Findmypast US & World Newspapers Collection - Extra Canadian Newspapers?

I'm in the midst of putting the final touches on my "Finding Your Past With Findmypast" presentation for the upcoming British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa 25th Annual Conference being held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In doing so I've been going through the Findmypast holdings with a critical eye looking for cool and unusual items and collections.With the slides basically done I'm just writing up my "script" of talking points and was working on the newspaper section of my presentation.

I often use the Canada newspapers in the US & World Newspapers collection on Findmypast to look for my ancestors and relatives in Manitoba, specifically Winnipeg, plus a check of Alberta and Saskatchewan to see if they moved out that way. I might even check out the St. John's, Newfoundland papers. At least that is what I thought was all that was offered based on the filters.

I started playing with the search using the common surnames of "Smith" and "Jones". But I start to see newspapers from other areas of Canada.

Screen capture of Findmypast "US & World newspapers" collection filtered by Canada for Smith

A search for "Smith" using the "By Country" filter of "Canada" in the US & World newspapers collection returns articles from the Winnipeg Tribune, Victoria Daily British Colonist, and Acton Free Press (Acton, Ontario), Not shown in this screen capture of part of the first page of results are articles from the Vancouver Chinook, Milton Canadian Champion (Milton, Ontario), Agassiz Record (Agassiz, British Columbia), and Dauphin Herald (Dauphin, Manitoba).

If I look at the "By Publication" filter I see the Dauphin Herald listed but none of the others. In the "By State" filters only Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland, and Saskatchewan are listed. Ontario nor British Columbia is listed.

In looking at the search results themselves, the note at the bottom of the newspaper image states:

"Copyright: "Fair Use" allowed. NewspaperARCHIVE.com"

Could it be that NewspaperARCHIVE.com has many more Canadian newspapers than what Findmypast filters know about or is telling us? Could I have been underrating the Canadian newspaper collections provided by Findmypast?

I think the answer is a definite YES to both questions!

To see what might really be available we need to pop over to NewspaperARCHIVE.com and check out their collections. Going to the Canada section we see

Screen capture of NewspaperARCHIVE.com Canada collections by State

Looks like there are newspapers from Alberta, British Columbia, the Federal government, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.

Drilling down in the map you can find the various newspapers for the list provinces such as:

New Brunswick

• Fredericton Head Quarters (1844-1861)
• Moncton L Acadien (1918-1926)
• Saint John Morning Freeman (1860-1870)

Newfoundland

• Corner Brook Western Star (1900-1952)
• St. John's (12 publications)
• Saint Johns (38 publications)¹

Nova Scotia

• Halifax British Colonist (1848-1860)
• Halifax Citizen (1863-1873)
• Halifax Gazette (1753-1778)
• Halifax Sun And Advertizer (1862-1867)

Ontario

• Durham Chronical And Grey County Advertiser (1867-1969)
• Durham Grey Review (1878-1897)
• Durham Review (1897-1940)
• Kingston
• Kingston British Whig (1834-1895)
• Kingston Chronicle (1819-1832)
• Kingston Chronicle And Gazette (1835-1847)
• Kingston Daily British Whig (1850-1901)
• Kingston Daily News (1856-1887)
• Kingston Gazette (1810-1818)
• Kingston Upper Canada Herald (1819-1847)
• Kingston Weekly British Whig (1858-1885)
• Lindsay
• Lindsay Canadian Post (1893-1898)
• Lindsay Expositor (1869-1870)
• Lindsay Post (1907-1914)
• Lindsay Victoria Warder (1870-1899)
• Lindsay Watchman (1888-1898)
• Lindsay Watchman Warder (1899-1915)
• Lindsay Weekly Free Press (1908-1909)
• Lindsay Weekly Post (1899-1907)
• Millbrook And Omemee Mirror (1905-1909)
• Millbrook Reporter (1893-1962)
• Orillia Expositor (1872-1873)

This is only a selection of what is actually offered on NewspaperARCHIVE and subsequently, due to their partnership, probably also in the Findmypast newspaper collection for Canada.

For some of the newspapers the date ranges held are only for a few years but you never know what you will find.

In my case I had an open "to do" item to locate the death notice or obituary for Ann (nee McDonald) McKinnon, my 3rd great-grandmother, in the Victoria Warder from Lindsay, Ontario. I knew the date the obituary was printed in the newspaper and even had a transcription but I always want to see the original source. When I last looked a few years ago, Library and Archives Canada didn't have the year I wanted for that newspaper. Supposedly Trent University had a microfilmed copy of the issue the obituary was in but getting there is a challenge for me since I don't own a car. However, it seems that NewspaperARCHIVE.com does have the newspaper and the right years. This meant I could probably find it via Findmypast.com. With a bit of patience I was able to pull up her obituary on Findmypast.

"Obit.-Ann McKinnon," The Victoria Warder, 20 Oct 1893, p. 5, col. 3; digital images, Findmypast (www.findmypast.com : accessed 16 Sep 2019), US & World newspapers - Canada.

One more to do item crossed off my list! Only 749 to go as I write this post. YIKES!

Hopefully Findmypast will update their search filters on the US & World Newspapers collection search page to more closely align with what NewspaperARCHIVE has in their collection.

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1. Yes, I know that "Saint John's" and "St. John's" Newfoundland should be the same place but the computer doesn't.

Canadian First World War Resources - A Recap

Many of us in Canada have a connection to a relative or ancestor that fought or served in the First World War. With this year's Remembrance Day also commemorating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice I thought it was important to look at some of the resources available to us when doing our genealogy and family history research for those that fought or served during the Great War.

Library and Archives Canada

The first place I always recommend is the First World War landing page at the Library and Archives Canada web site. Take the time to look through the various resources available either online or onsite. Some of the resources include:

• Canadian Expeditionary Force
• Aboriginal Soldiers
• Royal Newfoundland Regiment and Newfoundland Forestry Corps
• Imperial War Service Gratuity files
• Non-Permanent Active Militia
• Royal Canadian Navy and Naval Reserve
• Nursing Sisters that served with the CEF
• Military Medals, Honours and Awards, 1812-1969

Don't forget to look at the "Published Sources"since those books can shed some light on the lives of those that served. Some of the online record collections at Library and Archives Canada might only be indices. However, often the digitized documents may be found elsewhere.

Do you have a War Bride in the family? If so, review the War Brides page at Library and Archives Canada for possible collections that you might want to check out.

The War Diaries of the First World War are not the diaries of the individual service member but daily accounts of the CEF units. Searching for the diaries for a specific unit is not a straight forward task but the results can be worth while. There you will find that serving could be days of boring routine followed by hell in the trenches. If you know the unit of your soldier and when they were injured or killed, the war diaries can often help pinpoint where the unit and quite possibly the soldier was on that date.

Maps

Once you have the service file and know where your soldier was on the group through reading the War Diaries then being able to find them on the ground during the fighting is often the next step. McMaster University has an amazing Digital Archive in their Maps Collection for the First World War. You can even look at the Trench Maps for the Western Front.

Newfoundland

FamilySearch has the digitized collection "Newfoundland military service records for the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and the Newfoundland Forestry Corps, 1913-1918" available online. You will need to review the digitized index first to determine the volume and file number. Then you can go to the appropriate digitized microfilm roll to review the service records. You will also find military records and other information about Newfoundlanders in the First World War at the Newfoundland's Grand Banks site.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission helps you find where a service member that died during the Great War is buried or memorialized. You will often find the Grave Registration Report included on the page. If no body was recovered the name may be found on one of several memorials. A photo of the panel when the name is written may also be included on the page.

Memorials

Those Canadians in uniform that died during the First World War (and other wars), you can find their name inscribed in the Books of Remembrance housed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Town in Ottawa. You can search the books and view the page from the specific Book of Remembrance.

Veterans Affairs Canada houses the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. The CVWM is a registry to honour and remember the sacrifices of the Canadians and Newfoundlanders who have given their lives serving in uniform.

Ancestry

If you have a paid Ancestry subscription or you are accessing Ancestry from a library or archive then you will find a number of collections including:

• Canada, WWI CEF Personnel Files, 1914-1918 - This collection is the same as what is available directly from Library and Archives Canada. However, the individual services files at Library and Archives Canada come bundled as a PDF whereas on Ancestry you need to retrieve the individual images for each service member.
• Canada, Imperial War Service Gratuities, 1919-1921 - At the end of the First World War, all Canadian service personnel received a payment to help in the transition from military service to civilian life. In December 1919 the Canadian government decided to increase the gratuity for all Canadian residents that served with the British forces during the Great War. These are the records of applications for the increased gratuity payment. Most of the applications were from those personnel that served with the Royal Flying Corp, Royal Navy, and the British Expeditionary Force.
• England, Queen's Canadian Military Hospital Registers, 1914-1919 - This collection includes registers of admission and discharge, and rolls of patient transfers for the Queen's Canadian Military Hospital at Beachborough Park, Shorncliffe.
• U.S., Residents Serving in Canadian Expeditionary Forces, 1917-1918 - The CEF didn't just have Canadians in their ranks. Americans that didn't want to wait for the United States of America to join the war against the Central Powers also joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
• Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922 - Often you will find on the CEF Attestation Papers a mention that the recruit had served in the militia. You may be able to find their name in these nominal rolls and paylists.
• Canada, War Graves Registers (Circumstances of Casualty), 1914-1948 - This database has the death and burial information for Canadian military personnel
• Canada, CEF Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1919 - The "Black Binder" registers were used to record the final resting place of those that died during the First World War in Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom.
• Canada, Military Honours and Awards Citation Cards, 1900-1961 - These index cards documenting awards and honours received by service personnel may include your service member or Nursing Sister.
• Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 - Don't forget that those that served overseas needed to come back home to Canada. You will often find them in the passenger lists of the ships that were seconded to act a troop ships.

Other Collections

There is also the Military History Research Centre at the Canadian War Museum. You can search their online catalogue or make an appointment to review the onsite resources.

Was your relative or ancestor a prisoner of war during the First World War? If so, search the Prisoners of the First World War collection at the International Committee of the Red Cross.

A number of the Nominal Rolls for the Canadian Expeditionary Force have been digitized and made available on the Internet Archive by searching for "nominal roll canadian expeditionary force".

Do you have a picture of the service member and you can't figure out the badge on the uniform? Check out the "Badge Registry: The Canadian Expeditionary Force" pages.

The Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group is a group of enthusiasts with an interest in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. They have amassed a large collection of files and information concerning the CEF and are a great research when digging into the lives of service members and history of the units.

If your ancestor or relative did something particularly brave during the war they might have been "gazetted" with a mention in the Canada Gazette or London Gazette. Remember that some of the awards, honours, and medals were done post-war.

Don't forget to check the newspapers in the villages, towns, and cities that your relative or ancestor lived. Often there will be a mention of them heading off to war, returning, getting injured or killed, and also in memory post-war.

My Top 10 Canadian Genealogy Web Sites for 2014

On July 28th Family Tree Magazine released their top 101 genealogy web sites for 2014. In that list they included only 4 Canadian web sites they considered as "best". Now I don't know what was their criteria in selecting those 4 as their best sites and I realize that they were covering 15 categories but I find myself disagreeing with some of their selections. For my list I've intentionally only included free sites since I know that our "hobby" can be an expensive one when you factor in subscribing to sites like Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage, and Généalogie Québec.

With the hundreds of genealogy related web sites I have in my personal bookmarks to choose from I'm certain I've missed your favourite site. So leave me a message with the URL and why the site I've foolishly omitted is one of the best for Canadian research.

So, in no particular order, here is my top 10 list of Canadian web sites.

Library and Archives Canada
It seems that their web site has been undergoing revisions for so long that their welcome message of "we are currently redesigning our website" has become a permanent fixture but their content, if you can find it, can be invaluable. Regrettably their collections are sometimes hard to navigate but once you do figure it out what they do have is great. Some of their resources include:

• Free searchable images of the various Canadian censuses from 1825 to 1916
• Attestation and draft registration papers for the Canadian Expeditionary Force personnel from the Great War of 1914-1918. They are in the process of digitizing the service files and will be making them available for free on their web site. There are also digitized copies of the war diaries for Canadian units that fought in that war.
• For settlers in what later became Canada the land records collections can help track the migration of our ancestors.

Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB)
This is my go to place for starting any New Brunswick research. The site is a great example of how an archive can freely share the records and history of their province without any fuss. It isn't flashy but as a researcher I don't want a dazzling appearance, I want functionality and I love free. Here you will find:

• Vital Statistics from Government Records (BMD) with births from 1808-1918 (a little spotty before 1898), marriages from 1847-1964, and deaths from 1815-1964 (like births the records before 1920 can be hit or miss).
• The birth, marriage, and death announcements transcriptions from New Brunswick newspapers from 1784-1896 created by the late Daniel F. Johnson.
• Place names of New Brunswick include not just a description of the location but also cadastral maps showing boundaries, lots, and land grantees.
• They have also created a searchable database from Wallace Hale's book Early New Brunswick Probate, 1785-1835. Another invaluable resource for learning more about those early settlers to what later became Canada.

Peel's Prairie Provinces
Many of our ancestors made it to the Prairie Provinces due to the allure of free bountiful land. The Peel's Prairie Provinces site has helped make the information needed to locate those settlers available to all. They have resources such as Western Canada newspapers, maps, and Henderson's town and city directories.

Olive Tree Genealogy
I don't use it as often as I probably should nowadays but it is still a place where I go when I am stumped and don't know where to look next. Lorine McGinnis Schulze has created a place where you can find over 1,900 page of free genealogy records.

Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections
John D. Reid''s blog is one I consider mandatory reading for not only highlighting what new collections are available but also what is happening in the world of genealogy and family history research.

Canadian Gravemarker Gallery
Sometimes only the dead can speak to you ... or at least only their grave markers. Although sometimes a challenge to search a common name this may be the only place you will find those grave markers pictures from cemeteries that may have been long forgotten.

British Columbia Vital Records
Initially the British Columbia Archives hosted this page but it has now been rolled under the British Columbia Museum. Images for the births (1854-1903), marriages (1872-1934), and deaths (1872-1991) of those in British Columbia can be found here. But if the image for a death registration is not available, don't forget to check out the "British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986" collection on FamilySearch.

Newfoundland's Grand Banks
As Canada's youngest province Newfoundland has also some of the richest history being a colony, a dominion and then a province. This site has created transcriptions of various directories along with census records going back to 1675. If your ancestor came to Newfoundland this is the site you need to use.

Automated Genealogy
When I can't find a person in the 1901 or 1911 censuses of Canada due to possibly messed up transcriptions I come to this site. Here they have transcribed AND linked the people found in the 1901 and 1911 Canadian censuses. They are not just looking at linking census records but they have projects underway to make this place the first stop to locate the other records relating to the person.

Our Roots
When I've exhausted the usual sources of birth (baptism), marriage, death (funeral), census, and directory resources when doing research on Canadians I turn to Our Roots. They have made available searchable books on the histories of local communities within Canada. These local histories also can give an insight into the challenges faced when settling Canada.