Alberta History

About half of Alberta’s population is of British origin. Other nationalities include Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Scandinavian, Ukrainian, and Indian (18,000 American Indians reside on 90 reservations). Most migrations were from eastern Canada, Europe, and the United States in the early 1900s.

You will need some understanding of the historical events that affected your family and the records about them. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends may help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns. Records of these events, such as land and military documents, may mention your family.

This information can help you determine significant cultural, ecclesiastical, and political events in the history of Alberta. Changes in geographical boundaries and ownership of land are especially important in determining where to search for the records of your ancestors.

The following important events affected political boundaries, record keeping, and family movements:


 * 1670 Today’s Alberta was a part of the territory given to the Hudson’s Bay Company.
 * 1777–1778 First trading post on Lake Athabasca was established.
 * 1778 Fort Chipewyan was founded.
 * 1794 Fort Augustus was founded near the present site of Edmonton.
 * 1869 Rupert’s Land bought from the Hudson’s Bay Company and organized into the Northwest Territories.
 * 1874–1875 North West Mounted Police established Fort Macleod and Fort Calgary.
 * 1876–1877 Territorial rights acquired from the Indians by treaty.
 * 1882 The southern region of the Northwest Territories was divided into four districts; one was named Alberta.
 * 1883 Canadian Pacific Railway’s main line was completed across Alberta.
 * 1885 Northwest Rebellion outbreak.
 * 1905 The Province of Alberta was formed.
 * 1908 The University of Alberta was founded.

Historical Sources

For a list of published national, provincial, and local histories, go to FamilySearch.org. Click on Family History Library Catalog. Do a "Place Search" for Alberta. Select from the list of titles to see descriptions of the records with the film or book call numbers. Use that information to obtain the records at a family history center or at the Family History Library.

Canada Sources

These are two of many historical sources: Morton, Desmond. A Short History of Canada. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1983. (FHL book 971 H2md.) MacNutt, W. S. The Atlantic Provinces: The Emergence of Colonial Society, 1712–1857. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1965. (FHL book 971.5 H2mws.)

Encyclopedias also include excellent articles on the history of Canada. Many books and articles on Canadian history are listed in these annotated bibliographies:

Muise, D. A., ed. A Reader’s Guide to Canadian History. I. Beginnings to Confederation. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982. (FHL book 971 H23r v. 1.) Granatstein, J. L., and Paul Stevens, eds. A Reader’s Guide to Canadian History. II. Confederation to the Present. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982. (FHL book 971 H23r v. 2.)

Local Histories

Local histories are some of the most valuable sources for family history research. They describe the settlement of the area and the founding of churches, schools, and businesses. You can also find lists of early settlers, soldiers, and civil officials. Even if your ancestor is not listed, information on other relatives may provide important clues for locating your ancestor. A local history may also suggest other records to search.

Published histories of towns, counties, districts or other municipalities, and provinces often contain accounts of families. Many district, county, and town histories include sections or volumes of biographical information. These may give information on as many as half of the families in the area. A county history is also the best source of information about a county’s origin.

The Family History Library has about 300 district histories from the Prairie Provinces and fewer township and county histories from the rest of Canada. Similar histories are often at major Canadian public and university libraries and archives.

For descriptions of bibliographies for Alberta available through Family History Centers or the Family History Library, click on Family History Library Catalog. Look under BIBLIOGRAPHY or HISTORY - BIBLIOGRAPHY.