CanadaGenWeb's Blog: Genealogy Tips and Tricks

Showing posts with label Genealogy Tips and Tricks. Show all posts

Friday, May 28, 2010

Canada's Online Atlas

The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.

When researching ancestors in Canada, you may find records that state they lived in Upper Canada or in Lower Canada. Where are those places? The Atlas of Canada can tell you.

Natural Resources Canada has a Web site with many maps, including today's political divisions, ecology, rivers, population, agriculture, mining, climate change, relief maps and much, much more. However, genealogists will be attracted to the Map Archives and historical maps.

I spent some time looking at pre-Confederation maps, namely 1740 and 1823. Both were fascinating as they showed the border changes before and after the British kicked the French out of North America (with the exception of St. Pierre and Miquelon). British North America circa 1823 was comprised of Lower Canada, Upper Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland (including the Labrador Coast). The Northwest Territories were considered British possessions, while the Hudson’s Bay Company controlled Rupert’s Land. The United States and Britain jointly administered the Oregon Territory. I also noted the area called "Russian America." We normally do not think today of Russian territory within North America. Instead, we call it Alaska.

When you first see a map, it typically shows all of present-day Canada. However, using the mouse, you can click on points in the map to zoom in and out. You can also pan to the east, west, north, or south. I was able to zoom in until small areas of just a few miles across were displayed on the screen. The 1823 map also shows the locations of all Hudson's Bay Company Posts and King's Post Company locations, as well as other traders' locations and all significant European settlements. Best of all, it is easy to print any of the maps on your local printer.

I experimented with the site's search capabilities. I entered the name of "Miramichi," a town in which a few of my ancestors lived. The site reported that it was located at a latitude of 47 degrees 0 minutes 0 seconds north, longitude 65 degrees 28 minutes 0 seconds west.

I then clicked on a link, and a map appeared on the screen with an arrow pointing directly to the town. I then right-clicked on the map, selected "Save Picture As…" and saved the map image onto my hard drive. I later inserted that image into my ancestors' records in my favorite genealogy program's multimedia section. The mouseclicks required were simple; it is easier to do it than to describe it here. When I now create Web sites or books of my genealogy data, a map appears in my records, showing the location where these individuals lived.

Natural Resources Canada has provided a valuable service to genealogists and others. If you have Canadian ancestry, you will be interested in this site. You may also enjoy exploring Canada's history by use of these maps.

Here is the trivia question of the day: Where is Saint-Pierre et Miquelon? Hint: this territory does not belong to Canada but does appear on these maps.

The Atlas of Canada is available at http://atlas.gc.ca.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Searching for my Ontario Ancestors by Rob McLean

Have you got an interesting research story that would aid other researchers in their pursuit of Canadian roots? Submit it here!

My paternal grandfather, Bill McLean, was born 17 July, 1901 to Donald (“Black Dan”) M(a)cLean & Catharine M(a)cLean. Grandpa was the youngest of seven children (Henrietta, Agnes, Hugh Daniel, Margaret, Reuben, Catherine & William Angus) in Keewatin, Jaffray Township, Kenora District, Ontario.

At the time of his retirement in 1968¹, Bill like every other new retiree in Canada, applied for his Canada Pension Plan benefits. He was advised that according to the Government of Canada, he didn't exist.

After much consternation & discussion, his sister Kate recalled an old story of how their parents had fought over what their son would be named. His father swore up and down that his youngest son would be named Angus, a good highland name. His mother wanted grandpa named William.

Donald finally agreed that the child would be named William, and so it was. All of his life, he was called, Will or Bill. Every document he signed bore the name William McLean.

Finally, after months of arguing with the federal government, my Uncle Bill (a federal civil servant) did some searching of his own. He went on a hunch that “Black Dan” had not registered his youngest son as William, but rather as Angus as he had originally wanted. Sure enough, the provincial records showed an Angus McLean being born to Daniel & Catherine McLean of Keewatin on 17 July, 1901.

With this proof, and the recollections of the relatives, grandpa finally got his pension. And to ensure that he was named what both of his parents wanted, he had his named officially changed to William Angus McLean.

NOTE:
For those interested in researching Vital Statistics in Ontario, the Government of Ontario has a great site -Ontario Vital Statistics: Registrations of Births, Marriages and Deaths. Here you will be taken through the process of looking up a Birth, Marriage or Death in the Province of Ontario. These records are not available on the web site, but may be:

consulted at the Archives of Ontario, 134 Ian Macdonald Blvd., Toronto,

borrowed through the Inter-library Loan Department of your public library,

borrowed from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through their Family History Centres,

Purchased directly from the Ontario Genealogical Society.

To find the birth registration for my grandfather, which allowed me to have a Primary Source for his birth I went to the Ontario Vital Statistics: Registrations of Births, Marriages and Deaths web site.

Once there, I clicked on “Finding a Birth Registration -A Pathfinder”, and then scrolled down to the date range that covered his birth year. Since he was born in 1901, I clicked on “...Between July 1869 & Dec. 1912”.

This took me to the page that gave me the microfilm number for the index that lists his birth. In his case I find that I can:

either go to my local public library and request that they order in film # MS 931, Reel 13 through the Inter Library Loan Program, or

Order and view film # 2073810 at my local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Centre.
In my case, my local library was closer.

When the film came in, I loaded it into the reader and scrolled through until I found his record. This gave me his birth registration number, which I then used to the order the microfilm that held a copy of his birth registration.

I hope this helps? I am no expert at this, but I thought that sharing my personal experience may help others.

Rob McLean
Host – Rainy River Ontario GenWeb robin@mnsi.net

¹ In 1968, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) was just two years old, and there were many disbelievers in the program. My grandfather wasn't one of them.

Ontario Vital Statistics registrations can also be searched at these websites:

Ontario Vital Statistics Project (free website offering transcripts)

Family Search Pilot (free website offering an index)

Ancestry.ca (subscription-based website offering images)
For more information about Ontario Vital Statistics, what years are available and where they can be found, please see OntarioGenWeb.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Have you come across some genealogy news beneficial to those tracing their Canadian roots? If so, please send it in!

It's been awhile since we've offered a round-up of genealogical news that could affect Canadian research. Some of these articles are a bit outdated but the information they offer is still well worth the read.

U.S. Bares ‘Alien Files’ Kept on Immigrants

Newspaper Index for Barrie Ontario Canada online

Ontario, Canada Marriage Registers by Clergy, 1896-1948

Ancestry.com in Arbitration over the Drouin Collection

Ancestry in arbitration over the Drouin Collection

A Virtual Schoolhouse

Whence the Drouin Collection?

Is there Genealogical Life without Drouin?

Historical Toronto: Berkeley Castle and Lost Buildings

Message from the Librarian and Archivist of Canada: Modernization

Wolfe descendant defends controversial Quebec event

Portrait Gallery of Canada Program Continues to be Accessible to Canadians