Genealogy and Family History

Youth Corner

Genealogy at School

5th to 8th Grades

Student Handout
A Journey Through Time

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Words you need to know in this journey are underlined. If you don't understand an underlined word, consult the glossary.

Travel back in time to find your ancestors. Along the way, you will discover a lot about genealogy. This document will help you discover more about your family history and how it is connected to the history of Canada.

Did you know that the ancestors of most Canadians come from other countries? Canada is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. People from many different countries and cultures have made Canada their new home and in this way have created a cultural mosaic. A mosaic is like a puzzle. Each piece is different and has its own characteristics, but when put together, all the pieces make a whole.

Many immigrants and different cultures have come together in Canada, making it a diverse and unique place to live. Your ancestors or perhaps your own family have helped create this mosaic.

The Aboriginal Peoples formed the first piece of the mosaic. They lived all over North America, hunting, fishing, and gathering many plants for food and medicines. They lived in harmony with their environment.

The Vikings, who briefly settled on Canada's east coast, formed another piece of the mosaic.

The French were the first permanent European residents, arriving in the early 17th century and adding their language, religion and customs to the mosaic.

People from the British Isles came next and soon people from all over the world became interested in living in Canada. Today, Canada is one of the most multicultural nations in the world.

Immigration is not the only type of movement that changes the Canadian mosaic. People seldom live in one place all their lives. Sometimes Canadians move to another part of Canada or even to another place in their own province or territory. This type of movement is called migration.

How does your family fit into the Canadian mosaic? To find out about your family's past, you will need to take a journey through time. You will become a researcher! The questions you ask will guide you as you systematically search a variety of sources to find the answers to how your ancestors became part of the Canadian mosaic. In fact, you will become a specialized researcher of ancestry called a genealogist.

The Research Process

Step 1: Identify what you are looking for

That's simple. You want to find out as much as you can about how your family became part of the cultural mosaic. To help you organize your research, use the five Ws explained below.

Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?

These are the five Ws.

How? is another good research question you can use.

A research organizer with sample questions is included at the back of this handout.

Step 2: Focus your research

This section includes some important information that will help you with your research.

Where a person comes from is called their country of origin. All of your ancestors may have come from one country or you may have ancestors whose country of origin differs from that of other family members. If you are Aboriginal or Métis, some of your family members consider Canada their place of origin.

You might have created a genealogical chart in a younger grade. If not, create one now that will trace your ancestors, starting with you and going back in time, from one generation to the next generation as far back as possible. Go to the lesson for Grades 3 and 4 on this website and click on "Genealogy Chart". You can either work online to create your chart or print a copy to work on at school or at home.

If you can trace back your family more that five generations, that's great! After you fill in all the spaces on the chart, just draw the extra spaces you need on another piece of paper and continue on.

The place where immigrants first entered Canada is called the point of entry. If they arrived on a boat, their point of entry was called a port. If they travelled by road or by train, they first went to the United States and entered Canada by way of a border entry.

Before 1908, there were no border entries. People could move freely back and forth between the United States and Canada, and frequently they did.

People came to Canada for different reasons. The reasons they emigrated or left their home countries, or move to another location in Canada are called push factors.

The reasons why people chose Canada as their new country or chose to settle in another region of Canada are called pull factors.

"Pack up and Go!" is an online activity that will teach you more about push and pull factors.

Step 3: Develop a work plan to find answers to questions about your own family. As a researcher, you have to gather as much information as you can from as many sources as possible. Consider the following rules.

The Basic Rules of Genealogy

• Begin with you and work backwards through each previous generation. Work from the known to the unknown.
• Write down what you find and where you found it. Which website? Which book? Which library? Which collection of records? What volume and page number?
• Always record the sources you search, even if the results are negative.

Do you know why it is important to keep good records? You may need to go back and consult your sources again for more information or to make sure they are accurate. Your teacher may ask you what sources you used and you will be able to find them easily. Use the research log at the end of this document to help you keep track of your sources.

Step 4: Find your answers

• Begin with you and your family
• Library and Archives Canada has developed a website to help you with your genealogical research. Go to www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html. On the left hand side menu, click on Ancestors Search and scroll down the list to Immigration and Citizenship and you will find many links. Choose any of the links, enter your family name and see what happens!
• By using AVITUS, a directory of genealogical resources on the genealogy website, you can find other sources of information that may help you in your research.
• You might also go to your local library, archives or genealogical society to see what sources they have and if they can help you.

Good luck in your research!

Step 5: Sort through the information you collect

Once you have finished your research, you need to draw some important conclusions about your family's history.

Look at the data to decide what information you want to share with others.

Step 6: Communicate your information

Create a scrapbook about your family to show your family's place in the Canadian mosaic. Make sure it contains the following elements.

• A map of the world with all the places your family and your ancestors have lived, including:
  • Their country or countries of origin;
  • The points of entry they used to come into Canada or the places in the United States where they lived;
  • Places within Canada where they live or lived.
  • Make sure your map has a border, a title, a directional arrow, a scale and a legend. Don't forget to add colour and make sure your labels are both neat and legible.
• Photographs or drawings of your family and some of your ancestors. Use labels or write a short paragraph to show how each photograph fits in your family mosaic. Photographs are a valuable part of your family's history. Threat them with care. You might want to use a photocopy of an original photograph or drawing for your scrapbook.
• A creative page of poems, artwork, computer graphics, and so on, to show the parts of your family's culture that have helped make Canada a multicultural region (e.g., food, music, special events).
• A biography of one of your ancestors, which could include the following details:
  • When and why she or he left their country of origin and moved to a new home in Canada;
  • Why she or he chose to reside in Canada or in a new place;
  • Challenges she or he faced either on the journey to a new home or after arriving there;
  • An interesting story about something that happened to her or him during immigration or migration;
  • How her or his life changed because of immigration or migration.

Research Log

Researcher:_________________________________________________________

Record all the sources you used. Then, if you need to find a good source again easily, you can. If a source has not been useful, note that. If you have a lot of sources, you may need to use more than one sheet.

Date of Research:____________________________________________________
Topic of Research, Name of Ancestor:___________________________________
Source: ____________________________________________________________
What have you learned?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Date of Research:____________________________________________________
Topic of Research, Name of Ancestor:___________________________________
Source: ____________________________________________________________
What have you learned?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Date of Research:____________________________________________________
Topic of Research, Name of Ancestor:___________________________________
Source: ____________________________________________________________
What have you learned?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Date of Research:____________________________________________________
Topic of Research, Name of Ancestor:___________________________________
Source: ____________________________________________________________
What have you learned?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Research Organizer

Here are some examples of questions and headings. Use them as a guide to create your own questions and headings.

Date(s) of Research:__________________________________________________
Researcher: _________________________________________________________

Who were your ancestors? Who was the first one to come to Canada? Who was your most famous or interesting ancestor?

Name of Ancestor: ___________________________________________________
Date of Birth: _______________________________________________________
Place of Birth: _______________________________________________________
Date of Marriage: ____________________________________________________
Place of Marriage: ___________________________________________________
Spouse(s): _________________________________________________________
Date of Death: ______________________________________________________
Place of Death: _____________________________________________________
Occupation(s): ______________________________________________________
Other Interesting Information: __________________________________________

Where did your ancestors come from? Where did they live?

Country of Origin: ____________________________________________________
Port or Border Entry in Canada: _________________________________________
Place of First Home in Canada: _________________________________________
Province or Territory: _________________________________________________
County or District: ___________________________________________________
Other Homes: _______________________________________________________
Other Interesting Information: _________________________________________

When did your ancestors immigrate or migrate?

Date of Emigration: __________________________________________________
Date of Arrival at Point of Entry in Canada: ______________________________
Date(s) of Migration: _________________________________________________
Other Interesting Information: _________________________________________

Why did your ancestors leave their country of origin or decide to move to another place in Canada? Why did they choose Canada as their new home or a particular place in Canada in which to settle?

Push Factors: _______________________________________________________

Pull Factors: ________________________________________________________

How did your ancestors travel to Canada? How did they travel within Canada?

Transportation to Canada: ____________________________________________
Travel Route to Canada: _____________________________________________
Transportation within Canada to New Home: _____________________________
Travel Route to New Home: ___________________________________________

What happened during the migratory experience?

As you are doing your research, record what you learn about the immigrant experience during the time period your ancestors immigrated to Canada or migrated to a new home within Canada. This can include details about travel, diseases encountered, immigration laws, etc. The online activities have lots of information that can help you.

Positive Aspects:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Negative Aspects:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________