X00118 Charlotte Emily Tew (1872-1873)

Charlotte Emily Tew was born 16 June 1872 in Meath, Ireland [D01026] and is the daughter of John Armstrong Tew and Charlotte Elizabeth Arthur. I have found her gravestone in Hamilton Cemetery noting that she died 16 September 1873 [D02952].

Transcription:

Charlotte E. Tew
died Sep 16 1873
aged 1 yr & 3 mos

Catherine M. Tew
died Sep. 7 1875
aged 6 years & 4 mos

daughters of John A. Tew

The date of death on the stone agrees with the date of birth found in her birth certificate. I have tried to locate an Ontario death registration for her, but have not been succssful. I suspect that this is a death that may not have ever been registered. I've also checked the Hamilton Spectator for a listing, but it doesn't appear to have been listed, unlike her sister Catherine, who's death did appear appear in the Spectator.

Short of checking for a burial record, the gravestone may be the only evidence of her death that exists.

On the plus side, it does nail down a range of when the family came to Canada: they must have arrived between June 1872 and September 1873.

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Sources:
[D01026] Ireland GRO Ireland, Irish Civil Regsitration, Births, 12: 783, 407, 75. Rec. Date: 4 Feb 2018. Cit. Date: 4 Feb 2018.

[D02952] Hamilton Cemetery (Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario), Section: CC-C. Rec. Date: 19 Dec 2020.

X00282: Amy S. Williams pre-1900

In last week's post (X00297) I mentioned that I wasn't able to verify much about William Gaskill's origins prior to 1900. There is a similar gap in the timeline for his wife, Amy S. Williams prior to 1900 as well.

Amy appears in the 1881 census living in Lindsay, Victoria, Ontario [D03789]. I have not been able to find her in the 1891 census, and the next record that I find after 1881 is her marriage record from 1901 where she is living in Globe, Gilla, Arizona [D05015]. I have not been able to find her in the 1900 US Census.

The 1920 Census indicates that Amy arrived in the U.S. in 1898 [D05019]. As well, a newspaper article found suggests that she lived in Ogden, Utah for a bit before moving to Arizona [D07130].

The move to Odgen makes sense, as her sister, Edith Mary Williams, would have been living there at the time. The reason for the move to Arizona is unclear, however. It may be related to the Eastman family (see X00315). It's a possibility that solving one of those mysteries may lead to solving the other.

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Sources:
[D03789] 1881 census of Canada, Ontario, district 129, sub-district B-2, Lindsay, Victoria, p. 99, dwelling 458, family 469; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 20 May 2018).

[D05015] Arizona Arizona History and Archives Division, Arizona County Marriage Records 1865-1972, 1: 315, 356134, Gaskill-Williams; digital images "Arizona County Marriage Records," ancestry.ca (accessed 8 Nov 2020).

[D05019] 1920 U.S. census, population schedule, Portland, enumeration district (ED) 160, sheet 5A, p. 5A, dwelling 255, family 298; digital images, ancestry.com (accessed 28 Nov 2020); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll T625_1502. Rec. Date: 13 May 2017. Cit. Date: 28 Nov 2020.

[D07130] "Local News," Arizona Silver Belt, 21 February 1901, p. 8, col. 1; digital images, newspapers.com (accessed 19 Dec 2020). Rec. Date: 14 Nov 2020. Cit. Date: 19 Dec 2020.

X00297 William Gaskill pre-1900

William Gaskill (1855-1909) was Amy S. William's first husband (Amy was the subject of some recent X-File posts including X00315, X00316 and the soon to be posted X00282). The two of them were married in Globe, Arizona 19 February 1901 [D05015].

From a pair of obituaries in the Arizona Silver Belt, William moved to Globe in December of 1899 [D05614, D05615] and established a business as a butcher there. But the mystery is what happened before 1899. According to the same two obituaries, he was born 17 November 1855 in Manchester, England, came to Canada around 1879, settled in Fort William (now Thunder Bay) and worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway [D05614, D05615]

Unfortunately, I havent been able to find any evidence to verify any of the above aside from the two obituaries. I have not been able to find a birth certificate for a William Gaskill in 1855 that meets the criteria, nor have I been able to find him in the 1881 or 1891 census (or the 1900 US Census). So, there's a big gap in records prior to 1900. It's also not clear on why he moved from Fort William to Arizona.

Next Steps:

• Check newspapers in Canada prior to 1901
• Continue looking for him in the 1881 and 1891 censuses
• Continue looking for birth records for him
• Look for passenger records

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Sources:
[D05015] Arizona Arizona History and Archives Division, Arizona County Marriage Records 1865-1972, 1: 315, 356134, Gaskill-Williams; digital images "Arizona County Marriage Records," ancestry.ca (accessed 8 Nov 2020).

[D05614] "Honored Man Dead," Arizona Silver Belt, 14 February 1909, p. 3, col. 5; digital images(accessed 14 Nov 2020), newspaperarchive.com.

[D05615] "Death of William Gaskill," Arizona Silver Belt, 17 February 1909, p. 6, col. 6; digital images, Newspaper Archive (newspaperarchive.com : accessed 14 Nov 2020).

X00091 JJ Douglas in the 1881 Census

I've been trying to find J.J. Douglas in the 1881 Census and have not had much luck. There are a couple of possibilities that I've found.

One possibility is a John J. Douglas found in South Bruce County

The age matches (born in 1860), as does the religion (Presbyterian) and Ethnic origin (Scottish). The location is within the realm of possibility, as Bruce County is next to Grey County, where he was from. But none of the other family member names are familiar, and while he could be living with some distant relatives, the profession is listed as blacksmith and he most certainly would have started his trade as a jeweller at that point. So, I'm going to rule that out.

Another considerations was a John Douglas found in North Bruce County

Again the age and location match, as does the ethnic origin. This time, there is no family - it looks like a house with a number of boarders living there. But the religion doesn't match (Methodist) and his profession is again listed as a blacksmith. And so, once again, not likely to be a match.

So, still nothing definite for JJ Douglas in the 1881 census