BillyH Posted 27 June , 2022 Share Posted 27 June , 2022 (edited) I am researching a British soldier who gave his next of kin in 1914 as his mother Mrs M. Donnelly, and she was living at 48 Empire Avenue in Toronto. I barely know anything about the soldier other than that his name was Donnelly. I am familiar with using the wonderful (free) Canadian archives for Canadian soldiers but that would not help me in this case. Can anyone tell me where I can find a free Canadian census (or any other document with that address) from 1911 - 1921 (or later)? (I only subscribe to Ancestry records for the U.K.) BillyH. Edited 27 June , 2022 by BillyH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 27 June , 2022 Share Posted 27 June , 2022 In library at present which has world access. 1921 Canadian census. 48 Empire Avenue, Toronto. Henry ?????????. Can't make out the surname but it's nothing like Donnelly and no M forenames. It's transcribed as Selwyn. There is a Minnie Donnelly and family at 68 Empire Ave, Toronto which seems a better bet. Her husband is Charles, she is 32 from Ireland and he is 34 and English. Citizenship obtained in 1908 both Anglicans. That makes her a bit too young to have another serving son?? Children present ; Dorothy aged 10 - Emerson aged 1. Both born in Ontario. Image quality is quite poor. Nothing coming up for other years. TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyH Posted 27 June , 2022 Author Share Posted 27 June , 2022 Terrific work TEW, but it is definitely No. 48 Empire Avenue in 1914, she could have moved (or died) by 1921 though. The Donnelly's at No.68 don't fit either, the soldiers mother was a widow. Thanks for your time and trouble, BillyH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Brannen Posted 27 June , 2022 Share Posted 27 June , 2022 Like our military records, our census records are also free and available at: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/census.aspx What was the soldier's name and, if you know it, age and place of birth, in case he was in Canada for the 1911 census? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyH Posted 27 June , 2022 Author Share Posted 27 June , 2022 Thanks for that Keith, I will have a got at it this evening. BillyH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 28 June , 2022 Share Posted 28 June , 2022 I found the 1911 Canadian census which throws up potential address problems. I've also backtracked on the 1921 census. I have no knowledge of Toronto street names beyond modern Google maps. Anyway, the addresses on the 1921 census are actually given as 68 Empire etc. and not 'Empire Avenue'. Turn to the 1911 Census which has numbers around 90 Empire but still not actually Empire Avenue. Then there results for Empire Avenue but with numbers in the 580 range. I have no idea now if Henry Selwyn at '48 Empire' in 1921 is in Empire Avenue or not. Modern Empire Avenue only runs to 111 so where 586 was in 1911? TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyH Posted 28 June , 2022 Author Share Posted 28 June , 2022 5 hours ago, TEW said: Modern Empire Avenue only runs to 111 so where 586 was in 1911? Where did the 586 appear from? BillyH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 28 June , 2022 Share Posted 28 June , 2022 Tried different search terms with the 1911 census within Toronoto and 'Empire' as a keyword. Hovered the cursor over the results and a pop-up transcription appears with more detail including place of residence. This is where some entries say 'Empire' and others 'Empire Avenue' with house numbers. It maybe an error but there are a few such high numbers. TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyH Posted 29 June , 2022 Author Share Posted 29 June , 2022 Thanks for your efforts TEW. I tried to find a census using the website Keith suggested without any luck, but the address was definitely No.48 in 1915. I suppose his mother could have been living anywhere in 1911 or 1921. BillyH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 29 June , 2022 Share Posted 29 June , 2022 Just to show a snippet of the results for the 1911 census. All images courtesy of Ancestry. Some of the 116 places of habitation are more outskirts of Toronto. Mary Donnelly from Toronto West for example is about four miles from Empire Ave. Lincoln is across Lake Ontario, 30 ish miles as the crow flies It's a bit of a needle in a haystack job. It's possible the family emigrated after the census but before 1914 or she was widowed after the 1911 census. They could also have started out in any part of Canada before giving Ontario/Toronto a try and possibly moved again by 1921. The soldiers' name & age might be able to tie things down assuming he emigrated with his mother rather than stayed in the UK or he returned to join the BEF rather than the CEF. If you want to keep his details non-public you could message me and I'll try again. TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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