Eureka - I think I found it! Part IV

My previous three posts left so many questions unanswered it will form my research on Harry and Samuel Hughes for many months to come, if not years.

But there are three more records that shed possible light on Samuel Hughes, Harry's father, in Canada between 1879 when he arrived there and his death in 1917.

In Part III of this series, I showed a portion of a ship's register listing Saml and Jos P Hughes arriving in Quebec from Liverpool in 1879. I don't find any evidence of Samuel again until 12 years later in the 1891 Canada census.

Samuel Hughes 1891 Canada census Montreal¹

Samuel Hughes was listed as 40 years old, living in a hotel in Montreal, Canada. His marital status was blank and he was born in England as were both his parents, and he was a member of the Church of England. He was a cattle foreman (although one of the transcriptions read "cake freeman," which made me giggle).

He was a wage earner but unemployed the week before census, and he could read and write.

Although his age is off by 10 years, it will fit into the next record nicely, allowing for the age mistake.

Samuel Hughes 1913 Canada US Crossing²

This 1913 record is interesting in that it shows a Samuel Hughes crossing into the US from Montreal, Canada. Twenty-two years later, if it is the same man, he is 70 years old, still a cattleman, now widowed. He's able to read and write, he's Canadian English from Montreal with no relatives in Canada. He is going to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

If this is Harry's father born in 1841, he should be 71 years in March of 1913, but 70 is pretty darn close.

This particular record has been in my "Possible Hughes" file for a while. But I never looked at the next page online... until now. PEOPLE - please check the pages around the record you're viewing. It could be critical.

Samuel Hughes 1913 Canada. US Crossing page 2³

This second page sheds so much light on Samuel and Harry and I am embarrassed to say I just finally turned to the second page to see it!

The second page of the record goes on to say that Samuel did not have a ticket to his final destination but his son had paid his passage.  He had $50 and had never been in the U.S. before. His son, Harry, lived at 108 Utah Ave N Minneapolis. Samuel was 5' 9" with white hair and brown eyes. He was born in Harthill, Cheshire, England, arrived in Quebec in July 1879 on the what appears to be the Sarmatian and was examined 6 Mar 1913.

Wow, that information sure lines up with what I know about Samuel, Harry's father! And it pretty much confirms that the Samuel and Joseph P. Hughes that arrived in Canada in 1879 were my husband's grandfather and great-grandfather. It also provides indirect evidence to the hypothesis that Joseph P. Hughes and Harry Hughes are the same person.

Death Certificate for Samuel Hughes 1917⁴

And finally, Samuel's death certificate has what little information that the informant, Harry, knows about his father.

He was born in England on May 3, 1941. He was widowed. Samuel's father's name is also Samuel and his mother's name is unknown.

He lived at Rosedale Avenue and 36th Avenue. Samuel has been in the district where the death occurred for 4 years and in the state for 4 years.

This fits perfectly with his Canada crossing from 1913.

Apparently, even though Samuel hadn't visited the U.S., Harry and Samuel kept in touch. Samuel knew about Harry's name change and how to reach him. While they probably spent little if any time together between 1891 and 1913, they were able to spend Sam's last four years together.

So now there are some answers but there are so many more questions!




1. "1891 Census of Canada; West Ward, Montréal Centre, Quebec, Canada"; p. 7, Samuel Hughes; image, Library and Archives Canada, 2009. (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 20 March 2020) citing Library and Archives Canada, Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels: T-6290 to T-6427. Year: 1891; Census Place: West Ward, Montréal Centre, Quebec, Canada; Roll: T-6410; Family No: 25.
2. “Manifests of Passengers Arriving at St. Albans, VT, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895-1954,” database, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: accessed 20 March 20200, entry for Samuel Hughes, age 70, arrived St. Albans, VT, 1913; citing NARA, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: M1464; Roll Number: 207.
3. Ibid.
4. Minnesota Department of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 4867 (1917), Samuel Hughes; Minnesota Historical Society, St Paul.

Eureka - I think I found it! Part II

In part one, I reviewed what I thought I knew about Harry Hughes and described my renewed effort to find out more about him. I grumbled that the answers I was finding were creating more questions. I resolved to review the information I had in my files.

Harry Hughes draft card 1918²

The first evidence that he was in Minnesota came from the I.O.O.F. Grand Lodge of Minnesota in St. Paul in the form of a letter included in his railroad retirement file. The letter was dated 22 Nov 1944 but indicated that he was inducted into the I.O.O.F. at Breckenridge, MN on 21 May 1906.1

In Harry's 1918 WWI draft registration card he gave his name as Harry Hughes with the middle name field blank. He gave his age as 43, born Dec 31, 1874, in England (Chester). He was a declared alien. His wife was Anna Hughes and he was a laborer at the [illegible] Bros Mfg Co. on 10th Ave SE. His physical description on the backside of the card is as follows:

Height: Tall
Build: Stout
Color of Eyes: Brown
Color of Hair: Dark

Harry Hughes Alien Registration 1940 ³

Harry's 1940 Alien Registration form reveals similar information.

His name is Harry [None] Hughes and he entered the United States as Harry Hughes. He was born 31 Dec 1874 at Chester, Chester [sic], England. He is a citizen of Great Britain. He entered the United States on 1 July 1892 at Niagara Falls, NY on foot.

I only show a partial record at left. But it goes on to state that Harry had been in the United States for 48 years and expected to remain permanently. He was a freight handler for the Soo Line Railroad. He was a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Clerks. He had a wife and four children in the United States but no parents. He had not been arrested in the previous five years and he had not affiliated with any organization that furthered the political or public policy of a foreign government. His signature looks almost identical to the one on the draft registration above.

Railroad Employee Statement 1944⁴

Harry's Railroad Retirement Board Employee's State of Compensated Service had similar information. Harry gave his name as Harry [None] Hughes. He was born on 31 December 1874 in Chester, Cheshire, England. His father's name was Samuel Hughes and his mother's name was unknown. He was a freight handler for the Soo Railroad from July 1920 to October 1944. He give his wife's name as Anna [none] Kline. Only a small section of the file is shown at right.

Harry Hughes death certificate 1957⁵

Also included in the Railroad Retirement file was Harry's death certificate. The informant was Mrs. Howard Tenney who state that the deceased's name was Harry P. Hughes, he was born 31 Dec 1874 in England and was still a citizen of England.

His father's name was Samuel Hughes and his mother's name was unknown. His spouse's name was Anna Kline Hughes.

He was a resident of Valley View Rest Home when he died and had been there for 46 days. My husband remembers visiting him there but also remembers visiting him at an I.O.O.F. home near Northfield, MN.

Harry Hughes obituary ⁶

The obituary for Harry Hughes doesn't give any additional information about the past life of Harry Hughes. Like his death certificate, his name is listed as Harry P. Hughes. It lists his four children and mentions he has 7 grandchildren.



Questions to follow up on:
Does the I.O.O.F. have records available that would give more information about Harry's whereabouts before he married in 1916?
Would the I.O.O.F. have information about his time in the rest home in Northfield, MN?
Would his marriage license give more information about his life before marriage?
Does the Brotherhood of Railroad Clerks have archival information that would give additional information?
Why didn't Harry use a middle name when his daughter insisted he had one: "Percy"?
Where was Harry before he entered the United States in July of 1892?
Where in the U.S. was Harry between 1892 and 1916 when he married his wife, Anna Kline?

Do you see what I mean about more questions!

1.  Hughes, Harry. Pension file. Social Security no. 701-05-4003, 1944. Records of the Railroad Retirement Board, Chicago, IL.

2. "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-818N-4YL?cc=1968530&wc=9FZ7-4WL%3A928311201%2C928497801 : accessed 19 Mar 2020), card for Harry Hughes, Minnesota > Hennepin County; D-V > image 1757 of 6042; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

3. Hughes, Harry. Pension file. Social Security no. 701-05-4003, 1944. Records of the Railroad Retirement Board, Chicago, IL.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid; Minnesota Department of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 006344 (1957), Harry P. Hughes; Minnesota Historical Society, St Paul.

6. Obituary of Harry P Hughes (d. 15 Jan 1957), Minneapolis (Minnesota) Star, 16 Jan 1957, p. 7D. Cp;/ 1; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://mewspapers.com: downloaded 13 Jun 2019).

Eureka - I think I found it! Part I

Eureka! I think I found the answer! But sometimes the answers leave you with more questions. My 30-year-old brick wall is a case in point:

Harry Hughes

Harry Hughes was born 31 Dec 1874 in Chester, Cheshire, England. His father’s name was Samuel. When Harry was still young, he left England with his father and went to Canada. Harry crossed the border to the U.S. at Niagara on foot in July 1891 or 1892. I’m not sure how much time was spent in Canada nor am I positive he traveled with Samuel. But the rest of the above information is fairly consistent across records including alien registrations, WWI draft registration, IOOF membership, railroad pension documents, and death certificate.

The first census record I can find for him is in 1920 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, after he married my husband’s grandmother, Anna Kline. I can’t find any record of a Harry with father Samuel in England. The Harry Hughes(es) that I have found online had different fathers and seemed to have stayed in England.

Harry's father, Samuel

I queried my mother-in-law extensively prior to her death several years ago and she claimed to not know very much. She said that she was named for him (Harriet Priscilla) and that his name was Harry Percy Hughes. But he always entered “None” in the middle name field or left it blank when he filled out forms. She also said he was either born in England or Wales. I can see that Chester is very close to Wales. She also thought he might have worked “out east” for some years.

His father, Samuel’s death certificate has no helpful information, nor does his own. Harry’s mother’s name isn’t even on Harry's death certificate. So who the heck is this guy and where is he from?

Harry's wife, Anna Kline

I turned to DNA for some help. One of my husband's first cousins tested so I started with their shared match list. I then needed to eliminate all the matches that were related through Anna Kline's line. This was relatively easy as Anna Kline was 100% Icelandic, born just a couple of years after her parents arrived in Minnesota from Iceland. Anna Kline may not sound like an Icelandic name but the entire family adopted the last name Kline after arriving in Minnesota and she used Anna instead of her birth name.

Just to give an idea of the number of matches I was working with, my husband has over 50,000 matches on Ancestry. He shared only 54 4th-cousin or closer matches with his first cousin. Of those, only 7 could be identified as probably coming from the Harry Hughes line.

Using the shared matches feature with those 7, I was able to add some more distant matches to the group which I colored coded using Ancestry's group system. Once I added matches to the group, I chose just that group from the Group drop-down menu to limit my view to just those matches. At that point, the URL showed the group number as the last four characters of the URL.

I then used geneticaffairs.com auto-clustering and chose to use the group number from Ancestry. I extended the clusters and also asked for family trees, using cM thresholds of 250 cM and 9 cM. A total number of 24 matches were identified that were used for an AutoCluster analysis.

My Q & D Match Trees

The results were interesting. As it turned out, geneticaffairs.com tree feature wasn't helpful in this case as not many of the matches had enough information for the program to create a shared tree. So I created trees manually. There were several matches with individual online trees, some very small, but enough to start building a quick and dirty (Q&D) tree. I created a tree called Hughes Research Tree and using Ancestry I used their hints to build those trees back into the mid-18th century. I added siblings and others when possible as they might be the actual link I need.

Ancestry doesn't make it easy to create separate trees in one research tree but it is possible. I wanted them in one place so I could look at the combined list of all people. I could examine the list for duplicate people or surnames that pop up in more than one tree. I also printed the trees out and hung them up so that I could look at them all at once.

One thing I noticed with Ancestry's tree printing is that it prints the birth, marriage and death dates AND locations for everyone. This was very helpful for me. When viewing the online tree you don't see the locations unless you click on each person. I highlighted the people on the printed trees who had locations of Cheshire or Lancashire, England.

Interestingly, the matches that were the most helpful came from Australia. One tree looked quite promising but it was private. I reached out to the tree owner and she was very helpful in quickly giving me the information I needed to construct that part of the tree.

I had a few surnames that matched across a couple of trees but the names weren't yet meaningful to me. The name Hughes popped up on two trees but it is such a common name in that area that I didn't want to put too much weight on that.

So nothing jumped out at me yet but I felt like I was getting closer and now at least I had names in front of me. What to do next? I could spend more time working on the match trees. I could revisit the searches I made in the past at Ancestry.com, Findmypast.com, and FamilySearch.org. But I opted to step back and review my file of "Possible Hughes Connections."

There's something to be said for reviewing information in your files. You never know what might jump out at you when you have new information. What could possibly be in those files that might shed new light on this old problem?




Photos in collection of author.