Family history research is much more than collecting names and dates. It’s also learning about social history and historical events that may have affected our ancestors’ lives and the decisions they made.
That’s why a series of booklets on the Canadian Historical Association’s website can be a bijoux for family historians whose relatives immigrated to Canada.
Over the years, the association has produced 39 booklets about immigrant groups who came to Canada. The booklets vary in length from about 25 to 50 pages.
All are free to read online, download and print on the Canadian Historical Association’s website. Each booklet is available in English and French.
The first four booklets, published in 1982, are about the Scottish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Polish in Canada. Subsequent booklets include East Indians, West Indians, Jews, Acadians, Hungarians, Italians, Belgians, and Filipinos.
The most recent booklet, The Enslavement of Africans in Canada, was published in 2022.
The goal is to reach 40 booklets.
Since Canada has about 200 ethnic groups, there is plenty more to write.
