RootsChat.Com
Research in Other Countries => Canada => Topic started by: Chattykathy on Monday 11 April 05 17:31 BST (UK)
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In Spring 1870, 4 or 5 members of King/Smith family travelled together from England to Canada. They stayed for 4 months and then went on the U.S. Been trying to search Passenger Lists but so far no luck. Any ideas???
Thanks!
Kathy
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Kathy,
Do you know:
- What part of Canada they arrived in?
- What part of Canada they left from?
- What part of the United States they went to?
Regards,
Josephine
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Hi Josephine, thanks for your response!
I am clueless on where in Canada they arrived or left from. I understand the primary arrival possibilitites are Nova Scotia or Quebec and that they would have crossed into NY or possibly gone west and took a ferry across the Great Lakes @ Duluth, MN into the midwest. There are no family stories that I am aware of leading in any direction. My guess is that they moved westward. Another guess -- if they arrived in Spring, the 4 mos. wait may have been for the Lake to become unfrozen & passable.
They went to the town of Wilder, Johnson County, Monticello Township, Kansas.
Names were
Charles King b. 1834
Rhoda (Smith) King b.1838
Harry King (son) b. 1859
Fannie King (daughter -- not sure where/when she was born)George King (nephew ?? of Rhoda) b. 1869
All born in Buckinghamshire.
Charles' brother, Joseph King b. 1838, was already living in Johnson County.
Thanks again if you have access to documentation or for any suggestions.
Regards,
Kathy
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Kathy,
That's a tricky one.
Your best bet might be to gather all documentation you can find from their lives in the United States, including wills. Perhaps these items might provide a clue as to where in Canada they stayed for four months. For example, if a will or obit lists relatives somewhere in Canada, that might be who they stayed with.
Did they apply for citizenship in the U.S.? Sometimes the citizenship forms contain details about how the person got into the States, etc.
As you probably know, ship records weren't usually kept in Canada back then. Since their stay was so brief, there likely isn't any record to be found, unless a child was born or someone died there, and even then, it's iffy.
For example, I have ancestors who died around 1900 in New Brunswick, Canada, and there are no death or cemetery records, either through the province or the church. I have brick walls for all of my ancestors prior to their arrivals in Canada in the 1800s (from England, Ireland and Scotland) because there are no death records to be found and no way of learning their parents' names, birthplaces, etc. Canada was one vast woods and, unless ancestors were in towns and had important positions, and therefore there might be some mention of them somewhere, you've got to hope they at least had the good sense to pass on a family Bible (mine didn't). Mine were all poor farmers.
The Canada GenWeb site has links to the provinces. You might check the provincial sites to see if anyone has transcribed any passenger lists.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~canwgw/html/e-index.html
Did your King family stay in Kansas?
Kansas State Historical Society
http://www.kshs.org/
You can check this website for homestead records:
http://www.nifc.gov/offline/
The website currently says: "The BLM Web site is currently down for unanticipated maintenance."
Have you seen this about Kansas Migrations:
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/johnson/index.html
I don't know if this is Harry, the son of Charles and Rhoda:
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/johnson/library/polk1912.htm
Johnson County entries from a 1912 business directory:
"ZARAH
--King Harry, General Store and Postmaster"
Have you found your Kings in the 1880 census?
Regards,
Josephine
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Josephine, thanks for all your great info and research!!!! The Kansas bit I have pretty well in hand as Harry & his son, Harry Jr. (my grandfather) are pretty well documented there. And I used to live there so I knew the terrain. Amazing that you found Harry, the Sr, as Genl Store proprietor in Zarah, KS -- that's a very obscure reference!!!!
I have found Harry (the Sr) Father/Family & Rhoda's Mother & Sibs in Buck in 1851 census. Now trying to fill in the immigration story but may never know the details. Kansas records are dodgy at best until the 1920. Combination of not keeping any! and a fire in 1900 or so which wiped out alot of what they had. Don't know why they came through Canada -- no family connection there that I am aware of but there must have been a reason unless there was a econo fare!
Working on going backward with Kings & Smiths in Buck.......
Interesting detail -- have marriage of Charles & Rhoda in 1868 however Harry born in 1859! His life is very well documented and his memories of being 11 in 1870 while immigrating have been doc'd so don't think this is an birthdate error. SOOOOO..........several intriguing possibilitites. No land ownership in England.
No family bible in my family either!!! The other side of the family, Fanning's from Ireland -- also poor farmers, no records & everybody named the kids the same names --- if there are 60 offspring there are only 10 name variations among them!!! Drives you crazy!! And then there are the Irish who went to Scotland before America.......needle in the proverbial haystack!
Anyway, thanks much for your help and conversation. Let me know if I can return the favor.
Regards,
Kathy
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Kathy,
You're very welcome! ; )
Re. the marriage of Charles and Rhoda: have you seen the original document or a transcription? If you've seen a transcription, perhaps there is an error and it should read 1858, which would be more in line with the Harry's birth in 1859.
Also, I'm guessing that the original would list whether Charles was a "bachelor" and Rhoda a "spinster". This would tell you if Harry might have been Charles's son from a previous marriage.
Have you tracked the families in the 1861 census?
Thank you for your kind offer of help! Are you still in the States?
Regards,
Josephine
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Hi Josephine! Cath (CU) of Rootschat has been doing some work on this.
A Typo or misreading of the marriage date is certainly a possibility. I've not seen any original docs. CU was looking into if there was a prior marriage or if Harry was adopted by Charles. I meant to post a look up on the board -- need to check if I did or if I dreamed doing it! Will check 1861 censu also.
There is a family story of someone being an illigetimate child of a "lord" tho while he wasn't acknowledged of course there was same arrangement for his education. Harry's bio info says he was in private school in England. I thought this strange when his father was an Ag Laborer. Been looking for schools in his birth town to see if any info on line.
Yes I live in the states (sort of) U.S. Virgin Islands for last several years. NYC before that. Where are you - Canada? And what are you researching? I'm subscribing to Ancestry.Com tho not sure for how much longer -- starting to exhaust the resource (unless I pay more, of course) and a little exhausted by their database sorting process which I believe may be constructed to confuse and keep you searching for longer! If you want anything looked up, let me know -- I'm pretty good with their system and would be glad to help.
Kathy