OTD: Oct. 26: Ambrose Edwin Moynahan Died

I have been using "On This Day" (OTD) each month as a way of recognizing my ancestor's birth, marriages and deaths (BMDs) with the intention to review and update their files with any new information that may be available on ancestry.ca.

My FTM 2017 October calendar for my Moynahan family tree

In the case of remembering, reviewing and honouring Ambrose Edwin Moynahan (1876-1954), I found myself falling further and further "down a rabbit hole" where I soon realized that I had been corresponding with Ambrose's granddaughter in 2002 on an Ancestry message board!

Headstone for Ambrose Edwin Moynahan. Located in Section 2, Block 17 of Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, Colorado.Source: Find A Grave Memorial# 113903832

Mining engineer Ambrose Edwin Moynahan is descended from the Colorado Moynahans that I have written about in detail before:

52 Ancestors No. 10: James Moynahan (1842-1919) Civil War Soldier & Colorado Miner http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/03/52-ancestors-no-10-james-moynahan-1842.html

 52 Ancestors No. 30: Department Commander James Moynahan 1917

http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/08/52-ancestors-no-30-department-commander.html

1899: James Moynahan Remained True To Lincoln

http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/04/1899-james-moynahan-remained-true-to.html

Moynahan Fire & Hose Company - Alma, Colorado

http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/04/moynahan-fire-hose-company-alma-colorado.html

James Moynahan is my Colorado 1st cousin (4x removed) (1842-1919) Source: eBook screenshot: Google Books: Park County By Park County Local History Archives

The Colorado Moynahans

As I fell further and further down this rabbit hole, I came across this 1940 photo (below) and I wondered if the man in the photo was Ambrose so I wrote to the South Park National Heritage Area and learned that the man in the photo below is NOT Ambrose but instead, this is Ambrose's brother James William Moynahan (1878-1957)

2718. Alma – Houses. 1940s. Spring house is in background. Back row left to right: William Moynahan, Glendour Moynahan, Nell Kelly, Elma Gates, Edna Moore, Laura Craig. Front row left to right: Jane Kelly, Frank Kelly, Betty Craig, Thelma Gransbury. Source: Park Co. Archives: http://www.parkcoarchives.org/photos/photos1/photos_alma_house.html

Read: Behind the Façade: The James  Moynahan House in Alma; Page 4/10; http://www.parkco.us/Archive/ViewFile/Item/1040 )

Ambrose Edwin Moynahan is buried very near his brother William (and William's wife Glendour) and many other Moynhans in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, Colorado

Headstone for Ambrose Edwin Moynahan. Located in Section 2, Block 17 of Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, Colorado.Source: Find A Grave Memorial# 113903832

From the South Park National Heritage Area:

Hello Cindi, 

I volunteer with the Park Co. Local History Archives and was asked to answer your email to the South Park Nat'l Heritage Area. Our office has a number of historic photos but unfortunately, none of Ambrose. We only have one that I know of of James.

The Moynahan family was so prominent in Park County as I'm sure you know. 

Also, I have obits on a Capt. James Minihan and his son Ralph. The Minihan obit says he was a cousin to James Moynahan so I thought you might like to see them which I've attached. Photos of their headstones also attached.  

Ambrose Edwin Moynahan's Family

As I tracked down more and more records about Ambrose Edwin Moynahan and his children and grandchildren, things got very interesting when I came across an old Ancestry message board message to me from Ambrose granddaughter June Frances Woeber in 2002 (see below)

 

Sadly, June Woeber who had contacted me through Ancestry, passed away in California in 2014. June never married (nor did her eldest sister and one brother), however, she did leave behind an extremely rich account of her Moynahan-Woeber family who moved from Colorado to California.

Because I have no idea what happened to all of June's genealogy work over the years (no longer on ancestry.com), I share it here in her honour.

Ambrose Moynahan's Grandchildren: 

The Woebers 

 

The Woeber family

The Woebers: Front Row: Lorenz, Philip, Zelda; Back Row:Edwin, James and June

June and Her Brothers

Jim and Ed both flew in the United States military and later flew as commercial airline pilots for thirty years each, (Jim with Delta and Ed with Western and Delta airlines). Ed never married and was reported in 2002 "in Nebraska hunting birds with his two hunting dogs." (Ed died in 2009.)

The Woeber siblings: June, Jim, Ed and Phil.

June Woeber (1930-2014)

In this message board entry below by June Woeber in 2002, she tells the story about how her parents met, how they made their way from Colorado to California and a some of what she remember from her paternal roots (Woeber-Stapleton)

The Older Sister: Lorene Woeber (1924-2014)

Lorene, the eldest child of the Moynahan-Woeber family, never married (like June) and the two sisters took care of their mother Zelda (Moynahan) Woeber who turned 101 years old on January 31 2002 (she died February 27, 2002).

Both sisters, after their mother passed in 2002, eventually finished their days moving in to the assisted living residence Hallmark Assisted Living in California in 2014 (where Lorene died eight months later and June died seven months after that)

 

This Post in Memory of June Woeber 
1930-2014

As I researched Ambrose Moynahan's grandchildren and discovered my 2002 connection to June Frances Woeber, I feel eternally grateful for our brief  encounter with one another and I dedicate this post about her grandfather to her.

June is buried with her sister Lorene 

 at Hillcrest Memorial Park Bakersfield Kern County California, USA GPS 
Find A Grave Memorial# 172004005
 

Burial: Hillcrest Memorial Park Bakersfield Kern County California, USA Find A Grave Memorial# 172004005

A Further Mystery?

Who are "Capt. James Minihan and his son Ralph. The Minihan obituary says he was a cousin to James Moynahan"?

Capt. James Minihan as pictured in
"A brief history of the Tenth Michigan Cavalry by Trowbridge, L. S., 1836-1912"

This is yet another Colorado cousin "genealogical rabbit hole" that will have to wait for another blog post in the future. For now, I leave you with the pictures that were sent to me by the South Park National Heritage Area

 They wrote, "The Moynahan family was so prominent in Park County as I'm sure you know. 
Also, I have obits on a Capt. James Minihan and his son Ralph. The Minihan obit says he was a cousin to James Moynahan so I thought you might like to see them which I've attached. Photos of their headstones also attached. 

Another Colorado cousin: Capt. Jas Minihan and son Ralph Minihan buried beside one another in Colorado (Source: South Park National Heritage Area)

Another "Colorado cousin": Capt. Jas Minihan (Source: South Park National Heritage Area) See: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSsr=121&GScid=57190&GRid=21574323&

Another Colorado cousin: Ralph Mininhan South Park National Heritage Area

Ralph Minihan's sad obituary (from the Fairplay Flume Newspaper dated 1894 December 6, page 4
): http://coloradogravestones.org/view.php?id=21851

Minihan, James; Capt. Jas. Minihan; CO. D.; 10 Mich. Cav.
Notes:  Buried in fenced area with Ralph C. Minihan .
 
Minihan, Ralph C.; Ralph C.; Son of James & F.E. Minihan, Died Nov. 
30, 1894; Aged 23 Yrs, 27 Ds; Minihan
Notes:  Enclosed in a fenced area with Capt. James Minihan; Son of 
James and F.F. Minihan

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21574289 

Source: 

Buckskin Cemetery, Alma, Park County, Colorado

http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/park/cemeteries/buckskin.txt 

Some Park County, Colorado Links.

• Park County Local History Archives: http://www.parkcoarchives.org/
• Park County Local History Archives: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PCArchives/
• Moynahan, A. E. "Future Gold Production Near Alma, Colo.;" The Mines Mag., 2/33.  (CC, CSM, DPLG)
• Parked in the Past - Early days at the Orphan Boy http://www.parkcoarchives.org/Archives_News_Orphan_Boy_012712.html
• COGenWeb http://cogenweb.com/

October: Family History Month in the U.S.

October is Family History Month in the U.S. (Photo: Ernest J. Moynahan and grandson Dan M.)

Since being passed by the United States Congress in 2001, Family History Month as been observed annually during the month of October.

"Funeral service professionals, community groups, historians, storytellers, and genealogical and historical societies promote and celebrate National Family History Month as way to commemorate each family’s rich and deep history." (Source: NFDA)

This is exciting for folks like me who have ancestors in U.S./Canada border cities like Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan.

The Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Facebook group (DSGR) has been placing daily posts about researching your ancestors in Detroit and the state of Michigan. The series is called "31 Days of Detroit Family History Tips" and I am enjoying it so much that I thanked them and have decided to do a list of r
online Detroit genealogy resources here to make it easier for me to find them again in the future AND to share with others with ancestors in the Windsor/Detroit area.

Some examples of the DSGR posts:

DSGR Facebook: "31 Days of Detroit Family History Tips": Day 22

I have often taken out a one month subscription with the Detroit Free Press. It is only $7.95 for one month and I have received LOTS of information about my ancestors through articles and obituaries found there. The search field can be found at http://freep.newspapers.com/?xid=547

 Some DETROIT ONLINE Resources

Birth 

• Michigan Births, 1867 – 1902 Index and images of Michigan statewide birth registration entries for the years 1867 to 1902. 213,435 Detroit records 267,515 Wayne County records
• Michigan, Births and Christenings, 1775-1995 A random collection of indexed Michigan births and christenings during the years 1775 to 1995 342,182 Detroit records 446,484 Wayne County records
• "Where do I find Detroit and Wayne County vital records online?" Blog series
  Birth records - http://dsgr.org/blog/?p=637
• The Early  U.S. Catholic Church Records part of the Drouin collection at Ancestry.com  contains the original register and transcriptions of the records.Choose D for Detroit.  (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1111 ) 

Online Book List

• Genealogy of the French families of the Detroit River region revision, 1701-1936 / by Christian Denissen ( Index to the Denissen Volumes  at DSGR)
• Historical art souvenir; Detroit and her bi-centenary, July 24, 25, 26, 1901 by Detroit. Woman's bi-centenary committee.
• Souvenir hand-book, Detroit and memoranda, July, 1899
• All about Detroit; (1899) by Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
• Illustrated souvenir [of carriages] by Studebaker brothers mfg. co  Publication date 1893  
• Guide and souvenir of Detroit .. Publication date 1891 by Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902. [from old catalog] 
• Souvenir of Detroit ..  Publication date 1891  
• Detroit in 1890 compared with 1870 by Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
• The Detroit Journal Year-book 1890 By Detroit journal  (Also: https://archive.org/details/detroitjournaly01jourgoog)
• The Detroit Journal Year-book 1889 By Detroit journal 
• The Detroit Journal Year-book 1888 By Detroit journal 
• The history of Detroit and Michigan; (Publication date 1884) by Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
• Detroit and the pleasure resorts of northern Michigan. Compliments of passenger department by Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad Company (1883)
• Illustrated guide and souvenir of Detroit .. (1878) by Farmer, Silas,
• Landmarks of Detroit : a history of the city by Robert Ross
• Guide-book to Detroit by Detroit (Mich.). (1922) Committee for the conference of the American library association 
• Detroit and vicinity (1909)
• Detroit: A Guide to the Resources in the Bentley Historical Library
• Guide to Manuscripts in the Bentley Historical Library By Bentley Historical Library, Thomas Edgerton 
• The City of Detroit Michigan 1701-1922 By C.M. Burton
• Marriage records, Ste. Anne Church, Detroit, 1701-1850 Published 2001 by Detroit Society for Genealogical Research in Detroit, MI

Cemeteries

• The largest cemetery in Detroit, Mt Elliott, has a searchable database of burials http://www.mtelliott.com/genealogy

Censuses

• There are Special Census at Ancestry:  Michigan, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1827-1870 http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3554

Deaths

• Michigan, Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995
  140,196 Detroit death records
  268,302 Wayne County death records
  A random collection of indexed Michigan deaths and burials from 1800-1995
• Michigan, Death Index, 1971-1996
  382,644 Detroit death records
  622,675 Wayne County death records
  The collection is an index is provided by Ancestry.com and consists of indexes to deaths for the years 1971 – 1996 from the Michigan Department of Vital and Health Records (Lansing, MI).
• Michigan, Deaths, 1867-1897 **With Images**
  73,042 Detroit death records
  94,096 Wayne County death records
  Registration of Michigan deaths began in 1867 and continued until 1897 when the state required a death certificate be issued. This collection covers deaths registered by county clerks from 1867-1897. With only a smidgen over 500,000 records in the entire collection, Family Search estimates that nearly half of Michigan deaths were not recorded.
• Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952
  454,692 Detroit death records
  592,534 Wayne County death records
  The collection consists of an index of death records from the Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics (Lansing, MI) and was indexed by Family Search volunteers in 2012 & 2013. If you were researching your Michigan ancestors at the time, you anxiously awaited (and constantly checked Family Search) for the release of this collection.
  (Lansing, MI)
• Seeking Michigan has death records for 1897-1920; 1921-1947, 1948-1952 (seekingmichigan.org)  http://seekingmichigan.org/discover/death-records-1897-1920 
• MDHHS Genealogical Death Indexing System http://www.mdch.state.mi.us/osr/gendisx/search2.asp
• Death - https://dsgr.org/blog/?p=681 (part 1)
  Part 2 - https://dsgr.org/blog/?p=695
  Part 3 - https://dsgr.org/blog/?p=708
  
  Hidden Death lists https://dsgr.org/blog/?p=1249

Detroit History

• FREE eBook: The History of Detroit and Michigan: Or, The Metropolis Illustrated; a Chronological Cyclopaedia of the Past and Present, Including a Full Record of Territorial Days in Michigan, and the Annals of Wayne County by Silas Farmer S. Farmer & Company, 1884 - Detroit (Mich.) - 1024 pages https://books.google.ca/books?id=2dtMHBxD6R8C&hl=e
• A surname index to early french settlers to Munroe and south-west Wayne, Michigan http://www.cliffvenier.com/surname_index.htm
• Detroit Historical Society Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DetroitHistoricalSociety/ 
• HathiTrust’s digital library https://www.hathitrust.org/ 
• A wonderful resource one county over (Mt. Clemens) www.mtclib.org 
• Detroit Resources on street renumbering: https://stevemorse.org/census/changes/DetroitChanges0.htm 
• Burton Historical Collection : Search the digital archives here: https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org//
• Other than the Burton Historical Collection,  the Archives of Michigan in Lansing, the Bentley Historical Library of the University of Michigan has on e of the largest historical collections:
• The Subject Guide http://bentley.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Detroit_Michigan_Subject_Guide.pdf

Land and Maps

• Patron Directory of Wayne County 1876 Land owner directory from the Plat map book titled: "Illustrated Historical Atlas of Wayne County, MI 1876". Patron Directory of Wayne County 1876

Marriages

• Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1935 22,188 Wayne County marriage records 
• Michigan, Marriages, 1822-1995 440,926 Detroit marriage records
  659,434 Wayne County marriage records
  While this electronic index collection is not complete for all of Michigan, it is a wonderful resource for Wayne County. 
• Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925 596,637 Detroit marriage records 748,724 Wayne County marriage records Name index and images of marriages recorded in the State of Michigan. This is an excellent resource for Detroit researchers since the collection doesn’t just contain marriage records but marriage licenses, applications, registers, and certificates as well.
• Marriage/Divorce - http://dsgr.org/blog/?p=662

Miscellaneous:

• You can use Ebay in your Detroit research. I punched in Moynahan and Detroit and I got Monahan's Coffee Shop (1960)! Check out the DSGR 2014 blog post on some of the items that you might just find https://dsgr.org/blog/?p=975

Naturalization Records

• Naturalization Record Index This Naturalization Record index was compiled from the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine. From the spring of 1991 through the fall of 2008, the society published transcriptions of Naturalization Records of the Recorder's Court, Detroit, Michigan in their quarterly magazine. In total over 5000 surnames were cited. These records contain a wealth of information for novice and advanced researchers alike. The index is alphabetized by surnames, while also providing volume, date, and page the information can be found upon in the magazine.

• Last Name beginning A thru F
• Last Name beginning G thru L
• Last Name beginning M thru R
• Last Name beginning S thru Z

Newspapers:

• Detroit Free Press: http://freep.newspapers.com/?xid=547
• The Northville Record http://www.northvillehistory.org/keyword.html 
• The Redford Observer http://www.redfordlibrary.org/digital-collections/171-redford-observer-archives 
• Detroit Michigan Newspaper Portal: https://www.cmich.edu/library/clarke/Pages/Michigan-Digital-Newspaper-Portal.aspx

Obituaries:

• Windsor Public Library obituary listing (index from the Windsor Star). http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/obits/index.php
• Livonia Observer Obituary Index Currently, this index covers obituaries from the Livonia Observer newspaper from June 1955 - December 31, 2014.Last Name begins with: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Detroit News Obituary Index
  Currently, this index covers obituaries from the Detroit News newspaper from January 1, 1980 - December 31, 2001. Please Note: we are in the process of converting our index to pdf format in alphabetical order by last name. As new letters are completed, they will be added below.
  Last Name begins with:
  A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

Photographs

• Dead Fred's Genealogy Photo Archive is a free searchable photo database for genealogists that currently has 200+ photographs from Detroit http://www.deadfred.com/searchform_05.php

Police Department Records

• Some staff records are available in the Burton Historical Library and at the Archives of Michigan in Lansing. https://dsgr.org/blog/?p=903

Records:

• The DetroitYes website (where all things Detroit have been chatted about on their forums for the past 17 years) has a search page. Try searching for street names, surnames or events https://www.detroityes.com/search.php
• The Wayne Co. Record Room has an email address (wcrecordroom@waynecounty.com) That is primarily used to answer inquiries related to court cases including divorces and name changes. (DSCR Tip: Day 1)Even their website has become more "research" friendly http://www.waynecounty.com/clerk/records-division.htm
• Local Library: Livonia:  http://livoniapubliclibrary.org/genealogy  (DSCR Tip: Day 1) 
• You can receive FREE Wayne County (excluding Detroit) death certificates (1934-1953) if you visit the Burton Historical Collection. You can also order the ($15) and receive them in the mail) http://www.detroitpubliclibrary.org/wayne-county-death-record-index
• Jack and Marianne Didbean collected marriage information over the years from various researchers and archivists (My 3rd great grandfather's 1833 marriage certificate is in their index!)  http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/wayne/vitals/marriages/dbn/ 

wayne-dbn-dec2013-a.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:47   95K  
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      wayne-dbn-dec2013-f.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:47  118K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-g.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:47  191K  
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      wayne-dbn-dec2013-i.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:47   12K  
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      wayne-dbn-dec2013-k.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:47   97K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-l.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:47  291K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-m.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50  311K  
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      wayne-dbn-dec2013-p.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50  223K  
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      wayne-dbn-dec2013-r.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50  196K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-s.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50  313K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-t.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50  162K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-u.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50  3.8K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-v.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50   69K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-w.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50  151K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-x.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50  1.4K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-y.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50   11K  
      wayne-dbn-dec2013-z.txt     05-Aug-2014 07:50   11K 

• An index to original records held at the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library.  These records do not include deaths that occurred within the City of Detroit.  All indexes compiled by Ruth McMahon.
  

  • 1934-1939
  • 1940-1944 
  • 1945-1949
  • 1950-1953
  • Key to Abbreviations and Age Code

  To order a copy of a death record, please complete the form below.  Cost per death record is $15.00, payable by check or money order.  Please allow 1-2 weeks for processing.  For questions, please call (313) 481-1401 or email bhc@detroitpubliclibrary.org
  

  • Wayne County Death Record Order Form
   

School Records

• School records, Yearbooks, teacher files and so much more! How much more? The finding aid for this collection at the Walter P. Reuther Library is 42 pages!! (DSCR Tip: Day 2)  http://reuther.wayne.edu/files/WSR000681.pdf

Wills

• Michigan Probate Records, 1797-1973 Description Probate records from county courthouses in Michigan. Most of the collection contains estate files. Helpful post: How to search Wayne County Probate Records on Family Search The content and time period varies by county. Some of the records date before 1837 when Michigan became a state. Browse through 4,723,861 images
• Wayne County (Detroit) https://www.familysearch.org/search/image/index?owc=QD9Y-RM8%3A376683801%3Fcc%3D2013878

On This Day: October 2017

Births, Marriages and Deaths (Note: living relatives removed)

I did not manage to post as many of these remembrances called "On This Day" on social media as I would like. Below are some of the ones that I did manage to post.

OCT. 18

OTD: On This Day, Oct 18, 1928 : my 1st cousin (1x removed) Madeline Demarse aka Sister Paul of the Cross (G.S.I.C) (1928-2010) was born
Her story here: http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/04/52-ancestors-no-15-sister-madeline.html

OTD: On This Day, Oct 18: my 1st cousin (2x removed) Agnes Broderick was born in 1904. (DNA results: shared with one of Agnes' descendants: 95 centimorgans shared across 6 DNA segments )
Her story here: http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/10/52-ancestors-no41-nurse-agnes-broderick.html 

OCT 22

OTD: Our 3rd great uncle John Moynahan died Oct.22 (1841-1906) of typhoid fever. Father of well-known Essex/Kent auctioneer William Moynahan (Read about William here: https://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/01/52-ancestors-no-5-maidstone-auctioneer.html) John Moynahan is buried in St. Mary's Maidstone, Ontario.

Circle Of Life: Ontario Vital Records

On Saturday October 20, 2017 I attended a free event: Circle of Life: Ontario Vital Records and Ancestry DNA. This well-attended session was organized by the Ottawa Public Library and held at the beautiful Nepean Centrepointe.

Circle of Life: Exploring Ontario's Vital Records and DNA

At the outset, Lesley Anderson (Ancestry DNA) announced that there would be a draw prize of a FREE Ancestry DNA kit. (Sadly, I did not win)

Ottawa Public Library Nepean Centrepointe.

Lesley Anderson and Glenn Wright did a joint presentation of the "Ontario Vital Records" and did so in a very entertaining and informative way. I thought that I knew everything that I needed to know about vital statistics but I learned a LOT from these two experts.

Lesley Anderson and Glenn Wright

Lesley and Glenn started off joking about some of the alternative names that they had discussed for this presentation (which they have delivered together several times). Names like "Hatch, Match and Despatch" or "Womb to Tomb".

Civil Registration in Ontario

For today, we stayed with "Ontario Vital Records" and Lesley and Glenn proceeded to take us through the slide presentation starting with births, to marriages and finally Deaths. Here are some highlights from my notes:

Births 

Source: Moynahan Genealogy Photographs

 

• In the earliest years, births weren't registered with the government and Churches supplied the information 
• The Vitals Statistics Act of Ontario of 1869 was largely ignored until the 1880s
• 1919 Vital Statistics Act: As of 1 January 1920 a physician was to report a birth within forty-eight hours and the cause of death within twenty-four hours instead of “forthwith”. 
• Delayed registrations are important to note.
• TIP: If you can locate the Registration books in digital format, it is sometimes fruitful to go page by page through the books to locate someone
• TIP: In "birth search boxes", sometimes the forename is not entered so you can try searching using surname and gender only 
• Archives of Ontario: Pathfinder to Birth Registrations - Word, PDF
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913  
• Family Search: Ontario Births, 1869-1912
• Family Search NOT INDEXED Browse through 126,534 images: Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923 Description  Baptisms, marriages, deaths and other records from several Roman Catholic parishes in the province of Ontario, Canada. This collection covers church records created 1760-1923, but the content and time period of the records will vary by parish. https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1927566

Marriages

Marriage of Rhea Fern Coughlan to Ernest Joseph Moynhan (1929)

 

• Pre-Confederation, marriage records are found in church records 
• Ancestors in border cities (i.e. Windsor, Ontario) can be problematic because they would cross the border for marriages and divorces
• The most popular months for marriages were (in order) December, October, November, February and January because in these months, farm life was less hectic
• Check the records for interesting remarks
• Take a close loo at the witnesses to the marriage
• Archives of Ontario: Pathfinder to Marriage Registrations - Word, PDF
• Archives of Ontario: Pathfinder to Pre-1874 Marriage Registrations Acquired from the Office of the Registrar General - Word, PDF 
• Archives of Ontario: Guide 210 - Finding Divorce Files in Ontario - Word, PDF
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1935 
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada, Civil Marriage Registrations, 1869-1873
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada, County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869
• Family Search: Ontario Marriages, 1800-1910
• Family Search: Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927

  Deaths

  

  Located just inside the gates of historic Mt. Elliott cemetery, this stone sits among grand mausoleums, Smithsonian art, and several other zinc monuments.

   

• Archives of Ontario:  Pathfinder to Death Registrations - Word, PDF
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1947  
• Archives of Ontario: Guide 202 - Vitals Statistics Records - Word, PDF
• Archives of Ontario: Guide 203 - Understanding the Vital Statistics Indexes - Word, PDF
• Archives of Ontario: Guide 204 - Sources for Birth, Marriage and Death Records - Word, PDF
• Family Search  Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947 

 

Interesting Statistics from the Registrar of Ontario's Annual Reports  

Lesley and Glenn offered quite a few interesting anecdotes gleamed from these annual reports.

The Internet Archive: Ontario Registrar Records

• PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - VITAL STATISTICS by Ontario. Office of the Registrar General  Publication date 1881 https://archive.org/details/provinceofontari1881onta
• PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - VITAL STATISTICS by Ontario. Office of the Registrar General  Publication date 1883 https://archive.org/details/provinceofontari1883onta
• PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - VITAL STATISTICS by Ontario. Office of the Registrar General  Publication date 1885 https://archive.org/details/provinceofontari1885onta
• PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - VITAL STATISTICS by Ontario. Office of the Registrar General  Publication date 1930 https://archive.org/details/provinceofontari1930onta

In 1883, December was the most favourable month to be married https://archive.org/stream/provinceofontari1883onta#page/n31/mode/2up

In 1883, there were 150 deaths From Teething https://archive.org/stream/provinceofontari1883onta#page/n67/mode/2up

I will report on the information provided by Lesley Anderson's DNA presentation on my next DNA blog post. Lesley offered us lots of tips about how to read the AncestryDNA results; sort through the matches and much, much more.

Archives of Ontario: Vital Statistics Table of Contents

http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/microfilm/v_contents.aspx