Copyright 2022, CABS for Reflections From the Fence
This continues a series of posts, done in a very efficient (make that speedy fast) manner to share some research on the ancestors. This is NOT intended to be the end all to end all report. It's a work in progress, to show you what I have found, right or wrong. Kind feedback is welcomed via comments.
Let's begin.
Meet - - Edna May (nee) Fenton.
Wait!! What??
OK, you all may recognize the name Edna May (nee) Fenton, but, as the wife of Archibald Norman Lashbrook, AKA, Arthur Norman Stevens. I have written about her life as Mrs. Stevens before. You can use the search tab at the top left, use her name Edna.
If you search you will also find a post I did back in 2017, when I first discovered this Sisco connection.
Yesterday, I revisited a number of Nova Scotia vital records images. They are better nowadays than they were eons ago when I first started using their web site. Difficulty has popped up now tho, as my cell phone (my connection TO the world of the internet) refuses to let me access the Archives of Nova Scotia where they have updated the software and images, and ohhh, I am so sad, as the site is lovely. But, I regress. So, yesterday, while hanging around in a medical office that had free wifi, I downloaded 20 plus images from the archives. Some of these may turn out to be duplicates, that's fine. Some I know I never had, now I do. Again I regress - -
Yesterday, I revisited a number of Nova Scotia vital records images. They are better nowadays than they were eons ago when I first started using their web site. Difficulty has popped up now tho, as my cell phone (my connection TO the world of the internet) refuses to let me access the Archives of Nova Scotia where they have updated the software and images, and ohhh, I am so sad, as the site is lovely. But, I regress. So, yesterday, while hanging around in a medical office that had free wifi, I downloaded 20 plus images from the archives. Some of these may turn out to be duplicates, that's fine. Some I know I never had, now I do. Again I regress - -
As I looked at the Sisco family story again, I decided it was time to take one more research dive into Edna May.
One stop was the Library and Archives Canada, specifically, the census enumerations. I looked at every "Fenton" I could find listed on the 1901 census index.
I found only 2 possible gals, as you can see from these screen shots, one named May, one named Edna:
I have no idea who Alex and Louisa Wright are. I have no Louisa Fentons in my data base. I have no Alex Wright in my data base either.
Then, I started wondering, why would she be in Cape Bretton, and how far is that from Yarmouth? So, I checked maps. Distance about 600 miles. Did she really travel that far? Did she have the financial means to do so? I seriously have my doubts.
The Edna in Yarmouth is our gal, living with her father and her step-mother and a brother. This is no surprise, and is exactly how I have accepted it to be for years.
As part of today's post, I will share the "marriage" I found for Edna, err, May, to Alvin Sisco. With all it's MIA warts. SIGHHH.
As part of today's post, I will share the "marriage" I found for Edna, err, May, to Alvin Sisco. With all it's MIA warts. SIGHHH.
That very light part says "Affadavit only returned". There is no full date, only the information that it is filed in 1908.
And, here we note, no birth places, parents, rank or profession or witnesses are stated.
WHY? I doubt I will ever know. Was the marriage documentation just lost? Have seen that before. WHY? Nothing. Probably because I want it so badly?? Ya, that's why. OK, sarcasm set aside - -
WHY? I doubt I will ever know. Was the marriage documentation just lost? Have seen that before. WHY? Nothing. Probably because I want it so badly?? Ya, that's why. OK, sarcasm set aside - -
The 1911 Census extraction index reads thusly:
1911 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia, District 53 Yarmouth, Sub district 20, Enumeration district 4 Town of Yarmouth.
Name: Edna Siscoe
Gender: Female
Marital status: Married
Race or Tribe: French
Age: 21
Birth Date: Mar 1890. ** Always questions surround her birth date, year and month.
Birth Place: Nova Scotia
Census Year: 1911
Relation to Head of House: Wife. *** Says she is the wife of Alvin.
Province: Nova Scotia
District: Yarmouth
District Number: 53
Sub-District: 22 - Yarmouth
Sub-District Number: 22
Place of Habitation: Clements Ave
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Alvin Siscoe 23
Edna Siscoe 21
Muriel Siscoe 2
Alice Siscoe 1
Bernard Siscoe 1/12
David Siscoe 18 ** Presuming this is another brother of Alvin, have not researched him yet.
Arthur Siscoe 17. ** This is Avin's brother, who married another Fenton gal.
If you read the actual image of this enumeration, it shows Alvin, Muriel, Alice, Bernard, David and Arthur as "Negro". It shows Edna as "French."
Alvin's death record states he is "Mulatto". I have NOT researched his parents any further at this time.
For the record, I do have Alvin's brother Arthur Sisco's death record, it shows that he is "Colored".
I will continue to keep an open mind about Edna and Alvin, but, I still feel this is her first marriage, which was short and filled with tragedy. Her husband, daughter, Alice and son Bernard, all died by 1918, deaths caused by consumption or some form of tuberculosis.
And, not one bit of this tells us when Edna came to America, ended up in the Detroit Michigan area, married to Archibald Norman Lashbrook, who was passing as Arthur Norman Stevens, Sr.
* Disclaimers, I use Find A Grave, Ancestry dot com, FamilySearch, several newspaper subscriptions, free sites, such as Virginia Chronicles, Virginia Chancery Cases online at the Library of Virginia and more to research my ancestors. I pay for subscriptions, full price.
** My judgements may or may not be correct. Transcriptions may or may not have errors.
*** Links, URL's, for the most part will not be included henceforth on my posts, as so many of them change and then I have to come back and try to re-discover and relink. Frankly folks, I have no desire to spend my limited time here on this side of the sod with those kinds of do overs. As researchers, or just members of the internet community, sites such as Find A Grave are easy to find, some are free to use and with the information I am sharing with you, hopefully, you can duplicate the research/findings. That said, I have seen memorials at Find A Grave be removed. If you have questions, I suggest you leave a nice comment for me. OR find the method I have outlined on my blog for contacting me.
**** I hope the usual happens, within hours, sometimes minutes, I do another search and something shows up. Well, I can hope.
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