Last heard of in Canada!

[MotoFreako64]

My Grandfather had a younger brother, who is proving to be quite an elusive ancestor.

John William Taylor (usually known as Jack) was born in Netherton, near Dudley, Worcestershire, England in 1896. Both my Grandfather and Jack were orphaned in 1901. I know that my Grandfather spent the next few years at the Royal Orphanage in Wolverhampton, but there are no records of Jack being there with him.

I have found him on the 1901 and 1911 censuses living with Aunts and cousins, and the next mention of him is his wedding to Elsie Grove on August 1st 1918 in Old Hill, Staffordshire where he is listed as being an assistant foreman. Their family home was on Halesowen Road, Old Hill, Staffordshire and they had one daughter, my mother's cousin Dorothy. Dorothy was born in 1919 and passed away in 2009 but never really knew her father at all and was unable to shed any light on his "other life".

Jack sailed to Canada in 1922 on board the SS Scythia. His arrival documents reveal that he landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 16th 1922 and was heading for Hill Top Farm, Kenaston, Saskatchewan where he was assured of farm work. The farm was owned by Mr James Richard Rock. I contacted Bonnie Dahl at the Saskatchewan Archive Board who was unable to find any records of Jack at all. She did tell me that James Rock had first applied for a homestead at Kenaston in 1910 and appeared on the Cummins map of 1922 as the landowner. His name does not appear on the 1930 map though.

Elsie is still named as his next of kin on Jack's arrival documents, but as far as I know, Jack never returned to England and neither Elsie nor Dorothy went to Canada. My Grandad often told me the story of how his brother left for Canada and he never heard from him after that. Jack and Elsie were eventually divorced and Elsie remarried in 1939. My mother never knew him either.

This is where my trail ends. Jack must have died before 1951 as he is listed as "deceased" on Dorothy's wedding registry entry for that year. So... where did Jack eventually end up? Did he really go to Hill Top Farm? Did he remarry and does he have family in Canada? Where is he buried?
I would love to find out the story of this elusive relative. Does anybody on Roots Chat have any suggestions or even better, do any of our Canadian friends have John (Jack) Taylor in their family tree? 

[JDC]

Saskatchewan is a hard province to trace ancestors for. Your John William may have settled there, however may have stopped before reachin Sask or went further across Canada. He may have gone to the USA to settle as well, so he may not have died as you suggest.

However, I found this on Ancestry indexs. I am unsure as to whether or not this belongs to your ancestor.

Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980
John W Taylor    1940    Assiniboia, Saskatchewan    Assiniboia    
John W Taylor    1949    Rosetown; Biggar, Saskatchewan    Rosetown-Biggar
John W Taylor    1958    Rosthern, Saskatchewan    Rosthern    
John W Taylor    1962    Rosthern, Saskatchewan    Rosthern
John W Taylor    1963    Rosthern, Saskatchewan    Rosthern    
John W Taylor    1974    Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan    Moose Jaw

All Saskatchewan, Canada, Residents Index (SRI), 1800-2012
John William Taylor    1928    Kinistino, Saskatchewan, Canada    Death
John William Taylor    1971    Llewelyn, Saskatchewan, Canada    Death
John William Taylor    1986    Kinistino, Saskatchewan, Canada    Death

Saskatchewan, Canada, Burial Index, 1802-2011
John William Taylor    1928    Kinistino
John William Taylor    1971    Llewelyn
John William Taylor    1986    Kinistino

I hope this gives you a good starting point for your Canadian search :-)

JDC

[MotoFreako64]

Thanks for the information JDC... My great Uncle Jack really is proving to be a hard man to trace.

[manawakian]

If you want to learn if he was still alive and living in Canada in 1940 and are willing to pay for the search then google "Canada national registration 1940".  Every person over the age of 18 was required to register and carry proof of registration at all times during the war years.  Archives Canada holds these records and will only release those of people who have been dead for at least 20 years or who were born more than 110 years ago.  The fee for the search was $45.00 Canadian last time I looked.

[manawakian]

Just realized the records are held by Statistics Canada not the archives where any sensible person would expect them to be found.  StatsCan will do the search for a fee then probably charge more to photocopy and mail any documents found regarding your great-uncle.

[eileenwilson]

You have to prove that they are deceased; hard to do since we don't have that info.

[MotoFreako64]

Thanks for the information Manawakian... Jack would have been 120 this year, so maybe I can try the "born more than 110 years ago" route to see if there are some records. It's certainly worth a try...

[manawakian]

This site takes you to the page with info re the registration files.  Look for the unobtrusive underlined word "order" to get to the page where you can order a search for an individual's file.  If the person you are seeking is not found apparently the search fee will be rebated.  If clicking on this link doesn't work try copy and paste.

http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/olc-cel/olc.action?lang=en&ObjId=93C0006&ObjType=22

[Jacquie in Canada]

Are you certain Elsie was legally divorced when she remarried or is that an assumption because she remarried?

Do you know Jack's birth date or just the year?

Jacquie