Digging Into Thomas McMeekin - Trying To Find A Life

For the past few days, I've been bouncing between Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, and the Archives of Canada, trying to assemble a clearer picture of Thomas McMeekin. It feels like running three detective boards at once, but the pieces are starting to line up.

“Winnipeggers in Casualties” (listing T. D. McMeekin as wounded). The Winnipeg Tribune, 21 Oct. 1918, p. 3. Newspapers.com, www.newspapers.com

His War Years

I can see when he's wounded by gas, and later when a bullet goes through his thigh and calf. Serious injuries, but very clearly documented.

What makes this phase easier is that the newspapers back it up. I'm finding two separate articles listing him as wounded, one for each incident. These clippings will be great to include in the kits. They're short, but I'm sure they'll hit hard.

So the war itself isn't the problem. It's everything around it.

Where the Trail Thins Out

Before the war, the records get foggy. I can tell when he arrived in Canada from England, but I'm mostly guessing at the details from census entries and ship manifests. I'm digging through family trees and old newspaper databases, but not much else is surfacing.

It's the same story right after the war. He steps off the ship, appears in a few official documents, and then disappears back into civilian life. As a teacher, I keep thinking there must be more somewhere — like school or employment records, anything. However, so far nothing.

A Small Break With Hilda

His wife, Hilda, has been even harder to track down. The only sure thing I've had is some census and marriage record data in England, and some census data placing her in Canada shortly after the war: no precise arrival date, no matching passenger list. Well, that's what I thought.

Going through the ship manifest for Thomas's return (again) and a few pages ahead of his listing, there she is. Hilda. Not on his page, not obviously linked, but clearly noted as travelling with her husband. It now gives me a cleaner story: they came back to Canada together. Same ship. Same journey home. It's a tiny detail, but it adds warmth to the overall picture.

What I'm Doing Next

I'm still digging for more of his pre-war and post-war life. I'm not expecting a dramatic reveal, but I've had enough lucky breaks this week to keep going.

-Dan Barnfield