Nova Scotia, Canada Genealogy

Guide to Nova Scotia ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Nova Scotia Information

 * Nova Scotia includes regions of the Mi'kmaq nation of Mi'kma'ki (mi'gama'gi). The Mi'kmaq people are among the large Algonquian-language family and inhabited Nova Scotia at the time the first European colonists arrived.
 * The French arrived in 1604, and Catholic Mi'kmaq and Acadians formed the majority of the population of the colony for the next 150 years.
 * During the first 80 years the French and Acadians lived in Nova Scotia, nine significant military clashes took place as the English and Scottish (later British), Dutch and French fought for possession of the area. Beginning with King William's War in 1688, a series of six wars took place between the English/British and the French, with Nova Scotia being a consistent theatre of conflict between the two powers. This pattern of conflict continued through the 18th century.
 * During the French and Indian War of 1754–63, the British deported the Acadians and recruited New England Planters to resettle the colony. The 75-year period of war ended with the Halifax Treaties between the British and the Mi'kmaq (1761). After the war, some Acadians were allowed to return and the British made treaties with the Mi’kmaq.
 * In 1763, most of Acadia (Cape Breton Island, St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island), and New Brunswick) became part of Nova Scotia.
 * In 1765, the county of Sunbury was created. This included the territory of present-day New Brunswick and eastern Maine as far as the Penobscot River
 * In 1769, St. John's Island became a separate colony.
 * The American Revolution (1775–1783) had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia. Initially, Nova Scotia—"the 14th American Colony" as some called it—displayed ambivalence over whether the colony should join the more southern colonies in their defiance of Britain. After the Thirteen Colonies and their French allies forced the British forces to surrender (1781), approximately 33,000 Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia (14,000 of them in what became New Brunswick) on lands granted by the Crown as some compensation for their losses.
 * The British administration divided Nova Scotia and separated off Cape Breton and New Brunswick in 1784.
 * The Loyalist exodus created new communities across Nova Scotia and infused Nova Scotia with additional capital and skills.
 * However the migration also caused political tensions between Loyalist leaders and the leaders of the existing New England Planters settlement.
 * The Loyalist influx also pushed Nova Scotia's 2000 Mi'kmaq People to the margins as Loyalist land grants encroached on ill-defined native lands.
 * As part of the Loyalist migration, about 3,000 Black Loyalists arrived; they founded the largest free Black settlement in North America at Birchtown, near Shelburne.
 * Many Nova Scotian communities were settled by British regiments that fought in the war.

Migration Routes

 * Canadian Pacific Railway
 * Halifax Road or Grand Communication Route
 * Pier 21

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records - databases and record images on FamilySearch
 * Family History Center locator map

Additional Resources

 * Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia Searching for your Nova Scotia ancestors.
 * How to Recognize your Canadian Ancestor
 * Name Variations in Canadian Indexes and Records