Village Squire, 1980-06, Page 5BY SUSANNE JONES
As our modern society becomes increasingly fragmented and
frenetic, many people are looking towards the past to gain some
sense of order and perspective. One of the most personally
satisfying approaches to history can be found in tracing one's
own family heritage. Most people's knowledge of their ancestry
goes back no further than two or three generations, and the task
of workidg out a family tree may seem like an intimidating
project, but with some good advice and assistance from area
experts, family history can be a most rewarding pastime.
There are a number of reliable sources who can help you in
your search. Many communities have started local Historical
Societies, some of which have gone on to form archives to house
records and documents.
One such thriving operation is the Perth County Archives,
located in the basement of the Court House in Stratford, under
the direction of James Anderson. Begun in 1972 on a
government grant, the archives has steadily expanded to include
a great deal of essential genealogical information. About 60 per
cent of all their research requests are related to family history
and that number is constantly increasing. Research materials
available here include county and city directories from 1863 to
the present, which list people alphabetically by name, by lot and
section number in the county, and by trade in the city. Many
people who have completed their family trees donate a copy to
the archives so that others may benefit from their information.
There is also a cross index of all genealogical inquiries since
1972, and Mr. Anderson can often put people in touch with
distant relations.
CROSS REFERENCING
Even signatures in the archives' guest book can be a source of
linking people through a cross referencing with other materials
such as property deeds, scrapbooks, and city assessment books
dating from 1857, which list every householder who operated a
sink.
Summer visitors to Stratford from the United States drop into
the archives in search of their Canadian ancestors, many of
whom where Irish settlers who moved to the American midwest
in the 1870's. Among the archives' papers is a rather touching
letter written in 1883 by an Irishwoman named Quirk, who was
pleading with her sister and brother-in-law to return from
Michigan because she was lonely and had the ague, or summer
sickness. The Quirk family is not listed in city directories after
this date, so presumably the lady joined her relatives,giving her
story a happier ending.
Other documents located here include registers of land
transactions, biographical data from family Bibles, photographs
and newspaper clippings, and efforts of local historians such as
the late Lillian Morley from Milverton, whose county history of
the last fifty years still exists in manuscript form in the archives'
collection. Women's Institutes have also made a valuable
contribution to community history through their Tweedsmuir
books, a project that has been undertaken by each local chapter.
A branch of the County Archives exists in Listowel, and one of
their tasks has been the indexing of births, deaths, and
marriages in the Listowel Banner dating from 1860. These
records are kept in the Banner office for anyone interested in
using them. Listowel also has its own historical group, The
Queen's Bush Society, and many other communities have started
similar organizations. The Avon Valley Historical Society is the
fourth group in the history of Stratford, and has a special
genealogical committee who help search out answers for people
who inquire about family heritage. Many society members find
rewarding correspondence and friendships which develop from
these inquiries.
PROFESSIONAL GENEALOGIST
One of Jim Anderson's many contacts is J. Mervyn Milne, a
professional genealogist who lives in St. Mary's. Mr. Milne has
researched much of his community's genealogy, and has done
extensive research on the southern part of the county. His
methods have provided a model for the Perth Historical Board,
who plan to continue the work in the remainder of the county.
The Archives is open on weekdays, and Mr. Anderson will be
happy to assist your research or refer you through the proper
channels, which might be to Ed Phelps, director of the UWO
Regional Collection located on the second floor of Western's
Weldon Library.
Mr. Phelps attributes the resurgent interest in genealogy to
the desire to compensate for the insecurity of contemporary life,
and also the television show "Roots." The regional collection
still receives an average of 500 letters and phone calls every time
the series is rerun.
SCHOOL CENSUS RECORDS
Some of the sources you may want to explore at the collection
are microfilms of area and local newspapers, assessment and tax
collection rolls, and municipal papers for towns in Middlesex,
Huron, Lambton, Oxford and Elgin counties. There are also
School Census Books from 1885 to 1949 which list the children,
their age and parentage, and Board of Education records and
school registers for Lambton, Middlesex, and some of Elgin
county. The latter are a valuable genealogical tool, offering
students' ages, schooling and teachers' services. Microfilms of
censuses for 1842 up to 1881 are also available. No census taken
since 1881 has been released because of laws of confidentiality;
the United States, however, has released its census for 1900.
Maps designating land ownership, and city and county
directories are all valuable, and the latter are often microfilmed
and circulated in conjunction with local libraries to avoid
unnecessary duplication of records. If material which comes to
Mr. Phelps' attention is more appropriately housed by a local
source, such as a museum, he believes in referring it to its
proper location.
Anyone interested in genealogy should look towards
preserving the present as well as searching out the past. Ed
Phelps warns that we shouldn't assume that all information will
be available in the future.
Laws of privacy keep many records from public access, and
because there is an ever-increasing amount of documentation on
individuals, some information is only kept for a limited amount of
time. This is true of drivers' licences, for example, which are
now preserved for only 20 years.
A Toronto newspaper has predicted by 1990 from one-third to
one-half of all children under the age of sixteen will be raised in
single parent or broken homes. This further fragmentation of the
family unit will cause added problems for genealogical research,
so it is wise to document your family thoroughly now, recording
as much information as possible for future. generations.
Usually a knowledge of at least 50 years of your family's past is
required to obtain results. You should also know, or learn, the
proper research methods, in order to save time and money. For
example, few people would be aware of problems of jurisdiction
which would place a will from North Easthope in Simcoe because
the surrogate court was once located there. Archivists can point
you in the proper direction, and if you don't wish to do the work
yourself they can recommend professional genealogists or
graduate students you can hire. The people at the UWO regional
collection spend between one half hour to an hour on each letter
dealing with family history, and their services, like the County
Archives, are free of charge. Mr. Phelps and his staff also send
out a covering letter to answer queries, which refers people to
the sources most likely to be of help in each particular search.
ONTARIO GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
One of the most valuable mines of information is the local
branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, located in London,
and serving Middlesex and Elgin counties. The London chapter
previously served Huron County as well; a branch has now been
opened in that area. The parent branch of the Society was formed
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JUNE 1980 PG. 3