Looking For an Ancestor in Canada, eh?

Fiona asked some very intriguing questions about her Anderson family from Scotland to Ontario Canada. Because I covered so many different aspects of Canadian genealogy in my response, I decided to publish Fiona's question and my answers on Olive Tree Genealogy blog  Here is Fiona's question:

George Anderson was born in 1806 or 1807 in Roxburghshire in Scotland. Jessie Powell was born about 1805 also in Roxburghshire. We don't know when they married however their son Archibald McLaren Anderson was born in Scotland in 1822. Their daughter Janet was born in 1835 but we are not sure if she was born in Canada or Scotland. We know George, Jessie and Janet (and their youngest child Elizabeth) all died in Canada in the Huron County area. We have photographs of their tombstones in the Wingham Cemetery. George died in 1857, Jessie, Janet and Elizabeth all died in 1880. We know Archibald arrived in Australia from New York in November 1852. We can then follow his movements from then..

Our questions are as follows:

1. When did the Anderson family migrate to Canada from Scotland?

2. What happened in 1880 to cause three deaths in the one family?

3. Was Janet born in Canada? We believe Elizabeth was born in Huron County in 1848.

Fiona - I edited your email for space reasons and removed question 4, preferring to focus on your first 3 questions. First I must thank you for a well-written query. You summed up what you knew, what you don't know and what you found out. You also provided me with a list of resources you have used. Well done!

And now, on to my answers  on Olive Tree Genealogy blog. I hope you'll be pleased with what I found and my suggestions for further research.

Looking For a Scottish Ancestor

Judy asked about James Galloway from Scotland

am looking for immigration records on James H Galloway. The middle name is either Herbert or Hubbard. According to the 1880 US census it states he immigrated in 1898 and was naturalized in 1904. We know thes may or may notbe accurate. I do know in 1907 he married Laura Hanfelder in Madison County, Granite City, IL and they lived there until 1920 where he shows up in Decatur, Macon Co., IL and lived there until his death in 1942. I have not been able to find him in 1900. The story is he immigrated from Glasgow, Scotland; that his parents died when he was a baby and his grandfather adopted him. The grandfather was a ships's captain and took James with him and tutored him on the ships. This is just a story. We do know that his mother's name was Mary White (maiden name I presume).James was approximately age 23 when he came to US. Can you help?

ASK OLIVE TREE RESPONSE: Dear Judy, I'm going to assume you made a typo when you said that the 1880 census gave James' immigration as 1898 and naturalization in 1904. Obviously if he immigrated in 1898 he isn't on the 1880 census, nor could that census predict his future years of immigration and naturalization.

But in any case, if you pop over to FamilySearch and search their Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947, you'll find James' death in 1942.

The image is not available but here is the search result information

Name: James H. Galloway
Death Date: 06 Oct 1942
Death Place: Decatur, Macon County, Illinois
Age: 68
Birth Date: 13 Jul 1874
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Father: James Galloway
Father's Birth Place: Scotland
Mother: Mary White
Mother's Birth Place: Scotland
Occupation: Plant Supt.-Staley bMfg.Co.
Residence: Decatur, Macon County, Illinois
Spouse: Laura Hanfelder
Burial Date: 09 Oct 1942
Burial Place: Decatur, Macon County, Illinois
Cemetery: Fairlawn
Digital Folder Number: 4008600
Image Number: 1357
Film Number: 1851787
Volume/Page/Certificate Number: 3956

Now you have his exact date of birth and parents' names. Scottish records are very good and I'm quite sure a search of Scotland's People would turn up much more on this family.

Scotland to Ontario to Michigan - Finding an Elusive Ancestor

Sharon asked about an ancestor from St. Mary's Ontario which is where my husband's ancestors are from:

My 3 great grandfather, Andrew Ross, has been a brick wall for as long as I have been addicted to genealogy. I know he was born 9 Nov 1807 in Scotland,"came to Canada" before he ended up in Macomb Co, Michigan by 1843.


I had found a book source saying he "he came from Inverness";the writer was NOT a genealogist. I found several errors in the book. Recently, I found another source (family Bible) saying Andrew had been born in Edinburgh; his wife, Jane Mac Donald in Glasgow.


They had several children "born in Canada"(1834,36,38). The Bible has a record of one son,Andrew ,Jr as being "Born in St. Mary's, Ontario 1 Dec 1840."


The next child was my 3 great grandfather George Alexander Ross born in Macomb Co, Michigan 23 Apr 1843.Do you have ANY suggestion as to where I could begin to look for this family?

ASK OLIVE TREE RESPONSE: Sharon, I noted with interest your reference to St. Mary's Ontario. My husband's paternal and maternal ancestry is from this town. It was settled in 1841 and originally called Little Falls.

Since your ancestors were not there for long, your best bet is most likely the St. Mary's Museum. Contact them and ask for any information they have on your ancestors.

There may be early tax or assessment records for your ancestors. There may be land records. The Museum may not have these specific records so you will also want to consult the Archives of Ontario website to see what genealogy records exist pre 1843 for St. Mary's.

Don't overlook the Perth County GenWeb in your search. I see that Andrew was a farmer in Michigan. I'd check the CLRI for his name. If he was the first owner of land owned by the Crown it will be listed.

Have you checked Michigan death records on FamilySearch? There is an Andrew Ross born ca 1808 in Scotland who died in 1884 in Macomb Michigan. His parents names are given so if that is your ancestor you have another lead. Did his wife Jane die and did Andrew remarry? I ask because there is an Andrew Ross, widower, marrying in Macomb in 1868.

I'd also check Scotlands People if I were you. It's a fee based website but well worth the money if you have Scottish ancestry!

Finding an Ancestor Who Immigrated to Canada 1911

David asked:

Three questions for you. I am trying to trace two ancestors of my wife's who arrived in Quebec, Canada on the Scotian on August 6th, 1911 from Glasgow. Is access available to any later Census than 1911 which might give me some information on the pair? The couple in question are 1. William Bruce ROBERTSON, born about 1858 at Ardrossan, Scotland and 2. Miss. Agnes Orr ROBERTSON his relation - Housekeeper / Niece - born about 1889, probably in Scotland.

William died on 7th July 1921 in Hamilton, Ontario and Hamilton Cemetery have been very helpful in providing information on his Burial. Assuming that Agnes did not marry, are there any Death Records On-line to see if I can trace her Death in Ontario?

Lastly, after arriving in Canada in 1911 would they have had to apply for Naturalization Papers?

OLIVE TREE ANSWER: Dear David. William's Death Certificate is online on Ancestry.com and Agnes, his niece is the informant. So you know that in 1921 she was not married.

Death Records for Ontario are freely searchable at http://pilot.familysearch.org/ They start in 1869 and go to 1934 with a few military deaths up to 1947. Ancestry.com has the same deaths but they include the images.

The last census which is available to the public is the 1911 one so you are out of luck there. There is a National Registration File of 1940 which can be searched. You must request a search conducted by Stats Canada. See Naturalization Records in Canada for help with this. Here is a copy of the questions asked and answered on the National Registration File

As for naturalization, the Canadian Citizenship Act began on 1 January 1947. From 1763 to that date, people born in the provinces and colonies of British North America were all British subjects. Taking the oath of allegiance meant becoming a British subject. Thus immigrants from Great Britain and the Commonwealth (England, Ireland, Wales or Scotland) did not have to be naturalized. Also naturalization is an option, not a mandate and there is no guarantee that a foreign born ancestor naturalized

Verifying Genealogy Records found online

Wendye's Question:

I am trying to find the birth and death certificates for my gg grandfather James Webster Bremner. From Brebner.com I've learned that:

"James Webster Bremner b. 20 Sept 1835 in Kirriemuir ANS, SCT, occupation Weaver/Gardener, m. 22 Oct 1857, in Kingoldrum, ANS, SCT, Elisabeth Adam, b. 1827, Lintrathen.ANS, SCT. James died before 1881. 1871:Lived at 94 Morrice Place, Hilltown, Dundee with grandchildren."

I can't see that he could have grandchildren because his first child, Alexander Bremner(my g grandfather), was born 16 Oct 1857.
I have found James' marriage(Scotlandspeople) 22 Oct 1857, Kingoldrum, Kirriemuir, ANS, SCT and Alexander's birth certificate (Scotlandspeople) 16 Oct 1857 Kingoldrum, Kirriemuir, ANS, SCT.(Legitimated by the subsequent marriage of the parents-such marriage being registered in the Parish of Kingoldrum, County of Forfar, October 23rd, 1857. On both of these documents and on the 1861 census he is listed as a Mason. I have been unable to find him on the 1871 census. I am trying to verify James Webster Bremner's birth, death and occupation.

Olive Tree Answer:
Hello Wendye - Anything you find on the internet is suspect, and must be verified. Please take a moment to read my answer to Debbie's question

I use the census records on
Ancestry.com but Footnote,com also has many online.

The person on the 1871 census at Morrice Place is Alexander Bremner, with grandson Alexander, et al. It is not James.

You have been to Scotlandspeople - you may want to go back and look for James' death; we know that he was living after 1855, so unless he left the country, you will find him.

You will not find a statutory birth certificate for James; they begin in 1855. But you will be able to find a parish register entry for him.

James' birth is listed on the IGI (an extracted entry, which is usually trustworthy, but again requires verification). An extract from the page can be purchased at Scotlandspeople ("Old Parish Registers").

From Scotland to New York - Finding Answers

Dottie's Question:

Looking for information on Hugh McLeod and wife Jean Gordon McCleod. Came from Glasgow, sons John and James emigrated to NY area about 1880. James was a New York City policeman and married an Italian girl.

Olive Tree Answer: Hello Dottie - You have not told me how you know this information, and what is it you want to know about Hugh and Jean.

Do you have the census reports for the McCleod family in Sotland? And do you have the census reports for the sons in America? I use Ancestry.com for American and Canadian Census records but of course you can use any site you prefer for these records.

As you have Jean's maiden name, I assume that you have family information, or a death or marriage certificate for at least one of the sons.

Scotlandspeople should be your next stop. You can get the census reports for the family, you can see the marriage certificate for Hugh and Jean which will supply parents' names for each of them. You may find other siblings for John and James. The Scottish census indexes are also available at Ancestry.com

Finding an Ancestor in Griffith's Index and Scottish Newspapers

Sandra's Question:

My g-grandparents Robert Thomson & Jane Cochrane were born in Ireland and moved to Scotland where they married in 1868 in Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire. I have found their marriage certificates listing their parents names and professions. I have searched the Scottish Censuses for 1841 through 1891. In every source their birthplace is listed only as Ireland. The last names of Thomson, Getty, Cochrane & Fullerton, (my gg-grandparents), I learned from Irish web sites, were Scottish. Their relegion was Presbyterian. From the frequency of appearance of these last names and their religion, I believe they are from Northern Ireland (Antrim, Armagh, etc.) but may have
come from Scotland sometime in the past.

I have searched in Ancestry, Family Search, Scotland's People, and a few Irish Library resources. I have had no luck so far. I understand that the Irish censuses were destroyed for the pertinent years. My question is, What online resources are available for more information? I'm happy to pay for access to this information, but before subscribing, I would like to know the probability of success. I've heard of Griffith's Evaluation but not yet located it online.

Ask Olive Answer Hi Sandra - You indicated that you have searched the Scottish census, but did not mention how much success you had. Did you find Robert (or Jane) with their parents? Do either of them have siblings?

It is always a good idea to check the siblings' marriage and death records, too. Some subtle changes may occur in maiden names, and the "deceased" notation under parents' names may help to narrow down the death date range for those parents. And occasionally, very detailed information (i.e. street addresses, towns) may be found.

Nor did you indicate whether you had searched the Scottish records for the parents of Robert and Jane. There was significant travel between Ireland and Scotland (though no passenger lists are available); it is not inconceivable that parents of Robert born 1849 would have lived past 1855, and hence findable on the ScotlandsPeople website.

Griffiths Index is available (free) at Fáilte Romhat and Ask About Ireland

The Scotsman (newspaper) has archives available online for a fee; you may find obituaries there.

Finding a Scotland Location

Jamie's Question:

My grandmother always said that her father was from Eagerness and that he came to USA from Scotland. I can't find Eagerness on any maps. What do I do now?

Olive Tree Answer: Hello Jamie - is it possible that Eagerness is really Eggerness in Wigtownshire?

How to Find Descendants of Ancestor's Siblings

Martin asked

I have been researching my Grandfather Edward WILSON's (born 1890 in Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK) past history for some time now. I have a record of his entry into New York from Glasgow, Scotland 6 November 15, 1915 on SS California: soon after his arrival he must have moved to Canada. I also have his marriage records in York County, Ontario to Jessie FISHER 6 July 1916 and Nellie BIRCHENALL (my grandmother) 2 June 1920 (this is a story in itself)! I discovered that his brother Newman Joseph WILSON and sister Miranda Ida WILSON also emigrated to and were married in Canada (Newman to Delma TEYON 11 May 1921 Lennox and Addington and Miranda to Robert George BIRD 3 Apr 1919 in York). Edward's family returned to the UK 27 March 1932 from St John, New Brunswick, Canada. My question to all this is were there any descendants from Newman's or Miranda's marriages and are any of them alive?

Hello Martin, It looks like you have gathered some good information on your family in Ontario. My advice if you are seeking descendants, is to post queries on the appropriate mailing lists and message boards. You may want to join the Ontario Mailing List (I'm the list admininstrator) and post your query there. Also try county mailing lists for Ontario. You could join CAN-ONT-YORK and CAN-ON-LENNOX-ADDINGTON mailing lists.

I would also check for any online Family Trees on Ancestry.com. If you find one, you can contact the submitter to exchange information. I have had some of my best leads by making contact with other descendants of my lines. And since Ontario records are hard to access after the 1911 census, you might find posting queries and checking family trees your best resource.

There is one other resource that might be very helpful to you and that is the National Registration File 1940-1946 You can read about this census substitute and use the link found on NaturalizationRecords.com to submit an application

Ships Passenger Lists Outbound from USA

Nan asked on Jan 10/09

Is there a passenger list going from New York to Scotland 1898 time period? I'm looking for Flora McKechnie Mullen born in Scotland 9/3/1866 married Patrick Mullen. Came to the USA 12/10/1893 from Glasgow Scotland with daughter Anne.Family story is she died in 1898 after a fall. Can't find a death certificate for her. My theory is she may have returned to Scotland.

Hi Nan, I'm afraid that the USA did not keep its outbound ships passenger lists. That means you need to search inbound lists arriving in Scotland or the UK.

There are some outbound ships passenger lists being transcribed at Ships Passenger Lists from Canada & USA

Genealogists can now search for ancestors on UK Incoming Ships Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 These passenger lists include OUTBOUND lists from Canada and America as well as other countries such as Australia.

Looking for Robert McMorland on Ships Passenger List Scotland to New York

Diana wrote:

QUESTION: Just wondering if you would please do a lookup for Robert MCMORLAND on a ship's passenger list? He emigrated from Scotland with his wife, Margaret and their two or three children to the United States about 1859 and settled in New York State.

MY ANSWER: Hi Diana. I don't generally do lookups but in this case, it's a great chance for me to get on my soapbox again about not limiting your searches when looking for an ancestor.

Robert is in Ancestry.com Ships Passenger Lists. He's been badly MISindexed although to be fair the original manifest DOES look like the name the transcriber came up with --

He is mis-indexed as ROBERT M. MORELAND, sailing 13 Jun 1859 from Liverpool, England to New York on the ship White Star. Oddly enough his wife is not with him but three children are:

Janet, 5
Maggy, 3
John, infant

Robert is listed as age 24, a laborer. He and kiddies came in steerage.

Here is a tutorial called Using Search Engines to Find Ancestors which you may find helpful. If you are having trouble finding someone, it's always a good idea to use wildcards if allowed (check each Search Engine's HELP section) and even leave out last names. Try searching just under first names, or years of birth. In short, be creative and don't get too hung up on what you know (or think!) the spelling of your ancestor's name is.

John & Florinda Kennedy from USA in Leeds Grenville County Ontario

Tish asked

Q: Florinda was married to John Kennedy who died about 1846 in Leeds-Grenville County. She had a son James (he married Rosetta) and two daughters. I have never been able to find out the daughters' names. Florinda was born approximately 1798, but I am not sure where.

James was married to Rosetta in 1854, in Leeds Co. I have never been able to find any information regarding his death, probably in Muskoka County. He had been a school teacher and then I believe a book-keeper. His death would be approx 1899. I cannot find a cemetery for his internment either. James is said to have been born in
Mass., USA. this may have been where is father first landed from Scotland. Did Florinda come with him, or did he meet her there?

A: James and his mother are found in the 1851 census for Crosby Tp Leeds County Ontario. It shows that Florinda and her son James were both born in USA. So it appears her husband met her after he arrived from Scotland.

James Kennedy, 33, b USA, farming, Free Church
Florinda Kennedy, 54 b USA

There are others living with them, but not with the surname Kennedy

Eliza Russell b USA, 23 (could she be one of the missing daughters of Florinda?)
Jane Gelpin? 13 b Canada
Guy Clements 14 b Canada

Rosetta, wife of James Kennedy died in Gravenhust Muskoka District 4 Feb 1879. Her death certificate states she was the wife of James Kennedy. She was 44 years old and born "Escott" Leeds

You might want to try land records to see if you can find James Kennedy before 1851. With any luck there could be a petition for land which has genealogy information. Petitions must be obtained from the Ontario Archives or your local Family History Center but it will be well worth it.