Worrall Family

[B Daniel]

I am researching a branch of my family and having very little success.  My great great grandmother is Mary Jane Worrall, born 1824 in St John, NB.  I cannot seem to locate her father although we believe his name may have been George and he may have been from Nova Scotia.  We have tried everything and am just stuck.  Her daughters middle name was Prescott and I did find a Nathan Worrall in London in 1720 who married a Frances Prescott so thinking there may be a connection there.  Also considered Thomas Grooby Worrall who came to New England in the mid 1700s and went to Nova Scotia after the revolution.  However, we just can’t make the connection.  Wondering if anyone might have some suggestions around this family. 

[Josephine]

Hi, B Daniel, and welcome to Rootschat.

When you say you've tried everything, would it be possible for you to list the sources you've checked, so people might have a better sense of where else you might look?

For example, have you found baptismal, marriage and death/burial/obit records for Mary Jane? Have you identified and traced any siblings she might have had?

Regards,
Josephine

[B Daniel]

For sure!  I have done searches in all the regular sites such as Ancestry, Find My past and Family Search.  I also tried to do some research in New Brunswick online archives.  However, the timing of these papers to be more recent.  i have also engaged with the New Brunswick Genealogical society but  so far only found the marriage of my Grandmother Mary Jane but no family names or connections.  I did order her burial certificate, also from New Brunswick, but the names of her parents is blank.  So I am stuck.  I do believe her father may have been a merchant in St John, NB but it is all guess work.  She shows quite clearly being born in New Brunswick in all the census forms.  Her brother and mother (whose maiden name is a mystery) both show birth place Nova Scotia.  So I am stumped.  Any suggestions is very much appreciated!

[Josephine]

Just so I understand:

When, where and to whom was Mary Jane Worrall married?

Where did the burial certificate come from?

Have you searched for obituaries for Mary Jane, her mother and her brother?

[B Daniel]

Mary Jane was married in St John NB and that is where the burial certificate came from.  I did look for obituaries but no luck.

[Josephine]

I'm sorry; I wasn't clear. Did the burial certificate come from a church or a cemetery? I don't know when she died; would the funeral home records have survived?

Did the source of the burial certificate have any record of the burials of Mary Jane's mother and/or brother? Were there death records for either of them?

Also, was the brother married? If so, do you have his marriage record?

[B Daniel]

The burial certificate was from the archives and I have the information from the cemetery in St John where she is buried and both have no information.  Mary Jane died in 1894 but her brother and mother died in 1872 and 1874, both before registration of deaths in New Brunswick.  Her brother was a bachelor and had the mother living with him.  I cannot find any official obituaries so far for either.  Thinking I might have to engage a genealogist in NB or perhaps see if the archives can go deeper although right now that might be tough. 

[Josephine]

It sounds like you've been really thorough.

Has someone actually gone through the (microfilmed or digitized) local newspaper(s) page by page for, say, a two-week period following Mary Jane's and her mother's and brother's deaths?

Have you checked for wills for people with her maiden surname, just in case?

I'm sure you've seen Daniel Johnson's newspaper index on the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick's website. Has someone checked for all the various spelling variations of Mary Jane's maiden and married surnames?

[Josephine]

Have you contacted the local funeral homes to find out if there might be a record on file somewhere for Mary Jane?