Walter Brand Stallan

This man is my husband's Canadian grandfather. I found him with his mother, Mary Stallan and HER mother (also Mary Stallan). He was born 4 Sept 1865 in Duxford, Cambridgeshire....mother born 27 May 1840 in Duxford.

The reason this man was never researched was because he was (gasp) illegitimate and when Ron's mother realized he was, she dropped it. All of my other lines are brick walls so thought I would see what I can find on Walter. Anything I have heard (outside child, etc) was from Stallan researchers so would appreciate a hand here.

My guess is that the putative father's surname was "Brand". Mary Stallan was a servant, I understand, and she packed Walter Brand up and came to Montreal, Quebec in 1874 when he was 9. Found that in the ships lists and also other records. From then on down, I followed Ron's Stallan family in what is called the Drouin Collection in Quebec. Everything matched. No problems there. The family had kept records themselves.

But there is another mystery here. In those 9 years Mary Stallan allegedly married a "William Downes" after Walter Brand Stallan was born and they don't have any children that I can find. I frankly don't think she married anyone, but did find some William Downes' in the Cambridgeshire county. I am assuming he was English. Just checked...no birth or marriage in Quebec.

Walter Brand Stallan named his firstborn son Ernest Walter Downes Stallan, so that certainly lends credence to his stepfather being a Downes. Not sure how to find that man. I have absolutely nothing on him prior to living in Montreal.

Sequence here is Mary Stallan had illegitimate son named Walter Brand Stallan.......he came with Mary and possibly William Downes to Montreal and married Ron's grandmother and they had 10 children. I knew half of them eons ago. Ron's mother was the youngest, born in 1909.

Sorry if this is confusing...it confuses the heck out of me b/c there are 2 or 3 Mary Stallans in this town born within a year of each other. There are also 2 Walter Stallans.....same deal. Aarrgghh!! This tree was well researched by one of the 10 children and also a Stallan or two in England, but I don't have a copy of it.

Not sure what to ask you all, b/c all of my research is back in the 1700's and I use parish records from the LDS. It must be easier in the later 1800's, but almost too easy. As in too many with the same names.

 

Yes...they are both in the 1871 census, Mary and Walter were living with her mother. When I couldn't find them in the 1881 census, I checked and realized they had come to Canada in 1874....but can't find that at the moment. I know they did tho. Mind has gone due to late hour.

 

Which ships lists? Is Mary listed as Mary Stallan there?

I can't see Walter Stallan on the Canadian 1881 census, but there is this interesting household in St Antoine Ward, Montreal City (Roll: C_13220; Page: 14; Family No: 49; surname transcribed as DOUNS on Ancestry):

Downs [corrected from Down?] William, 32, book-keeper
" Mary, 36
" Walter, 15, clerk
all born England, religion: Church of England

Marital status is shown - both William and Mary and shown as married - but relationships to the head of household aren't shown.

 

From the Drouin Collection (but only indexed by surnames on Ancestry):

Downs married to Stallon

William Downs, Clerk of the
Grand Trunk Railway, of Montreal,
Bachelor, And Mary Stallon,
of Montreal, Spinster, were
married, after due Publication
of Banns, on the sixth day of
September in the year of our
Lord, one Thousand Eight
Hundred and Eighty -
By me - John Ma.....
Officiating Minister

Contracting Party: (signatures of ) William Downs, Mary Stallon
Witness: (signature of) Alfred Sydney Griffity

According to Ancestry the marriage was at the Anglican Trinity Memorial Chapel, Montreal.

 

Well found. Could this be William and Mary Downs in 1891age 44 and 48, in St Gabriel quarter of somewhere I can't read, Quebec province?
http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/1891/jpg/30953_148198-00752.jpg

(is it ok to include the link? Yes, Jan)

 

Ancestry have the place name as Hochelaga, which is a suburb of Montreal according to this history:

http://www.
mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/printtour.php?tourID=vq_p2_14_en&Lang=2

I can't make out William's occupation - Commis. something? - but agree Grizel that that does look like him and Mary.

 

It looks as if there are some fantastic online resources for Quebec on the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) website:

http://www.
banq.qc.ca/collections/collection_numerique/index.html

I am only just learning how to find my way around it, but have already come across a series of Montreal directories called 'Annuaires Lovell de Montréal et sa banlieue'. I checked for William Downs in a few of the 'Série principale' of these directories:

1890-1891: William Downs, clerk G.T.R., 245 Hibernia.

1897-1898: Wm Downs, clerk, 268(?) St Luke.

1899-1900: Wm Downs, clerk, 10 Essex av.

I did not find him in the 1900-1901 directory. Had he died, or moved away?

There's loads more to explore on the BAnQ site, including some civil registration records for 1900-1911. I may be gone some time . . .

 

Where do I start?? You are an amazing researcher, Huncamunca!! Yes, that would be them and Walter Brand Stallan never took the name of his step-father (Downes)....but added Downes to his firstborn's 3 christian names.

And one has to think in French first to figure out what and why. No ESS pronounced at the end of a word in French, so Downes/Downs became Down/Doun. I translated other things that you and Grizel asked and the name of the area/district is Hochelaga (an Indian tribe in the area) and his profession is "commis office" is an Office Clerk..in keeping with what you found.

Forget the ship's lists.....I am not sure where I got the date, but there were a lot of handwritten family trees in the family and a professional type one done by UK Stallans and Ron's cousin in the US. Must be from one of those. It was online but cousin took it down. I will contact him.

WOW!! Thank you folks!!

As for the 1991

 

Having looked at some other entries in the same register I think the minister's surname is not Ma..... but Walters.

The witness's surname should be Griffith not Griffity! (typo)

 

Hi Chimp......it is all the right information EXCEPT there is NO father for this man, so I guess grandma Stallan either deliberately told a fib or one of the kids did. Perhaps it was a story the elders made up and the kids would have no reason not to believe it.

The only "Walter Stallan" is the one who died. I remember Ron's mother being most upset at finding out he was an "outside child" (Jamaican expression).

Thanks, Chimpie........

 

Thanks...will change that. What is the year of marriage?? I assumed it was 1880, but perhaps you could only see part of it. Walter Brand Stallan (his son) was married in the late 1880's. So would assume that William Downes and Mary Stallan had a quiet ceremony at home.

I see a burial in Ancestry's Drouin Collection for 1893.....but can't see any more than that. It is for Walter Down.

History is repeating itself re "late" marriage. Another story for another day......but Ron was not born here as "Figueroa". Like Yogi Berra said "It's deja vu all over again", lol.

 

Yes, it was 1880, at the Anglican Trinity Memorial Chapel, Montreal.

 

I can see a William Downs burial in 1893, is that the one you meant? But he is too young to be yours: he is 34 years old, husband of Anastasia Scully(?) and a ???? de boites

From the directories (see post #9) it looks as if William Downs the GTR clerk survived into the late 1890s.

 

Yes, I should have said William. I am forever getting Walter and William mixed up, lol.

Ron just phoned and when I told him what you had found, he was flabbergasted!! He echoed my statement.....you are AMAZING!!! So now I will pick his brain on minute bits of info.

Hugs......

 

Well I have found a 9 year old Walter Stallan arriving in Quebec in 1874, but I don't think he's yours!

Embarked on the 'Sarnatian' at Liverpool, arrived Quebec June 1874:

Wm Stallan (transcribed as HALLAN on Ancestry), 52, lab
Betsy, 39, wife
Catherine, 19, spinster
George, ??, lab
Clara, 15, spin[ster]
Elizth, 11, child
Walter, 9, "
Alfred, 7, "
Infant, 1, infant

This family, including 4 year old son Walter, can be found in Sawston, Cambridgeshire, on the 1871 census (RG 10/1591, f.128, p.64) but the father William Stallan had been born in Duxford, so they may well be related to your Stallans.

 

Thanks.......I am confused with the similarities and the number of Stallans with similar names in the area. I will write Wilf Stallan in the US and see if he can be of any help. I know they all got stuck at this point. I just checked and there is no longer any Stallan tree online, so will look at Ancestry, etc. to see if he put it there.

I had the names of Mary's alleged parents from that tree and I really don't think they are right. According to one of the censuses, her mother was a widow and her name was also Mary Stallan....father is supposed to be a James Stallan and mother is a Mary Eversden....but who knows. I will go hunting.

 

I've found a Walter Brand Stallan (dob 2.10.1896) son of W. B. Stallan. I have no idea whether he is anything to do with your lot - I expect you have already come across him - but thought I'd mention him, just in case.......
http://www.
collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=247192&interval=20&&PHPSESSID=u799nts49l4c77c582esrhco56

Ann

 

Well now, that is a total mystery!! None of the 5 sons were called "Walter Brand Stallan" One was in the First World War though. I will get back to you once I get to my computer (on my iPhone). Tantalizing!!