Analysis: Birth info Mary Louisa Leach Douglas

Details/Background:

Different dates of birth have been found for Mary Louisa Leach (Douglas) ranging from 1863 to 1868. No records earlier than 1871 (i.e. baptism record or news articles) have been found.

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Analysis:

Ref	Desc.	Birth Date Given	Notes
D01236	1871 Census	Abt. 1864	Age 7 in 1871
D01334	1881 Census	Abt. 1865	Age 16 in 1881
D00838	Marriage record	Abt. 1864	Age 23 on 27 Dec 1887
D00769	1891 Census	Abt. 1865	Age 26 in 1891
D01952	Death Notice	Abt. 1864	Age 32 on 26 Feb 1896
D04954	Gravestone	20 October 1863	Possibly 1868
D01131	Burial Record	Abt. 1864	Age 32 on 26 Feb 1896

The gravestone inscription is difficult to read: it could be 1863 or 1868. A date of birth of 20 October 1863 would be consistent with the death notice and burial records, which would have been from about the same time. Her next oldest sibling was born about 1857, so a birth date of 1868 would be very unlikely.

Five of the records [D01236, D01952, D01131, D04954, D00838] are consistent with a birth date of 20 October 1863.

The remaining two are census records [D01334, D00760] and are only off by a year. The oldest census record is consistent with a date of birth of 20 October 1863.

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Conclusion:

The most likely date of birth for Mary Louisa Leach Douglas is 20 October 1863.

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Sources:

[D00769] 1891 census of Canada, Ontario, district 68, sub-district Owen Sound West Ward, Owen Sound, p. 8, family 39; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry (accessed 13 Oct 2017). Rec. Date: 30 Sep 2017. Cit. Date: 13 Oct 2017.

[D00838] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, MS932; Reel: 63, 14388, Douglas-Leach; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 16 Dec 2017). Rec. Date: 9 Sep 2017. Cit. Date: 16 Dec 2017.

[D01131] "Owen Sound Greenwood Cemetery Interments" (typescript, 2005), p. 81. Rec. Date: 6 May 2018. ID: D01131. Cit. Date: 1 Dec 2018.

[D01236] 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 38, sub-district 2-b, Trafalgar, p. 25, dwelling 91, family 91; RG 31; digital images (accessed 30 Mar 2019). Rec. Date: 4 Mar 2017. Cit. Date: 30 Mar 2019

[D01334] 1881 census of Canada, Ontario, district 150, Oakville, p. 50, dwelling 260, family 260; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 8 Jul 2018). Rec. Date: 17 Feb 2018. Cit. Date: 8 Jul 2018.

[D01952] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935; Reel: 79: 593, 9512, 17; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (17 Mar 2019). Rec. Date: 3 Sep 2017. Cit. Date: 17 Mar 2019.

[D04954] Greenwood Cemetery (Owen Sound, Grey, Ontario), G-S9-1. Rec. Date: 1 Dec 2018. ID: D04954. Cit. Date: 1 Dec 2018.