Canada, Other Sources Created at the Time of Death - International Institute

Other Sources
The 1851 and 1861 census for Canada East and West had provision for recording deaths within the past twelve months. Apparently the maritime provinces (which were still independent colonies then) did not ask for this until 1861. We also have a surviving death schedule for the 1871 (the first federal) census.

Sources like hospital and medical records (for births as well as deaths) are generally not available or accessible. Hospitals may destroy their records after a certain time period. Doctors’ files are confidential and may always be deemed so, however much time has elapsed.

Funeral homes and mortuaries may be a source of information; they had/have to complete paperwork to follow provincial guidelines. The information they have, of course came from a relative of the deceased or someone responsible for the funeral. Some of these establishments have cooperated with genealogical societies to allow their older records to be indexed or transcribed.

Coroners’ inquests could be a goldmine of information if accidental or suspicious death occurred. Generally they will have time-restricted access, if indeed they have been preserved. On the other hand, contemporary newspapers usually gave coverage to them. Coroners’ records are likely to be found in provincial archives among government justice records.

Let us not forget that probate (estate) files are major sources of primary information about date and place of death, on legal affidavits for the relevant court. Not everyone made a will, or left an estate that went to probate. But estate files were created even for intestates who had sufficient land or assets to be distributed. An administrator, rather than an executor, would be appointed by the court to handle the estate affairs.

Newspapers
Newspapers can be wonderful sources of information, albeit secondary in nature. Not only is the information subject to the original informant, typographical errors or misspellings were frequent. Besides the ubiquitous “hatch-match-dispatch” columns, their local news recounts the weekly comings and goings of the residents. Although they were published in a town, many contained space devoted to rural townships, villages and hamlets with sometimes gossipy tales or in-jokes. With careful reading, you can find births, marriages or deaths reported in the editorial content that may not appear in the specific column for such events. Events like major wedding anniversaries, accidents, fires, elections, businesses opening or closing, church suppers, fall fairs, fraternal society news, scandals, criminal activity, and anything with an impact on the local population was grist for the mill. One warning, though: reporters occasionally got carried away with their colourful verbiage.

If you take the time to browse, newspapers provide the immediate flavour of an ancestor’s locale and times. Even the advertisements and classifieds are of interest. The latter have regular notices of estate administration (attention creditors!), bankruptcies, spousal separation (left my bed and board!), lost livestock, and all manner of personal matters. The availability of newspapers, on microfilm or database, can be tracked down through the National Library and all its listings of public libraries across Canada.

Family Bibles, Papers and Hearsay
One of the first things beginners in the world of genealogy are advised is to consult living relatives and “home” sources to gather information that will start them on the backward trail. Family members like parents and grandparents or more distant kin may have knowledge of events or personal papers that could take you years to discover yourself. If you are fortunate enough to have such family members, you will have a head start. But you must realize from the outset that much of this information will need verification.

Family bibles are undoubtedly a treasure to find and keep safe. The pages on which birth-death-marriage dates are entered are another source which may be all a family historian can find about these events. Experience tells you to compare the date of publication of the bible with the earliest events that were written in it; any events that occurred before the bible was published are more open to question because of the passage of time. Naturally we can’t know when any of the entries were made, but we can examine the handwriting to see if it is uniform throughout. Differences in handwriting or ink suggest that entries were made on a regular basis after a family event occurred. The bible itself is an original source, as are the inscribed entries, and while the evidence is direct in regard to each person, the information is secondary.

Family papers—notes from an older relative who began to reconstruct the family tree, old letters from forgotten relatives, diaries from a past generation, postcards, photographs, military medals, etc—all too often have an uncertain background and/or uncited information. In fact, it can take a lot of effort to identify who exactly are the people involved and their relationships to each other or to you. We wouldn’t want to be without family souvenirs and artifacts, but context and provenance need examination and evaluation so we are not heading off with wrong assumptions in a wrong direction.

Family hearsay is one of the most difficult sources to deal with. Many families have precious stories they hand down of some exciting or scandalous past event. It is always difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, the truth from the story, and families are rarely willing to surrender their belief in an epic that may involve “romantic” concepts of blood relation to a famous person or an Indian ancestor, the baby who died at sea, the great-great-uncle who disappeared to Australia (or was it Alberta?), to a military hero, and the like. Even with a grain of truth, the actual identity of the alleged ancestor may be quite fuzzy, or the details embroidered to make a more powerful story. Names and places and dates often get lost in transition. We strongly recommend that you not lose any of these family stories (write them down!) but genealogically speaking, they need study and research planning to get at the truth.

Published Genealogies and Family Histories
The other “first” for beginners, coached by genealogical instructors, is to make a wide survey of existing publications—and that now includes the internet (the internet is all about publishing). Paradoxically, published information can be a great boon but also a trap. Books in print and personal genealogy websites can be a place where you think you have found either a particular ancestor or perhaps an entire family tree. If the source of the information that interests you is properly cited, you can consult it and make your own conclusions. In the last few years, educators in the field of genealogy have worked consistently to spread the word that you must never take published information at face value. The biggest factor is whether that piece of information which caught your interest has a documented citation.

Did you see it in a print book? Well, do your own independent research from that clue. If it is not cited, think of it as an intellectual challenge. Did you find it published on a website? You may be able to engage in correspondence with the author, but it is still up to you, for your own satisfaction and integrity, to search out the probable sources of the information. Besides, the ephemeral nature of internet websites at this point in time does not guarantee that you can always return to the same site. Certainly you should “cite the site” where you first obtained your clues.

Some publications are no more than family hearsay and uncited sources; some will bring you joy as they present footnotes and sources that guide you in professional fashion. All these derivative sources need thoughtful examination and evaluation. Hopefully responsible genealogists and family historians who now publish are taking heed of the need for documentation.

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