AutomatedGenealogy.com

Good morning all, I just joined and am hoping to get a few answers to questions and hopefully also be able to help others.
My great grandfather is driving me nuts. I keep finding strange details about him but yesterday blew me away.

Is it possible that a man in 1901 would appear in a BC census and also in an Ontario census? My great grandfather work for the Canadian Pacific as a Railway Conductor so if anyone could get around from one end of the country to the other it would be someone like him. The info in the 2 documents I found are not an exact match but what is exact is the name and DOB:

Arthur Martin DOB October 10, 1864

Is this just coincidence? For the record, I dont think this man was a Saint.

Thank you for any comment you may have

Hi Skipper -

Yes, it does happen that individuals and famillies get enumerated more than once, although it is less common for those entries to be in different provinces. I have children amongst my ancestry enumerated both at boarding school and with their family for example.

For others to help determine whether your two entries are in fact the same individual, could you please be more specific about the location of these entries (district, sub-district, page). I assume "Martin" rather than "Arthur" is the surname?

Thanks. Mark

Hi Mark,

Mark here also. Thank you for your answer. Your comment about boarding school and home does make sense. I need to wrap my head around the fact that this was 100+ years ago. Folks probably did not carry wallets with them with drivers licenses etc.

I can get a specific as you want.
In 1891 I find him in District No. 46, Algoma West, S District No. 3, Chapleau. I am sure this is him. My great grandmother is listed tere with him.
In 1901 I find him in District No. 5, Yale and Cariboo, S District 3, Riding S-E Kootenay, Cranbrook. The name of wife and son here are not familiar to me but his information is correct.
In 1901 I also find him in District No. 117 Toronto East, S. District A, Ward 1. Another woman is listed here and different children and his occupation is different. The eye opener was of course the DOB...October 10, 1864!

Is this just a coincidence? Nothing is easy with this man.

And yes, his name was Arthur James Martin. He was the great uncle of Prime Minister Paul Martin..and also the black sheep of the family apparently.

Thanks for your help Mark,

Mark

Mark,

The two 1901 entries are:
Martin Arthur, ON, TORONTO (East/Est) (City/Cité), Ward/Quartier No. 1, a-4, page 3, line 35; and
Martin Arthur J., BC, YALE & CARIBOO, Kootenay (East/Est) - (South Riding/Division Sud), e-4, page 23, line 38.

the 1891 entry is Arthur Martin, page 11, line 9

Although the census indicates that they are both born on 10 Oct 1864, I do not beleive that they are the same individual when looking at the other columns:

Arthur enumerated in Ontario, the census entry indicates that he was born in Ontario urban, of Irish origin, religion: Presb, Occupation: Teamster, working in a factory for 12 mth for an annual salary of $400; while
Arthur J. enumerated in B.C., the census entry indicates that he was born in Quebec urban, of French origin, (no religion indicated), Occupation : RY Conductor, working for 12 mth for an annual salary of $900.

the 1897 census entry match the 1901 entry in B.C. except for the name of his wife. Since his wife in 1897 is Euginie his wife in 1901 is Josephine, did Euginie died between 1897 and 1901?

I would disregard the Arthur Martin enumerated in ON in 1901 as a coincidence that they have the same birth date especially based on the occupation difference.

Cheers

_________________
Alain

Alain,

Thank you for your message. I was hoping to hear something like what you said. My concern with the Arhtur Martin from Ontariostems from the fact that my great grandfather was not known to the family. Every time I turn around, there's a new little twist in the information I find. Because of this, I have this "not again" kind of reaction to anything I find that could concern him.

To answer your question, no...Eugenie had not died before 1901. He left his family after the birth of my grandfather (Henri Paul) in 1898 and disappeared..or so I've always been told. So, the 1901 BC census seems to show him with a new family and I thought if he has a 2nd family, why not a 3rd in Ontario (a girl in every port)?

On a related note, I have not tracked down my great grandmother after 1891 nor have I found my grandfather.

Thanks again. Good job you folks are doing here.