Woodstock Ontario

[cbhasin]

My g grandfather left England sometime between 1911 and 1915. He was William Tart (1867)born in Shropshire. His wife Theresa died in December 1911 so i am assuming he left after this date.He died in December 1915 in Woodstock Ontario. He left behind 3 daughters so I am curious what could have lead him to settle in woodstock. At the time of his death he was living at 43 Finkle street woodstock.
Could anyone give me any history on the place?What is Finkle street like now?
Thankyou    Chris

[eillo]

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock,_Ontario

Woodstock is in Oxford County so if you want to research your uncle, you will need to have a hunt under that County. Try the OntarioGenWeb for Oxford. http://www.rootsweb.com/~onoxford/

This is one of the best sites for Oxford County material, with tons of online data http://www.ocl.net/genealogy/

As for why your ancestor may have moved there - a zillion reasons! There may have been work for him, he may have liked the area, he may have had friends/relatives there....

Did you look for him in the 1911 census? See http://allcensusrecords.com/  and click on the Comparison Chart for Canadian Census records for help finding it online

[JDC]

Hello Chris,

I grew up in London, ON but worked in Woodstock ON for a short while about 30 years ago. It is a relatively small placed with a significant  manufacturing base, but is essentially an agricultural center for its region. It was likely at that time much the same type of rural community as when I was there.

It sounds like you may be from the UK. As for the reasons for his migration, Eillo is correct in saying, there may have been one or more reasons for his coming to Canada and specifically Woodstock. There were likely reasons attracting him to Woodstock as well as reasons "pushing" him away from the UK. Just to note: there were a lot of Europeans and British people coming to Canada  at that time because Western Canada was opening up and there was a lot of opportunities there for the immigrants. Perhaps that was his intent but passed through Woodstock (it's located on the rail route that goes from one coast to the other) but decided (happen chance) to stop  there be cause he liked it? Or perhaps he was simply following a crowd?

I don't know if William went there with others friends, other relatives, or even "strangers", but perhaps you could locate their decendants and ask them if they know the answer to your question. Another avenue may be to contact the historical society in Woodstock
http://www.execulink.com/~ocbogs/hist/history.html
and someone may have lived in his neighbourhood.

In terms of census you may want to try to trace him on the 1911 census within the www.automatedgenealogy.com site. The transcriptions are not complete yet  but are getting close for Ontario.

Just some thoughts and suggestions for you- happy trails

JDC

[cbhasin]

JDC & Eillo  Thankyou both for the information which i will check out.An aunty has sent me a post card with a picture of William which has  now really stirred my curiosity ! S he says he was a real rogue who 'cleared off to Canada'leaving his three daughters age 12,14 and 20.On his death certificate it says he was an iron and steel fitter.I,d like to think he sent money back to England for the girls. I wonder if he left a will ? so many questions!!!!
M y aunty said he died of the cold !!!? i wonder if 1915 was a harsh winter!!!
Thanks again chris

[MJP]

Hi Chris,

Here are two links to the Archives of Ontario research guides for finding wills.  It seems to batter whether you think the will was actually probated (ie. he had some assets that had to be dispersed) or if it was a simple matter of land inheritance only (in which case the records seem to be with the Land Registry Office). 

http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/guides/rg_206_find_will.htm
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/interloan/c-efile.htm

The info you need is all on microfilm - if you are in Canada you can get them on inter-library loan.  If you are in the UK or elsewhere, I'm not sure if there is a way you can order the films.   

MJP

[KarenM]

HI Chris,

It seems your gr-grandfather may have married again, there is the following marriage information:

William Tarte
Born:  Wellington, England c 1867
Mother:  Mary Ellis
Father:  John Tarte

Spouse:  Mary Bann
Born:  Shrewsburg, New York
Father:  James Bann
Mother:  Martha Owen

Marriage Date:  August 17, 1912
City of Woodstock, County of Oxford

Karen

[KarenM]

Death Registration for:

William Tarte
Age:  47 years 11 months
Date of Death:  December 12, 1915
Place of Birth:  England
Address:  43 Finkle St., Woodstock
Place of Burial:  Woodstock
Occupation:  Steam Fitter
Single, Married or Widow:  Married
Name of Father:  John Tarte
Name of Mother:  Jane Ellis
Cause of death:  Heart Failure, sudden

Karen

[cbhasin]

Dear MJP AND kAREN JDC eillo,     When i posted my query i was unsure whether anyone would bother to help, and i am so pleased with this website and the effort that people make to help others in their research  A BIG THANKYOU
 !!!!
karen i was not really surprised to discover that he had remarried .This explains why he was not "spoken about"
 much in the family. Its so much more fun researching this type of ancester!!Where did you get this information from?It is definitely him everything ties up.
I will see what i can find out about his second wife.
Thanks again.   Chris         

Just found the marriage on ancestry .co Don,t know how i missed it the first time must have been late!  I have found Mary Bann on the 1871 census and she was in shrewsbury shropshire ,where william was living at the time.His wife didn,t die untill december 1911. So i think he and mary must have left England together in early 1912.Its pretty unlikely he would have met someone from his home town once he was in Ontario .So back to passenger lists now but atleast i have two names to search for.
Thanks again 4 your help.

[KarenM]

Hi Chris,

Yes, these fellows do make researching fun I think as well 

Ancestry just updated their marriages in Ontario to 1922 yesterday, now if they would only update the births the two more years that are available.

Karen