X00327 Update

I posted previously about X00327: Joseph Wood Hardy. I have since found an article that talks about the suicide:

It gives a little more information but doesn't give any more information either way.

X00360 John Hallam after 1901

John Hallam married Annie Maud Laidlaw on 5 May 1900 in Streetsville, Peel, Ontario [D03609]. But after that time I didn't have much else found for the two of them.

I have found both of them in the 1901 Canadian census, although living in different locations. John Hallam is living with his grandmother, Jane Tricker Hardy Carthew [D07168] and Annie Maud Laidlaw is living with her parents [D07511]. Both are in Toronto Township.

After the 1901 census, I hadn't found any records for either of them until recently that is. I have found Annie Maud Hallam in a 1921 marriage to a Norman Larush in Cleveland, Ohio [D08057].

I have also found an obituary for an Annie Larush, and it would appear that she died in Streetsville in 1968.

So then what happened to John Hallam? Clearly he is out of the picture by 1921. And a related question is what happened to Annie May Laidlaw between 1901 and 1921? How did she get to Cleveland, Ohio?

Did John Hallam die between 1901 and 1921? Did the two get divorced? There is an Annie Hallam living by herself in Toronto in the 1911 census, but it's not clear if it is the same person or not. Perhaps the fact that the two of them are in separate locations at the time of the 1901 census is a clue

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Sources
[D03609] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages212, 13031, Hallam-Laidlaw; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages".

[D07168] 1901 census of Canada, Ontario, district 103, sub-district 6, Toronto Township, p. 6, dwelling 54, family 54; RG 31; digital images

[D07511] 1901 census of Canada, Ontario, district 103, sub-district 6, Toronto Township, p. 2, dwelling 14, family 14; RG 31; digital images.

[D08057] Ohio, Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016, 123-124: 34, Larush-Hallam, 1921; digital images, familysearch

X00327: Researching Joseph Wood Hardy born about 1878

I was researching Joseph Hardy, son of William Hardy and Sarah Elizabeth Irwin who was born about 1878 in Peel Region, Ontario. Unfortunately I don't have an exact date of birth - the Hardy family didn't seem to be great at officially registering vital events - but I know from the 1881 Census that he was born about 1878 [D01370].

When I was doing research on another son of William Hardy and Sarah Elizabeth Irwin, Irwin Hardy (1869-1947), I found a gravestone for an Erwin Hardy and a Della Haas Hardy in Kent, Portage County, Illinois, USA. In the photos, you can see that there is a third grave marker, one for a "Joseph Wood Hardy 1879-1934)" and is marked as "Brother".

So, it would seem that this is the same Joseph Hardy that I am researching and his year of death is 1934.

One hint on Ancestry was for a death record for a Joseph Hardy who died by suicide in Chicago 24 January 1934:

Of course, Joseph Hardy is not an uncommon name, and the death record doesn't give much to go on to identify him as the correct Joseph Hardy: no parents listed and birth place is no listed as anywhere in Canada. The only realy clue is that the burial place is given as Kent, Portage County, Ohio.

I also have not been able to find a Joseph Hardy with the right age, single, born in Canada and living in Chicago in any of the 1910 to 1930 censuses, so I haven't been able to confirm either way as to whether or not this is the same Joseph Hardy.

So the next steps are to look to see if there is any way to confirm whether or not the Joseph Hardy who died by suicide in Chicago is the same one by checking for Joseph Hardy in:

• Obituaries for 1934
• Newspapers for 1934 chicago
• Census records 1910-1930
• City directories