Introduction
TreesByDan.com is the genealogy web site of Dan Buchanan, the History Guy of Brighton. It was the first web site created by the History Guy in 2004 and the collection of family tree data it contains has been growing constantly since then.
On April 1, 2026, the method of publishing data to www.treesbydan.com was modified with the intent of making the process less technically challenging. The outcome is a version of www.treesbydan.com that contains ONLY family tree information. The format of screens has also been simplified to provide more clarity and less features for users to deal with.
In light of these changes, textual material that was contained in www.treesbydan.com has been moved here, to my main history web site, in support of the genealogy site. From now on, any information that describes or supports www.treesbydan.com will be on this page where it will be much easier to maintain. It may grow as well because it is simple to add content.
On April 1, 2026, the method of publishing data to www.treesbydan.com was modified with the intent of making the process less technically challenging. The outcome is a version of www.treesbydan.com that contains ONLY family tree information. The format of screens has also been simplified to provide more clarity and less features for users to deal with.
In light of these changes, textual material that was contained in www.treesbydan.com has been moved here, to my main history web site, in support of the genealogy site. From now on, any information that describes or supports www.treesbydan.com will be on this page where it will be much easier to maintain. It may grow as well because it is simple to add content.
What's New?
What's New? April 1, 2026
Ryckman
Recent contact by a Ryckman researcher in California motivated a surge in collecting info for this name. This family is huge and represents some U.E.L. members as well as others who came to Canada and may not have obtained that status. These folks spread far and wide into North America over decades of enterprise and optimism and documenting that churning is much fun. More to come on this in the future.
Red Cloud Cemetery & Area Families
A request for information on the people who lived around the Red Cloud Cemetery at the north end of Cramahe Township has resulted in serious additions to the data in www.treesbydan.com. This is a rural area north of Castleton and west of Warkworth, but, in the second half of the 1800s, it was an active community with grist and saw mills, a church and school and, inevitably, its own cemetery.
The project also includes the Russ Cemetery which is in Haldimand Township, not far south-west from the Red Cloud Cemetery.
This is a work-in-progress so will be reported on in a more fulsome manner at a later date. Stay tuned!
Around Town - Elizabeth Street
The Around Town project continues with work on Elizabeth Street, which is well along but much to do yet. I was anxious to do Elizabeth Street for several reasons. First, and let's get this out of the way quickly, as of July 2024, I live at 21 Elizabeth Street. I have been curious about the history of the buildings and businesses that are there now and have been there in the past. This covers all those gas stations that proliferated at the Elizabeth/Prince Edward intersection and have since, for the most part, evolved to other things. It also includes the history of the fire station, the public school and King Edward Park which are important elements of the community. In the process, interesting names have come up at different times, all adding to the data in www.treesbydan.com. More to come on this when it is complete.
Fire at 19-21 Young Street
Unfortunately, recently there was a serious fire in the old building that houses No. 19 and 21 Young Street, on the east side of Young Street, across from Sobeys. The fire gutted the building but the fire fighters were able to prevent the building to the south from being engulf by the fire. There is water and smoke damage, however, so tenants from both buildings are living elsewhere. These two buildings have provided apartments for many years, as can be seen in the Young Street East part of "Around Town" which is on my web site. Something new is likely to happen here.
Ryckman
Recent contact by a Ryckman researcher in California motivated a surge in collecting info for this name. This family is huge and represents some U.E.L. members as well as others who came to Canada and may not have obtained that status. These folks spread far and wide into North America over decades of enterprise and optimism and documenting that churning is much fun. More to come on this in the future.
Red Cloud Cemetery & Area Families
A request for information on the people who lived around the Red Cloud Cemetery at the north end of Cramahe Township has resulted in serious additions to the data in www.treesbydan.com. This is a rural area north of Castleton and west of Warkworth, but, in the second half of the 1800s, it was an active community with grist and saw mills, a church and school and, inevitably, its own cemetery.
The project also includes the Russ Cemetery which is in Haldimand Township, not far south-west from the Red Cloud Cemetery.
This is a work-in-progress so will be reported on in a more fulsome manner at a later date. Stay tuned!
Around Town - Elizabeth Street
The Around Town project continues with work on Elizabeth Street, which is well along but much to do yet. I was anxious to do Elizabeth Street for several reasons. First, and let's get this out of the way quickly, as of July 2024, I live at 21 Elizabeth Street. I have been curious about the history of the buildings and businesses that are there now and have been there in the past. This covers all those gas stations that proliferated at the Elizabeth/Prince Edward intersection and have since, for the most part, evolved to other things. It also includes the history of the fire station, the public school and King Edward Park which are important elements of the community. In the process, interesting names have come up at different times, all adding to the data in www.treesbydan.com. More to come on this when it is complete.
Fire at 19-21 Young Street
Unfortunately, recently there was a serious fire in the old building that houses No. 19 and 21 Young Street, on the east side of Young Street, across from Sobeys. The fire gutted the building but the fire fighters were able to prevent the building to the south from being engulf by the fire. There is water and smoke damage, however, so tenants from both buildings are living elsewhere. These two buildings have provided apartments for many years, as can be seen in the Young Street East part of "Around Town" which is on my web site. Something new is likely to happen here.
What's New? Archive
The "What's New?" section has been part of the www.treesbydan.com system since 2008. It was provided to give other genealogy researchers a feeling for what names and issues I was dealing with since the last time I published. Some entries have been more elaborate than others, but the content of these entries, over time, has been of interest to many different researchers.
At this point of change, I felt it would be beneficial to provide an archive of these "What's New?" entries in PDF form so that the files are easy to download and search. Below are two different files to download, one for the period from 2008 to 2016, and one for the period from 2017 to 2025. Help yourself!
At this point of change, I felt it would be beneficial to provide an archive of these "What's New?" entries in PDF form so that the files are easy to download and search. Below are two different files to download, one for the period from 2008 to 2016, and one for the period from 2017 to 2025. Help yourself!
| whats_new_archive_2008_03_18_to_2016_05_11.pdf |
| whats_new_archive_2017_01_20_to_2025_10_13.pdf |
Genealogy Support
Another group of textual files that were on www.treesbydan.com can be called "Genealogy Support". Here is information about how I go about the work of genealogy, what sources I have used and what seems to work best for me. The History Guy does not profess to be an expert in this field, but practical experience over many years has been useful in learning how to approach this work. At least, this is what works for me. Feel free to download and check out these files.
Note: Right now, I am providing the versions of these files that have been on the web site for several years. I expect that they need to be updated to reflect current circumstances and I hope to do that sometime soon.
Note: Right now, I am providing the versions of these files that have been on the web site for several years. I expect that they need to be updated to reflect current circumstances and I hope to do that sometime soon.
| genealogy_methods_and_habits.pdf |
| genealogy_sources_for_research.pdf |
History Stories
All the history stories that used to be available on www.treesbydan.com are now provided on this site, my main history site.
Look under the History menu for details. If there is one story you are looking for and can't find, please email me.
Look under the History menu for details. If there is one story you are looking for and can't find, please email me.