 After reading this guide and initializing your research, you may e-mail the Sask Gen Webmaster stating which avenues you have explored, and what information you are still seeking and they may be able to guide you to where the information can be obtained and give some guidance on how to further your research.
A different layout is the Sask Gen Web for Kids Getting Started in Genealogy for Saskatchewan which also provides research information to access genealogy resources to get started in genealogy for this province.
When doing genealogical research it is important to trace name, place and date through various historical records. Start with what each family member can remember about any family ancestry about parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. Family members also have old photographs and documents about the family. From these beginnings, it is possible to follow up events which happened in the lives of our ancestors. Some events which they may have experienced are: birthing, christening, marriage, school attendance--elementary, secondary and post secondary, residence, migration, tax payment, voting-enumeration lists, serving in the armed forces, buying and selling land and / or personal property, applying for homestead patent, employment--employment records, membership in community, ethnic, religious organizations, newspaper or newsletter posting. The internet can be a valuable resource to trace the history of the place your ancestors resided in as well as where to locate the above documents about your family. Historical , and regional sites ; 1. Swift Current, 2. Moose Jaw, 3. Weyburn, 4. Kindersley, 5. Regina, 6. Yorkton, 7. Battleford, 8. Saskatoon, 9. Kamsack, 10. Lloydminster, or 11. Prince Albert; can help with much more familial / community information to help fill in the family tree with a few more details about our ancestor's living conditions. Genealogical internet sites also give insight into community life, and local experiences of various times. These activities, and inter-relationships help the family tree grow and expand and perhaps also show how the characteristics particular to your family helped the community they lived in evolve and why they made the decisions that they did. While we can't give you all the answers, we can provide you with some resources such as mailing groups and posting boards, as well as web sites that should answer some of your questions.
Once you have established some of your ancestry with interviewing family members and obtaining oral history, then explore more avenues by using your own local library for books and records that they have in regards to genealogical research.
(BTW Please e-mail any resources you find across the world as a WWW researcher which pertain to Saskatchewan that you personally have found handy for Saskatchewan genealogy research - eg a book in a European library for instance, a microfilm in a South American archive, etc. and I will add it to the web site.)
As you arrived at the Saskatchewan Gen Web main page, a map and regional gen web locators were provided. To best use the gen web locate your ancestor's placename which was closest to their residence to determine which Saskatchewan Gen Web region can best assist you. The following 7 points provide a few of online methods to locate your ancestor's homestead or place of residence and from there the cemetery, school, local history - biography book, census and church records (for example) are easier to determine.
For homesteaders who came to farm in Saskatchewan check out homestead records for homestead links, and to explain how to use information from these database sources. For online searches of homesteads, use Archivia Net Dominion Land Grants which is an online database of any homesteader who received their letter of patent for successfully proving their land. The Letter of Patent was granted by the Dominion Government of Canada, and a copy is available from National Archives. The Saskatchewan Homestead Index Project (SHIP) is a transcription of homestead record holdings at the Provincial Archvies which are also on microfilm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). The Provincial Government of Saskatchewan managed the land titles offices, and the correspondence and forms that transpired between homesteader and the land titles office are available from Saskatchewan Provincial Archive Offices or LDS. Saskatoon office of the provincial archives has the original paper copies or the homestead documents, Regina office and LDS the microfilm versions. These records may have a file on the homesteader even if the land was not proved successfully and title not granted, or if the land was a pre-emption.
Read the Homestead Section, Range, Township, Meridian numbering in tandem with map resources on the Online Historical Map Digitisation Project to locate the town which was near the original homestead, then the Sask Gen Web regional resources can be utilized. (Saskatchewan Townships & Ranges in a tutorial quiz!) The town name will also provide a clue as to which local history/family biography book may also contain familial information. A look up volunteer who currently owns a copy of this book can provide information if your ancestor is recorded in one of these local history/family biography book commemorating the 75th anniversary of Saskatchewan.
As the province of Saskatchewan reached its 100th anniversary in 2005, many documents have entered into the public domain. Museums, Public and University Libraries as well as National, Provincial, City and University Archives are rapidly placing a wealth of historical information online.
Placenames in Saskatchewan could be either city, town, village, hamlet, resort or an unincorporated area for the community name. Placenames on historical documents may also use the One Room Schoolhouse District name as these school regional names were used quite commonly for the homestead address. Placenames may also refer to the rural municipality (RM) - a rural government similar to "city hall" however a RM encompasses a larger rural land area with several community placenames in its jurisdiction.
Another method tolocate the town name besides map resources would be to us the Canadian Geographical Locator, the National Archives Post Office locatoror a historical railway or elevator mapfor smaller communities or towns which no longer exist. The mail in the early days had to reach many small centers, and many homesteaders were also postmasters. National Archives Archivia Net has a listing of early post masters online. Early settlements generally had established a post office, school and church. The legal land location given by township and range can be located on the Sask Wheat Pool 1924-1984 map site. In this way, if you cannot find the town of your ancestor on present day maps as it may be a ghost town or unincorporated area, you can find thecurrent day community and larger centres (neighboring towns or cities) and know in which Saskatcewan gen web region to search.
First nations and m"tis ancestry can be traced using archival records: National Archives Archivia Net to look up scrip records in addition to the resources enumerated herein.
Many settlers who immigrated to Saskatchewan, settled in ethnic bloc settlements. The location of Saskatchewan cultural and ethnic bloc settlements can help locate valuable resources and databases, posting boards, look up volunteers in the specific Sask Gen Web regions. The Saskatchewan ethnic and cultural webpages receives biographies and places them online to enable you to post your ethnic and cultural heritage family information. There are also general genealogy hints, websites and tips which you have found helpful in tracing your immigrant or indigenous ancestral roots.
Several different agencies are transcribing cemeteries in Saskatchewan for the internet. Projects with cemetery records online and searchable, and some are in the process of being transcribed are compiled here by project name.
If you know the town name or rural municipality where the family lived, the cemetery locations and cemetery names are indexed by the the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (SGS). Additinally, the SGSoffers many research services, one of which is the Saskatchewan Cemetery (transcription) search as well as the Saskatchewan Residents Index - SRI.
The Saskatchewan Gen Web - Canada Gen Web CEMETERY Project (SGW or CGW) has indexes of photographed and indexed cemeteries online and is searchable by name.
Birth, marriage, and death certificates, cemetery records and obituary notices, court records, newspaper resources, church records can be obtained as primary sources for genealogical records. Sometimes an ancestor had a specific occupation with the transportation or railines, CPR CNR , or can be found in other Saskatchewan Directories.
GENEALOGICAL INDEXES AVAILABLE TO
SASKATCHEWAN PEOPLE IN CENTENNIAL YEAR (news release)
"The act will create the authority for SaskatchewanHealth to compile, publish and distribute genealogical indexes of births, marriages and deaths as a support to people researching their history. The year range forthe indexes will be developed in the act regulations at alater date; in other jurisdictions the range is typically95 to 120 years for births; 20 to 70 years for deaths; and50 to 80 years for marriages."
This index is NOW online!
Saskatchewan Health
Vital Statistics Genealogy Search Page
Explore what your local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.(LDS) has to offer to help you get started. The "LDS" - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Research has their branch addresses, ancestral files, research guides, forms, web sites and the International Genealogical Index (IGI) online. Use forms, interview questions and genealogy procedure as outlined in some of the getting started internet links.
The census records are online for 1881, 1901, 1906, 1911, 1916 and 1921 These census are being transcribed to be searchable online by SURNAME, and the census also includes the location of the Saskatchewan residents enumerated. In the 1881 and 1901 census they would have addresses in the Northwest Territory as Saskatchewan became a province in 1905. Also, the census for the Hamlet of Duff, 1920; Hamlet of Insinger, Saskatchewan 1921;, Census for Neudorf, Sask, 1901 are online at Yorkton Gen Web
Two books of compiled biographies of early pioneers are online:
"Saskatchewan and Its People" 1924 written by legislative librarian John Hawkes
Pioneers and Prominent People of Saskatchewan 1924, by Canadian Publicity Co.
transcribed online by Sask Gen Web Curator, Julia Adamson. These two are a sampling of online books which include early pioneer narratives, historical accounts as well as biographies. The bibliography used for the Saskatchewan One Room School House Project also lists online books for Saskatchewan. Speaking of biographies, the Western Development Museum placed historical stories online in their "Winning the Prairie Gamble" project.
The Regina Prairie History Room and Saskatoon Local History Room of the Saskatchewan library are excellent resources for starting your genealogy research here in Saskatchewan. A search of a library database with the town location of a Saskatchewan homesteader or early resident may result in a local history/family biography book which has biographical submissions from local residents. (For hours and times) The Saskatchewan libraries located in rural locations have holdings about their neighbouring communities.
Many Saskatchewan residents had early immigrant pioneers and homesteaders. archival records: National Archives Archivia Net has an immigrant database. When families immigrated from their homeland, they may be recorded on passenger list resources or the Report of Admissions at the Port of Gretna, Manitoba for the Months of April and May 1910. To determine which passenger listing to order, check out when they applied for their homestead records , and search passenger list microfilms before that date. A ship mailing list will also help you with passenger list, embarkation ports and disembarkation ports. Many immigrants settled in ethnic blocks when they applied for their homestead. Information about the history of Saskatchewan, culture and ethnic diversity regarding settlement patterns and areas regarding specific nationalities is online at Saskatchewan ethnic roots interactive forum.
If your ancestor's weren't not homesteaders, they may have indeed been employed in a city store or trade. The Henderson's Directories gathered information annually about residents, their names, occupations, and residential and occupational addresses. The Saskatoon Henderson's Directory starts online by Peel's Prairie Provinces at 1908, and the Regina Henderson's directories begin in 1911. A Moose Jaw Directory was compiled for the year 1890 by Times Printing House, and a McPhillip's business and settler directory was compiled for Prince Albert, Battleford, and other settlements of the Provisional District of Saskatchewan in the Northwest Territories for 1888. Unlike the census, the information was submitted by residents voluntarily. Additionally the directories were funded by advertisements of the era.
If your Saskatchewan ancestors were born in the early 1900's they may have served in the WW1 Canadian Expeditionary Force (1914-1918). For the WW1 Canadian Expeditionary Force database see archival records: National Archives Archivia Net Saskatchewan residents earned military For more military information on the Anglo-Boer war (1899-1902), World War I (1914-1918), World War II (1939-1945), Korean War (1950-1953) and the 1885 Northwest Rebellion: Riel's Revolt.War and Military Resources - Lest we forget
When you know the placename where in Saskatchewan your ancestor came from please find more information out about that place in the various regional sites of Sask Gen Web: 1. Swift Current, 2. Moose Jaw, 3. Weyburn, 4. Kindersley, 5. Regina, 6. Yorkton, 7. Battleford, 8. Saskatoon, 9. Kamsack, 10. Lloydminster, or 11. Prince Albert.
Before the advent of modern transportation, Saskatchewan had small school districts, postal stations, rail sidings, or communities every 4-6 miles apart. In an era when transportation was via walking or horse and no roads, travel was difficult. When hauling grain to elevators with horse and wagon, approximately seven miles was considered to be a convenient distance, allowing for one trip to be made a day. One Room School Houses would be four to six miles apart. Many placenames of the late 1800s and early 1900s do not exist anymore.The 1901 NWT CensusSask Gen Web Placename Index, the One Room School House Project, a historical Map or Search Saskatchewan placenames may help to uncover which Sask Gen Web Region of Saskatchewan your ancestor came from. The smaller the Gen Web Region number the more southerly the region, the larger numbers are in the northern part of the province, for more information or maps.
Saskatchewan is approximately 1,267 kilometers (787 miles) long as the crow flies north-south. Saskatchewan is approximately 652 kilometers (405 miles) east and west along the US Canada border and its triangular shape narrows down to about 462 kilometers (287 miles) running east west at the Saskatchewan - North West Territories border. To drive from the capital of the province, Regina (located in the southern portion of the province) to Saskatoon (located centrally in the province) would take 2:49 hours to travel the 260 kilometers (161.5 miles). By posting Queries to the smaller and more localized regional sites cousins or neighbors still living in the area may possibly be contacted, dead ends eliminated and missing puzzle pieces can be filled in.
Saskatchewan communities published local history family biography books in 1951 and more extensively in 1981. By checking out the regional sites of Sask Gen Web there will be look up resources available to help you discover where your family ancestors are recorded. Local history family biography books may also be obtained via inter library loan from the National Library of Canada
Societies - Genealogy and Heritage will also help you to trace your ancestor with professional local help. The Saskatchewan Genealogical Societyoffers many research services, for example the Saskatchewan cemetery (transcription) search as well as the Saskatchewan Residents Index SRI
Also explore databases placed online by volunteers listed at Sask Gen Web Archives, Tribute to Saskatchewan and the Sask Gen Web Regional Web Sites, then Search engines, people finders, and surname internet resources will also help to uncover genealogical "clews" . Once you have your ancestral information compiled a computer Genealogy Programs will help you to store your database or help you place your family tree online.
SGW for Kids (of all ages) helps to learn about Saskatchewan genealogy and history by doing puzzles and quizzes. There is located another Getting Started in Genealogy in Saskatchewan page at Sask Gen Web for Kids as well. Home schoolers, teachers, and family may also wish to involve children with tracing family trees and history and Sask Gen Web for kids will help children of all ages enjoy genealogy and Saskatchewan's rich and diverse history. Sask Gen Web for kids has crossword puzzles, wordsearch puzzles, cryptograms, quizzes, genealogical forms, query boards set up especially for kids and much more. If you are cruising through this site, you may wish to pop into the kids query board and see if you can assist these junior genealogists.
A family tree displayed at a family re-union is a truly wonderful way to share your love of genealogy and history with many others. Many Saskatchewan re-unions and events are posted at the calendar of reunions and events. Another way to share your family reminiscences with others with an interest in Saskatchewan history and genealogy is on this interactive web site Saskatchewan reminiscences; an online interactive posting board.
Questions, dead ends may arise after exploring the above routes. Mailing List Resources, and Posting Boards for Queries are wonderful internet resources for many questions that may surface. In this way the internet is a valuable tool for furthering or confirming the oral family history gathered, and expanding your search following the family tree names, places and dates through the generations. A new online feature to complement the Query boards, Archived Queries, Mailing Lists, and Surname posting board is to submit a biography to the Saskatchewan Ethnic Cultural Network. All of these WWW projects let you connect with others in your research, to let us know where you are at now, and where you have Saskatchewan Roots to enable you to meet other genealogists with similar interests. Please enter your comments about the website Sask Gen Web in our Guest Book. (Do not use the guest book for queries as the above WWW projects serve this purpose much better).
The mandate of Sask Gen Web and its various regions 1. Swift Current, 2. Moose Jaw, 3. Weyburn, 4. Kindersley, 5. Regina, 6. Yorkton, 7. Battleford, 8. Saskatoon, 9. Kamsack, 10. Lloydminster, or 11. Prince Albert is to provide access to genealogical transcripts and resources relating to this province of Canada. Sask Gen Web provides an international internet forum via its regional web pages, and their look up volunteers, mailing groups, posting boards, web links and databases to make valuable local research material available or known to the public. Databases placed online by volunteers are listed at Sask Gen Web Archives and Tribute to Saskatchewan. Without publicity, source material remains obscure and unfortunately may be disregarded and undervalued. Research enquiries are drawn to regional collections if awareness increases that this information exists, andknowing where, and how, to access such documents. If you would like to help with Sask Gen Web, volunteers are greatly appreciated.
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Saskatchewan Genealogy Web : Sask Gen Web E-Magazine
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