How to Obtain Canadian WW2 Military Service Files

My Father in WW2

World War 2 Canadian records are restricted. But they can be accessed and they can include documentation about enlistment, discharge, military units served with, and may also include other documents concerning medical history, medals awarded, personal evaluation reports and dental charts.

Library and Archives Canada holds military service files for those who served after 1918. Their website explanation of who can access what files and how to obtain them is a bit confusing, so I'll share  with you what I did to send for the military records of my father's brother, Clarence E. McGinnis. I knew Uncle Clare had been in WW2 as I have several photos of him in uniform. But I never knew where he served, what unit he was in, or what he did during the War.


I wrote a one page letter requesting the complete military service files for [individual's name] who was born [individual's full birth date or estimated year] in [name of city/town plus county and province in Ontario] to parents [names of father and mother].
 

Uncle Clare in WW2

 
I included my uncle's death date and a photograph of his tombstone as proof of death. Interestingly enough they actually returned the photo to me!

That was it. I mailed the letter and photo to

ATIP and Personnel Records Division
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0N4

You can also fax your request to them at this number: 613-947-8456

Your request can be written as a letter or you can print off a blank copy of the Application for Military Service Information form [PDF 663 KB]  which should be filled in, signed and sent by mail or fax. 

Using the ATIP Online Request service is another way to submit requests.

 

After a wait of about 5 months a very large package arrived with Uncle Clare's complete military file. I estimate there are about 80 or more pages.  The wait was not unexpected as it is made clear on the Library & Archives Canada website that they are backlogged and requests can take up to 6 months to fill.
There was a lot of interesting information in the military file for Uncle Clare - such as details of his work history prior to enlisting. It include what he was paid! I wish my dad's files had been as complete.

 
 

I am really pleased to have some more details to add to my knowledge of my uncle. I knew him quite well but he never spoke of his military service or his early years. I suppose I was too young for him to think I'd be interested.
 
Plus he was quite old-fashioned regarding males vs females and since I was a female he'd be less likely to talk to me about what he would consider "man stuff"  
 
But I'm really enjoying reading through his files to find out where he went during the war (to England and France) and what he saw and did during that difficult time.

For WW1 personnel files you will be able to view these online very soon. Library and Archives Canada is busy scanning and uploading the full files to the online CEF Searchable database.

Never Assume - Develop a Theory Instead

Steve asked Olive Tree Genealogy a very good question about making assumptions from details on a census.

How can one determine the relationship of individuals on the 1860 census. On the 1860 Hardy County Virginia census, my great grandfather Thomas Wilson is placed below a Pamelia Wilson, and above that a Judy Wilson. Can I safely assume that Thomas is Pamelia's son born out of wedlock? 

Steve - This is an important question in genealogy. The short answer is "Absolutely not!"

Don't Assume! 

The meaning of "assume" is to suppose without any proof. 

You should never assume anything in genealogy research. You can however create what I call a Working Theory, based on the facts you have found.

List the Possible Scenarios

In the example you gave, you don't know how Thomas is related, or even if he's related at all. Let's look at some possible scenarios (with the caveat that you have not told me the ages of the individuals and that's an important consideration when developing theories).

1. Thomas might be Pamelia's son.

2. Thomas might be Pamelia's nephew.

3. Thomas might be Pamelia's cousin.

4. Thomas might be adopted

5. Thomas might be from a completely unrelated Wilson family

There are other possibilities depending on the ages of Thomas and the other individuals in the census.

Develop Your Working Theory

A simple definition of "theory" is a supposition, or an idea that might be true but are not yet proven.

You think that Thomas might be Pamelia's son. That's a good working theory.

Prove or Disprove Your Theory

 Your next step would be to search for records that PROVE or DISPROVE your theory.

* Can you find Thomas or Pamelia in 1850 or 1870 census?
* Look for Thomas' birth record
* Look for Thomas' marriage record
* Look for Thomas' death or obit

Continue researching Pamelia. Find out what you can about her. Is her father named Thomas? That might add a little more weight to your working theory (although that still would not be proof of a mother-son relationship). Perhaps Pamelia has an obit that mentions a son Thomas.

The bottom line is that unless you find proof, it's only guesswork or assumptions. And genealogy is about facts and truth, not guesses. Guesses based on a record you found are important to aid you in developing a working theory but you still must prove (or disprove) that theory.
 

Finding an Ancestor in Upper Canada (Ontario) pre 1871 - Part 3 of 3

Rory wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy with this intriguing question:

I am reseaching a William Hanley. According to his obituary:

 " Mr. Hanley was born on May 4th 1857 at Buffalo Wellington County Ontario son of the late Richard and Elizabeth Hanley."

 The only village I can scare up is Buffalo Heights but that is in Peel Co. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Some queries grab my interest and make me want to dig in and do some sleuthing. This one did. My hunt online was challenging so I thought I'd share with my readers the step by step of what I did and what I found.

DON'T OVERLOOK CLUES 

There's one clue I hadn't followed up on - the birth location Ellen gave when she married. She said she was born in Stratford which is in Perth County. Since she was born circa 1859 I might find her with her parents in the 1861 census for Perth County.

BINGO! Here's what I found on Ancestry.com in Ellice Twp, Perth Co. Ontario in 1861

* Richard Henley [sic], farmer, born Ireland, age 31
* Elizabeth, born UC (Upper Canada now Ontario) age 20
* Wm (William), born UC, 3
* Michel [sic], born UC, 2
* Elin [sic], born UC, 1

They are Roman Catholic. And there we have the family as I suggested. Father born Ireland, mother Canada - agrees with census records I found. My working theory is, I believe, proven correct to a point. We can see that William, Michael and Ellen are siblings and children of Richard and Elizabeth. But we don't have proof that Richard and Elizabeth died. The siblings were living elsewhere in 1871 but their parents may have been impoverished and unable to care for them.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

1. Look for a marriage record for William Hanley. He married in Saskatchewan and finding his marriage record will be proof positive if his parents are listed as Richard Hanley and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Tracey

2. Now there are more clues now to try to find the parents Richard and Elizabeth. We know her surname (Tracey) and we know she was born in what is now Ontario circa 1841. And we have the witness William Tracy at Ellen Hanley's marriage in 1878. He may be an uncle or a cousin. I would research the Tracey family in Perth and in Wellington Counties.

3. Look for the closest Catholic Church in Ellice Township to hunt for a possible marriage record for Richard and Elizabeth, also for baptisms of their children. Since the children are 1 year apart in age, it's very likely that Richard and Elizabeth married shortly before William's birth. So that narrows your timeline for a search.

4. Since Richard is listed as a farmer in the 1861 census, you may be able to find him in land records. Try the CLRI (Ontario Land Record Index) for his name. Often men bought or sold their land to family members so with luck you may learn more about the Hanley family if you can find Richard. At the very least it will give you a precise location for land and the dates he bought and sold it. You could also try a search of the UCLP (Upper Canada Land Petitions) to see if Richard filed a petition.

5. I would also continue researching the siblings of William. Searching the siblings - their spouses and families can often result in an invaluable clue being found. For example the obituary for either Michael or Ellen might provide many genealogical tidbits about their parents.

Finding an Ancestor in Upper Canada (Ontario) pre 1871 - Part 2 of 3

Rory wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy with this intriguing question:

I am reseaching a William Hanley. According to his obituary:

 " Mr. Hanley was born on May 4th 1857 at Buffalo Wellington County Ontario son of the late Richard and Elizabeth Hanley."

 The only village I can scare up is Buffalo Heights but that is in Peel Co. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Some queries grab my interest and make me want to dig in and do some sleuthing. This one did. My hunt online was challenging so I thought I'd share with my readers the step by step of what I did and what I found.

DEVELOP A WORKING THEORY

This is where I develop a working theory. My genealogy brain, experience and intuition immediately think "Hmmmm.... two Hanley boys living with two families who are almost certainly related... and both boys are Irish Catholic... it's possible that they are brothers and their parents are dead"  This is what I call a working theory. It's a "guess" based on clues and I'm going to now try to prove or disprove my theory.

PROVE OR DISPROVE YOUR THEORY

But first I had a look for a Richard Hanley in Wellington County. There was a Richard and Elizabeth Handley living in Wellington in 1871 census but not in Peel Twp and they were aged 80 and 78, far too old to be the parents of William. As well both were from England, not Ireland and were Methodist not Catholic. I can rule them out.

But what did come up in the Ancestry.com search results was the  marriage of a 19 year old woman named Ellen Hanley. Ellen gave her parents names as Richard Hanley and Elizabeth Tracy. Her birth place was noted as Stratford which is in Perth County but she was marrying in Peel Twp., Wellington County. I wondered where Ellen Hanley was in 1871. I search found her as a 10 year old girl living with the O'Grady family in Peel Twp, Wellington Co. Ellen was born in Ontario and was a Roman Catholic of Irish origin.

EXPAND YOUR THEORY AND YOUR SEARCH

A 10 year old girl would not normally be found living with another family unless her parents were deceased. And thus my working theory expanded to suggest that Ellen was a sibling of Michael and of William.

I liked that Ellen's parents were Richard and Elizabeth and that she was the same religion and ethnicity as William. My search now expanded to records other than census. I checked births, marriages and deaths and other online records.

Eventually I found a marriage record on FamilySearch dated 1893 in Aurelius Michigan for Michael J. Hanley, age 29, born Canada, son of Richard Hanley & Lizzie Tracy. It was a second marriage for Michael.

NOTE YOUR PROVEN FACTS

So now I have proof that Michael Hanley and Ellen Hanley were siblings and were living with other families in Peel Twp, Wellington County in 1871. I still believe that William is their brother. The circumstantial evidence for this is the proximity of William to Michael in 1871, the fact that they were both living with families with the same surname (probably related), and that both had parents named Richard and Elizabeth.

Further research showed that Ellen settled in North Dakota circa 1880 which explains why she is not found on the 1881 census for Canada. In census records in USA she states her father was born Ireland and her mother in Ontario. Her grave is found on FindAGrave.

Michael can be found in Michigan records and the 1920 Census for Lansing Michigan indicates he immigrated circa 1881.  He notes his father being born Ireland and his mother in Canada

William is found in Boissevain Village, Manitoba in 1901 although in this census he is listed as Presbyterian. He appears to have gone to Manitoba circa 1882 but I have not found him in 1881. By 1892 he had moved to Saskatchewan.


To be continued...

Finding an Ancestor in Upper Canada (Ontario) pre 1871 - part 1 of 3

Rory wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy with this intriguing question:

I am reseaching a William Hanley. According to his obituary:

 " Mr. Hanley was born on May 4th 1857 at Buffalo Wellington County Ontario son of the late Richard and Elizabeth Hanley."

 The only village I can scare up is Buffalo Heights but that is in Peel Co. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Some queries grab my interest and make me want to dig in and do some sleuthing. This one did. My hunt online was challenging so I thought I'd share with my readers the step by step of what I did and what I found.

As Rory discovered, it looks like there's some kind of error or mixup in William Hanley's obit. That's often the case with an obituary. You can't trust it 100% unless the deceased wrote it personally before death! Otherwise it is simply someone else's recollections.

But since Wellington County is mentioned specifically, my intuition was that William did indeed live or was born in Wellington County. Ontario Vital Records did not begin until 1869 so we won't find William's birth registered. Rory could look in church records once William's religious affiliation is known.  Luckily that is found on Ontario Census records so that's where I'm going to look first.

USE WILDCARDS WHEN SEARCHING

As many of my readers know, I like to begin with Ancestry.com. A search there for William Hanley did provide some results. Once on Ancestry I used wildcards and typed Will* H*n*l*y into the search engine. The wildcard * in his first name will find variations such as Will, Willie, Willy, and Wiliam. The wildcards in his surname will find Henley, Henlay, Hanlay, Hanley, Hanly, Henly, and variations with a "d" such as Handley.

I also added an approximate birth year of 1857 +/-2  That will allow for any discrepancy in his age in census or other records. I could have chosen +/- 5 but I like to start with a narrower search and then expand it if I don't get results.

I then added the keyword "Wellington". I don't put this in the location field as I find that very unforgiving and it will not return as many results as putting the location in the keyword field instead.

CENSUS RECORDS

The search terms yielded 3 results - 2 were duplicates so what I had was an 1871 census for a William Hanlay in Peel Twp, Wellington Co.  and a 1901 census for a William Hanley with the wrong birth day/month and year, and living in Ottawa with a wife Alice. I liked the look of that 1871 census so I went to view the image.  It showed 15 year old William, a Catholic of Irish origin, born Ontario and living with the Conolly family.

Interestingly, only a few names away on the image was a Michael Hanley, age 12, also Catholic of Irish origin and born Ontario living with another Conolly family.

To be continued....

Clues for Finding an Ancestor's Immigration Record

A few years ago Olive Tree Genealogy received a request from a reader (Hillary M.) of my AskOliveTree blog.

Because my answer covers so many generic research suggestions I thought it might be helpful to repost it here.

Dear Olive Tree,

I need assistance locating immigration/migration records for my gr-gr-grandfather Henry Arthur Bolton and my gr-gr-grandmother Emily Meyrick.

The problem is, I don't know exactly when Henry immigrated to Canada from England, or when he migrated from Canada to the United States.  In the US census records his immigration date changes; 1900 census states 1875, 1910 census states 1871, 1920 census states 1872.

What I do know is he married Emily Jane Meyrick on October 14 1886 is Worcester Massachusetts.  His marriage record states his parents names as George and Elizabeth.  At the time of his marriage his age is listed as 25. 

He died in Massachusetts May 14, 1942 (My grandmother was 19 years old)

Hello Hillary - The first thing that jumps out at me in your query is that immigration date for Henry. That date does not likely refer to his immigration to Canada but rather into the USA. So if he was first in Canada for a period of time, the year he crossed the border to USA is almost certainly what is being referred to. (immigration years 1871, 1872, 1875)

It is not unusual to have a mis-remembered immigration year. I always advise researchers to allow a  few years on either side of a date given. So I would be searching from 1870 to 1877 or so. Unfortunately Border Crossing records did not exist before 1895 so you are out of luck there.

Also I note that on his marriage record he is recorded as "Arthur H." so you will have to remember to look under both names - Henry and Arthur. As well, you may not be aware that Harry is a common nickname for Henry. I would search under all three names - Henry, Arthur and Harry.

Canadian Census & Ships Passenger Lists
You may find that Henry missed any Canadian census records which were taken every 10 years. You could look for him in 1871 census in Canada but that will probably be your only hope. Also, ships passenger lists to Canada did not have to be kept before 1865. So if Henry arrived from 1869 on you may find him in the online ships manifests found at Ancestry.com

For ships arriving in Canada before 1865 please see Filling in the Gaps which has a complete list of all substitute lists such as shipping agent records, immigration agent records and so on. Each list is linked to the actual records and most can be searched online.

Naturalization Records
Since Henry was born in England and thus was a British subject, you may find that he naturalized in the USA. In fact I had a look in his census records to see what information they gave re his naturalization status. You didn't mention that in your query so perhaps you were not aware that each census from 1900 to 1930 gives details as to whether or not a foreign-born individual had naturalized (shown as NA on the census page), had applied for his first papers (PA on the census page) or had not naturalized (AL on the census page)

Henry's 1900 and 1910 census show he had his first papers. The 1920 census states he was a naturalized citizen. You now have a timeline of 1910-1920 to search for his naturalization papers. You could also search pre 1900 for his application to naturalize. Please see NaturalizationRecords.com for information and links to online naturalization databases.  You can also search Fold3 for naturalization records.

Obituaries and Newspaper Records
Have you searched for an obit for Henry? You may want to try Ancestry.com and GenealogyBank for newspaper records.

English Records

You might try looking in United Kingdom census records for Henry/Arthur/Harry and his parents. I'd try 1861 and 1871.

Have you searched Free BMD for a possible birth record for Henry? If you find a possiblity there and wish to order the full record, please see my blog post Ordering English Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Death online for instructions on how to do this.  In fact  I found a very good possibility for your Henry Arthur being registered in the 3rd quarter of 1861 (between July and September) in Maidstone, which fits with your Henry giving his month and year of birth in the 1900 census as August 1861. You will have to get the details re volume and page number from the Free BMD website.

Search Children's Records

One last idea for you is to search all his children. Look for death records and obituaries in particular. You never know when one child's record may provide amazing genealogical details that you cannot find elsewhere.

Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500 - 1800 A practical online tutorial

Thanks to Twitter follower @FPLDGenealogy for passing this link on to me!

"UkNatArchives has an amazing paleography exercise area you need to see!"

Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500 - 1800 

It is indeed wonderful! There are lessons in reading 15th, 16th and 17th century handwriting as well as 10 interactive lessons. I'm still on Lesson One and enjoying the challenge.

If you have early English documents you will want to give this a try.

Easy Steps to Creating a Family Tree Book

Are you eager to create a beautiful book of your family tree to share with relatives? 

There are several online self-publishing websites where you can create such a book. The one I use most is Shutterfly so I've put together a series of step-by-step videos to walk you through the process.

The videos are freely available on my Olive Tree Genealogy Youtube Channel

Enjoy and have fun!

Creating a Family Tree Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 1)

Creating a Family Tree Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 2)

Creating a Family Tree Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 3)

Access Canadian WW2 Military Service Files in a Few Easy Steps

Uncle Clare

A few months ago I sent for the military records of my father's brother, Clarence E. McGinnis. I knew Uncle Clare had been in WW2 as I have several photos of him in uniform. But I never knew where he served, what unit he was in, or what he did during the War.
World War 2 Canadian records are restricted. But they can be accessed and they can include documentation about enlistment, discharge, military units served with, and may also include other documents concerning medical history, medals awarded, personal evaluation reports and dental charts.

Library and Archives Canada holds military service files for those who served after 1918. Their website explanation of who can access what files and how to obtain them is a bit confusing, so I'll share  with you what I did. It was simple.

I wrote a one page letter requesting the complete military service files for [individual's name] who was born [individual's full birth date or estimated year] in [name of city/town plus county and province in Ontario] to parents [names of father and mother].

I included my uncle's death date and a photograph of his tombstone as proof of death. Interestingly enough they actually returned the photo to me!

That was it. I mailed the letter and photo to

ATIP and Personnel Records Division
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0N4

You can also fax your request to them at this number: 613-947-8456

Your request can be written as a letter or you can print off a blank copy of the Application for Military Service Information form [PDF 663 KB] also available in Rich Text Format [RTF 44,516 KB], which should be filled in, signed and sent by mail or fax.

Huge envelope arrives

After a wait of about 5 months a very large package arrived with Uncle Clare's complete military file. I estimate there are about 80 or more pages.  The wait was not unexpected as it is made clear on the Library & Archives Canada website that they are backlogged and requests can take up to 6 months to fill.
There was a lot of interesting information in the military file for Uncle Clare - such as details of his work history prior to enlisting. It include what he was paid! I wish my dad's files had been as complete.

Lots of pages to read!

I am really pleased to have some more details to add to my knowledge of my uncle. I knew him quite well but he never spoke of his military service or his early years. I suppose I was too young for him to think I'd be interested.
Plus he was quite old-fashioned regarding males vs females and since I was a female he'd be less likely to talk to me about what he would consider "man stuff"  
But I'm really enjoying reading through his files to find out where he went during the war (to England and France) and what he saw and did during that difficult time.
For more information on finding ancestors who were in the Canadian Military during other years you might want to check out The Canadian Military Project

For WW1 personnel files you will be able to view these online very soon. Library and Archives Canada is busy scanning and uploading the full files to the online CEF Searchable database. There are currently 190,000 digitized and freely available.

Finding a Loyalist in the Haldimand Papers (Loyalist Research Part 6)

Previously I talked about the history of Loyalists in Part 1, Land Grants and Requirements for Loyalist Status in Part 2, Land Petitions in Part 3 and Land Records in Part 4 and Loyalist Lists in Part 5. 

Now I want to walk you through finding an ancestor on the challenging set of records called The Haldimand Papers. These important papers were kept by Sir Frederick Haldimand, 1718-1791. The papers document events in North America beginning with the Seven Years War and ending with the settlement by Loyalists after the American Revolutionary War.

Finding an ancestor in the digitized records is a challenge but it can be done and the wealth of information is incredible. The first thing you need to know is that although the papers have not been transcribed or indexed, there is an index to Loyalists found on Heritage Canada's digitized microfilm C-1475. 

When you consult this typed index you will see the individual's name followed by a set of numbers as in the example below. Warning: the film is blurry!

The 3-digit number is the Volume where you will find the original record, followed by the page number.  So in this example above we know that a record for Jonas Larroway is found in all these volumes. Volume 167 for example has 5 pages listed for Jonas.

Sounds easy, right? Wouldn't we just go to whatever film holds Volume 167 and then look for the pages? How I wish it were that easy but it's not. There are 43 digitized films for the Haldimand Papers on Heritage Canada but there is no explanation of what is found in each film. 

A look at Library and Archives Canada also comes up empty. There is nothing found that describes the films and provides a description of each. To complicate things, there are several variations of numbers being used including the Series B transcripts (H-4digits), the Series B transcript volume numbers (B-3digits), the Add MSS 4digits number from the British Library and the WMD film number of the actual papers. 

It took me quite awhile to figure out that the Volume (V) number is the equivalent to a  B number. So in the example above we want to find B-167. But we still don't know what film it is on. I'll share with you that it took me an entire day to figure out what films I needed. Once I figured it out,  I found an impressive set of miscellaneous papers with my ancestors' names receiving rations from the British Government, on Loyalist Muster rolls and more.

Without further ado, here are the steps you need to take to find your own ancestor!

Step 1. Consult the index found on Microfilm C-1475 Four bound volumes of transcripts which relate primarily to Loyalists, together with a typed index have been microfilmed on this reel. The Loyalist volumes in finding aid no. 599 are: Add. MSS. 21765 (B105), 21826 (B166), 21827 (B167), 21828 (B168) and Index. You may find it easier to download the typed index on Collections Canada. It is a PDF file which you can save to your computer.

I should mention that you would be wise to avoid looking for any filmed records (other than the index) in C-1475. The C films are very bad quality and are difficult to read, having been filmed in the 1950s. The H films were filmed in the 1980s and are much better quality. 

Step 2: Consult the PDF conversion chart I found online (and a huge thank you to the author!) which gives conversions from B numbers to the correct film. The author created the following columns: LAC (Library and Archives Canada) reel; Batch #s; B series; Add MSS; WMP reel #

You are looking in the B series column and then the LAC reel number.

So for example looking for B-167  on the Conversion Chart we see this:

We can see that B-167 is found on 2 films, H-1654 and H-1655. Ignore the 21827 as that is the Add MSS number. The important fact here is that B-167 pages 1 to 320 are found on H-1654 but they will be found at the end of that film, not the beginning. There are other Volumes (B numbers) at the beginning of the film. Then pages 321 to the end were filmed on H-1655.

Step 3: Go to the list of Haldimand Papers digitized films on Canadiana.org and scroll down to H-1654. Start the film and note what volume (B number) you are viewing. You can see the source details at the bottom or right hand side of each filmed page, as in the example below:

We are only in B-163 and you want B-167 so you will have to scroll quite a bit further. Once you reach your volume (B number) of interest, simply look for the page numbers you want.

Here is an example of what you might find for an ancestor. This is a 1783 list of Loyalists who settled at Niagara, Upper Canada (present day Ontario) along with the number of household members (by gender and age)

Tutorial #1: Adding Facts & Photos on Lives of the First World War

Lives of the First World War is a wonderful new website but it is rather complicated to use. Since I have been using the site for some time as a beta tester, I've developed a tutorial on adding photos, documents and facts to a soldier's Life Story:

Search for a soldier of interest. Click on the name when it appears in the results page. A new page loads (image below)

If you want to add a photo you click on "upload an image" If you wish to add other evidence such as a URL or a transcription from a document you click on "Add an External Reference" Note that you cannot add a fact until you have added the evidence.

As an example I know when Leonard Peer died. But I can't add that fact until I add the supporting  evidence, such as a death certificate or gravestone or obituary.

 ADDING A PHOTO AND MAKING IT A PROFILE PICTURE
 I want to add a photo of Leonard so I chose "Upload an image"

 

After uploading my image I can see my caption "Leonard Lancelot Peer" added to the Evidence list. Clicking on his name opens a new window (below) with the photo I uploaded and the option to make this photo his profile picture. There is also an option to add facts from his photo. So if his photo had writing on the back giving some information such as his date of birth or his parents' names for example, I could add those facts now. 

 

ADDING A PIECE OF EVIDENCE

Now I want to add Leonard's data from his gravestone in Woodlawn Cemetery. I have the plot number and inscription. I'm not uploading an image but I am choosing to Add an External Reference. Below you can see the new window that pops up. I must fill out each field as all are required. The field for Reference Number can be filled out with "No Reference Number available" or you could put the Plot and Grave Number.

After adding a few external references I can go back and see the new list of Evidence for Leonard. This is when I get to start adding the facts from each piece of evidence.

 

ADDING FACTS

Clicking on the Woodlawn Cemetery Records I just added brings up yet another window. This window displays the information you added earlier and has a button to select so that you can add facts such as Leonard's death date to his Life Story

And here you are in the area where facts can be added. There is a lengthy list for various topics such as family, civilian, military and so on. Because this fact is based on his Cemetery Record only, I now add his year of death. This is the window you will see no matter what evidence you click on. So if I had clicked on his Marriage Certificate Evidence that I previously entered, I would add his date of marriage, his spouse's name and his parents' names here in the Facts section.

That is all there is to adding to a soldier's Life Story. The site is not easy to use but once you get the hang of it, it is simple repetition and following specific steps. 

SUMMARY

1. Choose a soldier of interest

2. Add EVIDENCE (documents, certificates, gravestone information, photos, URL to an online bio, etc)

3. Now add FACTS that are found with each specific piece of EVIDENCE. For example a gravestone usually provides birth and death dates, the soldier's full military file provides other details, a birth certificate provides parents' names, etc.

TIP

Do you plan on adding Life Stories or photos to several soldiers' Stories? If like me you probably won't remember who you've added and who you have left to add, here is an easy tip. Click on the REMEMBER icon under the soldier's name after you have added his or her details. By going into your Account and choosing your Dashboard, a list of all your Remembered soldiers appears.

Watch for my next Tutorial on creating a Community.

Problems With 1921 Census Indexing & How To Work Around Them

Yesterday saw me playing in the 1921 Canadian Census which is fully indexed and online at Ancestry.ca and   Ancestry.com 
 
I encountered a lot of bad transcribing which of course impacts on our ability to find our ancestors. From talking to other researchers yesterday I know many genealogists were finding errors that made it very challenging to find an ancestor. 

I'm still happy that the index is online and I'm really pleased that Ancestry has a way for researchers to add corrections. In fact I spent a lot of time yesterday adding my corrections to a lot of McGinnis and Vollick individuals in the 1921 census. 

Correcting Errors on the 1921 Census

To add your correction when you find a badly mangled ancestor's name, just look on the left side of the Ancestry page under the topic "Page Tools" . Under that topic title are  choices:

• Save record to someone in my tree
• Save record to my shoebox
• View/Add Alternate Info
• Report Issue
• View printer-friendly

You want View/Add Alternate Info. Then just follow instructions to add your correction. 

Some Errors I Found & How to Work Around Them

Let me give you a few examples and then walk you through how to get around this problem.

My grandmother Olive McGinnis was found as Clive. Not a big deal IF I only searched on her last name. Everyone in the family had some error in their name. The census images confirm that they were mistranscribed

Edgarton Anson Vollick was found as Edward W. Vollick. His son Harry Leslie Vollick, living with him, was indexed as Mary Lester Vollick. His daughter Lottie May was mistranscribed as Satter Mary. A huge error! 

WIldcards are your friend. But sometimes they don't work to overcome such things as "Harry" becoming "Mary" 

Or Edgarton becoming Edward. You must use 3 letters with the allowed wildcard search so you would have to be very creative and use Ed*r* to pick up both Edgarton and Edward but who would think to do that? 

My grandfather's brother, Henry McGinnis, was quite a challenge. It took me over an hour of fiddling and trying different searches to find him. He was badly mistranscribed as "Mary McGinne"   So even with my standard wildcard search of Mc*g*n*s for McGinnis he was not turning up. I confess it did not occur to me to leave off that last letter of "s"! 

I have another "trick" i use which is to just search under a first name and a date of birth or a location. But searching for "Henry" and his year of birth +/- 5 AND Guelph which is where he lived, still didn't pick him up (because he was indexed as Mary!)

I changed "Guelph" to "Wellington" in case he'd moved and I didn't know. No luck of course because no matter how broad I made my search I was still using Mc*G*n*s for the last name. (Note to self: Get even more creative in wildcard searches and use something like
Mc*G*n* or even Mc*G* when experiencing difficulty finding someone I know is there!)

I changed "Wellington" to "Ontario" since I knew for sure he lived in Ontario in 1921. But these standard changes to a broader search did not help. (Again because of the incorrect first name) 

Searching only under his last name and year of birth +/- 5 also did nothing because I used my standard Mc*G*n*s as the last name. 

I tried his wife Eunice - using wildcards - but no luck. I tried each of his children in turn. Nothing until I got to his youngest son Russell. Searching for "Rus*" with no last name and just his year of birth +/-5 was a Bingo moment. There they were - in Guelph, Wellington County as I knew they would be - but indexed as McGinne with Henry being Mary, his wife Eunice being Cunice and his children unrecognizable.... except for Russell. 

Some Tips For Searching Badly Transcribed Records

• Use wildcards for last name and first name
• Omit first name and search under last name and year of birth or location
• Search just by last name
• Broaden your search by leaving out specific location (start with a city/town then broaden that to a township then a county then broaden even further if necessary to the province)
• Search for someone else in the family - a child or a spouse
• Think outside the box - for example an "S" might be mistaken for an "L" So search for "Lally" instead of "Sally" . Maybe an "H" was mistranscribed as an "M" or some other letter so try various combinations
• Don't get stuck on being absolutely positive that Grandpa Jim lived in a specific location. Maybe for that one year he was working and living elsewhere 
• Add your correction when you find an incorrect entry! This helps other researchers and descendant. Ooops I neglected to add that you need to check the image first as you need to be sure you are correcting the transcription and not the image. Thanks to Audrey C. for the reminder! 

What's Next?

I still haven't found my great grandmother Harriet (Hattie) McGinnis. I know she lived in Guelph. I know when she was born (1847). I've followed my own tips and still she hasn't popped up. I even tried searching under her maiden name of King in case she used that. Nada.

I tried lots of variations of her surname and even searched just under her first name but still nothing. 

So today I am going to search each of her children in turn to see if she was living with a married daughter and perhaps written incorrectly under their married surname. I'm also going to try Mattie as a first name in case the "H" was mistaken for an "M"

I'm also going to reverse her first name and surname, just in case.... Wish me luck!

Finding a Black Ancestor Using Circumstantial Evidence Part 4

Upper Canada Land Petition
Jonathan Butler
envelope

You may recall that the goal I started with in my search for Jonathan Butler, a man of colour, was to create a timeline of his whereabouts before 1824 and after 1840.


And thus I come to my timeline and summary of the new documents and clues I have found in my research:

ca 1808 Jonathan arrives in Upper Canada (present day Ontario), possibly coming directly from Pennsylvania (as per his land petition) Whether he came as an adult or a child with parents is not known.

March 1816. Jonathan is found in Etobicoke (just west of the city of Toronto), possibly leasing land from Col. Samuel Smith (as per Character Certificate). Jonathan was almost probably at least 21 years of age at this time, thus a very rough estimate of his year of birth would be 1795 or earlier.

March 1819. Jonathan is a farmer with 50 acres in Toronto Township (as per his land petition). Toronto Township has the Etobicoke River on its eastern boundary. I believe this is possibly land he leased from Col. Smith. 

April 1819. Jonathan is granted 100 acres of land in the Wilberforce Settlement (black settlement area) in Oro Township. (as per Land books) It does not appear he actually settled there (as per Gary French)

ca 1822-1838. 2 sons and 3 daughters are born in this time period. Names are not known (as per Assessment records)

1824. A son Allen is born in Toronto Township to Jonathan and wife Elizabeth Jenkins or Ginkins (as per 1851 adult baptism in Waterloo)

ca 1829 A son Harry aka Henry is born, location unknown

1832. A son George is born in Toronto Township. 

1834, 1837, 1838, 1839, 1840: Jonathan is found with 100 acres in Woolwich Township, Gore District which was part of the Queen's Bush settlement area for blacks. He lives "west of the Grand River" and may be on Lot 88 (as per Assessment Records) 

Miscellaneous Details

I find no trace of Jonathan after 1840. It is not known when his wife Elizabeth died and the only record of her is the mention in the 1851 baptism of their son Allen. 

The only children found in the 1851 census (which is incomplete with many missing areas) are Allen, George and Harry/Henry Butler.  

In the 1839 Assessment they are listed as belonging to "other religion" which may mean they were attending a black church. They are also listed as "unbaptised or not belonging to any denomination"

The 1881 Atlas for Floradale, Woolwich Township, Waterloo Co. provides details of their son George Butler as follows: born 1832 Toronto Township, settled near Floradale in 1835,  residing Concession GCT Lot 120. My research indicates that GCT stands for German Company Tract

1891 Census for George Butler records his mother as Irish

Summary

There is much research still to do and hopefully many more clues and facts to uncover. I urge others facing their own challenging ancestral searches to develop a timeline as I've done. Record your facts and your clues, being careful to note whether something is proven, a theory or supported by circumstantial evidence. 

Then sit back and study and analyze your findings. You will be amazed at what sudden "aha" moments occur! Organizing your findings will more easily guide you to where you might look as your next step in solving the ancestral puzzle.