an elusive census record

[Neko]

I have tried to find my grandfather in both the Nova Scotia and England 1901 census without any luck. he states in his 1940's military papers that he was in England from 1900-1902 and went to school there. in a much later letter to my mother he states that he was in Nova Scotia from about 1898 to 1902. which-ever one is correct, I cannot seem to find him. would sks please look for him and his relatives in either census.

while in Nova Scotia he lived with his aunt and uncle, Alex (aka Sandy) and Mary McAuley. although I did indeed find Alex and Mary in the 1901 census in Port Morien, Cape Breton, NS, with two of their 9 children, including one named Allan, I did not find my grandfather. so I assume my grandfather must truly have been in England, but I cannot find him in the census.

Allan John Wagner b. 7 May 1886 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

he had suffered badly from...Scarlet Fever, if I recall correctly, and had been sent by his mother, who had moved to Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A., to live with his cousins in Nova Scotia. I assume he visited relatives in England for a year or more, then came back to Boston and visited other relatives, finally returning to his parents in Nebraska. I wish he had said who he had visited, and where he'd been in England.
I checked Ellis Island to see if he had traveled to or from it but could not find him there, either.
I also cannot find him anywhere in America in the 1900 census.
I know he had relatives in England and Nova Scotia, but I know nothing at all about the English relatives and little of the Nova Scotian ones. he was the son of Charles J. Wagner of Poland and England, and Annie McDonald of Nova Scotia and Boston, MA. Charles' parents are given in his marriage record as Anton and Thecla, and Annie's parents were Allan McDonald and Sarah McPhail. everyone but my grandmother died young, so there was little left to tell about the families.
I am most greatful for any help. I have been trying, with very little success, to find my Wagner lineage for close to 20 years.

[stonechat]

Perhaps he was in transit  and not captured on either census

Bob

[Neko]

yes, I've considered that. what I have doesn't give enough detail to be sure, but I've just unearthed a portion of my grandmother's writings about Allan and if I can find the other half (why they are seperated, I do not know, perhaps the rush of packing to move got things out of order) perhaps it has a bit more. there are many boxes of various family papers to go through, and I need to continue to search for the rest of the story on my grandfather. however, I wonder also if he was traveling with his grandmother, and I have lots of unanswered questions regarding her and her family. but that's for another time. I had hoped the 1901 would answer some of those questions, and some regarding Allan's father, Charles J. Wagner.

[lcsnor]

Was just looking at your posting about Allan Wagner and thinking about it.  You said you had searched the English 1901 census and that he was visiting England, but looking at the names you have there (McAuley, McPhail & McDonald) it seems far more likely that his family members were actually in Scotland.  As a British expat I know from experience that "England" is used euphemism for all of Britain.  The other possibility is Ireland - I don't know enough about these names to know which origin is more likely. Hope that may help,
Louise

[Neko]

that's certainly food for thought, Louise. I'd blocked that out, super focused on his German/Russian/Polish relatives. is the Scottish 1901 available? how interesting to trace this in a new direction. I have searched fruitlessly for his Wagner family. wonder if I'll ever find them...no idea where in Germany/Russia/Poland they lived. I was told that they settled in England, but can find no Wagner's that sound like they might be his family.
but the family in Scotland would make sense. I do know they probably came from Baliviphail.

[hlbradd]

You don't say how old the Allan is that you found with the aunt and uncle in Nova Scotia - I take it his age discounts him from being your Allan (I have a couple of cases where family members have been put down wrongly as regards their relationships) - it could have been assumed that he was a son whereas he was a nephew........

Have you been able to trace him forward?  Is he still there in later census entries?

Helen

[lcsnor]

Try, www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, you have to pay, but it's quite reasonable.  Check out the Scotland area of Rootschat.
Also consider that he may have been mistranscribed perhaps as Waggoner or Warner - they may be worth a look too.
Good luck, I hope you find him,
Louise