Saskatchewan Ancestors: The Name Change Index of the SGS

I'm sure most of us have found an ancestor who changed their name. Unfortunately, we don't always get a paper trail showing it. If you have an ancestor who lived in Saskatchewan though, you're in luck.

In 1933 the Saskatchewan government passed legislation formalizing the process of changing one's name. First an application would be made to the Provincial Secretary. Then the application would be published in the Saskatchewan Gazette, and the applicant's local newspaper. Once approved, the certificate was also published in the Gazette and local newspaper. The rules for application were as follows:

• Applicant must be at least 21
• Married women could only change from their married surname if their husband was deceased
• Married men could not change his name, his wife's, or their unmarried children's names under 21 without his wife's consent

In 1941, The Change of Name Act was amended so that people who changed their name before entering the province could formally register their name. In 1947 the following changes were made:

• Any one over the age of 18 could change their name, even if married or widowed
• The applicant could only change the name of a child 14 or older with the written consent that child
• The certificates would no longer be published in the Saskatchewan Gazette

Even though the process was finalized in 1933, there are applications that go back to 1917. Included in the application would be the full name of the applicant, their wife, and their residence. It also included the names and ages of any minor children. Lastly, it included the proposed name change.

The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society has given researchers a huge leg up with their research by compiling a series of indexes

http://www.saskgenealogy.com/databases/change_of_names/

Compiled by D'Arcy Hande, Debbie Moyer, and Rae Chamberlain, they cover the years from 1917-1993. The first index, 1917-1950 is set up with the following headings:

• Original Surname
• Original Name
• Address (town or jurisdiction)
• New Surname
• New Name
• Notice (when the application appeared in the Gazette)
• Certificate (when the approval was published)

The subsequent indexes are set up a little differently:

• Original Surname
• Original Name
• Address
• New Surname
• New Name
• Application Date
• Publication Date

Because of the amendments in 1947, there is no publication of the certificate. So unlike the first index, you will not be able to know when/if the application was approved. The indexes are PDF files, which is awesome. By hitting "Ctrl" "F" on your keyboard, a search box will appear and you can type in your desired surname. This will then highlight every time it appears. 

If you have an Ancestry subscription, they have indexed the collection on their site here. It has been indexed by both original name and new name. However, you will not always get that crucial information of when it happened. A lot of the results I got looking at the various names did not have dates attached of either the application or the certificate.

How to Get Application Information

The indexes will let you know what edition of the Saskatchewan Gazette the application was published in. Using this information you can consult that particular edition of the Gazette at the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan. Looking here will give you the application information that is not included in the index.These are not online, but if you are in the area, you can visit the Archives. If you are researching from a distance, you can access their inquiry form here.

Immigrant Ancestors: The Canadian Naturalization Records

http://wikimapia.org/36822/Library-and-Archives-Canada#/photo/141205

Immigration records can be tough. There are so many variables to consider. What country did they come from? When did they come? How old were they when they came? What port would they have come through?

If your ancestor came from a country outside the British Commonwealth, you do have one avenue open to you to help answer some of those questions. Library Archives Canada has digitized lists of citizens naturalized 1915-1951. Before we get to the lists, here's a bit of background information.

The Canadian policy on immigration has evolved over the years. The "open-door" policy of the 19th century evolved into stringent requirements which at specific time periods restricted immigration based on ethnicity. This again evolved into less emphasis on ethnicity and more on the skills and education of the prospective immigrant. From 1971 to now, Canada's official policy has circled back to the attitude of the 19th century, with an emphasis on multiculturalism. You can see a more complete timeline of Canada's immigration guidelines on the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21's website here,

The Immigration Act of 1914 brought stringent regulations on who could apply for naturalization:

• Must have been a resident of Canada for 5 years
• Must have knowledge of French or English
• Must show "good moral character"

Each year from 1919 to 1951, the government published annual lists of naturalized citizens in either the Sessional Papers or the Canada Gazette. The year 1919 shows lists that go back to 1915. Library and Archives Canada has these lists digitized online here. There are two sets in the collection.

Search Database by Name, 1915-1946

This set has been indexed by Surname, Given Name and Country. I decided to use "Zwicker" a non Commonwealth surname from my own tree. My Zwickers came in the 1700's, as part of the Lunenburg settlers, so I did not expect to find anyone directly related to me. I got 4 results:

http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/citizenship-naturalization-records/naturalized-records-1915-1951/Pages/list-naturalization-1915-1939.aspx?Surname=Zwicker&

I clicked on the last one, Yetta Zwicker/Herscovitch. Here's what came up when I clicked on the PDF of the page:

http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?id=1942-03-04_3464&op=pdf&app=naturalization19151936

From looking at the page we now know:

• She also used the surname Herscovitch as some point. A maiden name perhaps?
• She was the wife of Morris Zwicker, who came from Austria
• She was naturalized In July 1941
• The certificate is dated August 5 1941
• Morris was a tailor that lived in Montreal, Que
• The record number is 32594E. Looking at the top of the page, series "E" certificates are given to people naturalized before the Immigration Act.

The main page of the LAC collection says that women were usually naturalized under their husbands application. If they decided to apply on their own afterward, they sometimes showed up under series E certificates. This would lead us to believe that Yetta was previously naturalized through her husband before 1941, and then applied in her own name afterwards.

Search Database by Date, 1947-1951

The second set of records have not been indexed for individual entries. I used the year 1950. Typing in a year will then give you a PDF for each month. I clicked on March, and got several other PDF options, as each one is a page for that particular month. The people are listed alphabetically, so you'll have to look at a few to get to the letter you need. The page I selected had surnames starting with M, N, and O. Looking at the top of the N surnames, I looked at the listing for Fukuji Nakamoto:

http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?id=1950-04-06_1667&op=pdf&app=naturalization19361951

Fukuji was naturalized in March 1950. His certificate was dated March 24 1950. He was a cook in Grand Forks, BC, and was previously a Japanese citizen. His record number is 62643A. We know from the main page of the collection that A certificates were granted to "Aliens". 

How to Obtain the Records

Now these lists have some good information, but the actual application can tell you more. The applications are not online, but you can obtain copies.

First you will need to fill out an Access to Information Request Form, which you can find here. The request will cost you $5.00, in cheque made out to to the Receiver General of Canada. Only a Canadian citizen or resident can apply. If you are not one, LAC does provide a list of freelance researchers who can make the request on your behalf here. Please keep in mind that you may have to pay an additional amount to the researcher for their work on your behalf.

If the person whose records you are requesting is still alive, you need their written consent. If they are deceased, you will have to supply proof of death. Keep in mind that they have to have been deceased for at least 20 years. This can be a copy of a death registration, a newspaper obitutary, or a picture of a headstone with name and date of death. The only exception to supplying either of these is if the person' birth date is over 110 years ago.

Make sure that in your request you give at least the following information on your immigrant ancestor:

• Surname
• Given name
• Date of Birth
• Place of Birth
• Number of the Naturalization certificate. Make sure to include the series letter as well. Also indicate if the record is in French. The digitized lists will tell you if this is the case.
• State that you would like copies of the original records

Applications and supporting documents must be mailed to

Citizen and Immigration Canada'

Access to Information and Privacy Division

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1

Ontario Ancestors: Happy Birthday Toronto!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Toronto

This week marked Toronto's 184th birthday. Known as "Toronto the Good" in world wide circles, the rest of Canada tends to have a love/hate relationship with our largest city. I myself was born in Toronto, and lived there until my early teens, Though it's been many years since I lived there, I still have close ties to it. My paternal side has ties to Toronto for at least 4 generations.

In honour of Toronto's birthday, this week's post highlights some Toronto genealogy resources. But first a little history.

There has been archaeological evidence that settlement here goes back to the First Nations over 1,000 years ago. The name Toronto itself has evolved from an a Mohawk word, "tkaronto", which means "where the trees are standing in the water".

Europeans first started inhabiting the area in the 1600's and 1700's, when fur traders started setting up posts. It wasn't until 1793, when John Graves Simcoe established York, that the first permanent European settlement was established. He established the naval base and garrison to keep an eye on the boundary between the province of Upper Canada and the new United States.

York was burned twice by the Americans during the War of 1812. Fort York, which still stands in the heart of Toronto, is a National Historic site.

Toronto as a city was incorporated in 1834. Through the 1800's and the first half of the 20th century, Toronto grew larger. It's location made it a gateway to both Western and Northern Ontario. As a result, it became both a financial and industrial powerhouse. By 1967, Toronto consisted of the city of Toronto, and the five boroughs of Scarborough, Etobicoke, York, North York, and East York. Each of the six areas had their own municipal governments. In 1998, it became the megacity of Toronto, and the six separate municipal governments became one.

Today the Greater Toronto Area consists of Toronto and four surrounding regions: Halton, Peel, Durham and York. According to 2016 statistics, it has a population of over 6 million. Doesn't seem like a lot compared to cities in other countries. But when you realize that the newly incorporated city of Toronto in 1834 had only 9,000 people, you see just how fast it grew in less than 200 years.

If you'd like to see a more compete timeline of the city, check out these pages:

• The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Fort York National Historic Site
• CTV News: Timeline: 180 years of Toronto historyThe History of Toronto: An 11,000 year Journey

Now for the genealogy.

City of Toronto Archives

One of my goals the next time I get to Toronto is to visit the City of Toronto Archives. According to their website they have

• Over 1 million photographs
• Maps
• City Directories
• Assessment Rolls
• Council Proceedings
• Bylaws
• Building Permits
• Government Records
• Non-Government Records

The search function of their holdings is fairly user friendly. They do have a very small amount of their collections online. There are some web exhibits, links to municipal sites, and some digitized photos. My absolute favourite though, is their collection of maps. In particular is the collection of fire insurance maps. The collection has the years 1880, 1884, 1890, 1894, 1899, 1903, 1913, and 1924. These maps are invaluable if you're trying to find a street that no longer exists. I ran into this problem myself, trying to track my great grandfather John Wellington McDonald. According to the 1932 Canada's Voter's Lists, he was living with my great mother and their children on Angus Place. That street no longer exists. By using the major streets around it, I was finally able to find it on the 1924 Insurance map. It was a small alley that is today a courtyard behind some apartment buildings. 

Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society

This very active branch of the OGS has a great website. The link above takes you their page on both online and offline research resources

Toronto Public Library

If you can get to a branch, there are some great resources available. The link above will take you to their research guides on BMDs, British and Irish Genealogy, the Humber River area, and more. They also give free access to their Ancestry Library Edition. The Toronto Reference Library is part of this library system. 

Toronto Star's Pages of the Past and The Globe Archives

Many local libraries in Ontario offer access to these through ProQuest. Digitized editions going back to the 1800's are available. Some libraries even offer access through their own websites. Just enter in your library card number and you're good to go from the comfort of home.

Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto

Their website has some great tips and links to help you discover your Toronto Jewish ancestors. They also have contact lists to put in touch with researchers and translators.


Toronto Island Community
A web page devoted to genealogy and the history of the Toronto islands. 

Toronto Trust Cemeteries Collection at FamilySearch

The Toronto branch of the OGS worked in conjunction with FamilySearch to have the registers of the Toronto Trust Cemeteries digitized and indexed. You can read an earlier blog post I did on them here.