X00317 Update

Well the 1931 Census is available and so I thought i'd see if I could do a little ore research on X00317 - What happened to Ernest Ashton after 1912?.

I first managed to find Ernest by himself in the 1931 census, living in Toronto West as a boarder

But then, where is the rest of the family? So, I decided to do a search for Clarence Ashton, and found him listed as a step-son:

Clarence is living with his mother, Jennie Massey, it would appear and she remarried a may by the name of William Ashford. To confirm the details, I found the marriage record for William Ashford and Jean Ashton

As well, I found the reference to a divorce between Ernest and Jennie in 1926, although I have yet to find the original record for that.

So I have now found them up to 1931.

Next Steps

• Check for British records to see if Ernest had moved back to the UK
• Continue to check newspapers and cemetery records for the family
• Check Toronto area directories to see if Ernest appears in them
• Consider the possibility that the date of death in the family bible is not accurate

X00317 What happened to Ernest Ashton after 1912?

Ernest Ashton (sometimes spelled 'Earnest') was the seventh child of Lawrence Ashton and Mary Ann Westwell. He was a brother of both Edwin Ashton and Lawerence Ashton have been mentioned on this blog previously.

Ernest was born 17 October 1891 in Blackburn Lancashire [D00386]. He travelled back and forth between Blackburn and Toronto between around 1910 and 1913 and married Jennie Massie in Toronto on 12 November 1912 [D00753]. He worked as a car motorman.

And, unfortunately, that is where the mystery begins. It's not clear on what happened to Ernest or Jennie after 1912. Or at least it wasn't until some recent discoveries.

According to the Ashton Family bible [D01200], Ernest died 23 Jan 1953. But I have not been able to find a death record, cemetery record or obituary to corroborate that information. I've checked not only the usual cemetery sources such as Find a Grave, but also the Toronto Trust Cemetery records with nothing found. There is an Ernest Ashton who died around that time period in Winnipeg, but there are too many discrepancies: the age, profession, spouse name and date of death are all inconsistent.

I have recently found a birth record for a Clarence Ashton, born to an Ernest Ashton and Jennie Massie in 1913 in Toronto.

This discovery has also led to finding of Ernest, Jennie and Clarence in the 1921 census living in Toronto. So I have now found them up to 1921.

Next Steps

• Wait for the 1931 census to be released
• Check for them in the 1930/1940 US Censuses and 1926 Western Canada census
• Check for British records to see if they had moved back to the UK
• Continue to check newspapers and cemetery records for the family
• Consider the possibility that the date of death in the family bible is not accurate

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Sources:
[D00386] England and Wales, birth certificate for Ernest Ashton, born October 17, 1891; citing 8e/417/485, D quarter 1891, Blackburn registration district, Blackburn Southern sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.

[D00753] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, MS932_244; Reel: 244, 29337, Ashton-Massie; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 29 Sep 2017).