Such a great list - it should be subtitled "I Feel Your Pain", as I'm sure others know of the difficultly of researching ancestors who lived only in "wild lands" and seemingly avoided the civil servants' record books! I am looking for the ship(s) that carried these two to Canada 1825 to 1843; they probably originated from Ulster (now Northern Ireland): Thomas TOTTEN b. 4/22/1819? in Ireland, and Sarah SPROAT b. 10/31/1820 in Ireland or Scotland; from a 1926 letter about them: "[they] came from Ireland when young people to Canada, got aquainted there and were married; lived there sometime; the children were all born there; there were thirteen. [Thomas]'s occupation was farming rented farms..." Some of their children, all born in Canada West: 1) James b. 4/5/1844; the letter says born in Waterloo, but some 20th century records say Kingston 2) Mary Elizabeth b. 7/14/1845; living with husband in 1871 in Strathroy 3) Thomas, Jr. b. 9/14/1846 in Hamilton 7) William M. b. 3/19/1855 in Toronto 13) Alfred Edward b. 4/1866 By 1866, all except Mary had moved to western Michigan. This is about all I currently know. Searching in Canada, Ireland, and Scotland has been largely fruitless, because as "a farmer of rented farms", they moved so much. However, there is one gnat of a clue: William was the last to pass away, and his death record states his mother's maiden name as Sarah MERICRAFT (possibly MERICROFT). This name does not appear to be a common surname, nor even an Irish townland (as MERI - CROFT). Two other unexplored possibilities occur: that MERICRAFT/MERICROFT was a kind ship captain, or the "master" in the case that Sarah was an indentured servant. Tim Totten Lansing, Michigan, USA

Hello Tom, I think you have more to go on than you realize in your Canadian quest. :-) Here are my suggestions for further research: On 4 May 2002 at 9:56, Tim Totten wrote: > > Thomas TOTTEN b. 4/22/1819? in Ireland, and Sarah SPROAT b. > 10/31/1820 in Ireland or Scotland; from a 1926 letter about One question - further in your email you say that Sarah's name was not Sproat but Mericra/oft. Which is correct? > Some of their children, all born in Canada West: > 1) James b. 4/5/1844; the letter says born in Waterloo, but > some 20th century records say Kingston You have some great clues here! You know that in 1844 the family was in Waterloo or Kingston. I would take a careful look at the sources for each - is it family lore? Primary sources? If you can weigh one more heavily than the other you can look in the 1842 census (if one exists) for the area of interest. I have searched Waterloo area and some very early census and tax assessment lists survive. Finding an 1842 census is your dream because it will provide you with the number of years the family has been "in the Province". > 2) Mary Elizabeth b. > 7/14/1845; living with husband in 1871 in Strathroy 3) Thomas, > Jr. b. 9/14/1846 in Hamilton Now you have another clue! You need the 1851 census for Hamilton. It may be (based on what you have told us for William's birth, below, that you need Toronto 1851 but why not start with Hamilton? 7) William M. b. 3/19/1855 in > Toronto > 13) Alfred Edward b. 4/1866 So you know that by 1861 census time you may, with any luck, find the family still in Toronto > > This is about all I currently know. Searching in Canada, > Ireland, and Scotland has been largely fruitless, because as "a > farmer of rented farms", they moved so much. Your search need not be fruitless. In fact a Thomas Totten did purchase land in 1830 in Lanark. (his name shows on the CLRI). Whether it is your Thomas is up to you to evaluate. The CLRI (Ontario Land Record Index) is a good tool as long as you keep in mind that it is an index only and that it only records the first time owner of land after purchase from the Crown. If you are lucky and your ancestor appears on the CLRI you have other options to pursue, depending on the type of sale, grant, or lease, and the time period. Taking the Thomas Totten I found, the record reads Name of Locatee: Totton [sic] Thomas Residence: not given Township/Town/City: Lanark Conc 4 Lot 10 Date ID: 5 Issue Date 1830/09/10 Transaction Type: S Type of FreeGrant: -- Type of Lease/Sale: CL Archival Reference: 01 CIII3 001 096 >From this we know that Thomas Totton [sic] purchased as a sale, Clergy Land Lot 10, Conc. 4 in Lanark on 1830/09/10. The Archival Reference means that there *may* be more details on the original document which can be found in Clergy Reserves, 1829-1924. What are Clergy Reserves Sales? In July 1827, the clergy reserves had to be sold. To limit land speculation, actual settlement on the land was mandatory, and payment of rent arrears on leased lots was required before any sale. This specific CLRI entry can be found on microfilm MS 693, Reel 189 page 96. This is all explained (and a link to the conversion tables is given) on my CLRI pages at http://olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/clri.shtml Land records are not the only source. There are newspaper accounts, wills, court records, education records (I found my ancestors on an old school list for the 1860s), petitions, tax rolls, assessment rolls, voters lists, church records... and more. I could go on but instead let me direct to my article on immigration before 1865 (details are there and I really don't want to repeat myself when you can easily click on the link) AND to my section on Researching Ontario Records. I have links to each 'category' such as census records, land records, newspapers, etc etc. I also have links to Special Collections which may prove helpful. I have links to the online index to Surrogate and Probate court records - perhaps your ancestors were involved in a court episode - land, disputes, whatever -- that may have required documentation on them. http://olivetreegenealogy.com/articles/immcanpre1865.shtml http://olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/ Your goal, IMO, should be to gather more information and details/facts on your family - in a timeline manner. You can set up census years as a guide - and start filling in blanks. For eg you know that by 1844 the family was in CW (Canada West, now present day Ontario) To summarize here is what you have told us re the family's movements: ca 1819 - in Ireland 1844 - in Waterloo or Kingston 1846 - in Hamilton 1855 - in Toronto 1866 - in USA So - find the County, find out what census records are available and gather your information on the family. You are so lucky to have this family in Ontario for 1851 and 1861 census at a minimum. With any luck you'll find them in 1842. (Think positively!) The 1861 census has an agricultural section so be sure you check that as well as the personal section. You may get an exact land location, and if you do, you can do more checking on that specific piece of land in Abstract Indexes to Deeds or Township Papers. (See http://olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/land.shtml for more info as to what can be found in Abstract Indexes to deeds) Perhaps you will find relatives living nearby. Finding them on the census records will give you possibly more precise info as to where they moved and when. I have a page with links to Ontario census records that are online. If you are lucky, the ones you want will be there; if not, it's good old fashioned slogging through microfilm http://olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/census.shtml Then you can start looking at tax and assessments - and farmer's directories - what a great tool they are! Check County Atlases. Your Thomas may be found there. Check the OCFA online - were any other children born to them and possibly died What religion were they? You can search church records if you know the religion. The Ontario Archives has excellent resources which you use to find more about your family. Once all that is done then (IMO) you should start looking for an arrival, keeping in mind that you may never find one! Remember, ships lists before 1865 are few and far between BUT with luck you'll come up with a more precise immigration year, and be able to go from there. The NAC does have some lists. Ingeneas has lists. I have lists. The ShipsLists has newspaper accounts and some names. Ireland holds shipping lists.... I have many ships lists from Irish shipping agent records that will be going online on Olive Tree Genealogy as I finish scanning and coding them. These should prove helpful to many researchers. Again, you can read my article on immigration and get the details and URLs when you are ready to begin. http://olivetreegenealogy.com/articles/immcanpre1865.shtml Oh - and be prepared to hunt the old fashioned way -- offline :-) Lorine Lorine McGinnis Schulze -- * The Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ * Past Voices:Letters Home http://pastvoices.com/ * USA Genealogy http://www.geocities.com/usa_genealogy/ * My Family Branches http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~myfamilybranches/ otg@csolve.net or olivetreegen@netscape.net