A presentation given on May 5, 2012 at the Saskatchewan Library Association Annual Conference in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

1. Genealogy Boot Camp
Presented at the
2012 Saskatchewan Library Association
Conference
May 5, 2012
May P. Chan
Prairie History Room, Regina Public Library
©2012

2. Or as I like to call this session…
How Not to Let the
Genealogists Scare
You!

3. Does this sound familiar?
My ancestor, Harris Klein/Kline, lived
in various places in Canada, including Morris,
Sask., circa 1909. He came to Canada
approx.1888. Do you have reference material,
ie, old directories, that you would be willing to
check? If not, are you able to direct me to
sources? He was a farmer and a
carpenter.
- Patron from Chicago, Illinois

4. Reaction #1

5. Reaction # 2

6. Workshop Objective

7. When “genealogists” approach
the reference desk…
 They often arrive unprepared or only have a
short time to do research
 Think staff can pull up the information from
the computer if they just give you a name
 Give you way too much information all at
once (“genealogy ramble”)
 Don’t know the difference between a library or
an archives and don’t know their way around
a library (e.g. Dewey system)
 Don’t understand research methodology or
about genealogical resources in general

8. Steps to Follow for Staff…
(reference interview)
 FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!!!
 Ask specific questions to narrow down what the
patron is looking for (who, where & when) –
“What do they need to find out today?”
 Help them to focus on one family branch
at a time
 Extremely helpful if the patron has the
information written down (e.g. variant
spellings of the names)
 Ask where and what they have already looked at
 Don’t be afraid to ask why they need the records

9. Family Chronicle’s Record
Selection Table
 www.familychronicle.com/records.html
This chart
provides an
excellent overview
of where
genealogists can
track down
specific
information!!!

10. Most Frequently Asked for
Records/Materials @ PHR
 Obituaries/Death notices from the Leader
Post (1883 onwards)
 Newspaper articles
 Local or church histories
 Census records
 Immigration records, especially passenger
lists
 City Directories

11. Basic Resources to Have in Your
Library’s Collection
 Local history of your community/RM
 Church/business/family histories
 Maps of your community
 Old phone books or directories
 Local newspaper (print or microfilm) and
indexes; also any local clippings on
prominent individuals or businesses in your
community
 School yearbooks

12. Basic Genealogy Handbooks List
Saskatchewan
 Tracing Your Saskatchewan Ancestors, ed. Laura
Hanowski. 3rd edition. Regina, SK: SGS, 2006
 Tracing Your Aboriginal Ancestors, ed. Laura
Hanowski. Regina, SK: SGS, 2006.

13. Basic Genealogy Handbooks List
 Geographic Names of Saskatchewan by Bill Barry. People
Places Pub., 2003
 Age Shall Not Weary Them by Bill Barry et al. People
Places Pub., 2005.
Canada
 Finding Your Canadian Ancestors by Sherry Irvine and
Dave Obee. Ancestry Publishing, 2007.

14. Genealogy Magazines
 SGS Bulletin published by SGS (quarterly)
 Internet Genealogy published by
Moorshead Magazines (bi-monthly)
 Family Chronicle published by Moorshead
Magazines (bi-monthly)

15. Additionally…
 Keep in constant contact with all of the applicable
community groups that have similar-typed collections or
interest
 Genealogical societies
 Sask. Genealogical Society
www.saskgenealogy.ca (20 branches across the
province and one of the largest lending library of
local histories in Canada)
 Archives (local & church) - Sask. Council of Archives
& Archivists institutional members:
http://sain.scaa.sk.ca/collections/index.php/;repository/bro
 Museums
 Historical societies
 Schools/churches/community groups (e.g. Legion)

16. Some Basic Programming Ideas…
 Discovering the library’s resources – Encore/Classic
Catalogue, ILL service, newspaper databases, etc.
 Online genealogical resources
 Basic information literacy – e.g. how to identify
and locate reliable and trustworthy genealogical
websites, how to use Google more effectively, etc.
 Invite a local genealogical chapter/archives/museum
to come and talk about their resources
**Helpful tip: try to find a suitable day & time that works
for most of your users. For example, PHR always holds
its genealogy sessions Saturday mornings from 10 am
to12 pm from February to May.

17. Really Useful Genealogy
Websites
to
Know About

18. Canadian Genealogy Centre (CGC)
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html

19. Canadian Genealogy Centre (CGC)
 The Centre includes all physical and online
genealogical services of Library and Archives
Canada (LAC). It offers genealogical content,
services, advice, research tools and
opportunities to work on joint projects in both
English and French.
 Website launched in 2003 and is consistently
cited as one of the best free resources for
Canadian genealogists

20. Major Resources found on CGC
 Federal Census records (1871, 1881, 1901, & 1911
returns)
 Prairie Census records (1906 & 1916)
 Marriage bonds (Upper & Lower Canada, 1779-1865)
 Divorce records (1841-1968)
 Passenger lists (1865-1922 and 1925-1935)
 Immigration records (Home Children database,
1869-1930 and Immigrants from China, 1885-1950)
 Land grants (Western Land Grants, 1870-1930)
 Military records (Soldiers of the First World War and
Second World War Service Files: Canadian Armed Forces
War Dead)
 City directories (Who Was Where, 1861-1901)

21. In addition…
 Site offers a number of useful research
guides covering a wide range of topics
 “how to begin” is especially useful with free
downloads of major genealogical charts
(pedigree & family group sheet)
 Search by Topics is also good for specific
records such as military and immigration
 Site also offers virtual exhibits, a Flickr page
of historical images, and podcasts

22. Microfilm Digitization Page (CGC)
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/index-e.h

23. FamilySearch
www.familysearch.org

24. FamilySearch.org
 Website began in March 1999 and is available on
any internet accessible computer
 Created and maintained by the Church of the
Latter Day Saints (LDS), better known as the
Mormons
 Site offers over 1 billion records, including
census and vital (BMDs) records as well as
family histories
 Free for anyone to use. In some cases,
depending on donor, you maybe required to sign
in to view the records (note: registration is free!)

25. Browse by Location feature

26. Major Canadian Resources found
on FamilySearch.org
 Sask. Probate Estate Files, 1887-1931
 Sask. Judicial District Court Records,
1891-1954 (**images only!)
 Sask. Provincial Records, 1879-1987 –
Homestead files (**images only!)
 Federal census records – 1851, 1871-1891
 Ontario BMDs – 1869-1937
 British Columbia BMDs – 1984-1986
**Hint: Make sure you read the description
notes for each record/collection set!!!

27. FamilySearch’s Learning Centre
 Offers a variety of free online genealogy courses including
how to begin your genealogy, reading old handwritten
documents, locating German records, etc.

28. Additional Websites
 Saskatchewan GenWeb
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/Saskatchewa
 Canadian GenWeb Project
http://www.canadagenweb.org/
 Cyndis List http://www.cyndislist.com/ - meta site
with a global focus
 Automated Genealogy
http://www.automatedgenealogy.com – Canadian
census
 Our Roots http://ourroots.ca - local histories

29. Continued…
 Canadiana http://www.canadiana.ca/en/home -
history books
 Google News http://news.google.com
-newspapers, especially Leader Post & Star
Phoenix
 Interment.Net http://www.interment.net/ -
cemeteries
 Find a Grave http://www.findagrave.com –
cemeteries
 Canadian County Atlases
http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas - Ontario
maps

30. Staying Up-to Date
 Prairie History Blog
http://www.reginalibrary.ca/prairiehistoryblog/ -
Saskatchewan
 Dick’s Eastman’s Newsletter
http://blog.eogn.com/ - global
 Ancestry Insider
http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/ –
Ancestry & Family Search websites
 Genealogy Blog Finder
http://blogfinder.genealogue.com/ - global

31. CLA’s Local History & Genealogy
Services Network
 A new CLA chapter created in 2012
 Info about the network can be found on the
CLA website: http://tinyurl.com/852jkhv
 Blog (still in progress):
http://cdnlocgen.wordpress.com
 Membership to the network is free regardless
of whether or not you have a CLA
membership!
 First official meeting of the network will be at
this year’s CLA Annual Conference in Ottawa

32. My Contact Info
 Email: maychan@reginalibrary.ca
 Blog: www.reginalibrary.ca/prairiehistoryblog
 Website: www.reginalibrary.ca/prairiehistory
 Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/maychan