Grande Prairie & District Branch
Alberta Genealogical Society

---

As I write this it is cold and we have two weeks to go before Christmas, 2000. It seems such a short time since December 1999 when we were all discussing in which year we should celebrate the new millennium. Why is it that the older we get the faster time flies?

I wish you all a peaceful holiday season and good times spent with family and friends.

May the year 2001 bring you lots of new genealogical leads and finds.

In the pages of this issue of Heritage Seekers you will find a variety of interesting articles. I am especially excited about Valerie Jenner's contribution of gleanings from publications received in our library. I have missed this in our newsletter for some time, and would like to thank Valerie for volunteering to read through all the new publications on our behalf.

There is a wonderful story about a tiny baby found floating in on a raft in the Peace River in the spring of 1872. It took many years to find her identity, and the story takes a surprising twist at the end - but you need to read this for yourself. Thanks to Paulette Hrychiw for finding this story for us.

In her library report, Debby Was explains the need to find a replacement for her to serve in the role of branch librarian. She has explained what the job entails. If you have an interest in working in this area, please advise an executive member. If the job seems too much for you to handle alone, but it is an area you are interested in working in, consider job sharing. It wouldn't surprise me if we needed three people to fill Debby's shoes. Thank you Debby for all your hard work over the past years. We will miss you.

Included with this issue of Heritage Seekers are the nomination papers for our branch elections to be held in February. Please consider working for our branch on executive or committee level.

As always, a very, very special thank you to Laura Turnbull for all her hard work in putting this issue of Heritage Seekers together and ensuring you each receive your copy. Due to the sudden passing of Laura's father, this issue has provided an extra challenge for her. She has done much of the work from a distance. We were very sorry to hear your sad news Laura, and extend are deepest sympathy to both you and Bill.

And now, that the holidays are fast approaching, I wish you all a merry holiday season with your family and friends, and a new year that will find you finally breaking through that brick wall!

Trapper Blackfoot Jean had been paddling upriver all morning and he was ready for a break. His mission on the Peace River that late spring morning in 1872 was two-fold: he was looking for beaver sign and he hoped to meet his sister and her husband, Edward Armson, heading downstream with their fur catch from their winter trapline somewhere up the South Pine River in British Columbia. Seeing an open spot on the left bank, Jean turned his dugout canoe toward it, and soon had water for tea boiling merrily. As he reached out to dump a handful of tea into the pot, his hand stopped in mid-air. Upstream he spotted what looked like a raft of some sort with a red rag on a stick waving over it. Intrigued, he hastily put the tea back in its container, pushed his canoe into the river and swiftly paddled out to intercept.

As he drew near he saw it was a raft, right enough. Moreover it carried a strange cargo -- wrapped in a blanket was a tiny baby, obviously more dead than alive. Thus began an 18-year sequence of tragedy, mystery and amazing coincidence.

For instance as Jean picked up the nearly dead baby he had no way of knowing that it was his niece, or at that moment his sister whom he hoped to meet was trying to comfort her dying husband and was herself dying of starvation as she knelt beside him.

Eighteen years later when their remains were discovered the raft baby was a beautiful young woman about to be married. Unknown to anyone, however, was the fact that her fiancé was a close relative. Only the discovery of a diary with the Armsons' remains prevented another tragedy. It revealed that Edward Armson was the father of both.

But as he paddled shoreward with the starved child, Trapper Jean was more concerned with saving her life than with wondering who she was. Once ashore he quickly dressed a mallard duck he shot that morning and dropped it into the water he had boiled for tea. When it appeared done enough, he clumsily set about getting the baby, a girl he estimated to be two months old, to swallow some of the broth. To his surprise she accepted each spoonful greedily, indicating with tiny whimpers she wanted more. Jean remembered that earlier that morning he had passed a Beaver Indian encampment downstream a ways. So when the infant seemed sufficiently recuperated to travel, he took her aboard his canoe and set off.

Fortunately the Beaver encampment was still there. Moreover, a young mother willingly took the emaciated infant and began to nurse her. With the little one in good hands, Jean could do no more. He thanked them and continued on upriver. But not before an older woman pointed out to him a scar on the baby's left foot, which she said was "older than the baby".

The summer before Jean's startling discovery, Edward Armson, an Englishman, along with such well-known characters as Nigger Dan Williams, Twelve-Foot Davis and others, had been seeking gold along the river near Fort St. John. Armson had come to the Peace with his Blackfoot wife from diggings along the North Saskatchewan River. Mrs. Armson was a beautiful woman said to have but one physical imperfection -- a vivid scar on the second toe of her left foot she had inflicted on herself while splitting wood in the Fort St. John mining camp.

Toward fall the gold sands near Fort St. John began to peter out and the miners began an exodus to more lucrative locations. Armson and his wife were among the first to leave, stating that they planned to spend the winter trapping along the South Pine River. In the spring, they said, they intended to return to the North Saskatchewan River via the Peace, Lesser Slave and the Athabasca River. That was the last anyone saw of the Armsons while they were alive.

Seven years later (1879) the Reverend C. Garrioch, Anglican missionary to the Peace River country from the 1870's to the 1890's, was on his way to Montreal. Sent by his superior, Bishop William Bompas, on a combination holiday-business trip, he was to acquire supplies for Unjaga Mission he had established on the Peace River, a couple of miles upstream from Fort Vermillion. Bishop Bompas had also asked him to try to locate a farmer interested in starting a mission farm at Fort Dunvegan, also on the Peace, some 300 miles upstream.

On the stage run from Winnipeg to St. Paul, Minnesota (the C.P.R. through Northern Ontario hadn't yet been built), Rev. Garrioch met a young couple named Vining who invited him to stay a few days with them as their hotel guest in St. Paul. He accepted, and while there learned that Mrs. Vining was Canadian. He also learned that their pretty, olive-skinned daughter, Lily, was not their progeny. They had adopted her from a free-trader who said he had got her from an Indian family while trading along the Peace River.

Garrioch could not help wondering at the identity of the little girl, but in the course of his travels she all but slipped from his mind.

On his way back from Montreal the following spring, Rev. Garrioch stopped to visit in Winnipeg at the house where he was born. He was pleasantly surprised when he got there to learn that his brother, George, and his wife were willing to accompany him to Dunvegan to attempt setting up a mission farm. A short time later they set out by Red River cart for Edmonton.

In Edmonton the Garrioch brothers were joined by none other than Blackfoot Jean. He was to guide them through the vast stretch of wilderness on the two-month trek to Dunvegan. While on the trail Jean told the Garriochs his fascinating story of finding the baby floating down the Peace. He also told of the Armsons' disappearance. He often wondered about the baby, whether she might be his sister's and asked Rev. Garrioch if he would make some inquiries when he got back to the Peace.

By then Garrioch was sufficiently intrigued by the story that he hardly needed Jean's urging to make some inquiries. Could there, he wondered, be a connection between the Vining's lovely daughter and the raft baby? It seemed there might. However, it wasn't until the summer of 1881 while on a trip to Edmonton to acquire some cattle for the Dunvegan mission farm that he had a chance to make some earnest queries.

On the cattle drive back to the Peace, Garrioch's two hired assistants, Peter Ward and Louis Sizerman, both of Indian-white extraction, told of their having heard of the raft baby. As Sizerman was familiar with the country where the Armsons supposedly had wintered Garrioch asked him to watch for clues that might lead to the Armson winter residence. Sizerman promised to do better than that -- he would try to solve the whole mystery. He did, too, but it took him most of 10 years

Meanwhile, Rev. Garrioch accumulated enough evidence to establish Lily Vining as the raft baby beyond doubt. Before leaving Edmonton with Ward and Sizerman, Garrioch had talked with the Vinings who were visiting there at the time. He learned that Lily had a birthmark on her left foot that resembled a wound made by a sharp implement. Later, while rafting down the Peace from Fort Dunvegan to Fort Vermillion, Garrioch was accompanied by a young Welshman named Valentine James who had worked for Twelve-Foot Davis at his Peace River Landing trading post.

James, it turned out, had been at the Fort St. John mining camp in 1870 and '71 and knew the Armsons well. When camp broke up that fall of '71, he had moved to the coast and hadn't heard of the Armsons' disappearance until 4 years later. Later still, he also heard the raft baby story and when he did, he remembered that while he and a partner were searching for gold along the Finlay River some 4 years after leaving Fort St. John, they had seen a little girl about 3 years old of mixed white and Indian blood with a Beaver Indian family. They told James they got her from a Blackfoot trapper on the Oonchaga (Beaver name for Peace) on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. The family was to meet a trader named Nelson, who was going to adopt the little girl and pay them for having raised her.

Garrioch later learned from a Mr. Elmore, a trader acquainted with both James and Nelson, that Nelson did pick up the little girl and took her to his wife in Victoria who was unable to have children of her own. Twelve-Foot Davis also knew the Nelsons well and he told Garrioch that because Mrs. Nelson was not well, the Nelsons moved to Calgary, hoping a change of climate would help. Mrs. Nelson, however, died in Calgary and Nelson then moved back to Victoria. But before he did, he turned over the little girl to a childless couple then living in Edmonton. Later while on his way to England, Garrioch again visited the Vinings and they quickly corroborated that the free trader they had received Lily from was named Nelson. Moreover, they told Garrioch they'd known the Nelsons for several months in Calgary before Mrs. Nelson died.

If by then Lily Vining was pretty firmly established as the raft baby, the dogged work of Louis Sizerman finally established her true identity and explained the mysterious disappearance of the Armsons. From time to time Sizerman had reported his progress to Garrioch. The first time he visited the area, he found where the Armsons had trapped that winter of '71 - '72. On his next two trips through, he established the length and breadth of their trapline but he was unable to locate their cabin. Each time he was in the area he continued to look for it and finally in 1890 his perseverance paid off.

He found the cabin almost completely hidden from view by a huge pine that had blown down many years before, crushing the roof. The dwelling consisted of a 12- by 14-foot excavation in a steep clay bank, fronted by a sturdy wall of spruce logs.

As it turned out, the fallen tree that made the cabin so hard to find preserved its contents from prowling animals. It took some hard digging for Sizerman to clear away the debris and enter the cabin. When he did, in the dim light filtering into the once snug quarters, a grisly sight lay before him. On a makeshift bed against the back wall lay the bones of a man, while in a kneeling position beside the bed was the skeleton of a woman. A second glance revealed a shattered gun and part of the man's left hand was missing. Sizerman also noted a baby's rattle and bottle, but no baby skeleton.

From Sizerman's observations and from a package wrapped in birch bark and containing a diary and a Bible he'd found suspended from a ceiling joist, Garrioch and his friend were able to reconstruct what had taken place. The Armsons had worked together to build a warm and comfortable dwelling. Trapping must have been good for many mink, marten, fox and beaver pelts lay moldering about. According to the diary a baby girl had been born in the spring for Armson had written: "Born this day, March 31, a girl with vocal cords in fine working order. It would seem that when Mrs. Armson hit her toe in the St. John's mining camp, she inflicted a hatchet mark in duplicate; for on the corresponding toe of her daughter's foot there is a perfect replica of the scar on hers."

About a month after the baby was born, tragedy struck. Somehow Armson's rifle exploded, blowing off part of his hand. Worse, infection set in and he was no longer able to hunt. Mrs. Armson's attempts at filling the larder met with little success and the family began to starve. When the situation began to appear hopeless, Mrs. Armson carried the baby to the Pine River, built a small raft (their dugout canoe had been stove in, Sizerman noted), tied a red rag to a stick then pushed the raft and its passenger into the current. Then Mrs. Armson returned to the cabin to await death beside her husband.

The last entry in the diary was to save the Armson family from yet another tragedy. It stated: "May 15, 1872: I am dying effects of accident. My first wife died in England, leaving son now five. Write Barstow and Blake, Solicitors, London, England. Wife and baby weak from starvation. The Lord will Provide."

As soon as he was able, Rev. Garrioich turned the diary over to the Vining family, then living in Calgary. In an attempt to learn more about Lily's half brother the Vining's wired the London solicitors mentioned in the diary. Lily, now a grown woman of 19, was engaged to a young man named Herbert Melvin not long over from England.

Lily, her fiancé, and her adopted parents were shocked by the reply telegram from Barstow and Blake: "ARMSON'S SON ADOPTED BY HIS OLDEST SISTER. SON'S NAME NOW HERBERT MELVIN."

By some strange miracle, Armson's diary had reached out over the years to prevent his daughter from marrying her half brother! Thus the 18-year sequence of tragedy, mystery and coincidence came to a close -- a saga difficult to believe, but well documented.

Harold Fryer

Note: This story was found in the files at the Grande Prairie Museum. The main source for the story was the book Hatchet Mark in Duplicate by Rev. Garrioch, printed by Ryerson Press, Toronto, Canada in 1929.

Editors note: On a recent visit to the Vancouver Public Library, I was able to quickly skim through Rev. Garrioch's Hatchet Mark in Duplicate and found the following information we genealogists need to know:

• Mr. Armson's first marriage was in England in 1866. His son was born in 1867. Two years later, Mrs. Armson died, and shortly after Mr. Armson entrusted his son to the care of the elderly sister of his deceased wife, and promptly left for Canada. He wrote to England from Montreal a few months later. Early in 1871, he wrote a second letter this time from Saskatchewan. He had remarried, and was heading for the Peace River country. Relatives in England never heard from him again.
• The Vining's were well known in Calgary, and were involved with the Anglican Church and the Hudson's Bay Co. Lily, about a year later married Gerald Clive.
• Herbert had been adopted by his aunt when he was made her heir. Herbert also subsequently married. His bride was an Englishwoman new to North America.

A Nomination Form is included with this newsletter and the current list of members appears on page 12.
Please consider running for an executive position for 2001/2002 or nominate another member.
Return the form to the Branch address by January 16^th, 2001.

Thank You

Your Membership Renewal form for 2001 was enclosed with the November 2000 issue of Relatively Speaking.
Please return your renewal to the Grande Prairie Branch address no later than January 31, 2001.

Any renewals not received by the deadline may experience a delay in receiving their next issue of Relatively Speaking and Heritage Seekers.

I have available, at no cost, a huge amount of information on CD-ROM for the state of Iowa. This includes listings and information on every Civil War soldier who served in Iowa units. Also available is a wealth of information on the pioneer days of the state, and a great deal of other information on more recent times.

I also have on CD-ROM the complete Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies as well as both Navies. This amounts to over 200,000 pages of documents, battle reports, letters, etc.

Information from this is also available at no charge to AGS members.

Anyone seeking information can contact me at:

Ron Nelson, Box 614, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 3A8

Oops! I missed the September deadline for Heritage Seekers so some of this report will be old news by now.

In September, Margaret Kay, Laura Turnbull, Judy Bradley and I attended the most excellent gathering of volunteers since I have belonged to the Alberta Genealogical Society. The AGS executive came up with the idea of bringing together the following representatives from each of the branches: president, membership, publications and librarians. We met at the Providence Renewal Centre, where we brainstormed, shared ideas and problems, and formulated our plans for the future. The meeting with the other branch librarians was very informative. My thanks to Tom Trace and the AGS executive for giving us this wonderful opportunity to meet our fellow members and share our ideas.

One problem that was of great concern to our AGS librarian, Norma Wolowyk, was the lack of materials borrowed by our AGS members. The library books and newsletters may be borrowed for a period of one month. They can be sent and returned by mail for a very small fee. This service is available to all AGS members. At the time of our meeting, Norma pointed out that only 35 requests had been made over the last year and that many of them were to the same small number of users.

You can send requests by e-mail to the AGS office at:

<agsoffice@compusmart.ab.ca>

or by snail mail to:

Alberta Genealogical Society,
Room 116, 10440-108 Avenue,
Edmonton AB T5H 3Z9

To find out what is available in the AGS library, check the AGS website or our copy of the AGS Library Holdings located in the Isabel Campbell Room. One of our branch members is a regular user of this service and loves it. So let's get busy and borrow some books!

Over the last year, I have heard comments from several people who miss the column that pointed out articles of general interest in other genealogical society newsletters. I mentioned this at our regular coffee gatherings at Tim Horton's and Valerie Jenner has offered to help us out. Starting with this issue, Valerie will be writing a regular column featuring items from other genealogical societies that may be of interest to our members. Thank you Valerie!

Family History News printed their last issue in November 2000. Unfortunately, the publication did not receive the necessary support and the publishers cannot continue to finance the publication on their own. Trish Hopkins printed the sad announcement on page 47 of the August 2000 issue (Vol. 6, number 3). However our very own Patricia Greber of Beaverlodge has the honour of having one of her family photographs on the cover of that same issue. Way to go Patricia! Let us know if you get any research queries from the photograph.

New books in our branch library:

• Our treasured heritage: a history of Coalhurst and district
• "ÖOne Generation to Another:" Historical Resources in the City of Grande Prairie and Surrounding Area
• Our Heritage: The Pedersens and Nielsens of Erikstad

New Books in the Grande Prairie Public Library collection:

• 929.102 07 GAL Collecting Dead Relatives
• 929.102 07 GAL Further Undertakings of a Dead Relative Collector
• 929.102 07 SUN The Sunny Side of Genealogy
• 929.1 CAR Organizing Your Family History Search: Efficient & Effective Ways to Gather and Protect Your Genealogical Research

Branch Librarian

In August 2001, my husband will be retiring from teaching and we will be moving to Edmonton, so this will be my last year as branch librarian. I have really enjoyed the last 10 years and will miss being an active part of the Grande Prairie Branch. The role of librarian has helped me to learn so much about genealogy and has been instrumental in introducing me to so many friends.

Therefore we are going to need a new librarian. I will continue to volunteer as the branch librarian (until I actually move) but now would be a good time to start handing over the reins to someone new. Please consider volunteering for this position. I am including a brief outline of the main responsibilities for this position at the end of this report.

Newspaper Obituary Project

Now would also be a good time to remind those who are working on the Newspaper Obituary Project (1965-1977), that we need to get it finished. I am setting a final deadline of April 1, 2001 to turn in the indexing to Laura Turnbull. We still need a volunteer to index 1976. When we have finished this project, Grande Prairie Branch will have access to a complete index of all the obituaries printed in the Grande Prairie newspapers from 1913 to date. That will be a "good thing!"

Genies: We'll be back in the library starting Wednesday, January 10, 7-9 p.m. and Friday, January 12, 1-3 p.m. Come say hello and fill us in on your research.

Collection Development

• Acquire materials
• Process, file and maintain materials
• Prepare funding requests
• Maintain library inventory/catalogue on computer

Library Report

• Report at executive and branch meetings
• Write library column for Heritage Seekers

Genies in the Library Program

• Oversee the program: prepare schedule and posters
• Maintain statistics for GPPL and branch

Miscellaneous

• Maintain open communications with Grande Prairie Public Library
• Assist the branch executive with planning and organizing special projects (e.g.: obtaining the 1871 census)
• Provide assistance to branch members/patrons when using the library collection

Some of our queries are coming from a long way off.

1) Paul Rakow from Regensburg, Germany e-mailed us requesting an obituary for a Wilhelmine DREFS maiden name GRADE. She died in High Prairie on 15^th June 1930, aged 70.

He contacted us because of our obituary collection, which includes other areas in the Peace River country.

Our obit collection only started in 1992 so we would be no help with Paulís request. BUT we were able to give him the postal address, e-mail, and webpage for the South Peace News, which is the paper for High Prairie.

Also checked in our Peace Country phone directory and found two individuals with the DREFS name, both in High Prairie, sent him their addresses and phone numbers. Paul was happy with the information.

2) Another query came from Jane Knobloch from New York State:

Jane was searching for cemetery records, obituaries and any other available information on Ben and Gertie AUSTIN who homesteaded in or near Wembley, Alberta.

She had already obtained their homestead records from the National Archives of Canada.

• Gertie ALLEN (grandfatherís sister) was born sometime after 1865 in Glen Falls NY (Warren County) and married Ben AUSTIN in Glen Falls. Believed they had no children. Did not know Benís background but oral history in family said he was from Canada and came to Glen Falls to work.

In the Lake Saskatoon history, which covers the Wembley area, there is a short story (with a picture) about Ben & Gertie, the story was written by local historian, Beth Sheehan.

Following are the highlights of what she has written.

• They came here in 1911 or 1912, after arriving in Edmonton in 1910, possibly from Grande Mère, Quebec.
• Ben AUSTIN was born in 1863 in New Amsterdam, New York. He was a paper maker by trade and worked at this in New York State and Grande Mère, Quebec.
• On Nov. 4, 1896, he married "Gertie" (maiden name unknown) in Glen Falls, New York. They arrived in Lake Saskatoon, Alberta and, on April 4, 1913, Ben applied for homestead. But after receiving his title in 1919, he did not stay with it. Instead he operated a pool hall for Ernie HAWKINSON in the village of Lake Saskatoon. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Nov. 7, 1946, when about 100 friends gathered at the Wembley Community Hall to give them a surprise party.
• Ben died in June 1949 at the age of 86. Gertie survived him for nine years and was buried on April 1, 1958 in the Lake Saskatoon Cemetery, beside her husband.

From this write up I went next to Isabel Campbell's index collection for the Herald-Tribune and found a large write-up about the 50^th wedding anniversary and both of their obituaries.

• Benjamin Clarence AUSTIN was buried 28 June 1949 in Lake Saskatoon Cemetery.
• Gertrude Nell AUSTIN, died 31 March 1958 in Edmonton, AB. There is conflicting information as to whether she is buried in Edmonton or Lake Saskatoon.

I also obtained their burial information from the Oliver's Grande Prairie Funeral Chapel.

In our collection at the Grande Prairie Public Library we have a photocopy of the Lake Saskatoon-Wembley Methodist-United Church Register for 1910 ó 1963. In this register was the burial entry for both Ben & Gertie which I copied.

Also checked the AGS publication for the Lake Saskatoon Cemetery and this is where the information states that Gertie died and was buried in Edmonton.

3) The last query was from Colleen Mondor of Alaska, looking for an obituary for John P. ROSADIUK who died 16 October 1964 in Grande Prairie. She needed this information to obtain a copy of his 1940 National Registration File.

Note: See article on page 10 regarding the 1940 National Registration File.

As someone has said "It is not so much what you know that counts, as it is who you know." Family connections have been, and continue to be, some of the most important in life.

Until about two centuries ago, water was the highway of the world. I have discovered that one of our family was a sea captain and possibly, for this reason, was responsible for planting several of his relatives on North America's shores. My Irish forefathers came to this country and settled in the south shore area below Montreal, Quebec near the border of the United States.

The heavily forested countryside of early Canada made our rivers and lakes the easiest way for both native North Americans and our European ancestors to make their way around this vast new continent and lent natural access for trading with the world.

The deterioration of relationships between Britain and her states to the south in the early eighteen hundreds, however, cut much of this north-south water traffic and even the western water access route to the center of our continent.

Two centuries ago however, with the completion of the road of steel across our enormous Dominion, this soon became the new highway of access for settlers and for commerce within our borders.

In the early nineteen hundreds, my grandparents were builders of railways and factories in the development of our young nation. Grandpa BASKIN moved to Ontario and was one of the contractors in the building of the Quaker Oats building in Peterborough and the Nabisco Shredded Wheat building in Niagara Falls. Grandpa CULLY was Line-Superintendent of the Montreal Tramways in the city of Montreal, Quebec.

A year and a half after my birth in May 1927, my parents moved to Hamilton, Ontario where my father worked in the National Steel Car factory. In days when there was no central heating, my Dad worked with others in wood heated barns, building railway box cars for the expansion of our nation.

Hamilton, at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, became the industrial hub from which the steel mills and other industrial giants spewed out their dirt, in "the Dirty Thirties" across the bay toward Burlington and on over the Beach Strip and Lake Ontario.

My BASKIN grandparents lived in the same city and we saw them often, but many miles separated us from any of the CULLY clan in Quebec. As maintaining family contact was important to both sides of the family, I remember going by train to visit my Uncle Billie (my mother's brother). He lived in Montreal North.

First, Debby thought there should be an announcement about the combining of two newsletters:

QUINTE KIN The Voice of the Marilyn Adams Genealogical Research Centre Vol 1 #1 Summer 2000 The first issue of the newly combined newsletters "Searchlight" Quinte Branch OGS and "Reflections and Echoes" 7th Town Historical Society. QUINTE KIN is the new quarterly newsletter highlighting events and programs for both groups.

Gleanings from Newsletters received in our Library:

Everton's Genealogical Helper July/Aug 2000 * Photography & Genealogy * Canadians and the California Gold Rush * Beginning Research Using Railroad Resources

Drayton Valley "Past Finder" Vol 6 #3 Aug 2000 * Alberta's Nursing Records as a Research Source

Bruce & Grey Counties, Ontario "Bruce & Grey Branch" Vol 30 #3 Aug 2000 * Our Townships Remembered

Bruce County, Ontario "Bruce Bulletin" Vol 11 #3 Aug 2000 *10 Ways to Find a Maiden Name"

Hamilton Branch Newsletter Vol 31 #3 Aug 2000 * Epidemics * Writing Your Life Story

Niagara Peninsula "Notes from Niagara" Vol 20 #3 Aug 2000 * MITCHENER Family Bible Entries 1804-1935 * 1892 School Census of Pelham Township * Recollections of an Early Resident of Bridgeport (many surnames listed)

Oxford County, Ontario "The Tracer" Aug 2000 * City of Woodstock 1938: list of names, businesses & professions

Simcoe County, Ontario "The Scan" Vol 18 #3 Aug 2000 * Dave's Page - Story of George THOMSON & Barbara SMITH and their children Pete & Bathia Surnames - GILES, McPHEE, McINNES, LUSK, FERGUSON, CAVAN, MAGEE, GLIMIE or CLIMIE

Fort McMurray "Lines of Descent" Vol 22 #3 Sept 2000 *Newbie's Guide to Genealogy and Family History (Part 1 of a 6 part series) *What do those Initials Mean?

Lethbridge "Yesterday's Footprints" Vol 17 #3 Sept 2000 *Rootsweb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees *The BELL Farm - Indian Head, Sask

Medicine Hat "Saamis Seeker" Vol 21 #3 Sept 2000 * What can you Learn from a Picture?

Red Deer "The Tree Climber" Vol 22 #3 Sept 2000 * Pine Lake District Article including Early History Holy Trinity Church Cemetery List Pioneers

The British Columbia Genealogist Vol 29 #3 Sept 2000 * Why Look at Witnesses? * A Look at Some Border Entries to Canada * Meet the Pioneers from the Pioneer Register * Some Early Richmond BC Landowners

The Nova Scotia Genealogist Vol 18 #2 Summer 2000 * A Black Loyalist in Cape Breton * Cato COX of Sydney, Cape Breton & Three Generations of his Descendents * Nova Scotia Mariners lost out of Gloucester, Massachusetts

Prince Edward Island Genealogical Society Inc Vol 24 #3 Sept 2000 * The History and Mystery of Nikolaus HENCKEL & Family * Colonsay and Oronsay Records * 1850 School Teachers from the Journal of the Legislative Assembly

Saskatchewan "Bulletin" Vol 31 #3 Sept 2000 * Norwegian Ancestry * Seek and Ye Might Just Find

Brant County, Ontario "Brantches" Vol 20 #3 Sept 2000 * Births, Marriages & Deaths from Brantford Courier 1886 * Tips for Locating Relatives Who Migrated to the United States from Canada

Elgin County, Ontario "Talbot Times" Vol 14 #3 Sept 2000 * MABEE & TEEPLE Families: A History

Halton & Peel Counties, Ontario "Halton-Peel News" Vol 25 #4 Sept 2000 * But What DAY Did it Happen?

Kingston Relations Vol 27 #4 Sept/Oct 2000 * The Lost Villages of the Seaway

Leeds & Grenville Counties, Ontario "News & Views" Vol 26 #5 Sept/Oct 2000 * Daniel McCarthy * Family DERBYSHIRE of Leeds, Co & Extensions

London & Middlesex Counties, Ontario "London Leaf" Vol 27 #3 Sept 2000 * Children Placed in Southwestern Ontario by Middlemore Homes Through the London Guthrie Home * HODGINS Family of Biddulph

Norfolk County, Ontario "Norfolks" Vol 14 #3 Sept 2000 * Strays: Grand Rapids area Marriage Records, Kent Co, Michigan 1845-1870

Ottawa Branch News Vol 33 #5 Sept/Oct 2000 * WYLIE & DUFFEY Story * Commemorative Biographies * From Lanark to Lambton: Lanark surnames known to have immigrated to Lambton Co. * Volunteer Serivce Militia Officers from Carleton, Prescott & Lanark 1 Feb 1865

Thunder Bay "Past Tents" Vol 21 #3 Sept 2000 * Don't Confuse References to King's Daughters * Newspaper article: "City has rich history of immigrants from Calabria" (Italy)

Waterloo-Wellington Counties, Ontario "Branch Notes" Vol 28 #3 Sept 2000 * Modified Genealogy for Christian STEINMAN and Victoria EYER - 3 generations and 42 entries

Family Chronicle Magazine Sept/Oct 2000 * Shaping Up Your Internet Searching Skills * Immigrants to Empire * Useful Genealogy Site on the Internet * Our First Four Years: Index of Articles * Migration- The Trans-Atlantic Voyage: Rites of Passage

The National Registration File of 1940 resulted from the compulsory registration of all persons, 16 years of age or older, in the period from 1940 to 1946. This information was originally obtained under the authority of The National Resources Mobilization Act and the War Measures Act. Custody of the records was subsequently given to Statistics Canada, then known as the Dominion Bureau of Statistics.

As a result, the National Registration File of 1940 is not subject to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act but is instead covered by the Privacy Act. According to this Act, when a person has been dead for more than 20 years, the information is no longer considered to be personal and can be disclosed.

The abstract above was obtained from the Statistics Canada website at:

http://www.statcan.ca/english/IPS/Data/93C0006.htm

Additional details are outlined on a website set up by Bill Martin of Thunder Bay, Ontario at:

http://www.tbaytel.net/bmartin/natreg.htm

Included in Bill Martin's website is the list of 18 questions asked men and the 20 questions asked women. The first 15 questions were the same for both men & women.

To provide third-party information from the National Registration File of 1940 for genealogical purposes, a standard fee of $48.15 is charged for each search undertaken that is successful in locating the requested record.

A search can be undertaken for an individual after the following information or documentation has been provided:

Genealogical searches are processed at a cost of $45 plus GST, prepaid. The total is $48.15. Should the search fail, this amount will be refunded.

There is no charge for searches that are required for purposes other than genealogy.

Note: The 20-year restriction does not apply to obtaining your "own" registration details under the Freedom of Information act.

Inquiries should be forwarded to:

It is important in your application for a genealogical search to know "where the registration took place". We have included an article from the newspaper The Herald-Tribune Thursday, August 15, 1940 that lists the polling places and registrars for the Grande Prairie area.

As contained in The Herald-Tribune Thursday, August 15, 1940:

Deputy registrars and where they will be in attendance August 19, 20 and 21 at the polling places named are as follows:

ALBRIGHT - John Irvine and Russell Wright. At Community Hall.
ASPEN RIDGE - Capt. Robt. Campbell and Mrs. Winona Young. At Aspendale School.
BAD HEART - Capt. G. Blake and Tom Hill. At school.
BAY TREE - Henry Bourque and W.W. Lillico. At Community Hall.
BEAVERLODGE - E.S. Macdonell and A.G. Little. At Legion Hall.
BELLOY - William Wortman and Mrs. Susan Francis. At Hall.
BEZANSON - Lucy Rooney and Chas. Johnston. At Rooney's store.
BIG MEADOW - Henry H. Reynolds and Harvia Neilson.
BLUEBERRY MOUNTAIN - W.H. McCullough and S. Hanrahan. At Hall.
BRAINARD - D.G. Blake and Gilbert Robinson. At Brainard's residence.
BRIDGEVIEW - Frank Comfort and H. Lowes. At F. Comfort's residence.
BRONCHO CREEK - E.F. Berry and A. Ptolemy. At Broncho Creek School.
BONANZA - Chas. Hazelton and Fred Quick.
BUFFALO LAKE - Ed Carney and Ed Higginson. At Buffalo Lake Hall.
CALAIS - Alfred Carlson and Robert Williamson. At Carlson's Cabin.
CHERRY POINT - Patrick Meehan and W.R. Martin. At Cherry Point School.
CLAIRMONT - R.A. Trout and Ivan Redwood. At R.A. Trout's office.
CLEAR PRAIRIE - L.C. Gunn. At Gunn's residence.
CLARKSON VALLEY - J.E. Harrington and Mary E. Gray. At Sturgeon Lake School.
CODESA - Mrs. Germaine Chamberland and J.P. Leblanc. At school.
CROOKED CREEK - Wm. G. Given and Thos. Hale. At Ridge Valley School.
DE BOLT - Wm. Perkins and J.P. Grant. At Legion Hall.
DEMMITT - Geo. H. Griffiths and W.J. Richardson. At school.
DIMSDALE - J.L. MacIntosh and Tony Waterman. At Dimsdale Hall.
DONNELLY - Emile LeBlane and L.P. Moquin.
DONNELLY NORTH - Alfred Dimsdale and Jas. Law. At school.
DRIFTPILE - Jim Mack and Wm. Lalt. At school-house.
EAGLESHAM - Allan E. Powers and Jos. McDaid. At Post Office.
EAST PRAIRIE - D.S. Hayden and Oliver G. Hill. At Dan Hayden's residence.
ELMWORTH - Richard Burnett and Len Williams. At school.
ENILDA - Gurney N. Steen and Lorne Church. At. W.I. Hall.
ESHER - Gus Listhaeghe and Chas. North. At Community Hall.
EVERTON - Harold Forbes and Ross Everton. At Annellen School.
FAHLER - P.J. Demers and Miss Muriel Cote. At Village Hall.
FAUST - Wm. Robinson and Hugh J. Reid. At school-house.
FIVE MILE SCHOOL - J. Tissington. At Five Mile Creek School.
GILWOOD - George J. Hague and J.E. Lefebvre. At Shadow Creek School.
GLEN LESLIE - Mrs. Ed. Leslie and Archie Matheson. At Glen Leslie store.
GOODFELLOW - Jos. Bissell and Ed. J. Becker. At school.
GOODFARE - V.J. Young and W. Dupont. At Community Hall.
GOODWIN - Eric Davies and B.J. Thorpe. At school.
GORDONDALE - Alex Menzies and Cecil Ash. At school.
GRANDE PRAIRIE NORTH - M.W. Eagar and Lloyd Miller. At McCauley's building.
GRANDE PRAIRIE SOUTH - George Howes and Mervin Lewis. At Odd Fellows Hall.
GREENWAY - Joe Bahry and A.H. Hollier. At Greenway School.
GROUARD - Fred Young and A. Mahar. At Young's Poolroom.
GUNDY EAST - Wm. W. Smith and E. Taylor. At J.C. Young's res.
HALCOURT - A.H. Funnell and Hubert J. Black. At Halcourt Hall.
HAZELMERE - F.D. McCardle and A.H. Jordan, at hall.
HEART VALLEY - Alex Edey and John McLean.
HIGH PRAIRIE - Michael O'Grady and S.D. Fewang. At Legion Hall.
HINTON TRAIL - Just Moss and Ivor Guest. At Craigellachie School.
HUALLEN - Hugh Allen and Wm. Russell. At hall.
HYTHE - S. Thieme and M.J. Light. At Jubilee Hall.
JOUSSARD - Raymond Agard and Miss Jean Brassard. At Joussard Hall.
KINUSO - H.D. Langford and H.B. Wilton. At U.F.A. Hall.
KLESKUN HILL - Wm. McCurdy and Geo. Bass. At school.
KSITUAN - Jack Sandul and Walter Jamieson.
LA GLACE - F. Bohn and Paul Kinderwater. At Community Hall.
LAKE SASKATOON - J. Sutherland and Fred Frewer. At Community Hall.
LYMBURN - Wm Johnson and Mrs. C. Burbee. At school.
McLENNAN - J. Gagne and H. Thoreson. At Elks Hall.
McLEVIN - W.R. McLevin and Geo. Carter. At Hermit Lake School.
MOUNT VALLEY - J.M. Sheppard and Jos. Baglee. At school.
NIOBE - William Grearson and Uri Powell. At Scenic Heights Hall.
NORTHMARK - Frank Rowe and Ivan Higginson.
NORTH KLESKUN - Ted Reynolds and Mary Campbell. At North Kleskun School.
PEORIA - J. Laughland and Mrs. Chas. Morris. At Mercey School.
PIPESTONE CREEK - Mrs. A.H. Watts and Louis Hawkes. At Millarston School.
POPLAR HILL - Fred Coe and Muriel Chabot. At school.
PRESTVILLE - J.M. Huitt and Betty McGregor. At school.
RIO GRANDE - B.C. Scully and Frank Shill. At Hall.
ROLLA EAST - L.G. Taylor and R.W. Briggs. At West Pouce Coupe School.
RYCROFT - S. Mazur and Jack Bramwell. At Rycroft Motors.
SEXSMITH EAST - James McDonnel and Gertha Cameron. At Howard Building.
SEXSMITH WEST - Harlie Conrad and James Foote. At Stalberg Hall.
SMOKY - Ray Pellerin and Chas. Preece. At Ray Pellerin residence.
SPIRIT RIVER - D.H. Keay and Thos. Wright. At Village Office.
SWAN VALLEY - Mrs. Ed. Quinn and Mrs. George Cornell. At Geo. W. Moore residence.
SYLVESTER - Leo Connolly and Carlisle Speed. At Itipaw School.
TANGENT NORTH - J.E. Morel.
TANGENT SOUTH - Donat Sylvestre and L. Chaput. At Langlois Bldg.
TEEPEE CREEK - E.J. Grant and Geo. McCauley. At school.
TRIANGLE - D.C. Ireland and W.S. McLean. At Smoky River School.
WANHAM - Jim Harrington and Mrs. Geo. Mcdonald. At hall.
WAPITI - Carl Brooks and J.H. McCullough. At South Wapiti School.
WAPITI EAST - Harry Greentree and Jos. Howell. At Tom Holmes' res.

Return to beginning
Return to GP Branch Main Page
Return to AGS Branches page
Return to AGS Home Page

  October 31, 2001