Meet the Professor... real name was James Hughes from Lancashire. Apparently, he was a major entertainer in his day... and the inventor of the bicycle-cab.

I only found out about him (and saw this flyer) Saturday last.

His son, James Jr., was my grandfather.

My grand-uncle also had a "storied" past...

(You can click the pictures above to see the whole articles/flyers.)

My Biggus Sissus (eldest sister) is the family geneologist and sent this on to me... and Sue, almost more than myself, is now pouring over literally hundreds of pages of information... some dating back to the mid-1400's!

The big things that I've discovered are...

- My family have been in North America since 1604 (in New Amsterdam).

- My family (my direct blood) stayed loyal to England and the crown during the revolution and settled in Prince Edward County, Owen Sound, and The Niagara Area... one of which building the first framed home in Sophiasburgh.

- We trace directly back to the Carlisle (and de Carlisle) family in Scotland/North England.

There's whackloads more... plenty of pioneering spirit, engineering and scientific stuff, even some peerage for good measure.

I always knew there was "something" about my family... after all, even recently I felt we were somewhat "storied"...

My Grandpere (father's side) was head (executive) chef of the Royal York hotel for many years and cooked for Her Majesty on several occasions. He also served aboard the HMCS Haida (formerly dry-docked at Ontario Place) during the time HMCS Athabaska tragedy. (In fact, the only time I ever saw him get weepy other than at my father's funeral, was when talking about that terrible event.)

My late Uncle Frank (maternal) was an architect... who designed the suspended walkways at Ontario Place as well as some other landmarks in and around Toronto and Southern Ontario. (Most notably to older Torontonians, the "castle-like" entrance to The Hudson's Bay store at Fairview Mall... before they re-built the whole place.)

My Uncle Gord (paternal) was a Toronto Fire Captain... and a hockey player of some note in his youth.

My Great Grandfather on my Paternal Grandmother's side was Toronto's first and only street gas-lamp lighter... and a painter who painted the words "Gooderham and Worts" on the brick building (once VERY visible from The Gardiner Expressway... but now hidden behind an advertising for condos...) in what is now called "The Distillery District" in Toronto... interestingly enough, he was illiterate and "copied" the letters from a piece of paper.

...anyway, Sue's been REALLY pouring over Biggus Sissus' notes as Sue's a historian (like me) but also she's a genealogist.

It's VERY cool to know that members of both my paternal and maternal family have been in North America since the late 1600's... and in Ontario since the mid-1700's... but weirdly enough, the English bits (and Scots) of both sides were within spitting distance of each other "in the old country) in Cumbria and Lancashire for many generations before coming together here in Canada last century.

The one thing we've found seems to be a family of industrious, inventive, showy, proud, verbose, adventuring people that always seem to make sure that they made some impact around them in society.

...but we both really like "The Professor"... and his "enchanted casket" and "funny folk".

...and my mother STILL wonders where we "get it from"!