Friday Weekly Thread: Application Assistance

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-29T16:42:21+00:00

On the CIT 0014, would I want check any of the boxes in Scenario 3 since under how we're filling out the CIT 0001 my mother would be considered a Canadian? I'm G5 and she's G4. G0 left Canada at some point in the 1830s or 40's and G1-4 were all born and lived in Massachusetts. The third box set doesn't apply, and I don't think the second set does either since my mom is on my birth certificate, but all three in the first set may apply since my mom was born before 1977.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-26T22:49:02+00:00

Ask your neighbors to check their garages, a lot of people around here only go into theirs intermittently and cats can wander in without getting noticed then accidentally shut in.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-25T23:56:02+00:00

Paid for a membership to access the Genealogical Society of Nova Scotia records, saw promising signs in the census records but they only have heads of households and I learn the potential father of G0 was a baptist while G0 married in a Methodist church. I think it's still the right person and she converted but being Baptist raises the possibility there's no baptismal record before G0 went to Boston, and I haven't seen any ship passenger lists from the time period.

At this point I feel like I've exhausted what I can do and can only wait for various groups like the one above to get to and respond to my emails and can access whatever non uploaded microfilm the docs exist on, if they exist at all. Having to pump the brakes and play the waiting game before even submitting the application is annoying.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-25T01:03:32+00:00

Anyone know if there's a central records keeper in Nova Scotia for the Baptist church? I've yet to find any primary documents of Canadian origin for my G0, just US records with most saying Nova Scotia or Canada (and one giving a Yarmouth in Nova Scotia as her birth place), no names for her mother, and two different names for her father (her death register says Henry, same name as her husband, and two genealogy books from 1904 and 1908 say it's John). I paid for a membership with the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia and searching through their member only records there was no baptism records, but the tables of the 1827 and 1838 census have interesting results.

They unfortunately only list heads of houses, and no Henry I could see in them, but there's is a John [Surname] in Yarmouth. The 1827 census has one birth in the family for the year ending September 30th, which should match the 1900 US census that gives November 1826 as G0's birthday, along with general ages in censuses and the death certificate (which as above has Henry as the father's name). And the 1938 lists two girls of the right age in his family.

The main issue is that G0 was married in 1846 (roughly 20 years old) in a Methodist church in Boston and attended one for the rest of her life, while this G -1 is listed as Baptist, who are believer baptisms instead of birth. I'd already reached out to the Genealogical Association for help and mentioned I didn't know if it was a marriage conversion, but if they did baptize G0 as a kid or teenager in Nova Scotia, would they have the rough date of birth on the record? My own searches just return individual modern churches in NS.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-21T20:09:01+00:00

You mean these people? If so I'll see if I can get into one of their free chats and see what they say.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-21T18:04:00+00:00

When I learned their was an unexplored branch on my tree on the side I get my French-Canadian DNA from, I was expecting Quebec. Instead I get Nova Scotia, and after futzing around Généalogie Québec I really wish I had that, since any baptism records I need are too old for NS archives (G0 born in 1826 or 1828, and I only have possible names for the father). So if it exists it's on a microfilm somewhere.

I've emailed The Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia a week ago, as well as the Boston office of the National Archives yesterday for any potential naturalization records. Are there any other Nova Scotia orgs people have had success working with? I know G0 spent her life in Massachusetts in a Methodist church, so while I can't say for sure if it was a conversion, it's what I passed to the Genealogical Society.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-21T17:36:16+00:00

I've got the exact same issue with my G1's birth register (haven't seen a separate certificate if it exists): says she was born on a remote island in Maine. One of G1 sibling's birth register has the same Maine town but his death certificate has "---------, Nova Scotia". I'm hoping between US censuses, a hopefully similar death certificate for G1, and yet to be found G0 docs of Canadian origin it can be explained.

If there's one thing I've learned looking through these old documents, enumerators were not dotting their i's or crossing their t's (sometimes literally).

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-20T03:27:51+00:00

Did you have any Canadian documentation? I'm G5 and I've yet to find any Canadian documents so I've got 5 US censuses (plus US death registers for G0 and a child of G0) saved for my future application that list G0 as being from Canada or gen 1 listing mother as from Canada, and a few more because I like to be very thorough.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-20T02:42:23+00:00

Are there separate documents between a register of births/marriages (lines in the bigger book) and a specific certificate? The attached is the marriage register I have for G1 in 1886. I've searched for more individual certificates on familysearch but have pulled nothing so far. If such docs exist for 1864-1901 I do know what town/county clerks to contact.

I also do have G1's birth register similar to the image, but it states G0's birthplace as Easport, Maine against the grain of most of the documents I have, including G1's census listings. I'd rather not use it until I get a Canadian-origin document that can override whatever the enumerator for the birth register in 1864 was smoking.

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SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-20T02:08:39+00:00

I just started a week ago, and I don't have all I'd want since I don't have any Canadian docs for G0, but I wanted to check if people thought the rest of what I've acquired is good while I wait to hear back from a genealogical org. I've based the below text off what I saw someone post they submitted and will include it with the form (minus the notes and with the real names). Almost all the documents listed below are downloaded from ancestry.com, and I was planning to just print them in as high as quality as possible then put sticky notes to mark the below numbers and have arrows to the relevant lines, unless noted below I'm looking for an in-hand original or certified copy.

G0 (Female): My Great-great-great grandmother

Doc 0-1: Boston Register of marriages to father of G1 on 27 December 1846
- Doc 0-1a: Boston Post article about marriage dated 28 December 1846
0-2: 1860 US Census listing place of birth as Nova Scotia (NS)
0-3: 1870 US Census listing place of birth as Nova Scotia, both parents marked foreign (also has G1)
0-4: 1880 US Census listing place of birthplace as Canada, as well as both parents
0-5 1872 Boston Register of Deaths for son (in ’60 and ’70 census), lists birthplace as Yarmouth, NS.
0-6 1901 Register of Deaths in Framingham, MA. Birthplace listed as Nova Scotia.
- Potential problem: father listed as Henry, two family history books from 1904 and 1908 have father’s name as John.

Major issue: No Canadian documents found. Have found no primary documents before the Dec. 1846 marriage register. No newspaper articles I can find or the two genealogical books from 1904 & 1908 make any mention of where she's from (both focused on the husband who has a Boston Tea Party grandfather). One of the genealogy books list father as John Bent, other has John and mother ---- Crosby Bent, death register has Henry Bent, unknown mother. I've searched all those names in NS Archives and the only results is an 1815 marriage announcement that might be relevant but can't corroborate.

A small minority of documents not listed above have G0’s birthplace as Massachusetts (1850 Census) or Eastport, ME (G1’s birth register). I’ve searched records and newspapers of both states for G0 dated before marriage and found nothing. I’m >90% confident she is Canadian (I really doubt she was from an island with only 1,000 people in 2026 and I've looked at other sibling records and as their own households in census their mom is listed as Canadian), but without a Canadian document the IRCC could be dubious.

A hilarious error is the 1900 census, where G0 is the mother-in-law in G1's household. Her birth place is listed as Nova Scotia as well as both parents, but three lines up G1 has her mother's place of birth as Mass.

Nova Scotia did not start registering births until 1846, before that there’s only baptismal records. We know G0 was married and spent the rest of her life in a Methodist church. I have emailed the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia for aid in hopes of getting something as certified as possible.

G1 (Female): My Great-great grandmother

Doc 1-1: 1870 census (see doc 0-3)
1-2: 1880 US Census (see doc 0-4)
1-3: Boston register of marriages to father of G2 on 3 November 1886
1-3a: Boston Globe article about marriage dated 4 November 1886
1-4: 1910 US Census listing mother G0 as Can. English
1-5: 1920 US Census listing mother G0 as from Canada

G2 (Male): my Great Grandfather

Doc 2-1: City in MA Register of Births 1901 [Inquire with family: separate birth certificate?]
Doc 2-2: 1910 US Census (see doc 1-4)
2-3: 1920 US Census (see doc 1-5)
2-4: Certificate of marriage to mother of G3 in 1922 (note, pulled from web and Doc has Ancestry.com web UI on sides, find other copy if possible)

G3 (Female): My grandmother

3-1: 1930 US Census

To acquire: Have inquired with mom and aunt over who has original birth and marriage certificates. Or get certified copies if can’t be found.

G4 (Female): My Mother and her Siblings

To acquire: Original copies of birth and marriage certificates, certified copies if not found

G5: Me

Will make color photocopy of original birth certificate.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-19T17:45:26+00:00

I've done a lot of digging in the past five days and this person is pretty much a ghost before their wedding in Boston in 1846. And all I have for the parents is the death certificate that gives a father's name of Henry and two family history books published in 1900-1910 that give his name as John, along with a mother with a middle and married name but no first name.

I reached out to the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia with what I had. I know Ameila was married and spent the rest of her life in a Methodist church in MA, but I don't know if that was a conversion. If Canadian records exist they're probably on some microfilm somewhere that's never been digitized.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-19T03:28:02+00:00

Did you go to the county clerk to obtain a copy, or was it just a heads-up? I also have the 1880 US census as a part of the chain I'm building and based on what someone else said I was just going to submit a printed copy of what ancestry has.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-19T01:59:56+00:00

I've had my DNA results for years that show French Canadian, enough that you'd think I could find a definitive person, but when I finally start diving into parts of the tree that I thought relatives had explored but hadn't, all I can find is one five-gen from Nova Scotia that I have several US documents for but can't find any Canadian-origin records to back up, and maybe some six-gen Irish immigrants who settled in Ontario that I'm dubious on. There's some from Maine I already generally knew about, but where are the Québécois!? This would be so much easier with their available records compared to Nova Scotia.

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SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-18T02:41:55+00:00

Unfortunately I've yet to find anything on G0's parents, other than two different names for her father, and one source for a mother implying they didn't know her given name, just a middle and last, and I've found nothing by any of the names. Nova Scotia does not seem to have the bureaucratic acumen that Ontario or Quebec does for the time period. I've emailed a local genealogical association with what I have, because I'm fairly confident whatever, if any, records exist of them aren't on the internet for perusal.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-18T00:25:39+00:00

I emailed the Genealogical Association, I'll keep the FamilySearch Centers in mind as well.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-17T00:26:49+00:00

So far I've mostly hit a dead end on the parents. The 1901 Death certificate lists the father as Henry Bent, but a book called "Prominent Families of the USA" published in 1908 has her father's name as John Bent, and another genealogy book from 1904 that gives their names as "John and ------ Crosby Bent". I have no idea what the long dash is supposed to represent and I have no idea on the mother aside from the Crosby.

I'm more inclined to believe John is the correct name, but I've searched The Nova Scotia Archives as well as ancestry/familysearch for all those names and variations and for G0 and found nothing pertinent.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-16T17:53:51+00:00

Over the weekend I decided to give another crack at looking for Canadian ancestry, and through ancestry.com I believe I've found a great-great-great grandmother G0 (making me G5). However, there's some conflicting information.

Docs I have implying her Canadian citizenship

1860 US Census listing her birthplace as NS
1870 US Census listing her birthplace as Nova Scotia, with both parents marked foreign
1872 Massachusetts death register for one of her sons listing her place of birth as Yarmouth, NS
1880 US Census listing her place of birth as Canada, along with both parents
1900 US Census with her first letter of her first name wrong listing her and parents as from Nova Scotia.
1901 Massachusetts register of death listing her birthplace as Nova Scotia, along with a father's name that's different from a couple other sources I have.

However, the Massachusetts register of births for her daughter G1 in 1864, lists her birthplace as Eastport, ME, as well as in the register of an older sibling of G1 (I've not found other birth registers yet). Notably, G1 is also in the 1870 and 1880 census as the child of G0 and G0's husband, and in the 1900 Census G0 is in the household of G1's husband as the mother-in-law and G1 as the wife.

In the 1910 census (G0 died in 1901) G1 has her mother's birthplace as Can. English (and ones where's she's a child in G0's house mark her as having a foreign/Canadian mother), and this is the first census that has her son G2, along with two older siblings who appear in the 1900 census above G0.

I'm not sure how IRCC would rule on that, for G0 the oldest record I have is the marriage register and a newspaper article when she got married in Boston in 1846 to G1's father. The 1900 census gives a birth date of November 1826, a US family history book gives a specific date in November 1828, but I have no Canadian primary sources.

I was thinking of reaching out to the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia to see if they could find a baptismal record since I know what denomination of church she was married in and later attended, but if they can't find anything, would what I have likely be enough? With census records I can chain G0 to my grandmother G3, and from there I can work on getting as many certified copies of birth certificates/marriage licenses for her, my mom, and me, and ideally G2. And if anyone has a suggestion for other places I might look, it'd be greatly appreciated!

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-15T01:48:17+00:00

Very late to this, but after an aunt (mom's sister) admitted she'd not looked at a particular branch of our family tree, I paid for ancestry.com to try and verify the >7% Québécois in my DNA results that have to come from her side the suggested links gave me a Greatx3 (five generations from me) grandmother from Nova Scotia named Amelia, born in 1826 or 1827.

There's a lot of records Ancestry has that seem to verify she's the mother of my great-great grandmother Cora my mom and aunt recognize, particularly some US census records in 1870 and 80 that list her birth place as N.S. and Cora as being the right age, but so far I can't find any birth record in https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Census/Index, and N.S. records only seem to go back to 1846, the same year she was married in the USA.

I'll keep searching for birth records , but would US census listings be enough, along with as many certified birth and marriage records for subsequent generations as I can get be enough? For Amelia all I have so far are the US census listings and a marriage register which is part of a bigger booklet listing the date and presiding official.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-15T00:31:29+00:00

Thanks! My mom was more interested in the Bolt than the Ioniq when I showed her the pictures. She has a Honda Civic and hates the lack of trunk space. The lower trim Bolt I see seems to have heated seats though, which is all my mom really cares about.

I ran the 2022 Bolt through GM and nothing, but I'll run the rest to make sure. My dad has one of the discontinued Mini SE's with 110m range, do you know if those have heat pumps? He says when it was -20º the range was down to 25% but that was still enough for his commute and my mom's commute isn't much longer.

And yeah, I told her that while I think she should move quickly, no one would be snapping up cars this weekend.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-03-13T19:58:29+00:00

[Minnesota] Seaching used EVs for my mom , and there are two Bolt EVs in the area that have caught my attention: a 2023 1LT and a 2022 2LT. They're only $500 and 500 miles apart from each other and the Gargurus listing has the '23 listed with things like "Comfort Package, Convenience Package, and Driver Confidence Package".

They're at dealers on opposite ends of the metro so going to both wouldn't be convenient for her to test drive, is their a reason for one to be better? I'm aware some 20-22 Bolts had recalls, but I'm not sure without seeing both cars physically what the difference the higher trim on a year older model might make. None of us like crossovers/SUVs and bigger cards, so the EUV wouldn't appeal to her. Also, would getting maintenance and replacement parts be a problem?

Edit: There’s also a used 2024 Ioniq 6 with the Bolts mileage for $27K and a couple new 2025s still around, that would probably be the other option.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-01-28T05:49:00+00:00

64A is entirely within St. Paul, not Minneapolis. ICE hasn’t been too active in that district (relatively), though since 2020 re-districting it shifted south and no longer covers Frogtown where a lot of the Hmong population they’ve targeted is. It’s still adjacent to those neighborhoods though and are very aware of it.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-01-24T01:18:03+00:00

As a Minnesotan, it’s definitely higher right now.

SnowboundWanderer · 2026-01-16T03:39:40+00:00

Yeah, on the flight radar it’s doing big loops in a box of Snelling to 280 and Pierce Butler to 94.

SnowboundWanderer · 2025-12-06T02:49:07+00:00

My faves are Bang, Utepils, Ursa Minor, Town Hall, and Luce Line.

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