News from Connicks from far and wide
Connick Family Newsletter
Vol. 3 No. 2 July 6, 2002
2nd Family Reunion Fast Approaching
What’s in this Issue:
Reunion Events
25 Registered to date
It's still a bargain
Sharing table
Saturday free for exploringSome people have been asking
There's been lots of research going on
How about this question
Over 20 years of Research
The death of Thomas Connick
Enquiry from Mississippi
Doing Research in Ireland
John Cennick, Hymn Writer 1718-1755
Reunion Events
Plan on coming, renewing acquaintances, sharing stories, enjoying
good eats and a few laughs. If you can’t come to
everything, come to what you can.
Friday, August 9th
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Registration
7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Welcome and Social
8:00 - 8:30 p.m. Family History/Lecture
8:30 - 9:30 p.m. Bridget & Daughter
9:30 - 9:45 p.m. Announcements
Saturday, August 10th
5:30 - 6:00 p.m. Reception
6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Banquet and Awards
7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Family Entertainment
9:00 - 12:00p.m. Dance
Sunday, August 11
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Church Service
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. On-site picnic
2:30 p.m. Family Farewell
* Please bring something for the Sunday picnic.
25 Registered to date
Almost half the people registered so far are coming from
off-island, from New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, California
and Ontario.
We are asking that you have your registration in by July 26 to
allow the planning committee to make final arrangements. If
you lost your brochure or didn’t receive one contact Carol
Connick at (902) 368-707, P. O. Box 3063, Charlottetown,
PE C1A 7N8 or cconnick@pei.sympatico.ca
It’s still a bargain
Costs to hold the Connick Family Reunion were omitted on the
original brochure so here they are for your information.
The registration fee of $10.00 applies to each adult.
Event
Costs
Registration
$10
Banquet:
Adults
$15
Children over
9
$15
Children under
9
$7.50
Sharing table
If you have up-dated information to share, please send it in
early so we can incorporate it into the family trees. Also
don’t forget to bring an old photo from childhood or early
adulthood for a game of guessing. The person who correctly
identifies the most people will be declared the winner and will
be the respected and revered by everyone in the family.
Saturday free for exploring
We have left the day open on Saturday for personal pursuits -
shopping, going to the beach, visiting family and friends
or historic places, golfing - you name it. Members of the
planning committee are busy preparing a map indicating grave
yards and sites of interest to Connick descendants.
Some people have been asking:
Do you think that if I came to your reunion that I would learn
anything more about my family? ... or is it only PEI Connicks who
attend?
There’s been lots of research going on.
As a result of having help from the Province of Prince Edward
Island to do our off-Island mailing, we were able to mail to many
more people than we did for our last reunion. Some of the
notices were returned undeliverable but we have heard from many
Connicks all over the country. As well, Bill Connick called
all the Connicks in Ontario on the telephone before he came to
PEI for the summer. Sandra Devlin carried the notice in her
column twice and of course, a notice is also posted on several
web sites.
As a result of this, Connicks in the west of Canada who were unaware that there were more Connicks in Canada...besides those in Alberta have sent me information to include in my Charlotte County group. In answer to my question about Connick’s still living in Charlotte County, I am told that there are several Connicks still living there. It would be great to have someone to check my research with.
I heard from Constance Wooldridge-Vincent. Her
maiden name was Connick. Her paternal grandfather was Thomas
Connick from South Nelson Road (near Miramichi City) in New
Brunswick and her great grandfather was Matthew Connick. I
also heard from Lisa Kelly, grandaughter of Lester Connick; as a
matter of fact, I heard from several descendants of Bryce Connick
who moved to Minnesota. His son George moved to Gull Lake,
SK. This is how the family tree grows.
How about this question from Christine Gorman: Who is the Peter Connick, age 91, inmate of the Poor House, Charlottetown, Census 1901? Christine is always sending little tidbits that she finds as she is doing her own research.
Over 20 years of Research
It is hard to believe but I have been working on the Connick
Family history since November, 1981 with an occasional hiatus of
varying lengths of time. Much of the information I got by
contacting family members and their sharing what they knew and
referring me to someone else. Sadly, many of those people
have now died. Thankfully, genealogy is a lifetime pursuit and it
is nice to keep in touch with people from the pre-internet
days. One of those people is William T. Burke.
Margaret Jenkins talked with Bill Burke recently. He and his wife
Therese are unable to make the reunion because their daughter
graduated from medical school in May in Minnesota.
Congratulations, Bill and Therese!
Enquiry from MississippiI got an enquiry from Richard Clarke
Handy who is trying to locate information on his grandfather,
Melvin Lawson Connick’s mother and father. Melvin was born
in Halifax, NS Canada in 1879. His father was Benjamin F. Connick
and was born in Moore’s Mills, NB. Benjamin's wife's name
was Adelaide Bootlegger born in St. Margaret Bay, NS Canada.
That's all the information he had. So now here is the
interesting part. Margaret Jenkins had send me pages of
births, marriages and deaths which she transcribed from the
Massachusetts Vital Records. Turns out several of the
children of Melvin L Connick and Mary Clark were born in New
Bedford. I remembered them because it was unusual to have
Connicks from NS who did not originate in Prince Edward Island.
The death of Thomas Connick, March 20, 1905 in Boston, Emergency Hospital. Residence “Unknown” E. Boston, age 45. Male, white, married. Born PEI. Occupation Sailor. Cause of death: Oedema of the Lungs, 2 days. Contributory: Peri-bronchial tumor, probably tubrecular, 3 months. Recorded March 26, 1905. Buried Hyde Park, Fairview Cemetery. Father Thomas Connick, born PEI.
Doing Research in Ireland
According to Matthew Connick’s tombstone, he was from
Waterford, Ireland. Waterford Heritage Services hold the
records that can enable us to find an individual, if he/she was
recorded in County Waterford or the Suir Valley area of Co
Tipperary. Michael O'Connor writes that they have all the
relevant records for this area,, Civil & Church, for the time
prior to 1911. I intend to put in an application to find
out any information that would help us sort out the relationships
of the early Connicks who settled on PEI.
They search the primary sources available for Co Waterford and the Diocese of Waterford & Lismore to establish, if possible, the location of origin of a given ancestor for a basic fee which is (80Euro) or other currency equivalent.
Since eight weeks are needed for the completion of the work involved, results of the search will not be available for the reunion but maybe by the next newsletter we will have some information. Since a trip to Ireland is not likely to happen any time soon, commissioning some research seems like a good alternative.
John Cennick, Hymn Writer
1718- 1755
Born: December 12, 1718, Reading, England.
Died: July 4, 1755, London, England.
Buried: Moravian Burial Ground (Sharon’s Garden), Chelsea, England
Cennick had thought of becoming a surveyor, but after meeting
the Wesleys, he joined them in their work. In 1740, he became a
teacher at Kingswood, England, on the recommendation of John
Wesley. Later, he joined the Moravians, and visited their
headquarters at Herrnhut, but he spent much of his time as an
itinerant evangelist in England. Cennick’s works include:
• Sacred Hymns, for the Children of God in the Days of Their
Pilgrimage, 1741
• Sacred Hymns for the Use of Religious Societies, 1743
• A Collection of Sacred Hymns, 1749
• Hymns to the Honour of Jesus Christ, Composed for Such
Little Children as Desire to Be Saved, 1754
Additional works appeared posthumously in J. Swertner’s
Moravian Hymn Book, 1789.
• Be Present at Our Table, Lord
• Brethren, Let Us Join to Bless
• Children of the Heavenly King
• Ere I Sleep, for Every Favor
• Jesus, My All, to Heaven is Gone
• Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending
• Lo, He Cometh, Countless Trumpets
• Savior and Regenerator
• We Sing to Thee, Thou Son of God We Thank Thee, Lord
A search of the internet came up with another:
• Happy in our Lord
Children of the Heavenly King is sung at the beginning and end of
the 1942 Academy Award winning movie “Mrs. Miniver.”
His hymns with some music can be found at
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/c/e/cennick_j.htm
Graeme Watson of Reading says that Cennick’s grandfather,
according to the records of the Quaker meeting to which he was a
member, was Thomas Connick.