Are your ancestors from Sweden?

Do you want to know who your first Swedish ancestor was and when he or she left Sweden and arrived in Canada? Are you curious about your Swedish origins?

If so, on the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) website, there is a great place to begin your research. Here you will find a page dedicated to genealogical research on http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/history-ethnic-cultural/Pages/swedish.aspx

This page provides you with historical information, archival documents and published material from the Library and Archives Canada collection, as well as links to other websites and institutions.

If your ancestor came to Canada between 1865 and 1935, you might find his or her name on the http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/passenger-lists/Pages/introduction.aspx

Additionally, I listened to Dear Myrt’s Wacky Wednesday last week and she talked to Jason Olsen from MyHeritage.com about Swedish Lutheran Church Records. This is a census substitute called the Household Examination Books.

The website for the video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lATwqjQ1HT4

==========================================================================

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/06/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-08-june-2014.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

More Canadian records are added to FamilySearch

They have added the following records -

Canadian Passenger List 1881-1922

They have added 2111 images to an existing collection.

The website says “Contains records for the ports of Quebec City, 1900-1921; Halifax, 1881-1922; Saint John, 1900-1912; North Sydney, 1906-1912; Vancouver, 1905-1912; Victoria, 1905-1912; New York, 1906-1912; and Eastern US Ports, 1905-1912. The lists for United States ports include only those names of passengers with intentions of proceeding directly to Canada”.

The website is https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1823240?et_cid=49343831&et_rid=839174644&linkid=https%3a%2f%2ffamilysearch.org%2fsearch%2fcollection%2f1823240&cid=

Newfoundland Vital Statistics 1753 - 1893

They have added 191,573 new indexed to the record collection

The website includes images of church record transcripts. Contains baptisms, marriages, and some burials from many churches in the province

The website is https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1793777?et_cid=49343831&et_rid=839174644&linkid=https%3a%2f%2ffamilysearch.org%2fsearch%2fcollection%2f1793777&cid=
==============================================================

SPECIAL OFFER!!!!!!!!!

Need help in finding your Canadian ancestors?

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, may we take this opportunity to offer a month-long discount on our research and consultation services of 15% (ends 11 June at midnight).

Just go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services at www.elrs.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor!

 

Research Tip! If you want to explore the possible research Wiki for Canada, go to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Canada_Genealogy. They have completely sourced documents, and are adding more every day.

===============================================================

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/05/canadian-week-in-review-18-may-2014.html

 

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada

 

Passenger and Crew Lists for U.S. Bound Vessels Arriving in Canada

Ancestry.com has added a new database to their site over the weekend - Passenger and Crew Lists for U.S. Bound Vessels Arriving in Canada 1912-1939 and 1953-1962.

These are people who disembarked at Montreal, Quebec; Saint John, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Vancouver, British Columbia; Victoria, British Columbia; Toronto, Ontario either by boat or by plane.

They say that ‘This collection contains forms, or passenger lists, submitted to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) by airline captains and shipmasters. These passenger lists and crew manifests provide information regarding vessels and passengers arriving in various Canadian ports from 1912-1939 and 1953-1962’.

You can expect to find some or all of the information, such as -

• Full name of passenger
• Age
• Gender
• Marital status
• Occupation
• Citizenship (nationality)
• Place of residence
• Final destination
• Birth date
• Birth place
• Port of arrival
• Date of arrival
• Port of embarkation
• Ship name
• Shipping line

The database is at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60501

==============================================================

SPECIAL OFFER!!!!!!!!!

Need help in finding your Canadian ancestors?

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, may we take this opportunity to offer a month-long discount on our research and consultation services of 15% (ends 11 June at midnight).

Just go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services at www.elrs.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor!

 

Research Tip! Canada is known as an immigrant nation. To research the immigrants who cane here, a good book on the subject is Destination Canada: A Genealogical Guide to Immigration Records by Dave Obee.

===============================================================

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/05/canadian-week-in-review-18-may-2014.html

 

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada.

 

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada

 

 Boorne & May. Library and Archives Canada, C-006686B /Boorne & May. Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, C-006686B

The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has issued the following press release -

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada, during which we acknowledge the long and rich history of Asian Canadians and their contributions to Canada. Asian Heritage Month also provides an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on and celebrate the contributions of Canadians of Asian heritage to the growth and prosperity of Canada.

To celebrate Asian culture, Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce the addition of more than 35,000 references to its Immigration from China database.

It now includes references to the C.I.9 certificates issued to people of Chinese origin born outside Canada and wanting to leave Canada for a limited time without losing their Canadian status. The actual records include a photograph and provide information such as the individual’s name, age and place of birth, as well as the port and date of departure, and the ship’s name.

To view the Immigrants from China, 1885-1949 database, go to http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/immigrants-china-1885-1949/Pages/introduction.aspx.

========================================================================

SPECIAL OFFER!!!!!!!!!

Need help in finding your Canadian ancestors?

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, may we take this opportunity to offer a month-long discount on our research and consultation services of 15% (ends 11 June at midnight).

Just go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services at www.elrs.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor!

 

========================================================================

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/05/canadian-week-in-review-11-may-2015.html

 

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Immigration Photos on Flickr

Canada is a nation made up of people from other countries. The diversity in its population distinguishes it from most other counties, and gives Canadians an unique view of genealogy – we are always looking over the seas for our ancestors.

And the Library and Archives Canada is the keeper of our papers, books, records, and if we want to learn about the different ethno-cultural groups, we can either go to their site at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/Pages/ethno-cultural-groups.aspx and take a short history lesson of the following immigrants groups - Acadian, Blacks. British, Chinese, Danish, Doukhobors, Dutch, East Indian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Jews, Mennonites, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Scottish, Swedish, Ukranian, and Welsh.

Or you can check out the immigration photos on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/sets/72157650749992889/#



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-23-march-2015_23.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012. 

Immigrants from Ireland to Canada - FREE lists

Here are some more Irish sources that are online, and are FREE

Canadian Deaths 1878-1886 

http://www.genealogysearch.org/canada/deaths/ireland.html

These records are abstracted from The Dominion Annual Register and Review

Irish Diaspora - North America

http://irishdiasporanorthamerica.blogspot.co.uk/

There are many e-books here that describes the immigrants from Ireland to Canada.

Peter Robinson Settlers from Cork to Canada 1823 & 1825 http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/regulus1825.shtml 

The passengers are listed by name, with the ships, when they sailed from and when they landed at Quebec.

Immigrants to Canada

https://personal.uwaterloo.ca/marj/genealogy/thevoyage.html 

It has quite a few Irish immigrants to Canada listed in the various sources, including accounts of the voyage, and immigration handbooks.

 

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed last week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-16-march-2015.html

 

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Historical Highway Maps of Manitoba

When you drill down, past the Online Services section of the Archives of Manitoba, you will find yourself at maps. And guess what is there/ The Historical Highway Maps of Manitoba!

 Here is part of what they say -

 ‘The vast ancient migrating herds of bison and other wildlife carved the earliest paths into the rolling prairie landscape, following the ingrained instincts of uncounted centuries. These trails, along with the rivers and streams, soon became the routes of the first Aboriginal peoples, later European explorers, adventurous fur traders and pioneering settlers as they spread across the countryside in the discovery of an unknown world.

The foot worn paths and rutted dirt trails have evolved into the modern network of roads, highways and bridges that bring our neighbours- and the world- to our doorstep every day. From only 700 miles of trails at the birth of Manitoba in 1870, the highway network is now a 19,000 kilometres in length’.

The maps start is the 1920s, and they go right through to the 2000s, and all are downloadable from the site which is at http://www.gov.mb.ca/mit/maparchive/index.html

So has this site helped you to bring your immigrant ancestors closer to their home? Does it help to explain part of the reason why they settled in a particular part of the province?



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-news-in-review-09-march-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922

They have added new index records and digital images to the ships' passenger lists (also known as ships' manifests or seaport records of entry) at FamilySearch.

It contains records for the ports of Quebec City, 1900-1921; Halifax, 1881-1922; Saint John, 1900-1912; North Sydney, 1906-1912; Vancouver, 1905-1912; Victoria, 1905-1912; New York, 1906-1912; and Eastern US Ports, 1905-1912.

The lists for United States ports include only those names of passengers with intentions of proceeding directly to Canada

Hint: If you have a surname that you suspect was spelled differently in the immigrant records, this record at FamilySearch is a good way to catch those surnames...

Go to the website at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1823240?ET_CID=45596243&ET_RID=genealogycanada@aol.com

UPDATE: Ancestry.com has FREE Marriage Records

I usually don’t write about Ancestry.com (I just concentrate on Ancestry.ca), but if you want to find marriage records of your immigrant ancestors (especially if they were married in the United States before they came to Canada), you have free access until the 21st.

The site is at www.ancestry.com/cs/us/family-marriages

Ancestry.ca UPDATE: Scottish Immigration in the USA and Canada, 1825-1875

Ancestry.ca has put on the database of the David Dobson book Scots in the USA and Canada. 1825-1875.

It records details about Scottish immigrants who came to the U.S. and Canada during the mid- to later-19th century. The information is taken mainly from newspaper accounts, as well as archival documents such as passenger records.

The database may include the following:

•name

•year or date of birth

•place of birth or residence

•father’s name

•spouse’s name

•year or date of death

•place of death

•occupation

There people were skilled workers who were educated, and many of them came from urban industrial backgrounds. They was a great demand for them in the rapidly industrializing cities of North America.

Go to http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=4907

Irish Canadians

Almost 1.2 million Irish immigrants arrived in Canada from 1825 to 1970. By 1867, they were the second-largest ethnic group in Canada and comprised 24% of Canada's population. About one-half settled in Ontario. One-third was Catholic, and two-thirds were Protestant.

While many immigrants came as farmers with such settlement schemes as cheap (or free) land, some of the immigrants came to work on the infrastructure of the country, such as canals, roads, railroads, and in the lumber industry in Ontario.

I have been reading the new book, Researching Your Irish Ancestors at Home and Aboard by OGS member Dr. David R. Elliott, and have excerpted a part of it in the May issue of Families, of which I am the editor.  

This book is written from the point of view of getting your research in order at home before going to conduct research in Ireland.  By using, the approach outlined in the book, it should give the researcher a degree of satisfaction in finding your Irish roots.

This book can be purchased at the Ontario Genealogical Society at http://ogs.on.ca/ogscart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1502&zenid=aq9j832c6ok4khsr02obnar5b6

To refresh your knowledge of the Irish in Canada, you can go to the Library and Archives Canada at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-905.005-e.html

Film Screening of the Coffin Ship Hannah

On Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse,106 Trinity Street,Toronto, there will be a special screening of The Coffin Ship Hannah which recounting the extraordinary tale of an Irish coffin ship.

In 1849, while carrying Irish immigrants fleeing to Canada from Ireland’s potato famine, the Hannah struck ice off the coast of Newfoundland, and was shipwrecked.

The film was produced in 2011 by Galafilm, in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Radio-Canada.

The doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the film screening will be at 7 p.m. Discussion will follow the screening at 8:45 p.m.

Tickets for this special event are $10 for adults, $8 for students, seniors and Enoch Turner Schoolhouse Foundation members, and free for children 13 and under.

For more information, or to buy tickets in advance, please visit Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, call 416-327-6997 or email enochturner@heritagetrust.on.ca. Tickets will also be available at the door.

To go to the website, click on www.enochturnerschoolhouse.ca

To go to the Hannah website, click on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_(1849_shipwreck)

Happy Canada Day!

The 142nd birthday of Canada (July 1st) has rolled around again, and it is raining with thunderstorms in Ottawa - but it's a birthday!

I remember when it was Dominion Day, for it was only changed to Canada Day in 1983, and it took a bit of getting used to the new name.

Typically, everyone has the day off, and although it is a day for picnics, and having fun in the great outdoors in the summer time, it is also a time to remember our ancestors - the French and Anglo-Celtic peoples who first came here in the 1600s and 1700s, and the hard times they had in making a life for themselves in an often unforgiving land.

We also remember the Irish Potato Famine Immigrants who came here in the 1800s, and what a difficult time they had settling in their new land; of the Eastern Europeans who, in a great way, settled and tamed the Prairie Provinces in the early 20th century with nothing more than hard work and an unswerving dedication; and of the Chinese, who came and developed the railway, and in so doing, opened up the West to the rest of Canada.

And, of course, all these new immigrants came and built upon a land originally settled by the Aboriginal peoples, who themselves came here thousands of years ago.

And to all the other immigrants who have come to Canada, and have found a home and prosperity here - welcome to Canada!

There are only eight more years before Canada's 150th anniversary, and I hear that planning for it has started already.

So Bonne Fête, Canada - Happy Birthday, Canada!

Happy Chinese New Year!

The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is celebrating the Chinese New Year with a collaboration of the information and databases they have compiled over the past years
in an exhibit entitled "The Early Chinese Canadians, 1858-1947" at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/chinese-canadians/index-e.html

They have divided the site into five different areas of interest to genealogists, and they are -

- The history of Canada's early Chinese immigrants - explores why and how they came to Canada.

- Photos, government documents and letters that have been collected by the LAC

- Head Tax Records - You can search the General Registers of Chinese Registers online from 1885 to 1949.

- Chinese Canadian literature and historical research

- Coming soon will be educational resources for classroom study for secondary school teachers.

By the LAC's own admission, the General Registers of Chinese Immigration is the most important part of the history because it represents the payments made by the Chinese when they came to Canada. The Chinese were the only ones who paid the head tax when they came into the country.

Over 95,000 immigrants are recorded on these rolls.

There is also personal essays on the site, as well as family histories and suggested websites.

I have written about the Chinese-Canadian immigration in an article entitled "Uncovering Chinese-Canadian Records" in the January 2009 edition of Internet Genealogy, pages 20-21.

For an interesting look at the Chinese New Year, please visit www.chinapage.com/newyear.html