The Yorkton branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society meets on the second Tuesday of each month at the Yorkton Public Library. New members are always welcome, no matter whether you have been working on genealogy projects for a long time or are just thinking about getting started. You will find knowledgeable people who can answer your questions and offer helpful advice on what direction to take your research next.
A recent speaker was Mr. Gerald Moriarty who gave a very informative presentation about various genealogy sites that can provide a wealth of information for any genealogist. One site he suggested was www.cangenealogy.com which is Dave Obee’s directory of genealogy sites in Canada. Dave Obee is a well-known author and genealogist, and a visit to this site will connect you with many possible leads in your family search.
Go to this home page and click on “Saskatchewan”: you will see a list of sites that includes
Vital statistics index - Births to 1908, Deaths to 1917; 1881, 1891 and 1901 census records;
1906, 1911, 1916 and 1921 census records, cemeteries, land- homesteads rom 1872 till 1930, and a variety of directories. It is fascinating reading, even if it is not part of your research. For example, this is what the site says about homesteading information: “Saskatchewan Homestead Index: The index is a database of homestead files at the Saskatchewan Archives, containing 360,000 references to the men and women who, from 1872 to 1930 took part in the homestead process in the area now known as Saskatchewan. Unlike the Library and Archives site above, this site includes people who were NOT successful in obtaining a land grant. It always pays to check for homesteads as you may be surprised!”
Every province is listed on this site, so you can research for other provinces as well.
You can also connect to the Library and Archive site for Canada; the site says this: “Library and Archives Canada: A huge amount of information will be found in this superb website. It includes census, immigration and military information – and those are just the highlights. This remarkable website is a key resource for all Canadian genealogists.”
Another site Mr. Moriarty suggested was www.findagrave.com. which is a site that may help you locate final resting places in North America and the Caribbean. It has 143 million records on file, but no listings for Europe.
You may want to take part in the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society 2016 Conference “Diving Into The Genealogy Pool”, April 15 – 17 at the Ramada Plaza in Regina. There will be a variety of great speakers presenting topics such as “What You Likely Don’t Know About Saskatchewan Settlement”; “Evaluating Sources”; “Tracing Your Scandinavian Roots” and “Like Sowing Winter Wheat: Introducing Genealogy to Our Children, Grandchildren and Students”. For more information on this conference, please send your inquiries to the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society at [email protected].
With genealogy, the more you discover, the more you realize you need to discover. Every family has a story: discover yours with the Yorkton Genealogy Society! New members are always welcome!
