Prince Edward Island, Canada Genealogy

Guide to Prince Edward Island ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History

 * Prince Edward Island (PEI) is a province of Canada and one of the three Maritime provinces. It is the smallest province of Canada in both land area and population, but the most densely populated.
 * Since before the influx of Europeans, the Mi'kmaq First Nations have inhabited Prince Edward Island as part of the region of Mi'kma'k.
 * In 1604, the Kingdom of France laid claim to the lands of the Maritimes, including Prince Edward Island, establishing the French colony of Acadia. The island was named Île Saint-Jean by the French.
 * Roughly one thousand Acadians lived on the island prior to the Acadian Exodus from Nova Scotia. The population grew to nearly 5,000 in the late 1740s and early 1750s, as Acadians from Nova Scotia fled to the island during the Acadian Exodus, and the subsequent British-ordered expulsions beginning in 1755. Hostilities between British and French colonial forces resumed in 1754, although formal declarations of war were not issued until 1756. After French forces were defeated at the siege of Louisbourg, the British performed a military campaign on Ile Saint-Jean to secure the island. The following campaigns saw the deportation of the most Acadians from the island.
 * The French formally ceded the island, and most of New France to the British in the Treaty of Paris of 1763.
 * Initially named St. John's Island by the British, the island was administered as part of the colony of Nova Scotia, until it was split into a separate colony in 1769.
 * In the mid-1760s, a survey team led by Samuel Holland divided the Island into 67 lots, which were allocated to supporters of King George III by means of a lottery. Ownership of the land remained in the hands of landlords in England, as a feudal system was attempted.
 * During and after the American Revolutionary War, from 1776 to 1783, the colony's efforts to attract exiled Loyalist refugees from the rebellious American colonies met with some success.
 * A large influx of Scottish Highlanders in the late 1700s also resulted in St. John's Island having the highest proportion of Scottish immigrants in Canada.
 * On 29 November 1798, the British government granted approval to change the colony's name from St. John's Island to Prince Edward Island.
 * In 1853, the Island government passed the Land Purchase Act which empowered them to purchase lands from those owners who were willing to sell, and then resell the land to settlers for low prices.

Prince Edward Island Map




Counties

 * Prince County
 * Queens County
 * Kings County

FamilySearch Resources
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 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records - databases and record images on FamilySearch
 * Family History Center locator map