Dear Les,
I understand that there is a Museum of the Great Lakes at Vermillion, OH.
If you think he was involved in shipping on the Great Lakes, perhaps they
have a record of him. Their staff is limited and were not able to look up a
mariner for me but maybe someone lives close to that place and could help
you out.
Laurel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Les Sinclair" <les.sinclair@sympatico.ca>
To: <sinclair@matrix.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 5:05 AM
Subject: Re: WILLIAM JOHN SINCLAIR LOST IN THE U.S.A.
> 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
> > [ To get off or on the list, see http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html
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