A new search tool searches genealogy and family history databases hosted by Canadian federal, provincial or territorial archives centres and libraries, as well as those of several commercial partners. "That's My Family," or "Voici Ma Famille," is free of charge and available in both French and English. It was launched and is maintained by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) with support from Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and the Council of Provincial and Territorial Archivists (CPTA) of Canada.
"That's My Family" hosts no data of its own. It is a search engine, similar to Google, that indexes data found on other sites. The difference is that "That's My Family" looks only at Canadian sites that contain genealogy information. As such, it can save you a lot of time; you do not have to search each site individually.
The databases that have been indexed include both free and for-pay sources. In the case of for-pay sites, clicking on a link in "That's My Family" may take the user to a sign-in page that asks for payment of a fee. The titles of these databases are marked with a dollar sign ($). The searches are always free, but some sites may charge a fee before displaying all the details.
I used "That's My Family" for a bit to look up some of my French-Canadian ancestors. I found two different search mechanisms, logically named "Simple Search" and "Advanced Search." The site has one-page tutorials that explain the use of each.
The Simple Search lived up to its name: I entered the surname of Dubé and was rewarded with 242 results. The instructions state that not all the databases being searched treat accented characters in the same manner; so, the user should try such searches at least twice: once with the accents and once without. I searched for Dube (without the "é") and received 1,188 results. Some of those results were the same as those found in the earlier search for Dubé.
A quick switch to the Advanced Search allowed me to narrow my search. I was able to search by combinations of surname, first name, location, and more. I was able to find quite a few of my Dubé ancestors. I was especially impressed by the speed: this search engine is lightning fast!
The search pages are available in both French and English so that you can use the language you prefer. However, the searches cover pages in both languages and the results obtained might be in either language. While I was searching in English, many of the results pointed to pages written in French. After all, I was looking for French-speaking ancestors and the majority of records they left behind were in their language.
If you wish a copy of a document, you must contact the organization responsible for the particular database where you found the information. You never contact "That's My Family" since it is a search engine that points to data stored elsewhere. To access the needed organization’s web site, you click on the Title field in the results window or go to the Sources section.
All in all, this is a great resource for anyone looking for Canadian ancestors. I suspect I will use this time and time again. If you have Canadian ancestry, you probably will do the same.
"That's My Family," or "Voici Ma Famille," is available at http://www.voicimafamille.info.
My thanks to Guy Lamarche for telling me about this valuable new resource.
I tried a search on That's My Family. The first search worked great and actually found something that might be what I was looking for. However, when I tried to search for a new name, it kept throwing me back to the first search results. The first time I tried I had used the back button to start a new search. The site gave me a message that I had to start at the home page to do a NEW search. So I tried that. Same results. Then I closed down the window and started over with the link in your newsletter. Same results. Hmmmm.
Posted by: Marilyn | April 25, 2008 at 09:06 AM
For those interested in American-Canadian research, check out the American Canadian Genealogical Society at www.acgs.org
Posted by: Albert | April 25, 2008 at 10:03 AM
I experienced the same problem. Better hit paydirt on that first search......because it won't let go of it!
Posted by: Larry Talbot | April 25, 2008 at 01:45 PM
I didn't have any trouble with the searches. I went from one surname to another and never got an error message or sent back to previous search results.
Posted by: Sue Jones | April 25, 2008 at 03:31 PM
As with others I have also experienced lock-up after the first search and cannot get out of it. I hope the glitches are solved soon so we can start to use what looks like a valuable resource.
Posted by: Laurence Taylor | April 25, 2008 at 08:41 PM
Hi! I tried this really quickly this morning and it worked fine, however...
I didn't use the back button, I used the "New Search" tab at the top.
Posted by: Jean Innerarity | April 26, 2008 at 12:12 PM
Is there a plan to include the reamining provinces in the search engine? Having access to Manitoba records would be wonderful for my research
Posted by: Melanie | April 27, 2008 at 09:15 PM
I was able to do several searches also with no problem. No luck, but no problem with the search working.
Posted by: Jinny Angelis | April 27, 2008 at 10:32 PM
I just used the site again and am having no problems with "lock ups" or other unexpected results. The site has always worked well for me. Using the latest Firefox web browser on a Macintosh...
- Dick Eastman
Posted by: Dick Eastman | April 28, 2008 at 07:28 AM
I tried twice, spent couple hours with no luck at all. Several times error about not backing, do not think I did. Also seemed to go back to French. This man should be easy to find. No help at all
Posted by: Norman Jordan | April 28, 2008 at 09:55 AM