Finding a Missing English Ancestor in Canada after 1910

Rod's question was very intriguing

I am looking for Charles Stanley Morris (known as Stanley) . He was born in March, Cambridgeshire, England in 1877 and apparently disappeared in 1910-11 leaving his wife with two sons. He is the great "family secret". There is some thought amongst the English relatives I've found that he may have come to Canada.



I found the attached marriage record. It says nothing about this particular Stanley Morris nor his wife Mae Felker except their names which is very odd. I traced her. She died a just a few years after they were married. Her death record says nothing about Stanley. Maybe he left her (too).

The only other clue I have is the marriage license number - 19535. Do you know of any way I can find a record of that license? Were copies made at the time of issuance? If so, have those copies been stored anywhere you know of?


Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Rod attached a copy of the marriage record he found. It was most unusual, having only the names of the bride and groom and the date of marriage - no other information re their ages, places of residence, parents' names, etc. So I had a look on Ancestry.com and found the original registration under the name STANLY MORRIS. Since I'd used wildcars and searched for STAN*, this variant spelling popped up in the search results.

Unfortunately Rod did not tell me the names of his ancestor's parents so I couldn't eliminate or confirm this as his Stanley. Given the age of this Stanley Morris, I suspect it is not the right man.

But here is the information contained on the full marriage registration on Ancestry.com

Name: Stanly Morris
Age: 20
Estimated birth year: abt 1891
Father Name: Joseph Morris
Mother Name: Ellen Howe

Spouse Name: Mae Felker
Spouse's Age: 21
Spouse Father Name: William Felker
Spouse Mother Name: Margory Nunn
Marriage Date: 13 Dec 1911
Marriage Location: Wellington
Marriage County: Wellington
Archives of Ontario Microfilm: MS932_182

You said your Stanley disappeared ca 1910 and was born ca 1877. There is a Stanley Morris living in Hamilton in the 1911 census. He's the right age, born England and immigrated in 1910. You would need to narrow your field of suspects by checking on this Stanley's occupation - does it match your man?

Perhaps you know the month of your Stanley's birth - does it match the 1911 census?

It looks like your Stanley married Mabel Martha Tibbett in 1902 in North Witchford Cambridgeshire? That marriage is found on FreeBMD. His birth was registered in Cambridgeshire between October and December 1876 so your 1877 birth year is incorrect. This is also found on FreeBMD or on the free version on Ancestry.com


You should be able to find Stanley on a Ships Passenger List to either USA or Canada. Have you checked Ancestry.com? Their immigration records are free this Labour Day Weekend.

Also, try to compare the men you find in Canada that fit your Stanley, with the real Stanley. That seems to me the most logical way to approach your puzzle.