Canada

Twelve Months of Genealogy – November

November is a month of Remembrance in Canada and other places around the world. This is the time when we remember the veterans of all the wars and conflicts that have involved Canadians. The poppy is the symbol of remembrance. This month we will look at places to find information on your veteran ancestors.

In the first week of November we will look at records for Canada. The first stop should be the Genealogy and Family History section of the Library and Archives Canada website. Here you can find information on soldiers of the First and Second World War. The Soldiers of the First World War database has digital copies of attestation papers. You will find a link so you can order a copy of their military file online.

In two previous posts (post 1 and post 2) I have gone through the information to be found under the topic of military in the Library and Archives Canada Genealogy and Family History section. This section used to be called the Canadian Genealogy Centre.

In the second week of November we will examine the military records for England. Here the first stop is The National Archives of England and Documents Online. Documents Online have databases for Army, Navy and Air Force. The First World War Medal Index Cards are a great resource.

You can find the First World War Medal Index Cards on Ancestry as well as digital copies of the surviving military files. At Findmypast you will find Chelsea Pensioner records as well as many other military records.

In the third week of November we will look at military records for the United States. The first stop is usually Ancestry but you will also find information at World Vital Records which covers the conflicts from the Revolutionary War to World War II and at FamilySearch. The National Archives and Record Administration has a section on their website dedicated to Veteran’s Service Records.

The fourth week of November we will look at the military records from Australia. The ANZACS (Australian and New Zealand Army Corp) hold a very special place in the hearts of the people of Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian War Memorial has descriptions of all the conflicts Australians have been involved in from 1788 through to the present day. They have a wonderful site that you should visit and take time to go through all the different links and pages.

There is a general database you can search to find information on veterans from many different conflicts.

The National Archives of Australia hold the military personnel records. They have a page dedicated to the First World War and if you scroll down you can access a link to a search page. You can search their records to see if a reference can be found for your ancestor and you can usually access a digital copy of their military file.

You will find a link to Mapping our Anzacs which is a virtual scrapbook to remember those who fought for King and country in the First World War. There is a link here to access the military files and they encourage people to create scrapbook pages to remember their loved ones.

The last week of November we will look at some general places to find information. If you have a regiment name then the first place to start is a Google search. In England you may find a regimental museum which may be able to help you with more information.

Research the battles in which your ancestor fought and find out what the soldiers went through. I know that one of my collateral lines fought in the Battle of Waterloo and that his first child was born just behind the field of battle. Women were sometimes allowed to follow their men during campaigns. They would stay behind at the camp during battles. This usually happened if the soldier was an officer.

You may be able to find sketches or pictures of the uniform your ancestor might have worn. Did they wear a uniform or their regular clothes? This sometimes happened if they were in the militia.

The military file might be the first place to look for information but not the last. What about muster rolls, pension rolls, and other records where you might find someone who was in the military.

Do not forget things like military diaries. Library and Archives Canada have digital copies of the war diaries of the First World War online.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has a searchable database online. You can search for casualties of the First and Second World Wars from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, India and South Africa.

Is your ancestor remembered on a war memorial in their home town? You can search online and see what you can find. Scotland has The Scottish National War Memorial online. You can search the Scottish Roll of Honour for entries from the First and Second World Wars and post 1945.

This Remembrance Day why not write the story of your veteran ancestor so that their sacrifice and their accomplishments will not fade away.

©2011 – Blair Archival Research All Rights Reserved

Historic Maps of Nova Scotia – A Must See!

Historic Maps of Nova Scotia is a website run by the Government of Nova Scotia and it is a work in progress.

You can find an Outline Map of Nova Scotia which identifies and explains the eighteen counties and their boundaries; Woolford’s Surveys: The Roads from Halifax to Windsor and Truro, 1817-1818; Google map of Nova Scotia and fifty five individual maps that relate to many areas of Nova Scotia.

The individual maps range from 1613 to 1995. When you click on the image of the map you get a larger version that you can navigate and investigate further. Descriptions of the map or any place notations are noted below the map.

The Outline Map shows the eighteen counties and also provides information on their shire town, when they were created and what they were created from such as other counties. There are a few footnotes to this section that provides further explanation.

Woolford’s survey is 18 sheets of maps and there is a history of the origins of the survey.

There is an extra bonus of a link to Atlantic Neptune Charts which is a four volume atlas of sea charts that were published during the American Revolutionary War. There are 181 digitized images to search. This is found on the National Maritime Museum website and you have the option of purchasing copies of the images.

©2011 – Blair Archival Research All Rights Reserved

A Must See Resource for Islander Researchers

The Island Archives Centre at the University of Prince Edward Island is a great resource for people with ancestors from the island.

They are digitizing many records and they are being put online.

Island Lives is a collection of PEI’s local histories. You can search by title, people, places and organization name. When you search by people and choose a name then you get a selection of publications where the name is found. You can read online, download or borrow the resource. You are only able to borrow if you live in PEI. You may be able to find the books via Inter Library loan.

Island Newspapers are endeavoring to develop a collection of PEI historic newspapers. The newspapers available will eventually date back to the early 1800s. You can view The Guardian (1880-1921), The Cadre (1969-) and The Sun (1977-). This is a work in progress.

Island Voices is an oral history audio archive that has been created by Reg “Dutch” Thompson a well known historian. The archives mostly cover the 1920s thorough the 1940s. They have a User Guide to help you search and use the database.

Island Stories is still a work in progress and not searchable. They are going to help the community to preserve any archival material that they may have and make it available to others.

Island Images is described as “the most complete collection of visuals by Islanders, and about Islanders. Drawing from the rich collections of the University of Prince Edward Island” and others. This is not available yet.

Island Imagined is a wonderful collection of PEI maps, atlases and gazetteers. There are approximately 1000 such documents. The maps come from The Prince Edward Island Archives and Public Record Office, the Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation, and the Robertson Library, University of Prince Edward Island.

These maps are interactive. You have three choices: map overlays, map timeline and island timeline. Map overlays have a choice of four maps and they put the map over a current Google Maps image. Map timeline has a line of years across the bottom and when you click on 1900AD then the maps relating to that time period are presented and you can click on the map to view a description. When you click on the title of the description you get an image of the map which you can manipulate to zoom in or out.

Island timeline is an Island history timeline. You click on a time period and a group of selections appear on the timeline. If you click one of them you get a description of an event that happened. You can not click on the titles to find out more. This is a great resource to put flesh on the bones of your family history.

There is a section called Learn More and here you can find FAQ, learning guides, working with maps, articles and online books. Eventually you will also be able to access lesson plans.

Other Collections details and links to other resources. University of PEI provides descriptions and links to archival material relating to the University. There is also a link to Digital Herbarium where they are digitizing and providing access to plant specimens collected at the University since the 1960s. There are nearly 2000 specimens.

If you have people from the Island then this is the place to go to find out more.

©2011 – Blair Archival Research All Rights Reserved