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Canada Research Outline |
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Records Of The Family History Library
The Family History Library Catalog
Access To Family History Library Periodicals
Using This Outline
Canadian Search Strategies
Step 1. Identify What You Know About Your Family
Step 2. Decide What You Want To Learn
Step 3. Select A Record To Search
Step 4. Find And Search The Record
Step 5. Use The Information
Map Of Canada
Archives And Libraries
National Archives And Library
Biography
Business Records And Commerce
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
General Historical Background
Record-keeping Practices
Records
Locating Church Records
Court Records
Provincial Courts
Federal Courts
Directories
Emigration And Immigration
Finding The Emigrant’s Town Of Origin
Emigration From Canada
Records Of Canadian Emigrants In The United States
Gazetteers
Genealogy
Historical Geography
History
Land And Property
Language And Languages
Maps
Military Records
Military History
Military Records
Minorities
Names, Personal
Native Races
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Notarial Records
Obituaries
Periodicals
Probate Records
Societies
Vital Records
General Historical Background
Information In Vital Records
Locating Vital Records
Other Records
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions
MINORITIES It is important to learn the history of the ethnic, racial, and religious groups your ancestors belonged to. You might, for example, study a history of the Acadian French in the Maritime Provinces or the Germans from Russia in Saskatchewan. This historical background can help you identify where your ancestors lived and when they lived there, where they migrated, the types of records they might be listed in, and other helpful family history information.
Canadian ethnic groups are broadly divided among:
There are unique records for most minorities in Canada, including histories, newspapers, and periodicals. Many newspapers and magazines were published in languages other than English or French, but only a few still survive. They are listed in:
Canadian Almanac and Directory. Toronto: Canadian Almanac and Directory Publishing Co., annual. (FHL book 971 E4ca; computer number 160632.)
Canadian Sourcebook. Don Mills, Ont.: Southam Inc., annual. (FHL book 971 B5c; computer number 819162.) Editions before 1998 were called:
Corpus Almanac & Canadian Sourcebook. Don Mills, Ont.: Corpus Information Services, annual. (FHL book 971 B5c; computer number 490918.)
Some ethnic groups also have their own religious organizations, such as the Ukrainian Orthodox and Roumanian Orthodox churches. Contact appropriate ethnic organizations for further information.
Various local and national societies have been organized to gather, preserve, and share the cultural contributions and histories of many groups. One example is:
Associations Canada: An Encyclopedic Directory. Toronto: Canadian Almanac and Directory Publishing Co., annual. (FHL book 971 C44a; computer number 756399.)
Records of many ethnic groups and minorities are in the Ethnic Archives, Manuscript Division, National Archives of Canada. They are publishing a series of “ethnocultural guides” to their collections, including:
Tapper, Lawrence F. Archival Sources for the Study of Canadian Jewry. 2d ed. Ottawa: National Archives of Canada, 1987. (FHL book 971 F23n; computer number 484198.)
Canadian museums and archives with information on individual groups are listed in:
The Official Directory of Canadian Museums and Related Institutions, 1987–1988. Ottawa: Canadian Museums Association, 1987. (FHL book 971 J54dc; computer number 489683.)
Directory of Canadian Archives. 5th ed. Ottawa: Association of Canadian Archivists, 1990. (FHL book 971 J54d 1990; computer number 640308.)
The Family History Library collects records of ethnic groups and minorities, especially published histories. See the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
CANADA - COLONIZATION CANADA - MINORITIES [PROVINCE] - MINORITIES
See the catalog’s Subject section under the name of the minority, such as ACADIANS, BLACKS, AFRO-AMERICANS, JEWS, and QUAKERS.
For more information about ethnic groups, See the “Emigration and Immigration” section of this outline. For information about American Indians, see the “Native Races” section.
An understanding of surnames and given names can help you identify your ancestors in the records.
Canadians of European origin usually had surnames. American Indians and Eskimos often did not. In French Canada, married women usually kept their maiden name in official records. In English-speaking provinces, women usually took their husband’s surname. In all parts of Canada, children usually used the surname of the father.
Alias Surnames
The name HUNAULT, for example, has been written more than a dozen different ways, all with the same or similar pronunciations, including:
Jetté, Rene, and Micheline Lécuyer. Répertoire des noms de famille du Québec, des origines à 1825. (Inventory of Quebec Family Names from the Beginning to 1825.) Montréal: Institut Généalogique J.L. et Associés, Inc., 1988. (FHL book 971.4 D4j; computer number 508456.)
A few other studies on Canadian family names are listed in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
CANADA - NAMES, PERSONAL [PROVINCE] - NAMES, PERSONAL
In Canada, native races include:
The American Indian and Inuit groups are often called “First Nations.” More than half of the 410,000 Canadians claiming descent from native races at the 1981 census were “status Indians” affiliated with bands living on reservations or otherwise registered with the federal government.
If you have evidence of Indian ancestry, there are some records you can use. Note, however, that often families have traditions of Indian ancestry that are unfounded. Before you can effectively search American Indian records:
1. Identify an Indian ancestor and learn where he lived. Use records described in this outline, particularly census and church records.
2. Identify the tribe or band. When you know the general area where an ancestor lived, you can usually identify the tribe he belonged to. Use various handbooks that describe the tribes that lived in an area, such as:
Swanton, John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. 1952, Reprint. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974. (FHL book 970.1 S24i 1974; film 1598299 item 6; computer number 664959.)
Handbook of Indians of Canada. Ottawa: Geographic Board of Canada, 1912. (FHL book 970.1 H191hc; film 1415251 item 15; computer number 29160.)
3. Study the history of the tribe. You will need some background information about the tribe, such as (a) migration patterns, (b) marriage and naming customs, and (c) affiliations with government agencies or churches. If the tribe moved several times, records may be in many locations.
Many large libraries in North America have province or tribal histories of Canadian Indians. Several are listed in the Family History Library Catalog, Subject section, under INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA - CANADA or under the name of the tribe, such as CREE. In the catalog’s Locality Search, look under:
CANADA - NATIVE RACES [PROVINCE] - NATIVE RACES
Researching native races can be particularly challenging because use of the records is often restricted. When you know the tribe your ancestor belonged to and the areas where he may have lived, then determine if records are available. Administrative and Indian land records created by the federal Department of Indian Affairs before 1970 are now at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa. An inventory of these is in:
Gillis, Peter, ed. Records Relating to Indian Affairs. Ottawa: Public Archives of Canada, 1975. (FHL book 971 A3pg no. 1; computer number 214645.) Some of these records have been microfilmed and are available to public libraries through interlibrary loan.
Some provincial and private archives have records of native peoples. Addresses and brief descriptions of their holdings are in:
Directory of Canadian Archives. 5th ed. Ottawa: Association of Canadian Archivists, 1990. (FHL book 971 J54d 1990; computer number 640308.)
The Official Directory of Canadian Museums and Related Institutions, 1987–1988. Ottawa: Canadian Museums Association, 1987. (FHL book 971 J54dc; computer number 489683.)
Addresses of many private Canadian archives and museums, educational centers, tribal headquarters, newspapers, and other nongovernmental organizations controlled by or serving American Indian, Inuit, and mixed-blood groups are listed in:
Snyder, Fred, ed. Native American Directory: Alaska, Canada, United States. San Carlos, Ariz.: National Native American Co-Operative, 1982. (FHL book 970.1 N213; four fiche 6,048,680; computer number 328270.) This also lists names, but not addresses, of all Indian reserves in Canadian provinces.
Locations of agency headquarters and settlements are in:
A Survey of the Indians of North America. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Institute of American Indian Studies, 1963. (FHL book 970.1 B768s; film 928206 item 1; computer number 143364.)
A bibliography of maps of Indian reserves is:
Maps of Indian Reserves and Settlements in the National Map Collection. 2 vols. Ottawa: Public Archives of Canada, 1980–81. (FHL book 971 F3c; computer number 206725.)
Métis, meaning “mixed blood,” is usually limited to “nonstatus” persons of mixed Plains Indian and French Canadian ancestry, although there were also some Scottish Métis. The original home of many Métis was the Red River colony of what is now Manitoba. At the 1870 census of that area, 9,700 of the 12,000 inhabitants were listed as Métis. Data from that census and other sources was used to compile the family information in:
Sprague, D. N., and R. P. Frye. The Genealogy of the First Métis Nation. Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications, 1983. (FHL book 971.27 D2s; computer number 315377.)
A collection of Métis land claims on microfilm at the National Archives of Canada may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. Portions of these records have been indexed and transcribed as:
Morin, Gail. North West Half-Breed Scrip, 1885. Pawtucket, R.I.: Quintin Publications, 1997. (FHL book 971.2 R2n; computer number 804145.) This book contains transcriptions from more than 1,800 land claims. It contains much family information, including each applicant’s name, residence, date and place of birth, parents’ names, and children’s names and birth dates.
Early Roman Catholic Church records on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border list names of Native Canadians. Many such names are in:
Munnick, Harriet Duncan. Catholic Church Records of the Pacific Northwest: St. Louis, Gervais, Brooks. Portland, Ore.: Binford & Mort, 1982. (FHL book 979.537 K2m; computer number 467135.) See the Family History Library Catalog, Author/Title section for call numbers of additional volumes in this series.
If your Native Canadian ancestor lived near the United States border, check appropriate U.S. sources covering border areas. See United States Research Outline, “Native Races.”
For more information on some First Nations groups in Canada, see the Family History Library Catalog, Subject section, under the names of the tribes or:
INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA
Books and records of the Métis are listed under:
INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA - CANADA - MIXED BLOODS
Inuit sources are listed under ESKIMOS.
See also the catalog’s Locality Search under:
CANADA - NATIVE RACES [PROVINCE] - NATIVE RACES
See also the periodical indexes listed in “Periodicals.” A discussion of Native Canadian research sources is included in:
Merriman, Brenda Dougall. Genealogy in Ontario: Searching the Records. 3rd ed. Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society, 1996. (FHL book 971.3 D27m 1996; computer number 795549.)
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Canadian Ethnic Studies Association
Similar associations are listed in
c/o The Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies
St. Andrews College, The University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2
Canada
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NAMES, PERSONAL
Surnames
. In French-speaking areas of Canada, individuals may have taken a second surname. In the records this may be preceded by dit. This common practice was to distinguish between families with common surnames like ROY who were not related at all, or to distinguish between branches of the same family. Sometimes a branch of the family adopted the dit name as the family name, and dropped the original surname. For example, the surname AUDET dit LAPOINTE may be listed in these ways:
AUDET
Spelling Variations. Spellings of surnames were not standardized until very recently. With their silent letters, French surnames especially lend themselves to a wide variety of spellings.
AUDET dit LAPOINTE
AUDET-LAPOINTE
LAPOINTE
HUNAU, HUNAUT, HUNAUX, HUNO, HUNOS, HUNOT, UNO, and UNOT.
In French Canada, phonetic spelling has changed names:
The English name FARNSWORTH became PHANEUF.
When French Canadian families move to English-speaking areas, they may translate their names into English, or modify spelling:
The German name RISING became RAIZENNE.
BOISVERT may become GREENWOOD.
Recent immigrants from central Europe have often modified their names to sound more British:
ROY may become KING.
LEBLANC may become WHITE.
AUCLAIR may become O’CLARE.
KRYWOUCHKA has become KIRK.
Most French Canadian and many Acadian family names and their dit-name equivalents are listed in:
PETROWSKI has become PETERSON.
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NATIVE RACES
Locating the Records
Additional Sources for Research
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/8/2001]