The following announcement was written by Library and Archives Canada and Ancestry.ca:
All Canadian Passenger Lists from 1865 to 1935 to be Digitized and Indexed
OTTAWA, ONTARIO - Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and Ancestry.ca, the largest Canadian family history website, will announce at the Ontario Genealogical Society's (OGS) annual seminar, a strategic partnership to make more resources accessible to Canadians interested in online family research.
Initially, Ancestry.ca and LAC will focus on indexing the Quebec City passenger lists from 1870 - 1900, which comprise more than 750,000 names. The digital images of these and other passenger lists are already available on the LAC website. The index for Quebec City will be available free of charge on www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy as well as on Ancestry.ca. LAC and Ancestry.ca will continue to work together to ensure that eventually the entire Canadian passenger list collection from 1865 to 1935, which includes ports in Halifax, St. John, Vancouver, Victoria and North Sydney, is digitized and indexed.
"Family history researchers are important to Library and Archives Canada and the institution is looking to partner with non-profit groups, public institutions and the private sector to offer a better service" said Ian E. Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada. "The announcement represents a new direction for LAC as we embark into public private partnerships. Both organizations are committed to providing Canadians with the tools and resources necessary to find out more about their family histories. This collaboration will allow LAC to provide and improve the resources and services available through LAC's Canadian Genealogy Centre."
Canada has a rich heritage of immigration and ethnicities such as French, English, Irish, Scottish, Russian, Italian and Chinese. Passenger list records reveal significant information such as the name, age, country of origin, occupation and destination of each passenger, retelling remarkable stories of sacrifice and success that embody Canada's immigrant ancestors. The records also account for other travelers such as crew members, vacationers, business people and more.
"We are pleased to be partnering with LAC to provide access to unique historical documents such as the Canadian Passenger Lists," said Tim Sullivan, CEO, The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.ca. "Passenger lists were the official immigration documents in Canada from 1865 to 1935 and are an important piece of the puzzle for those researching their Canadian genealogy."
In addition to the Canadian passenger list collection, later this year Ancestry.ca and LAC will also make available border crossings records from the United States to Canada that took place between 1908 and 1935, and other Canadian immigration forms later this year. These additions will add to Ancestry.ca's already expansive Canadian Border Crossing Collection, which already includes more than 4 million names of individuals who crossed the Canadian-U.S. border between 1895 and 1956.
During the OGS Annual Seminar, LAC staff will be available to answer questions about the Canadian Genealogical Society and Ancestry.ca will host a computer lab with free access to Ancestry.ca. The Seminar will be held at Algonquin College, Woodroofe Campus, Building D.
About Ancestry.ca
Ancestry.ca is the leading online site for Canadian family history records, with the only fully indexed 1851, 1901, 1906 and 1911 Censuses of Canada. Ancestry.ca includes the first and only online collection of vital records for Ontario, and also offers vital records for Quebec and British Columbia. Ancestry.ca is part of The Generations Network, Inc, a leading network of family-focused interactive properties, including Ancestry.com, Ancestry.co.uk, Ancestry.com.au, Ancestry.de, MyFamily.com, Rootsweb.com and Genealogy.com. The Generations Network also publishes Family Tree Maker® (No. 1 selling family tree software), Ancestry Magazine, over 50 book titles and numerous databases on CD-ROM. For more information on Ancestry.ca, visit http://www.ancestry.ca
About Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada collects and preserves Canada's documentary heritage, and makes it accessible to all Canadians. This heritage includes publications, archival records, sound and audio-visual materials, photographs, artworks, and electronic documents such as websites. As part of our mandate, Library and Archives Canada work closely with other archives and libraries to acquire and share these materials as widely as possible. LAC's Canadian Genealogy Centre (www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy) makes available significant Canadian collections of immigration, military, public service, census and other records to family history researchers, and provides advice and guidance.
Beyond my comprehension why such a distinguished organisation as Library & Archives Canada, would partner with Ancestry and not Family Search. LAC have partnered with others including the Irish Government to digitise records and are noted for having the capabilities to produce quality images and indexing free. It will be very interesting to see the accessibility of these records.
Nufarr
Posted by: Nufarr | June 02, 2007 at 05:57 AM
I have had full access to the whole of Ancestry for 5+ years. While I appreciate using microfilm at FHC on occasion, nothing can beat being here at home and able to research scanned originals at the drop of a hat. It is worth every penny! It takes money to do projects such as these. We cannot expect to get something for nothing.
Posted by: rootsjockey | June 02, 2007 at 08:33 AM
Anyone researching in Canada should be aware of the free census transcriptions at http://automatedgenealogy.com which are linked to the census images from LAC. (1901, 1906 [new/enlarged provinces], 1911, and part of 1851)
Other Canadian resources (mostly free) are listed with links, at http://billbuchanan.clawz.com/Wetaskiwin/online.htm
This document includes other (mostly free) resources for other countries where I have done research.
There is also a companion document on censuses. http://billbuchanan.clawz.com/Wetaskiwin/census.htm
Posted by: Bill Buchanan | June 02, 2007 at 09:52 AM