Author Topic: Social Insurance #'s / tracking an individual from a Federal gov't perspective  (Read 1242 times)

Offline br1937

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Just curious if anyone out there is aware of the history with respect to when the Canadian government started using Social Insurance #'s or in general possibly when Social assistance of some sort (re: seniors) started to be a more common place occurrence.

Reason I ask is that I have had trouble in the past trying to find a relative that I know was alive in the 1950's (in Toronto) but Ontario death records do not come up with a positive result. Thus wondered if maybe there might be a way to search from a federal perspective but not sure how one might go about that type of search. Of course privacy laws and the sort will likely be a road block not to mention data from so long ago, assuming it might even still exist?

Any general comments would be appreciated.

Mike
Brady, Hennessy, Dolan, Brennan, Cramer, Miller, Maier, Bisceglia

Offline RunKitty

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Hi,

If your relative died in the Toronto area - perhaps there is an obituary in a local newspaper.  Have you checked the Toronto Star or Globe and Mail??

If not - you can post a name and I can have a look for you :)

RK


Offline RunKitty

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Hi again,

Interesting question about the SIN... looks like the government started issuing them in 1964.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Insurance_Number

I don't believe you can use these numbers for genealogical purposes.  We don't have anything like the US's Social Security Death Index.

RK

Offline br1937

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Thanks for the feedback.

The name of the relative and partly the reason maybe I've had difficulty in previous searches with the Ontario death search is not sure of the exact name the death might be registered.

Any combination of:
Theresa Hennessy Brady Findlay

Born:
Theresa Hennessy (around 1890) in Quebec (Montreal I'm pretty sure)
Married in 1911 in Montreal and became Theresa Brady
** marriage did not last and moved to Toronto with her only child (son) around 1915
- she left a fair bit of family back in Montreal
** in or around 1937 she was living with a gentleman by the name of William Findlay who was quite a bit older (25 yrs older) and they may have been married or certainly were common law
** she was Catholic so not sure if every officially divorced from the 1911 marriage to Brady
** she lost born husband (or common law) William Findlay and then her son, James Leslie Brady,  within a month of each other in 1945 (Aug & Sept respectively)
** other records show she was still alive around 1955
-otherwise not sure of when she died but believe would be before 1961 as my father married that year and she was not at the wedding
- assume after being in Toronto (King and Bathurst area) for so many years (ie. 40 yrs 1915-1955) that highly unlikely she would have returned to Quebec...not to mention she'd been on her own for around 10 years at that point...and a senior with likely limited resources

Mike


In any event
Brady, Hennessy, Dolan, Brennan, Cramer, Miller, Maier, Bisceglia


Offline RunKitty

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Hi,

I had a look in the papers, but didn't find anything.  Have you asked the Toronto Public Library to do a look up for her in the Directories?  Perhaps you could find out the name she used...and also the year when she last appears in the directories?

I looked for her in the 1921 census.  I hope I am not being completely off track here - but I found a Theresa O'Grady, with a Patrick O'Grady (aged 54).  Theresa says she is born in Ontario and is 24.  Place of birth, age etc are off BUT... there is a James Brady "son in law" (so son of Theresa) who is born 1912 and a boarder named Edward Finlay.  They all live near King and Bathurst.  Patrick, Theresa and James are RC.

Not seeing anything else in 1921 that fits ???  If I am absolutely wrong here...just disregard!! 

The City Directories might help with your search.

RK

Offline eileenwilson

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So, death records in Ontario are only available up to the early 1940s -- after that, they remain private, so unlikely you are going to find a death record for her.

In 1935 Voters' List, there is a William Findlay, a paint mixer, living at 560 Wellington Street West, with a Mrs. Thomas Brodey, a widow, and a Leslie Brodie, salesman.

Offline RunKitty

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1921 census for the O'Grady family I found has address as 5 Angus Place.   
1921 Toronto Directory (online) has Patrick O'Grady at 5 Angus Place
1925 Toronto Directory (online) has William E Findlay at 5 Angus Place (the Edward from the census???)
https://archive.org/stream/torontocitydirectory1925#page/1138/mode/2up

RK

Offline RunKitty

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So, death records in Ontario are only available up to the early 1940s -- after that, they remain private, so unlikely you are going to find a death record for her.

In 1935 Voters' List, there is a William Findlay, a paint mixer, living at 560 Wellington Street West, with a Mrs. Thomas Brodey, a widow, and a Leslie Brodie, salesman.

That looks really good Eileen!!

RK

Offline RunKitty

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Found Leslie Brady's obituary in the Toronto Star.  Oct 2, 1945, page 21.

He died in Hamilton, Ontario on Sept 29, 1945.  Husband of Margaret Webber of 111 Sackville Street.  Aged 34.  Worked for the Dunlop Tire Co. Interment Mount Hope Cemetery (Toronto).

Perhaps you could contact Mount Hope cemetery to see if his mother is buried there too?

RK