Canadian Birth to US Parents
I am trying to prove my Grandmothers Canadian birth. I have a date of birth, a US certificate of citizenship issued in 1957 (I've requested this file from USCIS), but Ontario is unable to locate any birth records and have indicated that the birth may not have been registered. If a US citizen couple were bringing a newborn across the Canadian Border in New York by land in 1913-1915, would the new-born child have been recorded at the border?
Answers
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@Ryan20328
Ancestry.com has a database: U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960.I searched without names for a female child born around 1910, crossing around 1914, and the list is quite long. So, yes, if your family crossed at one of the controlled border points, it is likely her name would have been captured with her parent(s).
If your grandmother is still living, please don't post her name here, for reasons of privacy. But, if she is deceased, I'll be happy to look in more detail if you share name(s) of the individuals in question.1 -
Thank you. All parties are deceased at this point.
Sarah Bell Foster (there is reference to Sadia, Sadie as well) with a dob of August 20, 1913.
I'm happy to go into further detail. I am aware of the 1911 border crossing into Canada, a siblings registered birth in Hamilton in 1911, draft registration in Utica in 1917, final 6th sibling's birth in 1919, and 1920 census in Utica.
I'm not sure how to search through the border records or what the next possible steps are for birth records.0 -
The record set for Ontario births on FamilySearch ends at 1912. The set on Ancestry contains later records, but I don't see one that fits your Sarah/Sadie. I do see the one for her older brother.
Canada was pretty thorough at registration by 1913, but no record set is ever perfect. If they were living in a remote location, registration may not have been easy.
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I appreciate you checking. That is why I was hoping the border crossings from Canada to the US might shed some light. If they came in at Niagara Falls, I was hoping they also returned at the same official port of entry. What is the best way to search these for 1911 (known entrance into Canada) - 1917 (known residence in Utica NY)?
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According to City Directories, Leroy Foster, carpenter, was living in the 1200 block of South St as early as 1914. That's the same address on his 1917 draft registration.
The family was enumerated in the 1911 census for Canada, in Hamilton East.
I don't see the family in the 1915 NYS census, but I do see them living in Attica, Oneida County, in 1920.
It's possible that Leroy returned to the USA for work, leaving his wife and children in Canada temporarily.
Perhaps someone else will have other suggestions to explore.
Best of luck!1
