The Yorkton Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society welcomes interested genealogists at all stages of research. Whether you have been searching out your family tree for a long time or are just getting started, the Genealogy Society can be an invaluable source of information and support in your search. On Tuesday, April 9, you're invited to the next regular meeting; special guest will be local author and historian Elmer McInnes. The meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. at the Western Development Museum; new members are welcome! For more information call Dave at 783-1093 or Glenn at 782-7969.
Census records are a valuable tool for genealogy research. Check out the site www.collectionscanada.gc.ca and you will see all the information that is available to you. Census records list the all the people in a family, where they were born, when they arrived in Canada, and much more. There are several research tips suggested on this site, including the following: "In order to undertake a search in census, you must know the approximate locality, as the arrangement of these returns is by township or parish within each county. Small towns and villages are enumerated within their respective townships; larger towns and cities are listed separately. In the case of cities, particularly the larger centres, it is very helpful to know the ward in which the person lived. The ward can often be determined by consulting the street index at the front of published City Directories. To determine the province and county for a particular place, you can search the Post Offices and Postmasters database. Enter the place name in the Office Name field and if there was a post office there, it will indicate the federal electoral district, which usually corresponded to the county and census districts. Information about earlier census returns can be found in the Census Records."
Did you know that census records are not available to the public until 92 years after they were taken? The exception is any census record prior to 1906. The 1921 census will be released in June, 2013. The census began in Canada in 1666. By 1881, anyone working on the census was sworn to secrecy.
Beginning in the 1990's, much discussion began about the privacy or availability of census records. Finally, in 2005, Parliament passed Bill S-18, which allowed census records to be released after 92 years, as long as they were for genealogy or historical research only. After 112 years, there is unlimited access to census records.
Census records not only show information about citizens, but about the changing state of the population and their thinking as well. 1911 was the last time that a census asked about one's infirmities; in 1931, there were questions about employment; by 1961, questions appeared about education; in 1976, the head of the house changed to be husband and wife, and by 1981 the "head" reference was omitted completely. By 1991, common-law arrangements were on the census; and by 1996, the census was translated into over forty languages.
The census makes a fascinating part of your genealogy research. Log on and find out more! Every family has a story: discover yours, with the help of the Yorkton branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society!
