Crooks & Morrow, Toronto (Antrim, Ireland)

[lucy1]

Hi,
I've been trying to find out about what happened to my great great aunt, Gertrude Crooks, born in 1898, Muckamore, Antrim, Ireland.  She moved to Toronto in 1929 and married Cunningham Morrow (born in 1895 and also from Ireland).  They had 2 children: Joyce and Audrey we are sure of and there has been talk of another daughter called Marion but no photos of Marion had ever been sent to us.  The family may be linked to Leaside Presbyterian Church, Toronto.

Joyce married Harold but I don't know his surname.  Harold was a ?presbyterian minister.  They moved to Medicine Hat shortly afterwards and had a son called Gordon.

Audrey married Gibb and I don't know his surname either.  We have no record of them having any children.

Gertrude died around 1969 and the contact was lost after that.  Gertrude was my granny's aunt and I have numerous photos of her and her family.  It would be great to get in touch with her descendants or to find out what happened to her children and their children.

Please let me know if you have any information.

Thanks a lot.
Lucy (Co. Antrim, N. I.) 

[cosmac]

Because you are searching in more recent times and Canada's BMDs are protected by privacy laws it is more difficult to trace forward.  What complicates your search is the fact that the children were all girls and it's harder trying to find someone without that married name.

http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ask_index.jsp
You could use the Toronto Public Library Ask A Librarian feature to start tracing the Morrows in the Toronto Directories.  There is also the pay site for the Toronto Star which would allow you to find obituaries, birth or wedding announcements. 
http://pagesofthepast.ca/
If you look at their free trial year of 1945 there is an Audrey Morrow as an attendant at a wedding and references to a Joyce Morrow and involvement in a sorority.  At least you can browse the papers and decide whether you want to invest a few dollars in trying to find some more concrete information.

Debbie

[lucy1]

Thanks Debbie, that's great advice! 

I am off work all next week so I will have a proper chance to do some research then.  I'll let you know how I get on.   

I am also composing an email to Leaside Presbyterian Church with photos of Gertrude and Audrey standing outside it, to see if they have any information or knowledge of the family.

Lucy   

[lucy1]

Hi Debbie, 

I asked a Librarian at the Toronto site you suggested.  The reply was that privacy laws would restrict them from giving me any information, which is understandable.  Apparently the only people who can request marriage certificates in Toronto, are the bride, groom or a child from the marriage.  In the UK, we can obtain the Prime Minister's birth certificate if we wanted, but anyway I do respect the Toronto laws and confidentiality. 

I enjoyed searchng the free 1945 "Pages of the Past".  It was very interesting.  Over the next couple of weeks, I may do the search in 1956 for Joyce and Harold's wedding notice.

Thanks again for you suggestions.

Lucy 

[cosmac]

When I suggested the Toronto library I was referring to tracing them in city directories.  That doesn't give any information other than name, address, place of work and type of work and only for those out in the workforce.  It will give you the information of whether they remained in Toronto.

Debbie