I'm going to offer up a challenge. One that's stumped me for a few years now.

I'm looking to trace Ellie Isabella Sayle (b April 23 1904) in Salford. Her father was Charles Sayle (b 1875 in Barrow-in-Furness) and her mother was Katie Ann Corlett. Ellie's parents married in Salford in 1903 but Katie died in 1905.

Ellie is my half-sister, 40 years older than me and someone I know nothing about aside from the few facts in this message.

I've mentioned Ellie here before but never had any responses, so I thought I'd try again what with more information being available.

Our father emigrated to Canada in 1911... alone. In the 1911 English Census he was living with Ellie as boarders in Salford. The Canadian Census, which is done a few months later than the English Census, has him living in Toronto.

I originally thought my father may have left Ellie with her Uncle William Sayle and his wife Agnes Tunnicliffe in Salford when he emigrated but I suspect those two may have moved back to the Isle of Man earlier. Our grandparents and other uncles were living in Bride IoM so that's another reason why I thought she may have gone there.

A second thought was that Ellie may have been placed temporarily in an orphanage. As we know, WWI broke out, etc. and those events would have kept them apart for nearly 20 years.

Our family folklore says Ellie was in Edmonton Canada in/around 1930 but as she and our mother never got along, no attempt was ever made to stay in touch.

I've looked for Ellie Sayle in the British Board of Trade for emigration and looked in the Canadian Passenger Lists for Immigration but to no avail. I scanned through the English Marriage Records looking to see if she married in the UK but didn't spot her name.

Someone here (and a tip of my hat to her) looked through the Manx marriage records and didn't spot a marriage there either.

So I have no idea how she got to Canada or were she was living for those missing years.. and no idea of where she went in those later years. I suspect she's no longer around... or else she just turned 105.

So I thought I'd throw her name into this Forum to see if anyone has any comments, thoughts or ideas.