A couple of months ago I tagged along with Leen while she met with a potential supplier for her clinic (which, God willing, she’ll be opening in early October). I didn’t really want to be there, but there I was, watching the supplier pull shiny metal instruments of torture out of his briefcase. He was [...]
Categories: Life
Tagged: Cape Breton, immigration, MacVay, Malay, Malaysia, Nova Scotia, photos, Sydney
Our second child, Aaron Yusuf MacVay, was born in the early morning hours of March 7th, after a lot of pushing and an emergency C-section. Mother and baby are both doing fine now. As for Alisdair, well he really loves being a big brother.
We had a few names in mind but Aaron Yusuf came out [...]
Categories: Life
Most people who know me (and probably most people who read my blog) know that it really annoys me when someone spells my last name wrong. Actually, it annoys me a little less these days, just because I’m so used to it. But it’s still annoying. No matter how many times I tell people it’s [...]
Categories: Heritage
Tagged: English, family, Gaelic, history, language, MacVay, migration, names, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, photos, Scotland
I finally got in touch with William Alexander MacVay Jr, my only living MacVay relative outside my immediate family (well, unless we count his sister, who goes by her married name). Bill, as he’s called, lives in Florida and is a widower of about 90 years old. We had a great chat about his side [...]
Categories: Life
Tagged: conversations, family, MacVay
I often find myself lamenting the lack of sidewalks here in Malaysia. Sometimes I think it’s silly to feel annoyed that there are so few real sidewalks here, but I just can’t help it.
Well, maybe it’s simply in my blood to feel that way: while googling for some further information on the members of [...]
Categories: Heritage
Tagged: family, genealogy, history, MacVay, names, New Brunswick
In my first post about the MacVay family, I mentioned that my great-grandfather, William MacVay, helped his brother Joseph (who was working with his son, also named William) build the railway station in McAdam, New Brunswick. Well, today I read a news article from New Brunswick that mentions the MacVays’ work.
The article provided me [...]
Categories: Heritage
Tagged: family, genealogy, history, MacVay, names, New Brunswick
In Part One I told the story of my ancestors’ Irish origins, and about my particular branch of the family’s journey from Ireland to Scotland, back to Ireland, then back to Scotland again before they finally moved to Canada. Part Two covered the family’s departure from New Brunswick and their early years on Cape Breton. [...]
Categories: Heritage
Tagged: Cape Breton, family, genealogy, history, MacVay, Nova Scotia, Sydney
As I mentioned in Part One, my great-grandparents, William and Fanny MacVay, had several children. The first, Robert Franklin MacVay, was born barely nine months after their marriage. Next came Alexander MacVay, Alice Maude MacVay, Elizabeth Armour MacVay, and finally William Kirk MacVay. Most records I’ve found say that all were born in New Brunswick [...]
Categories: Heritage
Tagged: Cape Breton, Freemasonry, genealogy, history, MacVay, names, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, photos, Sydney
While I’d like to consider myself a fairly competent, experienced amateur genealogist, and have unearthed a great deal of information about my family history, I have to admit that it’s impossible to write a complete family history. The further back I go in time, the more ancestors I had: two parents, four grandparents, eight [...]
Categories: Heritage
Tagged: Armour, family, genealogy, history, Ireland, MacVay, migration, New Brunswick, photos, Scotland, Ulster
I often talk about my maternal grandfather; I quite often write about him as well. But I never knew my paternal grandfather, Frank MacVay, who died a few years before I was born. All I knew of him was the occasional comment or story from my parents or other relatives. I knew that he always [...]
Categories: Heritage
What is this, a treasure hunt? How could those things possibly go together? Well, they could in MACVAYSIA. I’d like to tell you about an interesting (or perhaps just plain stupid) habit I’ve developed. Have you ever taken great care to iron a shirt, but then after you’ve put it on and tucked it in [...]
Categories: General
Tagged: Canada, Cape Breton, family, Gaelic, genealogy, history, language, MacVay, Malaysia
OK, I guess one of the first things I should do here is explain the meanings of the strange-looking foreign words at the top of this page [Update: As you can see, the phrases I'm about to mention are no longer at the top of the page]. Malays or any other Muslims will immediately recognize [...]
Categories: General
Tagged: Canada, Cape Breton, English, family, Gaelic, genealogy, history, immigration, Ireland, language, MacLeod, MacVay, Malaysia, Nova Scotia, Scotland, Sydney, Ulster
Malaysian Cops Deserve a Raise 0
I’m not a big fan of the Royal Malaysian Police. As far as I know, none of the police reports I’ve made since coming to Malaysia have resulted in anything resembling a thorough investigation; no one I’ve ever made a report against has ever been held accountable for whatever it was they had done. I’ve [...]
Categories: Commentary
Tagged: Canada, Cape Breton, family, MacVay, Malaysia, Nova Scotia, photos, police, Sydney