Using Search Engine Tools Provided to Find an Ancestor

Angus C. asked Olive Tree Genealogy about the parents of his 2nd great-grandparents, Kenneth Roderick McKenzie and Hughenia Ross 

Kenneth Roderick McKenzie October 1839 Boularderie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia died 26 June 1916 North Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Hughenia Ross 1835 Boularderie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia died 8 May 1869 Boularderie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia In both cases for Hughenia Ross and Kenneth Roderick McKenzie I have not been able to find any information about their parents, where they were born or died is totally unknown to me. Any help and guidance you can give me to break through either (or both) my "brick walls" would be greatly appreciated.

A quick search of Nova Scotia Historical Vital Records using Hughenia's full name gave no results but using their "starts with" choice in the search engine, and only typing in HU provided this entry for a Hughessie McKenzie, died 1869 in Baddeck, Victoria County She was listed as born in Boularderie to John Ross, a farmer and Robina McKenzie. The informant is named as Kenneth R. McKenzie and her date of death matches what Angus C. sent me as well as her burial record which I found with a quick search online.

Her burial is recorded with her husband in Man O War Point Cemetery, Boularderie Island, Victoria County, Nova Scotia.

 Kenneth R MacKenzie, merchant, d June 26, 1916, age 83 his wife Hughenia Ross d May 8, 1869, age 33, their youngest child John Knox MacKenzie d Mar 21, 1869 age 4 mo.

A newspaper article extraction found on Ancestry.com revealed the marriage of Hughina and Kenneth, with much more detail. Angus C. can now send for the full article to see what, if any, other clues are found in it.

Name:     Hughinia Ross
Gender:     Female
Event Type:     Marriage
Marriage Date:     19 Nov 1863
Marriage Place:     Boularderie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Spouse :     Kenneth W. [sic] McKenzie
Cleric 1 Name:     Rev. J. Fraser
Reference Date 1:     8 Jan 1863
Source:     Gazette (Royal Newfoundland Gazette) 1807-; Harbor Grace Standard ( also known as Standard and Conception Bay Advertiser) 1859-1936; Express (Newfoundland Express) 1851-1876; Record 1862-1863
Notes:     Bride was the youngest sister of W. Ross, M.P. for County Victoria, C.B. Bride was also sister of Roderick Ross, M.P. for Wapue, New Zealand. Groom was "late" of Harbour Grace.

Armed with the names of two of Hughina's brothers and her father and mother, I am sure more can be found about her parents.  Being curious I had a very quick search for the two brothers named in the marriage extract and found M.P. William Ross (1824-1912), son of John Ross and Robina McKenzie. Here is his wikipedia biography.

Given the variation in spelling of their names (McKenzie vs MacKenzie; Hughenia vs other variants) I urge Angus to not restrict his searching to an exact spelling but instead use wildcards or "starts with" tools provided in online search engines.

For those genealogists curious about how long my search took, it was approximately one hour for the information I found listed above. 

Continuing on because I am now fascinated by this family, I next found this entry on http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NS-CAPE-BRETON/2000-07/0964797229

The following is a transcription of a letter from Rev. Gillis, minister
at St John's Presbyterian Church, Belfast, PEI, dated 1979. Baptisms done by Rev. John MacLennan on trips to Boularderie. 

Baptized on September 16, 1831 to John Ross & Robina McKenzie
* William born December 20, 1825
* Jane born May 20, 1827
* Angus born August 20, 1829

A search quick found Robina and John's burials recorded as 

John Ross, native of Durness, Sutherlandshire, Scotland,
d Dec 25, 1857, age 83
Robina, relict of late John Ross, d Dec 7, 1862 age 67 yrs
b in Parish of Eddrachillis, Sutherlandshire, Scotland


As much as I am having fun with this query, it's time for Angus C to take over. If they were my ancestors I would run, not walk, to ScotlandsPeople website to see what I could find for John and Robina. Another hint for Angus: The marriage of John and Robina can be found on the  FamilySearch website. Once you find it, you can get the image on ScotlandsPeople for only 6 credits. That marriage should provide you with the fathers of both bride and groom.

Index to Anatomy Registers in Scotland

Search the Index to Scottish Anatomy Registers

The supply of bodies for dissection by anatomists and medical students was regulated by the Anatomy Act of 1832. From 1842, the Inspector maintained registers of bodies supplied to the medical schools around Scotland.

The registers start in 1842, and continue up to 1949. They generally provide the following information:

• name
• age and sex
• last residence
• date and place of death
• cause of death, and by whom certified
• time of removal
• place to which removed (i.e. the institution) and teacher
• date and time which the body was received
• from whom the body was received
• date and place of burial

If you are lucky enough to find an ancestor in the index you will see their date of death and age as well as location of death. You can then order a copy of the record.

Search for Ancestors in Insane Asylums

Sometimes our ancestors ended up in Insane Asylums not because they were insane but for other reasons - post partum depression in women, menopause, depression... any number of occurrences could land an individual in an asylum.

Olive Tree Genealogy has an Insane Asylum section which includes England, Scotland, Australia and Canada. One database in particular may be of interest to Canadian genealogists.

Toronto Insane Asylum 1841 ABSTRACT of PATIENTS admitted, discharged, and remaining in the temporary Lunatic Asylum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada from January 21st to July 31st, inclusive, 1841 

Got Scottish Ancestors?

I recently discovered a new (to me) website when searching for my former daughter-in-law's Scottish ancestors.

The website Scottish Indexes explains

"The aim of this website is to help you trace your Scottish family tree and find out more about the lives of your ancestors by helping you access historic documents that are here in Scotland.

We have a wide range of indexes from birth, marriage, death and census records to mental health and prison records. You can search all of our indexes from this page or you can go to our 'Record Sets' page and search by individual category. Find out exactly what we have indexed so far on our coverage page."

It's a mix of records. For example I found this record:

Register of Extracted Decrees

Pursuer	Helen Murie, daughter of Robert Murie, Balfron, Stirlingshire
Defender	Thomas Bulloch, Watchmaker & Jeweller, Strathaven
Year of Child's Birth	1880
Year Extract Isssued	1880
Sheriff Court	Hamilton
County	Lanarkshire
NRS Reference	SC37/7/25 p. 15

The site gives me two options to purchase the record since this is an index only. The options are:

1. the full record for a small fee
2. full record plus a transcription for a slightly larger fee

If you have Scottish ancestors you may want to give this site a look.

Breaking Down A Brick Wall

Angus C. asked Olive Tree Genealogy about the parents of his 2nd great-grandparents, Kenneth Roderick McKenzie and Hughenia Ross 

Kenneth Roderick McKenzie October 1839 Boularderie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia died 26 June 1916 North Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Hughenia Ross 1835 Boularderie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia died 8 May 1869 Boularderie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia In both cases for Hughenia Ross and Kenneth Roderick McKenzie I have not been able to find any information about their parents, where they were born or died is totally unknown to me. Any help and guidance you can give me to break through either (or both) my "brick walls" would be greatly appreciated.

A quick search of Nova Scotia Historical Vital Records using Hughenia's full name gave no results but using their "starts with" choice in the search engine, and only typing in HU provided this entry for a Hughessie McKenzie, died 1869 in Baddeck, Victoria County She was listed as born in Boularderie to John Ross, a farmer and Robina McKenzie. The informant is named as Kenneth R. McKenzie and her date of death matches what Angus C. sent me as well as her burial record which I found with a quick search online.

Her burial is recorded with her husband in Man O War Point Cemetery, Boularderie Island, Victoria County, Nova Scotia.

 Kenneth R MacKenzie, merchant, d June 26, 1916, age 83 his wife Hughenia Ross d May 8, 1869, age 33, their youngest child John Knox MacKenzie d Mar 21, 1869 age 4 mo.

A newspaper article extraction found on Ancestry.com revealed the marriage of Hughina and Kenneth, with much more detail. Angus C. can now send for the full article to see what, if any, other clues are found in it.

Continue reading this article at Using Search Engine Tools Provided to Find an Ancestor

Scottish Found to Have "Extraordinary" DNA

Gotta love even old DNA stories. According to a 2012 BBC news story, "The Scotland's DNA project, led by Edinburgh University's Dr Jim Wilson, has tested almost 1,000 Scots in the last four months to determine the genetic roots of people in the country."

The study found that Scottish DNA is extremely diverse. The project found that Scotland has almost 100 different groups of male ancestry from across Europe and even further.

A small number of Scots were found to be direct descendants of the Berber and Tuareg tribesmen of the Sahara. This is a lineage known to be over 5500 years old.

Continue reading Study reveals 'extraordinary' DNA of people in Scotland

If you have not yet had your DNA tested you might want to do that. DNA testing has come a long way since this 2012 story and many genealogists are discovering new relationships and surprising information on ancestors. This is my favourite company for DNA testing - DNA Kit at Ancestry.com!

Barnardo's Homes Photo Archives Opened

Thomas Barnardo started giving orphaned and destitute children a home in the UK in 1866. His homes, known as Barnardo's Homes, spread across the UK in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.

Between 1869 and 1920 over 100,000 children from Barnardo's were sent to Canada in the belief they would have a better life in that new country. After arriving in Canada they were sent to receiving homes then to farmers who had expressed a wish to take one. Some suffered abuse and were treated as nothing more than free labour but others found loving homes.
 
Now Barnardo's Homes has released many of the photos in their archives. Read more about the opening of the photo archives at Barnardo's archive photos reveal first foster children

Dating back to 1874, the archive contains 500,000 images and 300 films of the visual history of the organisation, including their work overseas in Canada and Australia.

Information about access to the photo archives can be found at Barnardo's Photo Archives

Photo on left is Albert Finch (1890-1976) is my husband's great-grand-uncle. The photo was taken while he was in Barnardo's Homes.

Albert was admitted to Barnardos Homes as an orphan on 16 February 1899 age 8 years. He spent one night at the Receiving H0use in Stepney East London and in February 1899 he was transferred to Sheppard House in Bow, East London. In May 1899 Albert was boarded out with foster parents in Romsey Hampshire where he remained for two years before returning to East London to Leopold House in March 1901. On 21 March 1901 he was sent to Canada on the SS Tunisian. 

MacNeil Clan Suprised by DNA Findings of Viking Ancestry Not Niall of the Nine Hostages

For centuries the MacNeil clan living on the Hebridean island of Barra have proudly claimed to be descendants of Ireland's greatest King, Niall of the Nine Hostages. However DNA testing has proven this story a myth. 

DNA swabs taken from Barra MacNeils as far away as Canada and Australia have shown no trace of Irish ancestry. Instead the DNA indicates Viking (Norse) ancestors.

"We can say we can re-write the history of the Clan MacNeil," said genealogist Vincent MacNeil, from Nova Scotia, Canada. "We don't have one participant from Barra that matches the O'Neills of Ireland. Source: Herald Scotland

Continue reading the full story at Macneil clan shocked as DNA checks force rewrite of history

Celebrating 200 Years Since Birth of Canada's First Prime Minister

Sir John Alexander Macdonald was the first Prime Minister of Canada. He was born January 11, 1815, Glasgow, United Kingdom and died June 6, 1891, in Ottawa He is buried in Cataraqui Cemetery in Kingston Ontario Canada

Notman Studio/Library and Archives Canada/C-010144

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has an extensive and varied collection of records related to Sir John Alexander Macdonald, including a virtual exhibition that includes personal papers, photos, artwork, and publications. 

Within LAC’s Sir John A. Macdonald collection, there are over 100,000 letters to and from family and close friends, which gives researchers a rare glimpse into his personal life.

Sir John A. Macdonald’s image has  been used in political cartoons, commercially in beer advertisements, as an endorsement for tomato chutney, and he has even been made into an action figure.

Sir John was the leading force behind Confederation in July 1867 and he left a legacy of greatness in his  political career spanning almost 50 years.

Library and Archives Canada,
Acc. No. 1996-278-2.34
Source: Molson Companies Limited, Montreal, Quebec.

To learn more about Sir John A. Macdonald and his legacy:

• Sir John A. Macdonald at a glance
• Listen to the podcast: Let us be Canadians: Sir John A. Macdonald
• Read other blog posts on Sir John A. Macdonald
• Explore the Sir John A. Macdonald fonds
• Explore his political and personal papers—Sir John A. Macdonald: Canada’s Patriot Statesman (archived site)
• Explore Canadian Confederation—Sir John A. Macdonald (archived site)
• View some of his portraits on Flickr
• Essay on Macdonald by Richard Gwyne
• Political Junkie Café—Success. Scandal. Sir John A.

Help Send a WW1 Soldier's Cap Badge Back to Family

Michael L. wrote to me about a cap badge he found many years ago. Here is Mike's story:

I am looking for descendants of a John Orr who served in WW1 and lived in Oshawa in 1926. I have a hat badge that I recently traced to him and would give it to a descendant of his. I found it in my mothers’ garden around 1943.It is from the Canadian Highlanders Regiment. A few years ago I was curious and looked up who had lived in the house before my parents moved in. John Orr was living there in 1926. Last year I found a site with Attestation papers. I found John Orrs’ papers and he was in the Canadian Highlanders. If you could find a relative that would be great to give it to them.

The cap badge reads 

THE ROYAL HIGHLANDERS OF CANADA

 13th BATT 1st CANADIAN DIVISION

A search of the online CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) database brings up Captain John Orr born 27 August 1890 in Wishaw, Scotland, enlisting on 23 September 1914. His Regimental Number is 24908

His mother Helen is given as his next-of-kin and he was single. 

I did some research and found the family in the 1881, 1891 and 1901 census for Wishaw, Cambusnethan, Lanarkshire Scotland. His father was Andrew, his mother Helen and John had many older siblings.

John Orr Attestation Paper front

I was able to put together a family grouping of:

Father: Andrew Orr born ca 1849 Liberton Lanarkshire

Mother: Helen born ca 1851 Stonehouse Lanarkshire

Children:

• Marion b ca 1875
• Adam b ca 1877
• James b ca 1879
• Elizabeth b ca 1881
• Janet b ca 1884
• Mary b ca 1886
• Andrew Jr. b ca 1889
• John b. ca 1891 

I have not done any more research to find John Orr after his enlistment in the CEF in 1914 but he might appear in the 1921 Canadian census and on a ships passenger list arriving in Canada between 1901 and 1914. 

If any of my readers want to help find descendants so the cap badge could be returned to family, please leave responses as a comment on this blog. If you have information on living descendants it will not be published online but I will pass it on to Mike L.  

What a terrific thing if we can send this cap badge to family!

Seamstress Hides Secret Message in Kilt in WW1

Hiding secret messages? World War 1?  Sounds like a James Bond Spy Novel - but it isn't quite. Recently a woman found a secret message hidden in the folds of a kit which had been in her family for many years. The kilt had never been worn and was obviously made for a soldier heading off to the front during WW1. 

The message read: "I hope your kilt will fit you well, & in it you will look a swell. If married never mind. If single drop a line. Wish you bags of luck, & a speedy return back to Blighty." Underneath was the name of Helen Govan, of 49 Ardgowan Street in Glasgow. 

Who was Helen Govan? Perhaps she was an unmarried seamstress hoping to hear back from a possible future husband. Perhaps she was simply a kind-hearted woman who wanted to brighten a soldier's day. 

Did Helen stuff a note into every kilt she stitched? Or was this a one-time occurrence meant specifically for a man who had ordered the kilt? There are so many unanswered questions but how wonderful if we knew what happened to Helen in Glasgow. 

Continue reading at Secret message found in WW1 kilt

Credits: Image  thardy1 on flickr,com
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

Unlock the Past Genealogy Cruise

Ready for a sea trip? Join the Unlock the Past Genealogy Cruise British Discovery

Date: 10 nights 19-29 July 2014
Ship: Marco Polo (Cruise & Maritime Voyages)
Cost: from £1199 twin share

Itinerary: 

• day 1 – depart Tilbury, London – 6pm
• day 2 – at sea
• day 3 – Invergordon, Scotland – 7.30am-10pm
• day 4 – Kirkwall, Orkney Islands – 7am-6pm
• day 5 – Stornoway, Outer Hebrides – 7.30am-10pm
• day 6 – Tobermory, Isle of Mull – 7.30am-4pm
• day 7 – Dublin, Ireland – 8am-5.45pm
• day 8 – St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly - 9am-6pm
• day 9 – St Peter Port, Guernsey - 7.30am-6pm
• day 10 – Honfleur, France –  9am-5pm
• day 11 – arrive Tilbury, London – 9am

Looking For an Ancestor in Canada, eh?

Fiona asked some very intriguing questions on my AskOliveTree blog 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 here 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. I hope you'll be pleased with what I found and my suggestions for further research.

I don't usually do actual research for a question but yours intrigued me as the death registrations for Jessie and her two daughters should be online on Ancestry.com and on FamilySearch. These will show the cause of death for each and thus would answer your question #2.  So I had a quick look and found all three. There are many extra clues in death registrations too.

Death registrations show that Jessie died of old age. Janet (who is registered as Jeanette) shows her place of birth as Dumfries Township Canada and her cause of death as consumption. The informant for both deaths was John Anderson, a Miller of Wingham. I suspect John was a son of Jessie and George because in 1870 he buried his 3 month old daughter Jessie - no doubt named in honour of his mother.

I had to hunt for a bit for Elizabeth's death registration as she died a married woman and so was under the name Elizabeth Linklater (her husband being Peter). Elizabeth also died of consumption in 1880.

Suggestions for Further Research

Census Records

Since her death registration shows Janet/Jeanette born in Dumfries ca 1835, you could look for the family in the 1851 census. Much of the 1851 census for Ontario is missing but being curious I decided to have a look at Canadian census records on Ancestry.com. Sure enough there they are - not in Huron Co. but in Blenheim Twp Oxford County.

The family consists of George, Jessy [sic], Janett [sic] 18, John 16, William 14, Margaret 12, George 10, Isabella 6 and Elizabeth 4. All the children are listed as born in C.W. which is Canada West, which is present day Ontario.

Widen Your Search Parameters
Don't forget to expand your search if you can't find someone first time. So even if you think the family is in a certain location in a certain year, if you don't find them, widen your search parameters - don't exclude other locations.


Wildcards Are Your Friend
Use wildcards. Jessie was found as Jessy. Janet was found as Jeannette and Jeannet. This is where wildcards are useful.  A search for Jes* for example would pick up Jessie, Jessy and any other variant spelling that begins with Jes.

The family is still in Blenheim Twp in 1861. Jessie is now a widow. They must have had a bit of money for they are shown as living in a 2-storey brick home. Most of their neighbours were in log or frame houses either 1 or 1 1/2 storeys.

Land Records 

George is listed as a farmer so it is possible you will find him in land records, which would narrow the timeline for his immigration from Scotland. You could now get the Agricultural Census for each census year. The Agricultural portion of the census will provide you with a land location and more details such as how much land was pasture, how much was cultivated, and so on.  Few Agricultural Census are  online so you may have to order microfilm in to a library or family history center for this.

You can also check the CLRI which is the Ontario Land Record index to find if George was a first time buyer of Crown land, and if so you will then have an exact year of purchase and under what conditions he acquired his land. This will also indicate if there might be a petition on file.

There may also be tax or assessment records available for the pre-1851 time period for Oxford County. I would also check Waterloo County as that is where Dumfries Township is located.

Immigration Records (Ships Passenger Lists)

Unfortunately Ships Passenger Lists to Canada before 1865 are few and far between. It was not a requirement that passenger lists be archived before that year. There are some surviving lists but they are few and far between. The best idea would be for you to go to  the online project called Filling in the Gaps and check each online project to look for your ancestors. The online projects include shipping company records, steamship records for bringing passengers down the St. Lawrence River once they landed in Canada, Immigration Officer records and so on.

Summary

Based on what I found online we now know that your family arrived in Canada ca 1835 or earlier. If Archibald was born in Scotland in 1822 you now have a timeline of 1822-1835.

We know a few more children from the census records. It is possible that by researching each of their movements you will find out more about the family in Scotland and in Canada and their arrival. There may be an obituary for one of their children which gives details of the parents' arrival in Canada.

One item of great interest I think is that three of George and Jessie's children gave their mother's maiden name as SLATER at their marriages. You have her maiden name as POWELL. It's the kind of discrepancy that is great fun to research!

Please do let us know how it goes. I'm quite interested in this family now.

Ships Outbound from USA to Europe & United Kingdom

Neither U.S. A. nor Canada maintained outbound ships passenger lists.

ShipsListsOnline is pleased to announce a new project to transcribe ships passenger lists leaving USA, bound for Europe and United Kingdom.

Our ShipsListsOnline Team is hard at work on these lists so please watch this page or join the free Olive Tree Genealogy Newsletter for updates on this and other Ship Passenger List Indexing Projects

Additions this week:

* Added List of Passengers on Steamship Cherokee for Chagres from New York November 1851

* Added List of Passengers on Steamship Iowa Sailing for Glasgow Scotland from New York 4 May 1867

*Added R. M. S. Saxonia Cunard Line: List of Saloon Passengers sailing from Boston Massachusetts to Liverpool England 24 July 1906 (A-C Surnames)

*Added S.S. Furst Bismarck Hamburg-America Line from New York to Southampton and Hamburg Germany 9 July 1896 (A-E Surnames)

Take Me to Scotland!

Was Great-Grandpa Scottish? Travel to the ancestral home, walk in the footsteps of the clans. In 2009, there will be a Gathering of the Clans, and a year-long celebration of Scottish history. Homecoming Scotland will mark the 250th birth anniversary of Scotland's greatest poet, Robert Burns.

For this once in a lifetime anniversary, experienced genealogists will verify and document your Scottish origins. Those whose Scottish ancestors are in the US or Canada can trace their family back to their ancestral origins in the Old Country (Scotland).

The Genealogy Team, with over 50 years of combined experience in Scottish genealogical research, have agreed to accept assignments through this Special Olive Tree Genealogy offer. Olive Tree Genealogy visitors can choose from a 10% discount on the first step of their journey (starting with your last known ancestor the Team will research 2 generations back in Scotland records) or a free consultation with The Genealogy Team

Scottish Emigration Database

The Scottish Emigration Database currently contains the records of over 21,000 passengers who embarked at Glasgow and Greenock for non-European ports between 1 January and 30 April 1923, and at other Scottish ports between 1890 and 1960.

More ships passengers lists from Scotland to North America (Canada & USA) are found at Olive Tree Genealogy

Passenger Lists Scotland to New York 1823-1829 online

More Scottish Passengers Lists have been added to Olive Tree Genealogy.

These are partial lists, gathered from the names of those admitted to the New York Almshouse before 1830. The New York Almshouse records give details of the ship name, port of departure and place of origin of each individual (as well as the standard date of admission, age and so on)

This is part of an ongoing project to extract the names of passengers on board ships sailing from Canada, Scotland, Ireland, England, Germany and France, to New York. See Ships to New York 1800-1824


The following ships are now online:

* Ships Passenger List of Ship Comet Sailing from Greenock Scotland for New York before September 1823
* Ships Passenger List of ship Friends sailing from Greenock Scotland arriving New York before May 1824
* Ships Passenger List of Ship Camillus Sailing for New York from Greenock Scotland before February 1826
* Ships Passenger List of Ship Richmond Sailing from Greenock Scotland for New York before September 1826
* Ships Passenger List of Ship Franklin sailing from Greenock Scotland arriving New York 15 April 1826
* Passenger List of Ship Eliza Sailing from Dundee Scotland for New York before December 1827
* Ships Passenger List of ship Tom sailing from Greenock Scotland arriving New York 2 July 1827
* Ships Passenger List of Ship Hero sailing from Greenock Scotland arriving New York 19 May 1828
* Ships Passenger List of ship Roger Stewart sailing from Greenock Scotland arriving New York 9 June 1828
* Ships Passenger List of Ship Superior sailing from Greenock Scotland arriving New York 25 September 1828
* Ships Passenger List of Brok or Brooke sailing from Greenock Scotland arriving New York 29 August 1829

Lists Of Stockholders Canada & USA 1890

"Report of the Superintendent of Insurance of the Dominion of Canada for the Year Ending 31st December 1890" was published in 1891 and included are approximately 60 pages of names of shareholders and guarantors for various Insurance and Assurance Companies across Canada & USA.

The date for the list of names is 1890 and ncludes people from all over Canada, USA and Europe.

Each individual has a residence listed, in some cases, an actual street address. The shareholders' residences include such places as:

Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Scotland, New York, Quebec, Vermont, Pennsylvania, NWT, England, Illinois, India, Newfoundland, Manitoba, Cape Breton, Jamaica, Ireland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Massachussets, Minnesota, Ohio, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Channel Islands, France and Wales.

These lists can be used simply to verify that an individual lived in a certain place in 1890. They also contain quite a bit of detail for some entries, which are terrific clues for further research. Here's a few examples:

One listing is for

"Edward Rawlings, Montreal" and under his name, labelled as "in trust" are the names Miss A L Rawlings, Miss E M Rawlings, Miss KNB Rawlings, George W Rawlings, HEA Rawlings, and WT Rawlings

Beside Edward's name is his number of shares in the Guarantee Company of North America - 4645, amount subscribed for 232,250, paid in cash 52,610. His children are noted as to their number of shares, amount subscribed for and amount paid up in cash - each child except Miss AL has 5 shares, 250 subscribed for and 250 paid in cash. Miss AL has 6 shares, 300 subscribed for and 300 paid in cash.

It occurred to me that this entry meant that Edward had died, and the rest of the names were his heirs, most likely his children, given the words "in trust". So I checked the online 1881 census at http://familysearch.org/ and found Edward and his family living in Montreal (Ste Antoine Ward)

This gives you some idea of the usefulness of this book. It can be consulted online at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ote/canada/shareholders.htm

Free Credits for ScotlandsPeople Site

The Scottish Sunday Mail is giving away to their readers 20 free credits for the ScotlandsPeople site.

1. Go to www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk and click on the register button if you're a new user, or log in using your username and password if you already have an account.


2. New users will be required to complete a registration form before they can access the ScotlandsPeople site.


3. Once logged in, click on NEED MORE? on the top right hand side of the page.


4. You will be taken to a page where you should enter the voucher code sundaymail to access the great genealogy giveaway.

Scotland Census Collection, 1841-1901 online

Americans and Canadians with Scottish ancestry can now search for their Scottish ancestors among the more than 24 million names in the complete Scotland Census Collection, 1841-1901, on Ancestry.com.

These censuses include names, occupations, places of birth and residence of our Scottish ancestors. U.S. passenger list records also include Scottish immigration during this period, making it easier for individuals to trace their ancestors

The complete Scotland Census Collection adds to Ancestry.com's growing international census collection, which already includes the only complete online collections of fully-indexed and digitized U.S. Federal Censuses from 1790 to 1930, England and Wales censuses from 1841 to 1901, and the 1851, 1901, 1906 and 1911 Canadian census.

Use census links at CENSUS RECORDS and passenger lists at SHIPS PASSENGER RECORDS