Thank you for the condolances. My apologies for not getting back to this thread before now. I haven't been on the internet much at all lately. Trying to get back to normality a bit now.
Do you know anything about George's first wife (name, when born) or when he/they may have emigrated?
I'm afraid I have no idea when they might have emigrated. Of course it's entirely possible that the move to Canada didn't occur until after his first wife died (assuming he wasn't divorced). Or he even could have remarried in England before emigrating. Which order these events happened in is something the letters haven't been able to help with.
His first wife was Mary Armstrong, born 1879 in Farlam, Cumberland. They married in the Brampton district of Cumberland in 1900.
I'll put up the 1881 names so we can have some ages & parents to look at again...He had a middle initial!
George BARCLAY Berwick On Tweed, Northumb General Dealer
Elizabeth Wife Scotland
George P. BARCLAY age 8 ( 1873), Scholar & James 6 & Andrew 1 ( N Sunderland )
(Their births all seem to be registered in different districts and none of them Sunderland)
Yes, I remember being confused by that at the time as I know George didn't have a middle name. All the children were born in North Sunderland, a village about 10-15 minutes walk inland from Seahouses, Northumberland. They were registered in the Belford district. While the rest of the children were registered as Barclay, George was registered as George White.
His mother was a gypsy girl and she didn't
officially marry George Snr until 1898, a few months before his death. I'm assuming they had a traditional gypsy wedding before that which wasn't recognised by English law and had to get married again to secure her inheritance. George Snr was quite well off by then, leaving his wife Osborne House (as it was known then) and each of his sons £500.
Have you traced George in the English census records? Just wondering if there is a date range for his immigration as I can also look up some passenger lists.
He's on the 1901 census living at 1 Hugh Street, Benwell, West Newcastle. His occupation is "metal merchant" (he took over his father's share of the business after he died). I've had trouble trying to locate him on the 1911 census, so it's possible he could have left for Canada between the two censuses.
