Update on X00287 Samina Foxwell Williams

I had posted previously about X00287: What happened to Samina Foxwell Williams. Evidently she married a Joseph McInnis at some time in the 1870s and died in Walnut, Pottawattamie County, Iowa in November of 1878. Since then, I've been trying to find either some indication of a marriage record, a death record or anything about Joseph McInnis.

According to one historical site that has biographies of Iowa pioneers, there was a Joseph McGinnis who lived in Pottawattamie County. But the bio says that he married a Roxanna Bridges in May of 1878 and it does not mention a prior marriage, so it is not likely the same person.

I did some searching on Newspaperarchive.com but didn't find any clues there.

I contacted the Pottawattamie Genealogical Society. They weren't able to find any marriage or death records, but did find a Joseph McInnis aged 40 born in Ireland and a widower in the 1880 census living in Brighton, Cass County, which is close to Pottawattamie County.



I then found a Joseph McGinnis living in Illinois in the 1870 census working as a farm labourer.



If it is the same person as in the 1880 census, it would mean that he got married and his wife died between 1870 and 1880, which would fit. It's a possibility, but definitely needs more investigation.

Next actions:
* Look more in depth into the census records
* Continue to check records from Iowa (and other locations)
* Check other newspaper sources

X00287 Samina "Minnie" Foxwell Williams

One of the daughters of Thomas Williams and Sybil Foxwell was named Samina Foxwell Williams. She was born in 1841 in Liverpool, England and emigrated with the rest of the family in the 1840s. For the longest time, I wasn't able to determine what happened to her after 1871: I couldn't find her in any of the Ontario census, marriage or death records.

I did eventually find a name in the Greenwood Cemetery burial listings of a Minnie McInnis who died in 1878 and is buried in a location close to Thomas and Sybil Williams. I figured that Minnie could be a possible nickname for Samina. As far as I am aware, however, there is no surviving gravestone. I'll verify that the next time I'm in Owen Sound.

So, I had a look in the Owen Sound papers and came across this article from the November 29, 1878 Owen Sound Times:



The sister (Mrs John Douglas) would be Louisa Williams. So, it would appear that she married a Joseph McInnis sometime between 1871 and 1878 and died in Walnut, Iowa in November 1878 (one newspaper gives the date as November 25th and another one gives it as November 26th). Thus far, however, I have not been able to find a marriage or death record for her.

So, I'm still looking for marriage and death records. Here are the known facts about Samina "Minnie" Foxwell Williams McInnis:

• Born Jan 20, 1841 Liverpool, Lancashire, England
• Baptised May 20, 1841, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
• Emigrated to Canada West in the 1840s, first settled in Guelph. Later moved to Owen sound.
• Was in Owen Sound in 1871 and unmarried (from the 1871) census
• Marriage to Joseph McInnis sometime between 1871 and 1878
• Died November 26 1878 (or November 25th) in Walnut, Pottawattamie, Iowa, USA
• Buried Greenwood Cemetery November 30, 1878 Owen Sound, Grey, Ontario, Canada