Thomas William MORRIS

[Carleton]

Hi,

I am looking for a Thomas William Morris born in Newport, Pagnell, Buckinghamshire in 1864.

From information I have been given, Thomas W. Morris came to Canada in 1904 and joined the army here, leaving his wife and eight children in England.  This must have been a reserve unit as it was before WW1....maybe the 48th Highlanders based out of Toronto.

He also worked on a passenger ship as a crew member in 1912 and died aboard ship.  Apparently, he is buried in Montreal, QC.

To complicate matters further, I am also in possession of a picture of a soldier in a Canadian uniform (it looks to be a highlander uniform which I have made several attempts to identify without success).  I have been told this could be a picture of Thomas Wm. Morris but I can't be certain.  I have read that the Gordon Highlanders were aligned with the 48th Highlanders, so this "could" account for the tam o'shanter this soldier is wearing in the picture.

If anyone can help by looking up his emigration to Canada in 1904 and his subsequent death in Montreal, I would be very grateful.

Dorothy
Ottawa

[RunKitty]

Hi Carleton,

There is a tree on A** for this family.  It says he was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, on 18 May 1912.  He is in the Sailor's Lot, section G6, grave G396.  The tree says he died on the HMS Montreal, en route from Ireland to Canada.  He had acute pneumonia.

To back this up, the Drouin Collection has his death listed - He died on the 17th and was buried on the 18th.   There is no mention of a ship in this record - also, no mention of a cemetery, but the death is recorded in the 1912, Montreal Anglican Institutions. 

You can confirm the information from the tree by contacting the Mount Royal Cemetery -
 http://www.mountroyalcem.com/index.php/en/our-services/genealogy.html

Also, you can look at the passenger list here to make sure he was on the Montreal.   There is only one arrival for the Montreal in May of 1912 -

http://www.rootschat.com/links/0fss/

When you click on the May one, you will see the ship details.  You can access the passenger list from this page.  Just use the link at the top left of the page to see the image.   

RK    

[RunKitty]

Hi again,

Perhaps the 48th Highlanders museum could tell you whether the uniform in your photo is one of theirs?


http://www.48highlanders.com/04_03.html

RK

[Carleton]

Hi RunKitty,

Thank you SO much for all this information.  I really appreciate it.

I sent emails earlier today to both the 48th Highlanders and the Canadian War Museum and received answers this evening confirming that it is okay to send them the pictures.

I also have an email in to Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal...might hear back from them early next week.

I followed the link you sent regarding the ship, Montreal.  It takes you to Library & Archives Canada and gives you a ref. no. along with the number of the microfilm.  There are no databases online.

Again, I really appreciate your help.

Carleton

[valeriec]

click on the link for the passenger list for May 1912 and then click on . at the top left and that will bring up the pages for the passenger list. There are 44 pages so you will have to scroll through all of them

Val

[RunKitty]

Hi again,

In case you still can't find the passenger list, here is a direct link to it.  Use the little arrow at the top right to navigate through the pages.  The single arrow goes forward one page and the double arrows take you to the end of the passenger list.   As Val says, you will have to read each page to find him.   Unfortunately, you can't do a name search of these earlier passenger lists. 

http://www.rootschat.com/links/0ft2/

RK

 

[Carleton]

To RunKitty & Val,

Managed to get it to work.  Thanks to both of you!  I'll tackle this tomorrow.

Carleton

[Jacquie in Canada]

You can order a copy of his death registration online from the GRO for England as it is listed in the GRO Marine Death Indices (1903 to 1965) at Find My Past. Here's a link to their website:
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

This is the information you will need to enter when you choose the overseas deaths option:

MORRIS, T
Died at sea on the Montreal in 1912 (page 115)

Death registrations for England had very little information on them during that time period but I have no idea if that is also the case of marine death registrations or not.

Jacquie

[Carleton]

Hi Jacquie,

Thanks very much for this information.  I find this surprising as Thomas died in Quebec.  Something else that's strange is the fact that the ship he was working on, SS Montreal, arrived in Quebec on the 15th May 1912.  Thomas died on the 17th May.  Would his death not be recorded in Quebec (as well) or was he considered as being in "international waters"??  The fact that he was buried in Montreal is also interesting.

I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Carleton