tracing your canadian wwi ancestors
TRANSCRIPT
Tracing Your
Canadian WWI
Ancestors
Presented by May P. Chan
Prairie History Room, Regina
Public Library
November 15, 2014
© 2014
Agenda
Brief Introduction
Researching Your WWI Ancestors
General Research Tips
Case Study using primary records – e.g. CEF military files, regimental war diaries, military graves, maps and newspapers
Additional Bibliographic Resources
Additional Genealogical Research
Conclusion
Brief Introduction
World War I is also known as First World War or the Great War
Began July 28, 1914 (Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia)/August 4, 1914 (Britain and Belgium declares war on Germany) and ended on November 11, 1918
Estimated 9 million soldiers and 7 million civilians died in or as a result of the conflict
Approximately 66, 655 Canadians were killed and 172, 950 were wounded (Cox, 131)
About 19, 666 Canadian soldiers have no known grave (Cox, 131)
General Research Tips
1. Get as much information as you can about the individual you are researching:
• Full name of the individual
• Basic vitals (birthdate, birth year and birth place)
• Branch of Service—eg. Army, Air Force, Navy, etc.
2. Don’t forget to look beyond the individual’s military/personnel files! For example, look at regimental histories to find out where the regiment was assigned and what battles they fought in.
3. Always record and evaluate your sources!
Cenotaph for Guelph, ONphoto credit:
http://ancestorsatrest.com/cenotaph_records/guelph_cenotaph.shtml
Butts, Ed. “The Guelph Cenotaph: Names of the Fallen From the First
World War (1914-1918).” Orangeville, 15 June 2014.
http://tinyurl.com/khu4ll9. Accessed 6 November 2014.
Case StudyErnest Harry ANTILL
Name: Ernest Harry (Jr)
ANTILL
Born: 1876 in Hathern,
Leicestershire, [England]
Death: KIA August 15, 1917
- Fought in the 5th Battalion,
Saskatchewan Regiment
- Died at Hill 70
- He has no known grave
- Commemorated on the
Vimy Memorial
Source: The Saskatchewan Virtual
War Memorial (http://svwm.ca/)
What are my research steps???
Ernest Harry ANTILL’s military file
Attestation papers
Service File
War diaries and Unit Histories
Cemeteries and Battlefields
Other Military Records – depend largely on the individual’s service file
Other Genealogical Records
Canadian Genealogy Centre- Library and Archives Canada (LAC)
http://tinyurl.com/cangencentre
Great starting place for tracing
your Canadian military
ancestors!!!
Subject Guide to WWIhttp://tinyurl.com/ktwzy4k
Soldiers of the First World War: 1914-1918http://tinyurl.com/lac-cefdatabase
Link to the
full service
record!
Ernest Harry ANTILLAttestation Papers
Attestation Paper is the agreement that the individual signs saying he will serve in the
military. The document lists address, place of birth, occupation, next-of-kin, previous
military service and distinguishing physical characteristics.
Ernest Harry ANTILLService Record
Guide to help you read the service record: http://tinyurl.com/ocr86dx
Ernest Harry ANTILL’s military will
Ernest Harry ANTILL’s eligibility
for war medals
Other records found in the
Service File!
Surprising addition….
Letter found middle of the file
Dated January 29, 1991
Letter indicated that Ernest Harry ANTILL had four children
Letter writer was Ernest’s nephew, Leslie ANTILL, who was living in New Zealand at the time the letter was sent
War Diaries and Unit Histories
Service file only provides you with where and when the individual served and what happened
To understand why a unit was sent to a particular battlefield, you need to track down the regimental histories
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.c
a/archivianet/020152_e.html
War Diaries of the First World WarDatabase
War diaries can only be searched by unit name, date or by the year only
No full text search of the images
If you don’t know the specific unit’s name (e.g. Regina Rifles), start with the generic name of the unit (e.g. 5th
Battalion)
Some Notes on Using War Diaries
CEF authorized 260 numbered infantry battalions but only 52 battalions were sent to the battlefields – it helps to know what unit your ancestor fought in handy online guide:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_infantry_battalions_in_the_Canadian_Expeditionary_Force
Cox, 144-147: brief description about the organizational structure of the CEF with a 2 page chart with divisions included which battalions
Not all of the regimental diaries have been digitized!!! Depending on the regiment, you may need to plan a trip to Ottawa to view the microfilm or hire a researcher
Amount and level of detail of content in the war diaries vary greatly
Entry for 5th Battalion Infantry August 1917
Alternative Sources for Regimental Histories and General Information
Internet Archives (https://www.archives.org/details/texts) –some published regimental histories
Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org) – info on specific regiments
Websites on specific regiments
Don’t forget to check your local public library for published books!!!
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
http://www.cwgc.org/
Battles and Battlefields
Photo Source: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hill-70/
Don’t forget to look at books, exhibits and maps pertaining to specific battles and battlefields E.g. Hill 70
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hill_70
https://legionmagazine.com/en/2012/03/vimy-a-battle-remembered-hill-70-a-battle-forgotten/
Additional Military Resources
Library and Archives Canada’s Canadian Genealogy Centre (http://tinyurl.com/cangencentre) - FREE
Court Martials of the First World War (http://tinyurl.com/pagbknh) – FREE
Royal Canadian Navy Ledger Sheets 1910-1941 (http://tinyurl.com/nahjkna) – FREE
Ancestry.ca (www.ancestry.ca) - $ but free if using RPL’s Ancestry Library Edition database (in house database)
Queen’s Canadian Military Hospital Registers, 1914-1919
Ledgers of CEF Officers Transferring to Royal Flying Corps, 1915-1919
Additional Military Resources
Canadian Great War Project (biographical info, letters & diaries; http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com) –FREE
The National Archives (UK) (http://tinyurl.com/y7cjyng) – FREE
READ their subject guide as access to the military personnel records varies!!!
Military Resources continued…
Lives of the First World War (Imperial War
Museum) (military lists & stories;
http://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/) – FREE but
$ for premium content such as the military personnel files and UK census records
National Archives and Records Administration (USA) (http://www.archives.gov/research/military/) -FREE
Prisoners of the First World War, the ICRC Archives http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/
Select Bibliography
Military Records
Cox, Kenneth G. Call to Colours: Tracing Your Canadian Military Ancestors. Toronto, [ON]: Ontario Genealogical Society, Dundurn Press, c2011.
Wright, Glen. Canadians at War, 1914-1919: a Research guide to World War I Service Records. Milton, ON: Global Heritage Press, 2010.
“Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World War.” The Regimental Rogue (http://tinyurl.com/6q8vn84) – FREE
Select Bibliography continued
General
Pitsula, James M. For All We Have and Are: Regina and the Experience of the Great War. Winnipeg, MB: University of Manitoba Press, [2008].
First World War (multimedia; http://www.firstworldwar.com) –FREE
Europeana 1914-1918 (multimedia; http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en) - FREE
Additional Genealogical Information
What happened to the soldier’s family???
Census records
E.g. Ernest ANTILL’s case: 1916 Prairie census and the 1921 Canadian census as well as the 1920-1940 US federal censuses as it appears that Ernest’s widow, Eliza, moved to the US sometime in the 1920s
City directories – useful for tracing family members between census years
1916 Prairie Census – Ernest ANTILL
Ernest H ANTILL (age 36) living at 945 Haultain StreetWife: Eliza ANTILL (age 35)Children: Earnest W (age 7), Archebald H (age 5) and Trevor C (age 0)
1916 Henderson Directory for Regina
Photo credit: http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-
reg/image-image.aspx?id=1294#i1
1920 US Census - Eliza ANTILL
Eliza ANTILL (age 40) is living as a boarder in Aurora Ward 1, Kane, Illinois. She is listed with 2 of her children, Trevor (age 4) and Harry (age 2). She is widowed and living with the Thompson family (landlords). Mystery arising after looking at the 1916 Prairie census – what happened to her two older sons, Earnest W and Archebald H?
Additional Genealogical Information…continued
Immigration records
Passenger lists
Naturalization records
Websites and message boards
Antill website: www.antill.org.uk
Interesting factoid: Ernest ANTILL (father of Ernest Harry) ran a photography business in Hathern, England
Ebay: http://tinyurl.com/l4q4jd3
Newspapers
Newspapers
Digital versions of the Morning Leader (Leader Post) newspaper via news.google.com/newspapers
Tip: Begin to look about 2 weeks (average length of time for family to have received word from the battlefront) after the death date of the soldier for the death notice
New newspaper digitization project: Saskatchewan Historic Newspapers Online (SHNO) -http://sabnewspapers.usask.ca/
Conclusion
Broaden your research – try to understand the context by looking at the regimental histories or the specific battles
Don’t forget that every soldier left family members behind – what happened to them?
Consider and contribute what you have found out about your WWI ancestor(s) to museums, archives, and libraries Saskatchewan Military Museum –
www.saskatchewanmilitarymuseum.com
Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial – www.svwm.ca
