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!

Marriage (Bond) Monday

Protestant marriages in Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec) can be more difficult to research than Catholic marriages, particularly before the introduction of civil registration in many provinces. Here's what Marriage Bonds are according to the database of these records made available by Library and Archives Canada:

Marriage bonds were prepared only for Protestant marriages by licence. The groom was required to enter into a bond with one or two people (sureties) who knew him and who were prepared to guarantee to the Crown that there was no legal impediment to the marriage. After obtaining the bond, a licence was issued and the marriage took place a few days later.

The records available for Ontario cover the period from 1803 and 1865 while Quebec records range from 1779 and 1858, though they are much fewer in number: just around 7900 for Ontario, and just over 2900 for Quebec.

Be sure to check out this database if you have potential Protestant marriages in your family tree from this area and timeframe that you haven't been able to find elsewhere.

Three entries today!

Yes, I've been shirking my blogging duties this weekend. So, I owe you three, and here they are!

1. Research more than once:

Family History researchers can tell you how research has changed over the years. From having to visit repositories in-person or sending a letter to make a request to digital collections easily searchable over the web, it's always worth repeating your research once every few years to see what's new. Here's one of my own examples to illustrate:

I was always told that my great-grandfather Clarence married my great-grandmother Nettie, then married her sister after Nettie died in the US as a result of the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918. Because I didn't know where the wedding took place, I had a really hard time tracking down the marriage registration. Then, I tried a Google search about a year ago and found transcriptions of Waterloo County online from 1908, including the marriage I'd been missing for years. Even better was the registration number, so I can go and look at the microfilm of the original registration. I never knew that they had been married on Christmas!
But what surprised me more was the actual marriage registration in 1925 of Clarence to Mary, his sister-in-law! Now I have two registrations to look at.

2. Oakville Memories

This is a blog is the work of Bob Hughes, formerly of Oakville, Ontario and now living in Victoria, British Columbia. It contains "living memories" and is definitely a fantastic resource, especially for those with family in the Oakville area in order to better understand the life and times of this Town.

3. United Church of Canada Archives are ONLINE

Need I say more? Just click here to head on over!

Nova Scotian Vital Stats now available online!

And, more importantly, it's free! Original images of births, marriages and deaths are now available online via a simple name search. Here's what's covered so far:

Births 1864-1877
Marriages 1864-1930
Deaths 1864-1877 and 1908-1955

Copies may be ordered for a fee, so click here to get started!

Vital Statistics from New Brunswick newspapers

Taken directly from the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick:

"The Database of Vital Statistics from New Brunswick Newspapers, based on over twenty-three years of work by Danny Johnson, is an extraordinary contribution to genealogical, biographical, demographic and historical research. The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick is honoured to present it on their web site as a tribute to Danny and a resource for researchers."