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« on: Monday 03 September 12 13:14 BST (UK) »
My grandfather was Robert James Hamilton (1872-1924) of Banbridge, Co. Down. He married Ethel Evans in 1920, but died soon after my father was born, and I have little direct knowledge of his family. We know that he had several younger brothers and sisters, several of whom died young: William (1874-1885), Thomas K (1884-1885), and Mary A (1894-1895).
However, several of his brothers and sisters survived to adulthood, and we believe that most if not all of them emigrated to Canada and the US. One of them, Samuel Harrington Hamilton (1883-1955) arrived in the US in 1912, married Mary Arlow, and lived in Erie, PA; he had a step-son but, so far as I know, no children of his own.
My main interest is in the other four of my grandfather's siblings, all of whom were born in Banbridge:
Clara Hamilton - born about 1876/77
John Alexander Hamilton - born 2 November 1878
Sarah McBride Hamilton ("Sadie") - born 25 September 1880
William Wesley Hamilton - born 30 April 1887.
I've recently discovered that William Wesley Hamilton married Anna Mary Shannon in Bannside Presbyterian Church, Banbridge in 1920, and travelled to Canada in 1921 with both his wife and his sister Sadie. They arrived at St John, New Brunswick, on the "Empress of France", on 15 April 1921, and their onward destination was stated to be Gull Lake, Saskatchewan.
I have no idea why they were heading for Saskatchewan. Could Clara and/or John perhaps have already been living in the area? There was a John Alexander Hamilton aged 28, occupation: clerk, leaving Ireland and arriving in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in November 1910, but I do not know if that is the same person.
I have no information at all about what happened to any of the four siblings I've listed, or whether they had any descendants in Canada (or elsewhere). Any information would be gratefully received!