Where Should You Start Your Canadian Genealogy Research? Beginner-Friendly Tips for Canadian Family Historians
Learning about your family history is a fun journey that lots of us take on as a hobby. But when you’re first starting out, Canadian genealogy for beginners can bring its own set of challenges. From choosing which family tree builder is right for you to knowing where to research ancestors in Canada, it’s easy to get lost in a whirlwind of names and dates. But don’t worry! With these tips, researching your family tree and learning about your ancestral history will be both exciting and simple to start.
Pre-Research: Prep Work Before You Start Searching
Before you start plugging names into Ancestry, take some time to ask yourself a few questions, like what you already know and where you can go to find the information you need to start your family tree. Write down everything you think you know for as many generations as you can.
If you were lucky to grow up with your older family members like me and you already know things like their birth and death dates, write it down! If not, give a relative who may know a call and gather what you can. It’s okay if you don’t have exact dates and places—a general time and place is plenty to get started. Something like “Grandma was born just before the Great Depression in the United States” is very helpful information. Just be sure to mark uncertain or generalized facts that need to be verified later in your research.
If you want a full breakdown of what to do before getting started, check out my blog post Beginner Genealogy: How To Start Your Family Tree from Scratch.
Step 1: Choose Where You’ll Build or Record Your Tree
There are lots of ways to visually or textually create your family tree. Everyone’s research style is unique, and there are factors like budget and proximity to records to consider. Most genealogists (even hobbyists) use some kind of visual tree builder, like those on Ancestry, MyHeritage, or FamilySearch. Many also use spreadsheets or word documents to organize notes and sources in addition to a tree builder, and some opt for textual notes only.
Most genealogy sites have their tree builder available for free, but a subscription is required to access the records available in their databases. Having a subscription allows you to automatically link facts and sources to your ancestors as you add them to your tree, which helps save time. But you can also add information from sources off these websites to keep all your research organized in one place. Here’s a quick comparison of the most popular genealogy websites in Canada:
Am I missing your favourite genealogy website? Let me know in the comments!
Personally I’ve used Ancestry for about 15 years, and the main factor in my decision to use it at the time was that my Grandma had already built her own tree in Ancestry and I could copy a lot of her work for that side of the family. Horrible idea but it led to me a fantastic resource since their record, user, and DNA databases are by-far the most robust. It’s also the most expensive website, and I didn’t start paying for a membership until I became more serious about my research in university.
I also use MyHeritage and FamilySearch as secondary and tertiary tree builders respectively. MyHeritage has a lot of useful DNA features with their paid membership, however their DNA database is smaller than Ancestry’s and has less tester diversity. It’s a great option if you have more recent European heritage. Their membership at full price can be pretty expensive too, but they often run sales to bring the cost down. Just be sure to stay on top of your membership renewal if you’re on a promo rate to start.
FamilySearch is hosted by the LDS church since genealogy is an important cornerstone of their doctrine. Although their records database isn’t nearly as large as other paid websites, they have some fantastic indexes and research guides to help you locate which records are relevant to your ancestors. FamilySearch’s biggest draw is definitely the price tag—for a free website it’s a great place for beginners to start building their trees and getting acquainted with genealogical research. Even if budget isn’t a concern, it’s a website every genealogist should use at some point.
I suggest using both a visual tree builder and written/typed notes that correspond with your visual tree. Keeping notes on sources you’ve reviewed, sources to consult, and general research thoughts will help keep you organized. You can keep notes on a tree builder site or separately in a document or notebook. I like to have written rough notes that are just for me to reference, then I add them into my Ancestry tree as a more formulated thought.
Step 2: Start Adding What You Already Know
I know it’s been tempting to start entering everything into a tree builder, and now is finally the time! Start adding the information you gathered during the pre-work phase. I suggest making notes or source citations with the phrase “from personal knowledge” for facts you know are absolutely true but don’t necessarily have a record to prove (e.g. your parents’ wedding date.)
Tip: Make a note about any facts that you’re unsure about and need further research to verify.
Step 3: Research, research, research!
Now that you have basic information in your tree, it’s time to find sources to verify what you know and discover new ancestors.
With a subscription, genealogy websites will give you hints automatically based on the information you’ve entered about each ancestor—given that there’s enough information provided to generate the hint. Review hints in order of newest to oldest and use what you know to verify the sources provided. For example, don’t just check your grandparents’ marriage license for your great-grandmother’s maiden name; be sure to check any siblings’ marriage records to corroborate the maiden name given.
Tip: Researching your direct ancestors’ siblings, called collateral research, is a great way to break down brick walls. My blog post Brick Wall in Your Family Tree? Start Researching Siblings gives you lots of great ways to make the most out of collateral research.
If you’ve decided to forgo a genealogy website or you want to manually manage your research, there are plenty of free resources available to get started with. You’ll want to check out:
Library and Archives Canada for lots of federal resources like the entire Canadian census collection until 1931, military records, Home Children lists, Empire Loyalist land grants, and lots more
Provincial archives, which often hold vital statistics, newspapers, and court records
Municipal archives and historical societies for sources like local newspapers, directories, and sometimes compiled genealogical records for community pioneering families
Facebook groups and genealogy forums specific to regions your ancestors came from
Looking for a more in-depth overview of free online resources to kickstart your Canadian genealogy research? Check out this blog post with some fantastic country-wide record sets!
What if I Hit a Brick Wall Early On?
Brick walls come up for even the most experienced genealogists, and it’s common to run into them early in your research. Make sure you exhaust search options, like checking all available record sets and researching alternative name spellings. But if you’re still stuck, it might be time to get a second opinion from someone experienced.
Facebook groups and forums are super handy for brick walls since you can quickly ask several people for help with something simple. Other users are usually able to help point you in the right direction, but they typically won’t do the research for you.
If you think you’ve exhausted all your options, it’s probably time to chat with a genealogist. Even if you don’t hire one, they’ll often provide you with a free consultation and a rough idea of how they would tackle the given situation. At least that’s what I do!
If you’re stuck with a brick wall, I’m here to help. We’ll chat during a free, no-commitment consultation and I’ll give you an idea of how I can help you. Even if you don’t want to go ahead with a research project, I’ll still suggest some areas for further research which may be helpful for you. But of course, I’d rather poke around in your tree to find the piece of the puzzle that you’ve been missing!
Want to learn more about how I can help? Check out my service offerings, or book a consultation to get started.
