Winnepeg from Lincolnshire 1900-1920

[cakemaker]

I have Tom CHAPMAN, 44 and his wife Mary J. 47 living in East Halton, Lincolnshire in the 1901 census. Tom is an ordinary agricultural labourer.
Family stories tell that they went to Canada, in the Winnepeg area, sometime after this, and that Mary died there, along with a child.
I know that Tom returned to Lincolnshire, as he married again there in 1920.
Can anyone help find where they went in Canada or how they travelled, or what happened to Mary?
Thanks very much!

cakemaker x

[Tamara]

I found a Thomas Chapman on the 1906 Canadian census with a wife Mary along and quite a few children. Could this be your Thomas?

Thos Chapman 55
Mary Chapman 48
William W Chapman 20
Charles E Chapman 16
John E Chapman 14
Bertha Chapman 12
Clifford Chapman 10
Edith Chapman 7
Norman Chapman 5
Myrtle Chapman 3

They are from Brandon, Manitoba which is about 2 hours west of Winnipeg. I have lots of family in Winnipeg and I have travelled through Brandon many times. Unfortunately, the census records are very faint and difficult to read, but I will do my best to try and decipher it for you. I can also check the passenger lists for you, and I will do that as soon as I can.

Warm regards from Canada,

Tamara

[Tamara]

Sorry..they are shown as being born in England. I thought I should clarify that.

Tamara

[Peter_uk_can]

Hi Cakemaker and Tamara

I took a quick look in the Automatedgenealogy site, 1906 Brandon Manitoba. Their "Mr Sid" images are often much clearer than those on "Alchemy.ca/com"

Marie (Wife) was born in Quebec and the ages don't really fit. Maybe we should look over it again.

Peter
Winnipeg

[BeeJay]

This looks like them on the Carthaginian:

Left Liverpool 3 May 1913, arrived Halifax, Nova Scotia 16 May 1913

Tom Chapman, age 56, married, farmer/farm labourer
Mary J. Chapman, age 59, housewife
George Chapman, age 21, single, farmer/farm labourer

Destination for all three was Orillia, Ontario and it also says ‘British Bonus Allowed.’

Images of the passenger list are on the LAC website:

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/d...r/index-e.html

[cakemaker]

This is fantastic, thank you so much,Bee Jay, I am sure it is them as all the ages are right - their youngest son George was born in Hull in 1892.
Do you know what 'British Bonus Allowed' means?

I had always been told they went to the Winnepeg area, so Ontario is a new idea. I haven't done any family history research in Canada yet, so if you have any good tips, I shall be very grateful.

Tamara, thanks for your help and kind offers and thanks to Peter too, as a new person to the forum it is great to get such support.

[BeeJay]

British Bonus: A commission paid by the Canadian government's Immigration Branch to steamship booking agents in the United Kingdom for each suitable immigrant who purchased a ticket to sail to Canada. The immigrants themselves did not receive a bonus.


Ontario death records for 1869-1934 are indexed but unfortunately I don’t see a record for Mary. I also looked for a marriage record for George with no luck. The 1916 census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta was recently released but I wasn’t able to find Tom, Mary or George in it. (All of these are on ancestry.)

Manitoba Vital Statistics indexes are online and can be searched here:
http://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/Query.php

You could also try checking LAC for WWI attestation papers for George, in case he enlisted:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/d...f/index-e.html

Maybe someone else will have some good ideas for you.

I was wondering if Tom was a widow when he married in 1920, and have you found him in U.K. incoming passenger lists?

[cakemaker]

Yes, on his 1920 marriage certificate back in Lincolnshire, Tom is described as a widower.

I haven't seen the incoming passenger lists as my current subscription no longer covers them, but you are right, it would be good to know when Tom returned to the UK.

My Dad always heard that the wife Mary and the son had died of 'Blackwater fever'; he was told that as a young lad and it may not be correct.I'm not even sure what that is.

I have been wondering what circumstances would lead a couple of their relatively advanced ages to leave everything and go to Canada - were they really desperate, was life impossibly hard in Lincolnshire, or was Tom a bit of a dreamer? Lots of unanswered questions!

cakemaker x

[Peter_uk_can]

Hi Cakemaker. Many families, left the UK for a new life in Canada. Land was free or very cheap and all the advantages but none of the problems were heavily advertised. The central prairies are very flat and have extremes of weather. From -40C in the winter to +35C in the summer. Snow fall can be measured in feet and last for nearly 6 months of the year. The ground freezes down several feet and the spring brings flooding which can cover thousands of square miles. Hunting, ice fishing and life skills known by many natives would have come as a bit of a shock.

Life was very harsh and many never made it. It is highly likely that after the death of his wife and child, Thomas simply walked away and got a boat back to the UK.

Of course there were many who did make a new life, overcame problems that would have been unimaginable back in the UK.

The Blackwater disease is described on several sites via Google.

If you also search Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewn history, you will find sites that describe and illustrate early life in Canada.

I have bookmarked your post and will take a further look.

The time frame that you are looking at can be one of the most difficult for on-line research, as it falls after most census records and comes into the years where BMD records may not be public.

Here is a link to a photograph of what living may have been like for your family. Although this photo was taken in South Dakota this type of house was common in a lot of the prairie regions

http://www.members.shaw.ca/psmail/ph...s/8101147v.htm
..

[cakemaker]

Thank you Peter for this sobering description of what the conditions of life may have been like for my family - and for the photo of the typical house - probably not what they expected from the adverts?
I am keeping my fingers crossed that eventually some trace of them in Canada will be found, although as you say, early 20thC is difficult, and I am not at all expert in looking for Canadian records anyway.But will keep trying!
cakemaker x