A good newspaper archive will yield lots of family history information.  My most recent success is an article about my husband’s gg-grandfather and the role he played as a conductor on the underground railroad moving run away slaves to safety in the north.  That article was in a Michigan newspaper archive accessed at one of the large paid databases online.

That had me thinking about newspaper archive resources for Canada.  What is available and what could I find?

Library and Archives Canada has a section on newspapers although many of the links are to newer content. Cyndislist has more links to newspaper archives.

The company “Newspaper Archive” has a small list of Canadian newspapers which may be helpful especially for those looking in the prairie provinces and Newfoundland.

Look for announcements of births, marriages and deaths (obituaries).  Also 50th anniversary notices can yield a lot of information.  Note Newspaper Archive is a paid source. Search here to access.

>>>Search for family history (BMD) in Newspaper Archive

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©2011 Joan Miller.  Disclosure statement Luxegen Genealogy and Family History

Dave Obee’s list of Western Canadian Directories is one of the most comprehensive available that I’ve found to date.  I suggest checking it out.

===> Visit Dave Obee’s Western Canadian Directories List

Nokomis Saskatchewan Second Avenue c. 1913. Image courtesy of Peel's Prairie Provinces, a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries.

Peel’s Prairie Provinces, hosted at the University of Alberta Libraries, is a rich resource for western Canadian genealogists and family historians.

According to the web site, as of the fall of 2010, the Peel collection contains approximately 7,500 digitized books and over 35,000 newspaper issues (This is over 2.5 million articles). The resources are rich and varied in both images and text, providing an extensive and diverse picture of the Prairie Province experience. Many items date back to the earliest days of exploration and settlement on the Canadian prairies.

A quick search of Nokomis,  Saskatchewan resources (near where I grew up) produced photos shown on this page.

Separate images with captions: Hotel Nokomis; Saskatchewan Hotel; School Nokomis. Image courtesy of Peel's Prairie Provinces, a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries.

We might have entitled this one "a pail full of hoy." Sylvia Nroeokel of Star City, Sask., sent this unusual shot of little Allan Harvey of Nokomis, Sask., and won $3. The Farm and Ranch Review, October 1, 1950, Page 34, Item Pc03404. Image courtesy of Peel's Prairie Provinces, a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries.

Visit Peel’s Prairie Provinces to search for your ancestors in old newspapers, books and images from the three prairie provinces.

UPDATE – Featured Collections at Peel’s include:

Peel’s Prairie Postcards

Henderson’s Directories

Grain Grower’s Guide

The Illustrated War News

A Letter from Louis Riel, “Tres cher ami”

Le Courrier de l’ouest

La Survivance

The Gateway

University of Alberta Newspapers

The Alberta Non-Partisan

The Illustrated War News

University of Alberta Board of Governors Collection

The Magee Photographs Collection

What’s in a name….lots apparently!

Punnichy, Quentin, Raymore, Semans, Tate, Viola, Undora, Watrous, Xena, Young, Zelma.

Do you see a pattern here?

I grew up near Nokomis, Saskatchewan.  Dad was into history so we heard often about the naming of the little prairie towns along the Canadian National Rail line.

We’d head for Saskatoon to visit relatives and rattle off the names as we travelled.  After Zelma the alphabet would start over with Allan, Bradwell, Clavet as we flew by the towns.

Just about every letter of the alphabet was represented across the prairies, in a line along the CNR stretching from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba west to Alberta.

There were very few breaks in the Alphabet Railway naming system.  Nokomis being one of them (there is another story there which I’ll share with you one day).

Here is a great website listing the Alphabet Railway town names along the CNR from 1922 maps.

Find your Canadian ancestors

A list of the Canadian Genealogy Societies:

(click on the names for more information)

Alberta Family Histories Society

British Columbia Genealogical Society

Manitoba Genealogical Society

New Brunswick Genealogical Society

Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador

Nova Scotia Genealogical Network Association – list of several societies

Ontario Genealogical Society

Prince Edward Island Genealogical Society

Quebec Family History Society

Saskatchewan Genealogical Society

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Additions, changes?  Please add your comments and links below.