, a buffet dinner including haggis, a performance by the band and, of course, Burns’ Address To A Haggis performed incredibly well by a band member. 

The Burns dinner and dance served as one of the band’s chief fundraisers each year. Funds raised were used to purchase new uniform items and band supplies.

Wherever you celebrate and however you celebrate Robbie Burns Day, be safe and have fun!

Contact me with your stories, questions and comments at ian.hadden@rogers.com