The Family of Thomas Wells and Mary Foley

For the past while I've been spending my time helping others in their genealogy and family history research, whether on Facebook or at the Ottawa Public Library Local History & Genealogy Drop-In Club (now a virtual weekly event due to COVID-19). However, I figure I might actually take some time to apply some of the things I've written about in this blog.

I decided I'd start work on the line of Thomas Wells, and Mary Foley, my 3rd great grandparents. So what do I know about Thomas and Mary's family based on my earlier research from 2013?

Thomas Wells

• born between 1814 and 1831 in Ireland^1,2,3,4,5,6
• immigrated to Canada about 1849
• by 4 April 1881 he is a widower and resides in Manitoba³
• died 9 May 1907 due to bronchitis in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada^6,7
• buried in Teulon, Manitoba, Canada^6,7

Mary Foley

• born about 1835 in Upper Canada^1,2
• died before 4 April 1881³

Thomas and Mary

• married about 1855¹
• children:
• James (about 1855-?)¹
• Eliza Ann (1856-1947)¹
• Margaret Jane (about 1858-?)¹
• unknown male (about 1859-before 2 Apr 1871)²
• Isabella (about 1862-?)²
• Ellen (about 1863-?)²
• Thomas, Jr. (about 1865-?)²
• John Wellington (about 1867-?)²
• William Henry Wells (about 1869-?)²

As you can see, there are a lot of gaps and uncertainties. So where am I going to start?

How about putting Thomas on the ground? I know from the 1861 census of Canada West that he is in Blanshard Township, Perth County, Canada West¹. But where in that township? For that I need to go back to my post A Challenge: 1861 Census of Canada - Agricultural Schedule and follow my own instructions. About 20 minutes later I found him listed:

1861 census of Canada West, Perth County, Township of Blanshard, p 84 - Agricultural schedule - extract for Thomas Wells.

There is he is found residing at Concession WB Lot p19. I have no idea what that meant but it is a start.

Next it was over to Ontario Land Registry Access site. For assistance in researching that site I made use of Cindi's My Moynahan Genealogy Blog and her excellent series of posts, especially Part II: OnLand Records: Historical Books: Abstract / Parcel Register Book to find the right book.

While browsing the Historical Abstract/Parcel Register book list for Blanshard in Perth County I came across West Boundary; Concession. I think the mystery of WB is answered. So I delved into that digitized set of records. A few minutes of flipping through the pages I came to Lot 19.

Onland Abstract/Parcel Register Book - Perth (44), Blanshard Township, Book 176, image 99 - West Boundary, Lot 19 - extract: Canada Company to Thomas Wells.

It seems that Thomas received 100 acres of land from the Canada Company on 27 Jan 1859. On 2 March 1859 Thomas sold 50 acres of that land to William Quinn. I think that explains the p19. He is living on part of lot 19 in 1861.

Can I find additional details about the land transfer from the Canada Company to Thomas?

On FamilySearch I came across "Land records of Perth County, 1847-1953" in their catalogue. Even better, I can view the digitized microfilm images from home. Unfortunately the index for Blanshard township only starts around 1866 but Thomas received the land in 1859. Not a problem, just go to the "Blanshard Township, v. C (1274-2103) 1859-1862" microfilm and hope that there is an index...and there is! From the index I learned that instrument number 1338 concerned the transaction between the Canada Company and Thomas Wells.

FHL 0169829, image 67 - Grant and Release from Canada Company to Thomas Wells, Perth County, Blanchard Township, No. 1338.

I found that Thomas paid 100 pounds, 16 shillings, and 3 pence for the 100 acres. On the next page it recorded that he sold the 50 acres for 206 pounds and 5 shillings. Not a bad bit of profit for Thomas and his wife Mary.

On 20 September 1871 he sells his land to William Arksey for $1,255.62. At that time, Mary, Thomas' wife, is still alive.

In his will⁸ written on 23 April 1906, Thomas mentions land in Manitoba described as follows:

"North East Quarter of Section Four, Township Eighteen Range Three, West of the first principal Meridian in the Province of Manitoba"

I found the entry for that property in the Land Grants of Western Canada, 1870-1930 database on the Library and Archives Canada web site. Unfortunately, the microfilm with the image of the grant is one that hasn't been digitized. Following the instructions on the LAC site I've submitted a request to have the reel digitized and put on the Héritage site.

Where to next?

I have several questions I want answered:

• Who are the parents of Thomas and the parents of Mary?
• Naming patterns of the children might help here
• Can I locate a better approximation for the birth year for Thomas?
• Depending on the records examined it is currently a wide range.
• 1871 and 1881 censuses seem to agree it is about 1821
• His death registration puts it about 1823
• 1861, 1891, and 1901 are the outliers (both high and low)
• When did Mary die?
• She was alive when the land was sold in September 1871 but dead by the 1881 census
• Can I find Thomas in the 1906 census of the Prairie Provinces of Canada?
• What happened to the children of Thomas and Mary?

At this point, I think I will follow the various branches of Thomas' and Mary's family. I'll be checking various census enumerations, birth, marriage, and death indexes and records, along with online newspaper collections, plus whatever other documents I can think of. I already have undertaken that process for their daughter Eliza Ann, my 2nd great-grandmother. Hopefully I can fill in some of the blanks I have for this family.

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1. 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Canada West, Perth County, p. 13 [stamped 76],  household of ___mas Wells; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 Apr 2013); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm C-1064-1065.
2. 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 29, sub-district A-3, p. 24, dwelling 79, family 79, household of Thomas Wells; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 Apr 2013); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm C-9938. 
3. 1881 census of Canada, Manitoba, district 185, sub-district d-2, p. 5, dwelling 24, family 26, household of Thomas Wells; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Apr 2013); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm C-13283.
4. 1891 census of Canada, Manitoba, district 6, sub-district Rockwood North, p. 25, family 108, household of Thomas Wells; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 Apr 2013); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm T-6293.
5. 1901 census of Canada, Manitoba, district 11, sub-district H-10, p. 2, dwelling 17, family 17, household of William H. Wells; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 Apr 2013); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm T-6435.
6. Manitoba Vital Statistics, Deaths,   1907,004554, Thomas Wells; Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency, Winnipeg.
7. "Obituary for Thomas Wells," (Winnipeg) Winnipeg Free Press, 13 May 1907, p. 5, col. 6.
8. "Manitoba Probate Records, 1871-1930," database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed 25 Apr 2013), Thomas Wells, Eastern Judical District, file 4863. 

Converting Section-Township-Range-Meridian to Latitude-Longitude in Canada

In a recent post in the members only British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa Discussion Group on Facebook a question was asked about how to find a group of Saskatchewan homesteads on a map.

If any of your relatives settled in the Canadian Prairie Provinces and you've looked at the 1906, 1911, 1916, 1921, or 1926 census you might have seen the Place of Abode asking about the section, township, range, and meridian for anyone not living in a city or town.

1926 census of Canada, Saskatchewan, district 20, sub-district 23, Rural Municipality of Fairview, p. 2, dwelling 11, family 11, Margaret Gilchrist; RG 31; digital images, Library and Archives Canada, Library and Archives Canada (www.bac-lac.gc.ca : accessed 24 Jan 2020); citing Library and Archives Canada, item no. 1018757.

The locations were given using the Dominion Land Survey (DLS) method that was used to divide up most of Western Canada (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and parts of British Columbia) into one mile square sections. These coordinates boil down to a legal subdivision, typically one of 4 quadrants - NE/SE/SW/NW, section, township, range, and meridian. I'm not even going to describe how all this came about since the Library and Archives Canada landing page for the Land Grants of Western Canada, 1870-1930, Wikipedia page on the Dominion Land Survey, and the Saskatchewan Land Information Services Corporation page on Measuring Land in Saskatchewan do a much better job than I ever can, so I refer you to those pages.

So, just how do you plot these co-ordinates onto a modern map?

I looked at a number of sites and many of them do a great job if you have only a few locations to plot. However, after between 3 and 20 plots you had to pay for monthly subscription or a small amount, usually less than a dollar and sometimes literally only pennies, to do more. However, I found that the Oil and Gas industry also uses this mapping system since the Dominion Land Survey addresses are used as legal land descriptions. After a bit more searching I came across the SCADALink DLS/LSD to Lat/Long page provided by Bentek System out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Screen capture of Bentek System's DLS/LSD to Lat/Long page with Margaret Gilchrist address.

It isn't the fanciest or prettiest page but, gosh darn, it just works and I love when I come across a web page that is designed for functionality with no bells or whistles.

The census enumerations for Canada generally only asked for the section (SEC), township (TWP), range (RNG), and meridian (MRD). Unless the enumerator wrote down NE, SE, SW, or NW you won't know which quarter of the section they were living on, unless they owned the whole section. In those cases I will just leave the LSD as the number "1" which is in the south-east corner of the section.

In the screen capture above for Margaret Gilchrist from the 1926 census of Canada I entered in the details from the enumeration leaving the LSD as "1". I clicked the Convert button and it did its magic giving a result of 51.345549,-108.257044.

So what can I do with that set of numbers? Well you can click the "Map" button and it will zoom into the coordinates in a Google Map page embedded with the SCADALink page. Or you can copy those numbers into Google Maps directly, maybe even creating your own map plotting where your relatives lived.

Screen capture of Google Maps with Margaret Gilchrist address plotted.

Sometimes you might come across situations where a transcription is missing a key part of the details such as the meridian. This has happened to me several times with the Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, Homestead Grant Registers, 1872-1930 collection on Ancestry where the meridian is missing.

Here the record for the transcription for Harold Geo. Armitage's entry is missing "Meridian":

Screen capture of the record page for Harold Geo Armitage in the Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, Homestead Grant Registers, 1872-1930 collection on Ancestry.

But since they provide a way to view the image of the register gaes you can check what was really recorded (fourth entry from the top).

"Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, Homestead Grant Registers, 1872-1930," database and images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jan 2020), entry for Harold Geo Armitage, application date 4 Nov 1914, image 6; citing  Homestead Grant Registers. R190-75-1-E. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

"Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, Homestead Grant Registers, 1872-1930," database and images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jan 2020), entry for Harold Geo Armitage, application date 4 Nov 1914, image 7; citing  Homestead Grant Registers. R190-75-1-E. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

As you can see on image 7 it seems that someone forgot to transcribe "2" for the meridian, or more accurately, W2. We can verify that information by searching the Land Grants of Western Canada, 1870-1930 at Library and Archives Canada for an Armitage at section 10, township 49, and range 14. Only one appears in the results.

Screen capture of search for Armitage at section 10, township 49, range 14 in the Land Grants of Western Canada, 1870-1930 at Library and Archives Canada.

Now we can properly map the location!

I hope that this helps you put your ancestors and relatives on the ground in the Prairie Provinces of Canada.

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.

Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery - Part 4

This continues on from Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery - Part 3 where I have now discovered that the maiden surname of Marjorie and Louetta is Nelson and her father's forename is John. Yet I still don't know how they are connected into the tree. But I do know now that it appears that they are not the children of Margaret McKinnon and Joseph Bailey in that hand-drawn tree [see Extra Children of a Bigger Mystery - Part 1 for tree]

Can I now find them in the 1891 census of Canada? [This is a rhetorical question if you haven't noticed.]

1891 census of Canada, Manitoba, district 7, sub-district G, North Cypress, p. 66, family 364, John W Stratford household; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 19 Jan 2015); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm T-6293. 

There Louetta and Margery Nelson are listed as step-daughters of John W Stratford. If they are Nelsons that means that their father probably died and their mother is Sarah. Could that be Sarah McKinnon? Only one little problem with that theory ... I already have documented the line of Sarah McKinnon and her marriage to a John Murphy. Just another hurdle I need to leap over (go around, crawl under). Nothing new for these two!

Maybe looking at the marriage indexes for John W Stratford may help clear things up (or muddy the waters even further).

Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Manitoba, Canada, "Marriages," database on-line, Province of Manitoba Vital Statistics Database Search (http://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/Query.php : accessed 20 Jan 2015), entries for John Stratford 1891 and earlier. 

Yup, just as I feared. The waters are getting muddier again. The first marriage in 1883 for John William Stratford is to a Christina A Nelson. At least there is a Nelson listed there. Unfortunately I don't have a Christina in the McKinnon-McDonald line yet. A John William Stratford also marries a Sarah Givens in 1891. Could she be the Sarah in the 1891 census? I will come back to that in a moment.

Back to the census records ...

Since both Marjorie and Louetta were connected to the Bailey-McKinnon branch I decided to look at the various census records I have for the Bailey family. Some times when families seem to get mixed up in our memories it is because the families lived in close proximity to each other and the term cousin or aunt is bandied about but without the last name included.

In the 1881 census of the Manitoba Extension for the Province of Manitoba I had found J Bailey, M H Bailey, C B Bailey, and C E Bailey record. But look closer at the names under them.

1881 census of Canada, Manitoba, district 186 1/2 (192), sub-district E-1, Manitoba Western Extension, p. 25, dwelling 226, family 227, J Bailey household; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 15 Jan 2015); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm C-13284.

There is a J Nelson, an A Nelson, L Nelson, M Nelson, and a P Nelson. The calculated birth years and provinces for the L Nelson and M Nelson actually match the 1911 census where Margorie Nelson and Louetta Elmhurst are found. Could this be the right family?

Here there is an A. Nelson, and she is listed as married. Most likely married to the J Nelson.  Can I possibly find a marriage for them in Ontario? I say Ontario since that is where their children were born so it is a good place to start to look. I do have an Annie McKinnon that married a Sullivan in the tree found in part 1. Could the "A" be Annie?

For those without access to Ancestry there is a great site called The Ontario Vital Statistics Project where they have indexed many of the birth, marriage, and death registrations from microfilm. Even better, the site has been indexed by Google. I found this entry on that site:

13180-73 John NELSON, 25, farmer, Cartwright, Ops, s/o William NELSON & Ann ENNISON, married Annie McKINNON, 19, Ops, same, d/o Alex McKINNON & Ann McDONALD, witn: John McDONALD & James ROUTLEY both of Ops on March 26, 1873 at Lindsay.

This appears to be the connection I have been looking for. Annie McKinnon, the daughter of Alexander McKinnon¹ and Ann McDonald.

But hold your horses! Just who is this Christina A Nelson? If she is the widow of John Nelson above where did the Christina come from? Could the "A" in Christina A Nelson be "Annie"?


Up to this point I've been referencing indexes from Manitoba and not the records themselves. That is because those records aren't available online and they cost $12 each. However, in order to answer the original question of "Just how are Marjorie and Louetta  related to the McKinnon line? with any certainty I have ordered from the Manitoba Vital Statistics agency five registration documents:

• birth of an unnamed Stratford born 11 Oct 1884 to Christina Annie McKinnon
• marriage of John Wm Stratford to Christina A Nelson on 7 Nov 1883
• marriage of John William Stratford to Sarah Givens on 10 Mar 1891
• marriage of Herbert Alan Waterhouse to Marjorie V Nelson on 11 Aug 1917
• death of John Nelson in the Rural Municipality of North Cypress on 22 Mar 1883

And this is where I leave you for now. I will be continuing this but I need to wait for the paperwork to arrive.

Stay tuned!

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1. Before you call out to me that the hard-drawn tree say "Alistair MacKinnon" and I am chasing the wrong family. I've actually been able to show that his name is Alexander through the use of his death registration, his widow's obituary, city directory listings and records for his children.

Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery - Part 3

Continuing on from Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery - Part 2 I am still focusing on Marjorie.

It seems that there may be two Marjories muddled together since the Marjorie that married Herbert Waterhouse was a Nelson while the Marjorie born in 1902 found in the Manitoba index of births is an Elmhirst and a daughter of Luetta Nelson.

Since Herbert Waterhouse married Marjorie Nelson in 1917 maybe they are still in Canada and I can see if I can locate them in the 1921 census of Canada.

1921 census of Canada, Manitoba, district 31, sub-district 5, North Cypress, p. 7, dwelling 76, family 77, Herb Waterhouse household; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 19 Jan 2015).

There is Herb and Marjorie living in the North Cypress area. Herb is 38 years of age and born in England. Marjorie is 42 years of age and born in Manitoba. Of course the ages and places need to be taken with a grain of salt. However, this finding seems to indicate that there are two Marjories confused together in the notes. One born in 1902/1903 and the other born about 1879. Maybe searching for Herb Waterhouse in the 1916 census of the Western Provinces may provide more clues.

1916 census of the Northwest Provinces, Manitoba, district 6, sub-district 2, North Cypress, p. 19, dwelling 212, Harold W M Waterhouse household; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 19 Jan 2015); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm T-21928.

There is Herbert A. Waterhouse and Marjorie Nelson living in the household of his brother Harold W M Waterhouse in 1916. Both are single and Marjorie is listed as being born in 1879 in Ontario and she is a nurse. Fairly good match. The province of birth is different though. Can I find a Marjorie Nelson in the 1911 census of Canada?

1911 census of Canada, Manitoba, district 20, sub-district 28, Township 10 Range 13, p. 1, dwelling 1, family 1, John Elmhurst household RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 19 Jan 2015); citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm T-20343.

I did find a Margorie Nelson that was born about 1875 in Ontario. Great, right province but the year of birth is out by four years now.

Just a sec!

Is that a Louetta listed as the wife of John Elmhurst? Margorie Nelson is listed as a sister to John Elmhurst but why isn't her surname Elmhurst? There is also a Marjorie Elmhurst that is born in 1903 in Manitoba listed as the daughter of John Elmhurst. That would definitely clear up the mystery of the two Marjories mentioned in Part 2. That would mean that Louetta's maiden surname would be Nelson. Does that mean that Margorie/Marjorie/Margery Nelson is the sister of Louetta?

A possible breakthough!

Maybe Google might be able to shed some light on this family. It took a bit of searching but I did comes across the publication "The Carberry Plains: 75 Years of Progress" and on page 91 I found:

"A Worthy Pioneer
  One of our pioneers who deserves special mention is Mrs. H. A. Waterhouse. Marjorie Nelson, as her name was at that time, came to Pleasant Point with her parents in 1879. She attended Pleasant Point School and Lansdowne College, Portage la Prairie, before training at Brandon General Hospital to be a nurse.
  Shortly after graduating in 1905, Miss Nelson started private duty nursing in the Carberry area. Along with Dr. Waugh, she was the first to greet many of us on our arrival into the world. Nurse Nelson's devotion to her vocation expressed itself in her capable, untiring efforts for the comfort of her patients.
  After her marriage to Mr. H. A. Waterhouse in 1917, she gave up regular nursing, but was always ready to help her neighbors in time of sickness."

Then on page 95 in that same publication this was found:

"Living Pioneers
  Three individuals with whom time has dealt kindly, came as little children to Manitoba in 1879. Two of them, both living in Carberry, are Mrs. John Elmhirst, (nee Louetta Nelson) and her sister, Mrs. H. A. Waterhouse, (nee Marjorie Nelson), daughter of John Nelson, one of five who took up the first homesteads in Pleasant Point. The third is Mr. M. H. Harkness of Lac du Bonnet, son of John Harkness, another of the first homesteaders. All three have been blessed with excellent health, mentally and physically, all have contributed greatly to the life of the district, and all are keenly interested in its history."

Suddenly it was starting to become just a bit clearer. Yes Louetta and Marjorie are sisters and we even has a possible father named John.

It still hasn't answered the question as to how Marjorie and Louetta (Louie/Louisa/Luetta) are connected to the McKinnon-McDonald tree but at least we have a maiden surname for both of them.

To be continued

Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery? - Part 2

We pick up where we left off with the man in black valiantly climbing the Cliffs of Insanity. Oops, wrong story!

In my post "Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery? - Part 1" I mentioned my confusion with how Louisa and Marjory fit into the McKinnon-McDonald tree. I continue that adventure here ...

Since I couldn't find any Louisa or Marjory Baileys in Manitoba vital statistics, newspapers, census record or anywhere else in publicly available records I needed to look at the additional clues I might have in my personal archives.

I had two pieces of paper that seemed to apply to this line (the images below have been cropped due to privacy reasons). The first one included"Aunt Marjorie Waterhouse" and "Aunt Louie Elmhust" along with what appeared to be the children of Aunt Louie. This matched the information on the hand-drawn tree where Marjory is recorded as marrying Herb Waterhouse and Louisa marries John Elmhirst.

Note 1 - Aunt Marjorie Waterhouse and Aunt Louie Elmhust

The second piece of paper include additional details on Marjorie:

• she was a nurse
• full name is Marjorie Stratford Elmhirst
• born in 1903
• possibly married Waterhouse
• child named Hilda

Note 2 - Notes on the McKinnon-McDonald line

For Louie she may have married a Jack Elmhirst and her children were Hilda, Anna, and Jack.

So it was back to the Manitoba "Genealogy Searches for Unrestricted Records" to see what I could discover using the names of the possible husbands. Since I had only one spelling for Waterhouse I figured that might be a good place to start. One little problem. The only Waterhouse marriage with the husband's forename that could be a "Herb" to a wife with a forename of "Marjorie" or "Marjory" has his wife's surname listed as Nelson.

Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Manitoba, Canada, "Marriages," database on-line, Province of Manitoba Vital Statistics Database Search (http://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/Query.php : accessed 20 Jan 2015), entry for Herbert Alan Waterhouse and Marjorie V Nelson, married 11 Aug 1917; citing registration number 1917-046011.

Nelson? Not Bailey or McKinnon? And if she was born in 1903 what is she doing getting married in 1917? That is just a bit young, although not completely unheard of.

That cause me to pause and to stop everything. This was getting more complicated with every record I turned up. So I left my database and online family tree on Ancestry and turned to my trusty Evernote to create a new note. There I started recording all that I found on those pieces of paper and the hand-drawn tree. Effectively I began with a blank slate starting with Marjorie/Marjory that married Herb Waterhouse and Louisa/Louie that married John/Jack Elmhirst. I also posed a question:

Just how are they related to the McKinnon line?

I also wrote the following down:

Collected information

From the McKinnon notes:
[marginal notes around Marjorie, Louie, Main, John: taken in Lindsay Ont]
- Marjorie Stratford Elmhirst, born 1903, married Waterhouse, child: Hilda, occupation: nurse
- Louie, married Jack Elmhirst, children Hilda, Anna, Jack

Miscellaneous Notes:
- "Aunt Marjorie Waterhouse"
- "Aunt Louie Elmhust", children Hilda & Anna Elmhurst, Jack

MacKinnon - MacDonald chart:
- Marjory m. Herb Waterhouse, child Hilda
- Louisa m. John Elmhirst, children Marjory (m. McMillan), Hilda, Anna, Jack (m. Flor Reynolds)

Manitoba Vital Statistics:
- Birth: Marjorie Stratford Elmhirst, female, born 26 Dec 1902 in R.M. of North Cypress. Mother's name: Luetta Nelson, registration number: 1906-010819
- Marriage: Herbert Alan Waterhouse married Marjorie V Nelson on 11 Aug 1917 in North Cypress, registration number 1917-046011

I was focusing on Marjorie since at least the variations of her forename and husband's surname are probably not as many as for Louisa/Louie and Elmhirst/Elmhust.

Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Manitoba, Canada, "Births," database, Province of Manitoba Vital Statistics Database Search (http://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/Query.php : accessed 20 Jan 2015), entry for Marjorie Stratford Elmhirst, born 26 Dec 1902; citing registration number 1906-010819.

Looking at the Manitoba Vital Statistics entry for Marjorie Stratford Elmhirst we see that she was born in 1902. Close enough for memory sake to 1903. That seems to be a match. yet her mother is Luetta Nelson. Is that another spelling for Louisa/Louie? Again that married age, now 15 years, is still just a bit young. Plus it is a Nelson who married a Waterhouse and not an Elmhirst. Could whoever wrote those notes confused two Marjories?

More questions and still no clear answers.

To be continued

Extra Children or a Bigger Mystery? - Part 1

When I first started looking into my family history, much like many of you, I received a packet of hand written notes and family tree diagrams. I thought these were the greatest things for a beginner . At that time I thought they could be treated as gospel and I wouldn't have to do anything else on that line except record the information in my genealogy software. Fortunately I quickly realized that wasn't the truth and so, more than 15 years ago, off I went on my merry journey of discovery.

Well, those notes and trees still haunt me to this day.

Recently I learned of the passing of a distant cousin (2nd cousin twice removed) yet I didn't have her listed in my database. Fortunately whoever wrote her obituary included the names of her parents, John and Margaret (Smith) Murphy. The Murphy name is a branch I was semi-familiar with so I pulled out some of those scraps of paper from my archives to use as possible clues and starting points. Off I went on the familiar path of looking for documentation through my usual sources. It was relatively easy to reconstruct the tree. I was able to find her parents' death registrations in the "BC Archives - Genealogy" collection hosted by the Royal BC Museum web site and also the "British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986" collection on FamilySearch. Working backwards in time I could connect my distant cousin back to Sarah McKinnon (born about 1857 in Canada West, died 31 Jan 1937 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) McKinnon, the daughter of Alexander McKinnon and Ann McDonald.

With the exception of the Cassie and Joe Martin branch (my own connection to this tree) I hadn't added the various branches of the family of Alexander McKinnon and Ann McDonald so I figured this would be as good as time as ever to correct this omission not knowing I would be spending many hours on a little problem.

Below is the hand-drawn tree that was drawn up in January 1990. It actually includes about four more generations for some of the lines but I've cropped those later generations for privacy reasons.

Hand-drawn Family Tree for Alistair MacKinnon and a MacDonald (created Jan 1990)

There are some important little details you need to realize about this tree. The first is that nicknames were commonly used. So someone like Cassie is actually Catherine and Nain is Charlotte. It took me some time to realize that Phoeme is really Euphemia. This can cause all sorts of confusion since many documents from government agencies won't have the nicknames listed. Fortunately sometimes you will find those nicknames in the census records. Also, most of the surnames are accurate but Pryov seems to actually be "Ryan" based on my research. Yet the most important piece of information to keep in mind is that this tree was created based on recollections of one or more people and there will be errors and omissions. And those errors and omissions will be the cause of hours of research.

Using publicly available records and various indexes I slowly and carefully rebuilt the tree until I came to Louisa and Marjory. According to what I was finding they just didn't fit anywhere under  Maggie (AKA Margaret Hannah McKinnon) who married a Bailey (Joseph Alexander Bailey). Along with finding Margaret Hannah McKinnon in the Canadian decennial censuses from 1881 to 1921 and also the 1906 and 1916 censuses of the Western Provinces of Canada I had a copy of Margaret Hannah McKinnon's obituary. Her surviving children were listed and each of them I found in the census records along with Margaret and Joseph. All the kids were accounted for. I was even able to fill in some of the blanks with descendants of those children.

Since the family lived in Manitoba I made use of the "Genealogy Searches for Unrestricted Records" site to search the publicly available birth indexes for any Baileys. The nice thing about the Manitoba birth registration indexes is that the mother's maiden name is included. Since Ancestry also has that same database in their "Web: Manitoba, Birth Index, 1866-1912" collection I was able to use the advanced search features to look for any child with a mother of Margaret McKinnon (and various of that name). I also made use of the "US & World newspapers" collection on Findmypast. That collection includes the Winnipeg newspapers so I was able to find marriage and death notices that contained additional details on the family. It seems that I already had all the recorded ones.

Now I was just a bit baffled and confused. It was time to get serious in my search ...

To be continued

My Top 10 Canadian Genealogy Web Sites for 2014

On July 28th Family Tree Magazine released their top 101 genealogy web sites for 2014. In that list they included only 4 Canadian web sites they considered as "best". Now I don't know what was their criteria in selecting those 4 as their best sites and I realize that they were covering 15 categories but I find myself disagreeing with some of their selections. For my list I've intentionally only included free sites since I know that our "hobby" can be an expensive one when you factor in subscribing to sites like Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage, and Généalogie Québec.

With the hundreds of genealogy related web sites I have in my personal bookmarks to choose from I'm certain I've missed your favourite site. So leave me a message with the URL and why the site I've foolishly omitted is one of the best for Canadian research.

So, in no particular order, here is my top 10 list of Canadian web sites.

Library and Archives Canada
It seems that their web site has been undergoing revisions for so long that their welcome message of "we are currently redesigning our website" has become a permanent fixture but their content, if you can find it, can be invaluable. Regrettably their collections are sometimes hard to navigate but once you do figure it out what they do have is great. Some of their resources include:

• Free searchable images of the various Canadian censuses from 1825 to 1916
• Attestation and draft registration papers for the Canadian Expeditionary Force personnel from the Great War of 1914-1918. They are in the process of digitizing the service files and will be making them available for free on their web site. There are also digitized copies of the war diaries for Canadian units that fought in that war.
• For settlers in what later became Canada the land records collections can help track the migration of our ancestors.

Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB)
This is my go to place for starting any New Brunswick research. The site is a great example of how an archive can freely share the records and history of their province without any fuss. It isn't flashy but as a researcher I don't want a dazzling appearance, I want functionality and I love free. Here you will find:

• Vital Statistics from Government Records (BMD) with births from 1808-1918 (a little spotty before 1898), marriages from 1847-1964, and deaths from 1815-1964 (like births the records before 1920 can be hit or miss).
• The birth, marriage, and death announcements transcriptions from New Brunswick newspapers from 1784-1896 created by the late Daniel F. Johnson.
• Place names of New Brunswick include not just a description of the location but also cadastral maps showing boundaries, lots, and land grantees.
• They have also created a searchable database from Wallace Hale's book Early New Brunswick Probate, 1785-1835. Another invaluable resource for learning more about those early settlers to what later became Canada.

Peel's Prairie Provinces
Many of our ancestors made it to the Prairie Provinces due to the allure of free bountiful land. The Peel's Prairie Provinces site has helped make the information needed to locate those settlers available to all. They have resources such as Western Canada newspapers, maps, and Henderson's town and city directories.

Olive Tree Genealogy
I don't use it as often as I probably should nowadays but it is still a place where I go when I am stumped and don't know where to look next. Lorine McGinnis Schulze has created a place where you can find over 1,900 page of free genealogy records.

Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections
John D. Reid''s blog is one I consider mandatory reading for not only highlighting what new collections are available but also what is happening in the world of genealogy and family history research.

Canadian Gravemarker Gallery
Sometimes only the dead can speak to you ... or at least only their grave markers. Although sometimes a challenge to search a common name this may be the only place you will find those grave markers pictures from cemeteries that may have been long forgotten.

British Columbia Vital Records
Initially the British Columbia Archives hosted this page but it has now been rolled under the British Columbia Museum. Images for the births (1854-1903), marriages (1872-1934), and deaths (1872-1991) of those in British Columbia can be found here. But if the image for a death registration is not available, don't forget to check out the "British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986" collection on FamilySearch.

Newfoundland's Grand Banks
As Canada's youngest province Newfoundland has also some of the richest history being a colony, a dominion and then a province. This site has created transcriptions of various directories along with census records going back to 1675. If your ancestor came to Newfoundland this is the site you need to use.

Automated Genealogy
When I can't find a person in the 1901 or 1911 censuses of Canada due to possibly messed up transcriptions I come to this site. Here they have transcribed AND linked the people found in the 1901 and 1911 Canadian censuses. They are not just looking at linking census records but they have projects underway to make this place the first stop to locate the other records relating to the person.

Our Roots
When I've exhausted the usual sources of birth (baptism), marriage, death (funeral), census, and directory resources when doing research on Canadians I turn to Our Roots. They have made available searchable books on the histories of local communities within Canada. These local histories also can give an insight into the challenges faced when settling Canada.

Overview of Canadian On-line Civil Vital Records (BMDs)

One of the common questions I see being asked by new researchers is where do they find birth, marriage or death registration for their ancestors. What many fail to realize is that the concept of a civil registration document for the birth, marriage and death of a person is a fairly modern concept so we need to know when the governments started keeping those vital records. Of course, even though the government says they started requiring civil registrations commencing on a given date it may have taken several years (or even a decade or two) before all areas of the province actually started to comply with the law. A researcher also needs to keep in mind the privacy restrictions imposed on the records. Any records after a certain date may only be available to the person named in the document OR their direct next-of-kin.

But all is not lost if an event occurred before the province kept civil vital records. During the time before civil registration we can look for church records (baptisms, marriages and burials), newspaper announcements, military records and family bibles.

Below are some of the various online sources for finding the Canadian civil birth, marriage and death documents for your ancestors. Some sites are just indexes, others have the images available but you can't easily download them, some cost money to access the images, and finally some provinces have made the images available for download for free.



Newfoundland and Labrador - Newfoundland's Grand Banks Vital Statistics

Although vital records for Newfoundland and Labrador have been kept since 1891, a majority of records prior to 1948 were copies of church registers. The Newfoundland's Grand Banks Vital Statistics page has transcriptions from many of those church registers.

Prince Edward Island - Public Archives and Records Office

• Births: Civil registration didn't start until 1906 and the birth registrations are under a 120 year privacy restriction so birth certificates are not online.
• Baptisms: up to about 1923
• Marriages: Licenses 1787-1933 and Marriage Bonds 1849-1902
• Deaths: prior to 1906

Nova Scotia - Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics

• Births: 1864-1877, 1908-1913 plus delayed registrations for births between 1830-1913
• Marriages: bonds from 1763-1864 and registrations 1864-1938 
• Deaths: 1864-1877, 1908-1963 plus the City of Halifax for between 1890-1908

New Brunswick - Vital Statistics from Government Records

• Births
• Late Registration of Births: County Series: 1869-1901
• Late Registration of Births: 1810-1918
• County Birth Registers: 1800-1913
• Provincial Registrations of Births: 1898-1918
• Marriages: 1847-1964
• Deaths
• County Death Registers: 1885-1921 
• Provincial Returns of Deaths: 1815-1919
• Death Certificates: 1920-1964

 Quebec

Quebec is unusual in the sense that there was no separation between church and state until fairly recently when it came to registrations. It wasn't until 1994 that the government of Quebec kept separate vital records. Prior to then, the province had the churches send copies of the registers to the government archives. The Drouin collection is the best source for baptisms, marriages and burials. This collection is available on Ancestry in "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967" or via Institut généalogique Drouin.

Ontario - Ancestry's Ontario, Canada Vital Records: Births, Marriages and Deaths collection

• Births: 1869-1913
• Marriages: 1801-1928 (with gaps prior to July 1, 1869)
• Deaths: 1869-1938, deaths overseas from 1939-1947 

Manitoba - Genealogy Searches for Unrestricted Records

• Births: 1882-1913
• Marriages: 1882-1933
• Deaths: 1882- 1943

Saskatchewan - Genealogy Index Searches

• Births: 1878-1913
• Deaths: 1878-1917

Alberta

Alberta is another special case. Prior to 1905 Alberta was part of the Northwest Territories. Some of these records may be available though the Alberta Family Histories Society Resources page.

British Columbia - BC Archives - Genealogy

• Births: 1854-1903, baptisms between 1836-1888
• Marriages: 1872-1934, colonial marriages between 1859-1872
• Deaths: 1872-1991

Tip: Know when records were started to be kept by governments so you don't search for documents that don't exist.

More LAC Parish Register Microfilms

As part of the partnership between Library and Archives Canada and Canadiana.org various microfilms held by Library and Archives Canada have been digitized and placed online on the Hertiage site for all to peruse. See the latest announcement at the LAC blog.

Several of the microfilms that have been digitized contain the parish registers and township books for places across Canada. To see a list of these collections you can search for "parish registers" on the Heritage site. Under each collection set there is a count of the number of microfilms that have been digitized.

To find out what is on each microfilm you need to click the "About" tab after you click on the "Reel ID".

Unfortunately the descriptions of what is on each microfilm is very brief and usually only from the first record set ... and there may be MANY record sets on a single microfilms. Additionally, some of the microfilms are misfiled in the wrong collection which just aggravates the issue. This makes it a challenge to know if the parish register you are looking for is in the collection or not.

For example, on microfilm H-1812 in the Manitoba Parish Registers collection the About tab states, "Holy Ghost Parish fonds [Winnipeg, Man.]". But if you go to the end of that film you will come across "SIMS, Rev. Jabez (1831-1869). Church of England Missionary" which is Shelley Pearen's biographical sketch of Rev. Jabez Sims that includes a hand drawn picture of his family tree.

Hopefully, one day, the Parish Registers finding aid book that is on the shelf on the second floor at the Library and Archives Canada building at 395 Wellington Street will be digitized and the searching will be made just a little bit easier.