Criminal and Court Records: Canadian Genealogy Centre

Any black sheep in the family? Well, if you do, you'll want to check the information about Criminal Records available at the Canadian Genealogy Centre of Library and Archives Canada. These matters, including jail time, can be municipal/provincial depending on the crime. What's available, in what formats, and where are all discussed in detail, including what restrictions may exist depending on privacy laws.

In honour of the municipal elections...

I thought I'd theme today's post in honour of the municipal elections coming to an end in Ontario tonight. May your elected officials be ones with whom you can live for the next few years! And, if you can't, may moving be painless! ;-D

A fabulous resource for the genealogist when they're available are voters lists. Federal lists are available through the Canadian Genealogy Centre starting in 1935 until 1980. If you're interested in provincial or other voters lists, they provide a number of ways to research those resources including databases or published sources.

Divorces in Canada

From the Canadian Genealogy Centre's website:

From 1840 to 1968, divorces in Canada were granted by private acts of the Parliament of Canada.Before 1867, only five divorce acts were passed and published either in the Statutes of the Province of Canada or in the Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. The first divorce that occurred in Canada was between John Stuart and Elizabeth Van Reneselaer Powell in 1841.

From 1867 to 1968, a person wishing to obtain a divorce was first required to place a notice of intent to petition the government for an Act of Divorce in the Canada Gazette and in two newspapers in the district or county where the petitioner resided. It was to appear for a six-month period.

CGC offers their database, Divorce in Canada, which covers those divorces in parliamentary publications from 1841-1968.

Give Me 5 Generations Charts

The Canadian Genealogy Centre still has Give Me 5 Generation charts available to libraries. To get your copies, visit the publication ordering site.

Database: Immigrants from China to Canada

The Library and Archives of Canada in conjunction with the Department of History at University of British Columbia has made available an indexed database of over 900,000 who immigrated to Canada from China between 1885 and 1945. This collection of information is intended for genealogical purposes only. If you would like to learn more about Chinese immigration to Canada, please visit the Canadian Genealogy Centre's discussion located here.

IFLA Satellite Genealogy Conference for Librarians in Ottawa, August 6&7

Genealogy and Local History for All: Services to Multicultural Communities

Early registration will close in less than two weeks (June 20). Register now!

The conference is for librarians and archivists and will take place in Ottawa, Ontario on August 6 and 7 at Library and Archives Canada. For full details, please see the conference website.

The programme will feature presentations on a wide variety of topics including DNA and genealogy, resources and services for specific ethnic groups, and global initiatives being undertaken by FamilySearch. It will also provide an excellent opportunity to make new contacts with librarians and archivists working in the area of genealogy and local history. There will also be tours of the Canadian Genealogy Centre, Library and Archives Canada and the Gatineau Preservation Centre.

For further information, please contact:

Janet Tomkins, Information Coordinator
janettom at vpl.ca
Standing Committee
Section 37 - Genealogy and Local History
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

Canadian Genealogy Centre - Update

The Canadian Genealogy Centre of Library and Archives Canada has changed quite a bit over the past year or so. What's really nice is the Ancestors Search on the very first page which searches all of their databases at once. It will pull information from the Soldiers of the First World War database, Court Martials of WWI, the 1871 Ontario census, Immigration and Citizenship resources like the Home Children database, and many, many more.

Who Do You Think You Are? and Black Loyalists

CBC has brought the BBC hit, Who Do You Think You Are? to Canadian television, looking at the ancestry of 13 well known Canadian personalities ranging from Don Cherry to Margaret Trudeau. Not only are the commercials pretty well split between ancestry.ca and the Canadian Genealogy Centre of Library and Archives Canada, but the research is also varied, including DNA testing.

The part of tonight's episode that I found particularly fascinating was the Book of Negroes, a now searchable book listing the names and status of the Black Loyalists who travelled from the United States to Nova Scotia from 1783 to 1785, as a direct result of the American Revolution. Some of these Black Loyalists were still slaves, freed slaves, or still indentured, but given their freedom because they had joined the British in New York. Check out the links to learn more about this period in our history.

Canadian Censuses Online

I spotted a posting in Olive Tree's Genealogy Blog about the 1871 Ontario Census index (Heads of Households only) available through ArchiviaNet at Library and Archives Canada. It reminded me that there are many free resources such as these, and most can be found through the Canadian Genealogy Centre through Sources by Topic and then selecting Census. If you scroll down towards the bottom of the page, you'll find the heading Census Indexes, then Research Online. Go down a little further to the By Name heading and bingo, all of the larger name indexes are listed there, both fee (ancestry.ca) and free (i.e., automated genealogy.) And, don't forget, some areas have indexed their local census areas, so check out the link for AVITUS and search with the keywords for census and geographic location.