When will the 1921 census be released?

The 1921 census is expected to be released to Library & Archives Canada on June 2, 2013. However there's no date set for when the LAC will allow public access to the census though it's presumed to be sometime later this year.

John Reid's "Anglo-Celtic Connections" provides excellent updates on the status of the 1921 census.

We have found a relative who emigrated to Canada from England in 1904. Both parents and two siblings died before 1921. There were three girls left. We have trawled through all the records we have access to and also newspapers but can find no trace of them. One of their brothers who died we believe was adopted.Could you point me in the right direction in trying to find these three young girls?

If the children were minors when their last parent died there may be court records.  While adoptions were possible in that era they were still rare and mostly private.

 

It's also possible the children were placed with living relations - did anyone else emigrate or is it possible they could they have returned to England?

 

Later this year the 1921 Canadian census will be transferred to Library & Archives Canada, once they release it for public viewing it may provide a few more clues.

My uncle was taken to Canada in 1914 as a Barnardo boy. He died in 1931 in a road accident. What records would have been kept about him during his life (he always worked on a farm) and where can I find them.

Beyond the usual records that would apply to any person who lived in England & Ontario (birth, marriage, death, newspaper, etc), there might be a passenger list showing when he emigrated to Canada as well as records kept by Barnardo's. Besides caring for the children in England, Barnardo's may have kept record of their time in Canada until they reached legal age.

Barnardo's Family History Service

Library & Archives Canada Home Children Database

Thanks to Marj Kohli for her assistance.

Are there online, directories for trades & professions for the period 1920-1944 for Ontario?

Directories known to be online are linked from our links page (if readers know of any others please leave a comment).

Some directories are available to search in person at Library & Archives Canada but for most you will have to visit a library in the area of research or have someone visit on your behalf.

The Toronto Public Library's Ask A Librarian service will search three years of Toronto directories per request.

I would like to find a sibling placed for adoption. How would I go about locating this individual?

The first step for anyone seeking a sibling or child placed for adoption in Ontario is the website Access to Adoption Records Act maintained by the government. From there you can apply to the Adoption Disclosure Registry. This registry exists to bring together adoptees and birth relations and is free to use.

While awaiting a match, if the adoptee was placed through the Children's Aid Society you can apply for non-identifying information. There are also numerous internet sites set up for this type of search where you can post your information and hope the adoptee sees it and gets in touch. Be sure to also seek out local adoption groups (such as Parent Finders) for advice and support.

I'm looking for 1924 Coronor records from Cardiff Township, Haliburton, County. The records are not in Ontario Archives or Haliburton East records at Wilberforce, Haliburton or Minden. Can you advise were I might look next?

[From Anonymous] www.serviceontario.ca, 1-800-461-2156 or 416-325-8305. Cost $22., just received coroner's & doctor's report on deceased relative from Eagle Lake Ont!

Where would one find records of the "family passengers" of canadian soliders marrying in England and returning to Ontario after ww1?

[From Cathy] -- You should check the Passenger Lists of ships from England to Canada. You could try http://www.ingeneas.com/ingeneas/index.html or http://www.findmypast.com

My maternal grandfather came to Toronto in 1927 by boat from either Hamburg, Germany or Marseilles, France. Where would he have landed? How would he get to Toronto?

From Anonymous -- Assuming that he entered Canada through a Canadian port, it would have been Halifax during the winter months, or Quebec City during the rest of the year. Passengers rarely stayed on the boat beyond Quebec City - it was far faster to go the rest of the way by train. If you can find the passenger list, the railway would likely be identified, as tickets were to the final destination. If he was not from the UK, his port of entry might be shown on his citizenship record, if it still survives. (Some still do, while for others only an index card remains. You can request a copy of the file through Access to Information from Citizenship and Immigration). As well, if he ever entered the US through the Niagara Region at any point up until the late 1940s, there may be clues on the US Border Crossing records, which you can access through Ancestry.ca.

In 1918 Why did a person have to carrie a CANADA Registration Board card? What are the numbers for in the top right hand corner for?

The Canada Registration Board was established in 1918 to compile information about individuals for the purpose of citizenship, pensions, or other important things. All Canadians were required to register (think of it much like today's Social Insurance), and the information compiled prior to 1940 is available only to the registered person. The National Registration of 1940 was the first to be available for search by anyone willing to pay a fee.

The number on the top right would likely be this person's registration number.

My wifes father was sent to Canada, under the "HOME CHILDREN", banner it appears.that was in 1921-22 when he was 14-15. My wife said he never talked of his parents. We have no idea who sent him to Canada and why. He ended up at the LALLY farm in Perth. Is there a way of tracking his arrival and other details. The national archives have only completed their work up to 1916.

LAC offers an online database of home children who arrived in Canada between 1869-1930.

The Young Immigrants To Canada website should provide more guidance. Good luck!

Can anyone suggest how best to confirm a 1921 out-of-wedlock birth to now-deceased parents as a result of an adulterous domestic cohabitation in the Port Colborne-Humberstone area?

Birth records for 1921 are still protected under the Privacy Act. To access these records either the person whose birth is in question, their legal representative, or someone who can prove they are next-of-kin would have to apply to the Office of the Registrar General. Or wait until 2018 when the 1921 birth registrations will be released for public viewing.

[From Cathy] It is not clear from your question if the baby in question was put up for adoption. If the child was, then it will be a different answer as the name of the child would then be completely different to that of the parents - that child would have the adoptive name instead. If the child was not put up for adoption, then that child would have the mother's surname, not the father's surname. You would search as you would for any person with that surname and date. However, if adoption was involved, I would recommend going to adoption reunion sites instead such as http://www.canadianadopteesregistry.org which has adoptions dating back to the 1920's. It is not comprehensive as only people who voluntarily choose to post the adoptions appear. 1921 is when the Adoption Act of Ontario came into force, so it depends if the adoption (if there was one) occurred before April of that year - it makes a difference as to how to search. It could have been a guardianship if it was before April If you think there could have been a guardianship, then you go to the Ontario Archives (there are no adoption records there). Go to this web page, scroll down to section 8 and following the instructions there on searching.

I have a grandmother who was born in 1921 in Ontario Canada, but I don't know which town. I have her name and month/year (April 1921) of birth but that's it. I think she died in the early 1980s, but again do not know where. I'm not even sure where she is buried. Where can I get more information on her that may help me get further than her name?

For *any* suspected Ontario burials start with OCFA
[From Forebears Research] -- Buy her birth certificate from Thunder Bay. Then use the correct version of her name to try for marriage in Ohio, or check US border crossing films for her parents whose names will appear on her birth certificate. If she died in the US, search the SSDI.

Where can i find information about a gt.uncle who emigrated to canada in the 1920's. He lived in Toronto and worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The Canadian Pacific Railway has an archives in Montreal and they will send you records for employees. I received my grandfathers records from them.
Canadian Pacific Limited
Windsor Station
P.O. Box 6042, Station A
Montreal, PQ H3C 3E4
Archivist is Stephen Lyons [514-395-6962]
(From Marj Kohli)

Passenger lists at the National Archives are now indexed between 1925-1935. The database is is now available online at the National Archives site. Follow this link or go to www.archives.ca and click on ArchiviaNet, and look for it on the list of databases. Earlier records are in the process of being indexed, but it may be some time before they're ready. Also there is info available on railway employees - Althea Douglas has a guide book entitled "Canadian Railway Records: A Guide for Genealogists". (From Suzanne Schaller)

Where would you look for the names of children born, in previous marraige between 1909-1920

Newspapers. Birth Records are not publicly available for this time period. Assuming you know the names of the parents (specifically the father's surname) and an approximate area of where they were living at that time, check all newspapers in that area for any child born with that surname. You might also look for an obituary for one or both parents in case the children were listed as pre-deceased or survivors.

2010 Update: Birth Records are now available up to 1912 (1913 in May 2011) and the 1911 census is also available.

What were the requirements for citizenship in 1910-1920? Specifically, how soon after immigrating could someone begin the process, and how long would it take?

Canadian Citizenship wasn't established until 1947. Prior to that time, any British subject (those born in the UK, Canada, Australia, etc) was able to travel freely between British colonies without documentation. Those immigrating from other countries were naturalized, something they could apply for after living in Canada for a minimum of three years. For more information about this please see links