Researching Your Canadian Ancestors Virtual Institute

The International Society for British Genealogy and Family History is pleased to be hosting a 4 day virtual conference for those researching their ancestors in Commonwealth Countries. 

The conference is being held MARCH 16-19, 2020 and each day is dedicated to researching in a different Commonwealth Country. 

Monday, March 16th is dedicated to Researching Your Canadian Ancestors and is being presented by Kathryn Lake Hogan,UE, PLCGS. 

Kathryn will focus on four topics for Canadian research: 

Researching Canadian Census Records, 1871-1921

Canadian census records hold valuable information for the family history researcher. Each census from 1851 through 1921 was unique in the questions asked and the instructions given to the enumerators. These records are the most accessible for researching your Canadian ancestors and are freely available on the Library and Archives Canada website.

Little known details about your ancestor and their family can be found in the Canadian census records. When did your ancestor immigrate to Canada? Where exactly did they live in Canada? What did your ancestor do for a living? Canadian census records can help you find information about your ancestor’s immigration, location, home, age and birthdate, occupation and wages, and even if they held life insurance.

This session will examine how and why the census was taken, the similarities and differences between the census records, and the questions asked by the enumerators when they appeared at your ancestor’s doorstep.

Selling Canada: Immigration Schemes, Ship Passenger Lists and Immigration Records

Even before Canada was a country, immigration schemes were used to attract settlers to leave their homes in the old country and begin a new life in a new land. Our ancestors from England, Wales and Scotland were actively recruited to immigrate to Canada, and immigration schemes were used to entice them to help settle the vast areas of Ontario and the western prairie provinces.

One of the biggest challenges with researching ship passengers lists to Canada has to do with the lack of comprehensive passenger lists of immigrants before 1865. From 1865 onwards, official records of immigration to Canada were passenger lists and border entry records. Discover where to find ship passenger lists and immigration records before and after 1865. Learn how Canada’s immigration policies affected your ancestors and why every family history researcher needs to research border entry records.

How to Find Birth, Marriage and Death Registrations in Canada

As great as the Library and Archives Canada website is for researching Canadian genealogy, the one type of record you won’t find there is vital registration records. Records of births, marriages and deaths in Canada are called civil registrations and are held at the provincial or territorial level. Microfilmed copies of civil registration records released into the public domain can be found at provincial archives. FamilySearch.org, and Ancestry.ca have some indexed and/or digitized civil registrations available on their respective websites.

Each province has different laws about birth, marriage and death registrations, how and what information was collected, and when those records are released into the public domain. This session will discuss where to find the records and how to access them.

Researching Recent Family Members in Canada

Researching more recent family members in Canada can be a real headache. Long closure periods of records and privacy laws make finding information difficult. However, there are resources available for finding family in Canada if you know where to look. We’ll be looking at ways to find your family without DNA.

The first thing to use is the power of Google and how to leverage social media to your advantage. Then, discover how making use of directories, yearbooks, voter’s lists, court records and military records can help you find your relatives in the 20^th century. Also, some little-known resources will be considered to assist you in finding your more recent family members in Canada.

Whether your ancestor lived in or was migrating through Canada, you will find Kathryn's talks informative, fun and stimulating. A full day of intense learning, all from the comfort of home for just $70usd. Register at: https://isbgfh.wildapricot.org/

Kathryn Lake Hogan, UE, PLCGS is a Canadian professional genealogist who revels in teaching people how to find their ancestors in Canada. She is the founder and owner of the Canadian-based genealogy business, Looking4Ancestors.

Kathryn is the host and presenter of the well-received weekly webinar series,

“Genealogy with a Canadian Twist.” Recognized for her knowledge of Canadian genealogy, Kathryn is a popular speaker and instructor at regional and national genealogical conferences and institutes throughout North America.