Summary
Birth, Marriage, and Death records form the foundation of family history research, marking key milestones in the lives of our ancestors. But how do we fill in the blanks between these dates to discover more about the lives lived between the dashes? From tracing travel patterns through border crossing records to finding love birds in honeymoon registers, Ontario Ancestors president Steve Fulton UE will show you how to uncover the everyday details that bring your ancestors’ stories to life, using the Niagara region as a case study.
No registration is required – just head over to the AncestryCA Facebook page at 10 AM EDT on Tuesday 26th May to join us!
Can’t make the session? Not to worry – you can always watch this – and all other Ancestry Extra webinars – at a later date by going to “Videos” on the Ancestry Canada Facebook page.
Free Access Terms and Conditions
Ancestry is providing free access to select record collections*on Ancestry.ca from Tuesday 26th May 2020 to Wednesday 27th May at 10am EDT. Ancestry Registration required. After the free access ends, you will only be able to view the records with an Ancestry.ca paid membership.
Records included in free access:
- Canada Birth Marriage and Death Records
- Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, Honeymoon and Visitor Registers, 1949-2011
- Canadian Census Collection, 1851-1916
- Ontario, Canada Voter Lists, 1867-1900
- Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980
- Canada, Registers of Prisoners of War 1803-1815
- War of 1812 Papers, 1789-1815
- Loyalist Collections
- Canadian Military Collections
- Early Ontario Settlers
- Canada, Quaker Meeting Records, 1786-1988
- U.S. and Canada, Quaker Yearly Meeting Annual Reports, 1808-1930
- U.S. and Canada, Quaker Monthly Meeting Historical Data, 1671-2010
- Canada, City and Area Directories, 1819-1906
- U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960
- Border Crossings: From U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935
- U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
- Canadian Immigrant Records, Part 1
- Canadian Immigrant Records, Part Two
- Journals, documents and other published material related to Niagara
Top Tips
- Look to the streets. Street signs may not be random names – many are often named after local families and historic figures, and could lead you to a family history discovery.
- Maps, maps, maps. Modern maps can hide a plethora of historical secrets. Cross referencing locals maps from multiple eras that cover the geographic era where your ancestors lived can give you leads for your research.
- Think local. Consider joining a local family history society or historic group. These groups are often repositories of local history and can hold invaluable resources for furthering your research.
- Check the directory. City directories can provide key clues to your ancestors’ everyday life, from the local shops they may have frequented, to jobs they held to who their neighbors were.
- Guessing is okay. When undertaking your genealogical research, guessing is okay, and can lead to an amazing discovery. Just make sure that you can back up an guesses with historical facts before adding it into your permanent records.
