Findmypast US & World Newspapers Collection - Extra Canadian Newspapers?

I'm in the midst of putting the final touches on my "Finding Your Past With Findmypast" presentation for the upcoming British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa 25th Annual Conference being held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In doing so I've been going through the Findmypast holdings with a critical eye looking for cool and unusual items and collections.With the slides basically done I'm just writing up my "script" of talking points and was working on the newspaper section of my presentation.

I often use the Canada newspapers in the US & World Newspapers collection on Findmypast to look for my ancestors and relatives in Manitoba, specifically Winnipeg, plus a check of Alberta and Saskatchewan to see if they moved out that way. I might even check out the St. John's, Newfoundland papers. At least that is what I thought was all that was offered based on the filters.

I started playing with the search using the common surnames of "Smith" and "Jones". But I start to see newspapers from other areas of Canada.

Screen capture of Findmypast "US & World newspapers" collection filtered by Canada for Smith

A search for "Smith" using the "By Country" filter of "Canada" in the US & World newspapers collection returns articles from the Winnipeg Tribune, Victoria Daily British Colonist, and Acton Free Press (Acton, Ontario), Not shown in this screen capture of part of the first page of results are articles from the Vancouver Chinook, Milton Canadian Champion (Milton, Ontario), Agassiz Record (Agassiz, British Columbia), and Dauphin Herald (Dauphin, Manitoba).

If I look at the "By Publication" filter I see the Dauphin Herald listed but none of the others. In the "By State" filters only Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland, and Saskatchewan are listed. Ontario nor British Columbia is listed.

In looking at the search results themselves, the note at the bottom of the newspaper image states:

"Copyright: "Fair Use" allowed. NewspaperARCHIVE.com"

Could it be that NewspaperARCHIVE.com has many more Canadian newspapers than what Findmypast filters know about or is telling us? Could I have been underrating the Canadian newspaper collections provided by Findmypast?

I think the answer is a definite YES to both questions!

To see what might really be available we need to pop over to NewspaperARCHIVE.com and check out their collections. Going to the Canada section we see

Screen capture of NewspaperARCHIVE.com Canada collections by State

Looks like there are newspapers from Alberta, British Columbia, the Federal government, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.

Drilling down in the map you can find the various newspapers for the list provinces such as:

New Brunswick

• Fredericton Head Quarters (1844-1861)
• Moncton L Acadien (1918-1926)
• Saint John Morning Freeman (1860-1870)

Newfoundland

• Corner Brook Western Star (1900-1952)
• St. John's (12 publications)
• Saint Johns (38 publications)¹

Nova Scotia

• Halifax British Colonist (1848-1860)
• Halifax Citizen (1863-1873)
• Halifax Gazette (1753-1778)
• Halifax Sun And Advertizer (1862-1867)

Ontario

• Durham Chronical And Grey County Advertiser (1867-1969)
• Durham Grey Review (1878-1897)
• Durham Review (1897-1940)
• Kingston
• Kingston British Whig (1834-1895)
• Kingston Chronicle (1819-1832)
• Kingston Chronicle And Gazette (1835-1847)
• Kingston Daily British Whig (1850-1901)
• Kingston Daily News (1856-1887)
• Kingston Gazette (1810-1818)
• Kingston Upper Canada Herald (1819-1847)
• Kingston Weekly British Whig (1858-1885)
• Lindsay
• Lindsay Canadian Post (1893-1898)
• Lindsay Expositor (1869-1870)
• Lindsay Post (1907-1914)
• Lindsay Victoria Warder (1870-1899)
• Lindsay Watchman (1888-1898)
• Lindsay Watchman Warder (1899-1915)
• Lindsay Weekly Free Press (1908-1909)
• Lindsay Weekly Post (1899-1907)
• Millbrook And Omemee Mirror (1905-1909)
• Millbrook Reporter (1893-1962)
• Orillia Expositor (1872-1873)

This is only a selection of what is actually offered on NewspaperARCHIVE and subsequently, due to their partnership, probably also in the Findmypast newspaper collection for Canada.

For some of the newspapers the date ranges held are only for a few years but you never know what you will find.

In my case I had an open "to do" item to locate the death notice or obituary for Ann (nee McDonald) McKinnon, my 3rd great-grandmother, in the Victoria Warder from Lindsay, Ontario. I knew the date the obituary was printed in the newspaper and even had a transcription but I always want to see the original source. When I last looked a few years ago, Library and Archives Canada didn't have the year I wanted for that newspaper. Supposedly Trent University had a microfilmed copy of the issue the obituary was in but getting there is a challenge for me since I don't own a car. However, it seems that NewspaperARCHIVE.com does have the newspaper and the right years. This meant I could probably find it via Findmypast.com. With a bit of patience I was able to pull up her obituary on Findmypast.

"Obit.-Ann McKinnon," The Victoria Warder, 20 Oct 1893, p. 5, col. 3; digital images, Findmypast (www.findmypast.com : accessed 16 Sep 2019), US & World newspapers - Canada.

One more to do item crossed off my list! Only 749 to go as I write this post. YIKES!

Hopefully Findmypast will update their search filters on the US & World Newspapers collection search page to more closely align with what NewspaperARCHIVE has in their collection.

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1. Yes, I know that "Saint John's" and "St. John's" Newfoundland should be the same place but the computer doesn't.

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