Taking the time to Browse Part 1: Family Search

Indexed collections on various websites can take you many generations back in a relatively short period of time. In our excitement, we can sometimes forget about "hidden" collections. There's a whole host of record sets that haven't been indexed. If you stick to name searches, you're never going to get hits from these collections. They can take awhile to find what you want. You may have to slog through quite a few images to strike gold. Anyone who's searched through reels of microfilm at your local Archive can tell you it can be a long and tedious process. But what if the one nugget of information you find beaks down a brick wall? All that eyestrain will be worth it.

For the next few posts, I'm going to highlight ones for Canada from sites such as Family Search, Ancestry, and a few other smaller sites. This week I'll be discussing Family Search.

There are 99 uniquely Canadian Collections on Family Search's website. Here's the thing though: Only 80 of them are indexed. That means there's 19 collections that you won't see results from in a name search! That's a lot of information you could be missing. Here's how to find them:

On the Search screen, you're going to click on Canada on the Research by Location on the right.

https://www.familysearch.org/search/hr/search

If you are looking at records from a certain province, then click on that province. Or you can just click Canada to get all the records.

The next screen will give you a name search section, but scroll down the page to the section Image-Only Historical Collections.

https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/location/1927164?region=Canada&englishRegion=Canada

They have 18 BMD collections, 1 Census, 1 Military, 12 Probate and Court, and 2 Miscellaneous collections that are not indexed. Here's the complete list. Click on the collection, then the Learn More link to get detailed information on each one.

British Columbia Estate Files, 1859-1949

Probate and Estate files. Images count: 783,176

British Columbia Naturalization Records, 1859-1926

Naturalization documents from Victoria and Cranbrook Counties. Image count: 23,240

British Columbia Wills, 1861-1991

Wills and indexes from across BC. Image count: 127,172

British Columbia, Crown Land Grant Records, 1851-1874

Records of land granted or bought from the provincial government and from the Hudson's Bay Company. Image Count: 4,567

British Columbia, Crown Land Grants, 1869-1930

A larger collection continuing on from the one above. Image count: 540,745 

British Columbia, Crown Land Pre-emption Registers,1860-1971

Land purchases of land not surveyed. Image count: 2,408 

British Columbia, Dominion Land Branch Records, 1885-1949

Indexes and Land Records for the Railway Belt and Peace River Block. Image count: 286,123

Canada, Merchant Marine Agreements and Accounts of Crews, 1890-1920

Records from ports in British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia, as well as a few foreign ports. Image count: 23,381.

Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police obituary card index and notices, 1876-2007

Taken from RCMP periodicals, newsletters and books. Image count: 9,476

Manitoba Census Indexes, 1831-1870

Indexes of information from HBC records and the Manitoba 1870 Census. Image count: 30,729

Manitoba Church Records, 1800-1959

Baptisms, marriages and burials from around Manitoba. Image count: 6,567

New Brunswick Death Certificates, 1920-1934

One of 3 collections of death registrations for the province. Image count: 76,812

New Brunswick Death Certificates, 1935-1938

Continuation of the above collection. Image count: 16,806

New Brunswick Marriage Registers, 1789-1889

Books of transcriptions submitted from the churches to the Province. Image count: 7,459

New Brunswick Provincial Returns of marriages and Late Registrations, 1920-1950

Marriage registrations from around the Province. Image Count: 119,291

New Brunswick Provincial Returns of Marriages,1887-1919

Early records of marriages. Image count: 141,775

New Brunswick, County Deed Registry Books, 1780-1930

Indexes and Registers. A work in progress. Image count to date: 792,235

New Brunswick, County Registers of Birth, ca.1812-1919

Registers from around the province. Image count: 3,754

New Brunswick, Provincial Returns of Deaths, 1815-1919

The third of the death registrations collection for the Province. Image count: 80,741

Newfoundland Church Records, 1793-1945

Baptisms, marriages, and burials from around the Province. Image count: 6,071

Nova Scotia Births, 1864-1877

Indexes and registrations from around the Province. Image count: 35,026

Nova Scotia Church Records, 1720-2001

Parish registers from around the Province. Image count: 16,188

Nova Scotia Deaths, 1864-1877

Provincial death registrations. Image count: 27,717

Nova Scotia Marriages, 1864-1918

Provincial marriage registrations. Image count: 21,950

Nova Scotia Probate Records, 1760-1993

Probate files. Image count: 1,395,009

Nova Scotia, Halifax County, Deed Indexes, 1749-1958

Images of the Index books for Halifax County. Image count: 23,008

Nova Scotia, Queens County, Notes of Thomas Brenton Smith, 1700-1950

Genealogy notes of families from the Queen's County area. Image count: 30,314

Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923

Covers several parishes around the Province. Image count: 126,354

Prince Edward Island Church Records, 1777-1985

Baptism, marriages and burials from around the Province. Image count: 22,448

Quebec Index to Civil Copy of Church Records, 1642-1902

Indexes to the records submitted by the churches to the Province. Image count: 1,300,530

Quebec Notarial Records, 1800-1920

A work in progress. Image count to date: 4,956,093

Quebec, Non-Catholic Parish Records,1763-1967

Coverage varies by parish. Image count: 278,512

Quebec, Quebec Judicial District, Guardianships, 1639-1930

Indexes and records. A work in progress. Image count to date: 310,188

Saskatchewan Provincial Records, 1873-1987

A hodge podge of land, voter, biographical, and municipal records. A work in progress. Image count to date: 1,506,449

Saskatchewan, Judicial District Court Records, 1891-1954

Indexes, Docket Books and files from the Supreme Court and King's Bench. A work in progress. Image count to date: 203,047

As you can see from the image counts, there are several MILLION images not yet indexed. Think of all the information you could be missing by not looking at these. And, as Family Search starts digitizes more and more records, this list will only grow.

Military Ancestors: Courts Martial Records of the First World War at LAC

When we find a military ancestor, it's natural to imagine them doing heroic deeds and ending up with a chest full of medals. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Our ancestors were regular people just like we are, and didn't always distinguish themselves in good ways.

Library and Archives Canada has an interesting online database called Courts Marshal of the First World War. These are court records from disciplinary hearings. Not all those charged were found guilty. So even if your ancestor wasn't found guilty of the charges you will still see them in here. The paper files themselves no longer exist, so this microfilm collection is the only record left. The database itself does not have digital images. But don't get disappointed just yet. By using the information it does have, you can still get to see the file.

First, you want to bring up the main database screen here.

http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/courts-martial/Pages/courts-martial.aspx

Then, you're going to open up a new window, and bring up the search screen here.

http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/courts-martial/Pages/search.aspx

As you can see, you can search by Name, Regimental Number, Unit, and/or Offense. Take note that if you are using a name only search, a surname that could also be a given name will show results for both. I used "Douglas" a surname from my tree, and got results for soldiers with both their first name or middle name as Douglas as well the Douglas surname.

On your search results, click on the Item Number next to the name. This will take you to a summary screen. Using the results for Douglas, I clicked on J. Douglas, and this is the information it gave me:

http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/courts-martial/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=827&

Now, it doesn't seem like you get much information, but what you are going to do is take a few key pieces of information from here. What you want to look at is first the Offense. It's going to be a section number. We're lucky here because in the Remarks it tells us that he's being charged with desertion. Not all the results have an explanation though. If yours doesn't then you're going to switch back to that main page window we first opened, and scroll down the page. Here you will find what each number in the offense section means.

The second piece of information you're going to look at especially is the Reference section. It gives you all the information you need to go to Library and Archives Canada and see the microfilm. But if you can't make the trip to the LAC or hire someone to do it for you, you can still access the microfilm. What you want to do is take note of the military file number and the microfilm number. In the case of J. Douglas, the file number is 649-D-19654, and it's on microfilm T-8657.

Now go back to the main page window and scroll all the way down to How to Access the Records. Then click where I've highlighted.

http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/courts-martial/Pages/courts-martial.aspx

This is going to take you the digitized microfilms on the Heritage website. using LAC's link will take you right to the microfilm collection.

http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_136599

Click on the reel you want. For J. Douglas, we want T-8657. This is where the fiddling begins. These microfilms are not searchable by keyword, so you're going to have to jump around a bit to find the file number you want. We're looking for file 649-D-19654. Go through the first couple images of the reel to find a page that looks like this:

http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t8657/3?r=0&s=1

In the top left will be the case number. Looking at the first one in the reel will give you an idea of how much you have to jump ahead in the reel to find what you're looking for. Each case starts with this image, so you'll want to find this image to get to the start of the file you're looking for. As you can see, I had quite a bit of jumping ahead and around to find 19654.

Depending on the seriousness of the charge, you may be looking at a very large file. In the images are handwritten statements, and typed transcripts of the trial. You'll have the decision of the court, and the sentence if found guilty. There are also images of the exhibits entered into evidence, names of the witnesses and the court personnel. If your ancestor appealed his decision, documentation for the appeal may be there as well. It's fascinating reading.

You can save the image for each page by right clicking over the image, and selecting "save image as..". This will allow you to save it to your computer. For very large case files, it will be tedious. But it will still be quicker than trying to transcribe. There is so much information, you'll never be able to absorb it all in one sitting. As well, the microfilming done at the time didn't always result in nice clear images. It may take some adjusting on your part to make out everything clearly.

And what happened to J. Douglas? Well according to his case file, he was supposed to have returned from leave in London, England on 19 October, 1917. He did not return, and it wasn't until 5 February 1918 that he was apprehended. He was declared Not Guilty of Desertion, but Guilty of being Absent Without Leave. He was scheduled to 1 Year Jail Hard Labour.

Probate Records Part 7: The Territories and some Final Tips

In this last segment, we're going to take a look at The Canadian Territories.

The Yukon
Probate in the Yukon used to be handled by the Territorial Court. Today it is handled by the Yukon Supreme Court. It sits mainly in Whitehorse, but does travel to other communities if needed. The central registry for Supreme Court proceedings is located in Whitehorse. The contact information is on their website here.

The Yukon Archives has estate files from 1897-1950. They can be be viewed at the Archives. The records held there are mainly from when the Territorial Court handled the records.

The Northwest Territories
Probate is done through the NWT's Supreme Court. Like the Yukon, the Supreme Court sits mainly in Yellowknife, but will travel to other regions as needed. Requests for access to probate files is done through the Court Registry - Office of the Clerk.

The NWT Archives has a collection in their holdings of estate files from 1926 to 1947. However, due to privacy laws, access is restricted. It is part of the RCMP fonds, so I would imagine any permissions for access would have to come through them.

Because the borders of the Northwest Territories changed so drastically through the years, it would be a good idea to check with the Manitoba, Saskatchewan  and Alberta Provincial Archives in your search. I know Manitoba especially has records relating to the Northwest Territories.

Nunavut
This territory is unique in that there is one unified Court in the Territory called the Court of Justice. Like the other territories, the court primarily sits in Iqaluit,but routinely travels around the territory to give it's residence a chance to resolve legal matters locally.

Since Nunavut only came into existence in 1999, you will not find "historic" probate cases. For this you will have to refer to the records of the Northwest Territories.

General Sources and Tips
To finish off this series of posts, here are some general sites and tips for finding wills:

1. CanLII- The Canadian Legal Information Institute is a non-profit site that has court decisions from across Canada. I typed in "estate" in the keyword search, and got over 96,000 decisions from across Canada. You can also first narrow down by the province or territory of your particular interest.

2. Check the Canada Gazette to see if there is mention of your ancestor's probate. This is especially true if your ancestor was part of the government, or had significant assets.

3. Always check in land records for your province of interest. Wills were sometimes registered in Land Registry offices to prove an heir has title to land.

4. Though Provincial Archives are your best source for looking for wills and probate, don't overlook local Archives and Societies. They might have an index, or some might have microfilms or transcriptions of the Provincial Records.

5. Whether in Provincial or local Archives, look beyond the obvious Court fonds. If the Archive has a collection such as "McDonald family fonds", be sure to check that collection out as well. I've seen more than one that have wills or estate papers in the collection.

Probate Records Part 6: Alberta and British Columbia

In this installment of Probate Records, we're going to look at sources in Alberta and British Columbia. If you missed the earlier installments, you can find them here:

Part 1: An introduction to the records

Part 2: Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island

Part 3: Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

Part 4: Quebec and Ontario

Part 5: Manitoba and Saskatchewan

Alberta
Probate in Alberta, as with other provinces, is handled by the provincial Court of Queen's Bench. When looking for probate records in Alberta, the most important information you need to know is where your ancestor died. There is no central place for court records, so you will have to contact the courthouse where the probate took place. If you are unsure, both Family Search Wiki and Library and Archives Canada suggest getting a search done by the Succession Duties Department . Searches can be done for a fee. Their contact information is:

Succession Duties Department
Public Trustee's Office
10365-97 Street
Edmonton Alberta T5J 3Z8


Once you have the judicial district, then you can contact the courthouse. The Court of Queen's Bench has an interactive map of courthouses here.

The Provincial Archives of Alberta's website states that they have files and indexes available to view onsite. If you can manage a visit there, it might save you some leg work contacting a far away courthouse.

Unfortunately, I could not find any other sources online or otherwise for Probate in Alberta. If you happen to know of any please comment below.

British Columbia
The Supreme Court of British Columbia handles Probate Cases. From a genealogy point of view, BC is much more user friendly on accessing information compared to other parts of Canada. There is a central registry that you can contact to find where your ancestor's probate records can be found. If the records you are looking for are before 1982, then the BC Archives at the Royal BC Museum should have them. They also have some files dated after 1982. Courthouse Libraries BC has a great information page on probate files and where to find them here. The BC Archives also has a reference guide here for the records in their possession. This guide is from 2010 though, so some changes may have been made since then. I did a search of their holdings and you can access it here. Take note that on the left side of the screen there are several subject group that have probate in the title, so check through them all to find the area and year ranges.

Other place to find Probate and Wills:

1. The Abbotsford Genealogical Society has indexes of wills filed in BC from the 1860's to 1940. These have been arranged alphabetically by surname and can be viewed online. They also have an index of wills filed by non residents of BC. Using the index you can find out which of the over 60 volumes of books the name is found in, and what page. You can then request a copy of the will through them. Or if you can make a visit there, they do have the volumes microfilmed.

2. Family Search has the browse only digital collection British Columbia Estate Files, 1859-1949. This is divided by jurisdiction. Some estate files were handled by the County Court, so some locations are further divided by County Court and Supreme Court. Ancestry also has this collection, but it is the same as the Family Search one, and is not indexed.

3. Family Search also has the browse only collection British Columbia Wills, 1861-1981. This collections has indexes from the central registry up to 1981, but the wills themselves only go to 1939.



For the last post in the series, we'll wrap things up with the Territories and some general tips, strategies and finding aids.