British Columbia Archives

The BC Archives are located in Victoria, British Columbia just next door to the Royal BC Museum. Luckily, for researchers, they share the same website which puts all information in a one-stop location.

As far as genealogy records go, the Archives offers a search form for indexes to births (1854-1903), marriages (1872-1938), deaths (1872-1993), colonial marriages (1859-1872) and baptisms (1836-1888). A separate search allows you to access their fond descriptions, their library as well as records in formats other than text. Another type of record accessible through the BC Archives are Divorce Orders from before 1983 and Sisters of St. Ann Archives.

Just click on any of the links above to learn more!

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.