Annapolis County, Nova Scotia Genealogy

Guide to Annapolis county ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records. 

History
1759 - Annapolis County was established in 1759, when Nova Scotia was divided into five counties. In 1836 and 1837, parts of Annapolis County were divided to create Yarmouth and Digby Counties. Nova Scotia Archives &amp; Records Management has a virtual exhibit on the early settlement of Port Royal (now Annapolis) and a searchable databaseof "the largest and most complete online presentation of primary-source documents relating to the Deportation of the Acadians from Nova Scotia.

Calnek, William Arthur, and Alfred William Savary. History of the County of Annapolis Including Old Port Royal and Acadia: With Memoirs of Its Representation in the Provincial Parliament, and Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of Its Early English Settlers and Their Families. Toronto: William Briggs, 1897. Online Copy at Google Books

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia is another database searchable by county or community that contains brief descriptions and historical facts about more than 2,400 communities.
 * Nova Scotia
 * 1871 - Postal Gazetteer
 * Nova Scotia.ca Historical Map Information

Neighboring Counties
Kings County * Queens County * Digby County

Civil Registrations
According to Nova Scotia Archives Records Management: "Civil registration of vital statistics began in Nova Scotia in 1763 with the introduction of procedures for obtaining a marriage licence; the procedure was optional and the surviving records are incomplete. Formalized registration of births, deaths and marriages began in 1864 and continued to 1877, at which time record-keeping lapsed for births and deaths, but continued for marriages. Compliance was not universal during this period and there are gaps in the surviving records. Since 1 October 1908, birth, death and marriage registrations have been collected and maintained continuously."

Birth Records

 * 1661-1959 -, index.
 * 1702-1896 -, index.
 * 1830-1909 - Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Births 1864-1877, 1908-1909; Delayed Birth Registrations 1830-1909
 * 1836-1907 - . index.
 * 1836-1910 - Nova Scotia, Canada, Births, index and images, ($).
 * 1837-1904 -, Images.
 * 1864-1877 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage Records

 * 1711-1909 -, index.
 * 1759-1960 - Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Court records of Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, 1759-1960; Marriage Bonds 1763-1864; Marriage Registrations 1864-1934
 * 1763-1932 -, index.
 * 1763-1935 - Nova Scotia, Canada, Marriages, index and images. ($)
 * 1864-1918 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1907-1932 -, images.
 * A Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia ($) a database of Annapolis and Digby marriage records is available to members of the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia.

Death Records

 * 1864-1957 -, index.
 * 1864-1877 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1864-1959 - Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Deaths 1864-1877, 1908-1959
 * 1864-1960 - Nova Scotia, Canada, Deaths, 1864-1877, 1890-1960, index and images. ($)
 * 1890-1955 -, images.
 * 1956-1957 -, images.

Census
In Canada, census returns are closed for 92 years after the time of enumeration. Census returns prior to 1851 are rarely complete for any area, and the census returns for Annapolis County in 1851 did not survive.


 * 1861 - For each county, the agricultural returns follow immediately after the personal returns for the whole county.
 * 1871 - The personal returns for each enumeration sub-district appear in schedule one. The agricultural returns are schedules three to five and are keyed to schedule one by page and line number rather than by name.

Church Records

 * 1720-2001 -, images.
 * 1757-1946 - Acadia, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), images. ($)
 * 1823-1905 -, images.
 * Nova Scotia, Canada, Antigonish Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1823-1905, index and images, ($).
 * 1856-1970 - U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, images ($)
 * Nova Scotia Archives, Church Records, index and images.
 * Nova Scotia Archives, Regional Church Archives contact information

See also, Nova Scotia Church Records

Court Records

 * 1786-1853 -Annapolis town meetings, 1790-1853 -- Annapolis County grand jury, 1786-1800}, images.
 * 1885-1900 - Nova Scotia Archives Court of Appeal Casebooks

Wills and Probate

 * 1760-1993 -, images.
 * 1763-1938 - Abstracts from the Court of Probate records for Annapolis County, index and images.
 * 1879-1970 -Wills, 1879-1970, images.

City, Provincial, and Business Directories

 * 1758-1952 - Publications of the governments of Nova Scotia, index and images. ($)
 * 1868-1869 - Collections Canada PDF file of McAlpine's Nova Scotia Directory
 * 1880-1881 - McAlpine's maritime provinces business directory
 * 1890-1897 - Collections Canada PDF file of McAlpine's Nova Scotia Directory
 * 1907-1908 - Nova Scotia Archives McAlpine's Nova Scotia Directory

Land Records

 * 1732-1864 - Nova Scotia land grants, microfilm.
 * 1763-1970 - Land records, microfilm.
 * 1854-1953 - Land grants, microfilm.
 * 1965-1970 - Card file index to deeds, grantor and grantee, microfilm, Index.

Online Records

 * Land Grants, Images.
 * Crown Land Information Management Centre maps, images.
 * 1760-1993 - Nova Scotia Probate Records, images.
 * 1765-1800 - Nova Scotia Land Papers images.
 * 1787-1843 - Cape Breton Island Petitions, images.

Additional Reference

 * 'Gilroy, Marion. Loyalists and Land Settlement in Nova Scotia.'' Halifax: Public Archives of Nova Scotia, 1937.


 * Smith, Clifford Neal. Whereabouts of Some American Refugees, 1784–1800: the Nova Scotian Land Grants. 7 vols. McNeal, Arizona: Vestland Publications, 1992.


 * Land Registration Office - Annapolis County 396 Main Street Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia (902) 584-7185

Military Records

 * The American Civil War : the service records of Atlantic Canadians with the State of Maine volunteers
 * FamilySearch
 * WorldCat
 * The civil sword : James Delancey's Westchester Refugees
 * FamilySearch
 * 1749-1867 - Index to commissions in the Public, index.

Online Sources

 * Veteran Affairs Canada has a Virtual War Memorial with listings of graves and memorials, some with photographs and personal memorabilia. It also has excerpts from wartime letters and diaries.


 * Library and Archives of Canada Records and databases of information over an extensive period of time.


 * 1910-1967 - The Royal Canadian Navy Virtual archive of non-governmental materials (postcards, letters, photographs, etc.)

Newspapers and Obituaries

 * List of Nova Scotia newspapers available on microfilm at Library and Archives Canada: Library and Archives Canada
 * Nova Scotia vital statistics from newspapers FamilySearch
 * 1752-1988 - Hicks, Brenda, Lynn Murphy, and Anjali Vohra. Nova Scotia Newspapers: A Directory and Union List, 1752-1988. Halifax, Nova Scotia: School of Library and Information Studies, Dalhousie University, 1990.
 * PDF file online
 * 1757-1957 - Tratt, Gertrude E. N. A Survey and Listing of Nova Scotia Newspapers, 1752-1957, with Particular Reference to the Period Before 1867. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie University, 1979.
 * 1866-1931 - The Annapolis Valley Newspaper Extracts Project has published online transcriptions of vital statistics from selected newspapers covering 1866-1931.

Taxation Records

 * 1791-1793 - Nova Scotia Archives & Records Management Poll tax rolls

Repositories
Nova Scotia Archives &amp; Records Management, formerly the Public Archives of Nova Scotia (PANS): 6016 University Avenue Halifax, Nova Scotia (902) 424-6060 www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/The library holdings are only available for use on-site, but there are numerous databases and materials available through the Virtual Archives, including the searchable database of Historical Vital Statistics. If you're planning a visit to the library, you can search a portion of the catalogue online in advance (as of July 2010, 20,000 entries); the remaining 50,000 titles are listed in the Archives Reading Room Card Catalogue, available onsite. Search for 'Annapolis' in Acadia University's Planter Database for a more convenient way to view NSARM's record holdings.

Annapolis Heritage Society Geneaology Centre O'Dell House Museum 136 St. George Street Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia (902) 532-7754 www.annapolisheritagesociety.com/genealogyThe Centre has significant collections of genealogies, local histories, cemetery and probate records, old scrapbooks, microfilms of vital statistics for Annapolis and Digby counties, church records and deeds and other pertinent information for researchers. Its primary emphasis is on Annapolis Royal and the old townships which were adjacent to Annapolis Royal: Granville, Annapolis, Wilmot and Clements. It also covers the early Acadian settlements prior to 1755.

Annapolis Valley Historical Society MacDonald Museum 21 School Street, Middleton, Nova Scotia Phone: (902) 825-6116 www.macdonaldmuseum.ca/Holdings: family files; obituaries- various; photographic collection – local people and scenes; scrapbooks of local interest stories; church registers- various; cemetery inscriptions; Robert L. Hall Funeral home records, Bridgetown, NS (1907-1975); Township Books, Annapolis &amp; Kings County; vital statistics, Annapolis, Kings, Digby &amp; Lunenburg Counties; census records 1838-1901 Annapolis County; library of local history; land grants- various; Annapolis County probate records – abstracts 1763-1938; Annapolis County school records; local newspapers: Middleton Outlook/Mirror-Examiner 1901-present (indexed from 1901-1925), Bridgetown Monitor 1876-1902

Websites

 * Nova Scotia Genealogy Records Online


 * Annapolis County GenWeb Project


 * Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia


 * Canadian Genealogy and History Links


 * Acadia University's Planter Studies Centre, focused on the New England residents who settled in Nova Scotia in the late 1700s.