FamilySearch’s new British Columbia database holds more than expected

Update: Dave Obee, genealogist, author, and editor-in-chief of the ‘Victoria Colonist’ in British Columbia, corrected the information about this database after reading the blog post below. According to him, the description provided by FamilySearch is not correct.

He said, “These clippings are from the ‘Victoria Daily Times,’ not from the ‘Victoria Times.’ It is not correct to say that the ‘Victoria Times’ was also known as the ‘Victoria Weekly Times’ and the ‘Victoria Daily Times.’ That is simply not true. The ‘Victoria Daily Times’ was founded as a daily newspaper on June 9, 1884, and was renamed the ‘Victoria Times’ on Nov. 8, 1971. The ‘Victoria Weekly Times’ was an additional publication that carried a collection of local stories from the previous week’s daily newspapers.” 

At first glance, FamilySearch’s new database, British Columbia, Victoria Times Birth, Marriage and Death Notices, 1901-1939, does not appear exciting unless you have ancestors whose birth, marriage or death notice was published in the Victoria Times newspaper in British Columbia. Or so I thought.

I did my usual search for Dever and was quite surprised to find a 1926 obituary. I was even more surprised to find a Fyvie who died in 1917 in France, possibly in battle, and another who married in 1939. These are two surnames that rarely appear in record collections.

Birth, marriage and death notices from the Victoria Times were glued to cards that note the newspaper name, page number, and publication date.

This is a collection that may provide some unexpected discoveries even if you don’t know any ancestors who lived in Victoria between 1901 and 1939. I found a Young Jim Soo, originally from China, who died in Victoria in 1917 after living only three days in the city. Prior to that, he had lived in Ladysmith, BC for 20 years.

Searchable database
The collection contains 57,993 records. These records are newspaper clippings that were pasted onto cards and arranged chronologically. The date (year, month, day) and page number appear on each card, making it a terrific resource for genealogists, especially those who like to cite their sources.

The database is searchable by name, but it appears only the names of the key players, that is, the subject(s) of the notice and perhaps parents. For example, the Times reported that Mr. G.H. Peaker played the wedding marches at the Dennis-Allan wedding, but a search for Peaker did not find that specific notice/card.

The Victoria Times newspaper was also known as the Victoria Weekly Times and Victoria Daily Times.