Re: WILLIAM JOHN SINCLAIR LOST IN THE U.S.A.

[Les Sinclair <les.sinclair@sympatico.ca>]

Dear Mrs. Grady,
Thankyou again for your offer of help.  You will recall that you were
instrumental in assisting me in establishing contact with my great uncle
Donaldson Sinclairs family in Argentina & Bolivia which I might say made
my family grow by leaps and bounds.  I will get back to you on that
later.

My great uncle William John Sinclair was born April 15, 1885 in Haddo,
Methlick, Scotland.

William's daughter Margaret, who still lives in Scotland and is age 89,
was falsely told by her mother that her father had left for the war and
was posted missing at sea and believed dead in 1914.  With that in mind
and what follows one might assume that William settled in the USA in
1914
or shortly thereafter.    

My grandfathers words were that his brother William was a merchant
seaman.  He sailed from Scotland to Canada and up through the Great
Lakes including the St. Clair River and would visit family here in
Ontario before sailing back home to Scotland.  Twice, upon returning to
Scotland, he tried to encourage his wife to immigrate to North America
with the three children.  Upon her refusing the second time he departed
for North America leaving his wife and three children behind.  Shortly
thereafter he re-surfaced a few times in Chatham, Ontario and then was
never to be seen again.  My grandfather said his brother settled in
either Ohio or Illinois however he was not sure.

With so little information I did not feel it would be possible to find
him on a census.

Thanks again,

Les Sinclair  

DaneBowen@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Dear Mr. Sinclair,
> 
>      A friend recently told me that the U.S. Coast Guard keeps lists of
> persons who served in the Merchant Marine.  If you write to them and give
> them your relative's name and what years you think he served in the Merchant
> Marine, they may be able to send you information about them.  Their address
> is:
> 
>           United States Coast Guard
>           Personnel Command
>           2100 2nd Street SW
>           Washington, D.C. 20593
> 
>    In the United States the U.S. Census was taken every ten years since 1790.
>  The National Archives has U.S. Census records from 1790 - 1920 available for
> people to look at.  If you would tell me beginning in what year your relative
> lived in the United States, I would be glad to telephone them and ask them if
> they have him listed.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Susan M. Grady
> [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@mids.org
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