The staff at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax want family historians to know they offer general genealogy research services, in addition to helping find immigration records.
The experienced researchers in the museum’s Scotiabank Family History Centre can help you in person or by email begin your family research, assist you with your genealogical brick walls, or point you in the right direction with your own research.
Hundreds of requests
Earlier this week, I spoke with Cara MacDonald, the reference services manager in the Scotiabank Family History Centre at the museum.
She told me about some of the hundreds of online requests, in English and French, she and her colleagues receive each year from Canadians and people around the world, who want to learn more about their ancestors in Canada.
One such request came from someone looking for an ancestor from Switzerland, who came to Canada in 1924. Using only online resources, the researchers found the ancestor’s immigration records, the farm where he worked, and even the relatives of the farmer.
Scope of research
There is no fee for general and genealogical inquiries. If you choose, there is an option to donate if you are just looking for information or tips.
Although Pier 21 became a port of entry in 1921, the centre has no immigration records. They do, however, help people request immigration documents from the Canadian government. If they help you locate a pre-1935 immigration record, there will be a $15 charge for a copy of the document.
The staff maintains a small library of books on multiculturalism and genealogy in the centre, but almost all of their research is conducted online, using free and subscription services.
The centre’s scope reaches beyond the years of Pier 21’s operation, from 1928 to 1971, with information on topics including migration, nautical history, waves of immigration to Canada, ethnic groups and genealogy. It has immigration records from 1925 to 1935 on microfilm and staff has access to arrival sources going back to 1865. Staff also has access to information on all ports of entry into Canada, not just Pier 21, and can search US seaports, such as New York and Boston.
On-site services
In the centre, the staff also works with visitors at computers to help them do their own research.
To learn more about the Scotiabank Family History Centre’s research services and how to submit an inquiry, visit their website. Make sure you take time to browse the menu items.
The museum itself is a gem! It’s so low-key, though, that I could have missed it. We were merely on a cruise that stopped in Halifax. I was deliriously happy when I noted it was in the same building as the port. And then to realize some of my ancestors came through this very place. I went into the research center, and the folks in there were lovely.
My husbands ancestors arrived in Canada in Nova Scotia about 1855-1860. They were David Morrison and Janet Wiley Morrison. They had been living in or near Glasgow, Scotland. This information came out of a court case in London with the neice’s name her having left for Nova Scotia.
Their daughter Jessie Forrester Morrison would have been with them, and perhaps other family members.