r/citizenshipgenealogy

I posted about my great great grandfather in Genealogy and someone recommended this group. I am trying to find out who his parents were.

This is everything I know:

Maxime Loiselle, born around 1842 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Immigrated to Oswego, New York and all his children were born in NY. He married Alphonsine St. Denis. I know a lot about her family but nothing about his.

I know is he had a brother named Charles (also born in Quebec), and an older sister (I don't know her name) who was in an asylum. He fought in the Civil War, enlisting in 1864 in Ithaca, NY, age 22. He and his brother Charles were under the guardianship of a man named Edward S. Mitchell in Oswego, NY when they were teenagers.

I know nothing about Maxime's parents. I only know he was born in Quebec and about his siblings from news articles about his arrest. I can't find him on any census records either. Everything I know is from news articles about him after he had legal trouble and was arrested.

He died Sept 17, 1913 in Plattsburgh, NY.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Hello fine people of reddit, I would like your opinions please

My great grandfather was born in Canada in 1868. I would like to use him as G0. When I apply for Canadian citizenship. Do you think I have enough proof?

I have not found his (G0's) birth record or his baptismal record. I have sent in a request for the baptismal records of the church I believe the family belonged to but it will take months to hear back and there's no guarantee its even there.

What I do have:

Death Certificate from 1935 listing his place of birth as Canada

1871 Canadian census G0's birth place Canada

1880 US census G0's birth place Canada

1900 US census G0's birth place Canada

1910 US census G0's birth place Canada

1920 US census G0's birth place Canada and 1st mention of my grandmother (G1)

1930 US census birth place Canada with grandmother (G1)also listed

I also have my grandmother's (G1) birth certificate and marriage certificate listing G0 as her father. I also have access to her death certificate but haven't seen it yet so I'm unsure if her father (G0) is listed

My father's (G2) birth certificate, marriage certificate and death certificate all with mention of my grandmother (G1)

My(G3) birth certificate with my father's (G2) name

Hello, I am working my way through a C3 application. I put in a request for my grandfather's birth certificate 40 business days ago, and haven't seen anything other than the VitalCheck saying in progress... Does anyone have a timeline or recent experience? I know it says 21-45 business days. I also requested a marriage license; it's not really needed, but I thought it would be nice to have another record listing his place of birth in Canada.

Anyway, does anyone have any idea of how long it will take? Or suggestions? I can't do an in-person request since I live around 18 hours away.

NYC census records show my great-grandfather was born in Canada (maybe Montréal?), probably in 1871 or 1872. He might have come to the U.S. as a child or young adult, and there are records of like 36 people born with his name around his birth year in Quebec -- and he might have been born elsewhere. The dates on the records on Ancestry.com vary wildly.

How do you figure out which person with that name is your ancestor? How do you prove it in a way that may persuade on a Canadian citizenship application?

ETA: Thanks to the advice here, I found the missing pieces that demonstrate my ancestor was born in Canada. Now I'm navigating how to get a certified baptismal record for the application. Thanks for the help, all.

My G0 (Margaret L'Esperance) was born in Essex County, Ontario in 1871. She is not in the vital statistics index for that year. I've tried multiple possible misspellings and multiple years just in case. Here's what I have:

- Margaret's 1895 marriage record that says she was born in Rochester, ON
- Margaret's confirmation record from 1883 in Woodslee, ON that only has names listed, no parents or birthplaces.
- My grandmother's 1915 Michigan birth certificate that says her mother (Margaret) was born in Canada
- Grandma's sibling's 1909 birth certificate with mother Margaret born in Ont. Canada.
- Margaret's Michigan death certificate that says she was born in South Woodslee, ON

The baptismal record for the (presumed) family church shows data up to April 1871, then continues from April 1872. She was born in May 1871, so she's not there. Why would there be such a gap?! I looked at pages before and after thinking it was a mistake, but it is just a one-year gap. (see photo) I checked other churches, but her baptism is not there.

Do I have enough?

https://preview.redd.it/p2u4u5p19kyg1.jpg?width=4516&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df29a8e787f361f23779c4e02cdb76f0c677f1b5

The Dominion of Canada didn't record births until 1869, but my G0 ancestor was born in Canada West in 1860. The only direct evidence I have is the 1861 Canada West Census listing him at almost 1 year old. No baptismal records turned up through United Church of Canada, LAC, Ancestry, OGS, or FamilySearch.

In 1870 the family moved to Iowa, where G1 (father) naturalized in 1881 — seven weeks after G0 turned 21, leaving G0 a retained British subject. US and Iowa censuses from 1880–1950 consistently list G0's birthplace as Canada.

What I have:

• Certified birth/death certificates for the full G1 → G3 (me) chain
• Marriage certificates for G1 and G2 via Ancestry
• Land records of G0's grandfather & father for Middlesex County, Ontario.
• Biographical & Historical Record of Greene & Carroll Counties, Iowa (1887, held at NYPL), documenting G0's father arriving in Quebec August of 1833, settling in Middlesex County, Ontario, then relocating to Iowa
• G0's grandfather donated a parcel of land in Middlesex County, Ontario to create a cemetery that is named for our surname.

Grateful for help with some questions:

1. Has anyone navigated a similar pre-Confederation records gap?
2. A YouTube roundtable with immigration lawyers suggested a Proof of No Record letter from Service Ontario. Their site only accepts dates well after 1860 and redirects to LAC — which also has nothing. Workaround?
3. For Ancestry marriage records sourced from reputable groups (LDS, etc.), are certified copies still needed? I'm worried uncertified copies will trip up the application.
4. No luck finding 1833 ship registers at the UK National Archives, Norfolk Record Office (Great Yarmouth), or on the Quebec arrival side. Suggestions for where else to look?

Hello! I am looking for immigration/naturalization documentation for my ancestors that came from Ontario to Michigan in 1870. I’m not sure what the process was back then but I know the US did not keep border crossing information in that specific area (Ontario to Michigan) in 1870, so I’m looking for immigration/naturalization information for the entire family. Can anyone provide resources for naturalization documentation in the US? Thank you!

So I've read opposing comments on the matter. I watched The Canadian Citizenship Podcast part 1 video on YouTube and he mentions that the pre-date of the 1977 question is redundant and doesn't matter, and you just put N/A or didnt live in Canada, and said that the naturalization question of ancestors was a moot point because their citizenship was retroactively restored. From the way I read it unbroken chain just means having the documentation connecting and proving you to the ancestor that was born in Canada in G0, and that was it. Nothing further needed. That some Americans have had their Canadian Citizenship restored claiming an ancestor born in Canada in the 1700s that naturalized in the US.

Then other comments have said that the G1 had to have been born before G0 "gave up their citizenship" and if born after that naturalization then the "chain is broken". How's that the case of naturalization is a moot point now and that ancestor and their subsequent descendants citizenship was retroactively restored?

So which is it?

hello!

i have a canadian born ancestor, she is extremely well documented, my grandma's grandma essentially. there's just one problem!

she's a *step* grandma, technically. and while i could make a clear line from her to me, would it even count? i've seen absolutely NOTHING on this, just a vague "she's your ancestor? you qualify." but she's not my *blood* ancestor. she immigrated to america, married my grandma's grandfather, raised their kids, etc.

i want so badly, more than anything, for this to count. but no one will tell me without shilling out hundreds of dollars or drowning in convoluted FAQs.

so is it *all* ancestors? truly all?

My G0 is my great-grandmother. She was born in 1872 in a remote region of western QC (Probably Bowman) before the local parish kept any records (I have been in touch with them), so I have nothing to document her birth. I have an 1881 Canadian census listing her as born in Canada, as does her death certificate. I also have a copy of a registry showing her marriage, which took place in Michigan. and lists her as born in Canada. She died in the US at the age of 27, so there is little else to find on her. Will this be enough?

My grandmother was born in Michigan a year before my GG died. I can obtain the proper documentation from me up to my grandmother.

I'm trying to find as much documentation I can about G0 who was born in NS in 1879.

I realize the NS Archives states that "from 1877 to October 1908 the government did not record births."

Here's what I know/have:

1878 - G0's parents married in NS - (there's a Marriages Solemnized log in the NS Archives)
1879 - G0 born.
1879 - G0's mother dies (gravestone lists birth/death dates)
1881 - Canada census lists father and G0 in NS.
1896 - G0 moves to NYC
1898 - G0 gets married in NYC to CT man - (FamilySearch lists some marriage log, but to see if I have to access the site at a FamilySearch center, which currently is 25+ miles away).
1900 - G0 had a kid - (birth record available online, listing mother from Canada)
1900 - city census lists G0's family, with G0 being from Canada (although one-month old baby seems to have different first name).

In lieu of a birth record is there any indication from successfully applications what they will accept?

Are there other sources that likely I don't know about or are available offline (I don't live in the NS area).

All the stuff up until she moved happened in the same area of NS.

I have been preparing all the documentation to use an ancestor born in Upper Canada in 1815 as G0 for a citizenship application udner Bill C-3. His grandparents & parents left the US after the American Revolution, and didn't appear to have been Canadian. I haven't been able to locate any baptism records, but found land petitions for his father both before and after his birth, plus militia rolls. While preparing one of the land petitions from ~7 years before his birth to print, I noticed that it states that the father has "taken the Oath of Allgience". Does that translate to G0's father having acquired Canadian citizenship at that time (1808)? If so, would that be a stronger claim than our current G0, whose birth records don't exist? The "accompanying Certificate" mentioned doesn't seem to be archived with this letter.

https://preview.redd.it/j7s4y7xsdgyg1.png?width=1678&format=png&auto=webp&s=bfbacd454d258ff71ba88763f3d060b5b69915e9

I'm wondering if records exist for this Quebec Catholic church for the 1830s, and if so, where. Familysearch has records starting from much later in the century only. The church dates back to 1744 and is located in Chatham Township. There should be baptism-marriage records from the 1830s, right?

Hi there, looking for help finding birth records for my Gen0. Her name was Janie E Edmonds, born 18 Oct 1883 Tabusintac, New Brunswick, Canada. Father: George Edmonds born 21 SEP 1853 Tabusintac, Newcastle, Northumberland, New Brunswick, Canada. Mother: Catherine Simpson born 1858 Prince Edward Island, Canada

Janie married Willis Orcutt. I found their marriage record showing both her and her parents place of birth as N.B but I keep seeing that this would only be considered "supporting" evidence, not primary. I can only find a hint of a birth record for what appears to be her sister Georgie but nothing for Janie.

Another issue i have is that Janie and Willis had a son, Lewis (my Gen1) born 17 Sep 1908 Holden, Penobscot, Maine, USA. whose birth record i found but his name is missing from the paper..I can only assume maybe they hadn't chosen a name yet since the space is completely blank. But the dates match up to what his age would be on the US census records I have found of the family and I still have living relatives that can confirm it is him based on dates and names. Am I cooked because of that?

My G0 John Kilfoy was born and raised in St Mary's, Perth, Ontario, but I can't seem to find his baptismal record. I've gone crazy flipping through years of old microfilm records but haven't had any luck. I can't find any vital records of his birth either.

I have 2 census records from Canada in 1881 and 1891 showing him at ages 10 and 19, according to his death record he was born around April 1871.

I have been able to find records for 4 of his 7 siblings (Older siblings Mary, Ellen, Elizabeth, and Francis) from two different parishes, St. Josephs in nearby Stratford and Holy Name of Mary in St Marys.

His parent's names are Francis (Frank) Kilfoy, and Ann(ie/a) Kilfoy (nee Kegan)

Any thoughts on where else I can look? Any and all help much appreciated! Happy to provide any additional info.

Hi all!

I'm looking into my mother's claim to citizenship (G3), as my father and I have a much more easily documentable one and I don't want her to be left out.

Her female G0 (Catholic, born Ontario 1853) lacks any readily available birth or marriage certificate, but I do have a couple of records that corroborate each other:

• an 1861 Canadian census that lists her under her maiden name, lists her birth as Canada, and presumably the daughter of Irish immigrants
• her 1911 American death certificate that provides her maiden name, her birthdate (matches her age on the 1861 census), and her parents (names and nationality match the 1861 census)

I also have a couple of American census records (1900,1910) that corroborate her age, place of birth, and relationship to her husband (himself born in U.S. but raised mostly in Canada). Four of their five children were also born in Canada (guess who my mother's G1 is, lol).

I've reached out to the Catholic parishes where I suspect she was baptized and married to see if they have anything, but I imagine they're swamped with requests and I wonder if they even have anything that isn't yet digitized.

Obviously no one here is the IRCC, but does what I have already seem legitimate or comparable to other applications, or is it worth waiting to see if the parishes find anything? I'd like my paper trail to be as clear as possible for their review.

Thank you!