Some time ago, I found evidence of an Alexander & Ellen McLeod living in Niagara. Since the John McLeod family has a connection to Niagara, could this be the same Ellen McLeod as the one that we're trying to resolve? It would have to mean that Alexander died before 1861. I managed to find their gravestone in Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara and Alexander died in 1871. As well, I found the two of them together in Welland County in the 1861 census:
Since we already have the other Ellen McLeod in the 1861 census in Cobourg we can rule this Ellen McLeod out as a match.
Next, when I was searching for possible marriages between an Ellen McLeod and a Joseph Reynolds in Cobourg, I found a marriage record between a John McLeod, aged 34, born in Scotland and an Ellen Thompson, aged 21, born Canada. The marriage date was 30 Dec 1858. Both bride and groom resided in Hamilton.
So, this marriage was intriguing for a number of reasons: the names Ellen & McLeod. The fact that it was in Cobourg and that both parties lived in Hamilton (John McLeod & family have connections with Hamilton). If this were the case, it would mean that Ellen's maiden name was Thompson and her husband John would have died before the 1861 census.
But there are some other issues with the record that suggest that it might not be the same Ellen. For one thing, the age in the marriage record suggests a birth year of 1837, whereas the other Ellen would have been born in the 1820s (the year varies by record). As well, she is listed as being born in Canada whereas the Ellen that we are looking for would have been born in Scotland. Plus, in the 1861 census, the Ellen McLeod we are checking is not listed as being a widow.
But the final blow came when I found John & Ellen McLeod in the 1861 census as well. So we can rule that possibility out as well.
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