Every genealogist eventually meets a record that refuses to be found. For me, that record is the marriage of George Miller, a carriage maker born in Dutchess County, New York, and Amelia Grant Munro, daughter of Hugh Munro and Grace Fraser of Edwardsburgh, Ontario.
A date exists - 9 December 1835, in Cardinal, Ontario—but it floats in the ether of unsourced online trees. No church register, no civil record, no newspaper clipping has yet confirmed it. And yet, the timing feels right. The geography fits. The families were present. The couple’s later life suggests a union formed in the mid‑1830s.
George’s story begins in New York, but by 1832 he was in Toronto Township, marrying Margaret Farriage and welcoming two sons, John and William. Sometime after 1835, Margaret disappears from the records, and Amelia Munro enters the picture. Amelia, born in 1815, grew up among the Munro and Fraser families - names woven deeply into the fabric of Edwardsburgh and Cardinal.
The challenge is simple: Ontario had no civil registration in 1835, and Methodist records—the faith George eventually embraced—were scattered across circuits and often poorly preserved. Many Methodists married in Anglican or Presbyterian churches, leaving us to sift through registers that may or may not survive.
So the hunt begins.
I’ve searched the Anglican and Presbyterian registers of Prescott, Edwardsburgh, and Augusta. I’ve combed through The Brockville Recorder, The Christian Guardian, and every newspaper that might have printed a marriage notice. I’ve traced the Munro family’s land transactions, hoping for a clue tucked into a deed. I’ve followed George’s movements as a carriage maker, looking for business notices that might mention a marriage.
Each search adds context, even when it doesn’t add answers. Amelia’s family appears in church records across the region. George’s Methodist connections deepen over time. The communities overlap in ways that make the 1835 marriage plausible—almost expected.
This is the kind of genealogical problem I love: a puzzle with missing pieces, but enough surviving edges to suggest the picture. The solution may lie in a forgotten Methodist circuit book, a family Bible tucked into an attic, or a newspaper column waiting to be digitized.
Until then, the search continues. And like all good genealogical mysteries, the journey is as compelling as the destination.
Timeline:
1809 — Birth of George Miller
Dutchess County, New York. Early life in a region with strong Methodist and Presbyterian influence.
1815 — Birth of Amelia Grant Munro
Edwardsburgh Township, daughter of Hugh Munro & Grace Fraser.
ca 1830 — George Miller arrives in Upper Canada
Settling in Nelson Township.
1832 — George Marries Margaret Farriage
Toronto Township, Upper Canada. Two sons follow: John and William.
1833–1835 — Munro & Fraser Families Active in Cardinal/Edwardsburgh
Church, land, and community records place Amelia’s family firmly in the region.
Mid‑1830s — Margaret Farriage Disappears from Records
No death record found; absence suggests death or separation.
9 December 1835 — Suspected Marriage Date (Unconfirmed)
Cardinal, Ontario. Appears only in user‑submitted trees. No known source.
Post‑1835 — George’s Methodist Conversion
Exact date unknown; may coincide with marriage or Munro family influence.
7 October 1836 — Robert Boyd Miller born
Cooksville (Toronto Township), Upper Canada
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