When was Abraham Wynne born?

I have not found a birth record or a baptismal record for my great grandfather, Abraham Wynne. Everyone seems to agree that he was born in October which means his birthday for the year would fall after most census returns were taken. He was a Wesley Methodist. His parents were married by a Methodist minister and his younger brothers and sisters were baptized by Methodist ministers. I am sure Abraham was too. On all census returns where he is asked to state his religion, the response is always Wesleyan Methodist. So since I do not have a document that was created close to his birth, I have looked at the evidence I do have and have estimated his birth date.

Records that do give a clue are census records, both Canadian and US, a marriage registration in Canada and his death certificate and tombstone. So what do these documents tell us? They are, of course, not consistent.

The first census where he appears is the 1861 Census of Canada. He is living with his parents and siblings in Montague Township, Lanark County, Ontario. His age is given as 11 years. The question asked in this census was “Age at next birthday”. Since the enumeration date was 14 January 1861, an age of 11 should mean that Abraham turned 10 in 1860 and we can calculate his birth date as 1850.

He is not in the 1871 Census of Canada with his family. His 3 eldest siblings are also not present. I may have found Abraham living in Bruce North, Saugeen Sub-district with John Winn and Elizabeth Winn. Prior to 1861, his uncle John Wynne had moved his family to Minto, Wellington, Ontario close to Lake Michigan. Minto is not far from Bruce County and Uncle John Wynne had a son John who was older than Abraham. All facts given for Abraham agree with what we know about him - parents born in Ireland, Wesleyan Methodist, born in Ontario. His age is given as 18 giving him a calculated birth year of 1853. If the John Wynne, head of this household, is son of John Wynne, then his age is understated too. The woman living there, Elizabeth, is unknown. She could be a sister or cousin or the wife of John Winn.

On January 16, 1877 Abraham Wynne married Catherine Maria Van Camp in Merrickville, Ontario and registered this marriage as required. He gave his age as 25. This would give him a birth year of 1851.

By 1881, Abraham is the father of a 2 year old daughter, Helena Gertrude, called “Lena”, my grandmother. He is living with his family in Admaston, Renfrew, Ontario. Renfrew is the county just North of Lanark. Age given is 30 which means he was born in 1850.

In 1886, the family was enticed by cheap land on the prairies of North Dakota and moved to St. Thomas, Pembina County. The next Census he appears in is the 1900 US Federal Census. The family is living in St. Thomas City, on Main Street. Abraham Is enumerated with his wife Catherine, daughter Janet Isabelle and son Edward. In 1900 the enumerator was asked to list the month and year of birth for every individual. Abraham’s information says he was born in October 1849 and his age is given as 50.

I cannot find him in 1910 but in 1920 he is living on Main Street, St. Thomas City, Pembina County, North Dakota. His age is given as 70 and in this census, age at last birthday is specified. Abraham is 70 years old giving him a birth date of 1849.

The last pieces of evidence available are his tombstone and death certificate. He died on 1 October 1928. Both of these state that he was born in October 1848. Since he died two weeks before his birthday, I can easily imagine his widow saying he was 79 years old. If someone, the doctor or the funeral director, was helping her fill out the death certificate, they would calculate a birth year of 1848.

Here is this information in chart form.

Year Info Collected	Birth Year Calculated
1861	1850
1871	1853
1877	1851
1881	1850
1900	1849
1920	1849
1928	1848

I am going to eliminate the 1871 census information since I am not sure this is my Abraham Wynne. That leaves a birth range of 1848-1851. I do not trust the 1848 birth year on his death certificate. There is only one record that calculates a birth year of 1851. So, I have eliminated both of these. Abraham Wynne was born in either 1849 or 1850. Either year fits in well with the birth years of siblings slightly older and those slightly younger. I have been using 1850 since this year was calculated when he was a boy and I think it is easier to keep track of the age of children. I know that there are times I have to think about how old I am. Age is less of an issue when you are older.

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