Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery - Wrap-up

When we last left the tale of Marjorie and Louetta at the end of January (see Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery - Part 4) I had a hypothesis that they were not the children of Margaret McKinnon and Joseph Bailey but actually of John Nelson and a Christina. Yet I needed to confirm this belief and clean up some loose ends by ordering several birth, marriage, and death registrations from Manitoba. It only took a few weeks to have the paper copies mailed to me (and longer for me to get to writing this post).

The first document of interest is the marriage of John Wm Stratford to Christina A. Nelson on 7 Nov 1883 in Winnipeg.

Manitoba Vital Statistics, Marriages, 1883-06-001701, John William Stratford-Christina A Nelson; Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency, Winnipeg

Here we see that Christina was born in Ontario, she is a widow, and her parents are Alexander and Anna McKinnon. Could her parents be the Alexander McKinnon and Ann McDonald that we found in part 4 when an Annie McKinnon married John Nelson in 1873? Christina A. Nelson here is listed as a widow so it is a possibility. But we still have the issue of Annie McKinnon vs. Christina A. Nelson (nee McKinnon).

There is the birth of an unnamed female on 11 Oct 1884 that seems to shed some light on her name. In that registration of birth this unnamed female child is the daughter of John Wm. Stratford and Christina Annie McKinnon.

Manitoba Vital Statistics, Birth Registration 1884-06-004388 (1884), Unnamed Stratford (female); Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency, Winnipeg.

There we see that the Christina A. Nelson (nee McKinnon) in the marriage registration is probably Christina Annie McKinnon. But we still have a few loose ends and questions to be answered.

In the 1891 census we had Louetta and Margery Nelson listed as step-daughters of John W. Stratford but the wife of John W. Stratford is Sarah not a Christina or Annie. That is why I ordered the marriage registration for John William Stratford and Sarah Givens. I wanted to confirm that John William Stratford was a widower and find out who he married.

Manitoba Vital Statistics, Marriages, 1891-06-001114, John William Stratford-Sarah Givens; Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency, Winnipeg.

So yes, John William Stratford was a widower and had remarried prior to when the 1891 census was taken starting in April 1891. Now the 1891 census makes some sense. Christina Annie McKinnon died sometime between the birth of a unnamed daughter on 11 Oct 1884 and John William Stratford's marriage to Sarah Givens on 11 Mar 1891. I have yet to find her death registration or where she was buried though.

What about Marjorie and Louetta is there anything that can connect them to their parents? I didn't find a marriage registration for Louetta but I did order the marriage registration for Marjorie to Herbert Alan Waterhouse (see Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery - Part 3 for that initial possible connection).

Manitoba Vital Statistics, Marriages, 1917-06-046011, Herbert Alan Waterhouse-Marjorie V Nelson; Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency, Winnipeg.

Here we get confirmation of what was recorded in "The Carberry Plains: 75 Years of Progress" where Marjorie is mentioned as being a nurse and marrying a Mr. H. A. Waterhouse in 1917. The marriage registration has John Nelson and Annie McKinnon as the parents of Marjorie V. Nelson. Those are the same names as listed in the marriage of John Nelson and Annie McKinnon in 1873. This is a very good thing.

However, there is still one more document that I ordered and that is the death of John Nelson on 22 Mar 1883. The age of John, birth place, occupation, and religion (Bible Christian) all match so it is highly likely this is the right person. He died seven months before the widow Christina A. Nelson married John William Stratford. Everything seems to line up quite nicely.

In that original chart it seems that "Margory" and "Lousia" are actually Marjorie and Louetta. Just how is Marjorie and Louetta connected to the McKinnon tree you ask? (OK, you probably didn't.) Using all of the records together I believe I can state that those two women are still the grandchildren of Alexander McKinnon and Ann McDonald but through their daughter Christina Annie McKinnon's marriage to John Nelson.