Need assistance with an ancestor
I have an ancestor who immigrated from the United States to Canada in 1905 and became naturalized in 1914. So far, I have her in the 1880 census, 1916 Canadian census living in Bow River,Alberta, Canada, and a marriage record from December 21, 1891. From her husband, I found out that they got divorced in the later part of October of 1914 in Denver, Colorado. I have yet to find that record, and I'm currently in the process of locating it. I have consulted the FamilySearch Wiki for Canada, and done some other outside research, and I saw that there aren't any border records before 1908. Since my ancestor immigrated in 1905, where do I start?
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Hi @NathanEichenberger1. Sometimes the local American newspaper had an announcement when families were moving to Canada, possibly with a few details, like the reason that they were immigrating. I'm not sure about documentation beyond that.
Do you know if there was there a move to Denver at some point, or did she never leave Canada? Also, are you looking for information about this ancestor after 1916, or do you have that already?
If you can share her PID number, we might be able to help a little more, but hopefully that gives you something to start with.
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@GFre Hi! Her PID number is LH97-BZQ. I'm not sure since I've searched city directories and I haven't found anything. Also when her mom passed away in 1927 in the obituary it said she lived in Idaho. I checked city directories and haven't found her. I'm trying to find information after 1916. I haven't had any luck with newspaper research either.
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@NathanEichenberger1, I did some searching to start… Let me know if any of these are right:
First, are these her 1916 and 1921 census records?: https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Result?DataSource=Genealogy%7CCensus&FirstName=dollie&LastName=thrun&ProvinceCode=AB&DataSourceSel=Genealogy|Census&SEARCH_TYPE=SEARCH_CENSUS_BASIC&
Second, could this be her gravestone, since William Clary was a boarder on the 1921 census?https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147536581/dolly-thrun-clary
Also, could this be her divorce record, despite some different dates and misspellings?: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89WY-RDJ4?view=fullText&keywords=THRUN%2CC%2CW&lang=en&groupId=
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Hello again @NathanEichenberger1.
In her mother's obituary, I see her surname at the time was Clary. So, I would assume the burial and census are probably correct. It appears then, sometime between 1921 and 1927 that she was living in Idaho. Unfortunately, no city was included. Interestingly, I can't find her on the 1931 census for Canada. This could be an indexing issue, or maybe she was still living there.
By 1942, she was living in Olds, Alberta, from an obituary for her daughter, Pearl, on page 12 of this issue in the obituary column:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Hx6RvaqUy9IC&dat=19420430&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Also, I believe Dolly's death date should be August 16th, 1963. (Page 9): https://provincialarchives.alberta.ca/sites/default/files/2018-11/deaths-c-1963-1964.pdf
I'll keep looking…
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You're on the right track. Thank you so much for the obituary and the vital record index.
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This could be Dolly's 1931 census? https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=census&IdNumber=85185732&ecopy=e011754996
I did see a 1937 marriage record for an Ethel Clary and Harley Thompson in Alberta. I would assume that's the sister mentioned in Pearl's obituary.
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I believe this is Dolly since the relationships match. Thank you so much for this! Also the immigration matches with other records too. The problem is I don't know what the headings mean since I haven't had too much Canadian research.
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I'm glad I could help, @NathanEichenberger1!
As for the census headings, this page should help you. Navigate to 'Census of Canada, 1931', and then 'Schedule 1: Form B':
https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/genealogy-family-history/censuses/Pages/column-headings.aspx#a2_7The first part of the census seems complicated, but mostly it's just about the house—where it's located, what it was built out of, and how much it's worth—or in this case, the rent that was paid each month.
If I'm reading it right, Dolly was renting a single-family house constructed of wood for $2 a month. There were two rooms occupied by the family, and they had no radio.
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Thank you so much! It matches the 1921 census. She was living in Berry Creek #214. Immigrated in 1905 and naturalized in 1914. She owned a single wooden house. Dollie was 44, and it lists Hester 11, Robert 4, and William Clary 49, a boarder. Here's the source citation: Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 2; Census Place: Berry Creek #214, Bow River, Alberta; Page Number: 6
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You're welcome! :)
Although records in Idaho and her obituary proved elusive, hopefully some of these things help piece together more of her story.
Also, hard to tell with just an index, but this could be their marriage record. The names are quite close: https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/bmd_marriage/?name=D+A_Randall&gender=f&marriage=1923_alberta-canada_5001&marriage_x=0-0-0_1-0&spouse=William_Clary
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This appears to be her 1906 census, if you don't have it. The indexing was quite off: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHV8-KDD?lang=en
They are on the bottom of the right page; the children are on the next page.
It does seem to match the children's names listed on the divorce record. I think the recorded 1911 may actually be a typo for 1914: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPTF-HKWZ?lang=en
It looks like that misspelled name was pulled from the records in this news article: https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=STP19141007.2.61&srpos=3&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22C+w+thrum%22-------0------
But here it is spelled correctly: https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RCR19141002.2.38&srpos=1&e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22C+w+thrun%22-------0------
By the way, that Colorado newspaper site has some other articles that might interest you…
For instance, Arthur lived there for a time and has some mentions, which matches his immigration record to Colorado in 1919: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS2L-5HNH-M?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AZDR1-PNMM&action=view&cc=1916040&lang=en&groupId=
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Thank you so much for this!! I put all of the links you provided in her notes on Ancestry to look at later when I get a chance.
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No problem, @NathanEichenberger1! I'm happy to help. :)
I found a few more things. First, it looks like the family moved to Mondak, Montana before moving to Alberta. Under the 'Local News Notes' on this page from the Yellowstone News on March 31 1906 it says "Chas. Thrun departed Saturday for High River, where he intends to make his future home. His family will follow this week."
They were living in High River on the 1906 census, which also noted that they moved there that year, so I think that makes sense.
I also found this article about Charles from 1910. You will have to search through the OCR for the last name.
Possibly, that article might explain the 1911 census, where Dolly and Arthur appear to be living separately from the rest of the family.
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@GFre thank you so much!! Looks like I have a lot of things to piece together :) !!
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I just want to comment on this post to thank you again for all your help! I've been digging into Dolly and got the things that you posted and then got stuck again. I went to dig for Charles in the Colorado newspaper and found his obituary, or I should say death notice-https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD19261016-01.2.203&srpos=3&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Thrun%22-------0------, and a lot of other treasures.
I couldn't figure out why I couldn't find his obituary. Well I was looking in the wrong place.
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Thank you, @NathanEichenberger1! I'm so glad I could help. 🙂
That's wonderful that you've found more news articles. If there's anything else I can help with on this, let me know.
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Hi again, @NathanEichenberger1.
I tried a few newspaper archives in Idaho off-chance and I think I found them? Robert and Ethel were the names on the 1931 census, and it's in northern Idaho, near Alberta, so that would make sense.
https://eastbonner.historyarchives.online/viewer?k=%22william%20clary%22&i=f&d=01011920-12311929&m=between&ord=k1&fn=pend_oreille_review_usa_idaho_sandpoint_19260506_english_3&df=11&dt=15 (under Clagstone column)
https://eastbonner.historyarchives.online/viewer?k=%22william%20clary%22&i=f&d=01011920-12311929&m=between&ord=k1&fn=pend_oreille_review_usa_idaho_sandpoint_19260107_english_7&df=1&dt=10 (2nd column, 2 paragraphs left of Poultry Show article)
However, this article implies they left in mid 1926: https://eastbonner.historyarchives.online/viewer?k=clary,calgary&i=f&d=01011920-12311929&m=between&ord=k1,k2&fn=pend_oreille_review_usa_idaho_sandpoint_19260513_english_16&df=1&dt=10
"Mr and Mrs W Clary and family who have been residing here for several years left last week for Canada where they will make their home."
I suppose Dolly's family may have had outdated information? Something to look into anyway. They are mentioned a handful of other times in that paper as well.
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@ GFre
Thanks so much! Sorry for the long delay. I will definitely take a look at the links when I can.
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