Genealogy Chat

My greatgrandfather emigrated to Canada in the 1920's.He settled in Iroquis Falls, Ontario where he had a daghter. Family rumour has it that he was Corporal in the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, and he was last seen around 1944/5. No-one has had any news or sightings of him since. Is it possible to trace his movements through Canadian census entries from 1920's onwards, or anything else, or to try and track down a death record for him? As he was born in 1897 he would have died many years ago, but it would be nice to have some closure on him for his daughter who is 76 herself now. Thankyou in advance. Yvette

Hi Yvette Did he die in WW2? If he did have you tried the Commonwealth War Graves site? www.cwgc.org. Sorry can't help with census question but there are some helpful Canadians on this site. Maybe one could assist you. Sue

Hi Sue Thanks for the advice, i went and had a look at the CWGC, but he wasnt on there, so i wait in hope of help from one of the friendly Canadians you mentioned. Regards Yvette

Yvette, there is a cemetery index for Ontario on Canada archives which you can search for free. You can then send for the transcript of the pages you want. I have done that for some of mine. My g grandfather emigrated to Canada, together with grandfathers siblings. I will try and find the page for you and email you the link.

Yvette, what was his name and I'll search the phone records for you. Iroquois Falls is not far from here, well not a great distance anyways. I could try to help you if you'd like. Amanda

Thanks Carol I will look forward to seeing it. Regards Yvette

Yvette: The Toronto Public Library has an "Ask a Librarian" feature: "Brief factual answers to questions on a wide variety of topics." Perhaps they could help you? I've asked a couple of questions in the past and they've been very helpful. They may be able to steer you in the right dierction, if they don't have an answer. http://www(.)tpl(.)toronto.on.ca/ask_index.jsp Good luck. Lisa.

Right, thought so. Iroquois Falls is close to Timmins, which is about six hours away from here. Have cousins in Timmins, used to live next to Shania Twain but they were too young to have known her. There's no way of getting to census records after 1901 unless you are a direct family member and you ask the person at the regional office very nicely. If they ask you to prove you're a relation, you almost need DNA samples. But there are ways around that. Phone records are available, Iroquois Falls would be linked with Timmins. Be careful, there's a town called Iroquois near Ottawa and the two places are totally different. Let me know if you'd like me to do any more digging for you. Amanda

Lisa has a good point there, you might try that too. They can be very helpful.

I had forgotten the name of it, but it is the Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid or OCFA. I have emailed you the link Yvette.

Yvette: If he got married as soon as he landed on Canadian soil, he might be listed in the: http://homepages(.)rootsweb(.)com/~maryc/ontmarr.htm (Marriages form 1800 to 1824.) I'll try to find other sites that may help. Lisa.

I think Yvette said the 1920s, not 1820s Could be my eyes though

I found a couple of (my families') names and addresses on this site: http://ucbswww(.)bank-banque-canada(.)ca/scripts/search_english.asp

Thanks Carol!! Meant to type 1800-1924.

Wow, that will teach me to go for a coffee....... Thanks everyone for your comments....here goes..... Amanda I would be quite happy to give you his name and for you to take a look, Thankyou for your offer. Name John White, also known as Jack DOB Chile So America (Bs) in 1897 Married to Violet prior to emigration, daughter Pearl born in 1927. Seperated/Divorced from Violet around 1944/5, possible sighting of him (found on digging through old notes from family member) in 1950/1. I was told it was Iroquis Falls Ontario as Pearl was born there, so not sure about possible mix up with similar sounding name, but as i mentioned possibly in Royal Hamilton Light Infantry so maybe thats a clue? Lisa Will definitely have a look at that suggestion tomorrow Thanks Carol I have replied via email. Thanks Regards Yvette

Sorry Yvette, got to get offline. Husband's feeling neglected. Poor boy. Mail me the info if you'd like and I'll go see if I can find anything for you. Amanda

Lisa Will look into that site also.Thanks for the help Yvette

Hi Yvette! Me again, husband is watching stupid movie so I thought I'd do some checking. There's a Pearl White living in Northwestriver, Newfoundland. It's not Ontario, but it's possible she moved. Do you have any info on a marriage for her? Perhaps she moved out of the province and remained a spinster (oooh, I hate that word).

Hi Amanda Sorry i missed your reply last night, was tucked up in my bed! As for Pearl, she did marry but was sadly widowed many years agao, i havent posted her details though as she doesnt wish to have them on here and due to the fact she is poorly and she still lives in Canada so contact with her is not easy. Unfortunately she cant tell me anything else about her Dad, (my Great grandad) as she has had no contact with him for over 60 years, and she is not able to do any looking up for me due to her health and age. If you have any more questions please ask, and if you are able to help in any way i will be very grateful. Regards Yvette

I added these details to the other Canadian thread from yesterday & not sure it is relevant to you- but you never know. Try www(.)pier21(.)ca - Remove brackets. Pier21 in Halifax , Nova Scotia was main gateway for immigrants to Canada from late 20's - 70's. Don't think they do name search but you can do it when in the Museum & an email to them may prove fruitful. Good Luck CAroline