William Smith , Croton Ontario.

[powerwicklow]

I am seeking information if I can find it on a William Smith. He was the eldest son of George and Margaret Smith (nee Webster) of a place which is known as Scratna which is just outside of the town of Arklow,Co Wicklow, Ireland They were married the 7th of June 1826 at Wicklow Parish Church , Wicklow Town and if I am correct William was baptised the 19th of June 1827 at Dunganstown. These towns and townlands are no more than a few miles apart. The only other information I have on William is a piece that may have been written in his local or near by newspaper when his mother died in 1897. it is as follows.
Wm. Smith, of Croton, received the painful intelligence through the Dublin Irish Times, of Feb. 11th , of the death of his mother. The Times says: “ Died Feb. 10th   1897  at Scratnagh, Arklow, Margaret, widow of the late George Smith, in her 91st year. For over 60 years she had enjoyed the conscious sense of God’s favour, and while praying for her children and grand children and requesting them to meet her in heaven, she calmly fell asleep.  “ Let me die the death of the righteous,, and let my latter end be like hers.”

Deceased was the mother of fifteen children, nine of whom are living. There are also a large number of grand and great grand children. There is a baby of two years in Detroit who is a great great grandchild. The sons and daughters are widely separated, some in Australia, others in Europe, and the eldest Mr. Smith, of Croton, in this country, who has had recent letters from home telling him to that within a brief period before her death she was in the enjoyment of good health, and her mental faculties undiminished.
 
I had been stuck for a long time as to which Croton in the world he may have been in but bits and pieces I have come across recently have led me to believe he was in Croton, Ontario.
Any help appreciated.

John.

[polarbear]

Hello John ... looks like you have found him.

Found this marriage record ...

William Smith 67 Widower
Son of George Smith and Margaret Webster
m.
Lititia Suttana Cameron 47 Widow
Daur of John Langford and Jane shaw
12 July 1897 at Thamesville Ontario County of Kent (Croton w/b in this county)

You can search the 1852, 1910, and 1911 Canadian censuses for free at this website. William is in Camden, Bothwell in 1901 ... I didn't search further. The 1901 census has him recorded as coming to Canada in 1849.

http://automatedgenealogy.com/

You can search the 1871, 1881 (has images), and 1891 Canadian censuses for free through this website. Click on 'Census of Ontario' for 1871 and 'Census of Canada' for 1881 and 1891. The 1861 census is only available through the Ancestry website which is a pay site.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-911.009-e.html

This should get you off to a good start  .

Polarbear

[powerwicklow]

Hello Polarbear.

I very much appreciate your response to my query. I am living over here in Ireland and can fly around Irish research with my eyes shut whether it be internet or as most of it is back to the archives themselves but Canadian I am only starting to get the feel for. Different territories and all sorts. I had found a little more information than I had said if it is correct but not much more. The 1881 Census at Family Search gives me a William Smith and family at a place called Camden,Bothwell, Ontario which looking at the map is only a stones throw from Croton. William has eluded me for a long time not knowing which Croton he was in. I will go through the websites you have given me and see what comes up. If you come across anything else I would appreciate it and hopefully if you want anything here on the Irish side I can return the compliment.

John.

[polarbear]

Hi again.

I expect that the William you found in the 1881 census is the correct one. I think his first wife's name was Elizabeth. You will be able to see actual images of that census at the link I gave you to our National Archives website (as opposed to the transcript at familysearch).

If your local library or Family History Center (the familysearch.org folks) subscribe to Ancestry Library Edition you would have access to Canadian records through that venue. This would allow you to search for BMD's related to William and his family. Civil registration in Ontario began in 1869 for births and deaths, and 1858 (I believe) for marriages.

PB

[powerwicklow]

Hello PB.

I have been having some fun looking through the sites you gave me and getting to grips with districts and sub districts. So far i have only concentrated on William himself and his family as a whole. I had been thinking about Ancestry and giving a subscription a go. For what I am looking for at the moment it might be worth the investment. The nearest family History Centre as in the familysearch folks is in Dublin which is about an hour away and they might be open only a day a week. I will potter away with what you have given me and see how i get on. I lost William again the 1911 census, he may have been deeased or I may have been in the wrong district. If you have time you might have a look through it for me.

John.

[Jacquie in Canada]

There is a death for a William Smith that was registered in Camden, Kent County, Ontario in 1901. Unfortunately the registrations for that time period give very little information but it does indicate he died 3 Sep 1901 at age 78. He was born in Ireland, married, Episcopalian and a farmer. The informant was Geo. Smith. The registration forms at that time did not ask for the name of his spouse or parents.

Jacquie

[powerwicklow]

Hi Jacquie.

I would say what you have found is possibly his death. I looked through the different census with the information that PB gave me and up until 1901 if I am following the right man his age is near enough and then all of a sudden he gets older. The death you would have found age wise tallies with the William Smith in the 1901 census in the area. You would often find over here in Ireland when searching between the 1901 and the 1911 census  a difference in what a persons age should be. The old age pension came in inbetween the census and people added to their ages to get it.

I think I will need to step back abit before I start going forward and presuming families. The marriage PB found has to be a second(hopefully thats all) marriage for William. I will need to get his first marriage. Working from the census all things been correct he would have married in Canada around 1857/8 an Elizabeth. Writing this I am looking back at what PB has written and he may have married prior to civil registration and the only child that may show up in the civil registers is an Emma who is 3 in the 1881 Census. Possibly back to the old reliable and look for Church records in the area.

John.

[cosmac]

The 1871 census for Camden Bothwell has the following Smith family
William (44), Elizabeth (31), Margaret (15), Jane (13), William H. (11), Louisa (10), __ Ann (8 ), George (6), Susan (4), Ellen (2).

The marriage of Susan Smith, 22, b. Camden, living in Camden at time of marriage to Seth Crowell gives parents of William Smith and Elizabeth Webster.  Louisa Smith was a witness.  Marriage 12 June 1889 Thamesville Kent County.

Death of Susan Crowell gives the information that she was born 8 April 1869 at Croaton and was the d/o William Smith b. Ire. and Elizabeth Webster b. Dawn Mills.  The informant was her sister, Mrs William Congden.  Emma Smith married William Congdon in 1898.

Louisa Smith marrried Moses Clements in 1897 and her death is registered as Louisa Clemens 10 Sep 1932.  She is shown as born 6 June 1861 at Croaton and was the daughter of William Smith b. Ireland and Elizabeth Webster b. Eng.  The informant was Moses of 100 Joseph St. Chatham.

There was a marriage for son George but his mother's name was noted as Smith with no maiden name given.

Debbie

[Jacquie in Canada]

There are two marriages for Margaret Smith. The first one to Wm Rutherford Aikin on 25 Apr 1877 in Chatham. She's listed as Maggie Smith with parents named as William and Elizabeth Smith. The second marriage has Margaret Aikin, widow, daughter of William Smith and Elizabeth Webster marrying Nicholas Grose on 24 Jul 1907 in Dresden.

The 1861 census for Camden & Gore, Kent has William (30), Elizabeth (22), Margaret (5), Jane (3) and William H. (2) Smith listed.

Jacquie