General - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

Re: Recording names of locations in Canada

lostyankee261 — 2010-03-07 14:45:53Z

Unfortunately for my family, no one saved much of anything beyond photos, which I already have copies of. Also, I grew up without my extended family and nearly everyone from my grandparents generation is now gone. We are left to wonder and search for everything, not an easy task.

Re: Recording names of locations in Canada

talbotrail — 2010-03-07 14:12:39Z

That's great that your young daughter is interested. I wish that I had started at an earlier age when my grandparents, aunts and uncles were still alive. If you have elderly family, it would be neat if your daughter could "interview" them with a voice recorder about recollections of the old days - their parents, grandparents, addresses where they lived, their first car (a favourite topic for men! they can give you the price, the mileage, etc) schooling, hobbies, jobs, vacations, dreams, how they feel about the world today.......

Always ask elderly relatives about family bibles, photos, old newspaper clippings of births, deaths, letters, etc. they may have saved and help them consolidate their collection. Ideally it should be in a fireproof safe. Often if someone younger in the famiy shows an interest, they will gladly give it to them for safekeeping. When someone dies it is easy to get overwhelmed when cleaning out their house or apt. and this valuable information can be thrown out or end up at the Goodwill.

Re: Recording names of locations in Canada

lostyankee261 — 2010-03-07 13:41:33Z

This is the information I am looking for! Thank you so very much. So far, my family all seems to be in Quebec but I'm certain by now they have spread all over Canada as they have the States.

I am trying to make my research as simple for the next person to pick up and carry on with as I possible can. Right now that person is my 17 year old daughter, who has already said she wants all my notes and my program of information when I am gone.

Re: Recording names of locations in Canada

talbotrail — 2010-03-07 06:34:43Z

Hi,

Check this site (has not been updated for years, so there may be some mistakes) for an explanation of the mess caused by the Ontario Government's amalgamation a few years ago.

http://globalgenealogy.com/LCGS/articles/A-AMALG.HTM

Before this crap, the order IN ONTARIO would be:

Town>Township>County>Province (eg. Belle River, Rochester Township, Essex County, Ontario).

Today, Belle River is called Lakeshore, Essex County, Ontario. Lakeshore being the name of the new "town" made up of smaller communities (former towns, eg. Belle River, South Woodslee, St. Joachim...) HOWEVER, a letter should still be addressed to Belle River, Ontario, as these former towns still have separate rural post offices. How's that for confusing??

In the past, larger cities would not be in a township, so the order would be City>County>Province eg. Windsor, Essex County, Ontario.

When the Ontario Government ordered this amalgamation, there was not much consistency. Most larger cities kept their name. Chatham became Chatham-Kent (adding the entire county). Some combined towns made up an entirely different name. Some are now called "Municipality of Whatever". It's really confusing, even to people who live here.

http://www.yourlocalgovernment.com/ylg/muniont.html

It looks like Quebec has regions, however, a mailing address would be only the town (or city) and province, eg. Trois Rivieres, Quebec.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regions_of_Quebec

In the old days, records were kept by parishes and a larger city like Montreal or Quebec (ha! more confusion....the capital city in the province of Quebec is Quebec !) had many. I can understand you wanting to include the parish and or region in your research.

The names in Quebec are LONG and almost everything is ST. or STE. something. You should post to the Quebec>General board for better information on the proper order.

If you decide to add additional info and are short on space, all Canadian provinces have a 2 letter postal abbreviation. eg. ON for Ontario, QC for Quebec (used to be PQ for province of Quebec), NS for Nova Scotia, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_subnational_postal_abb...

The Drouin records on Ancestry are great if you have ancestors from Quebec. Good luck!

Re: Recording names of locations

Hopeful_Helper — 2010-03-03 13:56:35Z

"As in England and Ireland, I know there it is said 'County This or That'"

In England, it is only County Durham that is said that way. Other counties are simply known by their name: Essex, Norfolk, Staffordshire, etc. Why not leave off the word "county" altogether to simplify things?

If you want specific advice about the genealogy software you're using, post on the Genealogy Software Boards.

HH

Re: Recording names of locations

lostyankee261 — 2010-03-01 17:54:29Z

This is all very helpful, thank you very much.

When I enter a place into my program I put as much as I can into that field. For instance, when I enter a location for the US it might look something like this "This Town, That County, That State" with exception of Louisiana, it has Parrishes. How do you enter the specifics of a location? As in England and Ireland, I know there it is said "County This or That" unlike here where it is "This or That County". Which way is it said in Canada?

I am trying hard to get this right since a great deal of my family is from France by way of Canada to the US.

Recording names of locations in Canada

lostyankee261 — 2010-03-01 15:38:55Z

I am in need of assistance understanding how to enter the names of locations in Canada please.

I know Canada has territories and provinces, but how do you record these? Also, are there "counties" within each province or territory? I have searched for these answers without success.

I have many family members who lived in Trois-Rivieres, so how would you list this location? How do I find out where a specific place is located? There are a couple places, at aleast I'm sure they are places, that I have come across in my research but I have no clue where they are geographically.

Re: Recording names of locations

P_G_Simpson — 2010-03-01 14:59:45Z

You can search for Canadian Geographical names on the NRCan website…
http://gnss.nrcan.gc.ca/gnss-srt/searchName.jsp?language=en

The results will tell you what province and what county the community is in, today.

If you do not have the correct spelling, this website will not help. In which case a GOOGLE might.

Provincial road maps have alphabetical indexes, or search features (partial spellings) which might help you find a similar name. To find these, just GOOGLE on the name of province and keywords… road… map

Trois-Rivières is a city on the St Lawrence River, west of Quebec City. Today Trois-Rivières is in the Maurice region.

http://www.quebec511.gouv.qc.ca/en/carte_routiere/index.asp

http://www.quebec511.gouv.qc.ca/en/carte_routiere/mauricieS....

If you consult the census listings for Trois Rivieres…
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-microfil...

there are listings for Trois-Rivières the city and Trois-Rivières the county.
If you consult the actual census listings, the info at the top of the page will tell you where the census was taken… Province, County, community, although it might be written as District and Sub-District.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1901/001...

The agricultural schedules of earlier census should give you an exact address (lot and concession in Ontario) and tell you how much land they owned and all kinds of neat farming info.

Re: English Canada

SAC112750 — 2010-02-16 22:00:33Z

Thank you. I might actually have found them, and I believe they were in Ontario according to census records. Thanks for the help.

Re: English Canada

EileenWilson001 — 2010-02-16 20:01:44Z

More specifically, it usually meant Ontario. The Maritime Provinces were generally referred to as such; ie, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI.

The vast majority of the immigrants to Ontario in that timeframe were from the British Isles. Trying to narrow it down to a specific place would be impossible.

Re: English Canada

rstp60 — 2010-02-13 22:55:44Z

Usually, it means all the existing provinces of Canada, except Québec

English Canada

SAC112750 — 2010-02-13 00:55:57Z

Can anyone tell me where "English" Canada was in the mid 1800's? Also, any known settlements for the immigrants from England and/or Ireland. Thank you.

Re: scottish farming communities in Canada circa 1870s

caldwellj2000 — 2010-01-30 15:47:23Z

In the Ottawa area there was a lot of settlers (i.e Perth and Lanark Ontario- obviously named after Scottish Settlers). Maybe just maybe you could look in that area?

Re: scottish farming communities in Canada circa 1870s

dsokolowski_1 — 2010-01-17 15:00:49Z

I googled "Rare Canadian genealogy government records Ontario" but I didn't find what you were referencing. There were too many links. some were to ebay sellers, and others were like to Cyndi's list. Can you e-mail me or post the exact link you are talking about?

Also, are crofters and cottars a term for renters and landlords?

I am a beginner with genealogy and I'll welcome all the help I can get.

Thank you again for your time.

Re: scottish farming communities in Canada circa 1870s

genealogyresearcher — 2010-01-15 20:24:58Z

There was a scheme were the crofters and cottars were sent to Canada. Very detailed records were kept once they arrived.
They were from the Western Highlands & Islands.
Google "Rare Canadian genealogy government records Ontario"
Although they were settled in SK & MB the records are in this set.

Town Location in Canada?

tomwdcraftr — 2009-12-30 20:00:12Z

One of my Great Grandfather's brothers shows as born in Kingston, but no province is shown. Birth would have been around 1853. I've searched a lot for the Kingston, Ontario area, and thus far been unable to find a birth for him. His name was David McMullan/McMullen and parents of John and Margaret. I'm wondering if there was also a Kingston, Quebec?? If there was (or is), where is it or was it located in Quebec??

Your help is appreciated!!

Thanks,

Tom McMillan (Washougal, WA)

Re: Town Location in Canada???

tomwdcraftr — 2009-12-24 19:32:46Z

I did find a website that showed what are said to be Wesleyan Methodist baptism records transcribed by Ida Reed. Here's a link to that: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wjmartin/w...

I have seen certain Wesleyan marriage records also, but I imagine all birth, marriage, and/or death records are likely not totally complete.

I was directed to that from Bill Martin's site which seems to have a wealth of genealogical links and information. Here's a link to his site: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wjmartin/s...

Thanks for the info on the 1852 census records not being available for Kingston.

Tom McMillan (Washougal, WA)

Re: Town Location in Canada???

NMaus — 2009-12-24 19:32:05Z

Three other provinces have Kingstons. There is one in Newfoundland and one in New Brunswick. Wikipedia has some info posted.
There is also an unincorporated area in Prince Edward Island. See
http://www.gov.pe.ca/placefinder/index.php3?city=Kingston

Re: Town Location in Canada???

O_Lorelei — 2009-12-24 15:15:08Z

Wesleyan birth records are online

http://www.cyndislist.com

Re: Town Location in Canada???

rcrawfor_32 — 2009-12-24 04:24:57Z

Wesleyan Methodist records are not on-line. The ones for Kingston, Ontario are found at the United Church Archives in Toronto http://www.united-church.ca/local/archives/on

The 1851/52 census for the town of Kingston is missing so is not available.

Re: Town Location in Canada???

tomwdcraftr — 2009-12-23 19:57:07Z

Thank you all so much!! This one is complicated. John and Margaret (maiden name Orr) McMullan married in Ireland and had Arthur there in 1845. My Great Grandfather William John McMullan was born to them in Montreal in 1847. Then I believe David was born in Kingston in 1853. My though is it's Kingston, Ontario, but I can't be sure?

On the 1851(52) Canada census I found Margaret, Arthur, and William John on a Montreal census. Margaret shows as married, but no husband listed. John is absent at this time. Margaret is living with others from Ireland by name of Johnston. Margaret and 2 of the Johnston's show as tailors.

Mom, Margaret is married to a John Hinds on 1861 census and in Toronto. Children are shown as Arthur, William John, and David Hinds, but I believe are McMillan/McMullan's!! David is shown on the 1861 census as born in Kingston, but no Province shown.

For the 1871 census my Great Grandfather William John McMillan is married in Fergus (he married Annie Todd in 1867), has 2 children, and who appears to be a brother David McMillan is living with them. On the 1871 census David is shown as born in Ontario, but no birth city shown.

Their Mom, Margaret Hinds marries Matthew Todd in 1865, and they live in Fergus. Matthew is Annie Todd's Father.

Matthew died in 1878, and Margaret Todd marries Andrew Gartley in Fergus. Margaret Gartley died in 1910 a widow.

Margaret is always shown as a Wesleyan Methodist, and I have checked all the birth records I've been able to find online, and will keep looking.

I'm hoping to find any information on where and when John McMullan may have died (or divorced??), and confirm the birth of David McMullan.

Thanks!! Tom McMillan (Washougal, WA)

Re: Town Location in Canada???

O_Lorelei — 2009-12-23 19:24:46Z

There might be a baptismal record.
You might check l852,l88l,l90l,l9ll
census records on line, as possibly he
had other siblings.
This would at least indicate if they are
in Kingston,Ont.
also mormon records - pilot search
www.automatedgenealogy.com
l852-l90l,l9ll census
Morman records - l88l census
and also do Pilot search
http:www.familysearch.org

Re: Town Location in Canada???

EileenWilson001 — 2009-12-23 16:45:33Z

Your problem lies in the fact that there were no birth records for that timeframe; civil registration did not begin in Ontario until 1869; you would need to be looking for church records.

Re: scottish farming communities in Canada circa 1870s

EileenWilson001 — 2009-11-30 18:37:12Z

Look for the church marriage record, not just the one from the county. It will have more information.

Also, it doesn't really matter where John was born -- he would have been a citizen of Great Britain. Canadian naturalization legislation did not take place until 1947; prior to that, all were subjects of Great Britain. The 1930 census says he was born "at sea".

Re: scottish farming communities in Canada circa 1870s

dsokolowski_1 — 2009-11-30 18:22:49Z

I believe they were Methodists. I know John McMillan and Minnie Schroeder had 2 sons (died young) and 3 girls (I think one died young as well). One of the daughters, Gladys McMillan married Joseph Arsen Freeman. They had 4 children, one of them was Philip Freeman who was my grandfather. My mother was baptized as Methodist when she was born and I think my grandmother was a Methodist as well. Eventually they converted to Roman Catholic (I think so my mom could go to a private school).

I know even less about Minnie Schroeder.

This is my grandfather's side. My grandfather died about 4 months before my mother was born. My grandmother journeyed from New York to Wisconsin with his body so his family could bury him there. They had just gotten married in March in New York and he died in a car accident in September. My mother was born in December back in New York.

I don't know the whole story, but my grandmother and Philip's parents apparently didn't have a great relationship. They had never met until the funeral. Afterwords, they exchanged christmas cards with my mother, but that was it for the contact.

Growing up, my mother did not have much contact with her father's family at all. I think only a cousin attempted to talk to her a bit more. I got my information from a great-uncle 15 years ago when I did a school report in highschool. He shared all his knowledge with me and a few photos. So the information I have on my grandfather and his ancestors is still very little.

Thank you for the information on WWI draft card. I don't know why, but I never looked him up.

Re: scottish farming communities in Canada circa 1870s

dsokolowski_1 — 2009-11-30 17:24:27Z

Unfortuantly, I don't know much about John McMillan at all. I'm not even sure his parents were named Joseph and Mary. I wouldn't doubt that he has siblings, but I was never told about them.

I was told by a great-uncle years ago that John was born on the way to Canada from Scotland, so he never became a citizen of Canada. I need to research what a baby born on a ship would be classified as. Also, my great-uncle's information may have been wrong and John might have been born years after his parents came from Scotland.

I have him on a 1910 census, a 1920 census and a 1930 census. According to one census he says that he emigrated in 1892. He always lists himself as being born in Canada and his parents as born in Scotland. I also have him on a 1905 state census of Wisconsin.

The marriage record I have for John just lists his name and who he married (Minnie Schroeder) and where at (Milwaukee county, WI). I think I forgot to look at the next page where information such as place of birth and parents names might have been (I was new to researching).

I probably will have to just go ahead and try to find and purchase some records to get more clues. I was hoping to try to find as much "free" information as possible.

Thank you for your help and suggestions though.

Re: scottish farming communities in Canada circa 1870s

EileenWilson001 — 2009-11-30 16:52:02Z

The use of Joseph as a first name would seem to indicate that the family was Roman Catholic, which was not the norm in Scotland. What religion did John practice in the US?

Both the 1920 and 1910 US Census indicate that he was born in Canada, as were his parents. His WWI draft registration gives his birthdate as 26 August 1876, but that he was a native-born American. Gives his wife, Minnie, as next of kin.

Re: scottish farming communities in Canada circa 1870s

btluna — 2009-11-29 23:49:38Z

At that time there were Scottish communities in Ontario, Nova Scotia and elsewhere in Canada.

There are quite a few John McMillans in the 1881 and 1891 Canadian censuses, but none the right age with parents Joseph and Mary. Was his birth year 1877?

Since you aren’t sure of his parents, are there any records you could get that would give you their names? Have you found John in the 1900 U.S. census and do you have John’s 1902 marriage record? Maybe there are Naturalization documents for him that might help, and possibly his death registration as they sometimes have parents’ names.

If John had siblings you could look for records for them too.

scottish farming communities in Canada circa 1870s

dsokolowski_1 — 2009-11-29 22:04:57Z

I am having a hard time tracking down relatives. Supposedly, my great-great grandfather, John McMillan was born on the way from Scotland to Canada.

He settled with his parents in a scottish farming community, but I have no idea where and I have no idea where in Scotland they came from either.

Was there a particular province that Scots were settling in around 1877? If I could narrow it down by province at least, I might have a shot of finding census records.

This is the only information I have on this gentleman. I think his parents were named Joseph and Mary McMillan. John eventually left Canada in 1892. He marries Minnie Schroeder in 1902. From 1910 onward he lives in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

Thank you for any help.

Re: Angell Descendants

DianaGendron58 — 2009-11-25 14:37:57Z

On the BC Death Index (goes to 1988), there is a Douglas Angell who died in 1976, age 20. If that is the same Douglas, search his name at website:
http://search.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-D76C9B/gbsearch/Deaths

It will give his date of death, from which you could request an obituary lookup from a volunteer. Hopefully his obituary might give some indication of where other members of his family might have been. I don't find any Ronald or Robert Angell on the BC Death Index. Perhaps they are still living in BC? You could look on current Canadian phone/address listings at www.canada411.ca

Diana Gendron P.S. Your posting on this board will likely be transferred to the Angell message board soon, as the administrator of this General Canada board does not keep ones that pertain only to a specific surname.

Re: What provinces are classified as Canada (Fr)?

2009-11-19 16:31:10Z

Nothing is easy when I research anything in Canada.

I do not understand why I can't find any birth records, immigration records, or marriage records in Canada, even though I know pretty much where my relatives lived in Ontario. I have found the father on various censuses from Canada and I know he was married there and 3-5 chldren were born there so I am getting very frustrated.

Is it true that you either have to be a Canadian citizen or go to Canada personally to obtain copies of any documents for people who lived in Canada?

Re: What provinces are classified as Canada (Fr)?

2009-11-19 16:29:48Z

Thanks so much for the indepth explanation. It makes my searches much easier.

Re: What provinces are classified as Canada (Fr)?

2009-11-19 16:27:33Z

Thanks, Ted. By the same token, do those residing in Canada-French provinces, not necessarily speak French, but only live in the area where French is spoken?

Would Quebec be the only province where they speak French? What about Newfoundland, etc?

What provinces are classified as Canada (Fr)?

kob35irish — 2009-11-19 16:25:31Z

What provinces in the 1800's were considered Canada (Fr), other than Quebec?

I have relatives born in Canada (Fr) as indicated on US Censuses. How can I research this and would the records be in French?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Re: Canada death in 1999

WilmaThomson39 — 2009-10-03 21:49:38Z

u can google Canadian death records & census records

Re: Canada death in 1999

jdybrw — 2009-09-01 17:18:54Z

If you get info on where and when the obit can be obtained from the national library, reference@lac-bac.gc.ca . It is a free service.

Re: "French Canada"

u434_1 — 2009-09-01 15:52:38Z

The name is probably Joubert. Many times the letter "u" is incorrectly transcribed as a "n". Look at the original and preceeding and proceding records plus marriage and birth records.

Re: look ups phillip chadwick

ELLinSpain — 2009-08-26 13:45:38Z

not sure but

UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960

Name: Philip Chadwick
CHILD
Port of Departure: Montreal, Qubec, Canada
Arrival Date: 10 Sep 1953
Port of Arrival: Liverpool, England
Ports of Voyage: Montreal
Ship Name: Ascania

WITH
ALICE CHADWICK 29
A HOUSEWIFE
GOING TO WESTHOUGHTON, LANCS

There are 6 Phillip Chadwick's in the canadian Phone books

Re: Canada death in 1999

jmartin88 — 2009-08-03 16:59:54Z

I have read all of the posts, but have yet to see the name of the deceased. It is possible for you to tell us who you are looking for?

Re: Canada death in 1999

e_tonner — 2009-08-03 15:15:39Z

Profession? The governing organisation may publish memorials annually.

Re: French Canadian maiden names?

rstp60 — 2009-07-01 15:54:22Z

I forgot a third category of families who had an alternative surname, namely families who had been granted seigneurial land by the kings of France and families with some degree of nobility: surnames such as Rageot de Beaurivage, Chaussegros de Léry, Boucher de Boucherville, etc ...

Re: French Canadian maiden names?

robinausd — 2009-06-29 21:53:12Z

Thank you so very much. This is wonderful information!

Re: French Canadian maiden names?

rstp60 — 2009-06-29 17:33:59Z

No, it is not a reference to a maiden name but an added surname to differenciate the families as there were no more than 2000 orignal surnames in Québec; for example, a settler named Béland would take the name of the place where he came from and it would then be Béland dit Champigny. Also, a good many original settlers were demobilized soldiers and it was the custom and even an obligation have a nickname in the french army.

By 1870, the families were forced by a Québec law to adopt a permanent surname.

French Canadian maiden names?

robinausd — 2009-06-28 22:29:12Z

As I do research on French Candian ancestors, I keep coming across surnames such as "Baland dit Latour". Is this a reference to a maiden name? if so, which one is which? I know enough French to know that "dit" means "says". I'm very confused and would appreciate some light on the subject.

Re: Gulet, Canada

ladyshoffner1 — 2009-06-24 14:19:16Z

it was witten on a record that was given to me by my uncle.

where is Gulet, Canada?

ladyshoffner1 — 2009-06-24 14:12:22Z

Can anyone tell me where abouts this is in Canada and where would I look for family in this area...
Thanks, Laura

Location in Canada: Flannery County

phartman — 2009-06-09 15:27:11Z

Searching for the location of Tobacco Gardens, Flannery County. In 1885 Charles BALDWIN was supposedly from this place when he married Annie ENGLISH at Washburn in North Dakota. He was a sheep rancher. Any idea where it was?

Re: Location of Tobacco Gardens

peggyc2sky — 2009-06-08 15:47:55Z

Hi,
Found this is a list of historical places in the usa. gives the lat and long of Tobacco Gardens. to use a GPS to find it you have to convert the minutes to decimal minutes by dividing by 60 and the seconds by 3600 (pretty sure)

Tobacco Garden (historical) locale Williams 480913N 1030627W

Peggy

Re: Moise Bourgoin

BurgoyneM — 2009-05-31 16:15:32Z

I do not know if you still have the info on Moise Bourgoin but my brother in law had posted something and about him awhile back. I do have the baptism certificate reading that Francois father is Moise Bourgoin and if my memory serves me I think the mother was Emilie Sirois (but I could be wrong on this. could you let me know if you think it is the same one. Thanks Michele Burgoyne

Re: Green Island, NB

2009-05-31 16:15:24Z

I don't really know anything about Frank Burgoyne although, if his father is Moise Bourgoin, I have a small amount of information on him. I also have a fair bit of information on Moise's father, Alexandre and his ancestors.

I don't know where Wexford is but there is a Green island in the St. John River of NB and this area and adjacent ME, known as "Madawaska" is where many "Bourgoins" settled.

Al Burgoyne