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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
COURT RECORDS Because they can be difficult to use, search court records after other records. They can give:
Because of their importance to family history, several types of court records are discussed in other sections: “Probate,” “Notarial,” and “Naturalization and Citizenship.”
Other court records include:
Court records are difficult to use because:
To interpret court records, a legal dictionary can be helpful, such as:
Black, Henry Campbell. Black’s Law Dictionary. St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing, annual. (FHL book Ref 340.03 B564L; computer number 502342.)
The following article describes the process of finding reported court decisions:
Sparling, Lois. “Using a Law Library for Family History Research,” Chinook: The Journal of the Alberta Family History Society. Winter 1998, 33, 36–39. (FHL book 971.23 D25a; computer number 736593.)
Many court records have been lost in fires or destroyed to save space. Some have been preserved at courthouses and at national and provincial archives. Contact the archives to ask about their records. Names and addresses of courts are 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.)
The Family History Library has probate and notarial records but few other court records. See the research outlines of the provinces and the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
[PROVINCE] - COURT RECORDS [PROVINCE], [COUNTY] - COURT RECORDS
The names and functions of provincial courts have changed considerably through the years. Presently, many provinces have three levels of courts:
The administration of justice rests mainly with the provinces. However, the Supreme Court of Canada is the ultimate court of appeal in both civil and criminal cases throughout the country. Federal courts were established at these times:
The Federal Court of Canada has two divisions:
Directories are alphabetical lists of names and addresses. The most helpful directories for genealogical research are provincial directories (published at irregular intervals in the 19th century) and city directories (published annually in the 20th century).
A person’s address can be very helpful when searching an unindexed census of a large city. Inclusion or omission in successive directories can indicate when the person came to the city, left the city, or died. However, most blacks and Native Americans and many French Canadians were omitted from such directories.
An excellent list of city and provincial directories is:
Bond, Mary E. Canadian Directories 1790–1987: A Bibliography and Place-Name Index. 3 vols. Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1989. (FHL book 971 E43n; computer number 336111.) The directories are listed alphabetically and chronologically by province and town.
Public and university libraries have directories for their region.
The Family History Library has microfiche of original directories published before 1900 in:
The Pre-1900 Canadian Directories=La Collection de répertoires d’avant 1900. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions, 1988. (4,214 microfiche beginning with 6360453; computer number 758652. Not available at Family History Centers.) This includes directories and gazetteers from cities and provinces across Canada.
Single titles from this series can be purchased on microfiche from:
Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions
CANADA - DIRECTORIES [PROVINCE] - DIRECTORIES [PROVINCE], [TOWNSHIP] - DIRECTORIES [PROVINCE], [COUNTY], [CITY] - DIRECTORIES
If your ancestor lived in 1871 in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, or Ontario, and you know the name of the community, he may be listed in:
Lovell, John, ed. Canadian Dominion Directory for 1871. 8 vols. Montreal: John Lovell, 1871. (FHL book 971.3 E4L; films 856124 and 856125; fiche 6046766; computer number 99251.) This gives the township and county of each community, which is important when searching census, land and property, local histories, and other records.
For the 1871 Dominion Directory, surnames beginning with A and B are indexed as follows:
Index to the 1871 Dominion Directory of Canada. 3 vols., Aa–Az, Ba–Bonsecours, Bonsecours–By. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966 [?]. (FHL book 971 E4L 1871 index; films 908001 item 2, 982370 item 4 and 928566 item 3; computer number 58717.)
The Family History Library and some large public and academic libraries have Phonefiche (microfiche copies of recent telephone directories of metropolitan areas) for Quebec and Ontario. The Family History Library also has:
Canada Phone Book: The National Telephone Directory on CD-ROM. Ed. 4.5 for year 1997. Danvers, Mass.: Pro CD, c. 1992–96. (FHL compact disc no. 20; computer number 727647.)
Major Canadian libraries have copies of telephone directories (Bell Canada) from 1878 to 1979, but these are not at the Family History Library.
Names, addresses, and telephone numbers for federal, provincial, and municipal government offices and bureaus; provincial vital records offices; major church headquarters; libraries; and other organizations 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.)
Recent editions are in Canadian and large United States libraries.
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Provincial Courts
This has two divisions: (1) the Trial Division (or Court of Queen’s Bench) hears serious civil and criminal cases and has authority to grant divorces; (2) the Court of Appeals hears appeals of civil and criminal cases from the Trial Division or from lower courts.
These courts have been eliminated from some provinces. County courts hear criminal trials of certain serious offenses and civil cases involving more than a specified amount of money.
Provincial courts handle lesser matters and are often divided into civil (small claims court) and criminal divisions.
Probate or surrogate courts which deal with wills and estates are separate from other courts, although they are usually presided over by county or Superior Court judges.
Federal Courts
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DIRECTORIES
P.O. Box 2428, Station D
The Family History Library also has a few microfilm copies of city and province directories. These date from the mid-1800s to 1912. See the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
Ottawa, ON K1P 5W5
Canada
Telephone: 613-235-2628
Fax: 613-235-9752
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/8/2001]