Free Access Terms and Conditions
Access to a selection of record collections on Ancestry (see details below) will be free from 1pm ET on Tuesday 21st April until 1pm ET on Wednesday 22nd April.
To view these records you will need to register for free with Ancestry.ca with your name and email address. We will then send you a user name and password to access the records.
After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collection using an Ancestry.ca paid membership.
The records available during the free access period are listed below.
Key collections and records on Ancestry mentioned in Linda’s session that are free to access*
- 1891 Census of Canada
- 1901 Census of Canada
- 1911 Census of Canada
- 1921 Census of Canada
- North Dakota and Washington, Chinese Passenger Arrivals and Disposition, 1903-1944
- Records of Aliens Pre-Examined in Canada, 1904-1954
- U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960
- Washington, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1965
Five Top Tips on researching your Chinese ancestors from Linda Yip:
- Collect all the names. Make a list of names in English and Chinese. In English, gather the aliases, nicknames, titles, family names, and alternate spellings. In Chinese, there may be natal and formal names.
- Use censuses for immigration dates. Find clues to your ancestors’s original immigration dates in the 1901, 1911, and 1921 censuses. Compare the dates if you have more than once census for reference.
- Think of travel as immigration. Until the mid-1940s, trips outside Canada were treated as immigration for the Chinese. Look for documents specific to the movements of the Chinese as they travelled, worked, or visited outside the country.
- Use the Chinese FAN club. Expand your research to include Friends, Associates, and Neighbours (FAN) with Chinese genealogy. The Chinese diaspora is especially connected – look for business and political associations, sports clubs, and tongs (name-based associations).
- Let historical events guide research. Aside from immigration laws, the history of the Chinese in Canada is marked by changes in voting and citizenship, and by celebratory events. Consider researching the event first, then research your ancestor within the context of that event.
Linda writes about her latest genealogy finds from tools to uncovered family stories on her blog Past-Presence.com. She’s an active member of the BC and SK genealogy societies and is also a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Her passions are the history of the Chinese in Canada, Force 136, her growing collection of 30K+ images, and keeping her finds organized! Most weekends you’ll find her curled up on the couch with her laptop, either researching or writing about genealogy.
*Access to a selection of record collections on Ancestry will be free from 1pm ET on Tuesday 21st April 2020 until 1pm ET on Wednesday 22nd April 2020. To view these records you will need to register for free with Ancestry.ca with your name and email address. We will then send you a user name and password to access the records. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collection using an Ancestry.ca paid membership.
