RootsChat.Com
Research in Other Countries => Canada => Topic started by: YJC on Sunday 16 January 11 10:39 GMT (UK)
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Any info or relatives of my Gt Uncle, known as Bert. Son of James Fitch & Martha Mills, born 1879 Bethnal Green, Middx, England-youngest of 4 children, who were orphaned 1883 & fostered in Hertford Heath, Herts. Joined Navy & emigrated to British Colombia early 1900s. Married Elizabeth (Liz) Miller in British Col. 1912. Died there 1956. Can anyone help please ??
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Hi YJC
On the pilot family search site, I see the following death registrations in BC:
Albert Edward Fittch, b London, England 1879, d Saanich/Victoria, BC in 1956
Elizabeth Fitch nee Miller, b Berton-on-Trent in 1888, d Duncan, BC in 1964
Lucy Elizabeth Steven, d/o of Albert Edward Fitch and Elizabeth Miller, b. Burton-on-Trent in 1917, d Duncan, BC in 1977
On the same site, the marriage registration shows that Albert Edward Fitch married Elizabeth Miller in Victoria, BC in 1912.
http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=allCollections&r=0
I can look up the marriage and death registrations and give you a transcription of the documents if you are interested. It may be a couple of weeks before I get it completed as I've got a fairly lengthy list of look ups right now.
Just looking at the dates, I'm wondering if they married in Canada and returned to the UK where Lucy was born and then returned to Canada or if the informant supplied incorrect information on place of birth for Lucy on the death registration.
I have to go out shortly but can check for passenger lists, CEF attestation papers, etc. when I return. I'll check back later to see if anyone else has been able to find information.
Susan
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On the Olympic arriving 6 June 1918 from Liverpool to Halifax are
Lizzie Fitch, 29 b. Eng and children Cyril Robert 5 1/2 b. Canada and Lucy Elizabeth 9 mos. All bound for Victoria.
Birth Dec 1917 burton 6b 547 Lucy E. Fitch (Miller mother's maiden name)
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0bc9/
Obituary for Eileen Lloyd (Fitch) would be of interest
Debbie
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I can find a listing for Albert E. Fitch on the 1913 Greater Victoria City Directory but not on the 1914 or 1915.
http://www.vpl.ca/bccd/index.php
I wonder when they returned to the UK. For the life of me, I can't find them on a UK Incoming Passenger list nor can I find passenger lists for Albert's or Elizabeth's initial emigration to Canada. I can find Elizabeth on the 1891 England Census but not after that.
Susan
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On the Megantic arriving December 13, 1929 from Montreal to Liverpool
Elizabeth Fitch, 41, housewife, destined to 4 Beam Hill, Horninglow, Burton/Trent.
On the Andania arriving April 25, 1930 from Liverpool to Montreal
Elizabeth Fitch, 40, b Burton on Trent, England, had been in Canada 1912-1929, destination Mr. A.E. Fitch, Deerholme, Vancouver Island, BC, nearest relative in the UK is mother Mrs. J. Miller, 4 Beam Hill, Burton on Trent, England.
Susan
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On the Olympic arriving 6 June 1918 from Liverpool to Halifax are
Lizzie Fitch, 29 b. Eng and children Cyril Robert 5 1/2 b. Canada and Lucy Elizabeth 9 mos. All bound for Victoria.
Birth Dec 1917 burton 6b 547 Lucy E. Fitch (Miller mother's maiden name)
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0bc9/
Obituary for Eileen Lloyd (Fitch) would be of interest
Debbie
Hi Debbie-this is all new to me & I'm not sure if this is the correct way of replying to your helpful message - I do hope so !!!! (perhaps you would be kind enough to let me know)
I had found info on daug Lucy, b1917 Burton-on-Trent & died 1977 Duncan, BC, but son Cyril is news to me + I'm not sure how or if Eileen Lloyd(Fitch) fits into the family ????
Thanks for your help.
Bye for now - Yvonne
My internet is now playing up - you may receive this more than once !!!!
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Hi Susan-many thanks for all the info. As you know I am new to this site & am still trying to get my head round how it works so I hope I'm replying correctly !! Am I right in thinking that this site is free to use & I will not incur any charges for any research done on my behalf ??
The info you have provided re birth/marr+death for Albert (Bert), Elizabeth (Lizzie) & Lucy all ties up with my research.
I have found possible details of Albert sailing to Canada as a 3rd class Naval rating in 1902, name spelt as Fittich, gives age as 27, he would only have been 23 but could have lied ???, it states all the ratings were 'to join HMS...looks like Egtonia' but not sure as difficult to decipher the name of the ship. He appears again arriving on board 'Lake Manitoba' 24/02/1908, sailing from Liverpool to New Brunswick , surname still spelt as Fittich. Finally I have him sailing from Liverpool 3/6/1918 on SS Scandinavian, arriving New York 15/6/1918 destined for Victoria, B.C., he is now described as a labourer. The latter sailing is def him as he gives his next of kin as his sister, my Gran, her name & address are 100% correct. I wonder if his return to the UK was anything to do with WW1 ? You will probably have seen a reply I received from 'cosmac' giving details of Elizabeth & 2 children sailing from Liverpool to Halifax 6/6/1918 which would tie in, she also mentions a 2nd child Cyril Robert who I have never heard of.
Bye for now & thankyou for all your help.
Yvonne
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Eileen Lloyd (nee Fitch) is possibly another child of Albert. Her obituary refers to a brother Cyril and the fact that she was predeceased by a sister Lou Steven (possibly Lucy Elizabeth). Too bad this obituary never referred to her parents.
Debbie
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Hi Yvonne
Rootschat is a most wonderful site which is free to join and free to use. You will find some amazing volunteer researchers and meet people from all over the world who share a common interest (or addiciton!!) in family history.
I live in British Columbia and am a member of my local genealogy society. We have a wonderful little library with access to all the vital events currently available in the province so I volunteer my services on Rootschat to do look-ups. I also watch the postings on the Canada boards and if I think I can help in some meaningful way I will post the information I can locate. I have learned of so many useful resources and have picked up some very valuable research skills by watching others.
I should be at my library in the next few days so will look up your marriage and death registrations and then will post to let you know that they are ready to send to you via email.
In the meantime, I think you're very fortunate to have the obituary that Debbie found as it gives insight into other possible family members. Canada has very strict privacy laws so records from recent years are not accessible...if we can find newspaper announcements or obituaries it's a big bonus.
Susan
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Hi Susan
Many thanks for explaining how 'Roots' works-as you say it is a wonderful site. I am very impressed that nowadays something is free !!!!! Modern technology is amazing-I was told of the site by a family tree contact in Australia & now I'm speaking to you in BC - wow !
At the moment I am unable to find any records for Eileen Florence or Cyril Robert Fitch - both names provided by Debbie on Roots. Whilst it would appear Cyril was Lucy's brother I can't even link Eileen with the family - are you able to provide any help here please ???? I don't know if it's me not using the web sites correctly !
Many thanks & I look forward to hearing from you again.
Best wishes - Yvonne
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Hi Yvonne
There is no central registry of BMDs in Canada....each province looks after its own records and many provinces do not have online access to indexes of vital events. Additionally, Canada has very strict privacy laws and their application varies from province to province.
In BC, for example, records are currently available for births up to 1903, marriages up to 1933 and deaths up to 1988. For privacy reasons, a few years ago the BC government changed the 100 year rule to 120 years for births so the records for 1904 births will not be available until 2025 now.
Our last nationwide census was 1911. The 1921 Census is due to be released in 2013.
When researching we must look for other resources such as newspapers, historical directories, google searches, genealogy web forums, online directories, etc. to glean any information. Check out the resources on this link for researching in Canada.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/board,372.0.html
If we're lucky, sometimes we can make connections with descendants or others researching the same family via sites such as Rootschat.
In your case, birth records for Eileen and Cyril will not be available for many years. The 1921 Census when available should offer some information but we'll need to wait for its release in 2013 to see how much. In the meantime, searches of sites such as www.canada411.ca or www.whitepages.ca which are online telephone directories may help you find contact information for descendents who have information that they would share.
I'll let you know when I've had a chance to do the look ups and we'll see what information/clues the documents can offer.
Susan
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Hi Yvonne
I have finally been able to do the lookups and get the information transcribed. I apologize for the great delay. If you would send me your email address via PM (personal message), I will get the transcriptions to you. To send a PM, just click on the little green scroll under the user name on the left side.
Susan
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Hello,
I am the grand daughter of Cyril Robert Fitch. I saw your posts here and thought I'd see if you still have any information you need regarding this family.
My grandfather did have two sisters, Eileen and Lucy. Albert Edward was in the British navy and joined the navy when he was quite young. He may not be on many passenger lists because he likely came and went on naval ships.
Albert had a terrible childhood, as you know, and he did not have a good experience when he was fostered out either. He never talked about it or his family that he left behind in England. He was a very reclusive person most of his life. He did not socialize much, and only walked to town once a month for supplies. He talked little with his children and grandchild (my Dad) and did not show any affection to them. I think this was because of his difficult upbringing and having to take care of himself at such an early age. My Dad did say that he admired him for his ability to build anything and because he was so self sufficient. He had a lot of knowledge of how to work with his hands and craft just about anything. He lived simply and modestly and did not seem to need or want much. He did suffer from shell shock as well from his experiences in the war. He never talked about this either.
Let me know if you have any more questions I can answer.
Raegan
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Hello Raegan - many thanks for your message, it's lovely to hear from a 2nd cousins once removed !, at least that is what it tells me on a relationship chart I have.
It's so long since I've used this site I hope I'm replying to you correctly ?? I am unable to work out how to reply by way of a 'private message'.
I have found out a little more about Bert (Albert) & Lizzie's (Elizabeth) family in as much as the names of his children & the fact that Eileen was adopted by them. I have dates of birth & death for Bert, Lizzie, Lucy + Eileen but not your G'Dad, Cyril, perhaps you would let me have those dates please.
Do you have any photos of Bert + Lizzie (this is the names they were always known by to my Mum - Bert's niece) that you wouldn't mind emailing me please ?? I have a copy of one of them together taken later in life + one I believe is of Bert in his naval uniform.
Do you by any chance have a photo of their gravestone ?
Do you know a member of the Fitch family, Lee, who lives in the Far East ? I was in touch with him & he was waiting to hear from his Gran in Canada, he was then going to send me some info but I haven't heard anything for over a year now, don't know why.
Hope that all makes sense.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Bye for now & once again thanks,
Yvonne
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HI,
Welcome to RootsChat Raegan
You need to make 2 posts to use the personal message system, so if Raegan posts here one more time, your both off and running ;)
To send a private message (pm) - Click on the username in left hand margin - on next screen under username it says "send pm" - on next screen write your message. Good Luck. ;)
Hope this helps.
Merry Christmas
Sandra ;D
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1921 census Glenora S Quamicha district British Columbia - surname shown as FITTCH:
Albert age 40 born England yr of immigration 1908 occupation farmer
Elizabeth 32 England 1911
Cyril 8 British Columbia
Lucy 3 England 1918
Family seems to have returned to England during the war years, will try to find Albert's service records and post later.
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The HMS EGERIA was the ship that Albert Fittich and numerous other Royal Navy personnel aboard the passenger ship Lake Manitoba were on their way to join at Esqimault BC in 1908. Details of this ship's operations off the BC coast can be viewed here
http://www.nauticapedia.ca/Articles/Hydrography_on_the_BC_Coast.php
I think this is very likely the way that Albert wound up in BC but can find no records of his service on findmypast. :-[
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Many thanks for your help.
Yvonne
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This looks to be his service record: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D6702134 (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D6702134)
According to the medal roll he was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal and received a Silver War Badge on 8 January 1917.
Martin
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Searched for service number 192949 on findmypast and got no result. Tried wild card search for 192* and got 11 results. 1.1% coverage of records, not very useful.
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Many thanks Martin. I've ordered & received these recs., which only consists of one page, from N/Arch today. I have a prob. with his year of birth as it differs by 2years to my info., 1879 & 1881 (although the date & month is the same). The age given on 9/10/1899 = 18 but I have him as being 20. More checking reqd. &/or perhaps Raegan will be able to conf. his dob ????
As yet, I've not had a chance to look at the page any further or to see if it checks against info I already have.................
Thanks again Yvonne
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Albert appears with his family in the 1881 census of Bethnal Green as 6 months old. The date of this census was 3 April 1881. Counting back gives dob as Sep or Oct 1880. FreeBMD has the birth of Albert Edward FITTCH registered in the period Oct-Dec 1880. The registration district was Bethnal Green and the birth is recorded in volume 1c, page 226.
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Hi Yvonne,
Cyril Fitch's birthdate is Dec 25, 1912. He died on Sept 5 2005 in White Rock, B.C. He married Margaret Florence West on July 1, 1937 in Victoria B.C. I'm not sure where he was born in B.C., I will check with my Dad.
We have a picture of Albert in his naval uniform as well. I think my Dad also has a few pictures of Albert and Lizzie when they are elderly. I will see if I can scan a copy when I visit my Dad at Christmas. I only have a birth year for Albert as 1880 in Bethnal Green. He died on July 23, 1956 In Saanich B.C. He married Lizzie on March 16, 1912 in Victoria B.C. They did indeed go back to England to live for a short while and had a baby over there. I remember my Poppa (Cyril) said he hated living in England because the boys at school always beat him up.
Lucy Fitch married a man named Johnny Stevens. I don't know anything else about him.
Albert is listed in the NY passenger Lists 1820-1957 at age 37. His last place of residence was Burton-on-Trent. His nearest relative is listed as Mrs. J. Childs, (his sister Jessie) Sunnyside Essendon, Hertfordshire. He departed from Liverpool on the Ship named Scandanavian on June 15, 1918.
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I would be very interested in any more information you can share when available about Albert's naval records. I searched for them a few years back and could not find anything. I'm thrilled to know more.
Thanks,
Raegan
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Just looked up my notes, and found some more info to pass along. This was info I received from Rosalind Fitch who is a descendant from the Henry Thomas Fitch line. She lists Albert's birthdate as Oct 9, 1879 at 40 Collins Place, Bethnal Green. He was buried at Colwood, Vancouver Island, B.C.
His wife, Lizzie was also buried at Colwood on 4 Aug 1964.
Lucy's husband's name is actually John Dove Steven. He went by the name Johnny. They were married on 11 Aug 1934 in Duncan, B.C. Lucy was born on 16 Sept 1917 in Burton-on-Trent. She died on 29 Aug 1977 in Duncan B.C. They had one child named Theresa Steven who was born in 1940 and died in 1966.
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Thanks re 1881 census etc.
However, there does seem to be a bit of confusion re his year of birth - it depends which recs. you look at whether it was 1879 or 1880 e.g. death rec says 1879 as opposed to the census 1880 ??? Perhaps he wasn't sure himself ? I think I should go with 1880 though.
Thanks again - Yvonne
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Happy New Year Raegan.
I just wanted to check that you have received the 'personal message' I sent you before Christmas, if not please let me know. Please don't think I'm pushing you for a reply, whenever you have time.
Bye for now
Yvonne
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Instead of dithering over when Albert Edward Fitch was born, why not go to
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
and order his birth certificate using the info I gave earlier, i.e., Albert Edward Fittch, born Oct-Dec 1880, registration district Bethnal Green, volume 1c, page 226.
For only 9.25 pounds you can satisfy your curiosity.