IT IS A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL !!!
Several good things have happened to me lately which have me entitling this
story as I do now. First of all I recently started my own Family Site on My
Family. com, and because of this effort I have met some new members of the
Hilton Family as well as assorted other members of other Families which were
related to some of my ancestors.
Within the last few weeks I met a couple from my old home town of Amherst, Nova Scotia, nearby where I was born in Nappan, Nova Scotia. I met this couple, the Hastings quite by accident as I was going to a nearby church to join up with the rest of the choir to sing at the High School graduates service. The Hastings and I began to talk and I found out they had a cottage nearby where I am living now at Harvey Station, New Brunswick , but they were now living in the Capital City of Fredericton, New Brunswick. They then proceeded to inform me that they were from Amherst, Nova Scotia. I told them that I had been born near there too. I then gave them my name and Gerald Hastings informed me that he had known of my Mom and Dad and had worked for the same company-Robb Engineering Works for 15 years as my Mom had before he had started there.
These bits of information were earth shattering in themselves, but two weeks ago I was sitting having lunch after the Ecumentical Service of our local churches and talking to a friend about my writing this article and what I would call it, when Gerald Hastings sat down behind me and said he had something to tell me. He proceeded to tell me about spending two days with his 88 year old Sister, Frances (nee Hastings) Smith, who when Mom and Dad, Smith and Hila Hilton’s names were mentioned she proceeded to tell her brother about knowing of them years ago and that she had once been my Mom’s nurse when she had a baby boy and then the year was mentioned –1939 and she informed her brother that she could not think of the boy’s name- then Gerald informed her it was Paul and that he had met me just a short while before, he and his Sister talked for a half hour about the event. She mentioned that I was born premature and that I was a sweet child, which I can’t quite believe.
While people were writing me after seeing my name on the MyFamily site, they contacted me and told me we are related... they were tied in with William and Edward Hilton of New Hampshire- some of the founding fathers of the State. They were Pamela Foy and Donna Nummy and several others as well. One lady contacted me –Betty Felton. I immediately contacted her to let her know that I had the Felton Coat of Arms in my collection of genealogical material. When a while later I sent her the picture of it via computer, she informed me that her Husband Bob’s Coat of Arms was just that one. I said to Betty that we were related as Cousins. Coincidences have accumulated amongst the ones I have mentioned.
It is indeed a Small World After All. There are other stories to tell also. There are most likely more such coincidences to come. The way I have met up with Ian Forshaw of KintyreMag is another story in itself and will be related later.
Paul M. Hilton - September 10, 2005.
http://fredericton.foundlocally.com/Local/index.htm
Wee Drams E-mails, comments, queries and enlightenment from around the world
Page 2: Oatfield House - An Exchange of Emails
Page 3: Interesting Articles from the MOD (with permission)
Page 4: It Is a Small World After All
Page 5: The Italian Community in Campbeltown - A Memoir
Page 6: Memories of Macharioch
Page 7: By Hill and Shore - Angus Martin