Frank Ismay Gilchrist

[lilyJ]

This distant relative was born in 1875 in Ovingham , Northumberland, UK and I have him in the 1881 1891 and 1901 UK Censuses.

I idly googled him today and found him in the Canadian War Memorial sites and then the CWCG site.

I downloaded his attestation papers on the Canadian NA site. He is indexed under Frank Gilchrist but the front page gives his name as Frank Ismay Gilchrest.

I woould really appreciate any help anyone can give me on trying to sort out what he was doing in Canada until he joined up at Valcartier in 1914.

As he stated on his attestation, he was previously in the Imperial Yeomanry for 2 years. They were formed to fight in the second Boer war 1899-1902. Frank Ismay Gilchrist is lised on their nominal rolls, so that part is true.
 However, he has taken 5 years off his age on his attestation (not uncommon I think) and gives a incorrect place of birth (Berwick, Scotland).

I can't find him in the 1911 Canada census. He is not the Frank Gilchrist with wife Florence in Brompton Quebec as I found this couple going to the UK in 1935.

I have looked at the passenger lists and can't really pick him out.

NOK on the attestation papers is Annie Blanch Arnett of Johns St., North Bay

 My request is:Could anyone please help me find Annie Blanch Arnett in the hopes that it might lead to more information on Frank Gilchrist?

Thanks

lilyj


.

[CaroleW]

There is a Frank Gilchrist b 1879 left Liverpool for Montreal in 1903. 

http://www.ancestorsonboard.com/HomePageController.action

Is Annie on the 1911 Canadian census?

[lilyJ]

Thanks Carole W,

I have that one on standby. The age is out and his occupation is Engineer.

On his attestation FIG 's occupation is "Bridgeman(wood)"

On the 1901 UK census where he is transcribed as F J Gilchrist and living in Newcastle his occupation is Br**d Manafacturer. I can't make out the first word. I thought bread at first,  but surely it would say baker if he manafactured bread!

[CaroleW]

Aren't enumerators helpful??  A thick black line right through his occupation

Interestingly - his father was a mining engineer

[lilyJ]

His brother was a mining engineer too on the census after the 1901

Boy you are quick!

Thanks so much

[J.J.]

Annie Blanch Arnett is listed in an Ontario Directory...but don't have access to it. Perhaps someone can she where she was at that time...as I don't see her in 1911 in Nippising...She may even have been the person who owned a boarding house where he's stayed...
Tried multiple things and still don't see frank in 1911 either...

[lilyJ]

Thanks for looking JJ.

Do you know if it was common for men to sign up in Valcartier even if they didn't live near there?
 
Sorry if that's a silly question, but I read that the military camp only opened in August 1914 so I was thinking that men might have gone there rather than locally to enlist early in the war  as Gilchrist did.

 Most of the attestations I have seen were signed locally to where the men lived, but again they tended to be a bit later in the war.

[LizzieW]

I have an ancestor whose husband signed up with the 8th Canadians, even though he was English as was his wife.  He died in England in 1918 from war wounds and his wife remained in England until her death in 1970.  Presumably, he was the subject of the story that she had married a Canadian soldier - even though he was English.

[valeriec]

It was extremely common for men to enlist at Valcartier early in the war. There were a lot of new British immigrants with no real roots in Canada that volunteered to serve early in the war. Please remember that the CEF was Canadian and soldiers were from many countries but served as Canadian soldiers. If you were born in England/Scotland/Ireland etc. and volunteered with the CEF, you were considered a Canadian soldier. All service records for the soldiers are at Library and Archives Canada and you can obtain the complete military file on each soldier that served. Using the information from the Attestation Papers, you can order his file. It will contain 25-50 pages and the documents will be pay, medical, battalion information. It will have next of kin and when the battalion left for Europe and returned as well as where the soldier was heading on debarkation. There could be other info in the file as well. I have ordered 3 files at a cost of $66 for all and they were well worth the cost.

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/index-e.html