Saturday 31 May 2014

52 Ancestors: Margaret B Christie (1886-1949) The reason my siblings and I were born?

This week I am writing about my Great Aunt Margaret B. Christie.

Margaret was the second child of Alexander Christie and Margaret Ann Legace. She was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada on April 16, 1885. She was probably baptisted at Ste. Famille parish like the siblings that are younger than her but I am unable to confirm this as the records for Ste. Famille start on page 9, June 21, 1885. Such is the way with genealogy, not all of the records survive.

Margaret lived with her parents until at least 1901, after that I am unable to find her again until she is married to Frank Leonard Best on May 1, 1916 in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada. Frank was a WW1 Soldier stationed in Sussex in 1916. Margaret must have met Frank in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada where his parents were living. Margaret's death certificate states she lived in Saint John since approximately 1914. Where was she in 1911 that she is not listed on a census record? How and why did she move to Saint John, almost 400km away from Bathurst? In the early 1900's that seems like such a great distance for a single unmarried women to be away from her family. I did not know that I had relatives living in Saint John prior to my parents. I wonder if knowing a relative in the city was a factor in my mom's decision to move to Saint John and work. If so, then Margaret was the reason my parents met and my siblings and I were born!

Margaret and Frank only had a short time together before Frank was shipped overseas in June of 1916. His pending deployment overseas probably hastened their marriage. Margaret lived in various areas of Saint John while Frank was overseas, sometimes on her own other times with Frank's parents. When Frank was first deployed overseas Margaret lived on Paradise Row, for several months in 1917 she lived with Frank's parents and then in 1918 she moved to Prince Street where she and Frank are listed as living at the time of his discharge in January 1919.

According to the 1921 census Margaret and Frank lived in a rented single family 6 room wood house on Moore Street with a one year old daughter. Did they have any other children? I think they had one other daughter, I'm still trying to confirm with more reliable sources. They did move at least one other time to Main Street where Margaret is listed as residing at the time of her death.

Margaret died on March 2, 1949 in Saint Joseph's Hospital of a cerebral hemorrhage due to Hypertension (stroke?). I wonder if my older siblings have any recollection of Margaret and Frank Best and their family.

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