> My clues are derived from the obituary for James > Blair Aitken who died in British Columbia in 1951: > "... James B. Aitken died at his home Thursday. > ... he came to Canada and settled in Manitoba in > 1892 where he married Margaret Taylor in 1894." I notice that the stats include a marriage for James AIKINS contracted on 12 Dec 1894 (reg'n # 1895,001234). The bride is shown as Sarah Jane MONTGOMERY. Is it possible that this is his marriage, but that the bride's name has been incorrectly entered, or incorrectly transcribed? In that year, there were only four men of the forename James, and surname initial "A" that were married in Manitoba. The first thing I'd do, is attempt to review the original document of this marriage myself, or have a reliable agent check it. Mistranscription is highly possible, and easily determined. A mis-entry by the registration clerk is also quite possible, but probably not so easily determined. If you can identify the location of the marriage (church), possibly the church register would show the bride's name to be different from that in the registration. Review of the registration would provide the names of his parents, and thus show whether or not this is the James AITKEN that you seek. > (I should imagine James's widow would know where > they married as all the other details on the death > certificate are accurate.) James and Margaret appear in the 1901 census, in Brandon, living in her parents' household (William & Mary TAYLOR). There appears to be no doubt that his wife indeed was Margaret TAYLOR. From the census, I notice that Margaret and her parents were also born in Scotland, and also arrived in Manitoba in 1892. > I have also tried looking in the Ontario marriage > indexes without success. Brandon is close to the USA border, and close to the Saskatchewan border. It's improbable, but possibly they may have travelled west or south for their marriage. Maybe they went back to Scotland for their marriage and honeymoon, although I think she would have mentioned it had they done so. Perhaps this truly is a case of a marriage not having ever been registered. The suggestion that you should check the church register is a good one, but methinks the Anglican Church registers won't help you. I notice from the census that the family was entirely Presbyterian. tricia

Am seeking information on the following, who were married at Gretna, Manitoba Ferdinand Donat and Catharine Whl married Dec 25, 1903 Carolina Donat and Jacob Hollinger married July 29, 1908 Catharina Donat and Fredrick Stelzer married Jan 1, 1911 Any information or descendants would be greatly appreciated. Delores Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada