Saskatchewan Ancestors: The Greystone Yearbooks Online at the University of Saskatchewan Archives

Yearbooks are a fun way to find out about your ancestor's academic life. If your ancestor attended or worked at the University of Saskatchewan between 1912 and 1969, then you're in luck. The University has digitized their yearbooks for these years on their website.

The collection is called Student Yearbooks Online, 1912-1969. Digitized from microfilms, the images follow the yearbooks through its various name changes and formats

• From 1913 to 1920, the April edition of the University's newsletter The Sheaf was the graduation edition and served as a yearbook.
• 1921 a stand alone yearbook was published, called The Spectrum.
• 1922/1923 - published as The Keystone
• 1924-1926 - published as US
• 1927 - 1969 - published as The Greystone

I looked through the years and the yearbooks are really not much different than the yearbooks I remember from my own school years. Faculty pictures, student pictures and bios, and extracurricular activities are all featured. As to be expected, the early years have quite formal pictures. 

Here's a couple of student bios from the very first graduating class of 1912

Here's a neat one from the 1920 yearbook. I always get excited to see an ancestor's signature.

Another unexpected find. A tribute to a student who died in WWI from the 1917 yearbook.

Don't forget the faculty. Here's the deans from 1937.

Extra curricular activities are a huge part of any academic life. Here's the badminton and cross country teams from 1956.

As the years progress, the pictures start becoming more candid. Here's some of the pictures taken at a dance after an awards banquet in 1964

Lastly, don't forget the advertisements. Here's some from the 1943 yearbook

The images in the collection are fairly clear. The website does warn that there may be missing pages and low quality images, due to the conditions at time of the original microfilming. Also, take note of these other caveats:

• Due to privacy restrictions, later years won't have individual student photos and bios of the graduating class. Once a year book has passed the 92 year benchmark, they will also become available online. I looked and as of today, student bios and pictures are available up to 1927. However, there are still group photos from extra curriculars. You might still find your ancestor among those.
• There is no zoom function. This can make the site a little clunky to use, but it's not terrible.
• There is no ability to print. However, just right click on the image and save the page as a picture. Then you can use your computer's capabilities to crop and manipulate how you like.

Saskatchewan Ancestors: "Saskatchewan History" Magazine

 Once you delve into Canadian sources, you'll find that some provinces are absolute gold mines for online records. Saskatchewan is not one of those provinces. It's a combination of the Province's privacy laws and the youth of the Province compared to some others. Only becoming a province in 1905 means there isn't the long history that you see in Provinces like Ontario or British Columbia. Because those essential BMD records aren't as readily available as in a province like Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, those with Saskatchewan ancestry have to be a little more "out of the box" on resources.

This week I found a great resource on Internet Archive that will appeal to both genealogists and history lovers in general. Saskatchewan History is a magazine that was published by the Saskatchewan Archives Board. Internet Archive has issues from 1948 to 1957. It was published 3 times a year. History lovers and those wanting to know what their ancestor's life was like will find it a great read. 

Each issue has articles on different aspects of early pioneer life. The articles are well sourced, complete with citations.In the very first issue (Winter 1948) there is a small article highlighting a problem early settlers had that was unique to the Prairies: readily available water.

 There were also book reviews on the latest history books written about the province. This can give you new avenues of research to track down. Here's a review on Fifty Golden Years. A Brief History of the Order of St. Benedict in the Abbey Nullius of St. Peter, Muenster, Sask (Winter 1955 issue)

And here's a useful article on how Saskatchewan Places got their names (Winter 1950 issue). This section appeared regularly in the magazine

So what about the genealogy side of things? Well, there's plenty of articles focusing on specific people. One section to look at is the Notes and Correspondence section. Very much like today's "Letters to the Editor" section in newspapers and magazines. Here's a example from Winter 1949. Just look at the great extra information in these two letters:

Some issues had profiles on individuals. There's an in depth article on Philip Turner in the Spring 1950 issue. Philip was an inland surveyor.

If you're a descendant of Arthur Rowe Miller, how excited would you be to find his diary transcribed? Here's the first three pages. The article in the Spring 1957 issue is much longer.

In 1952 the Archives Board put out a Pioneer Questionnaire. In the Winter 1953 issue they featured snippets from some of the responses. Here's the page showing some memories of Mr. H. F. Copeland, who came from England in 1910.

Click here to access all the issues on Internet Archive.

As I was about to upload this post, I realized that the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan has digitized the entire run of the magazine from 1948 to 2017. Each entire issue can be downloaded as PDFs. They also have a PDF list of all the featured articles. You can get the links for each on the Archives' website.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both sites. The Provincial Archives has the complete run. However, you will have to download the entire issue. With Internet Archive you can have the ability to download specific pages. You do this by right clicking on the page and saving as a jpeg. Either way, if you have Saskatchewan ancestors, you'll want to take a look at this resource.

Saskatchewan Ancestors: Medical Journals on Canadiana

Every now and again I like to randomly search the website Canadiana, just to see what pops up. For those who don't know, Canadiana, and it's sister site Heritage, are free sites. They have an incredible amount of documents digitized. They run the gamut of official government records and correspondence relating to immigration, agriculture, wars, and settlement of the west, to name a few. They also have non government books, magazines, and periodical. You never know what you might find.

One of the drawbacks to both sites is that unless you are very specific with your key words, you can get lost in the results. They have recently revamped both sites, and it's a fantastic look. It appears they have attempted to stream line things a bit as well. But part of the fun of just using broad keywords in your search is that you may in fact stumble across a record set you didn't even know existed. Such was the case when I used the keyword Saskatchewan on Canadiana. As to be expected, I got over 30,000 hits. But one that caught my eye was the Saskatchewan Medical Journal. Canadiana has 16 issues digitized. There are 4 issues from 1909, and 12 for 1910. If your Saskatchewan ancestor was a doctor during these years, you'll want to check the issues out.

http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.8_05218_1/2?r=0&s=1

The Journal of course has articles that would probably interest only medical professions. Much the same as the The New England Historical and Genealogical Register wouldn't be of much interest to anyone outside of our community. But hidden among the pages are still some gems. The Personals and News sections give little snippets about the medical community, much the same as an About Town section of a local newspaper.

http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.8_05218_8/31?r=0&s=1

There's also an Obituary section

http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.8_05218_3/36?r=0&s=1

And here's the Officers and Committee Members of the Saskatchewan Medical Association

http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.8_05218_1/3?r=0&s=1

And here's a letter to the editor:

http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.8_05218_11/33?r=0&s=1

As you can see from the examples above, these Journals included news and articles from across Canada, and the world. It stands to reason not to leave out medical journals from other areas of Canada as well while you're searching. Canadiana has the following available on their site:

• The Dominion Medical Monthly and Ontario Medical Journal - 24 issues - 1895 to1916
• The Maritime Medical News - 253 issues - 1888 to 1910
• Queen's Medical Quarterly - 23 issues - 1903 to 1909
• The Montreal Medical Journal - 270 issues - 1888 to 1910
• Canada Medical and Surgical Journal - 191 issues - 1872 to 1888
• The Canada Lancet - 619 issues - 1870 to 1922
• Western Canada Medical Journal - 48 issues - 1907 to 1910

Saskatchewan Ancestors: Browsing Court Records on Family Search

If you have Saskatchewan ancestors, then you know that finding good sources on line can be difficult. In my own limited experience with Saskatchewan resources, I have unfortunately found that this province is far behind others in availability. Now to be fair, a lot of it has to do with privacy laws. Saskatchewan is a much younger province than say, Quebec. There isn't a whole lot that's available outside the privacy laws. With the current global pandemic, I don't see a lot of digitizing going on in the near future of those records that can be open access.

In our new "normal", a lot of genealogists are celebrating more time to research. Those browse only on line collections are getting more attention, as there is now more time for genealogy. Those of you with Saskatchewan ancestors should take a look at Family Search's collection Saskatchewan, Judicial District Court Records, 1891-1954. This collection comprises of records for the Saskatchewan Supreme Court and the King's Court Bench. If you're unfamiliar with the Canadian Court system, you might want to brush up on what the Supreme Court covers. Family Search has a wiki that gives a nice overview. You might also want to check out a blog post I wrote just over a year ago. The post, 52 Ancestors: Week 9 - The Canadian Court System and where to find records, serves as a quick reference on where to find court records for each province and territory.

https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1392587

The collection has over 200,000 images. The title says it covers from 1891-1954. However, I only saw up to 1935 in the subsection titles. You want to first select your Judicial District. The only one shown is Regina. Because of this and the year range in the title, I'm assuming that they plan to add to this collection in future.

Next you have an overwhelming amount of subsections. But if you break it down, then it's not as bad. I'll divide them into sections for you.

Docket Books and Indexes
These cover the years from 1916 to 1935. Full files are not available for these cases, with the exception of some for 1918, but you can still get some good information. The individual links are:

• Docket books and indexes, 1916-1918, vol 9
• Docket books and indexes, 1918-1920, vol 10
• Docket books and indexes, 1920-1921, vol 11
• Docket books and indexes, 1921-1922, vol 12
• Docket books and indexes, 1922-1923, vol 14
• Docket books and indexes, 1922, vol 13
• Docket books and indexes, 1923-1925, vol 15
• Docket books and indexes, 1925-1926, vol 16
• Docket books and indexes, 1926-1928, vol 17
• Docket books and indexes, 1928-1931, vol 18
• Docket books and indexes, 1931-1935, vol 19

These books and indexes are centrally held in Regina. So just because your ancestor didn't live in Regina doesn't mean they won't be here. The first part of each book is arranged alphabetically by surname of Plaintiff. I looked to see if there was cross referencing involved, and there doesn't appear to be in the few examples I checked. The second part of the books gives a little more detail on individual cases. For instance, in Docket books and indexes, 1921-1922, vol 12, the top entry is this on image 15:

The Holland Canada Mortgage Company Ltd is the Plaintiff. Wilford J Burnette is the Defendant. Next to the entry is No 335 Folio 3. This means case 335 on page 3 of the second half of the book, after the alphabetically index. I found the entry on image 44. Because this case is not at the top of the page, I'll show what the columns mean as a separate image.

This images gives some more detail on the case. It lists the separate court dates and the reasons for each one. It appears that Wilfred, or Wilford in the index, defaulted on his mortgage. Sadly, the final result was a foreclosure. If Wilfred/Wilford was your ancestor, this would give you insight as to why he moved.

Kings Bench Files

These files cover the first 175 cases of 1918. They are broken up into these subsections:

• King's Bench files, 1918, files 1-36
• King's Bench files, 1918, files 37-57
• King's Bench files, 1918, files 58-95
• King's Bench files, 1918, files 96-112
• King's Bench files, 1918, files 113-148
• King's Bench files, 1918, files 149-175

So, in Docket books and indexes, 1916-1918, vol 9, I find a case. Case no 7 is William A Black of Darby, Delaware PA versus Mary Cowan of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Rather intriguing, as neither one was currently residing in Saskatchewan.

So, then I went to the corresponding section, and I jumped back and forth through the images until I found a file folder image. This signifies the start of each case

There are almost 50 images in this case. Long story short, William Black owned land in Saskatchewan. In the land registry office there is a record of William giving Mary Cowan a mortgage on the land. William states that he never gave a mortgage to Mary, and has no idea who Mary is. Because of the mortgage entry, there is "a cloud" over the validity of his ownership. The mortgage was apparently given to Mary by L. Black, acting as attorney for William. The only L. Black he knows is his deceased mother. To muddy the waters further, he found correspondence between his mother and a Mary Cowan. Hmmmm. Despite attempts to locate her in a few provinces, no one was able to find Mary, and no one turned up at the proceedings. The Court ruled to remove the mortgage from the Land records.

For the ones that don't have an index book to refer to in this collection, you're going to need a time frame of when you think the court case occurred, and just start browsing to find what you need. Since time is something a lot of people have right now, at least it will make that physical distancing go faster.

Supreme Court Files

This last and biggest section deals with cases from 1893 to 1907. 

• Supreme Court files, 1893-1894, files 271-330; files 1-5 (Archives file no 2755-2848)
• Supreme Court files, 1894-1895, files 265-349; files 1-3 (Archives file no 3108-3192)
• Supreme Court files, 1894, files 6-107 (Archives file no 2849-2949)
• Supreme Court files, 1894, files 108-180 (Archives file no 2950-3023)
• Supreme Court files, 1894, files 181-264 (Archives file no 3024-3107)
• Supreme Court files, 1895-1896, files 302-348; files 1-68 (Archives file no 3481-3596)
• Supreme Court files, 1895, files 4-97 (Archives file no 3193-3286)
• Supreme Court files, 1895, files 98-186 (Archives file no 3287-3365)
• Supreme Court files, 1895, files 187-301 (Archives file no 3366-3480)
• Supreme Court files, 1896-1897, files 423-473; files 1-73 (Archives file no 3954-4080)
• Supreme Court files, 1896, files 69-190 (Archives file no 3597-3719)
• Supreme Court files, 1896, files 191-307 (Archives file no 3720-3836)
• Supreme Court files, 1896, files 308-422 (Archives file no 3837-3953)
• Supreme Court files, 1897-1898, files 249-329, 31-32; files 1-51 (Archives file no 4256-4392)
• Supreme Court files, 1897, files 74-166 (Archives file no 4081-4173)
• Supreme Court files, 1897, files 167-248 (Archives file no 4174-4255)
• Supreme Court files, 1898-1899, files 1-54 (Archives file no 4585a-4640)
• Supreme Court files, 1898, files 52-143 (Archives file no 4393-4484)
• Supreme Court files, 1898, files 144-237, 37 (Archives file no 4485-4584)
• Supreme Court files, 1899-1900, files 226-243; files 1-50 (Archives file no 4811-4882)
• Supreme Court files, 1899, files 55-145 (Archives file no 4641-4730)
• Supreme Court files, 1899, files 146-225 (Archives file no 4731-4810)
• Supreme Court files, 1900-1901, files 237-325; files 1-19 (Archives file no 5069-5180)
• Supreme Court files, 1900, files 51-128 (Archives file no 4883-4960)
• Supreme Court files, 1900, files 129-236 (Archives file no 4961-5068) (file 129 after file 130)
• Supreme Court files, 1901-1902, files 286-328, 286-287; files 1-31 (Archives file no 5447-5523)
• Supreme Court files, 1901, files 20-109 (Archives file no 5181-5270)
• Supreme Court files, 1901, files 110-187 (Archives file no 5271-5348)
• Supreme Court files, 1901, files 188-285 (Archives file no 5349-5446)
• Supreme Court files, 1902-1903, files 324-402; files 1-18 (Archives file no 5815-5919)
• Supreme Court files, 1902, files 32-134 (Archives file no 5524-5625)
• Supreme Court files, 1902, files 135-231 (Archives file no 5626-5722)
• Supreme Court files, 1902, files 232-323 (Archives file no 5723-5814)
• Supreme Court files, 1903-1904, files 513-514; files 1-104 (Archives file no 6355-6435)
• Supreme Court files, 1903, files 19-101 (Archives file no 5920-6002)
• Supreme Court files, 1903, files 102-185 (Archives file no 6003-6085)
• Supreme Court files, 1903, files 186-246 (Archives file no 6086-6146)
• Supreme Court files, 1903, files 247-308 (Archives file no 6147-6208
• Supreme Court files, 1903, files 309-375 (Archives file no 6209-6275)
• Supreme Court files, 1903, files 376-512 (Archives file no 6276-6354)
• Supreme Court files, 1904-1905, files 1089-1201; files 1-6 (Archives file no 7416-7533)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 105-183 (Archives file no 6436-6514)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 184-272 (Archives file no, 6515-6601)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 273-373 (Archives file no 6602-6702)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 374-479 (Archives file no 6703-6808)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 480-557 (Archives file no 6809-6885)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 558-641 (Archives file no 6886-6969)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 642-728 (Archives file no 6970-7056A)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 728A-804 (Archives file no 7056B-7132)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 805-896 (Archives file no 7133-7224)
• Supreme Court files, 1904, files 897-985 (Archives file no 7225-7313)
• Supreme Court files, 1905-1906, files 1595-1678; files 1-13 (Archives file no 9120-9216)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 7-109 (Archives file no 7534-7636)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 110-219 (Archives file no 7631-7745)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 220-297 (Archives file no 7746-7823)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 298-400 (Archives file no 7824-7928)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 401-501 (Archives file no 7929-8028)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 502-604 (Archives file no 8029-8131)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 605-698 (Archives file no 8132-8225)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 699-797 (Archives file no 8226-8323)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 798-904 (Archives file no 8324-8429)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 905-978 (Archives file no 8430-8503)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 979-1068 (Archives file no 8504-8593)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 1069-1158 (Archives file no 8594-8683)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 1159-1263 (Archives file no 8684-8788)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 1264-1357 (Archives file no 8789-8882)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 1358-1472 (Archives file no 8883-8997)
• Supreme Court files, 1905, files 1473-1594 (Archives file no 8998-9119)
• Supreme Court files, 1906-1907, files 2214-2251, 1486, 152; files 1-44 (Archives file no 11409-11494)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 14-115 (Archives file no 9217-9318)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 116-220 (Archives file no 9319-9422) (file 152 found after file 2251)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 221-295 (Archives file no 9423-9497)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 295-379 (Archives file no 9497d-9581)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 380-468 (Archives file no 9582-9670)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 469-561 (Archives file no 9671-9762)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 562-648 (Archives file no 9763-9849)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 649-753 (Archives file no 9850-9954)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 754-864 (Archives file no 9955-10065)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 865-948 (Archives file no 10066-10149)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 949-1056 (Archives file no 10151-10256)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1057-1148 (Archives file no 10257a-10348)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1149-1236 (Archives file no 10348-10436)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1237-1338 (Archives file no 10437-10538)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1339-1454 (Archives file no 10539-10651)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1455-1567 (Archives file no 10652-10763) (file 1486 found after file 2251)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1568-1683 (Archives file no 10764-10879)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1684-1780 (Archives file no 10880-10975)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1781-1880 (Archives file no 10976a-11075)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1881-1993 (Archives file no 11076-11188)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 1994-2101 (Archives file no 11189-11296)
• Supreme Court files, 1906, files 2102-2213 (Archives file no 11297-11408)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 45-149 (Archives file no 11495-11599)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 150-266 (Archives file no 11600-11717)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 267-367 (Archives file no 11718-11821)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 368-471 (Archives file no 11822-11925)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 472-559 (Archives file no 11926-12013)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 560-643 (Archives file no 12014-12094)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 644-752 (Archives file no 12095-12203)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 753-866 (Archives file no 12204-12317)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 867-974 (Archives file no 12318-12424)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 975-1064 (Archives file no 12425-12514)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 1065-1147 (Archives file no 12515-12597)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 1148-1245 (Archives file no 12598-12695)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 1246-1345 (Archives file no 12696-12794)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 1346-1451 (Archives file no 12795-12900)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 1452-1538 (Archives file no 12901-12986) (for file 1527 see Archive file no 13329)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 1539-1639 (Archives file no 12987-13088)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 1640-1735 (Archives file no 13089-13184)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 1736-1844 (Archives file no 13185-13293)
• Supreme Court files, 1907, files 1845-1877, 599, 600, 1527 (Archives file no 13294-13329)

These ones are set up exactly like the King's Bench files. Each file starts with an image of a file folder, and then the subsequent images are of the folder contents.

I don't know if index and docket books exist somewhere else for the years pre 1916. If there are, and you know of an online resource for them, please feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Metis Ancestors: Resources from the Glenbow Museum

If you have Metis ancestors, then you know finding resources for them can be difficult. One of the sites you should be book marking is the online collection at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. This online collection contains genealogies with source citations.

Metis in Canada are the descendants of marriages between Indigineous and non Indigenous people. For the most part, the marriages were between Indigenous women and the European men employed in the fur trade. The Glenbow's collection deals with Metis in what is now Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Some parts of the Northwest Territories, Ontario and British Columbia are also covered.

https://www.glenbow.org/collections/archives/genealogy/

 In their online collection are several resources. They do warn that the researcher will need to trace the family line back pre 1900 for their collection to be helpful for research. They have included on the site a PDF of a pedigree chart to help in research.

Not everything is digitized. However, these are still important because they give the important file numbers you need. This way you can provide the exact file numbers to staff when you visit in person. Even if you hire a researcher to do the visit for you, giving them this number will save a lot of valuable research time.


Charles Denney fonds and Métis genealogy files
This collection comprises of genealogical files for Prairie Metis as well as those families connected to the Red River Settlement. The collection was compiled between 1967 and 1985. Among the collection is charts, photographs, and correspondence. It also contains indexes and microfilms of census and parish records. There are genealogies of approximately 1200 family lines in the collection. The majority of it has not been digitized, but there are a few. It is divided into 9 subsections:

• Series 1 Scanned Document Family history files : alphabetical list. — 1967-1985
• Series 1-A Family history files : microfilm copies. - Microfilmed 1990 (originally created 1967-1985)
• Series 2 Denney's indexes to family history files. — 1967-1985
• Series 3 Scanned Document Collected reference materials. — 1956-1990 (originally created 1709-1985)
• Series 4 Denney family personal papers. — 1906-2001
• Series 5 Scanned Document Photographs. — [ca. 1855]-2000
• Series 6 Elsie Denney's family genealogy. — [ca. 1900-1996]
• Series 7 Miscellaneous writing. — 1924-2000, predominant 1972-2000
• Series 8 Subject files. — [ca. 1910]-2002
• Series 9 Priscilla Gilmour's papers. — 1927-1945, predominant 1942-1945

Now, if your file of interest is digitized, you will see this:

Just click on the "View now" to see the digitized documents in the file. They are digitized as a PDF, so can be downloaded to your computer. Onsite, the collection has restricted access for conservation reasons. They have microfilms available.



Pat McCloy Genealogical Collection
This collection, compiled from the 1970s to 1996, has a wealth of information. Along with index cards, there is also primary source material. It has wills, certificates, correspondence, newspaper clippings, obituaries, and photographs. There are 8 subsections:

• Series 1 Genealogical research files. - [ca. 1970s-1996]
• Series 2 Alphabetical files. - n.d.
• Series 3 Miscellaneous genealogical files. - n.d.
• Series 4 Thomas Rennie "Pat" McCloy personal papers. - [1900-1970s]
• Series 5 McKay genealogical index cards. - Compiled [ca. 1970s-1996]
• Series 6 Genealogical index cards. - Compiled [ca. 1970s-1996]
• Series 7 Research notes index cards. - Compiled [ca. 1970s-1996]
• Series 8 Scanned Document Photographs. - [ca. 1870s]-1941

Only Series 8, Scanned Document Photographs. - [ca. 1870s]-1941, has digitized images. The 9 images contained people and places in the Prairies and British Columbia. Onsite, there are no restrictions on access.




Warren Sinclair's Metis Genealogy collection
This collection contains 450 Metis biographies and 910 descendancy charts. The collection also includes indexes for both the biographies and charts. As a side note, this collection is also available at the HBC Archives in Winnipeg. The collection appears to be fully digitized, and is divided into two subsections:

• Series 1 Scanned Document Tables of contents, biographies, and indices. - 1997-1999
• Series 2 Scanned Document Descendancy tables. - 1997-1999

Both the biographies and charts have extensive source citations. A real bonus for us, since we can go straight to the horse's mouth so to speak, to verify. If you've never used a descendancy chart before, they are titled with the earliest known ancestor couple, and work down the successive generations that were born pre 1900. Onsite, there are no restrictions on access.



Geoff Burtonshaw's Metis Genealogy Research collection
This is a collection of photocopied material from Library and Archives Canada, churches, and libraries. It also includes correspondence, researcher lists, and the personal memoirs of Geoff Burtonshaw. Not all of the collection is digitized. It is divided into 6 subsections:

• Series 1 Scanned Document Geoff Burtonshaw's writings. -- [ca. 1990s]
• Series 2 Scanned Document Metis genealogy reference files. -- [ca. 1981-2009]
• Series 3 Alphabetical files of Metis researchers. -- [ca. 1981-2009]
• Series 4 Terry Punch correspondence. -- 1989-2003
• Series 5 Personal papers. -- 1881-1980s
• Series 6 Photographs (unprocessed). -- [ca. 1940s-2000s

Those familiar with Maritime research will recognize Terry Punch's name. Very little of the collection has been digitized. Onsite, there are no restrictions to access.

The Glenbow Library Newspaper Clippings files

This last online collection does not have digitized images. It's function is more of a finding aid to prepare for an onsite visit. You can either search or browse by:

• Keywords or Phrases
• People
• Place
• Subject

They have included some instructions to maximize your searches on the collection's main page.

http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/libraryNewspaperSearch.aspx

The results page will tell you what collections to ask to look at when you visit. For instance, when I typed in "Ferguson" as a surname, I received results that looked like this:

http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/libraryNewspaperResults.aspx

The Archives notes on the main page that this section is a work in progress. They will continue to add search terms as the collection gets examined over time. In other words, keep checking back to see what new items turn up.

A Final Note

The Library and Archives reading room at the Glenbow Museum is now closed. They have been moving their collection over to the Glenbow Western Research Centre. The Centre is located on the second floor of the Taylor Family Digital Library on the University of Calgary’s main campus. They have requested that any research inquiries for material access be directed to archives@ucalgary.ca.

52 Ancestors: Week 34 - Finding Coroner's Reports

Week 33's theme for the 52 ancestors series of posts is "tragedy". When you have an ancestor who died in unusual circumstances, there might have been a coroner's, or chief medical examiner's, inquest. These inquests looked into these kinds of deaths. Because the coroner could interview people and look at evidence that would not qualify in a criminal court, one could find a wealth of information in them. These are the responsibility of provincial governments. As such, each province does things a little differently.

So how to find out if your ancestor's death warranted an inquest? Well the first thing you'll want to look at is historical newspapers. Because of the circumstances in which inquests were held, newspapers would almost certainly have reported on it. Even if the death itself didn't make the news, the fact that a coroner would be looking into it would ensure that it made the news. Depending on the circumstances, you might even find articles on the proceedings themselves.

The majority of Provinces today have a Coroner's Office. Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Manitoba have Offices of the Chief Medical Examiner. These provinces have modeled their death investigation systems after the US, while Coroner provinces have modeled their systems after the UK model. There are slight differences in how they do things, but the main elements are the same. Statistics Canada has been compiling a national database and has some background here. You can also see their findings investigating deaths from 2006-2008 here. It gives a general view of the types of deaths investigated. Even though it does not discuss individual cases, it is interesting reading.

In both systems, the inquests and their findings were open to the public at the time they happened. However, now the average time restriction for access by the public is 100 years. Until that time, records are held by either the Coroner's Office, or the Attorney General. If the death you are looking at it is less than 100 years ago, your first course of action should be to contact the Coroner/ Chief Medical Officer's office. They would be able to let you know whether it is open access. If it is not, then they should also be able to direct you in whether you qualify for access to restricted records, and how to request access.  What I'm going to focus on is where to access open records.

Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

Provincial Archives
The majority of Provincial Government records are deposited at Provincial Archives once they become open to the public. I did some searching on their websites, and these types of records will require an on site visit. Or, you can hire a researcher if that's not possible for you.

• The Rooms in Newfoundland has a few records as part of their Supreme Court Fonds
• The Public Archives and Record Office  of Prince Edward Island have them as part of the Attorney general Fonds
• The Nova Scotia Archives has inquest records among their County Court Fonds. Not all districts have surviving records.
• I checked the County Guides at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, but I cold not find specific mention of Coroner's Inquest records. My suggestion would be to contact the Archives directly.
• BAnQ in Quebec holds historic coroner's inquest reports. They have several different fonds and files in their online search. Because there are BAnQ Archives across the province, you will want to pay special attention to which location the record is kept at.
• As usual, the Archives of Ontario has a comprehensive research guide for coroner's reports. Here is their PDF guide Criminal Justice Records at the Archives of Ontario. Scroll down to the Coroner's Reports section.
• The Archives of Manitoba hold records covering 1870-1916
• The Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan's search capabilites are transitioning to new software. Because of that, I could not definitely say they have coroner's reports. 
• The Provincial Archives of Alberta has coroner's inquests in several collections.
• Coroner Reports are part of the Ministry of Attorney General fonds at the BC Archives.

Local County, Municipal and University Archives

If you can't find what you're looking for at the Provincial level, try looking at more location specific archives. For whatever reason, these smaller archives may have obtained the records. You may also find collections relating to coroners themselves. For instance:

• The Nanaimo Community Archives have two personal collections relating to two community coroners. The collections include newspaper clippings and personal correspondence.
• Trent University Archives have a collection called United Counties of Northumberland and Durham. Court Records fonds. -- 1803-1955. Among the records are coroner's inquests.
• At the end of World War I, there was a riot in Wales over camp conditions and how long it was taking to get Canadian troops back to Canada. The University of Calgary has the William Lyle Haney fonds, a soldier who was killed in the riots. Included among the collections are the inquest reports.

Canada Gazette and Provincial Gazettes

In the past, I wrote a blog post about what a great resource the Canada Gazette is. Though a federal publication, I did find some interesting results looking for "coroner's inquest". Here's a page thathas a proclamation saying that a Mr. William E Brainerd has a warrant out for his arrest due to the findings in the shooting death of his mother:

Also check Provincial Government gazettes. Historical issues can be found in provincial archives.

Canadiana

A search on Canadiana using the words "coroner inquest" resulted in over 7,000 results. Look at this gem titled Authentic report of the proceedings of a coroner's inquest held upon the body of Job Broom

Some Final Tips

• Make sure you contact the Archives before you visit. Sometimes records are stored off site, and require some notice to have them ready for you.
• Don't limit your search to government record collections. As I showed in the examples above, information can be found in family fond collections.
• On that note, take some time to research who the Coroner/Chief Medical Examiner was in your ancestor's place and time period. By searching their name, you might find additional record sets. 
• Now for the downside: a lot of these records did not survive. So, just because you found mention of an inquest in the newspaper does not mean that you will have a record of the proceedings. But the information you might glean from these records make it worth the search.

52 Ancestors: Week 9 - The Canadian Court System and where to find records

Week 9 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks has the prompt "At the Courthouse". If you're new to Canadian research, it is important to know a little about the Canadian Court System to find the records you need.

There are two main court systems that genealogists concern themselves with. The Provincial/ Territorial Courts, and the Provincial Supreme Court (or Court of the Queen's Bench). The majority of records that genealogists look for will be in one of these two options. Of course, as with anything else, each province does things a little differently. So who covers what?

Newfoundland and Labrador

The Newfoundland Provincial Court handles the following:

• Youth crimes
• Civil Court cases up to $25,000
• Criminal cases except Indictable Offenses (also known as Felonies in the American Court system)
• Inquiries of accidental or mysterious deaths or fires
• Family law  (Adoption, Child Support, Paternity, Marriages not performed in a church, for example)
• Provincial Offenses

The Supreme Court of Newfoundland handles the following:

• Civil Court cases over $25,000
• Wills and Estates
• Divorce
• Guardianship of minors' personal affairs and finances
• Appeals of decisions from the Provincial Courts
• Criminal Cases of Indictable Offenses

Take note that in some areas of Newfoundland, there is no Family Court at the Provincial Court. In these cases, one would look to the Supreme Court for the records pertaining to Family law.

Prince Edward Island

The Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island handles minor criminal cases, Youth Law, and provincial offences

The Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island handles the following:

• Wills and Estates
• All Family Law
• Small Claims Court
• More serious criminal cases
• Appeals from tribunals and the Provincial Court

The Prince Edward Island Court of Appeal handles the appeals from the other two courts.

Nova Scotia

The Provincial Court of Nova Scotia has jurisdiction of the following:

• All criminal cases except Murder
• Inquiries into suspicious deaths
• Youth Justice Act
• Family Court  matters outside the municipalities of Cape Breton and Halifax
• Small Claims Court handles civil cases under $25,000
• Provincial Offenses

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia presides over:

• Murder cases
• Family law in the municipal districts of Cape Breton and Halifax
• Appeals from the lower Courts
• Divorce
• Bankruptcy
• Civil cases over $25,000

Wills and Estates are handles through the Probate Court of Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal is where final appeals from the Supreme Court are held.

New Brunswick

The Provincial Court of New Brunswick handles:

• Youth Criminal Justice
• Criminal matters except murder
• Provincial offenses

The Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick handles:

• Murder cases
• The Family Law division handles all matters relating to Family Law
• Appeals of the Provincial Court
• All Civil cases

Wills and Estates are handled through the Probate Court of New Brunswick.

The New Brunswick Court of Appeal handles appeals from the Court of Queen's Bench.

Quebec

Because of the complex balancing act that Quebec performs between French and English law, the first thing you should do is read the Court of Quebec's webpage of their history. Quebec is unique to the rest of Canada in that it's civil code originated from French law, yet it's criminal code follows English law.

The Court of Quebec is divided into divisions. According to the website, the Civil Division handles 

 "...all plaintiff claims involving monetary value or interest – in relation to the object of the dispute – that are less than $85,000, except claims for alimony, class actions and those reserved for the Federal Court of Canada...".  

If the amount of the claim is less than $15,000, it is handled by the Small Claims Court. 

The Criminal and Penal Division handles any criminal proeedings that are not under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Superior Court.

The Youth Division handles:

• Youth Criminal Justice
• Adoption
• Welfare of Minors

The Superior Court of Quebec has jurisdiction over:

• Appeals of other Courts
• Family Law
• Bankruptcies
• Civil cases over $70,000
• Jury Trials in Criminal matters
• Wills and Estates

The Court of Appeal of Quebec handles appeals from the Superior Court, and also in lower courts in certain circumstances.

Ontario

The Ontario Court of Justice has jurisdiction over:

• Family law is practiced in the Family Court
• Most criminal cases are tried in the Criminal Court
• Provincial offenses
• Child Protection
• Adoptions
• Youth Criminal Justice

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice handles:

• Appeals from lower Courts
• Serious Criminal Matters
• Wills and Estates 
• Bankruptcy
• All civil matters. If under $25,000 it is handled through the Small Claims Court
• All Family Law not covered by the Ontario Court of Justice
• Divorce

Keep in mind matters relating to spousal or child support, and child custody/ access can be handled by either court.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario handles appeals from all lower courts.

Manitoba
The Provincial Court of Manitoba has jurisdiction over almost all criminal matters. Outside of Winnipeg, they also handle a limited amount of Family Law.

The Court of Queen's Bench has 2 divisions:

The General Division deals with criminal and civil litigation matters. The also hear appeals from the Provincial Court.

The Family Division handles all cases pertaining to Family Law and Child Welfare.

The Court of Queen's Bench is also where Wills and Estates are handled.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal handles the appeals from the lower courts.

Saskatchewan
The Saskatchewan Provincial Court has jurisdiction over the following:

• Most criminal cases
• Civil cases up to $30,000
• Some Family Law matters, but only those outside Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert
• Traffic and municipal laws

The Court of Queen Bench for Saskatchewan handles:

• The most serious criminal cases
• Civil cases over $30,000
• Divorce and division of assets
• Custody and access to children
• Wills and Estates
• Appeals from the Provincial Court

The Court of Appeal handles appeals from the other courts

Alberta

The Provincial Court of Alberta has jurisdiction over:

• Most of the criminal cases 
• Most civil cases under $50,000
• Child support, custody and access
• Spousal support
• Guardianship

The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta handles:

• The most serious criminal offenses
• Civil cases over $50,000
• Divorce and division of property
• Wills and Estates
• Appeals from the Provincial Court

The Court of Appeal of Alberta handles appeals from the other courts

British Columbia

The Provincial Court of British Columbia has jurisdiction over:

• Child Welfare
• Child custody and access
• Adult guardianship
• Spousal and child support
• Civil claims $5,001 to $35,000
• Most criminal cases
• Youth Criminal justice
• Provincial and municipal offenses

The Supreme Court of British Columbia handles

• Appeals from the Provincial Court
• Civil claims over $35,000
• Divorce and Division of Property
• Adoptions
• Wills and Estates

The Court of Appeal of British Columbia handles appeals from the lower courts.

Yukon

The Yukon Territorial Court has jurisdiction over:

• Most criminal cases
• Youth Justice cases
• Child protection
• Civil cases under $25,000

The Supreme Court of the Yukon handles:

• Appeals from the Territorial Court
• The most serious criminal cases
• Divorce and division of property
• Custody and Access
• Child and spousal support
• Wills and Estates

The Court of Appeal of Yukon handles appeals from the lower courts. Take note that the BC Court of Appeal also handles cases from the Yukon. If you can't find a record of it in the Yukon, check in Vancouver as well. The judges from this court also sit in the Appeals Courts of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Northwest Territories

The Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories has jurisdiction over:

• Most criminal cases
• Territorial offenses
• Child protection
• Custody and Support
• Civil cases up to $35,000

The Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories handles:

• Appeals from the Provincial Courts
• More serious criminal cases
• Divorce
• Wills and Estates
• Civil cases over $35,000

The Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories handles appeals from the lower courts. The judges also sit in the Appeals Courts of the Yukon and Nunavut. In special cases, they can also deal with cases from Alberta.

Youth Justice cases be heard in either the Territorial Court or the Supreme Court.

Nunavut

The territory of Nunavut is unique in Canada. The Nunavut Court of Justice handles all civil, criminal, Probate, and Family Law matters. There is no division between a Territorial and Supreme Court.

The Nunavut Youth Court handles cases relating to Youth Criminal Justice.

The Nunavut Court of Appeal handles all appeals. The judges also sit for the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Alberta Appeals Courts.

A final note, if your ancestor is Indigenous. Many of the Provinces have special courts for cases involving Indigenous or Aboriginal people. These courts work hand in hand with the Native communities. From what I understand, community elders have a say in matters that come before the courts, with a focus on reformation and community involvement.