For June, Tuesday is the day when we turn our attention to the continent of North America and there is no better place to start than Library and Archives Canada. They have the best ‘How to begin’ page…. “Genealogy is a wonderful pursuit and part of lifelong learning. For some, it is an enjoyable hobby. For others, it becomes a passion.” I think they missed the bit about it becoming an obsession!
From ‘What to do’ to ‘Choosing a strategy’ (what’s one of those!), the site is filled with super sensible advice and that’s before all the amazing resources it has behind the scenes. Browsing by topics, it is tough to decide how to narrow down your focus but genealogy and family history seems as good a place as any, eh! Ancestors Search is extremely comprehensive with databases, directories of resources, birth, marriages and deaths, censuses, immigration …. And that’s only the beginning.
Writing about every database would take months, so we thought we’d just select two and enter the surname PRENTICE. Firstly, Immigrants before 1865 which provides access to 27,846 references to immigration records that are held at Library and Archives Canada (LAC). Staff members originally created a nominal card index to these records and information from these cards was input into an online database. Hurrah! The search returns three individuals – Thomas, Samuel and James Prentice – who emigrated before the census began over here in the United Kingdom.
Library and Archives Canada holds passenger lists from 1865 to 1935 (RG 76). These lists constitute the official record of immigration to Canada and are arranged by date and port of arrival. They were consulted to find names of Home Children and there are ten Prentice name bearers in this database with more information available by clicking on the item number.
We highly recommend a closer delve into the Library and Archives Canada site. A veritable treasure trove…. though let’s not spoil the Australasian edition 😉
