There was lots of excitement on social media yesterday as news travelled like wildfire about the Provincial Archives of Alberta’s online release of the index of Alberta’s civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths.
You can now browse the indexes for births to 1897, marriages to 1942, and deaths to 1966. Note that these are indexes, not the actual records. But think of the time you save by looking at these indexes from the comfort of your home, instead of travelling to an archival centre to view microfilm images. From these indexes alone, genealogists are discovering the year their ancestor was born.
Genealogists can thank blogger Shannon Switzer Cherkowski for sharing the news on her blog, Shannon’s Research Services, and for writing her guide.
Surprisingly, the provincial archives did not announce the release of this index. On a regular basis, I check the What’s New section the provincial archives’ website, and news about the civil registrations wasn’t there. If it was, it wasn’t obvious.
Thanks Gail – I’ve already discovered more than 20 records of interest to me from the comfort of my home office in Fremantle, Western Australia.
Nice! I’ve been looking, without success yet, for some of my more adventurous ancestors who travelled west to Alberta. I’m thinking they didn’t give birth, marry, or die there.
Hi Gail,
Thank you for this update – Very exciting! – I’ve added the link to my list of Vital Stats – http://ukcdngenealogy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/birth-marriage-death-records.html
Hi Gail, thank you for submitting this, just ordered my grands marriage registration. Am excited for this being on line now.
Grace
Great news!
I am doing the ancestor detective hunt for what may be the most elusive ancestor I’ve ever (failed to) meet. Sometimes I wonder if he deliberately left no trace – the last fact I have for Mr. George William Lamoureux is that he sired a daughter in 1928. The family story is he died in a car accident ~1930. But where? This man ranged over BC, AB, SK, ND, and WA. I have the rare opportunity to visit Edmonton and the PAA tomorrow, and I’m hunting down his (supposed) widow’s family in classic FAN research style, hoping to find a clue. Many thanks for the extra tips on the PAA!