X00277 Unraveling Historical Mysteries: The Case of Ann Doritty

Historical research often uncovers intriguing questions and unexpected connections. One such case involves the confirmation record of Ann Doritty on May 24, 1841. The confirmation record took place at St. Mark’s Church in what is now Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario.

At the time of her confirmation, Ann was recorded as being 15 years old, suggesting a birth year of either 1826 or 1827.

The location of Niagara-On-The-Lake and the timing does fit with my Dorrity family. And I’m not aware of any other Dorrity families in the area around that time. But I don’t have any records of an Ann Dorrity born in those years. Thomas and Ann Doritty were marred later in 1831.

A question arises: Could this confirmation actually pertain to Henriette Elizabeth Mundy instead? She would have been born 16 December 1827, which is close to the time. Since her mother remarried, she could have been going under the surname of Dorrity. It’s a long shot, but it's worth exploring if the confirmation meant for Ann Doritty might have been hers. The details align closely, raising the possibility of a clerical error or a mistaken identity over time.

Investigating further into church and community records from that period, as well as cross-referencing family histories, could shed more light on this mystery. There are other possibilities as well – perhaps Thomas Doritty had a sibling or other relative who also lived in Niagara at the time.

This case highlights the complexities and the detective-like work often involved in historical research. Each piece of information adds depth to our understanding of the past, helping us to build a more accurate and rich tapestry of history.

X00057 Peter Brown and Annie Paton Kerr Missing Child - Solved!

The 1911 census for Peter Brown and Annie Paton Kerr, mentions that the couple had twelve children, but only nine were alive at the time of the 1911 census.

Through thorough research, I identified eleven of their children from previous census records:

• Maria Kerr Brown, b. 1875
• Peter Brown, b. 1876, d. 1884
• William K. Brown, b. 1879
• James Brown, b. 1881
• John Young Brown, b. 1883
• Jane Menzies Brown, b. 1885
• Peter Brown, b. 1887
• Annie Kerr Brown, b. 1889, d. 1909
• Elizabeth Brown, b. 1894
• Thomas Kerr Brown, b. 1896
• Alexander Brown, b. 1889

From this list, we can see that both the first Peter Brown and Annie Kerr Brown had passed away prior to the 1911 census. This leaves a gap—there must have been one more child, born and died between census years, never appearing in any of the census records.

To fill in this missing piece, I turned to other genealogical resources. While searching through Ancestry, I stumbled upon references to a Jennie Kerr Brown. This led me to Scotland’s People, where I discovered a birth record for Jeannie Kerr Brown, born 16 April 1878, and a death record dated 28 March 1880. As suspected, Jeannie Kerr Brown was born and passed away between the census years, thus explaining why she wasn’t recorded in the census records.

This discovery, while fulfilling in terms of completing the family tree, also brought a poignant reminder of the challenges and sorrows faced by our ancestors. The short life of Jeannie Kerr Brown, and the losses endured by Peter and Annie Brown, are now acknowledged and remembered, adding depth and context to the Brown family history.

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Sources:
[D00338] 1911 census of Scotland, Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland, enumeration district (ED) 2, page 8, schedule no. 57; digital images, ScotlandsPeople.

X00365: Charles John Slade criminal record

As I continue to research my Slade family, I am working on X00365, which is to figure out what happened to Charles John Slade after 1841. The 1841 census is the last record that I have definitely found him in.

I have come across a number of hints on Ancestry that might be him. Quite a number of records hints have come through for prisoner records for Charles Slade, including prisoner transport to Australia. The records all seem to match the birth year (usually around 1827 or 1828). The name, however, is always given as Charles Slade, and not Charles John Slade.

I have come across the court summary of the trial:

Other than the age, there really isan't anything to connect the record back to Charles John Slade. For one thing, there is no connection to the location of the crime. As well, the record references a George Slade, and I have not come across anyone in the Slade family with the name of George thus far. So, with no definite details to go on, I'm going to conclude that this Charles Slade is a different Charles Slade unless I find some better evidence to connect them.

X00087: Mary Ann Slade Birth Correction

As mentioned previously, I have been trying to correct some information and try to solve some issues with my Slade family.

On the marriage certificate for William Slade and Emma Smith, it lists William Slade as a widower. I've been trying to find out more information about his first wife. The first clues are in the 1841 census.

You can see, William Slade and Emma Smith in the census, as well as their daughter Emma. There are two additional children, however, Mary Ann and Charles. Both children were born before William and Emma's marriage in 1839 and are therefore likely from the first marriage.

I managed to find a baptism record for Charles John Slade (born in 1827) and one for Mary Ann Slade:

This one, however, raised a number of concerns. First the baptism date of 1837 didn't match with the age in the census. As well, it's ten years after Charles was born, so there is quite a gap in time. As well, the occupation of smith for William Smith doesn't match, as William Slade shows as a clerk in almost all records. So I had another look and eventually found this record:

This one seems a better match.The baptism year is 1825, which better matches the census record, and is closer in time to the birth of Charles John Slade. Plus, William Slade is listed as a barrister's clerk which is consistent with other records. So this one makes far more sense.

As well, this gives a better idea of timing for finding further records. William Slade and Mary Ann likely married before 1825, and Mary Ann likely died shortly after 1827, unless there were other children born after Charles John.

Eden Cemetery, Toronto Township

An email arrived from Find A Grave with a photo request from Eden Cemetery which is close to where I live. So I thought I'd go and see if I could find the grave.

I have visited the cemetery before because there are some Miller headstones in the cemetery and my Miller family lived in Toronto Township for a time. There is, however, no connection between the Miller family in this cemetery (who came from Ireland) and my Miller family as far as I can tell.

It's a samll cemetery and very easy to cover the entire cemetery in a short period of time. So, I'm surprised that there were any gravestones there that were not photographed. As it turns out, there was. I wasn't able to find the gravestone requested, but I did find a stone with the name Rosalind on it (last name could not be read). Rosalind died in April of 1860.

Slade Family Research

I have recently been doing some research on my Slade line, particularly because I found some errors and wanted to try to sort them out. So over the next few weeks there will be a number of posts about the Slade line as I try to resolve some issue.

Some time ago, I discovered through a search of PERSI, that there had been an article published in Family Tree Magazine from January 2013 on photo dating, and the example that they use was a wedding anniversary photo between a William Bridgen and a Mary Ann Slade. I was naturally curious because there is a Mary Ann Slade in my family tree. So, I requested the article.

As it turns out, however, I'm going to rule out this family as having a connection. The Mary Ann Slade in my tree was born much earlier (around 1824, rather than 1851) and married a William Morris, rather than a William Brigden. Mary Ann Slade could be a daughter of someone in the Slade family, but the article states that she was born in Somerset, and my Slade family does not have a connection to Somerset (as far as I am aware).

I did a quick search on Ancestry for a Mary Ann Slade born in 1851 in Somerset and there are more than one. One was born to a Robert and Anne Slade; another to a William and Mary Slade. Neither couple matches the names in my tree, so I'm going to file this as a different family.

X00278 Other Doritty Surname Records - Solved!

The other day I went through a number of other Doritty records that I had found to see if they were connected to my Doritty family or if I could rule them out.

The first that I found was a marriage record for a Lewis Dorrity in 1840:

I don't have anyone named Lewis in my tree, so I had a look at later census records for a Lewis Dorrity (or variant spelling). I only found an individual in 1871, widower, who had an age that would have matched, but who was African in background. So, it would appear to not be a connection and I haven't found anything else to link the record to the rest of the Doritty family.

Next, I found this record in Ontario Marriage Notices:

The name uses a different spelling, of course, and there is no connection to the names or locations, so I'm going to rule out this one as a connection as well.

Next there were these two findings:

Francis Early Doritty is the son of Frederick Doritty and Laura Lamondie. While there is a Frederick Doritty in my tree, there is no connection to a James Doritty. And with the variant spellings, and different location, I'm prepared to say that this is not a connection to my family - or if it is, it is a distant connection.