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Research in Other Countries => Canada => Topic started by: IainW81 on Thursday 19 July 12 22:52 BST (UK)
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Hi. I'm looking for some distant relatives of mine who appear to have emigrated to Canada sometime around 1920. Maria Armstrong Mitchell born 1893 and married to a Sgt of the 75th Canadian battalion called George Brown, who was born in Edinburgh like Maria around the same time. On their Edinburgh marriage certificate his address is down at what looks like 1531 Queen Street East, Toronto. I can't find her after that on Scotish records, so I'm thinking she's moved to Canada with her husband.
Then there's her brother William Armstrong Mitchell born 1902, who I also believe to have moved to Canada around the same time to the same area.
Hopefully somebody will be able to shed some light on them, as I'm not too clued up on international genealogy. :)
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William Armstrong Mitchell
age 21 born abt 1903 at Juniper Green
Date of arrival 27 Apr 1924 at Quebec
Port of departure Edinburgh
Ship - Metagama
William is Prebyterian, he paid his own fare and is going to his brother-in-law Mr George brown c/o the Bank of Montreal Bentley, Alta
His nearest relatve in Scotland was his father David Mitchell Lanark Road Junper Green.
Marital status single and he had 10 pounds.
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This record is not as informative as that for Willam
Marie A Brown
Age 26 born abt 1893
Date of arrival 21 Aug 1919 at Halifax Nova Scotia
Ship - Baltic
Port of departure - Liverpool, England
Religion Presbyterian and born in Scotland.
She is a housewife, has never been to Canada before and is intendng permanent residence.
I can't see George on the same page as her so maybe he emigrated earlier.
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Thank you that's brilliant. :)
On their marriage certificate, George is already a Toronto resident while serving in WWI, but Maria is still living in Juniper Green at that time.
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There is a Form 30 for Maria Armstrong Brown, 30, born Edinburgh who arrived on the Metagama. The date of sailing for the Metagama was 18 Apr 1924. The Form 30 indicates she was returning home to her husband George Brown, c/o Bank of Montreal, Bentley, Alberta.
Jacquie
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There is a choice of 5 for George with birthdate 1893 +/- 10 years and arrival date 1919 +/- 5 years.
One has middle initial P, one arrived 1920 (after Maria) Another has been in Canada before. All except this one are single
George Brown age 33
born abt 1886 in Scotland
Date of arrival -20 Mar 1919 at St John New Brunswick
Ship -Corsican
He is on his way to Singapore F M S (no idea what this means) via Seattle
Port of departure Liverpool
When did George and Maria marry?
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So perhaps she was just visiting in 1919?
Interesting to see the SS Metagama met it's end only 2 months after the Mitchells had sailed on her.
George was born around 1892 according to his marriage certificate. They wed in October 1918 in Edinburgh.
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Here is a link to the Form 30 that I was referring to:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0ovw/
Here's a link to the Baltic's passenger list (Maria is on line 12 on a page for military dependants):
http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e244/e006087198.jpg
Jacquie
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No sorry, still can't get a definte on George.
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Here is a link to the Form 30 that I was referring to:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0ovw/
Here's a link to the Baltic's passenger list (Maria is on line 12 on a page for military dependants):
http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e244/e006087198.jpg
Jacquie
Thank you for that. So she's gone back home to visit. Perhaps to collect William. It's all making sense now. :)
Not to worry on George. :)
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So perhaps she was just visiting in 1919?
She emigrated in 1919 as a military dependant and then returned to Edinburgh to visit. There is a UK incoming passenger list for Maria and her 1 year old son Harry sailing on the Metagama which arrived in Glasgow on 7 Sep 1923. Her destination was c/o Mitchell, Juniper Green, Midlothian.
With George Brown being in the military he would have returned to Canada listed with other soldiers. Most likely he would have returned the same year. Sometimes the war brides were on the same ship as their husbands but sometimes they did arrive in Canada separately.
There is a George Brown who was born 27 May 1891 in Edinburgh who attested in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Forces in Toronto. He lists his next-of-kin as Henry Brown (father) of Edinburgh. His occupation was bank clerk. This information fits with his son being named Harry and the mention of the Bank of Montreal on Maria's Form 30.
Jacquie
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Pte George Brown is on the same ship as Marie in 1919. He is listed with the troops. They both have Toronto listed as their destination.
PB
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So perhaps she was just visiting in 1919?
She emigrated in 1919 as a military dependant and then returned to Edinburgh to visit. There is a UK incoming passenger list for Maria and her 1 year old son Harry sailing on the Metagama which arrived in Glasgow on 7 Sep 1923. Her destination was c/o Mitchell, Juniper Green, Midlothian.
With George Brown being in the military he would have returned to Canada listed with other soldiers. Most likely he would have returned the same year. Sometimes the war brides were on the same ship as their husbands but sometimes they did arrive in Canada separately.
There is a George Brown who was born 27 May 1891 in Edinburgh who attested in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Forces in Toronto. He lists his next-of-kin as Henry Brown (father) of Edinburgh. His occupation was bank clerk. This information fits with his son being named Harry and the mention of the Bank of Montreal on Maria's Form 30.
Jacquie
Yes that will be George. That's his father's name. Good to know they had a son, as most of her siblings either died young or died single. Thanks for your help Jacquie. :)
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George Brown
Reg # 139024
75th Battalion
enlisted July 1915, Toronto
75th Canadian Infantry Battalion was part of the 11 Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division, later known as the Toronto Scottish Regiment.
It remained a battalion on arrival in England (many other battalions were absorbed by other reserve battalions).
The 75th Battalion was involved in the battles of Somme, Vimy Ridge, Arras, Ypres, Amiens and had some of the largest numbers of killed and wounded.
The War Diaries (logs) are available at Library and Archives Canada and would give you an indication of what the men went through.
George's Attestation Papers are also at Library and Archives Canada under Soldiers of the First World War.
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/index-e.html
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Thank you Valerie :)
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Maria Armstrong Mitchell married my uncle, George Brown, in 1918 in Edinburgh. George Brown was born on 27 May 1891 in Edinburgh, the eldest son of Henry Brown and Jessie Clark who had nine children in total, five daughters and four sons. George was a clerk in Edinburgh and emigrated to Canada in 1913 where he found work in a bank.
He enlisted in the Canadian Army and the family story in Scotland is that he was posted to what in the British army was called the Pay Corp because he was a bank clerk but he created a fuss and was transferred to a combat unit and saw service in various actions, most famously with the Canadians at Vimy Ridge. When his regiment was passing through or based in the UK he obviously took his leave with the family in Edinburgh. It is not clear whether he already knew Maria or met her at this time. At one stage he was in the same unit as her brother and it is plausible that he met her through her brother while on leave.
The Mitchell family lived in Juniper Green, then a village outside the city, a centre of papermaking, but now a suburb of the city, while George Brown's family lived in Haymarket in the west end of the city.
In Canada he and Maria - known there as Marie - had four sons, one of whom died in infancy.