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Ruth Phair Mason

@phairmason.bsky.social

200 followers 360 following 130 posts

An American who is currently knuckles deep learning about her 18th-century family in the Lower Dales of Yorkshire.

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Nov 22

Copy and paste to introduce yourself to #Genealogy Bluesky.
Years researching: 14
Hobbyist or pro: Hobbyist
Fun fact/Wildest discovery: My 4th great-grandparents in Yorkshire had five natural children, married, then had five lawful children.
My niche: Currently working on the north of England

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · 4h

It’s back. I just went to my Feeds, and it was there I unpinned it and pinned again.

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · 15h

Mine is gone also. It was there last night.

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Sep 11

#GenHour #Ancestry Cumbria FHS, celebrating its Jubilee year, will host a three-day #FamilyHistory conference and fair from 29 July through 1 August 2026 at Carlisle. The website isn't updated yet but the information is on its Facebook page. More details coming soon.

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Sep 11

My Cumbrians lived in the Penrith and Appleby area although my 2xg-grandmother was a servant in Matthewman Donald’s house in 1851. I’ve only spent a touristy afternoon in Carlisle when I was in the area. It will be good to chat about family history in the area with those who know more than I do.

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Sep 9

Watch out Cumbria and Yorkshire, and London, I’m coming back! #familyhistory #genealogy #ancestry #cumbriafhs

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Sep 8

Yes, thankfully we have the means in retirement. During our working years we lived far from our families so our leisure travels were mainly to visit our living relatives.

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Sep 8

It was an idea for an ancestry tour that started my truly working on family history. We decided to go to Ireland for our 30th anniversary in 2013. I thought, let me do some digging, and 16 months later, we drove across Ulster visiting a good mix of ancestral, historic, and tourist locations.

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Sep 2

#Genealogy #FamilyHistory In a late night foray into Full Text Search last week I found a couple items that confirm suspected relationships. Sometimes it’s fun to just go in and throw things at it and see what pops up. #AncestryHour

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Sep 2

#AncestryHour, I’ve been researching speakers for my local genealogy society. For our regular 2026 meetings, I’ve engaged a speaker on researching Revolutionary War soldiers (my folk were still in their old countries) and have contacted a couple more. Our quarterly webinar series is nearly set.

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Sep 1

I was thinking James Norton as the printer; he’s in everything now. Maybe he’s better suited to playing the local lord.

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Sep 1

With a teenaged servant and an unmarried male lodger also in the house, I can see so many plot lines.

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 30

Oh how I wish the border offices kept more of their crossings records. At least I have newspaper articles about my maternal granddad visiting family only 100 miles away but across the border. Also, some of grandma’s southern Ontario cousins went to Michigan for work.

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 30

Glad to hear! A few years ago, I was in a non- #genealogy writing-your- #familyhistory class and one student—who didn’t dabble in genealogy—corrected the Louisianan instructor who said that her ancestors arrived at New Orleans in the 1700s, stating that “all immigrants came through Ellis Island.” 🤷‍♀️

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 30

In my limited experience, many Americans have a Canadian connection and are surprised when they find it.

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 30

I don’t think it’s rare. My four grandparents entered at Canadian-American land borders between 1893-1917. Two were born in Canada to immigrants, one lived in Canada but was born elsewhere, and one traveled through Canada as part of the journey to the US. #genealogy #familyhistory #ancestry

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 28

I do.

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 28

It searches the full text instead of an index. BNA/Findmypast’s newspaper OCR transcriptions look like they use a fairly early OCR. I imagine they are waiting for not-so-early AI software to re-run the pages. That would be a huge (!!) cost but—I know there are many hits I’m not seeing.

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 28

And yes. I just confirmed a relationship in an 1893 will; William Shannon bequeathed CDN$200 to his “niece Mary Ann Cox.” I had suspected he was her mother’s brother for at least 10 years, even before I found her mother.

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 27

I have not used it much since it first was announced and found items I already had. I know they have been adding more record sets and I should see what’s there now.

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 22

Every year during RootsTech season, I look at my celebrity connections and do a bit of pruning. We all know the story: A noble lady went to the fells of the northern Pennines to baptize a child and left him behind with her namesake. No, that’s not unusual at all.

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 17

Yes. I found an Irish couple’s home. The wife’s older family member’s headstone said “Native of Keenagh Co. Longford.” And the husband’s nephew, who emigrated later and to a different country, had an obituary that mentioned Keenagh. That couple were married in Keenagh.

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 8

Reclaim The Records has some advice to appeal if you’re next of kin. See www.birls.org/updates At the moment, it seems they think it’ll take a few more years to resolve (again).

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 7

The NGS Conference is next May at Fort Wayne so there is another chance to visit. #GenHour

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Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 7

She was a laundress, an ag labourer, and spend her final days in St. Anne's Almshouse. Her name was Ann Dixon McIntosh and she must have been well loved to have such a beautiful stone. I was able to visit her every day for a week last summer. She remains top of mind. #genhour #genealogy 3/3

Ruth Phair Mason @phairmason.bsky.social · Aug 7

She rests forever at the far back of the St. Lawrence churchyard in Appleby overlooking the Eden River. She was born nearby in Dufton; she was the wife of the blacksmith on the Cantray estate near Inverness; she was widowed and brought her children to England. #genhour #genealogy 2/3

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