Friday 8 April 2016

A to Z Challenge - G



The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2016 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. The theme I chose is Genealogy Tips. At the end I will give a related post from my blog Genealogy: Beyond the BMD.






G is for Government


Most countries have a Gazette in which the Government publishes public notices.  These notices, besides regulations and declarations of war, include bankruptcy, dissolved partnerships, divorce, name changes and wills & probates to name a few.




During war time there may also be lists of of soldiers. When I use these keywords "military" with "Seale" I get 23 results. In Canada you will get results for militia, WWI and WWII. You can use filters to keep to certain dates.

To search the Gazette use keywords [name] and whatever it is you are looking for. 

Other Government publications are the Sessional Papers (or Parliamentary, Congressional, etc). There is not just mention of civil servants and wages, but also anyone who is paid by the government. I have found names of lighthouse keepers, loggers, masters & mates, customs officers, post masters, police, prison guards... the list is endless.  Also people who died in railroad accidents, murderers in the RCMP reports, accidental deaths and suicides.










3 comments:

  1. A useful reminder, Dianne, of a less obvious resource. Both the London Gazette and the Edinburgh Gazette (available online) have proved useful for my research, with details found of ancestors being declared bankrupt.

    Family History Fun

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have no Canadian ancestors, but reading this reminds me of other underused sources in the United States.
    Visiting from AtoZ
    Wendy at
    Jollett Etc.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Winners of Government contracts are also found in some Gazettes.

    ReplyDelete

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