Don’t Neglect Those Ancestral Siblings

For families that lived during a time of no vital records or when there are missing vital records, genealogists often do not have dates of birth. In some cases, it may even be difficult to estimate years of birth if records are not available.

In cases such as these, make certain that you indicate the birth order is either a guess or inferred from the order of children in a Will or another document. If children married, years of birth could be estimated from the marriage dates.  A death certificate may also have clues as to the date of birth.

When you cannot find a record of birth for an ancestor, research their siblings.   Finding the dates of births for siblings can perhaps provide enough evidence to prove an estimated date of birth for the sibling where you cannot find a record for a date of birth or baptism.

An example of this is my own Sullivan family.    There is no proof of birth or baptism for my direct ancestor, Patrick Sullivan, because the first name is missing from the vital record for the assumed year of birth or baptism which has been found in other records.  But by providing the dates of birth for his siblings, I can with some certainly say that Patrick Sullivan is the child with the missing first name.

There are baptism records in the records of the Notre Dame Roman Catholic Cathedral in St. John’s, Newfoundland digitized by FamilySearch.org for the following children with the same parents:

  • Margaret Sullivan – 1815
  • John Sullivan – 1817
  • ????  Sullivan – 1819
  • Thomas Sullivan – 1820
  • Catherine Sullivan – 1824
  • Michael Sullivan – 1827
  • Bridget Sullivan – 1830

Checking the various census records, Patrick Sullivan is found with his siblings with an estimated age that would fit with the birth order.   So, from those secondary sources, it can be safely assumed that Patrick Sullivan would be the correct name for the 1819 birth showing no first name.

Ask ask yourself, would any of my conclusions change without the birth records  and census returns for Patrick’s siblings? Most times they wouldn’t, but you never know.

Unfortunately there is no death record or a date of birth on Patrick Sullivan’s marriage record, so this remains one of my brick wall research projects.

Genealogy is a puzzle, but sometimes you have to really work to make the puzzle pieces fit, don’t you?

 

145 Birth, Marriage and Death Record Collection Links from Canada

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, marriage, and death (BMD) information about their ancestors.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians and archivists (as well as the largest of them all – FamilySearch), a great number of indexes to birth, marriage, and death collections have been provided for free online.  These searchable indexes provide specific BMD information, and often scanned images of the actual birth, marriage, and death certificates themselves. These free online collections have hundreds of millions of records in them in total.

The Ancestor Hunt has compiled a list of all 145 record collections as well as links to three documents that may help you find those records you just can’t find:

  • 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information
  • 22 Ways to Find Ancestors Marriage Information
  • 21 Ways to Find Ancestors Death Information

Good luck with your research.

Pre-Confederation Land Patents issued by the Registrar General for Canada

Do you have ancestors that were in Canada pre-Confederation?  One way to track your ancestors’ movements is through land grants.

Land patents are issued by the Crown to grant or confirm title to a portion of land. They represent the first title to land and serve as proof that the land no longer belongs to the Crown.

Rebecca Murray of Library & Archives Canada has posted a blog with information about land patents that will explain  pre-Confederation land patents and how to conduct your research to find  these grants.

As these are extremely valuable resources, you may want to not only read, but also bookmark the pre-Confederation Land Patents blog page.

RCMP Graves Website – Maintaining the Memories

Since 2001, former RCMP superintendent Joseph “Buffalo Joe” Healy has spent countless hours working on this website that apparently contains the name and regimental number of every Canadian mounted police officer going back to 1873. The website includes thirty thousand photographs and information about RCMP graves in Canada and around the world, and much more.

Mr. Healy started the website, cataloging the final resting places of former RCMP members, as a retirement project after a thirty-six-year career with the RCMP.

If you know of someone who served or have a relative who served in the NWMP, RNWMP or RCMP, the database is easy to use. Simply select the appropriate item in the left-hand margin.

I began with my brother, entered just the last name and found not only his death record, but also his history with the RCMP, including his enlistment date, all his postings and much more information.   There was also a photograph of his gravestone.   Even though I did have all this information, it was nice to see his RCMP records so carefully recorded.   Our surname is not common, so it was easy to find, as it was the only one listed.

I then looked for my husband’s grandfather, surname Jones.   I entered his first name and surname.  There were only three “Jones”  with the initial “A” names listed, which was a surprise.  His records from his one-year enlistment with the Northwest Mounted Police were the first name in the list.  There was information missing, but I was able to contribute by filling out the contact form to provide the extra information.

If you were unable to find a member, or have found a member and want to search for more information, the list of website links may help with further research.

Mr. Healy’s work earned him the Sovereign’s Medal for Canadian Volunteers from the Governor General in 2016, as well as a Commissioner’s Commendation from the RCMP in 2013.

Last year, Mr. Healy told Canada’s History magazine why he continues to work on the website: “This information, which I input daily — many hours each day — is of immense help to Canadians, archivists, genealogists, family members, troop mates, and members of other police forces around the world who are keen to begin their own databases and to follow this model.”

Good luck with your research!

Finding Elusive Records on FamilySearch

If a basic search on FamilySearch.org is the only approach you use to find your ancestors, you might be missing out on a lot of potential discoveries. The records you can find by performing basic searches represent only a small portion of what’s available on FamilySearch.

In fact, 77% of the free historical records on FamilySearch.org can’t be found by searching. That leaves a lot of information about your family just waiting to be discovered! In order to tap into these hard-to-find records, you’ll need to know how to use resources like unindexed image collections and the FamilySearch catalog, as well as some more advanced search features.

A new video presentation on research techniques to assist you find that elusive ancestor is now available.    But there are also other video presentations that will be helpful.   One that I find of particular interest is using spreadsheets to sort, tag and analyze your records.

Check out the entire list of video presentations available at https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/finding-elusive-records/

Enjoy and good luck with your research.

British Home Children – Their Story

Are you a descendant of a British home child or do you know of others who are descendants of British home children?    Some of their stories are uplifting and others are heartbreaking.

There is a video documenting the story of home children sent to Canada that has just recently become available.

More than 100,000 children came to Canada as indentured farm labour and domestic servants from the 1860’s till 1939. Director Eleanor McGrath’s documentary about the British Home Children and their descendants examines the forgotten heritage of many Canadians.

It is free to view this video for a limited time and is well worth viewing.  There is also a transcript available. The link to view is:  Stories of British Home Children

Finding Genealogy Information in Military Records

If you have an ancestor who fought in a war or was a member of the military, an obvious place to search for genealogy information is military records.

Searching military records will provide information on your ancestor’s time of service, but will also provide personal information, including the basics such as age, height, weight, visible scars, next of kin, as well as other personal information.

You may think that is all you will find, but there is so much more information to be mined from the records.   I was researching a Canadian soldier in W.W. 2 and found those little extras that really make the search interesting.   His job prior to enlisting in the military was with the Manitoba Provincial Police.  His next of kin was listed as his mother, including her full name and address.   However, later on he changed his next of kin to whom I would assume was a close personal friend (i.e. girlfriend) from his hometown.   Aha, that is interesting.   But, reading further, his next of kin became a woman in England.   Now I was really interested.    Which one of the two did he marry or did he marry at all?

As genealogists, curious minds always want to know, so on conducting further research I finally found a marriage certificate and, yes, he married the woman from England.  I also found that after the war he returned to his job with the Manitoba Provincial Police force.  This police force was amalgamated into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and he was grandfathered into the RCMP.  Through RCMP records I found his employment information, retirement date and the cemetery where he was buried, along with his wife’s grave.

All this from military records!

At a recent general meeting of our Society Steve Cowan of the BC-Yukon Branch of the Heraldic Society spoke about researching military history for genealogy purposes.   He provided a list of research sites for several countries which has now been posted on our website at https://www.qbfhs.ca/genealogy-resources/military-genealogy-research-sites/.  You may find this list helpful while conducting your own research on military ancestors.

Good luck with your research.

How to research the newly-digitized Ontario Land Registry Records

If you are researching ancestors in Ontario, Cindi Foreman’s well-researched tutorial containing a four-part series of step-by-step illustrated instructions are a must-read series.

Part I: Historical Books: First Registration Book: Where genealogists can find their ancestors.  This post, is about the First Registration books which contain a list of first registrations from registry to land titles (e.g. Crown Patent or Crown plan).

Part II: Historical Books: Abstract/Parcel Register Book: Where genealogists can find all the entries of every transaction on their ancestor’s land from the date the Crown Patent was issued (all instruments recorded) up to January 30, 1981.

Part III: OnLand Records: Historical Books: General Register Index, genealogists learn why their ancestor’s will can be found in the Ontario Land Registry Office, and not in the Court records. The General Register Index contains a Registry System index of all non-land-specific documents maintained by each Land Registry Office, including wills, letters probate, and letters patent.  In this part of the tutorial  Ms. Foreman demonstrates how she found information for her 4th great-grandfather Matthew Moynahan’s (1770-1860) will.

 Part IV: Historical Books: Canada Lands Index is about the Canada Lands Index that contains plans of public lands under the Canada Lands Surveys Act. In this blog post, genealogists learn how to find information about public lands under the Canada Lands Surveys Act, Navigable Waters Protection Act, Transfers of Jurisdiction and Control, Indian Reserves, and National Parks.  Ms. Foreman explains that this is an “index of sorts” to the 53 Land Registry Offices in Ontario. She indicates if they even have a Canada Lands Index book online and summarizes all of the historical books that are available online in this new resource.

In addition to the instructions, Ms. Foreman provides a glossary and links to online resources for finding your ancestors’ land records.

Going through these tutorials and using the techniques can be time consuming, but it is well worth the effort to find more information on your ancestors’ lives.

Why Attend a Genealogy Conference

People often think that genealogy conferences are unnecessary because there are so many other learning opportunities available.  There are webinars, podcasts, genealogy blogs and, it seems, endless ways to learn just by searching the internet.

Yes, those are excellent learning opportunities, but there are advantages in attending a conference that are unique and not available “on line”.

Develop Your Skills

Do you have a brick wall that you can’t climb or an ancestor that stubbornly remains hidden no matter how hard you look?   Do you need to learn more about effectively researching?

Get Inspired

In a conference, you are sitting with the like-minded people. They all are here for a common goal. The conference can take your research to a new level.

Those brick walls and ancestors that are hiding may make you feel as though you can’t get anywhere with your research and you begin to develop that “oh, no, this is impossible” feeling.   Listening to experts in their field and networking with other genealogists in person will fire up that research flame again and provide you with opportunities to view your research in a new and exciting way.   You will have the “yes I can” feeling again.

Networking

You will not only learn from experienced and knowledgeable educators in their chosen genealogy field but you will also have the opportunity to speak with them in person or join in on a wide-ranging question and answer session.

You will also have the unique opportunity to network with fellow genealogists who are as addicted to genealogy as you are.  You may find someone researching in the same area, researching the same general family or find a cousin or other relative.  There are more “cousin connections” at a genealogy conference than you can imagine.   It is not only networking, that is inspiring!  By knowing who will be attending the conference, you can make a plan on what you are going to discuss with them during coffee breaks, for example.

Have I inspired you to attend a genealogy conference?  I hope so, because they are an endless source of learning, entertainment and sheer enjoyment.   I have attended on-line webinars, listened to podcasts, read blogs, chatted with other genealogists either by e-mail or through social media, but there is nothing that can compare with actually attending a conference.   You will go home from it with more knowledge, inspiration and skills as well as new genealogy friends.  It is a win-win situation all the way around.

Having said all that, you may want to find a genealogy conference in your nearby area. If you are new to genealogy and have not yet joined a genealogy society, you may want to look into joining a society in your area.  Don’t do genealogy in the closet, get out there and attend a conference or join a society, you will never be sorry and will be amazed at how your genealogy horizons will open.

Our Qualicum Beach Family History Society is hosting a conference on April 20th and 21st, 2018 in Parksville, British Columbia.  We have three dynamic speakers:

Thomas MacEntee, an international speaker from Chicago.  His topic is technology and genealogy.

Lesley Anderson, the spokesperson for Ancestry Canada.  She will be covering both researching on Ancestry and Ancestry DNA.

Tara Shymansky, a well-known instructor on Canadian genealogy.  She will be speaking about researching Canadian records with emphasis on census research.

Then there are the fabulous door prizes, great vendors, chances to network with other genealogists – and the list goes on.

For more information about our conference, please visit our conference website at https://www.qbfhs.ca/workshops/unlocking-the-past-2018-conference/

As if that wasn’t enough, you will be visiting beautiful Vancouver Island, one of the jewels in the world’s crown!

Good luck with your research and I hope to see you at a conference somewhere, some day.

                         Kathy

Ancestor Hunting through Newspaper Research

Now that a new year has started, you probably have made and broken several genealogy resolutions.  At this point you may be feeling at a loss as to where to research for more information on your elusive ancestors.

One important avenue for research is newspapers, and not just one newspaper in the local community.   As an example, several years ago I was researching the railway accident that killed my grandfather.  Using newspapers.com (a subscription website), I filled in the date of the accident and the  name of the nearest newspaper in the area of the accident.  There were several articles from two local newspapers.  This was in a small town in Ontario but, to my surprise, there was also an article in an upstate New York newspaper giving details of the accident.   And the moral of that story is to widen your search criteria and to not stop your research with just one newspaper.

If you have an unusual or uncommon surname, searching for one person  by surname only may also provide useful links to other people in your family.

There are several subscription sites for newspaper research, but one free site that has links to several newspapers, both in Canada and the United States is The Ancestor Hunt.

Don’t just stop with researching the newspapers.   As is stated on their page, “to research historical newspapers and be successful, it helps to be educated about the characteristics of these important genealogy resources; where to find them, and how to best search for the articles that you are seeking.  You will find the lessons page at http://www.theancestorhunt.com/newspapers.html

Good luck with your ancestor hunt!