Since 2001, former RCMP superintendent Joseph “Buffalo Joe” Healy has spent countless hours working on this website that apparently contains the name and regimental number of every Canadian mounted police officer going back to 1873. The website includes thirty thousand photographs and information about RCMP graves in Canada and around the world, and much more.

Mr. Healy started the website, cataloging the final resting places of former RCMP members, as a retirement project after a thirty-six-year career with the RCMP.

If you know of someone who served or have a relative who served in the NWMP, RNWMP or RCMP, the database is easy to use. Simply select the appropriate item in the left-hand margin.

I began with my brother, entered just the last name and found not only his death record, but also his history with the RCMP, including his enlistment date, all his postings and much more information.   There was also a photograph of his gravestone.   Even though I did have all this information, it was nice to see his RCMP records so carefully recorded.   Our surname is not common, so it was easy to find, as it was the only one listed.

I then looked for my husband’s grandfather, surname Jones.   I entered his first name and surname.  There were only three “Jones”  with the initial “A” names listed, which was a surprise.  His records from his one-year enlistment with the Northwest Mounted Police were the first name in the list.  There was information missing, but I was able to contribute by filling out the contact form to provide the extra information.

If you were unable to find a member, or have found a member and want to search for more information, the list of website links may help with further research.

Mr. Healy’s work earned him the Sovereign’s Medal for Canadian Volunteers from the Governor General in 2016, as well as a Commissioner’s Commendation from the RCMP in 2013.

Last year, Mr. Healy told Canada’s History magazine why he continues to work on the website: “This information, which I input daily — many hours each day — is of immense help to Canadians, archivists, genealogists, family members, troop mates, and members of other police forces around the world who are keen to begin their own databases and to follow this model.”

Good luck with your research!

Are you a descendant of a British home child or do you know of others who are descendants of British home children?    Some of their stories are uplifting and others are heartbreaking.

There is a video documenting the story of home children sent to Canada that has just recently become available.

More than 100,000 children came to Canada as indentured farm labour and domestic servants from the 1860’s till 1939. Director Eleanor McGrath’s documentary about the British Home Children and their descendants examines the forgotten heritage of many Canadians.

It is free to view this video for a limited time and is well worth viewing.  There is also a transcript available. The link to view is:  Stories of British Home Children

If you are researching ancestors in British Columbia or just have an interest in British Columbia history, the BC Historical Books collection combines the traditional tools of bibliography with the new tools of the digital world to transform our understanding of, and insight into, the history and life of British Columbia.  The collection includes more than 1,300 items in BC Historical Books that showcases the history of the province from 1783 to 1952.  Early works in the collection include travelogues that tell tales of grand landscapes, meeting strangers, and surviving in the wilderness. A quick search of family surnames and locations uncovered city directories, board of trade reports, histories, fraternal organization reports, and books.

The UBC Library feature, A Ramble in British Columbia, provides information about the collection.

Genealogy research services at Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

The staff at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax want family historians to know they offer general genealogy research services, in addition to helping find immigration records.

The experienced researchers in the museum’s Scotiabank Family History Centre can help you in person or by email begin your family research, assist you with your genealogical brick walls, or point you in the right direction with your own research.

There is no fee for general and genealogical inquiries. If you choose, there is an option to donate if you are just looking for information or tips.

Although Pier 21 became a port of entry in 1921, the centre has no immigration records. They do, however, help people request immigration documents from the Canadian government. If they help you locate a pre-1935 immigration record, there will be a $15 charge for a copy of the document.

The staff maintains a small library of books on multiculturalism and genealogy in the centre, but almost all of their research is conducted online, using free and subscription services.

The centre’s scope reaches beyond the years of Pier 21’s operation, from 1928 to 1971, with information on topics including migration, nautical history, waves of immigration to Canada, ethnic groups and genealogy. It has immigration records from 1925 to 1935 on microfilm and staff has access to arrival sources going back to 1865. Staff also has access to information on all ports of entry into Canada, not just Pier 21, and can search US seaports, such as New York and Boston.

In the centre, the staff also works with visitors at computers to help them do their own research.

To learn more about the Scotiabank Family History Centre’s research services and how to submit an inquiry, visit their website. Make sure you take time to browse the menu items while you are on the website.

Source:  Genealogy a la carte

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Thousands of photos of Canadian Prairie towns available online

Anyone looking for historical photos of the town where their ancestors lived in Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba should visit Images of Prairie Towns, a website that contains close to 12,000 images — and the collection continues to grow.

The collection is divided by province and then into an alphabetical list of more than nine hundred towns. There are photos of streets, schools, railways, and commercial and public buildings.

Many of the town pages include early population numbers — useful information when trying to put flesh on the bones of an ancestor’s life.

The only drawback to the site is that there are no photo captions and dates or and information about copyright restrictions. Before publishing any photos, it would be a good idea to request permission through the website contact page.

Ontario (Upper Canada) Historic On-Line Resources

Links to an ever-growing list of Ontario History books, directories etc. that are entirely free to read online, or downloadable to your computer for future reference use.  There are also links at the bottom of the page to join Ontario Genealogy and Upper Canada mailing lists.

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New records at FindMyPast:

Australia 

• A collection of some 3 million petty court records from the state of Victoria. In Australia, petty court cases were held to hear minor criminal cases such as public drunkenness, criminal damage and theft. The cases usually involved just a judge (no jury). The records in this collection span the years from 1854 to 1985. A typical record lists the first and last name of the person, the name of the court, cause or reason for the charge, a description of the case and the actual court date. These records can be searched by first name, last name, year and court. Access is by subscription [Victoria State Petty Court Records]
• 107,000 ship records from the port of Brisbane. These are passenger and crew manifests covering some 485 ship voyages between the years 1852 to 1885. These records come from the National Archives of Australia and list the vessel name, date and port of arrival, ancestor’s name, nationality and occupation. The vessels in this collection cover departures from England, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. The records can be searched by first name, last name, ship name and date range. Access is by subscription. [Historic Queensland Ship Passenger Records]

Ireland 

1.2 million Historic Irish Newspaper articles this month have been added to the FindMyPast collection of historic Irish newspapers. Also included are seven new titles: the Leinster Leader, Donegal Independent, Kildare Observer, Eastern Counties Advertiser, Wicklow Newsletter & County Advertiser, the Longford Journal and the Ballyshannon Herald. Access is by subscription.

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ArkivDigital, the Swedish genealogy website has announced that they will be adding several million aerial photographs to their extensive collection of some 58 million ancestral records. These aerial photographs appear to be primarily of rural regions and cover farms, cottages, rural stores, etc. Most of the images were taken from the 1950s to the present. These images are expected to be added over the next several months (in addition to the some 600,000 new records added to the website on average every month).

Source:  Genealogy in Time Magazine

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Just for fun:

Moral of the story: Don’t nag and always write your father.

As a final note, as funny as it is, this document also pains me. How sad it is that this man died alone and bitter. What trouble had he fallen into? What had fractured a family that must have begun in hope and happiness? May I suggest that we each hold close those we love – in kindness, patience and forgiveness?

Source: FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS7P-T33H-T?mode=g