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Research in Other Countries => Canada => Topic started by: SamnJoan on Sunday 26 October 08 17:27 GMT (UK)
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Can anyone help me trace James Duncan Forrest b12.03.1913 please.
His name appears in my grandmother's birthday book as living in Calgary aged 4 years.
My grandmother was Elizabeth (Lizzie) Forrest b04.02.1875 Partick Glasgow, who emigrated to Vancouver from Glasgow, Scotland with her husband Robert MacMillan/McMillan b12.03.1875 Glasgow Scotland and three small children in 1913. Lizzie had a brother James S (probably Simpson) Forrest b16.07.1877 Partick, Glasgow who also emigrated to Canada from Scotland, but I don't know when. I think he started off in Calgary and then went to Vancouver. He was married to Isabel ? I think latish in life. I know she was originally Scottish, but suspect they married in Canada. I am pretty sure James never had children.
I believe my grandmother had a cousin William Forrest b20.11.1897 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, but who died in Canada 1978. That's all I know of him.
Any help unravelling this mystery would be gratefully received.
Joan
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British Columbia Death Index:
James Duncan Forrest, age 66
Date of Death: 28 May 1979
Place: North Vancouver
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Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935
Port of Arrival: Quebec
Date of Arrival: 6 October 1920
Vessel: Empress of Britain
Name: James Simpson Forrester
Age: 42
Single or Married: Not recorded
Whether previously in Canada: Yes
When: 1910
Where: Vancouver
How Long: 10 years
Read/Write: Yes
Country of Birth: Scotland
Race of People: Scotch
Destination: Vancouver BC
Occupation: Saleman
British Columbia Death Index, 1872-1979
Name: James Simpson Forrest
Age: 78
Death Date: 1 November 1957
Place of Death: Vancouver
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James Simpson Forrest and Isabella are buried in Mountanview Cemetery in Vancouver.
Mountainvew Cemetery
Burial Listings
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/nonmarketoperations/mountainview/burials/burials.htm
British Columbia Cemetery Finding Aid
http://www.islandnet.com/bccfa/search.php
Janice
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British Columbia GenWeb
http://bc.canadagenweb.org/
British Columbia Genealogy
http://www.islandnet.com/~jveinot/cghl/british-columbia.html
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Hi Dave
Thankyou so much for all that information.
Little wonder I couldn't find James Simpson Forrest on any passenger list. I never thought to look at 'Forrester'. It sounds as though he might have encouraged my grandparents to emigrate to Canada in 1913.
How strange that I knew nothing of James Duncan Forrest, as I visited my MacMillan grandparents in Burnaby, great Uncle Jim (James Simpson Forrest and his wife Isabel on 35th St. Vancouver, and my Uncle Robert MacMillan and wife Eileen on 31st St. Vancouver a few times and never heard mention of him. Also my mother Isobel Hendry MacMillan never mentioned him. Is it possible to find out who his parents were?
Joan
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Not to worry, someone will do that lookup for you...
You likely knew this, then, as this is likely one of the sons... killed in WW1
James Forrest Macmillan / died England July 24, 1941 / Age: 31
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/virtualmem/Detail&casualty=2714576
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Little wonder I couldn't find James Simpson Forrest on any passenger list. I never thought to look at 'Forrester'. It sounds as though he might have encouraged my grandparents to emigrate to Canada in 1913.
Many apologies Joan :-[
He was indeed listed as 'James Simpson Forrest'
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Hi JJ
Thanks for that.
Yes, I did know of James Forrest MacMillan's death. He was a Sergeant (Air Obs.) in the RCAF. He was my mother's younger brother and I have actually visited his WW2 war grave at a little cemetery near Rugby, England. He is buried alongside the other members of the crew. Very moving, even tho' I never knew him - he died two years before I was born. We have also seen his name on the rolling list of the fallen at the Canadian museum at Juno Beach in France.
Joan
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Hi Janice
Thankyou for all those great websites. I not only found my great uncle James (Jim) Simpson Forrest and his wife Isabel/Isabella at Mountainview Cemetery, but also my grandparents Robert and Elizabeth MacMillan.
I haven't, so far, managed to locate my Uncle Robert Shaw MacMillan and his wife Eileen. I know their ashes were buried at a different Vancouver Cemetery, but I don't know which one. Is there a separate website for cremations?
Joan
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Hi Dave
Little wonder I couldn't find James Simpson Forrest on any passenger list. I never thought to look at 'Forrester'. It sounds as though he might have encouraged my grandparents to emigrate to Canada in 1913.
Many apologies Joan :-[
He was indeed listed as 'James Simpson Forrest'
That's OK. I obviously didn't look hard enough when I tried to find him :-[
Joan
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Although I haven't been able to find your other relatives in Ross Bay Cemetery, I am sending you the link just in case there is someone listed that you recognize.
http://www.victoria.ca/archives/archives_vit.shtml
http://www.victoriags.org/links.htm
Janice
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Hi Janice
Thanks for those websites. Might the reason that I can't find the deaths/burials of my uncle Robert Shaw MacMillan and his wife Eileen (nee Ford) be that they both died after 1985? Robert around 1989 and Eileen around 2000. I don't know how accessible recent records are.
Joan
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Returning to the reason for my original post, is anyone able to help me find the parents of James Duncan Forrest b12.03.1913 and living in Calgary aged 4years, according to my grandmother's birthday book. Was he perhaps the son of James Simpson Forrest or William J M Forrest (both born in Scotland and emigrated to Canada), or another member of the family I haven't yet discovered?
Thanks to the help I have received, I now know that he died in North Vancouver 28.05.1979. Was he married and did he have any children?
Why wasn't I into tracing my roots whilst the family members who could have helped me were still around :( I'm sure that is a feeling that is echoed by many of you too.
Joan
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Hi Joan - I can look up the death registration for you. I should be able to get to the library tomorrow for the look up.
JJ actually pinged me about this post yesterday but I was too busy with work to reply - sorry!
Regards,
Lynwen
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Hi LemonMallie
Thanks for your offer.
I have the death record for James Duncan Forrest now, but am still missing my Uncle Robert Shaw MacMillan and his wife Eileen who died sometime after 1985. My husband has been studying Vancouver maps for me and is wondeing if their ashes are buried at the Memorial Park South, off E41st St, near to Mountain View Cemetery. Just a guess.
Joan
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Hi Joan,
The memorial park is actually part of Mountain View Cemetery. Their online listing is not 100% complete so you could try emailing them at the general enquiries email here: http://vancouver.ca/COMMSVCS/NONMARKEtOPERATIONS/MOUNTAINVIEW/contact.htm. They are quite good at answering enquiries and the bonus is that they have a database of headstone photos. So if they are buried there, ask them for a photo.
My guess would be that if they died in Vancouver they were either cremated at Mountain View or Ocean View cemetery on the Vancouver/Burnaby city boundary. These are the sites of the two main crematoriums in Vancouver and I think two of the largest cemeteries. Mountain View is the main non-denominational cemetery in Vancouver but many Vancouverites were buried at Ocean View due to burial limits at Mountain View. I have also had good luck with Ocean View staff looking up burials but I don't have an email address for them. The other option is Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby. They are operated by the same company as Ocean View but I've never had any dealings with them. I'll try and call Ocean View and see what they say.
Of course, it is possible that they were not interned in a cemetery. We are all a bit flakey out here on the West Coast so it is possible they asked for their ashes to be spread in the mountains or the sea!
Lynwen
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I have the death record for James Duncan Forrest now
someone did the lookup through the death records already.... what were his parents names, then...?
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Hi Joan - they are buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Burnaby. I called over there and the fellow was very helpful. They were cremated and buried, Robert on 15 Sep 1988, and Eileen on 5 June 1998. He couldn't give me the date of death due to privacy laws but you can assume it was a week or so before the burial.
I hope this ties up the last of the loose ends.
Lynwen
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Hi Lynwen
Thanks for your two replies and my apologies for not coming back sooner.
Hi Joan - they are buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Burnaby. I called over there and the fellow was very helpful. They were cremated and buried, Robert on 15 Sep 1988, and Eileen on 5 June 1998. He couldn't give me the date of death due to privacy laws but you can assume it was a week or so before the burial.
That is great information. Thankyou for going to all that trouble. Eileen had taken me to see where Robert was buried, when we were over one time, but I couldn't remember where it was. Also I had no record of the year either of them died.
Joan
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Hi JJ
My apologies for not having replied sooner.
British Columbia Death Index:
James Duncan Forrest, age 66
Date of Death: 28 May 1979
Place: North Vancouver
This is the information I have. I don't actually have the names of his parents, etc. Sorry if I have mislead everyone.
Joan
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Yeah...I thought that would have been awefully quick... ;) that's what you were trying to find out in the first place, I think...
Lynwen offered a lookup, then, so the information may be in there, but never a guarantee...depends on how much the informant knows, really...but B.C. records certainly do seem to be the best for trying to get the most info onto their registration forms.
wonder if she can still be squeeeeezed into doing it...? ( :-X Give the cute little lemon a nice plea....)
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Hi Lynwen
:-[ :-[ :-[
I seem to have got myself very confused here.
When you offered to look up James Duncan Forrest's death (b12.03.1913) I already had the date - 28 May 1979 in North Vancouver aged 66 - and I thought that was what you meant ::) I didn't realise you were offering to find out his parents, possible wife etc. Another of my senior moments :-[
If I could take you up on your offer - if I'm not too late - please would you be so kind, when you next have the opportunity?
Joan
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No worries Joan.
James' parents are listed as William Henry Forrest (born Scotland) and Margaret, surname unknown, also born Scotland. James was born on 11 Mar 1913 in Calgary and employed as a Government Factory Inspector. Died at Lion's Gate Hospital in North Vancouver of cardiac infarction with cancer of the bladder listed as a contributing factor. He was buried at North Vancouver Cemetery on 31 May 1979. The informant was his wife - I will PM her name in case we are encroaching on the living.
Lynwen
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Although none of the names you have mentioned are listed here, I thought you might be interested, as there are MacMillan's and Forrest's mentioned.
http://bgibbard.ca/genealogy/index.php
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Here is the link for North Vancouver Cemetery. There are several Forrest's and MacMillan's listed.
North Vancouver Cemetery
Cemetery Records Database
http://www.cnv.org//server.aspx?c=3&i=21
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Hi Lynwen
You are a star :) Thankyou so much for that information and for your PM.
I have two Williams to choose from as James' father.
1. William Hendry Forrest b09.12.1884 in Scotland who was my grandmother's brother.
2. William J M Forrest b20.11.1897 also in Scotland, d 1978 in Canada who was her cousin.
Seems like it must have been the first, as Hendry often gets confused with Henry and his mother's maiden name was Hendry, but I never even knew he lived in Canada. I will have a look to see if there is a marriage listed for either of them in the Scottish records. Is there any way I could find out if James Duncan Forrest had any siblings or children, bearing in mind that the latter are almost certainly still alive?
Thanks for all your trouble :)
Joan
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Hi Janice
Thanks for those websites. I haven't found any familiar names so far, but have only had a quick look.
Joan
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There is no way to search BC Deaths by father but you could search for them in the 1911 Census to see if it lists any siblings.
http://www.automatedgenealogy.com/census11/index.jsp
There is a death record for William Hendry Forrest in Vancouver, aged 83, in 1967 so it looks like the first option is the best match. You could also search the BC Archives death index for the surname Forrest and see if any first names look familiar. We can always look up any possible matches to confirm.
Regards,
Lynwen
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Hi Lynwen
Thanks for that :) I didn't find anything on the 1911 census, unfortunately, but it is a great sight. I think William Hendry Forrest must have arrived in Canada somewhere between the 1911 census and the birth of his son James Duncan Forrest in Calgary in 1913. My next line of investigation is to see if I can find him listed as a passenger from Scotland somewhere around then. I have looked for his marriage on Scotlands People and IGI for Scotland, but with no luck and no luck with Alberta either.
That is definitely my William Hendry Forrest dying in Vancouver 11.04.1967. I have found the listing and references in the BC Archies death index, but haven't yet managed to access it. I'm still trying to work out why I never knew he was in Canada ???
Thanks for all your help.
Joan
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Hi Joan, I was back at the library today and I had a few spare minutes to look up William's death reg. It lists that he lived in the municipality where he died (Vancouver) for 50yrs, in the province for 50yrs and in Canada for 55yrs. So it looks like they arrived in 1912 - between the census and James' birth as you thought.
His date of birth was 9 Dec 1883 in Glasgow, occupation Retired Accountant, worked in this occupation his whole life, wife's name Margaret Duncan, father James Forrest, mother Elizabeth Simpson, both born in Scotland. His son James was the informant. William was buried at Valley View Cemetery in Newton (in Surrey, an outer suburb of Vancouver) on 14 April 1967. He died of pulmonary edema.
I checked findmypast but I couldn't find any obvious matches for them in 1912. Maybe someone will have better luck on the ancestry passenger lists.
Lynwen
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FORREST Maggie/ b. 1886 in 1913 from Glasgow to Que. Canada...he may have arrived earlier as there are some New York arrivals in1912...
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Hi Lynwen
Fantastic ;D Thankyou for all that information.
I have 09.12.1884 - not 1883 - as William's dob in Partick, Glasgow, but I'm sure this is the same William. His father was certainly James Forrest, but his mother was actually Isabella Hendry. His grandmother was Isabel Simpson, so either this was a mistake on the record or William gave the wrong name for some reason.
Still no luck with the marriage on Scotlands People or IGI, but they must have been married in Scotland.
Yes, I also tried findmypast for the date of emigration, with no luck.
Joan
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Hi JJ
FORREST Maggie/ b. 1886 in 1913 from Glasgow to Que. Canada...he may have arrived earlier as there are some New York arrivals in1912...
Thanks for that. It certainly sounds like she might be the right Margaret (Maggie) Duncan, but I'm not sure. She would either have been very pregnant or would have had a new born baby with her - James Duncan Forrest was born 12.03.1913.
Joan
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Hi Joan,
The information on the registration is provided by the informant and the registrar just enters in the details they provide. So it is possible that William's son got a bit mixed up or didn't actually know his grandmother's name. It happens every now and again. But luckily the rest of the info matches what you have so we can be fairly certain he is yours!
Lynwen
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Hi Lynwen
The information on the registration is provided by the informant and the registrar just enters in the details they provide. So it is possible that William's son got a bit mixed up or didn't actually know his grandmother's name. It happens every now and again. But luckily the rest of the info matches what you have so we can be fairly certain he is yours!
Yes, I'm sure that is the case. I didn't know my grandmother's first name until I started on the family tree, she was always referred to as Mother or Grandma.
Thanks for all your help.
Joan
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Hi I know this is not about your james but there may be a connection to this family with mine. One of my GGGreat Uncles James Forrest was born in Tyrie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland 1834
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Hi,
I think you could be right about your GGGreat Uncle James Forrest having a link to my Forrests. Tyrie seems to be only 20 miles (as the crow flies) from Ellon, where my Forrests come from and there are main roads connecting them.
I have got back to Robert Forrest bc1663 in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. He had sons John baptised 03/12/1682 Ellon and George Bap. 18/12/1685 Ellon - there may be other siblongs, but those are the only ones I have found so far.
George had two sons that I know of: George bap.30/08/1709 Ellon and Andrew bc1710. Andrew is my direct line.
The name James doesn't seem to appear in my line until James S Forrest b07/06/1844 in Old Machar, Aberdeenshire.
Does any of this tie in with any of your Forrests?
Joan
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Sorry this has nothing to do with James but I believe we share a g grandfather Robert Shaw Macmillan.
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Hi and welcome to Rootschat.
It is great to be in contact with a McMillan relative :) How are you connected to Robert Shaw McMillan and how far back have you got with his family ???
I know he was married to Agnes Harley and that his parents were Robert McMillan 1818-1882 and Jane/Janet Hamilton 1819-1889, both born and married in Belfast, Antrim, Ireland. I believe Robert's father was James McMillan, but that is about as far as I can get - Irish records for this period don't seem to be available.
Do you know when Robert Shaw and wife Agnes died, as I have drawn a blank there as well ???
Joan
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Hi Joan, Irene Craig (nee Macmillan)here!
RS Macmillan was my paternal g grandfather, John Harley Macmillan grandfather and my father was George Harley Macmillan. I presume RS and Agnes had other children otherwise we wouldn’t be chatting. I had a DNA test and was told I had a 4th cousin in Canada.
I am just a beginner so don’t really have anything to add. No idea when Robt or Agnes died and nothing on James. Irish records are practically non-existent.
Intriguing to note the change in the name from McMillan to Macmillan (although they still mean son of). I wonder if this is an aspirational move away from the Irish preference. Cheers, Irene
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Hi Irene
Good to hear back from you. I will send you a personal message.
Joan