Ontario, Canada in the 1800's.

Question

Since we are celebrating St. Patrick's Day this month, I started researching more on my Irish line.  This question is for someone familiar with Ontario Canada in the 1800's.  I found a baptism record for my 2x GGM Lucy and her sister Mary in Leeds, Johnstown in 1848.  Leeds is north of Gananoque and Johnstown is NE of Brockville.  The baptism record states that Mary was born in 1840 in Queenston, Ontario, Canada.  Queenston is near Buffalo and Queenston Heights is north of Cape Vincent, NY (which is closer, since Lucy and her father James moved to Jefferson County, New York).  When tracing their parents, what area should I be looking to find sources?  Their last name was Carnes (Irish) and there seems to be a few with all of the family's names spelled in different variations "Cairnes", "Kearns" and "Carns" in Ontario Canada in the areas of Queenston and Leeds during that time.  Where should I be looking in Ontario Canada to find more information on their father James Carnes between 1840 and about 1850?

Comments

if he was actually born in Ireland, you might want to check out Grosse-Isle project, which was the quarantine station for immigrants for a long time.

Answer 1

The only record I have been able to find after a quick search is the baptism record you already have.

http://bowergenealogy.ca/resources/methodist/1/648.jpg

If they were at Queenston, Niagara, records are few and far between, this is probably the best source I know of https://sites.google.com/site/niagarasettlers/home

Try contacting the various Leeds and Grenville historical societies, some of which are listed on https://discover.leedsgrenville.com/en/see-do/genealogy.aspx

You probably already have the Rootsweb page https://sites.rootsweb.com/~onleedsg/

The Rideau lakes library has a number of local contacts and historical information, https://rideaulakeslibrary.ca/learning/local-history-genealogy/

Other possibilties, https://leedsandgrenville.ogs.on.ca/

There is also a Leeds and Grenville Facebook page

Also the Kingston library has historical information, https://research.digitalkingston.ca/places-and-institutions/neighbouring-counties/leeds-and-grenville-county

There was a local census taken in I think about 1840, it was not part of the official census, I will have to look for the source. Some of my DH ancestors settled in the same area in the 1830s. https://sites.rootsweb.com/~onleedsg/research-census.html

There are very few sources pre 1850, you could also try the Ontario land records, links to which can be found at http://ontario.heritagepin.com/leeds-grenville-county-in-historical-ontario/

That's all for now!

Comments

I didn't have the handwritten record of the baptism.  Thank you!  It will take some time to go through all of this information.  I appreciate it.  I noticed some sites charge for services.

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I think the Leeds and Grenville OGS Ontario Genealogical Society is the only site that would cost $ because you have to be a member to access/buy any of their records or publications, they do have information almost no one else will have. They are a charity.

You might to be able to ask on the Leeds and Grenville Facebook if anyone had any docs that could be useful.

Answer 2

It might be worth checking the Library and Archives Canada resources for Ontario:

https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/genealogy/places/Pages/ontario.aspx

And the 1842 census:

https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1842-canada-west/Pages/about-census.aspx

Comments

Thank you.

Answer 3

There were Kerns and Cairns families living in Lincoln County during the War of 1812 however James would not have been born yet.  You may want to look for family histories in that area to see if any of them have a James born about 1820.  There is also a possibility that they may have been Loyalists, in which case you might want to check the list at uelac.org.

Comments

James came from Northern Ireland, so I don't believe he or his parents were part of the Revolutionary War, and he was born after the War of 1812.  He was in NYS by 1850 and remarried to his second wife.  I have found no information on the death or burial of his first wife.  I also checked other family trees for different spellings on his last name.  There were a few around his age in the 1800's in Ontario, Canada and New York.