Canadian Museum of Civilization,

Canadian Ethnology Service, Library and Archives

Hours of Operation, Access Conditions & Services

May 1st to mid-October: Monday to Friday 9:00–5:00
Mid-October to April 30: Tuesday to Friday 9:00–5:00
Appointments are recommended.
Staff will not conduct research for inquirers.

Collections & Description

This is a selective list that includes only those genealogically valuable records that may refer particularly to Métis and Aboriginal people.
Alexander Goldenweiser (anthropologist)
1912–1934

Ethnological field notes collected among Iroquois of Southern Ontario, including genealogies of the Gibson, Smoke, Barn, Echo, Martin, Key and Johnson families. Also a list of over 500 Mohawk names some with English translation, and clan affiliations.

16 cm, textual records
S. Frederick Waugh (anthropologist)
1911–1924
Ethnological field notes collected among Iroquois of Southern Ontario and Ojibways of Lac Seul.
6 monographs, mainly on the Naskapi

2 m, textual records

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) Family History Library

Salt Lake City, Utah—but branch libraries in most North American cities and towns.
www.familysearch.org

Hours of Operation, Access Conditions & Services

Contact your local LDS Family History Library for details (look in telephone directory under Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Since these branches are volunteer run, they are usually only open limited hours. All branches have microfilm readers as the vast majority of records are microfilmed and films can be borrowed from the main library in Utah.
Volunteers will not conduct research for inquirers. However, they will assist researchers in identifying and locating relevant records in their collection.

Collections & Description

This library has the largest collection of genealogical records anywhere in the world. The church has been microfilming records from all over the world for several decades and continues to expand its collection. Virtually any document set that has genealogical value is potentially available through the LDS FHL. Availability of Canadian records is based mainly on whether or not the owner of the records was willing to give permission to the LDS church staff to microfilm the records. The list of records is too long to list here. I will only mention that the FHL has filmed all the Catholic parish registers for the Ontario dioceses of Kingston and Pembroke.

Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (HBCA)

Archives of Manitoba,
130-200 Vaughan Street, Winnipeg, MB  R3C 1T5
www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/
Telephone Number: 204-945-4949
E-mail Address: hbca@gov.mb.ca

Hours of Operation, Access Conditions & Services

Monday to Friday 9:00–4:00

Staff will not conduct research for inquirers. However, they will assist researchers in identifying and locating relevant records in their collection.

Collections & Description

This is a selective list that includes only those genealogically valuable records that may refer particularly to Métis and Aboriginal people who settled in Central and Eastern Canada.
A.30 Lists of Servants
1774–1841
Early lists give name, occupation, wages and contract expiry date and comments on character and ability.
By 1785, a column gave home parish
By 1787, another column gave the year they entered the service
A.32/1–19 Servants’ contracts
1780–1818
A.32/20–60 Servants’ contracts
1820–1925
A.36 Officers’ and servants’ wills
1763–1913
A.44 Register books of wills and administration of proprietors
1770–1903
B.(each post has its own number) Post Records
Journals recording daily occurrances, activities of employees, arrivals and departures of trading groups

Lists of servants, sometimes including parish of origin, occupation, wages, etc.
Starting in the 1920s, post managers kept lists of births, marriages and deaths of Aboriginal people living near the post
E.4. Red River Settlement  Baptism, Marriage and Burial Register
1820 to 1851
E.5 Red River Settlement Census Returns
1827–1843

• Microfilm 4M105

E.6. Red River Settlement Land Register
1811–1871

• Microfilm 4M105 and 4M106

E.7 Red River Settlement Account Books
1811–1871
Microfilm 4M106 to 4M109
E.31 Employees’ Undelivered letters
1823–1898
12 cm, Microfilm 4M130 and 4M131
F.5/1–3 North West Company Servants’ Contracts
1798–1821
Often provide employee’s home parish
RG2 Series 71 Beaver manuscript files
c1930–1973
Handwritten drafts with research notes
RG2 Series 73 Library files on HBC employees

c1850–1920

HBCA Staff have prepared biographical sheets for many employees. These sheets summarize the employee’s employment history and often provide family information. Available online at http://gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/biographical/index.html
You will find several other helpful resources online, including maps showing the locations of the posts and detailed finding aids for the post records:
www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/search/.

Personal papers, as well as some oral histories, of HBC officers and their families can be found within the Private Records (Section E).

Other Resources

Many volumes of records have been published by the Hudson’s Bay Record Society and the Champlain Society.
For a detailed (although slightly outdated) description of these, and other records, read Elizabeth Briggs and Anne Morton’s Biographical Resources at the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, Volume 1 (&2): A Resource for Genealogy. Winnipeg: Westgarth, 1996 (&2003).
See Section IIIA (** add pages) for more details about fur trade records and the information they contain.

Library and Archives Canada (LAC)

395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON  K1A 0N4
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
General Inquiries and Reference: 613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777
(toll free in Canada and the US),
TTY: 613-992-6969 or 1-866-299-1699 (toll free in Canada);
Genealogy Reference: 613-996-7458

E-mail Address: N/A Use inquiry forms on website

Hours of Operation, Access Conditions & Services

See website for current opening hours for each department and service, as these change periodically. Generally all rooms and services are available at least Monday to Friday 10:00–4:00. There is also a live CHAT service available through the website, Monday to Friday 2:00–4:00, EST.
Available Equipment:
Computerized workstations available in the Reference Collections and Reference Services rooms for people with disabilities (adjustable table and large screen)
Computerized workstation available to people with a visual impairment in the Reference Services Room (Magic screen enlarger and Jaws software; Braille keyboard available on request)
Magnifying glass available on request
Viewers capable of enlarging characters of books for people with visual impairments

Staff will not conduct research for inquirers. However, they will assist researchers in identifying and locating relevant records in LAC’s collection.

Collections & Description

Library and Archives Canada has recently reclassified all its collections. Officially, they no longer use the RG (Record Group) and MG (Manuscript Group) numbers to identify records. However, as these old numbers are still in practical use, I include them here, along with the new reference numbers, where available.
Of the basic record types that are essential to all genealogical research in Canada, Library and Archives Canada has two:
Federal census records
1851: Taken 12 January 1852. Digital images are available on the website.
1861: Taken 14 January 1861.
1871: Taken 2 April 1871. A heads of households only index to this census available on the website.
1881: Taken 4 April 1881.
1891: Taken 6 April 1891.
1901: Taken 31 March 1901. Digital images are available on the website.

Newspapers
A vast collection of microfilmed newspapers from across the country.
See the online list, arranged by province and then alphabetical by publication place: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/8/18/index-e.html
The archives also holds a smattering of church records.
Two major categories of records contain information specific to Aboriginal people: records of the government department responsible for “Indian Affairs” (RG10); and private papers of people who had dealings with Aboriginal people (formerly designated with “MG” numbers). Also, for those whose ancestors lived in the western provinces, the Métis and Half-breed Scrip records (RG15) are housed here, and largely accessible through the website.
Records of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and its predecessor units
See section IIIB (add pages) for descriptions of these types of records and the information they contain.
RG10-A Northern Superintendancy, Division 1 - General Operational Records
Volume 620: Annuity Orders, Receipts, School Returns
1847–1872
C-13390
RG10-A Pre-confederation Indian Department Office Records—General Operational Records from Quebec and Lower Canada
Volume 785 Minutes of Council. Lower Canada. Enumerations of St. Regis Indians. 1815–1828
C-13499

RG10-A-6-d & RG10-B-8-1 (now R216-5-X-E) Census records

Early “censuses”/ lists of Aboriginal people receiving “presents,” in Upper and Lower Canada (now Ontario and Quebec). These lists mostly cover the 1830s to 1860s.
Volume 707: Census returns for Western Superintendency (Chippewas of Sarnia & Walpole Island, Wyandotts of Anderdon), 1883–1913, film C-13410
Volume 708: Census of Indians of Upper Canada (Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawa..s, Shawanagas, Hurons, Munsees, Sacanies, Moravians) 1830–1836, film C-13410
Volume 747: Register of Indians of Lower Canada, 1840–1852, films C-13418, C-13419
Volume 781: Census returns for Western Superintendency, 1883–1913, not filmed
Volume 999A: Census returns for bands in Upper Canada (mostly Six Nations, but also a few returns for Wyandotts, Chippewas and Ottawa at Amherstburg, Munsees on river Thames, Delawares, Chippewas, Pottodomies[Potawatomi] and Ottawa at Port Sarnia, and New Credit Mississaugas), 1833–1857, film T-1455
Volume 1728: Census returns for Lake Nipigon, 1850 and Lakes Huron and Superior, 1857–1860, film T-1477
Volume 9782: Census return for Montagnais bands, 1881–1885, film C-7268

Volumes 9987–9991: Census returns for Lakes Superior and Huron, 1850, 1896, 1911, 1934

RG10-B-3-d (now R216-247-1-E) Headquarters Central Registry System, School files
1879–1953
See finding aid 10-17
RG10-B-5-b (R216-267-7-E ) School Branch Ontario Inspection Reports

1884–1900

.2 m
RG10-B-8 Nominal index to “Indian” soldiers who fought in WWI
Microfilm T-6922
Index gives the soldier’s name, battalion, agency and file reference
RG10-B-8-d (now R216-17-6-E) Headquarters Treaty Annuity Pay Lists
1850–1982
See finding aids 10-91, 10-109, 10-116
RG10-B-8-e (now R216-688-9-E) Interest Distribution Pay Lists
1856–1982
See finding aids 10-91, 10-109
RG10-B-8-j (now R216-690-7-E) Band Membership Registers Lists
1835–1968
Six Nations, 1902-1935 (Vols. 9973–9985)
Moravians of the Thames, 1835–1955 (Vol. 9986)
Trout Lake Band, Nakina Agency, 1929–1949 (Vol. 9992)
Different Agency Bands, 1946–1968 (Vols. 12362–12367).