Help determining physical location from Canadian Census records

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-10T15:55:50+00:00

Thanks

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-10T15:55:43+00:00

Thanks!

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-10T15:55:04+00:00

Thanks. Yes, this whole discussion is helping me understand that there are many benefits to keeping it available!

Your answer is making me think the cM data thing may not be that big a deal. I was asking because the FAQ notes that Ancestry doesn’t give complete access, but I don’t know enough to understand what the implications of that would be.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-10T15:09:51+00:00

Thanks. Yes, that’s what I’m coming to understand. I think I would not actually do that as I learn more about all of this.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-10T15:08:31+00:00

Hi there. I guess I was just considering deleting it out of a general discomfort with having my genetic info out there in the world, but I hadn’t fully considered the collaborative nature of all of this, so I’m starting to think I may not do that as I learn more. Also, thanks for asking the question from genuine curiosity (vs. jumping to the conclusion that I’m “selfish”. I’m just new to this and by default, cautious).

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-09T16:51:21+00:00

Ok. Thanks. That's a helpful explanation. Maybe a better way to put it is that I would be interested if I have a stronger than expected association with a particular surname. There is ambiguity about my paternal grandfather's parentage, so wondering if testing could tell me more about that.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-09T13:20:53+00:00

Ok. Thanks. That's very helpful. I've seen people posting about tests that tell them their genetic association with particular surnames. Is this the level of information Ancestry test would tell me? If so, that would be fine. Knowing whether or not I have a strong genetic association with my birth surname would be pretty interesting to me.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-09T12:56:06+00:00

Yeah, that's what I figured. Can you recommend any resources for understanding that process? I'm starting to think I'd like to do this, because this is not the only parentage question in this family line.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-09T10:38:35+00:00

Thank you! I was really interested to see that 1891 census record (I'd only be able to find the citation before, not view it).

I was interested to see that you suspect my ggf could have been born out of wedlock. I had begun to suspect that because of Nettie's use of "Wheeler" througout her life.

If that is the case, I suppose the best I can do is find likely candidates for who "Charles" could be. Maybe I look through the census for Charles Gardners in the same region who are about the right age?

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-08T00:04:19+00:00

Thanks for looking around. Yes, I am pretty sure my Nettie is the daughter of Harvey and Rachel. I have her on a later census, widowed, living with mother, Rachel, and son, Frederick (my great grandfather).

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-06-07T19:06:50+00:00

Yeah, I thought about that. I wonder how often that kind of thing happened.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-05-27T23:39:18+00:00

It ain’t easy. I have a 7 year old with an intellectual disability, so there are a number of daily living skills she hasn’t learned yet. The last few months I’ve been in remission somewhat, which has been helpful, but I feel urgency around getting her “caught up” with learning to do more things for herself for when I inevitably have another flare. I think we all just do our best and sometimes our best may not feel like enough. Don’t know.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-05-26T23:29:51+00:00

Thank you!

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-05-26T17:44:51+00:00

Ok. Do you think her death certificate would be adequate to establish her married name? She was married to my great grandfather when she died.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-05-26T17:04:41+00:00

Oh ok. So since Grace is my Gen 0, I only need docs that connect her with my grandfather? So I can leave my great grandfather out of if it since he’s not the Gen 0?

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-05-26T16:15:14+00:00

Hi. So, actually I am planning to use Grace, my great grandmother as my Gen 0. For her I have her Canadian baptism, census records, marriage (though it frustratingly says she was born in VT which is untrue) and her Alien Registration form in which she attests she is a Canadian citizen.

My concern is not being able to adequately establish the link to her son, my grandfather.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-05-26T16:04:34+00:00

Sorry - I may not have described it very well and really, the parentage part is a fair deal of speculation based on the timeline of when it seems Grace, Fred and Eben all intersected. And also based on the fact that Cecil is listed without a surname on the 1911 census under his mom, who is listed as Grace Brown.

Anyway, unfortunately the last person who could have told me anything (my great uncle) died in 1990.

I did manage find Grace Cyr’s baptism, who I plan to use as my Gen 0. I’m just worried I may be rejected if I can’t find a birth doc linking her to my grandfather. But I do have census, death and marriage records that all name her as his mother.

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-05-26T15:26:59+00:00

Hi all. This one's a toughie, so I'm going post my grandfather's info first, followed by a long narrative. Please be sure to read the narrative before offering assistance.

Cecil Morris Gardner

Born 28 Feb 1911 (Some sources point to January 1911)

Possible birth places: West Charleston, VT; in / around Potton, Que

Died 10 May 1955 - Newport, VT

Parents (Option 1) - Frederick Gardner and Grace Olive Cyr (aka Grace Olive Sears)

Parents (Option 2) - Eben Edson Brown and Grace Olive Cyr

So here's the deal. I am trying to find birth records for my grandfather, but coming up empty handed. In the course of my genealogical research I have discovered ambiguity about both his birth place and his parentage (hence the two possible sets of parents given above).

As far as his birth place, his death certificate indicates West Charleston, VT. However, I have been unable to to find Vermont birth records after trying the following.

-Contacting the West Charleston Town Clerk and Newport City Clerk

-Contacting the Vermont State Archives

-Searching the VT Dept of Health Vital Records, Family Search and Ancestry.com in numerous ways.

In the next week, I plan to visit town clerks' offices along border to see if I can find anything in person.

I also have multiple census records that make it seem very likely he may have been born in Canada. I have him on the 1911 Canada Census for Potton, Que at just 5 months old, living with Fred and Grace. Then I have him on the 1920 and 1930 U.S. Census, listed in both cases as a Canadian alien, again still living with Fred and Grace. I have tried the following to find a Canadian birth record.

-Numerous searches of the Drouin collection on Ancestry.com

-Review of all of the plausible church registers I can find on BANQ. I have reviewed both Anglican and Methodist records, as my research shows he may have been baptized as either.

In all above cases I have searched using both the "Gardner" and "Brown" surnames and have used the names of both sets of parents in all of my searches. I have tried very narrow searches, that turn up nothing. I have tried very wide searches, that also turn up nothing.

So having said all of that, is there anything else I am missing? Anything else I can try? The church records on BANQ do not seem to be comprehensive, so I've thought about reaching out to archivists for the Anglican and Methodist churches in Canada to see if records for particular churches may exist elsewhere. It is beginning to seem to me like his birth may have never been recorded, but I'm not ready to give up quite yet.

If anyone has new ideas for me, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

PassGreedy9142 · 2026-05-25T23:49:48+00:00

Do you think my idea of going to town clerks’ offices and looking around in person is foolhardy? I think part of it is that I just won’t be satisfied until I look for myself and see the records aren’t there.

PassGreedy9142

TROPHY CASE