SEARCHING FOR YOUR ROOTS IN NEWFOUNDLAND

The following is some information on sources of genealogical information in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. While every possible attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of this file, there may be some errors and ommisions.

For anybody who is doing genealogical research in Newfoundland and Labrador, and especially for those who live outside the province, a good first step would be to write the Provincial Reference and Resourse Library at St. John's asking for any info they have on the name you are searching. In your letter, include the community of origin and time frame. Archivists research several directories, censuses and other sources, all for the cost of the photocopies. They are quite busy though and there may be some wait for a response. A good first step nonetheless.

ADDRESSES OF GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION SOURCES IN NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR:

Anglican Church of Canada (Archives),

• 34 Fraser Road, Gander, Nfld.,A1V 2E8
  19 King's Bridge Road, St. John's, Nfld., A1C 3K4
  311 Millbrook Mall, Corner Brook, Nfld., A2H 2V3
  

Bay St. George Heritage Association, PO Box 314, Stephenville, Nfld. A2N 2Z5

Corner Brook City Library, Sir Richard Squires Building, Corner Brook, Nfld., A2H 6J8

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Health,

• Vital Statistics Division, Confederation Building, St. John's, Nfld., A1C 2C9
• Records from 1892 to present. Searchs cost $4.00 per 3 year period. Certificates cost $10.00.
  

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Social Services, Confederation Building, St. John's, Nfld., A1C 2C9

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Registry of Deeds, Confederation Building, St. John's, Nfld., A1C 2C9 (wills pre 1832; land records)

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Crown Lands Office, Howley Building, St. John's (early crown land grants)

MARITIME HISTORY ARCHIVE Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, A1C 5S7

Tel: (709) 737-8428
URL: Martime History Archive
See under "General Info" below for holdings MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY FOLKLORE and LANGUAGE ARCHIVE

The sorts of information they have are mainly of two kinds, neither of which is very helpful to the genealogist who has already done a lot of research on their family history. The first type of information is that based on the work files of the late Dr E R Seary, whose book _The Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland you will be familiar with. In his workfiles, whichtake up about fourteen linear metres of paper slips filed by family name,are the full references to the citations given in the book. Included from time to time are citations not included in the book by reason of being more recent than the rest. It is particularly useful for citations found in the "Family Traditions" paragraphs in the book, where Seary cited entries as just "MUN History" or "Geog" or "Folklore." Using the work slips they can trace a source to a particular student's name; in many cases they can find the actual paper written by that student (usually in the period 1966-70). The second sort of information that can be helpful to a family history researcher is the large number of local studies in the archive: collections of folklore of various sorts from communities all over Newfoundland and Labrador, and often including short historical introductions. These are typically based in part on oral history in the community, and many include short family trees, at least going back through living memory. Since they are only rarely based on documentary searches, they only rarely go back past living memory, and it is for this reason the seasoned genealogist may find them unsatisfying. (Of course they weren't written for genealogists.) They have a research fee structure, the basic part of which is an hourly rate of twenty-four dollars an hour, on top of which they charge GST. A typical search through the Seary collection would take at least two hours, depending on the size of the family's entry. A typical search through the other archival materials may take anywhere from a couple of hours to several days per family, depending on the locality and the rarity of the name. Some names are practically unique to a community and searches are fairly easy.

 

-Further reference can be found below to Dr. E.R. Seary's "Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland".

MUNFLA URL: Memorial University of Newfoundland Libraries

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (mailing address) Colonial Building, Military Road, St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 2C9
(709) 754-9525 (located at) Room 421, Canada Post Office Building, 354 Water Street, St. John's
URL: NLGS Home Page

• This is an excellent society with a great quarterly publication called the Ancestor. Annual membership fee is $25.00 Can / year. Non Canadian orders remit $25.00 US.
  

NEWFOUNDLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Newfoundland Historical Society was formed in 1880 and is a registered charitible organization. Membership fees and donations are tax deductable. Research done for inquiries is free of charge but donations and/or memberships are greatly appreciated. The membership fee for 1997 was $20.00 (Can) and includes a subscription to the Newfoundland Quarterly, an excelent publication covering historical events in the province, many of value to genealogists.

To become a member of the Newfoundland Historical Society, write the following address:
The Newfoundland Quarterly Room 15, Colonial Building St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 2C9 You can also subscribe to the Newfoundland Quarterly only for $12.00 (Can) or $15.00 (Can) per year for non Canadian subscribers).
Mailing Address: Newfoundland Quarterly PO Box 13486, Station A Knemount Road, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 4B8

Probate Registry, Courthouse Building, Water Street, St. John's
(wills post 1832)

Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, Colonial Building, Military Road, St. John's, A1C 2C9
Tel: (709) 729-3065
Fax: (729) 729-0578
The records held at 'PANL' are photocopies, transcripts, or microfilm copies of parish records. The originals are still in the posession of the of the individual churches throughout the province. Most records are pre 1891 so if you are looking for a later one, the contact is Vital Statistics Division, Government of Newfoundland, address enclosed. The PANL can conduct ONE record search per inquiry. Ask for a specific record, that is, baptismal, marriage, and so on. You must include a FULL NAME, approximate DATE of the record being sought, place of RESIDENCE, and RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION. Staff are willing to search a ten year time time period. Actual records can not be photocopied but a TRUE COPY of a baptism, marriage or burial record may be obtained for a fee of $15.00 plus a time resigration fee of $10.00. Apart from the church registers mentioned above, the holding of the Archives include wills, newspapers, directories, early court records, deeds of sale, registers of deeds, early books and magazines; most of the records date back to the early 1800's.

PROVINCIAL REFERENCE AND RESOURCE LIBRARY Newfoundland Collection Arts and Culture Centre St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3A3
Tel: (709) 737-3954
Fax: (709) 737-3009
URL: Newfoundland Collection PRRL

Although a visit to the library is desirable, it is not required to access information for family history purposes. David Leamon, Newfoundland Collection Technician, at the Library, has developed a comprehensive list of reference material he has available to do searches on. An introductory letter / fax requesting information on best how to utilize this valuable resource is recommended.
OR you can email and ask for specific directories/info on a specific community

E-mail Address:
ccameron@publib.nf.ca

Roman Catholic Church of Canada,

• PO Box 771, Grand Falls, Nfld, A2A 2M4
  PO Box 545, Labrador City, Nfld., A2V 2K7
  16 Hammond Drive, Corner Brook, Nfld, A2H 2W2
  PO Box 37, St. John's, Nfld, A1C 5H5T
  

St. John's Archives
The Archives has a wide selection of information of interest to those researching families from the St. John's area. Questions regarding their holdings can be directed to the following address.

City of St. John's Archives
City Hall, P.O. Box 908 St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 5M2
Tel: (709) 576-8226
Those wishing to visit should call ahead to make arrangements with the archivist.

Trinity Historical Society, Trinity, Nfld, A0C 2S0

Twillingate Museum Association, Twillingate, Nfld, A0G 4M0

United Church of Canada Archives, 320 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John's, Nfld, A1E 1R1

GENERAL INFO

CIVIL REGISTRATION IN NEWFOUNDLAND

Started in 1891. Before this, the clergy of the various denominations maintained records of birth or baptism, marriage and death. The church registers containing this information are in the Provincial Archives. The official records since civil registration commenced are in the Vital Statistics Division of the Dept. of Health. Although not open to public search, information and certified copies are available for a fee. Always request a full copy. The Provincial Archives have microfilmed birth records from 1891-1923 and this material in open for public search.

• The oldest parish registers in existence are those of the Church of England. These date from 1752. Catholic registers for St. John's start in 1798; Methodist registers at Carbonear in 1794; Presbyterian registers in 1842 in St. John's; and Congregationalist registers in the 1780's.
  

CENSUS RETURNS

Census returns are maintained by the Dept. of Social Services at the Confederation Building in St. John's. Census returns are available up to 1945. Early censuses include those for the Plaisance (Placentia) area in 1671, 1673, 1706, and 1711. There were several other general censuses in other parts of the colony in 1691, 1693, and 1704. However, any returns before 1698 gave only the heads of the household. All are on microfilm. Province wide censuses were held in 1911, 1921, 1935, and 1945; and thereafter held in the same years as the rest of Canada. Only fragments of the 1911 census survive.

The places covered by the censuses between 1921 and 1945 are listed below and are in both the National Archives and the Provincial Archives in St. John's and may be borrowed through the inter-library loan system.

WILLS
The probate records date back to the 1700's and are in three locations. Those from 1832 on are in the Probate Registry, Courthouse Bldg., Water St., St. John's.
Earlier ones are in the Provincial Archives and the Registry of Deeds, Confederation Bldg.. Wills from the Burin area are all in the Provincial Archives.

LAND RECORDS
A great deal of genealogical information can often be gained from land records and conveyances of property. You may find references to wills, and to other members of the particular property-owner's family. The Registry of Deeds, in the Confedretion Bldg. is the main source for more recent land information. The earlier and original Crown Land Grants are in the Crown Lands Office, Howley Building, St. John's.

Some Genealogical Information Sources :

• 1. Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, by E.R. Seary. This book is an invaluable guide to researching Newfoundland roots. Alphabetical listings of surnames include references to early instances of the name, the communities involved, many dates and present day occurances. It also points the way for other references to the name. An invaluable resource.
• 2. Hutchinson Newfounland Directory, 1864
• 3. McAlpines Newfoundland Directory, 1894 - 1897
• 4. McAlpines Newfoundland Directory, 1898
• 5. McAlpines Newfoundland Directory, 1904
• 6. Lovell's Newfoundland Directory, 1871
• 7. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1825-1850, by Gertrude Crosbie
• 8. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1851-1859, by Gertrude Crosbie
• 9. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1860-1865, by Gertrude Crosbie
• 10. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1866-1870, by Gertrude Crosbie
• 11. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1871-1874, by Gertrude Crosbie
• 12. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1875-1877, by Gertrude Crosbie
• 13. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1878-1880, by Gertrude Crosbie
• 14. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1881-1882, by Gertrude Crosbie
• 15. Births, Marriages and Deaths in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1883-1884, by Gertrude Crosbie
• 16. Vital Statistics and Items from Newspapers of Newfoundland, compiled by Mildred Howard
• 17. Directory for the Towns of St. John's, Harbour Grace, and Carbonear, Newfoundland for 1885-1886. Compiled and arranged by John Sharpe, 119 Water Street, St. John's, 1885
• 18. Might and Company Directory for St. John's, Harbour Grace and Carbonear, Newfoundland, 1890
• 19. Newfoundland Directory for 1936 (Copyright 1936 by Newfoundland Directories, Geo. H. Andrews, Proprietor)
• 20 List of Electors, 1948
  

THE FOLLOWING RECORDS ARE LOCATED AT THE MARITIME HISTORY ARCHIVE:

• 21. Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, Agreements and Account of Crew, 1863-1938: Agreements and account of crew of British Empire vessels, containing the names of officers and seamen; their date and place of birth; the date and place and date joining the vessel; the previous vessel; wages; rank and reason for leaving the vessel; ports of call and description of the vessel.
• 22. Keith Mathews Name Files: Data on individuals, families and businesses that were involved in the settlement, fisheries and trade of Newfoundland from the earliest settlement to 1850. Complied from a variety of sources from Newfoundland and the West of England, the files include data on 7,300 surnames.
• 23. Lloyd's Captains Registers, 1851-1948: Registers containing an alphabetical list of certified masters, giving place and date of birth, the port and date of examination, the names of the ships in which he served, whether as master or mate, subsequent to the examination.
• 24. Newfoundland Plantation Books, 1804-1810: Plantation book of Bonavista 1805-6, and Conception Bay 1804-6; register of fishing rooms at Twillingate and places adjacent 1806 onwards.
• 25. English Parish Records Collection, 1530-1830: Records of the parishes of South West England, particularly the counties of Devon, Dorset, Sommerset and Hamshire. The collection focuses on those areas which supplied crews for the Newfoundland fishery, the places of origin of Newfoundland settlers. Devon parishes predominate.
• 26. Newfoundland Parish Records Collection, 1753-1966 Transcripts and photocopies of mostly 19th century parish records of all denominations. The majority of the records are for parishes in Conception Bay.
• 27. Census Records: Many of the collections held at the Maritime History Archive contain data on returns of the population of Newfoundland and Labrador. From the John Berry census of 1675, through to the first complete surviving nominal census, 1921, the MHA has compiled a listing of all the available information on population from 1650 onwards, from various record series.
• 28. Mercantile Records: The business records of over 50 mercantile establishments from many areas of Newfoundland.
• 29. Index to Newfoundland Captains: This index was compiled from data contained in the transcripts of the "Certificates of Vessel Registry for Newfoundland, 1820-1920". It is an alphabetical listing of all the captains whose names were entered on the certificates, with the name of the vessel served on and the date of its registry.
• 30. Index of Newfoundland Shipowners: This is a computer generated index from the transcripts of the Certificates of vessel registry for Newfoundland, 1820-1920, and consists of an alphabetical list of persons having shares in Newfoundland vessels. Information includes the name of the vessel, its official number, year and number of the registry, tonnage, the residence and occupation of each shipowner.
• 31. Irish Parish Records Collection, 1671-1900: Copies of the original registers of Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland parishes in the Irish counties of Cork, Clare, Derry, Kerry, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford. The main concentration is in from 1750-1880. The collection is indexed by parish.
• 32. Student Papers: Collections of over 2,000 research papers completed by graduate and undergraduate students in the course of their studies in Newfoundland history and geography. The majority of the papers are on community and family histories, other subjects include education, health, law, merchants, politics, religion, fishery etc..
• 33. A collection of personal diaries and journals, narratives, data on shipwrecks, directories, almanacs, ship registers, newspapers etc. also can provide a wide scope of information. .

Good Luck in your Search!!!!