The early applications for preemptions and Crown grants began in the mid-1800s and are at the British Columbia Information Management Services. They have an index for the preemption land records (1859-1971) which they can search for you. (See the “Archives and Libraries” section of this outline.) Copies of Crown grants can be made only for legal or court purposes. They give the name of the grantor and grantee, a description of the land, the date of transaction, and sometimes names of relatives. For copies, write to the appropriate land title office. If you have the legal description of the land, they can trace the title of the land back to previous owners. For addresses, contact the Headquarters of Court Services. Original Crown grants are at:

Surveyor General
Crown Lands Registry Services
Ministry of Environment
Lands and Parks
3400 Davidson Avenue
Victoria, BC V8Z 3P8
CANADA

MILITARY RECORDS

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World War I (1914–1918)

Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) service records are at the Personnel Records Unit of the National Archives of Canada (for the address, see the “Archives and Libraries” section of this outline). To request information, please give the name, rank, and regiment (if known).

Service records give detailed information from enlistment to demobilization (discharge). They may include:

• Birth date and place
• Address at time of enlistment
• Name and address of next of kin
• Marital status
• Occupation
• Personal description (eye and hair color, height, weight, distinctive marks or scars)
• Religion
  

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NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP

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Until 1947, British immigrants from England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland automatically became citizens of Canada; they did not need to be naturalized. Non-British immigrants, however, were required to make oaths of allegiance before receiving land grants. Files containing these oaths and petitions for citizenship covering the years 1817 to 1846 are found in the archives building of British Columbia Information Management Services (see the “Archives and Libraries” section of this outline).

Records created after 1917 are more detailed than earlier records and are found at:

Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Public Rights Administration
300 Slater Street, 3rd floor, section D
Ottawa, ON K1A 1L1
CANADA
Telephone: 888–242–2100 (in Canada only; outside Canada, write to the above address)

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NEWSPAPERS

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Major newspaper collections are at the sources below. Write for information about their holdings:

• Greater Victoria Public Library
• New Westminster Public Library
• Vancouver Public Library
• University of British Columbia Koerner Library
• Simon Fraser University W.A.C. Bennett Library
• British Columbia Information Management Services
  

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