Think Outside the Box When Searching for Ancestors

I've been looking for my husband's great-grandfather Archie DeMeuleaneare in the 1921 Ontario census. As you can imagine, his surname DeMeuleaneare can has been spelled a dizzying variety of ways in records. I've found him as DeMeulenaire, DeMulenare, and yes, even De Millionaire.

To make searching even more challenging, Archie was born in Belgium as Achilles (pronounced AW-she, hence the Anglicization to Archie). So I have to go slowly and methodically, and search with all possible variations of both names. That is where wildcards come in. Wildcards are your friend. I'd be lost without them.

So in searching on Ancestry.com for Archie and his family in 1921 I was feeling pretty confident. I know the "tricks", I use wildcards, I start with a specific search (first name, surname, date of birth +/- 2 years, location of birth, residence). If that doesn't pan out I start eliminating fields. But the standard techniques were not working. I was getting no hits or thousands!

I decided to try searching for his wife. No dice. Okay I thought, I'll try searching for one of his children. Again I came up empty.

This is where genealogists need to think outside the box. Now is the time to try searching on just a first name and location - nothing else. Or a child's first name. Or a spouse. You may have to scroll through a few hundred results but that often does lead to success.

Jumping ahead, I'll share with you that I did eventually find Archie and his family - mistranscribed and indexed under the surname "Tekealeneau"

1921 Census Waterloo Township, Ontario

It is easy to see how the transcriber would have trouble with the surname! And that is why genealogists need to think outside the box when searching for an ancestor. Don't assume the indexing is correct. Don't assume the transcriber understood what they saw on the document.

Be persistent, be methodical, and be creative. You can't go wrong if you follow those three rules. 

Criminal Assize Clerk criminal indictment files 1853-1929

Criminal Assize Clerk criminal indictment files, 1853-1929

 Following is a list of Defendants in Waterloo County, the charges brought against them and the year. This is an index only, for full details you must consult RG 22-392 at the Archives of Ontario. These are not online, and are not available on ILL (InterLibraryLoan). You have to search in person at the Archives of Ontario.

It might be easier for you to find what you need to get the full record on a person of interest, by using the links at Olive Tree Genealogy's Special Collections in Ontario page. Look for the link to Archives Descriptive Database

1. Defendant: Deffge, Joachim; Charged with Manslaughter (shooting of thief): Waterloo County 1860
2. Defendant: Doering, Anna; Charged with Larceny: Waterloo County 1860
3. Defendant: Witzel, John alias Donnewerth, Geo.; Charged with Forgery: Waterloo County 1860
4. Defendant: Kolb, Dilman; Charged with Indecent assault (with intent): Waterloo County 1881
5. Defendant: Kress, Henry; Charged with Forgery and uttering a forged order: Waterloo County 1882
6. Defendant: Lowell, Charles; Charged with Inciting and attempting to induce J.C. McEwan to commit perjury; Subornation of perjury: Waterloo County 1882
7. Defendant: Mann, Charles Edwin; Charged with Misdemeanour in refusing to support his wife Mary Ellen Mann: Waterloo County 1882
8. Defendant: Markle, Isaac Brock; Charged with Forgery and uttering a forged note (2 counts); Forgery and uttering a forged note prev. conviction: Waterloo County 1882
9. Defendant: Flaherty, Dennis; Charged with Forging a telegram and uttering same under 32-33 Vict. cap. 19, sec 45: Waterloo County 1883
10. Defendant: Kennedy, Joseph; Charged with Perjury: Waterloo County 1883
11. Defendant: Noegel, John; Charged with Burglary and Larceny (2 counts); Larceny (1 count): Waterloo County 1883
12. Defendant: Campbell, Colin; Charged with Assaulting a constable in discharge of his duty: Waterloo County 1889
13. Defendant: McEachon, Archibald; Charged with Embezzlement; Appropriating a promissory note in contravention of sec 85 of the Larceny Act: Waterloo County 1883
14. Defendant: Delian, Thomas (Dillion); Charged with Malicious wounding: Waterloo County 1891
15. Defendant: Pinschenant, Joseph (Pinchnut); Charged with Bigamy: Waterloo County 1892
16. Defendant: Reinhart, Martin; Charged with Murder: Waterloo County 1892
17. Defendant: Stenobough, William D.; Charged with Indecent Assault: Waterloo County 1892
18. Defendant: Geasell, Caspar; Charged with Indecent Assault: Waterloo County 1893
19. 4 Defendant: Graham, Benjamin; Charged with Rape: Waterloo County 1894
20. Defendant: Johnston, Robert; Charged with Escape from lawful custody: Waterloo County 1894
21. Defendant: Leathorn, Thomas; Charged with Theft: Waterloo County 1895
22. Defendant: Oppertsheiser, Henry; Charged with Seduction; Illicit intercourse: Waterloo County 1895
23. Defendant: Rappke, Frederick; Charged with Wounding with intent to Murder: Waterloo County 1895
24. Defendant: Przeggoda, August; Charged with Wounding with intent to Murder: Waterloo County 1895
25. Defendant: Carter, John; Charged with Rape: Waterloo County 1896
26. Defendant: Kearney; Charge unknown: Waterloo County 1896
27. Defendant: Kurschinski, Auguste; Charged with Murder: Waterloo County 1896
28. Defendant: Allison, James; Charged with Murder: Waterloo County 1897
29. Defendant: Lyons, Albert Edward; Charged with Theft: Waterloo County 1898
30. Defendant: Eisenmenger, Adam; Charged with Rape; Having illicit connection with girl above 14 and under 16: Waterloo County 1900
31. Defendant: Heiman, Frank; Charged with False Pretenses; Conspiracy: Waterloo County 1901
32. Defendant: Kipper, Martha; Charged with False Pretenses; Conspiracy: Waterloo County 1901
33. Defendant: Walsh, Edward; Charged with Defamatory Libel (Victim C.P.R.): Waterloo County 1901
34. Defendant: Seibert, Milton; Charged with Theft: Waterloo County 1902
35. Defendant: Jenkins, Warren H.; Charged with Forgery (2 counts): Waterloo County 1905
36. Defendant: Meyers, John; Charged with Manslaughter (Street Railway accident): Waterloo County 1905
37. Defendant: Kress, Walter; Charged with Rape (Not guilty by reason of insanity): Waterloo County 1905
38. Defendant: Radigan, Martin; Charged with Indecent assault: Waterloo County 1905
39. Defendant: Johnston, William; Charged with Carnal knowledge of girl under sixteen: Waterloo County 1906
40. Defendant: George, Ivan; Charged with Unlawfully did attempt to discharge a loaded revolver at one Rico Petro with intent to Murder: Waterloo County 1907
41. Defendant: Gesinghaus, Adolph; Charged with Buggery: Waterloo County 1907
42. Defendant: Heuser, William; Charged with Murder; Assault causing actual bodily harm: Waterloo County 1907
43. Defendant: Reitz, William; Charged with Murder; Assault causing actual bodily harm: Waterloo County 1907
44. Defendant: Connell, John; Charged with Rape: Waterloo County 1908
45. Defendant: McCullough, Milton; Charged with Carnal knowledge of girl under 14 cc 301 (different victim from other McCullough case): Waterloo County 1908
46. Defendant: McCullough, Milton; Charged with Seduction (sec 211), Carnal knowledge under 14 (sec 301) (different victim from other McCullough case): Waterloo County 1908
47. Defendant: McDowall, Thomas; Charged with Seduction under 16 (sec 211), Indecent Assault (sec 292): Waterloo County 1909
48. Defendant: Shoemaker, Austin; Charged with Theft: Waterloo County 1913
49. Defendant: Flood, William; Charged with Rape; Attempted Rape: Waterloo County 1913
50. Defendant: Harris, Charles; Charged with Receiving stolen goods knowing them to be stolen; Conspiracy with John Boyd to defraud: Waterloo County 1916
51. Defendant: Harris, Samuel; Charged with Receiving stolen goods knowing them to be stolen; Conspiracy with John Boyd to defraud: Waterloo County 1916
52. Defendant: Meyer, Walter; Charged with Sedition: Waterloo County 1916
53. Defendant: Bowman, Harvey M.; Charged with Municipal Corruption: Waterloo County 1917
54. Defendant: Bricknell, Harvey E.; Charged with Theft (7 counts): Waterloo County 1917
55. Defendant: Hawkins, Basil; Charged with Receiving stolen goods: Waterloo County 1917
56. Defendant: Lowe, Wilson; Charged with Abduction (both)(2 counts, 2 victims); Seduction (Lowe); Carnal knowledge (Davis): Waterloo County 1917
57. Defendant: Davis, Roy; Charged with Abduction (both)(2 counts, 2 victims); Seduction (Lowe); Carnal knowledge (Davis): Waterloo County 1917
58. Defendant: McIntosh, William; Charged with Traversed to 1918 according to letter - charge given: Waterloo County 1917
59. Defendant: Meyer, Walter; Charged with Sedition; Assaulting a Peace Officer (See also 1916): Waterloo County 1917
60. Defendant: Smith, Roy; Charged with Resisting a Peace Officer: Waterloo County 1917
61. Defendant: Campbell, A.B.; Charged with Defamatory Libel (sec 334): Waterloo County 1918
62. Defendant: Exner, August; Charged with Rape (sec 299): Waterloo County 1918
63. Defendant: Gerbig, Chas.; Charged with Murder (Not guilty by reason of insanity): Waterloo County 1918
64. Defendant: Pfeffer, Theresa; Charged with Perjury (sec 174): Waterloo County 1918
65. Defendant: Bolduc, William A.; Charged with Manslaughter (Motor Vehicle): Waterloo County 1919
66. Defendant: Charniboy, Tony; Charged with Reckless and negligent driving: Waterloo County 1919
67. Defendant: Freeman, Paul; Charged with Reckless driving (sec 285): Waterloo County 1919
68. Defendant: Stefancov, Teodarovich; Charged with Attempted Rape: Waterloo County 1919
69. Defendant: Stotare, Andrew; Charged with Shooting with intent to Murder: Waterloo County 1919
70. Defendant: Savino, Tony; Charge unknown: Waterloo County 1920
71. Defendant: Voll, Leo; Charged with Attempted Murder: Waterloo County 1920
72. Defendant: Karley, Hazel; Charged with Manslaughter: Waterloo County 1921
73. Defendant: Martin, Albert; Charged with Manslaughter: Waterloo County 1921
74. Defendant: Ahrens, Carl; Charged with Murder: Waterloo County 1922
75. Defendant: Jones, Arthur; Charged with Armed Robbery: Waterloo County 1922
76. Defendant: Hallman, Oscar; Charged with Manslaughter; Wilful neglect (of child): Waterloo County 1923
77. Defendant: Hallman, Edna; Charged with Manslaughter; Wilful neglect (of child): Waterloo County 1923
78. Defendant: Kawalski, Stanley, et al.; Charged with Rape: Waterloo County 1923
79. Defendant: Bordman, Nelson; Charged with Manslaughter: Waterloo County 1924
80. Defendant: Bowman, Lorne; Charged with Murder: Waterloo County 1924
81. Defendant: Bricknell, Harvey; Charged with Attempted Murder: Waterloo County 1924
82. Defendant: Trafford, George; Charged with Rape: Waterloo County 1924
83. Defendant: Hannaford, Clayton; Charged with Manslaughter: Waterloo County 1927
84. Defendant: Weyman, John; Charged with Manslaughter: Waterloo County 1928
85. Defendant: Marshall, Lorne; Charged with Manslaughter: Waterloo County 1929

Blacksheep Ancestors find an ancestor in prison records, lists of executions, pirates and more ​

Finding Veronica Part 2

1851 Census Waterloo County Ontario

A few days ago I wrote about finding Veronica Schiebel, my husband's 3rd great-grandmother, on a ships' passenger list from France to New York in 1844.

My search extended to finding Veronica's parents, George and Anna Schiebel, who I knew had settled in the Waterloo area of Ontario Canada. To sum up, as of two days ago I had found Anna, a widow, in the 1861 census of Bruce County Ontario but I could not find the family in the 1851 census.

I had no idea when George Schiebel died, or where. I was able to narrow his date of death to sometime after his arrival in New York in 1844 and his wife Anna appearing on that 1861 census as a widow.

USING WILDCARDS IN SEARCHES

Well, more creative searches today turned up the family in the 1851 census. And I do mean "creative"! Using wildcards (*) on Ancestry.com, I searched for SCH*B*L*  That would pick up misspellings such as Scheibel, Schebel, Schebelle and so on. But Anna was not found.

So I began searching just under her first name, Anna. I added a year of birth +/-5 years, and keywords "Germany" and "Waterloo" Then I began scrolling through the results looking for anyone who might be Anna Schiebel. Bingo! Anna Scheffeb looked like a good possibility! Time to check the image and read the name for myself. Wow, what a mess!

The family was not only misindexed as "Scheffeb", the census taker apparently could not understand their German accent (or he could not spell at all). The family name on the image is clearly "Sheffel" but it is the correct family. Six of her known children are there with her, recognizable even with mangled first names.

ANOTHER CLUE = ANOTHER MYSTERY TO SOLVE

The exciting part of this genealogical find is that not only is father George Schiebel there alive and well (on the previous page), his 76 year old mother is with them! Now I have a whole new mystery to track down - when and where did his mother arrive from Germany and did her husband accompany her?

This find also narrows the death date for George. He died between the 1851 and 1861 census reports. He likely died in Ontario although it is certainly possible he died elsewhere. Since deaths were not registered until 1869 I will have to hunt for church records or a gravestone. Luckily for Ontario researchers, the family's religion is given on the census so I know to look in the Catholic records for the area where the Schiebel family lived.

And now I'm off to hunt for George's mother Katrine Schiebel on a passenger list. Here's hoping she arrived via a USA port because ships' passenger lists to Canada did not have to be kept before 1869.

Finding Veronica

My husband's 3rd great-grandmother was Veronica Schiebel. Veronica was born in 1835 in Germany but came to Ontario Canada sometime before 1851. She settled with her family in the Waterloo area and married John Kirsch in 1854.

All that we knew before today about Veronica was what we had found in the Canadian census records for 1851, 1861 and so on. But I have not found her parents in these records as she was a 17 year old servant in 1851 and not living with any family.

But today I found her arrival in New York on board the ship Louis Phillippe from Le Havre France on 16 April 1844. She was 9 years old and traveled with her parents (Johann George Schiebel and Anna) and 7 siblings.

The family group is listed as George 52, Anna 28, Philippe 22, Plasius 15, Martin 14, Anna 11, Rosina 10, Veronika [sic] 9, Carolina 5 and Maria 1/2 (meaning 6 months)

The youngest child was only 6 months old! How brave was Veronica's mother Anna! Imagine that journey with eight children. The passenger lists states they intend to settle in the USA and that intrigues me. Did they lie? Or did they settle in New York before venturing on to Canada?

I think my next step will be to hunt for a land record for Veronica's father and find out (if one exists) exactly when he settled in the Waterloo area. He may not have owned land which will make that research avenue non-viable but it's worth a try. My first step will be to check the CLRI (Computerized Land Record Index) for Ontario.  If I don't find him there I will hunt for Assessement and/or Tax Records.

Of course there is always the possibility that he did not make it to Ontario. He may have died in New York or shortly after arrival in Ontario. Since Ontario death records were not required to be registered until 1869 it may be difficult to find anything on him. 

But I do plan to revisit the earlier census records for Ontario to try once more to find Veronica's family. I know her mother was alive until 1876 (she died that year in Bruce Co. Ontario) so I should be able to find her in 1851, 1861 and 1871

Wish me luck! And if anyone knows of this family please do leave a comment or contact me.

UPDATE 4:30 p.m. May 6th: Just found Veronica's mother Anna Schiebel living in Carrick Township Bruce Co. Ontario in 1861 census. She is listed as a widow so now I know Johann George Schiebel died between 1844 and 1861, location unknown.

Silverplated Victorian Coffee Tankard with Genealogy

Yet another Genealogy related item I found in an antique store (this one I bought to add to my collection of Victorian Coffee Tankards) had this engraved faintly under the spout:

Presented to
A. M. Hilborn
By the
Blair Scholars
16 April 1887

The tankard was made in Toronto (Ontario Canada). I did a little checking and although I could not find A. M. Hilborn easily, Blair was a town in what is now Cambridge Ontario (Waterloo County) and Hilborn was a common name there.

As well, I think this may have been presented to a teacher by her students in a Blair School, but that's only a guess. I don't think an ornate coffee tankard would have been given to a man. I hope A. M. Hilborn's descendants see this and contact me to fill me in on details of his or her life.

Why Review Old Genealogy Research?

I've been working hard lately on a McGinnis Family book. McGinnis is my maiden name and for more than 30 years I've researched the 7 sons of the immigrant McGinnis line I am interested in. I've followed the sons (and one daughter) down through the generations, tracking their children and grandchildren. All in hopes of finding out where in Ireland my great-great-grandfather was born.

This past month I've been busy entering data I had found and filed away in my overflowing McGinnis filing drawer. Yes that's right - an entire drawer is devoted to this family. I could have sworn I had covered all my bases, found every scrap of evidence there was to be found on each of those 7 sons. Census? Done. I'd sent for death records, church records, looked for obituaries, and thought about where else I might find a record of an origin in Ireland.

But as I looked over my old research (which I hadn't really looked at in almost 10 years) something jumped out at me - several years ago I had found the names of 3 of the sons in Michigan Naturalization records indexes. But I had never sent for the full record! What an oversight - although the records are not apt to provide an exact location of birth, there is a small chance they might give a county in Ireland. We don't even know that much so anything would be a bonus.

I also realized I hadn't put a few clues together - that one of the grand-daughters of the original immigrant had been living (at the age of 6) with an unknown couple and a teenage girl in 1851 Waterloo County Ontario. Re-reading the teenager's surname I saw that it was the same as the granddaughter's mother (Cokely) - and the teen was likely granddaughter's aunt. A great clue that I had not seen first time around because I had not known her mother's surname at the time. This little clue led me to research the couple the granddaughter was living with and sure enough the wife was another aunt.

Reviewing my old material gave me fresh insight into the family and another path to follow. Now I am working on a chart to show where every son (and the daughter) lived at every land record, census record and assessment record I have already found. Hopefully that chart when complete will give me better insight into the family's movements and migration patterns. This in turn might help me find my missing great-great grandpa after 1871.

Waterloo County GenWeb new data

I just took over as the new host of the Waterloo County GenWeb site (part of Ontario GenWeb)

Thanks to the former hosts, there was already genealogical material there, and I've added more. For example I uploaded a list of Waterloo County Individuals in the Criminal Assize Clerk criminal indictment files, 1853-1929. I hope this helps everyone with Waterloo County ancestors!

Waterloo County is interesting because it was settled by blacks and Mennonites from Pennsylvania, as well as a large German population.