Genealogists seem to fall into two types of researchers, the hunter and the gatherer.   The hunter seems to be content to just find ancestors to build their tree, whereas the gatherer not only finds ancestors to add to their tree, but also wants to add historical information to each ancestor to flesh out their lives and make them “come alive” virtually.

 Over multiple census returns and other documentation, you now know that your ancestor’s occupation may have been  an agricultural labourer, a sea captain, or  a myriad of other occupations.  But what does that really tell you about your ancestor?

Your ancestor’s life sketch or biography instantly becomes more fascinating when you add a little historical context to the mundane facts for their existence.  Adding historical events adds multiple senses to your ancestor’s lives just by naming what happened at the time, who the leaders were, and what technology was spreading throughout the land.  These factors add drama and interest to your ancestors.   Don’t forget to also add local, national and global context.

Many of us cannot describe the landscape, sounds, and seasons pertaining to our ancestors. We can’t visualize what they saw, heard, smelled, or tasted. We certainly can’t imagine what worried them or excited the local town chatterboxes. But if you add the historic events from the time and place they lived in, either through adding it as an event or a story in your family history software, or taking the big step of actually writing your family history, your stories magically transform into not just a recitation of facts, but the story of a person’s life during the time period in which they lived.  Historical context, such as weather, local and world events, pop culture references, and economic averages add flavor to an otherwise bland retelling of the genealogical details.

Where do you find the details of the times in which your ancestors lived?   One source is newspaper archives.   There are several newspaper archive sites available, far too many to mention but if you Google “archived newspaper sites”, there are many sites you may want to check out.  Usually these sites are ranked by popularity, the most popular being at the top of the list.

Another way is to search for historical events during the time period of your ancestor or ancestors’ lives.   Again, the easiest way to find historical events is to use your good friend Google – enter the search term “historical events” and you may be overwhelmed by the choices.   One interesting site I found is  http://www.onthisday.com/events-by-year.php.  Then take it one step further and Google historical events for the area you are interested in – city, country or time period.

Beginning locally with my more recent ancestors, A quick Google search for British Columbia events provided several links.  One site, http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/province/bcztimeln.htm, provided links to the major events in British Columbia history.

Adding history to your ancestors’  bare-bones genealogical data may enable you to virtually “walk in their shoes”.   Good luck with your research.

Obituaries

When all else fails when researching your ancestors, two often overlooked research oppor­tunities are obituaries and cemeteries.   An obituary will provide more than the name and date of death for a person.  Names of relatives, age of the deceased, cause of death and many other valuable pieces of information can be found in obituaries.

There are several sites that are dedicated to obituaries.  A Google search for “obituary” with a very basic term, “genealogy obituaries” will provide a wide variety of sites that can be researched.    Narrow your search down to newspapers; search the free and paid sites such as FindMyPast, Ancestry, My Heritage, Library and Archives Canada or other similar sites.

Many family history societies are now working to provide on-line databases for obituaries in their local area.  This past summer, Qualicum Beach Family History Society created an index of obituaries from 1995 – 2002 from the local PQB News newspaper, including information on how to obtain a copy of or information from an obituary found in the index at the Parksville Museum.   If you are searching for information on your ancestors in the Parksville/Qualicum Beach area on Vancouver Island, B.C., begin with https://www.qbfhs.ca/genealogy-resources/finding-your-ancestors-in-parksvillequalicum-beach-and-area/; from there you may also want to visit the following pages for more information:

https://www.qbfhs.ca/genealogy-resources/finding-your-ancestors-in-parksvillequalicum-beach-and-area/parksville-qualicum-beach-and-area-resources/  and

https://www.qbfhs.ca/parksville-newspaper-obituary-index-1995-2002/

Hint:  If the obituary has the name of the funeral home listed, contact them, if possible, as they may have more information on the deceased person that will be helpful to you.

Cemeteries

You hear quite often that a vacation for a genealogist is not a vacation if they do not visit at least one cemetery!  That, in a nutshell, explains how important cemeteries are to add information on the lives of our ancestors.

Again, there are many sites with information on cemeteries, local, county or provincial.   The largest and most prominent site is FindAGrave and that should be one of the first sites you check for information on your deceased ancestors’ burial site.

However, when searching for graves in Canada, don’t forget Canadian Headstones.com.

Good luck with your research!

Did you know that  FreeCEN gives free access to census records for England, Scotland & Wales?

FreeCEN offers a free-to-search online database of the 19th century UK censuses. Transcribed entirely by volunteers, they have more than 32 million individuals available on their website that anyone can search without having to create an account. The new ‘FreeCEN website launched on Monday 31st July 2017 with all of the records that the current website holds, but with a fresh new look and feel in-line with Free UK Genealogy and FreeREG.

Their new website will offer more features for researchers, and make it easier for people to find what they’re looking for. FreeCEN also brings with it a host of improvements for existing and future volunteers, such as a members sign-in area and brand new messaging system.

FreeCEN, FreeREG and FreeBMD are projects by Free UK Genealogy, a registered charity that promotes free access to historical records. FreeREG underwent this process in 2015, and FreeBMD is due to begin its renewal later this year.

There are literally hundreds of newspapers sites that could be useful for your genealogy research. Many of them would gladly have you as a paid subscriber. But how do you know which one is worth spending your money on?

No newspaper website has all of the newspapers. There is some overlap between the sites, but their coverage does vary.  The best newspaper site for your genealogy is the one that has the newspapers that you need.

Before subscribing to any of the paid newspaper sites, be sure to check out the Ancestor Hunter website.  As of August, 2017 there are links to approximately 25,000 free newspaper sites, including the US Canada and other countries.   It is definitely well worth checking out!

Good luck with your research.

When you just can’t find what you’re searching for on the Internet, remember that real-world libraries may well hold the information you can’t locate in cyberspace. If you believe a distant library might have the answer you’re looking for, consider using “Ask a Librarian,” a service offered by most libraries and archives in the U.S. and Canada. The libraries encourage you to submit short, specific questions via e-mail or an online form provided for this purpose. You can also call them, but genealogical inquiries are often best submitted in writing. Library and Archives Canada at even has a special “Genealogy Inquiry Form.”

Appropriate requests would include lookups, such as obituaries that may have appeared in a local paper within a narrow date range. Librarians may be willing to make photocopies of brief local publications or several pages of a document or an article in their holdings. In such cases, you’ll need to pay for the copies and postage. Otherwise, the service is usually free, but a small donation is always appreciated.

Source:  Sue Lisk, Your Genealogy Today and Internet Genealogy author

When researching your ancestors, you may find ancestors who were part of the Northwest Mounted Police, some of the provincial police forces or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  Familysearch.org has a collection of Royal Canadian Mounted Police obituary card index and Notices you may want to search for clues to your ancestor’s working history with the RCMP.  It is an invaluable resource, providing invaluable information.

These records include Royal Canadian Mounted Police death records found in Royal Canadian Mounted Police publications, including an index to some of the obituaries from 1867 to 2007.

This collection is a memorial to those Royal Canadian Mounted Police who died while in service. Secondly, it is a collection of publications sent to living officers to inform them of the deaths of fellow officers. The index was created by a retired officer, Norman G. Wilson, who wished to make the obituaries more accessible to family members and researchers.

Please note that these publications and the accompanying index only include the records of those officers whose deaths were reported to the publications.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police force we know today was born out of a need for a national police force to implement the law in Canada’s newly acquired western territories.  In May 1873, the Parliament of Canada established a central police force, and sent 150 recruits west to Manitoba. The new police force gradually acquired the name “North-West Mounted Police” (NWMP).

In July 1874, the Mounted Police, now numbering 275 members, marched west, headed for southern Alberta, where American whisky traders were operating among the Aboriginal people.

The officers established a permanent post at Fort Macleod, Alberta, where approximately half of the Force was posted. The remaining members were either sent to Fort Edmonton or to Fort Pelly, Saskatchewan, which had been designated as headquarters.

The following summer, the Mounted Police established Fort Calgary, on the Bow River in Alberta, and Fort Walsh, in Saskatchewan’s Cypress Hills.

By 1885, the Force had grown to 1,000 men, but in 1896 its future was threatened by the newly elected Prime Minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who wanted to reduce and eventually disband the NWMP. However, support for the Force in the West prevailed, and it gained new prominence policing the Klondike Gold Rush.

In 1904, King Edward VII conferred the title of “Royal” upon the North-West Mounted Police.

From 1905 to 1916, the Force entered into contracts to police the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. These contracts ended due to the provinces’ desire to create their own police forces.

In 1919, Parliament voted to merge the Force with the Dominion Police, a federal police force with jurisdiction in eastern Canada. When the legislation took effect on February 1, 1920, the Force’s name became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and headquarters was moved to Ottawa from Regina.

The RCMP returned to provincial policing with a new contract with Saskatchewan in 1928.

From 1932 to 1938, the RCMP took over provincial policing in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, nearly doubling in size to 2,350 members.

The years following World War II saw a continued expansion of the RCMP’s role as a provincial force. In 1950, it assumed responsibility for provincial policing in Newfoundland and absorbed the British Columbia provincial police.  Today the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has evolved into a world-renowned organization of more than 28,000 people.

Photo courtesy of Library & Archives Canada