Monday, August 12, 2013

Canadian Week in Review 12 August 2013 Special Edition: The 1921 Census

Websites

The 1921 Census Remember that this census is in “browser mode only” at the current time, not an “every name index” Go to http://www.ancestry.ca

Blogs

This week the OGS came out questioning the partnership between the Library and Archives Canada and Ancestry. Read the full blog at www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog

The 1921 Canadian Census is now Available Online http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2013/08/the-1921-canadian-census-is-now-available-online.html There are some helpful hints on Eastman’s blog, in the comments section, for finding your ancestor.

Dear Myrt has a question about why Ancestry would put on “browsable images” when, according to her; they usually wait until the index is finished before they put it online. (I think the answer is in the agreement between Ancestry and the LAC). 

John D. Reid has all sorts of census information on his site at www.anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com,  and Lorine McGinnis Schulze in her Olive Tree Genealogy Blog at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/08/loving-1921-canadian-census-images.html.

There is a statement on the Library and Archives Canada site at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2013/08-1921-census.aspx

Facebook, Videos, You Tube

The Library and Archives Canada Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LibraryArchives The conversation continues....

Newspapers Articles of the Week

1921Canadian Census data released online, to genealogists’ delight 

Story of the Week

Release of the 1921 Census

It’s been quite a week.

Wednesday morning, there were rumors swirling around Ottawa about the immediate release of the census, either on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday.

And then later on Wednesday, the word was that it would be released on Thursday at around 2 pm. And the census was released by Ancestry – which have upset some people. Some people are upset because it isn't an “every name index” – it is only available by district and sub districts, at the present time.

So the fallout (good and not so good), has followed on the weekend. There have been statements made on the pro and con side of the argument of the partnership between the Library and Archives Canada and Ancestry which will go on for years to come, I suspect. And the basic partnership arrangement was made some years ago when the LAC was starting to feel the budget crunch, and realized they couldn't sustain such a large undertaking as indexing the census or the passenger list – but it has raised its ugly head once again.

And that brings up all sorts of questions. For instance, should there be one genealogy society in Canada to speak for genealogists in such matter as to who handles such delicate data as that found in the country’s census? Questions like this one were asked back when the 1911 Census was being delayed, but nothing came from it, except a few scattered meetings.

So that leaves the census in a limbo of browsing by districts and sub districts until the “every name index” is put online by Ancestry, 2-3 months from now. It is a   subscription site, although you can view for free if you take advantage of their 14 day or 30 day offer, or have a subscription with Ancestry.ca, or Ancestry.ca is included in your package, or you can go to a library which has access to Ancestry - the library edition.

So it’s onto our next census challenge – the 1926 Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta) census which will be released in 2018.

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be 19 August, 2013

1 comment:

Lanaudi said...

I hope ancestry doesn't have the exclusivity on 1921 census. For they outsource indexing to China, which is such a pity with French names: often you can't find the persons you are searching for. To supply to indexing limits, having accessibility to other indexes is of primery importance.