Grandparents that were born in Canada 1844(England)

[willdan]

My grandfather was was born in Canada in 1844( it was part of England then). He left Canada in 1862 to join the Us Union army.
He was discharged after the Civil War in Charleston, SC. He stayed in this area for the rest of his life. My father, his son was born in
1905 in SC.....I was born in SC in 1949.

Do I have a shot of obtaining a duel citizenship from England or Canada?
Thanks Dan

 

[zardoz]

My grandfather was was born in Canada in 1844( it was part of England then). He left Canada in 1862 to join the Us Union army.
He was discharged after the Civil War in Charleston, SC. He stayed in this area for the rest of his life. My father, his son was born in
1905 in SC.....I was born in SC in 1949.

Do I have a shot of obtaining a duel citizenship from England or Canada?
Thanks Dan

I think that the answer is almost certainly "No".

 

[alphazip]

My grandfather was was born in Canada in 1844( it was part of England then). He left Canada in 1862 to join the Us Union army.
He was discharged after the Civil War in Charleston, SC. He stayed in this area for the rest of his life. My father, his son was born in
1905 in SC.....I was born in SC in 1949.

Do I have a shot of obtaining a duel citizenship from England or Canada?
Thanks Dan

British citizenship is very complicated, but it's safe to say that your grandfather was a British subject at birth. After he moved to the U.S. and joined the Union army, I would assume that he became a U.S. citizen. That would have ended his British subject status, since dual citizenship wasn't recognized until 1949.

 

[ZingyDNA]

My grandfather was was born in Canada in 1844( it was part of England then). He left Canada in 1862 to join the Us Union army.
He was discharged after the Civil War in Charleston, SC. He stayed in this area for the rest of his life. My father, his son was born in
1905 in SC.....I was born in SC in 1949.

Do I have a shot of obtaining a duel citizenship from England or Canada?
Thanks Dan

Wow, you dad was born when your granddad was 43 and you were born when your dad was 44... And you are 66 now... Have you met your granddad? It would be so cool if he told you about first hand Civil War stories!

 

[willdan]

I,m sorry but my dad was born when his father was 61....very common in the south at that time....I'm 65...sorry for the confusion,

 

[ZingyDNA]

I,m sorry but my dad was born when his father was 61....very common in the south at that time....I'm 65...sorry for the confusion,

Oh I got confused. Thought your granddad was in born 1862 while it was actually 1844. I guess you never met your granddad, huh?

 

[alphazip]

From 1915 until 1949, a British subject becoming a U.S. citizen definitely lost their British subject status. However, in doing a bit more research, I'm not now sure that was the case before 1915.

"...citizenship by birth was perpetual and could not be, at common law, removed or revoked regardless of residency." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_British_nationality_law)

If your grandfather remained British, even while living in the U.S., then your father would also have been a British subject at birth. The Canadian Citizenship Act (1946) granted citizenship to a person whose father was born in Canada UNLESS the father had become an alien (non-British subject) before the child was born. Assuming your grandfather was not considered to have become an alien (as defined), your father would have become a Canadian citizen on January 1, 1947. As the child, born abroad, of a Canadian citizen, you also would have become a Canadian citizen at birth IF your birth had been registered. Since I'm sure it was not, you never did become a Canadian citizen and cannot claim citizenship now*. However, if the scenario above is correct, you came very close!

*The 2009 changes to the Citizenship Act instituted a 1st generation born abroad limitation on citizenship by descent.