Wordless Wednesday - Four Generations

This picture contains four generations of my grandmother's family! On the left is Nils (Nelson) Pehrsson, my great great great grandfather. Beside him (back row) is his daughter, my great great grandmother, Alice Mary Peterson. Beside her is her daughter, my great grandmother, Mildred Grace Watts. In the front is Mildred's eldest daughter, my grandma's sister, Dorothy Angus.

Finding Mary Elizabeth Prince's parents

A couple of months ago, I wrote about my troubles confirming the parents of Mary Elizabeth Prince. I had found a census record from when Elizabeth was young, in which she was living with her parents, but I couldn't be sure it was the right family, because I didn't have anything definite linking her to her parents. I'm happy to say that that has changed.

On FamilySearch, I found a death record for an Elizabeth Peterson, who's father's name was Henry Prince. This is definitely my ancestor, since she has the right birth last name, married name, and birth year, and died in an area of Ontario that many of my ancestors on that side of the family lived in. And the father's name is Henry Prince, which matches the name of the father on that census record I'd found.

As further confirmation, that death record says that Elizabeth's mother's name was Elson. The census only had the first name, Sarah Jane, so this didn't prove anything right away. But then I found this 1881 census record for the family. It includes Henry and Sarah Jane, along with a bunch of their children (not Elizabeth, since she was already married), but it also includes two other people, whose relation to the family I can't be sure on since the 1881 census doesn't specify this. Their names are Mary Elson (age 75) and James Prince (age 33). Now we have the connection to the Elson surname. I wonder if Mary is Sarah Jane's mother. It certainly seems promising! And James could be a brother of Henry's, perhaps.

So, in conclusion, Henry Prince and Sarah Jane Elson are my great great great great grandparents! And I'm a tiny bit German! Neat! Genealogy can be such a satisfying hobby. :-)

Madness Monday: Mary Elizabeth Prince

Mary Elizabeth (Prince) Peterson is my matrilineal great great great grandmother. She was born in Ontario in 1860. In 1880, she married Nils "Nelson" Peterson. On the census records I do have, 1881, 1891, 1901, and 1911, she is consistently recorded as being of English origin, and her religion as methodist (except in 1901, when she has apparently converted to the Church of England, and in 1911, when she's Anglican).

Now, I may have found her in 1871, before she was married, which would lead me to her parents. But I'm hesitant to get too excited, when I don't have anything definite linking her to her parents, like a birth or marriage record. I can't seem to find their marriage or Mary's birth anywhere.

In the 1871 census record I found, there is an Elizabeth Prince. She's 11 years old, born in Ontario, and of English origin. She methodist, and lives in Middlesex East, which is where she's living 10 years later once she's married to Nelson. It just seems so very promising! I so want to believe that it's her, and that Henry and Sarah Jane Prince are my 4x great grandparents, and that I'm 1/64 Dutch (Sarah Jane is of Dutch origin).

I'm hoping to have a chance soon to go to the library and use Ancestry Library Edition to do some digging. I couldn't find Mary's birth or marriage on familysearch.org, but I'm still hopeful that the records are somewhere.