Hi David,
Based on what I’ve been able to find, it’s certainly possible they were related – tragically, both Ernest’s parents (John 1832-1878 and Jane 1834-1881) and grandparents (William 1812-1878, second wife Dinah 1825-1880 – his first wife was Anne 1813-1854) passed away within three years of each other (William and John, both bakers, died in the same month), and both had minor children at the time of their deaths. They both also had large families, so they could be Ernest’s cousins. Does it give their birth dates?
Thanks again to you and everyone that has responded to this post. There has always been a gap in my research between Ernest being listed in the 1881 Manx Census and him later being mentioned in an 1895 Ontario newspaper article. I just recently found an 1890 Manx newspaper article associating him with the Industrial home, which led to this post.
Thanks again!
John