OSCC Newsletter - Oshawa Senior Citizens Centres

In keeping with the OSCC desire to share
our diverse backgrounds, the members of the
Newsletter Committee are getting the ball rolling
with some stories of our own ancestry.
Who Do You Think You Are?
By Grace Stevenson
From the time I was quite young my father,
Walter Montgomery, told me we had an
ancestor who killed the King of France. I didn’t
really believe the story until the day I read
the book “Mary Queen of Scots” by Antonia
Fraser. On page 86 it tells of King Henry II’s
love of jousting and of the day he challenged
Jacques de Lorge, count of Montgomery, a
Norman with Scottish blood, to “break a
lance with him”. Montgomery’s lance splintered
when they met, “one splinter went into
the king’s right eye, another into his throat”.
The king died and, although this book doesn’t
say so, my father said Montgomery fled to
Ayrshire, Scotland. Certainly that’s where my
grandfather, also Walter Montgomery, grew
up and from where he emigrated to Kingston,
Ontario, Canada. Eventually he married and
took his wife, Grace Blackaby, and their
three children, the eldest of which was my
father, to Montreal. That’s where Dad met
my mother, married and had me and another
girl and boy.
I don’t know much about my maternal
ancestors. My mother’s maiden name was
Darbyson. Her father was perfectly bilingual
and was noted for his terrible temper. Her
mother was Clara Chamberlain and came
from Chelsea, Quebec. My mother was the
second of ten children in that family.
By Fred Tan
My grandparents were all born in
China which, before the onset of the Second
World War, was in a state of abject poverty.
Looking for a way to support his family, my
Grandfather Tan moved to the Straits Settlement
(later called Singapore) by himself,
leaving his wife and three children (my father
included) in China. He became a street food
vendor. Later Grandmother Tan took my Father,
who was only thirteen years old, and
travelled to Singapore to find grandfather.
They located him and decided to stay and
make their home in Singapore. Grandfather
Tan died before I was born. Grandmother
Tan decided to return to China when I was
five years old.
My maternal grandfather Ang along
with his wife, their three sons, my Mom
sailed to settle in Singapore. He too became
a street food vendor. Later, two uncles and
my aunt were born in Singapore. My aunt
would get up at 2 a.m. daily and using a
stone, grind rice into powder which was further
processed to make rice cakes for
Grandfather Ang to sell at sunrise. These
were fried and served with various sauces.
Leftovers were brought home for the family.
They were absolutely yummy! Grandma Ang
was a homemaker. When we were hungry
after school, she would cook anything for us
while reminding us that we’d also better eat
our dinner or Mother might be annoyed.
Grandfather Ang died at the age of 96, a
month after Grandma Ang passed away.
My father became a tailor by trade, and
opened his own shop. He met my mother in
Singapore. They sewed for the Japanese
army during the occupation. They raised four
boys and four girls. I was the fourth child.
Due to the impoverishment in China,
my father continuously sent necessities
home not only for our relatives, but to help
the neighbourhood. We rendered pork fat,
dried pork skins, and packed them in cans to
send, together with whatever clothing we
were able to collect.
Page 4
www.oscc.ca (905) 576-6712
June 2012 OSCC Newsletter