Help! My ancestors came from Scotland to Wentworth County in 1858. They were Alexander Davidson- his wife Elizabeth Wilson Davidson- two of their daughters were Christian Law Davidson Smuck and Helen Law Davidson Johnson. Christian lived in the Glanford area most of her life, she married a Jacob Smuck. I have attempted to locate some sort of a record indicating their arrival into Canada. I am not sure if the fact that Scotland and Canada were all part of the British Empire has hindered my research. In Scotland they lived in Elgin, Morayshire, I have located the headstone for Alexander and Elizabeth Davidson, as well as Christian Smuck. Christian is not buried with her husband in the Smuck Cemetery, she is buried with her son. I appreciate any and all suggestions, this search is a bit difficult being that I am in Florida, and my ancestors were/are in the Wentworth County area.
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My trusty book says 1828 Naturalization Registers began for non British subjects. 1865 Ships' passenger lists recorded, Port of Quebec.
The passenger lists on Ancestry.ca start in 1865.
On Christian's death registration of 1930, it says she was in the country 60 years, at place of death 30 yrs. It gives her birthdate as 27 Dec 1884 but that should be 1845 as she was 85 years old.
1911 census gives her immigration date as 1871 [another mistake?]. 1901 census gives immigration date as 1857.
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Yes, a few errors were made in her records, the supposed birth date for would have been after her father died! I do know in Elgin, Scotland, Alexander Davidson was a teacher at the Elgin Infant School, I believe in Canada he was a shoemaker, or such, maybe he felt a calling to totally change hos career! I do have a train pass for Helen Law Davidson Jphnson, this pass had her getting off in Welland, which makes sense as her husband worked for the RR, this was in 1912. So, the search goes on! I wonder if they entered into Canada in Nova Scotia.
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The Davidson family arrived in New York Aug 6, 1857 on the Ship Vanguara. On the ship were: Alexander Davidson-50 Eliza-45 Mary Ann-18 Eliza-17 Isabella-14 Mary-12 Christiana-11 James-7 Hellen-6 Alexander-4 They are residing in Largs, Fife, Elgin County Scotland in 1851. 1851 Scotland Census about Alexander Davidson Name: Alexander Davidson Age: 44 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1807 Relationship: Head Spouse's Name: Elizabeth Davidson Gender: Male Where born: Largs, Fife Parish Number: 135 Civil parish: Elgin Town: Elgin County: Moray Address: 13 Academy St Occupation: Teacher Of Infant Tehead ED: 4 Page: 18 Household schedule number: 74 Line: 5 Roll: CSSCT1851_31 Household Members: Name Age Alexander Davidson 44 Elizabeth Davidson 40 Mary Ann Davidson 12 Elizabeth Davidson 10 Isabella Davidson 8 Mary Davidson 7 Christian Law Davidson 6 James Davidson 4 Helen Davidson 2 Alexander Williams Davidson 3 Mo
In 1861 they are in Hamilton Ontario
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Wow! this is fabulous! It certainly provides me with where they sailed to. They did live in Elgin, for some reason, Lossiemouth was mentioned a bit. Lossiemouth is a small town on the coast, it is about 5-7 miles from Elgin. This information is fabulous! I love doing family history research, actually I believe I am addicted to it. It is a tad difficult, I live in the Tampa Bay part of Florida, this is more than appreciated. I do have a RR pass for Helen law Davidson Johnson, she was getting off in Welland, this was in 1912, I wonder how far away from Glancord and/or Hamilton rhos is.
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Glanford Township is just south of Hamilton, so it is very close. Welland is south of Glanford. This is the crossing to Buffalo. A map will show you this. Try google. Chris
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Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1801-1928 about Alexander W Davidson Name: Alexander W Davidson Birth Place: Scotland Age: 43 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1851 Father Name: Alexander Davidson Mother Name: Elizabeth Wilson Spouse Name: Phoebe Smith Spouse's Age: 41 Spouse Birth Place: Glanford Spouse Father Name: Obadiah Smith Spouse Mother Name: Lydia M Roelfson Smith Marriage Date: 31 Jan 1894 Marriage County or District: Wentworth ------------------------------- Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1801-1928 about Elizabeth Donaldson Name: Elizabeth Donaldson [Elizabeth Davidson] Birth Place: Scotland Residence: Hamilton Township Age: 20 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1839 Father Name: Alex Davidson Mother Name: Elizabeth Wilson Spouse Name: Charles Hill Spouse's Age: 24 Spouse Birth Place: England Spouse Residence: Glandford Township Spouse Father Name: Samuel Hill Spouse Mother Name: Mary Ford Marriage Date: 25 Sep 1859 Marriage County or District: Wentworth
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I came across a marriage record, for Alexander Davidson and a Josephine Gingrich. The parents of Alexander were Alexander and Elizabeth. I am wondering if Josephine would have died then he married Phoebe, this happened a bit in my family. I am not able to see records for "international" records, I guess the folks at Ancestry.com consider Canada international, even tho it is part of North America. these records you have shared are wonderful. It really helps me tie in some loose ends, it seems like this family is very interesting Nd very strong.
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This is very helpful! It does bring me to another question, I am wondering if there is a date of death for the Hill's. Yes, I am cursed with "normal" sounding names in my family tree! It is a tad discouraging that Ancestry.com considers Canada an International country, the last I looked at a globe, Canada was part of North America, hardly International in my opinion!
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