Finding the elusive Fanny Ann (nee McKinley) Robinson: late 1800s Ontario

[skirl]

John Robinson, his wife Fanny Ann (nee McKinley) and their children William, Margaret, and Andrew arrived in Canada from Dunfanaghy, Co. Donegal, Ireland on 25 June 1883. I have accounted for the subsequent life events for everyone in this family except for the mother, Fanny Ann (nee McKinley) Robinson. She must have died sometime between her arrival in Canada in 1883 and 1891 as John Robinson is noted as a widower when remarried 17 March 1891 in Kent, Ontario. I’m hoping a new set of eyes might help me find the elusive Fanny Ann (nee McKinley) Robinson as I have posted several times about this family over the years:

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=669046.msg5141384#msg5141384

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=758025.0

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=774206.0

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=775203.msg6290285#msg6290285

[Jacquie in Canada]

From looking through the other threads I would suggest that you don't automatically discount entries that don't seem to fit. It is possible they were "unofficially divorced" since getting an official one wasn't an easy process at that time. It wouldn't have been unusual for either of them to lie about their status when remarrying.

My grandfather's first wife moved to the US shortly after my grandfather returned from WWI. She was in a common law relationship there while my grandfather married my grandmother in Ontario. He listed himself as being single on their marriage registration even though he was never divorced from his first wife.

Jacquie

[skirl]

Thanks for the reply Jacquie. When John Robinson remarried in 1891 he was listed as a widower. A later marriage ended in divorce. I'm trying to find the death record of his first wife, Fanny Ann [nee McKinley] Robinson who would have died in Ontario sometime between 1883-1891. Is my case unusual in that I cannot find a death record in this time period? Thanks.

[Jacquie in Canada]

Still, listing himself as a widower doesn't necessarily mean he was one. People did lie on these documents for various reasons. My grandfather was a brick wall for years because he used fake names for his parents when he married his first wife (so did she for some reason). When he married my grandmother, he was much closer with the truth but still fudged it a little.

Jacquie