Canadian Ancestry Records
How to Trace Canadian Ancestors
Canadian ancestry records are easy to access and help those with ancestors who lived in Canada study their family geneology easily, either on the Internet or the old-fashioned way in libraries and public records offices. Studying your family history is probably best done with a little a little of both, searching online for your ancestral information and then looking through old birth and marriage records in a local government building somewhere.
Canadian ancestry record information is among the easiest in the world to look up, given the nation’s stable history and conscientious record keepers. So here’s a primer on how to find ancestry records for native Canadians and foreigners who had ancestors living in Canada at some time in the past.
1. Talk To the Older Generation
Speak with the elder members of your family and start with the information they provide you. The old-timers are going to have information about your family you had no idea about, usually going back 2 to 3 generations before them.
That means you can have family ancestry information going back to the early decades of the 20th century or late 19th century just from oral communication with your living relatives. Keep notes in a notebook about the names of grandparents, great-uncles and great-aunts. Make certain to mark the relations every time you write down a new name.
2. Go Through Family Photo Albums, Books and Bibles
Browse through the old photographs, photo albums and books that have belonged in your family for generations. These books may give you names and people information that you wouldn’t otherwise have.
3. Use Free Ancestry Websites
Take the information you have and start to look online at the free genealogy websites. You’ll find a lot of birthdate information, marriage license information, military records, property records and passenger ship listings at these sites. Go with the non-paying ancestry sites first.
4. Get a Subscription at the Paid Genealogy Websites
Pay for a month’s subscription at the subscriber ancestry websites. These will help you fill in the blanks. Much of the information you’ll be looking for will be similar to what you search for on the free sites, but these often go a little further.
If money is at all a consideration, remember to do as much work on the free online ancestry sites first. That way, you’ll only have to subscribe to the paid ancestry sites for as short a period of time as possible. If you plan for a month where you have the most free time, you’ll often be able to find the ancestry information you’re looking for in one month’s membership.
Avitus is a site that specifically handles Canadian genealogical information. Search the Avitus ancestral directory, which can help answer questions and point you in other directions.
5. Visit the Home Region of Your Ancestors
Next, take the information about ancestors you might have in a particular region of Canada and pay a visit to that region. Search through the public records offices and libraries of any municipalities where your distant cousins and ancestors once lived. Much of the time, the family will have originated in a specific area, so you can target the area which will provide you the most information.
Besides, visiting the Canadian homeland of your ancestors brings you closer to them, if you don’t live in the same part of the country or world that they did. Ancestry search vacations are a growing trend in North America, where Canadians and Americans are trying to establish their roots and find where their origins began and what lineage they came from.
6. Study Canadian History
Learn the broad outlines of Canadian history, while also learning the local culture and history of the region you’ll be researching. This will help you make better sense of the ancestry knowledge you’re researched and learned. Also, you’ll begin to understand the world they lived in and maybe why they moved about the country as they did.
7. Search the Catholic Records
Those of French-Canadian descent or who have a Roman Catholic background can look through the records of the Canadian Catholic churches. The records kept of baptisms and confirmation ceremonies can provide you valuable ancestry records.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 1:15 pm and is filed under Genealogical Records. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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