Tag Archives: Genealogy

King’s and Queen’s Counsel appointments in Canada

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By Rebecca Murray

“A [Queen’s Counsel] appointment is a mark of recognition to honour lawyers who demonstrate exemplary service to Canadian society through their dedication to the law and to Canada’s justice system.” (Minister’s Transition Book, Department of Justice) Among members of the Bar itself, getting the designation is sometimes referred to in English as “taking silk.” This is because when you get the designation you become entitled to wear silk robes that are also cut differently from the plain black cotton robes. Appointments at the federal level are now restricted to federal public servants, but in the pre-Confederation era, appointments were granted through letters patent, now found in the sous-fonds of the Registrar General (RG68) held at Library and Archives Canada.

To identify these appointments via letters patent, follow these steps:

Step 1

Find the General Index for the period. For the pre-Confederation era, look at one of the following two indices:

Step 2

Next, find the entry in the alphabetical table of contents:

Step 3

Go to the corresponding page in the General Index. For example, you will find the index to appointments for pre-1841 records for both Upper and Lower Canada on pages 539 and 540. The post-1841 indices are on pages 316–318 for Lower Canada, and pages 318–320 for Upper Canada.

Step 4

Looking at page 540 of RG68 volumes 894 and 895, “General Index,” C-2883, as an example, we can read the list of names and select those of interest. Let’s take Alexander Buchanan as our example. The letters patent granting his King’s Counsel (KC) designation were issued on June 19, 1835, and can be found in liber 14 on page (folio) 279.

A black-and-white page of handwritten text in a ruled notebook.

Excerpt from page 540 of the General Index for pre-1841 records, specifically for King’s and Queen’s Counsel appointments.

Step 5

To find the specific liber within the record group (RG68), use Collection Search and follow the model below. The first and second screenshots below show the search screen and terms used while the third shows the item level result.

A colour screenshot of search results with the page title “Collection Search (Beta)”.

A screenshot showing the search terms and first results page in the Collection Search (Beta) function.

A colour screenshot of search results with the page title “Collection Search (Beta)”.

A screenshot showing filtered results by date.

A colour screenshot of data with the page title “Collections and Fonds – 1336219”.

A screenshot showing the item level result.

Step 6

From the results page, we see that the document is available on microfilm, and in this specific case, it is available on digitized microfilm.

We can then navigate through the reel until we find the relevant document and page.

A black-and-white page of handwritten text in a ruled notebook.

An excerpt of the text of the commission appointing Alexander Buchanan Esquire, King’s Counsel, in RG68 volume 110, file 14, page 279, found at image 514 of digitized microfilm reel C-3926.

When Alexander Buchanan received the designation “KC” in 1835, Canada was just years away from the arrival of Queen Victoria to the British throne. This means that if he had still been practicing law in good standing at the time of her coronation, Buchanan would have changed the “KC” designation to “QC”, to reflect the female monarch. Similarly, current QCs in Canada will change their designation to “KC” upon the coronation of a king.

Library and Archives Canada also holds the private fonds of numerous King’s and Queen’s Counsel appointees, such as the Ramon J. Hnatyshyn fonds (R10945) and the John Duggan fonds (MG29-E88). Here is a challenge for readers:

If you are interested in the history of King’s and Queen’s Counsel appointments in Canada, pre- and post-Confederation, I encourage you to review our holdings for related records and to do research to find out more about how the appointment is awarded in your home province or territory today.

Rebecca Murray is an archivist in the Reference Services Division at Library and Archives Canada.

Researching early census records

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Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is pleased to announce the launch of an expanded version of one of our most popular research guides: Finding Aid 300: Other census and related documents (1640 to 1945).

This tool is a comprehensive guide to early census and related records found at LAC, with references mainly dating from 1640 to the 1800s. There are also some records from the 1900s, including Newfoundland and Labrador from 1921 to 1945.

New to this version of Finding Aid 300 are links to digitized images of most of the documents. Researchers can access numerous digitized records relating to Acadia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia.

We also invite you to visit our updated Censuses page, which includes links to our databases of census returns (1825 to 1921) and other resources.

Finding Royalton: Searching the 1921 Census

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By Julia McIntosh

For those of you wanting to learn more about searching the Census of Canada, this blog will give you some helpful tips and techniques to use in your own research.

Background

In my work at the reference desk, I received a question about the population data for Royalton, New Brunswick, specifically the number of males between the two World Wars, as the query related to recruitment. “A piece of cake,” I thought, “How difficult can it be?” As a librarian, I tend to head to the first appropriate published document. To my surprise, Royalton was too small to have been mentioned in any of the standard print sources, which focus on larger towns and cities rather than on small rural hamlets or unincorporated villages. It was time to rethink my search strategy.

Two censuses took place between the wars: 1921 and 1931. The former was preferred because it was already digitized and my client would be able to access the documents online (see the 1921 Census).

The Issues

The first issue was to find the exact location of Royalton, according to the census districts and sub-districts. For this, I had to find a contemporary map and compare it with the 1921 Census Districts and Sub-districts: New Brunswick. I also had to determine in which county and parish Royalton was situated and then determine the correct sub-district by the written description provided. Sadly, Internet map sites tend not to provide the county detail required, nor do they provide easy access to maps of the era. However, the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick did just that. Their website told me that Royalton was “Located E of the New Brunswick and Maine border, 3.16 km SW of Knoxford: Wicklow Parish, Carleton County.”

Back to the census districts and sub-districts, I searched for Carleton, assuming that the district would be related to the county name. As we all know, assumptions can be problematic! The district was not under “C,” but “V”—District 48 – Victoria and Carleton. Who knew?

My trials and tribulations were not over, however. Complicating things, there were three sub-districts in Wicklow Parish, with nary a mention of Royalton:

  • Sub-district 11 Wicklow (Parish)
    “For all that portion of the Parish of Wicklow, north and east of the following described line: Beginning at the River Saint John at the Hugh Tweedie farm; thence west along the road known as the ‘Carr Road’ to the Greenfield Road, thence north along said Greenfield Road to the Summerfield Road; thence west along said Summerfield Road to the Knoxford Road, and thence northerly along said Knoxford Road and a prolongation of the same northerly to the line between Carleton and Victoria and to include all those who border on said roads.
  • Sub-district 12 Wicklow (Parish)
    “For all that part of the Parish of Wicklow, south and east of the following line, beginning at the River Saint John at Hugh Tweedie’s farm, thence west along the road known as the ‘Carr Road’to the Greenfield Road, south along said Greenfield Road to the south line of the Parish of Wicklow, and to include those bordering on said Greenfield Road, south of said ‘Carr Road.’”
  • Sub-district 13 Wicklow (Parish)
    “Beginning at a point where the Knoxford Road crosses the county line between Carleton and Victoria, thence running west along said county line until it reaches the American boundary line, thence south along said boundary line until it reaches the Parish of Wilmot, thence east along said Parish line until it reaches the Greenfield Road, thence north along the Greenfield Road until it reaches the Summerfield Road, leading from Summerfield to Knoxford Road, thence following the Summerfield Road west, until it reaches the Knoxford Road; thence north along the Knoxford Road to place of beginning.”

What map to use? As time was of the essence, I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for a 1921 Census map to be called up for me, so I checked our digitized map collection. The most current available was a Population map from the 1891 Census. At that time, Royalton was found in the Electoral District of Carleton. Hoping that not much had changed in 30 years, I compared the map with the written descriptions and deduced that Royalton was in Sub-district 13 – Wicklow (Parish). Worried that a map from 1895 might be too old, a subsequent check of the Electoral Atlas of the Dominion of Canada, 1915 confirmed the Electoral District of Victoria and Carleton, but surprisingly, Royalton was missing. At least the county hadn’t changed its boundaries in the intervening years!

A black-and-white map of the Electoral District of Carleton, New Brunswick, with boundaries indicated in a thick red line.

Map of the Electoral District of Carleton (N.B.) taken from the Electoral Atlas of the Dominion of Canada (1895) database. Original source is the Electoral atlas of the Dominion of Canada: according to the Redistribution Act of 1914 and the Amending Act of 1915 (OCLC 1004062506)

The second issue, the identification of those enumerated as living in the village of Royalton, should have been straightforward, but it quickly became evident that this also was going to be complicated. I went to the printed Volume I – Population of the Sixth Census of Canada, 1921, and found Table 8 – Population by Districts and Sub-districts. Under Victoria and Carleton, then Carleton County, I found Wicklow – population 1,689. However, there was no entry for Royalton under the heading Towns, nor was there a breakdown by sex. However, Table 16 – Population…classified by sex gave me the breakdown for Wicklow – 900 males and 789 females. This was definitely getting closer, but remember, Wicklow Parish has three sub-districts, of which no. 13 includes Royalton. I needed to get as close to the census numbers for the village as possible.

Results

My only option at this point was to consult the raw data collected for the census, which meant going to the digitized version of the 1921 Census on our website. A search by keywords Royalton and Province: New Brunswick gave zero results. However, Wicklow and Province: New Brunswick gave 1,600, which more or less tallied with the totals I had already found for the parish. The prospect of going through all those entries was daunting, to say the least.

Luckily, after opening a few pages and skipping around the document, I found a Title page for the enumerations of District 48, Sub-district 13, Wicklow Parish, pages 1-14. Success!

A handwritten title page in black ink, which reads: 1921, N.B. Dist. 48 Carleton, Sub. Dist. 13, Wicklow Parish. Pages 1–14.

Title page for the enumerations of Sub-district 13 – Wicklow Parish, District 48 – Carleton, New Brunswick, 1921 Census.

I still had the dilemma of the breakdown by sex, however. Even though the numbers would be smaller than for all of Wicklow Parish, it would still involve a fair amount of counting. Fortunately, the enumerator had tallied the numbers on the last page of the section for Sub-district 13, Wicklow:

Males – 340; Females – 316

Still hoping for the specific numbers for Royalton, I saw that column 5 on the form was titled “Municipality.” So, with happy expectations, I set out to do the smaller count.

Remember those trials and tribulations that dogged me previously? They hadn’t disappeared in my search for the specific Royalton population count. Royalton first appears on page 3, line 39 for Sub-district 13. The enumerator starts by indicating Royalton by name in the municipality column, but then crosses these entries out and replaces the name with Carleton, which, as we all know, is the county! Subsequently, and consistently, the enumerator enters Carleton as the municipality by page 4.

First page of Census of Canada, 1921 document showing the enumeration entries for Royalton.

Census of Canada, 1921, Province of New Brunswick, District no. 48, Sub-district no. 13. See column 5, Municipality for Royalton.

At this point, I conceded that I wasn’t going to find the number of males in Royalton and passed along the information to my client, who may have been able to further tease apart the specific information by family name.

For more information on searching the 1921 Census, have a look at the section entitled Issues about this census and the database. There are some very helpful tips about navigating from image to image.

Happy searching to all who may be on a quest to find their own Royalton!

Julia McIntosh is a Reference Librarian in the Reference Services Division at Library and Archives Canada.

New Books in the Genealogy Services Collection at 395 Wellington

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We’re excited to announce genealogy publications acquired during the past year, which you can consult in the Genealogy and Family History Room located on the 3rd floor of the Library and Archives Canada building at 395 Wellington Street.

Check out the list below. After each title, you will find our call number, which will help you find the book on the shelves. The link to the Aurora record provides additional information.

If you’re just starting out in genealogy, you should visit the Genealogy and Family History section of our website.

Church, cemetery and newspaper indexes

Répertoire des naissances, des mariages et des décès de la paroisse de Saint-Edouard, Péribonka de 1902 à 1941 et de la paroisse Sainte-Jeanne d’Arc, Lac Saint-Jean de 1921 à 1941 by the Société d’histoire du Lac-Saint-Jean. CS88 QC41 P47 2016 (OCLC 965703149)

Saint-Clément de Beauharnois : naissances et baptêmes, 1819-2009 by the Société du patrimoine de Sainte-Martine. CS88 QC43 B42 2016 (OCLC 971267216)

Saint-Clément de Beauharnois : décès et sépultures, 1819-2000 by the Société du patrimoine de Sainte-Martine. CS88 QC43 B42 2016b (OCLC 971267216)

Répertoire des pierres tombales du Lac Saint-Jean by the Société d’histoire du Lac-Saint-Jean. CS88 QC41 L316 2016 (OCLC 971267130)

Val-Brillant (Saint-Pierre-du-Lac) : naissances, annotations, mariages et décès by a collaboration of Madeleine Bélanger, Jeannine Cummings, Marie-France Daigle, Micheline Dubé, Francine Gagnon, Louise Roy, Benoît Sinclair. CS88 QC47 V34 2016 (OCLC 973043886)

Family histories

Les Otis en Matanie : de la Nouvelle-Angleterre en passant par Charlevoix by Claude Otis. CS90 O75 2016. (OCLC 959691961)

Les Saint-Hilaire d’Amérique et leurs cousins Guérin, Merpaw, Monpas, Montpas, Morpaw, et Vidricaire by Guy Saint-Hilaire. CS90 S236 2016 (OCLC 971267218)

Nos pionniers… : de leur histoire à la nôtre : Kedgwick 1915-2015 by Chloé Martineau and Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault. CS88 NB51 K42 2015 (OCLC 946651723)

Beam/Boehm Family: Immigration to Canada 1788-2000 by Lawrence R. Beam. CS90 B3222 2010 (OCLC 971267120)

Tout ou presque sur les Harvey du Québec by André Harvey. CS90 H328 2016 (OCLC 991290117)

Évidences de communautés métisses autour de la baie des Chaleurs, d’hier à aujourd’hui by Victorin N. Mallet, PhD. CS88 NB51 A1 2016 (OCLC 987578382)

Genealogy guides

Ontario municipal records: a beginner’s guide by Fraser Dunford and the Ontario Genealogical Society. CS88 ON3 D869 2015 (OCLC 907967857)

Ontario land records: a beginner’s guide by Fraser Dunford and the Ontario Genealogical Society. CS88 ON3 D867 2015 (OCLC 907967856)

Happy exploring!

Pre-Confederation St. Lawrence maritime pilot certificates at Library and Archives Canada

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By Rebecca Murray

The details of when and where our ancestors were born, lived and died are the building blocks of genealogical research. Knowing how they spent their time or were employed can help connect the dots.

By any chance, might one of your ancestors have been a certified maritime pilot on the St. Lawrence River?

This blog post will focus on records specific to Quebec, beginning with the Trinity House fonds (MG8-A-18), which includes a list of certified maritime pilots for the period 1805–1846. Found in MG8-A-18, Volume 5, this list includes the date of certification and any suspensions of that certification along with reasons for the suspensions. The documentation is in French and arranged in chronological order.

A note in the fonds description gives us a clue about where to look next for related records: “Trinity House […] continued in existence until 1875 when its functions were taken over by the Department of Marine and Fisheries.”

This leads us to the Department of Marine fonds (RG42), specifically the “St. Lawrence river pilot’s certificates” series (1762–1840). The certificates are described at the item level in Finding Aid 42-1 and the documents themselves can be found in RG42 volumes 1 through 6, which are open for consultation and reproduction.

You’ll notice, though, that this series covers up until only 1840, which means that if you’ve identified a certified pilot from the Trinity House fonds list you might not be able to identify their certificate in RG42. The series description tells us that “[related] records that serve as a second source of authorization for pilotage are […] found in the Registrar General sous-fonds (RG68, Vols. 210-211, MIKAN 311, R1008-10-1-E). These registers have a different format than the Marine Branch certificates but the information contained is the same.”

To find these related records, first consult the General Index on digitized microfilm reel C-2884 on the Héritage website and look for the name of the individual of interest in the alphabetical key at the beginning of the reel.

A blurry black-and-white table with names, numbers and folio references.

RG68 key to the general index (C-2884), image 30

When you identify the individual you are looking for, there may be several pairs of numbers next to his name. For example, if I am looking for Fabien Caron, I will look under ‘C’ to find his name, and will then see that the pair of numbers next to his name is 5, 309. The second number indicates the page of the index where we will find the relevant entry, and the first number indicates the line number on that page.

We can scroll ahead on the same microfilm reel to find the general index for the same time period. The fifth line of page 309 does indeed refer to Fabien Caron, and provides us with further information that will allow us to identify the actual certificate: liber 2, folio 117, 5th September 1845.

A black-and-white table with numbers, liber number, folio, dates and names.

RG68 general index (C-2884), image 650

We can now perform a search Collection Search for RG68 and file number 2. By filtering our search results for those from the 1840s we can quickly identify RG68 volume 211, file 2, “Commissions – Branch Pilots” (1838 – 1867) as the relevant source. This volume is available on digitized microfilm reel C-3950. Folio (page) 117 is where we will find the entry for Fabien Caron’s certification.

A black-and-white reproduction of the commission that entitled Fabien Caron to be a maritime pilot.

RG68 volume 211, file 2, “Commissions – Branch Pilots” (C-3950), image 475

If you think Library and Archives Canada might hold this type of record for one of your ancestors, give this method a try! You never know what you might find.

Rebecca Murray is an archivist in Reference Services at Library and Archives Canada.

 

Do you have Indigenous ancestry? The census might tell you

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This article contains historical language and content that some may consider offensive, such as language used to refer to racial, ethnic and cultural groups. Please see our historical language advisory for more information.

Many individuals do genealogical research to determine whether they have an Indigenous branch in their family tree. For some, this is simply to confirm or disprove a family story. For others, the research is connected to self-identity, empowerment, possible registration in Indigenous organizations or funding connected to self-identification.

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) cannot make any determination about whether you are Indigenous, but our documents can assist in your research.

Sadly, sometimes, our family stories are just that—stories. Likewise, family photographs may lead us to make false assumptions. Are we seeing something that is not really there?

You might find the answer in census returns.

Identifying First Nation, Métis or Inuit in historical census returns

Seeking an understanding of Indigenous identity through family histories and genealogical research can be a challenging task in Canada. Two systems of definitions exist—one based in law and legislation, the other in family tradition and community practice. Continue reading →

British Home Child Day: how more than 100,000 British Home Children contributed to Canada’s population

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Five years ago, Jim Brownell, then Member of Provincial Parliament for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, tabled Bill 185 to have September 28 proclaimed ‘British Home Child Day’.

Mr. Brownell has close links to two home children: his paternal grandmother and his great aunt. The Scottish-born sisters both arrived in Canada through the home child program. Between 1869 and the late 1930s, over 100,000 juvenile migrants were sent to Canada from the British Isles.

Mr. Brownell’s grandmother, Mary Scott Pearson, was born in Scotland and arrived in Canada on September 28, 1891 aboard the SS Hibernian. Her first home on Canadian soil would be the Fairknowe Home in Brockville, Ontario.

Perhaps you have come across a home child while researching your family history. It is estimated that eleven percent of the Canadian population can identify a home child as one of their ancestors.

Where to start my research to locate my ancestor?

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) holds extensive records to assist in your research on Home Children. These records include passenger lists, Immigration Branch correspondence files and inspection reports, non-government collections and private fonds (Middlemore’s), as well as indexes to some records held in the United Kingdom. Consult The Records section for search tips and explanations on the documents held at LAC.

Passenger lists and other immigration documents are often the first sources consulted. Not only are the names of children listed, but the name of the ship, the dates of departure and arrival, the name of the sending organization in the British Isles and the destination of the child in Canada are also included. All of these details are key in tracing immigrating ancestors.

A black and white image of a house with melting snow all around. In front of the house are two horse-drawn sleighs with people around them.

Miss Macpherson’s receiving home “Marchmont” in Belleville, Ontario (home for immigrant children from Britain) (MIKAN 3591133)

The Guide to Sending Organizations and Receiving Homes provides a list and description of associated places, societies and institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland and the associated places and Homes in Canada. A fourth column gives the names of people associated with the organizations often mentioned in passenger Lists. For example, Thomas Barnardo and John Hobday were associated with Barnardo’s Homes. Agnes Burges and William and Mary Quarrier were associated with Quarrier’s Orphan Homes of Scotland, whose Fairknowe Home was based in Brockville, Ontario. Children who had been baptized in the Catholic faith were usually placed with Catholic families or religious congregations, often in Quebec.

Military sources and census records

Many home children grew up and enlisted in the Canadian Forces during both the First and the Second World Wars; some chose to remain in the United Kingdom after the war. Consult our Military Heritage page to research personnel service files and other military resources.

If you would like to discover more on where a child resided, consult the Census records for the relevant time period. Please note that home children can be researched with the same surname listed in the passenger list. Most home children kept their birth name and were not formally adopted by the family with whom they resided.

If you would like to ask us a question, please drop by the Genealogy desk at 395 Wellington Street, in Ottawa, or email us using our Genealogy Assistance Request form.

Finally, don’t forget to read previous articles about Home Children: Introduction, Edward Brignall, Harold Mornington, Wallace Ford and The Honourable James Murdock

Other sources

Sharing genealogical data in the electronic age: the GEDCOM application

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You have just met relatives who share your passion for family history and you are looking forward to gathering data about your “new” relatives. In order to share the genealogical records you already have, here’s how you can exchange genealogical data, no matter what software your recipient is using
The GEDCOM file format specification was designed to transmit and receive genealogical data such as location and date of birth, marriage and death information in a standard format. Welcome then to the equivalent of an online family reunion!

About GEDCOM

Developed by  Family Search, GEDCOM text files contain information and links for exchanging genealogical data between two parties regardless of the software. Files can also be downloaded from a website, imported into genealogical software, and added to Family Tree. The files can also be transmitted as attachments to emails. You can recognize a GEDCOM file by its extension, “.ged”.

I say Bennett, vous dites Benoit. Soundex: How to find spelling variations of a surname

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You are deep into your genealogy research and coming across documents that show a code like T650 instead of a surname? What does the code mean? Well, it’s a code from the Soundex phonetic system, used to index surnames.

Many American archival records have been indexed using this system. It’s a way to search surnames while ignoring minor differences in spelling. The code uses the first letter of the surname, followed by three numbers associated with the sound of the name. Letters of the alphabet are assigned a number (0 to 9). Vowels (A, E, I, O, U and Y) and the letters H and W are ignored. Also, if the same letter occurs twice in a row in the name, it is counted only once (e.g., Lloyd becomes Loyd). If there are fewer than 3 letters in the name, 0 is used for the last digit.

Letter

Code
B P F V 1
C S G J K Q X Z 2
D T> 3
L> 4
M N 5
R 6

Examples:

SMITH = S530
TREMBLAY/TROMBLEY/TRIMBLE/TRUMBLE = T651

To help you identify different spellings of surnames, we suggest that you use the following Soundex indexing site: Avotaynu Consolidated Jewish Surname Index. It can also be used for non-Jewish surnames. To help you identify the Soundex code, you can use the JOS Soundex calculator.

Did Your Ancestors Come From Ireland (Eire)?

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Library and Archives Canada Blog

Do you wonder who your first Irish ancestor was and when he or she left Ireland and arrived in Canada? Are you curious about your family’s Irish heritage?

If so, the LAC website is a great place to begin your research. For instance, you will find a page specific to genealogical research for the Irish. It provides you with historical background, LAC’s archival collections and published material, as well as links to other websites and institutions.

If you know your Irish ancestor came to Canada before 1865, the following three databases are great starting points for your research:

If your ancestor came to Canada between 1865 and 1935, you might find his or her name on passenger lists.

Tip:
Tracing your Irish ancestor in Canada is the first step. Tracing your ancestor in…

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