Canadian Genealogy · Genealogy How Tos

Don’t overlook free digital records with my Heritage Canadiana / Library and Archives Canada hack, part 2

I like poking around in HC. There's the thrill of discovery - what will I find today - but once I find something, I automatically want to know more about it. This is when we need to find our way back to LAC. There are other ways to search LAC - by collection title or mikan number to name two - but using the reel number gives more targeted results. Multiple results for a single reel reference number means there are multiple collections on one reel.

Canadian Genealogy · Genealogy How Tos

Don’t overlook free digital records with my Library and Archives Canada / Heritage Canadiana hack, part 1

This weekend, I noticed more than one reel digitized at HC with no indication at LAC. Maybe at some point in the future, LAC will sync seamlessly with HC and the two will work simultaneously. Until that happens, check for the "secret" reels.

Canadian Genealogy · Chinese Genealogy

Over 5K new Chinese Canadian records are now online at Héritage Canadiana

In this post I will discuss the new release of digitized records at Héritage Canadiana, show you how to access them and then share some thoughts about what the aggregated collection can teach us. What is a C.I.9? A Chinese Immigration Certificate no. 9 is a Canadian reentry certificate. They were official government documents issued… Continue reading Over 5K new Chinese Canadian records are now online at Héritage Canadiana

Canadian Genealogy · Chinese Genealogy

Order-in-Council PC 2115: When immigration met the X-ray machine

In this post I look at the follow up to the Chinese Immigration Act and share a startling period in Canadian immigration: the use of X-rays to determine the chronological age of Chinese teenagers and young adults. Put simply, X-rays were used to measure bone formation, called ossification, and by comparing the measurements of bone… Continue reading Order-in-Council PC 2115: When immigration met the X-ray machine

Canadian Genealogy

The prisoners of Kingston Pen, 1843-1890

I found a surprising cache of documents this week: historic prisoner records for Kingston Penitentiary. In this post, I'll share two finding techniques for prisoner records at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and at sister site Héritage Canadiana (Héritage). As noted in previous posts, the two sites share information, but I'm still working out their… Continue reading The prisoners of Kingston Pen, 1843-1890