Frequently Asked Questions

By presenting you with the questions our genealogical consultants are most often asked, we will attempt to guide you to relevant sources held by Library and Archives Canada and other institutions.

Before you start, write down the name of the ancestor that you are trying to trace. Next, write down the information you already know about him or her, such as dates and places, even if they are only approximate. If you do not know any details about that individual, read the sections Let’s Go to Work! and Gathering Information.

Questions

1. Where can I find birth, marriage and death records?
2. What were the names of my ancestor’s parents and siblings?
3. What will census records tell me about my ancestor?
4. What was my ancestor’s racial/ethnic background?
5. My ancestor was not born in Canada. How can I find out when he or she arrived in Canada?
6. Where can I find a record for someone who served in the military?
7. Where can I find records from other countries?
8. I’ve lost touch with an old friend or family member. How can I find him or her?
9. Why aren’t more genealogical records available in searchable databases?

Answers

1. Where can I find birth, marriage and death records?

The civil registration of births, marriages and deaths is a provincial and territorial jurisdiction, often referred to as vital statistics or vital records. Those records are not in the custody of Library and Archives Canada, which is a federal institution.

Church records are another source for locating records of births (baptisms), marriages and deaths (burials), especially in the period before civil registration began in the various provinces.

Find out what records are available for the province/territory of interest to you and where they are held.

If you don’t know when and where your ancestor was born, those details might be found in a marriage or death record. Census are also helpful, because they list each person’s age and country or province of birth.

If your ancestor was not born in Canada, you will have to search for records in his or her country of birth. For information about sources in other countries, consult genealogy reference books at your local library, search the Internet for relevant Web sites or visit your local Family History Center™.

2. What were the names of my ancestor’s parents and siblings?

Parents’ names are usually listed on an individual’s birth or baptismal record, and often on a marriage record.

Census can help you identify family members because they list the names of everyone living in each household.

Names of family members are often mentioned in newspaper obituaries and death notices. If you know the place and date of death, you may wish to search relevant Newspapers for that period.

3. What will census records tell me about my ancestor?

Census returns are one of the most valuable sources of genealogical information. Census include details such as name, age, country or province of birth, ethnic origin, marital status, occupation and religion.

Please note that in order to search census, you must know your ancestor’s place of residence in each census year. If you don’t know where the family lived, we suggest that you search other types of genealogical records for clues, such as marriage and death records, naturalization records, newspaper obituaries, etc.

4. What was my ancestor’s racial/ethnic background?

Census provide details about each resident of Canada, including name, age, country or province of birth, and ethnic origin, such as Irish, French, Indian, African, Scottish, etc.

For information about searching for records relating to Native Peoples, please consult our guide Researching Your Aboriginal Ancestry at Library and Archives Canada and our sections on Aboriginal and Métis Peoples.

5. My ancestor was not born in Canada. How can I find out when he or she arrived in Canada?

Different types of immigration records exist for different periods. Read the following list and select the one of interest to you.

Library and Archives Canada holds Passenger Lists for ocean arrivals from 1865 to 1935.

Few lists have survived for immigrants arriving Before 1865.

Did your ancestor arrive in Canada from the United States or via the United States? Library and Archives Canada holds Border Entry records from 1908 to 1935. Before 1908, no records were kept of immigrants entering Canada from the United States.

Library and Archives Canada also holds registers of Immigrants from China and records of Home Children from Great Britain.

If your ancestor came from Russia or another East European country before 1922, you might find references to him or her in our LI-RA-MA Collection of Russian Consular records. Immigration records After 1935 are not held by Library and Archives Canada.

Please consult the introduction to Immigration records for research tips.

Are you trying to find out when your ancestor left Canada? The Canadian government did not keep records of people leaving the country. You will have to search arrival records in the country to which they immigrated.

6. Where can I find a record for someone who served in the military?

If the individual served in the Canadian Army during the First World War, 1914-1918, you can search for his or her name in our Soldiers of the First World War database. Be sure to read the online help screens to find out how you can order copies of documents from those personnel records.

If you are searching for the personnel record of an individual who served with the Canadian forces after the First World War, including the Second World War, please read Canadian Forces after 1918.

Except for the South African War, personnel records for the Canadian military were not kept prior to the First World War. Information about records for British and French forces in Canada and the Canadian militia can be found in our section on Military records.

7. Where can I find records from other countries?

For information about sources in other countries, consult genealogy reference books at your local library, search relevant Internet Web sites or visit your local Family History Center™.

8. I’ve lost touch with an old friend or family member. How can I find him or her?

If you have not already done so, you can try online telephone directories, for example, InfoSpace [www.infospace.com/canada/] and Canada 411 [www.canada411.ca/]

You might consider placing a notice in the Personals section of the local Newspaper in the city or town where the person last resided.

9. Why aren’t more genealogical records available in searchable databases?

It requires an enormous amount of time and labour to extract information from records and input it into a database. For example, the Ontario Genealogical Society’s index to the 1871 Census of Ontario took hundreds of volunteers and five years to complete. Most government and private institutions do not have the resources to undertake such projects. Also, in most provinces, access restrictions on birth, marriage and death records preclude putting that information online.