> You are right about the province changing. Manitoba > was originally known as the postage stamp province. > I think it was sometime in the 1890's that it > became the province it is today. I think that the boundaries make no difference as to this registration. The boundaries of the province were first expanded in 1881 (to their present east and west limits, and about halfway north from today's limit), long before the marriage occurred. The earliest Manitoba marriage registered was that of Thomas Cave BOULTON and Rose KNIGHT, in 1879. There were zero marriages registered for 1880, and 73 for 1881. In 1882, there were 707. After that, the numbers pretty steadily increase annually. Vital stats registrations commenced in Manitoba in 1879. In the initial two or three years of registration, there was probably a fair amount of laxity in reporting, but by the time of this marriage (1894), I believe that reporting would have been fairly consistant. A few may have never been registered. A number were registered at later dates, some much later. > There are mistakes in the vital stats. There are, but they're rather exceptional. For the most part, the stats are quite accurate. Errors most frequently are seen in late registrations, and in death registrations (in which a relative, minister, doctor, or other third party gave the details) in which the person reporting the event was honestly mistaken in some detail. Proud new parents rarely provided incorrect information about their progeny. > My great grandparents died in the early 1900's > in Gladstone and are buried there but they are > not in the vital stats. I have not been able to > determine the reason. I don't doubt they're buried there; however, what proof do you have that they actually died in Gladstone? Could they have died elsewhere, and been returned to Gladstone for interment? Could their surname or given names have been incorrectly entered by the registrar, or incorrectly stated by the reporting person? Spelling errors are the most common reason for registrations not showing up. Sometimes diligent searching can uncover them with surprising inaccuracies that made them appear not to have been registered. tricia