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Tracing Your Saskatchewan Ancestors: A Guide to the Records and How to
Use Them. Edited by Laura Hanowski. Regina: Saskatchewan Genealogy Society,
2000.
This book is an invaluable guide to the records you can use to track
down your Saskatchewan ancestors. Describes how to use:
- Cemetery and funeral home records
- Census records
- Church records
- Court records
- Education records
- Immigration/emigration records
- Land records
- Maps, gazeteers, and atlases
- Military records
- Municipal records
- Newspaper records
- Vital records
- Information on ethnic settlements and Aboriginal ancestry
- Records in libraries, archives and museums.
Copies are available for loan through your local library or may be purchased
from the Genealogical Society at http://www.saskgenealogy.com/ Missing Persons: A Guide to Genealogical Resources in the Saskatoon
Public Library. By the Information Services Department, Saskatoon
Public Library. Saskatoon: 1999. (Available through the Saskatoon
Public Library)
Exploring Family History in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Archives
Board. Online at: http://www.saskarchives.com/web/services-pub-family.html
Back to the Land: A Genealogical Guide to Finding Farms on the Canadian
Prairies. Including an Index to the 1901 Census. By David Obee. Copies
available by loan through local libraries.
The following books are available for loan through libraries. Other books
may be identified by searching library catalogues with the keyword "genealogy".
In Search of Your Canadian Roots, by Angus Baxter. 1994, 2nd
edition.
Organizing Your Family History Search, by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack.
1999.
Genealogy in Ontario: Searching the Records, by Brenda Dougall
Merriman. Ontario Genealogical Society. 1996.
Destination Canada: A Guide to 20th Century Immigration Records.
Compiled by David Obee. Copies available by loan through local libraries.
Saskatchewan Archives Board http://www.saskarchives.com
Saskatchewan Genealogical Society
http://www.saskgenealogy.com
Saskatchewan
Genweb http://www.rootsweb.com/~cansk/Saskatchewan/
Sask Wheat Pool Maps 60
Years: 1924-1984 http://www.rootsweb.com/~skwheat/
Saskatchewan
Vital Statistics http://www.health.gov.sk.ca/ps_vital_statistics.html
Southeast Saskatchewan
Cemetery Records http://cap.estevan.sk.ca/cemetery.records/
City
of Saskatoon Archives http://www.city.saskatoon.sk.ca/org/clerks_office/archives/index.asp
Library and Archives Canada http://www.collectionscanada.ca/
Tracing Your Ancestors
in Canada http://www.collectionscanada.ca/genealogy/022-607.001-e.html
Virtual Reference Library Geneology (formerly Bob's Your Uncle, eh!)
You’ll find Genealogy listed in the Subject Directory section of the home page.
Ancestry.ca http://www.ancestry.ca
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites
on the Internet http://www.cyndislist.com/
FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org/
Answers to Freqently Asked Genealogy Questions
The Saskatchewan Archives houses homestead records. Original files are at
the Saskatoon location and a microfilm copy is at the Regina location. You
must have the name of the homesteader or the land location to find the record.
Homestead records provide a limited amount of information about the homesteader
such as age, date of entry and patent, the number of members of his family
and often, but not always, his place of birth, former place of residence
and previous occupation. More information on homestead records and other
land records is available on the Saskatchewan Archives web site at http://www.saskarchives.com/web/services-pub-family.html
Homesteaders who obtained a patent (official certificate enabling them to
receive the title to the land at the local land titles office) are indexed
in the Library and Archives Canada database at: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/
The Saskatchewan Archives may be contacted at:
Saskatchewan Archives Board
3303 Hillsdale St.
Regina, SK
Phone: 306-787-4068
Fax: 306-787-1197
Web Site: http://www.saskarchives.com
Saskatchewan Archives Boards
Room 91, Murray Building
University of Saskatchewan
3 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A4
Phone: 306-933-5832
Fax: 306-933-7305
Web Site: http://www.saskarchives.com
Saskatchewan Vital Statistics maintains a province-wide registration of
births, marriages, and deaths. Fees and restrictions may be applied. To
access these records, you must submit a written application to the Director
of Vital Statistics, using a prescribed form that you can obtain from Vital
Statistics, Saskatchewan Archives Board, or the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society.
The application requires you to show your relationship to the person whose
record you want to obtain. If the person in question is living, you must
obtain their consent. Marriage registrations for the area now Saskatchewan
began in 1878, birth and death registrations began in 1888. Until 1920,
registrations were not always reported on a regular basis. Contact Vital
Statistics for further information:
Vital Statistics
Saskatchewan Health
1942 Hamilton Street
Regina, SK S4P 3V7
Phone: (306) 787-3092
Toll Free: 1-800-458-1179 (In Sask. Only)
Fax: (306) 787-2288
Web Site: http://www.health.gov.sk.ca/ps_vital_statistics.html
Records for Saskatoon's Woodlawn Cemetery are searchable at: http://www.saskatoon.ca/org/parks/cemetery/index.asp The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society compiles cemetery records for the
province as an ongoing project. An index to cemetery records compiled to
date is available at: http://www.saskgenealogy.com/cemetery/cemetery.htm
Try some of the following search tips:
- Many obituaries appearing in Saskatchewan newspapers are indexed by
the Saskatchewan Newspaper Index online at: http://library.usask.ca/sni/
- Saskatoon Public Library indexes obituaries that appear in the Saskatoon
newspaper, The Saskatoon StarPhoenix. To find the obituary, send the
name of the deceased to Ask Us! and specify that it should be in the
StarPhoenix obituary index (fees for photocopies may apply).
- Regina Public Library indexed obituaries in the Regina newspaper,
for a select period of time between 1935 and 1943. Send the name of
the deceased to Ask Us! and specify that it should be searched in the
LeaderPost index for this time period.
- Regina Leader-Post obituaries published after September 8, 2000 are
available with full text and photos at http://www.saskobits.com/.
- Searching through microfilm copies of local newspapers is an option
if the obituary cannot be identified through an index. First, identify
the newspaper in which the obituary likely appeared. If you do not know
the newspaper name, identify the probably city/town. Next, identify
the probable death date.
- The Library and Archives Canada provides a listing of local Saskatchewan
newspapers on microfilm at: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/8/18/r18-206-e.html
- Historical runs of Saskatchewan city/town newspapers are located in
the Saskatchewan Archives and may also be held by some local public
libraries.
- Ask the public library closest to you to identify a library that will
loan the newspaper/microfilm through interlibrary loan. Fees may apply
for any photocopies required.
The first Canadian Census that covered the area now Saskatchewan was in
1881. This and subsequent census records provided the following information:
- 1881 census data covers the heads of households only and includes:
name, sex, age, place of birth, status, religion, and occupation.
- 1891 census data covers all persons in the household and includes
name, sex, age, status, religion, place of birth, place of birth of
individual’s father and mother, and relationship to head of household.
- 1901 census data covers all persons in the household and includes
name, age, date and place of birth, religion, occupation, date of immigration,
date of naturalization, and relationship to head of household.
- Post 1901 census returns are not available for public research because
they are protected under personal privacy legislation.
Census records are available through Saskatchewan Libraries, the Saskatchewan
Archives, the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society, and the National Archives
of Canada. Census data is arranged by community. To search the 1901 census
data you must know the name of the community. People name indexes have been
compiled for the 1881 and 1891 census records. For a search of 1881 or 1891
census data you may supply the community name or person name.
- Many Saskatchewan communities have published local history books that
are very useful in genealogy research. These books provide a community
history and list people in the community as well as organizations and
activities over the years.
- Local history books are available in Saskatchewan Libraries. Search
any Saskatchewan public library online catalogue using the community
name to identify community histories.
- Library staff will look up people in the indexes and tables of contents
of local histories if you provide the name of the person to be checked,
geographical location, probable time frame, plus any other clues that
might be useful.
- You may also ask your local public library to obtain a local history
on interlibrary loan.
- The Southern Saskatchewan Heritage Information Project contains an
online database of community histories for southeast Saskatchewan that
is searchable by place and resident surnames.
- City directories listing residents, such as the Henderson's Directories,
are available for larger centres. Regina Public Library, Saskatoon Public
Library, University of Saskatchewan Library, and the University of Regina
Library may have historical issues of Henderson's Directories. Public
libraries will look up people in the indexes if you provide the name
to be checked and a probable time frame (5 year time span maximum).
- Archival directories such as Henderson's Directories for Western Canada
(1885-1908), McPhillips Saskatchewan Directory 1888 (lists farmers and
businesses in the Prince Albert and Battleford areas), and Wrigley's
Saskatchewan Directory 1921-1922 (lists cities, towns, villages, hamlets,
and settlements along with their major businesses and staff people employed
by these businesses) are available in several libraries. Check library
catalogues for locations.
Lists of passengers arriving in Canada via official ports were kept from
1865-1935. Passenger lists are available through the Library and Archives
Canada at http://www.collectionscanada.ca/genealogy/022-908.003-e.html The
Saskatchewan Archives Board has microfilm copies for the Port of Halifax
Passenger Lists from 1881-1919, Quebec 1986-1919, New York 1906-1919, and
St. John 1900-1918.
There are also records of people that entered Saskatchewan from across
the United States border at the 10 official border entry points. These
records were kept mostly for people travelling by train and not for those
who entered by road or on foot. The Saskatchewan Archives Board has microfilm
copies of border crossing records for the period 1908-1918 (you must know
the date when the person would have entered the province, as there is
currently no name index). Copies of boarder crossing records may also
be obtained from the National Archives of Canada. For the period 1908-1919,
records are not indexed. For the period 1919-1924, records are in alphabetical
order. Indexes for the period 1925-1935 are available on the Library and Archives Canada web site "ArchiviaNet" at http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/index-e.html
Inquiries about post-1935 immigration records should be directed to:
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Public Rights Administration
365 Laurier Avenue West
15th Floor
Ottawa, ON K1A 1L1
To obtain a copy of a birth notice, you need to identify the date the birth
notice would have appeared, the name of the person born, and the title of
the newspaper. Your local library can obtain a photocopy of the item through
inter-library loan request. If you do not know the exact date, you may submit
an inter-library loan request for the microfilm of the newspaper and search
for the date yourself.
The Saskatchewan GenWeb web site provides a tutorial on reading Saskatchewan
land locations at http://www.rootsweb.com/~cansk/Saskatchewan/homesteadlocation.html.
The web site "Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Maps 60 Years: 1924-1984" also provides
assistance on land locations for Saskatchewan communities: http://www.rootsweb.com/~skwheat/.
Check out the following web sites which have very useful information: Commonwealth
War Graves Commission at http://www.cwgc.org,
Veteran Affairs Canada at http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/,
South Saskatchewan Regiment at http://cap.estevan.sk.ca/SSR/,
and the Library and Archives Canada at http://www.archives.ca.
- The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society's book Tracing Your Saskatchewan
Ancestors: A Guide to the Records and How to Use Them has an excellent
chapter on researching aboriginal ancestry. Ordering information is
on their web site at http://www.saskgenealogy.com/researchtools/sgs_book_tracing.htm.
It is also available on interlibrary loan through libraries.
- Aboriginal Peoples: Guide to the Records of the Government of Canada
is available from the Library and Archives Canada at http://www.collectionscanada.ca/aboriginal-peoples/index-e.html
- The Saskatchewan Archives Board has a microfilm copy of parts of the
the National Archives index to individuals who received Métis scrip.
Scrip is a certificate issued for either money or land to Métis families
as compensation for loss of Aboriginal rights and the scrip records
can be useful for tracking Métis ancestors. More information is available
on the Saskatchewan Archives web site, http://www.saskarchives.com/web/services-pub-family.html.
Your local library can obtain material from libraries elsewhere in the world
upon your request. This process is called "interlibrary loan". You should
request an interlibrary loan if the book or microfilm you have identified
and need are located in a library that is not your local library.
When you identify an item you need from another library, record all
the information you can find regarding the title, author, publisher, publication
date, identifying numbers such as call numbers or microfilm reel numbers,
volume number if the item is part of a multi-volume series, applicable
page numbers or sections of the item, and the library location that owns
the item. You should also record the source in which you found reference
to the item, so that the library can confirm the information you provide,
if necessary. If you found the item in an index or another finding
aid, check the introduction or front page of the finding aid for more
information on how to use resources listed. If you found references to
the item on the Internet, provide the Internet address to your local library.
If you only need a short section from an item, explain the section you
need and advise if you are willing to pay for photocopies. Some libraries
will photocopy short sections rather than loan an entire item.
Next, visit your local library and provide them with detailed information
about the item you want. They will request the item from the library that
owns the item and will notify you when it arrives.
This guide was last updated May, 2007
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