Update

This page has been quiet. It was my plan to take this year off from presentations, hosting conferences and volunteering.....not research.... I could never take a break from that!

I've been asked to provide a presentation at the Strathcona County Library Family Tree Trackers meeting June 14, 2018. The topic is "Newspapers". My all time favorite genealogy topic, how could I resist?  Hope to see you there!

Genealogy in the Park October 28, 2017

Save the Date

Genealogy in the Park presents

Dave Obee

Genealogist, Author and Journalist

Saturday October 28, 2017

We are very happy to welcome Dave back to Sherwood Park!

**Registration Closes October 25th**

October 11, 2017 - We are close to capacity.

Contact Shannon or Tammy ASAP to ensure you do not miss this wonderful opportunity.

Thank you!

Follow up to release of Alberta historical vital statistics indexes/registers

I have busy ordering registration documents during the last week and 1/2. How could I not? It's a genealogist's dream to have access to these valuable bits of history!

A few hints and tips from what I learned about the indexes in Alberta and access to them:

1. In scanning the typewritten death indexes, it's quite common that a handwritten entry or more are placed at the end of every year. There's no doubt that your "cntrl f" function will not read the handwriting, be sure to scroll and review all the pages for an accurate search.

2.  If you are ordering numerous registrations online, order all of them one after the other, preferably all before 3:00 pm Mon-Friday. If you order them separately, then, they are separate requests and you may be charged the mailing fee for each request.

3.  If you live in the Edmonton area, and are planning a visit to the Reading Room at the PAA, order the registrations online and click on "request to view at PAA in Reading Room". You will receive an email when they are ready for you.

Important: The maximum amount of photocopies, of any type, to receive the same day at the PAA is limited to approximately 12 pages. If the number of pages you need goes over the in-house limit, they will be photocopied in queue, and they will call you when they are ready, or pay the mailing fee to have them mailed out to you.

4. I searched for my Uncle Gerald in Google today (after a hint from a dear friend of mine).
"Switzer, Gerald" 1954
is exactly what I typed in.  The #8 hit, took me directly to the Deaths pdf online at the PAA. Over time, it will be easy for Google to pick up the typed words in the indexes. The handwritten entries? Probably not. Nothing searches better than your own two eyes.

I live within 20 minutes of the Provincial Archives of Alberta. It's been interesting (and fun!) to view the original registrations in person. If you live in the area, please do visit the PAA. There are so many genealogy resources there to help you in your research.

One ah ha! moment for me:
In my review of relative's vital statistic death registrations, a few of the causes of death were not a surprise. To see it in writing helped confirm the stories I was told by my Dad.  One that caught me off-guard was an 9 year old relative died from falling over a log and scraping her knee. She ended up with sepsis. How sad that something so "every-day", seemingly easy to treat nowadays, back then took this little one's life. This one document really cemented for me what family research is all about, honoring those that have gone before, understanding their trials and tribulations, and bringing their stories to life.

Have any tips or comments to share? Would love to hear from you,
~Shannon

Historical Vital Statistics in Alberta

Vital Statistics Alberta

For years, the question has been asked:
"When is Alberta going to get historical vital statistics online?"

The time is now! 
The Provincial Archives of Alberta has digitized vital statistics indexes and or registers and are now available online.

Under current legislation, registration documents are available publicly:

birth records that are 120 years or older*;

marriage records that are 75 years or older* 

death records that are 50 years or older* 

stillbirth records that are 75 years or older* 

                                                                         *from the date of the event

Indexes are now available online for you to view at the Provincial Archives of Alberta website http://provincialarchives.alberta.ca/
under "How To" then "Find Birth Marriage and Death Records"

Words of Advice
➦ Many of the older indexes are alphabetical by the first letter, then alphabetical by the first vowel.
For example: 
                    Brown would be found under "Bo"
                    Smith would be found under "Si"
There are a few exception. I found "Be" surnames in the "Bo" section. Human error, it happened then, it happens now, it will always happen. 

Information about the registers
➦Prior to 1917, letters were used in place of the year

YEAR	CODE
up to	II / III
1898	A
1899	B
1900	C
1901	D
1902	E
1903	F
1904	G
1905	H
1906	J
1907	K
1908	L
1909	M
1910	N
1911	O
1912	P
1913	Q
1914	R
1915	S
1916	T

➦Once you find the registration you are looking for, write down the following information (you will need it later):

• Registration Number
• Event type
• Year
• Surname, Given name
• Place

➦In some registers, there is a column for year born and beside it 'pr". The year born column speaks for itself. The province born column uses numbers to represent province/country born. 

I share with you what I learned from other genealogists over the last 15 years:

Canada
01-PEI
02-NS
03-NB
04-PQ
05-ON
06-MN
07-SK
08-AB
09-BC
10-Yukon
11-NWT
13-Newfoundland*

21 - England
23 - Ireland*
24 - Scotland
25 - Wales
26 - Jersey Channel Islands* 

33 - 
35 - 36 - 
37 - 

41 - USA
45 - 

52 - Austria*
53 - Belgium*
54 - Bulgaria
55 - Czechoslovakia
56 - Denmark
57 - 
58 - Finland
59 - France

60 - Germany*
61 - 
62 - Netherlands
63 - Hungary*
64 - Iceland
65 - Italy
66 - 
68 - Norway
69 - Galicia *Austria or Ukraine

71 - Bukovina
73 - Scandinavia / Sweden*
74 - Switzerland
76 - Luxembourg
77 - USSR

[*additions to the above list made June 27, 2017, with thanks to Donald K.]

Over time, when people share what they know the list above can become more complete. I encourage you to contact me and share your findings of what the other numbers stand for. alberta.research2@gmail.com


➦be patient, wait for the files to load, they are HUGE files. 

➦If you used "ctrl f" to find surnames on the PDF forms and no result was found, review the names line by line. Always be diligent about reviewing forms manually to ensure a complete search has been done. OCR is good but not always reliable.

Remember that information you wrote down? Now you are ready to order the registration document by clicking on the "Vital Stats request form" button.

Cost per photocopy: 35¢ 
Seriously, 35¢ !!!
Have it mailed to you 
$3.00 (in Canada) 
$6.00 (outside of Canada)
(see below)

It's a great day for genealogists! Alberta vital statistics for genealogical purposes online. Wonderful!!

I don't know about you, but I will be busy for the next little while.
~Shannon

Update: September 27, 2019 costs and services of ordering vital statistic records through the PAA has changed.
Digital Scans: $5.25  sent by e-mail when complete
Photocopy 79¢ sent through Canada Post
Shipping costs remain the same 

Follow up to Genealogy in the Park held June 10-11, 2016 Sherwood Park AB

It was our pleasure to host Pat Ryan at our 2nd Genealogy in the Park event. 

Pat is one of the absolute best presenters we know and also a very dear friend. 

Organizing Your Paper Files held Friday was well attended. Pat put the participants right to work, as you can see!

Saturday's presentations - interactive, informative, entertaining!

Claudine represented the AGS, brought a variety of books to sell

                                                               

                                               Jason of Shop The Hound

Kim, Shannon, Tammy and Kelley. Special thanks to Kim and Kelley who took care of welcoming the attendees, manning the registration table, set up and clean up

Our sincerest thanks to: 

Pat Ryan ...an awesome and innovating presenter

http://patryangenealogy.blogspot.ca/

Provincial Archives of Alberta – smart phone stands, travellers bandaids, pencils, post-its, etc. http://culture.alberta.ca/paa/

Shop the Hound - Jason   http://www.shopthehound.com/

Alberta Genealogical Society - Claudine N. 

Lou T. – providing audio equipment, set up and management

Chris - Park AV Rentals  http://www.parkavrentals.com/

Todd - muffins and squares – his contact information is in the programme…… Book him soon.

Winn - gluten free banana bread, orange loaf and cupcakes ...YUM!

John A. projector contribution

Denise D.  Photography

Family Tree Trackers & Camrose Branch group members - registration, hall set up and take down 

and to all who attended! 

Thank you!

Shannon & Tammy

Genealogy in the Park Update

Still space and time to register! 

You don't want to miss this awesome genealogy event! 
For more information, see tabs "Pat Ryan in Sherwood Park June 10-11, 2016 and "Registration" above to download your registration form.

See you there!

Announcing the 2nd Genealogy in the Park Event

Tammy and I are proud to present Pat Ryan at our 2nd Genealogy in the Park event being held June 10 & 11th, 2016.

See tabs "Pat Ryan in Sherwood Park June 10-11,2016" and "Registration" above for more information,

Register early as space is limited.

This is sure to be an exciting event!

See you there!