It all started with Minnie's parents. Gilbert Fenton Tucker was born in Grand Manan on September 18, 1875, the son of Angus Tucker and Teresa Holmes Tucker. Emeline Thomas was born in Grand Manan on October 20, 1876, the daughter of John Thomas and Harriet Guthrie (or Gutherie). Gilbert and Emeline married in Grand Manan on September 29, 1894.

They had at least four children, all born in Grand Manan: Cecil Fenton Tucker, born January 19, 1895; Evaline (Evelyn?) Tucker, born March 20, 1896 (per 1901 Canada Census, which also lists Gilbert's occupation as a fisherman); Minnie Pauline Tucker (or Thomas), born on February 16, 1902; and Burton Albert Tucker, born July 12, 1905.

On March 26, 1910, Gilbert Tucker went to Eastport, leaving his family in Grand Manan, possibly to work in the canneries, since spring usually signaled the beginning of the canning season. He crossed again from Grand Manan to Eastport a month later, still without his family. Perhaps he didn't find any work on the first trip.

In the 1911 Canada census, Gilbert, Emeline and son Cecil were living in Grand Manan with Emeline's father, John Thomas. Minnie was not listed in the home (she might have been living with her aunt). In November 1916, Gilbert Tucker crossed again into Eastport, apparently without his family. In August 1917, Emeline, Minnie and son Burton came over, presumably to join Gilbert. Three months later, Cecil came over with his wife, Harriet. Interestingly, he listed his contact person in Grand Manan as his Aunt Millie Thomas. So I presumed that she was the aunt that Minnie was living with in the winter, as Hine's caption noted.

In June 1918, something very interesting happened. Minnie (surname given was Thomas, not Tucker) crossed into Eastport, but was referred to authorities in the nearby town of Calais, and she was sent back to Grand Manan. No reason was given. Perhaps her parents couldn't accommodate her. Perhaps there was no work available. Perhaps we will never know the reason. Anyhow, she also listed her contact person as Aunt Millie Thomas.

On April 30, 1921, Millie Thomas died in Grand Manan, at the age of 31. Her parents were John and Harriet Thomas, who were also the parents of Minnie's mother, Emeline. So Millie was indeed Minnie's aunt. She was listed as single.

According to the Maine State Archives, Minnie Tucker (Thomas?) married Vaughn H. French in Eastport, on September 27, 1936. He was born in Grand Manan on May 14, 1905, to Clinton and Hannah Cook French. He appears in the 1930 census, in Needham, Massachusetts, where he was a lodger and worked in a cotton mill.

Minnie's father, Gilbert Tucker, died in Grand Manan on February 25, 1948, at the age of 72. Her mother, Emeline, died on June 2, 1953, at the age of 76. I thought I had reached a dead end at that point. I could find no further records for Minnie (now French), or Vaughn French. So I tried searching Minnie's siblings.

Only Burton Tucker showed up in later records. He died in New Durham, New Hampshire, in January 1986 (exact date not given), according to the Social Security Death Index. I knew it was the correct Burton Tucker, because his given date of birth was the same as the one for Burton in the Provincial Records. But because I did not have the actual date of death, it was not likely that I could obtain his obituary from the local library in New Hampshire. So I put that aside and tried something else, which was a long shot.

I searched the Social Security Death Index for all persons named Minnie, with an approximate year of birth of 1902, and the place of death as Maine. I guessed that she might have died with another last name (not French), so that's why I did not enter a last name in the search box. Surprisingly, there were 85 listings that fit this description, but it didn't take long to find what appeared to be the correct person. Minnie T. (for Thomas or Tucker?) McLellan died June 4, 1998, in Winter Harbor, Maine. Her date of birth was given as February 16, 1903. The Provincial Archives had given Minnie Tucker's date of birth as February 16, but in 1902. Then I searched the death records in the Maine State Archives and found her there, too, as Minnie Thomas McLellan. That clinched it. So I immediately requested her obituary from the library in Winter Harbor. I was delighted to learn that she had lived to be 95 or 96.

I did one more thing. I searched for her brother, Burton Tucker, at NewspaperArchive.com, and found the following in the June 12, 1948 edition of a New Hampshire newspaper:

A few more clicks on the computer, and I found a Raymond Tucker, who currently lives in New Hampshire. He was the right age. So I called him, excited by the prospect of telling him about a 99-year-old photograph of his aunt.

Mr. Tucker was not home, so I tried again the next day. Still no answer, so I left a message. These events were repeated several more times, until I finally printed copies of the photos and put them in the mail to him, along with a letter of explanation. I mentioned that I discovered that Minnie had died in Winter Harbor in 1998, and that I had requested her obituary. Several days later, the obituary arrived. The first paragraph was a disappointment. She was not the same Minnie.

"Minnie Thomas (Young) McClellan died at a local health-care facility June 4, 1998. She was born Feb. 16, 1903, at Winter Harbor, the daughter of Fred and Ethel (Hammond) Young."

Imagine that, I thought. Both Minnies were born in Maine on February 16, only one year apart, but they were different people. That made me all the more anxious to hear from Raymond Tucker. It appeared he was my last link to Minnie. But several weeks went by, and I still didn't hear from him. I tried calling him several more times, but came up empty. Then I went on a short vacation.

When I got home, a surprise was waiting to greet me, a phone message from Mr. Tucker. He apologized and said he had been taking care of some important business and hadn't had an opportunity to call. He assured me that he was Minnie's nephew, and that he was very happy to see the photos. He told me that Minnie died in New Hampshire on October 31, 1982. I interviewed him several weeks later and he revealed a big surprise; Minnie's parents were not Gilbert and Emeline Tucker. He also told me that Minnie had given birth to two children: Kenneth Kierstead in 1926, by an unmarried father known to him only as Mr. Kierstead, and a daughter by Vaughn French, who was born in 1931, but died shortly after.