I just found William!!

[josey]

I do appreciate you trying, so many thanks. Perhaps Cornelius had no children & Mary Ann & Edmund didn't marry....in due course I will look for burials but of course they could have been anywhere. 

Thanks again, Josey

[Rapunzel]

Hi China

Perhaps you can help me find MY William - in Manitoba.

William Harkness born in Scotland 1884, enlisted in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Forces in 1915 (attestation papers were handed in in Winnipeg).  No idea of how and when he immigrated.
He returned to Canada from fighting in Europe in 1919 (unmarried) and that's it other than the death notice of his son, a schoolboy,  in Virden in the 1930s.

I'm looking for his wife, date of marriage or anything else there is. He is said to have had a daughter too and was said to live in Winnipeg/Brandon - but these are family stories and I've found them often to be incorrect. He was also supposed to be a Land Agent after WW1 - he certainly had to do with agriculture.

Rapunzel 

[valeriec]

William Harkness request

Didn't you have another thread on this same person. Instead of asking for information here that would probably be duplicated, it would be better for those helping search to post a new request.

Did you follow up on the attestation papers for William Harkness and get his complete military file. Also did you contact the public library closest to Virden where his son died for their help as they may have local family research that is not posted on the web. If you know the name of the cemetery where the son is buried, you could contact it to see if they have more information on people in the same plot.

If this is the same William Harkness from the other thread it is possible that he immigrated in 1908 according to the 1911 census of Canada/Manitoba/Souris. This William was an Agricultural Student.

[chinakay]

Hi Rapunzel...I may have found your William in the 1911... in Souris, a labourer living with another family. Birth date says 1887 but his age is 26, giving a birthdate of 1885. Place of birth Scotland, year of immigration 1908.

Location in Souris:
Township 5 in range 22 west of the 1st M and Underhill Village

As valeriec mentions, it would be better to start a new thread for better exposure of the subject, as no doubt many Rootschatters have lost all interest in this one

Cheers,
China

[chinakay]

There's a William Harkness, a miner, birthdate 1885 arriving aboard the SS Caledonia, from Glasgow to New York Aug 20, 1908. Destination Norris Illinois, but his name is stamped Nonimmigrant Alien. He is from Holytown, Motherwell, Lanarkshire, and his brother in Scotland lives at 3 Park [something...March??], Holytown.

[Rapunzel]

Thanks to both of you.

Valeriec - Yes  I did have this person on another thread. I also followed up on the attestation papers and got the military record which didn't give me any of the information I am/was looking for. I made other enquiries but was told that the details I was looking for were 'sensitive' as they were within the limits Canada has on open information. The library I contacted didn't answer.

Thank you for the immigration date - he was also an agricultural student on his attestation papers 7 years later!

There are many irregularities on the documents I received - beginning with his dob and going as far as putting his mother down as his sister.

Thanks for the latest info on Wm the miner China - that's not him though. Unfortunately, the name Wm Harkness was/still is very common.

I'll think about whether I start a new post or just give up altogether on him. 

Rapunzel 

[chinakay]

Can't find any other immigration record...in 1908 there are only 4 Harknesses arriving anywhere in Canada, 3 women and a Thomas. I even tried a wildcard search...nothing

Cheers,
China

[Rapunzel]

Thanks for trying China - there are often 'leads' which end up at a brick wall. What a pity that families didn't keep details, suppose for many it was due to ignorance, illiteracy and not having the means or the time. William sent a photo of himself in uniform back to Scotland and the story of him losing his son was known here, but other than that ... nothing.

Rapunzel 

[grannygram]

I found a Cornelius O'Driscoll m: Mary Witiuk 02/05/1925 in Winnipeg Manitoba.
reg # 1925, 020039 in the Province of Manitoba Data Base Searches.

Granny