Disappeared without trace?

[CassieP]

Hi   Please can anyone help with two family members who appear to have disappeared without trace.  It is really odd as I have found everything on their two siblings William Stanley Hill born 1888 Royston, Hertfordshire and Harold Hill born 1895 also in Royston.

They are Alfred Hill born 1889 Cottered, Hertfordshire (registered July 1889 Royston Volume 3a Page 477) and Sidney Charles Hill born 5 March 1891 (date from baptism record - registered April 1891 Royston Volume 3a Page 530)

Parents are Alfred Hill 1857 - 1914 and Eliza Jane Baker 1861 - 1897.  (Cottered/Royston Hertfordshire)

In 1911 Alfred is boarding at Hallingbury Place, Hertfordshire.  Sidney is a dairy assistant at Westmill, Hertforshire.  They are both single.

I can find no trace of either of them after 1911 except a possible death for Alfred March 1931 Watford.

Do you think I'm right to assume they died in WW1?  I'm not able to find any military histories.

Any clues will be gratefully received.  Many thanks

[M_ONeill]

So I don't have an international Ancestry account, so I can't read the record, but the second search result for Sidney Charles Hill brings up a Canadian Passenger list entry. There's also a Canadian Find a Grave reference for Lakeview Cemetary - Thorold, Niagara Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada.

Is it possible Sidney emigrated to Canada sometime after 1911?

[CassieP]

Thank you M Oneill.  I've found a passenger list in 1928 and think it is possibly my Sidney Charles Hill - the place of birth unfortunately is not clear, but could be Buntingford (wrong spelling though - Buntingfar).  Buntingford is 2 miles from where Sidney's birth is registered in Cottered.  Age of 36 is just about right, he was actually 37.  Occupation farmer follows as he was a dairy worker in 1911.  There is a wife Minnie Hill with an address in Leeds - so I'll follow up that marriage.  I'm very grateful for your help. 

[CassieP]

Hi   Ah - it must be him!  I've found him on another passenger list on the same day - a different ship and the entry is crossed through "did not embark", but the place of birth is definitely Buntingford which is a tiny hamlet, it has to be him.  Strangely his wife Minnie has a different address (in Halifax) to the other passenger list that has her living in Leeds!!

[CassieP]

Now found marriage to Minnie Slater, Leeds 1913.  I'm wondering if brother Alfred went to Canada too.  Many thanks again for your help, I would never have found all this without it!

[M_ONeill]

Glad I could help! I think there was a lot of emigration to Canada around the time. My great grandfather also went to Ontario, in 1929 - although in his case it didn’t stick and he eventually came back to Northern Ireland.

[CassieP]

Yes M ONeill - my father's great aunt and uncle went to Ontario in the 1920's too and did settle there.  In fact it was my father asking me to find out what happened to them and their family in 2000 that sparked off my interest in family history. 

[WillG]

Regarding Alfred Hill,
I am his great grandson. His son Sidney Charles is my grandfather. He was married to my grandmother Minnie. They had 4 children - Roland, Olive, Mildred and Marilyn.
Marilyn is my mother.
Sidney and Minnie are both buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Thorold, ON, Canada.

[WillG]

Alfred did not come to Canada. Sidney came to Canada first during the Great Depression to find work. Minnie stayed behind with children. My mother told me a sent a letter to Minnie telling her there was no work and he was coming back but it was too late she was already on the way with the children. They ended up in Saskatchewan. Sidney travelled across Canada and eventually ended up in Thorold Ontario. He found work on a dairy farm there. Minnie and the children travelled later and met him there. My mother was the only child born in Canada in 1939.