Born on a train?

[SBZ5809]

My (would have been) great uncle, Charles Plampin, was born in Canada in January 1914, and the family story is that the birth occurred on a train crossing Kicking Horse Pass, between Alberta and British Columbia.

It seems that Canadian birth records are not available, so I wonder whether there is any other way I can obtain more information.

If it helps, his parents were Arthur and Louisa Plampin. They had arrived in Canada the previous year, and left (by virtue of being deported) later in 1914.

Charles died in UK in 1935, and I have ordered his death certificate, but I thought that, until it arrives with possible further details, fellow Chatters may enjoy the challenge!

[susano]

Birth events in BC must be at least 120 years old before they will be released so unfortunately there is going to be a very long wait to see Charles's birth registration if it happened in BC.

I do see the family arriving in Quebec aboard the Ausonia on May 7, 1913.  Arthur (44), Louisa (38), Gertrude (10), Alice (9), Flora [8] and Violet (2) are destined for Vernon, BC.  The surname is written as Plumpen on the list.  There is a notation on the passenger list that they are to be deported.

I see the family deported on August 20, 1914 and sailed on the Alaunia from Montreal to Plymouth.  Charles is 8 (months??) (so born around November/December 1913) but it does not designate his place of birth as Canada...shows last place of permanent residence as England which is incorrect.

I wonder if the notation about deportation on the Ausonia passenger list was made when they arrived in 1913 or if it was added at a later date.  Seems strange that they would be allowed to proceed to their destination if they were going to be deported.

While I like a challenge, I can't think of any way to confirm the family story.

Susan

[JDC]

Hi SBZ,

I would consider contacting some of the local public libraries for news articles about this birth. I would think it would be a news worthy story since not many births happen on the trains either CPR or CNR systems, It may have even hit the major newpapers...national and provincial. You may want to contact the people from this site: http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/General+Public/Heritage/default.htm, I believe it may be the CPR archive. Hope this helps,

JDC

[SBZ5809]

Thanks to both.

Susan, I also wondered why, given that the incoming list marks them for deportation, they were allowed to remain for over a year. It says "To be deported", so I suspect that it was, indeed, made at the time. The notation also says "File 894396", but apparently the Canadian authorities have not retained records of deportations, so this is no help. "Public charge" was the most common reason for deportation. Arthur had been a saddle-maker in his army days, and he intended to pursue that career in Canada, unaware that Canadians used the American style saddle with which he would not have been familiar.

JDC, thanks for that link; I was hoping someone may be able to provide something of that sort.