Thanks to all who have responded. Looks like nobody has used them or even thinks they will be any good. I have looked at many of the sites suggested and it seems that you need to be there in person to see some of the records and order copies or have someone, paid or otherwise, do the research on your behalf. Curiously many of these sites have sponsored links to the commercial data providers that I was asking about! Here in Forfar I could probably find the sort of things I am looking for by spending a few hours looking through old newspapers in the library and/or taking 5 minutes to walk from there to the burial records office ... both of which I have done successfully. The things I would like to know, with one exception, are not urgent and I could probably find all the information in similar establishments in central Toronto and "the Junction". I have a couple of relatives in Toronto but they are fairly new to family research and do not have all the time in the world to browse through microfilm and old record books. One advantage I find in doing this sort of thing in person is that I am already well acquainted with the general history of that branch of the family and would recognise names, places and happenings that may be of significance where a stranger might pass over them. So it looks like the general consensus is to give these data providers a miss, try some of the links and hints various people have suggested and, if all else fails, have another holiday in Canada this autumn! Thanks to all who responded. Cheers, Bruce D

Most of the Vital Records services, end up giving you index only, not full records.... They are not worth much. I used Genweb for Ontario, and found all the help I could use. I was searching Ontario, and they have a website with most of graves online. I then asked for help with monument inscriptions...and found books on most areas/villages, which filled in my records. I usually get interlibrary loans, or purchase online at add-all. Most university catalogs are online, where I could search for books by town, township and county. Genwebs are on providence/state level, then county. All in both U.S. and canada are laced with volunteer organizations and individuals and lists like these. Save your money, the indexes don't give full date or either parent. You'll end up chasing your tail/tale.... use the good people who care about your making progress, not making a buck! Mary in Oregon I can help with Ontario, or the National archive as far as helpful hits but I've not worked with Alberta. ancestry.com's canadian records, give you the actual document...money much better spent. Now if they'd only start with south africa! In a message dated 2/5/2009 1:54:16 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, caro@sasktel.net writes: Hello Bruce, I would recommend that you try to find your info on your own by writing to the government agencies responsible for the registration of Vital records, before paying money to a search agency. They probably won't have any better luck than you at getting info. If you are unsure where to start first, I would recommend having a look at the Canada GenWeb site. From there you can find a link to all provincial GenWebs. Most of the provinces have email lists just like this one, who may point you in directions other than Government agencies. We are usually pretty helpful folk as well-:) We may be able to find links to obituaries or online cemetery sites etc. A google search should give you some places to start. May I ask what part of Canada you are interested in, and about what time frame? Please feel free to contact me off list if you wish at caro@sasktel.net Heather SK Canada Bruce Dorward wrote: > I would like to look up records of my great-grandfather's relatives in Canada and their decendants which means finding BMD records outside the period covered by, say, Ancestry on-line. I need to get as far as the late 1950s at least. Other than going to a public record office or library with microfilm copies in Canada there seems to be no other way of getting this information. > > A Google search brings up several US based organisations that claim to be able to access public records, legally and confidentially, for a remarkably low fee. I tried the "sampler" on one such web-site (OnlinePublicRecordsSearch.com) and the search engine produced a report saying that some considerable amount of records information was available ... but naturally I would have to pay the subscription to see it. Actually I would have been happy to know his address at the time of his death and where he was buried but anything else, such as the date of his divorce, would have been interesting. > > Has anyone on the list ever used such a service? If so were the results worth having and were there any unforseen problems? > > Cheers, > Bruce D > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ANGUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ANGUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message **************Great Deals on Dell Laptops. Starting at $499. (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1217883258x1201191827/aol?redir=http://ad.doubleclick. net/clk;211531132;33070124;e)

Hello Bruce, I would recommend that you try to find your info on your own by writing to the government agencies responsible for the registration of Vital records, before paying money to a search agency. They probably won't have any better luck than you at getting info. If you are unsure where to start first, I would recommend having a look at the Canada GenWeb site. From there you can find a link to all provincial GenWebs. Most of the provinces have email lists just like this one, who may point you in directions other than Government agencies. We are usually pretty helpful folk as well-:) We may be able to find links to obituaries or online cemetery sites etc. A google search should give you some places to start. May I ask what part of Canada you are interested in, and about what time frame? Please feel free to contact me off list if you wish at caro@sasktel.net Heather SK Canada Bruce Dorward wrote: > I would like to look up records of my great-grandfather's relatives in Canada and their decendants which means finding BMD records outside the period covered by, say, Ancestry on-line. I need to get as far as the late 1950s at least. Other than going to a public record office or library with microfilm copies in Canada there seems to be no other way of getting this information. > > A Google search brings up several US based organisations that claim to be able to access public records, legally and confidentially, for a remarkably low fee. I tried the "sampler" on one such web-site (OnlinePublicRecordsSearch.com) and the search engine produced a report saying that some considerable amount of records information was available ... but naturally I would have to pay the subscription to see it. Actually I would have been happy to know his address at the time of his death and where he was buried but anything else, such as the date of his divorce, would have been interesting. > > Has anyone on the list ever used such a service? If so were the results worth having and were there any unforseen problems? > > Cheers, > Bruce D > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ANGUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > >

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: chirpytheduck Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5468.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Have you asked on www.theshoppie.com ? Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

On 5/2/09 11:58, "Bruce Dorward" <personal@dorrit41jbd.bbmax.co.uk> wrote: > Actually I would have been happy to know his address at the time of his death > and where he was buried but anything else, such as the date of his divorce, > would have been interesting. Address at time of death informant and cause of death are al on a UK Death Cert .. Get this from the ONS online for £7 (pounds) including postage! With address you can contact the local Cemetery records (Bereavement service) at the Council Robin -- Robin and Margaret McEwen-King Lanark Scotland

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: class54450 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5509.1.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I believe that David's death was in Kinwhirrie, Kirriemuir (spelling different at various times) Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: class54450 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5509.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Thank you very much for your information. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

I don't have many Canadians to dig up, but what I've found on-line is spotty. I believe that for much of the data, someone would have to visit the offices in question, which doesn't come cheap. This is compounded by the fact that many of the stats are held provincially rather than federally. Only older records are on - line and which varies from province to province. I'd be very careful of services based in the US because they tend to focus only on the US, in spite of what they say. However, here are some possibilities for help: 1. The roots web lists for Canada - I've found people generally as helpful as they are on this one. 2. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html. <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html> Library and Archives Canada. It has the censuses, some immigration and emigration info and others. It also tells you who has what and how to contact them. http://www.islandnet.com/~cghl/ <http://www.islandnet.com/%7Ecghl/> A site which has links on the side to genealogical groups, sites etc by province. Alison Vancouver PS I've just run a public records search on the site you mentioned for a relative who was born in England in 1882, spent a few years in BC prior to WWI and died in 1918. They have his contact information, apparently! angus-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2009 11:58:13 -0000 > From: "Bruce Dorward" <personal@dorrit41jbd.bbmax.co.uk> > Subject: [ANGUS] Companies offering "access to public records" > To: "Angus List" <Angus@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <393706D1935A4207A40CF9404612796F@LENOVO933EDC27> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > I would like to look up records of my great-grandfather's relatives in Canada and their decendants which means finding BMD records outside the period covered by, say, Ancestry on-line. I need to get as far as the late 1950s at least. Other than going to a public record office or library with microfilm copies in Canada there seems to be no other way of getting this information. > > A Google search brings up several US based organisations that claim to be able to access public records, legally and confidentially, for a remarkably low fee. I tried the "sampler" on one such web-site (OnlinePublicRecordsSearch.com) and the search engine produced a report saying that some considerable amount of records information was available ... but naturally I would have to pay the subscription to see it. Actually I would have been happy to know his address at the time of his death and where he was buried but anything else, such as the date of his divorce, would have been interesting. > > Has anyone on the list ever used such a service? If so were the results worth having and were there any unforseen problems? > > Cheers, > Bruce D > > >

Bruce: In Canada the provinces are each responsible for their own public records. They vary in the period required before disclosure. Here in BC they are 100 years for births, and 25 or 30 for deaths - longer for marriages. I've forgotten precisely since I haven't done a search in some years. In BC they have all been indexed. Other provinces, I have found, are not so accommodating. Anything in the BC records I can search - get the film information, and go down to the Provincial Archives here in Victoria - pull the film and make a copy. I pay for the photocopy. I have offered to do that for anyone who needs BC records. Victoria is the provincial capital, and anyone would have to come here, or pay to have the archives provide the documentation. The indexes (indices) are found through the Province of BC website in vital statistics . They are not too badly hidden. I suggest that you go whichever provincial website you need and find out there how you can obtain the records, although I think you may have to get a little older before you can get the late '50s. If it's in BC, I'll be glad to help any way I can. Mac Carpenter > > Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2009 11:58:13 -0000 > From: "Bruce Dorward" <personal@dorrit41jbd.bbmax.co.uk> > Subject: [ANGUS] Companies offering "access to public records" > To: "Angus List" <Angus@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <393706D1935A4207A40CF9404612796F@LENOVO933EDC27> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > I would like to look up records of my great-grandfather's relatives in Canada and their decendants which means finding BMD records outside the period covered by, say, Ancestry on-line. I need to get as far as the late 1950s at least. Other than going to a public record office or library with microfilm copies in Canada there seems to be no other way of getting this information. > > A Google search brings up several US based organisations that claim to be able to access public records, legally and confidentially, for a remarkably low fee. I tried the "sampler" on one such web-site (OnlinePublicRecordsSearch.com) and the search engine produced a report saying that some considerable amount of records information was available ... but naturally I would have to pay the subscription to see it. Actually I would have been happy to know his address at the time of his death and where he was buried but anything else, such as the date of his divorce, would have been interesting. > > Has anyone on the list ever used such a service? If so were the results worth having and were there any unforseen problems? > > Cheers, > Bruce D > > ------------------------------ > > >

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: IHall6669 Surnames: Fyffe, Rait, Anderson, Mitchell Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5509.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: David Fyffe and Helen Rait had 10 children, of whom John was the oldest, but I have no additional information on him at all. David, the father, died 23 January 1865 in Kinguherrie (?), Kirriemuir, age 82, farmer, parents Alexander Fyffe, farmer, deceased, and Betty Fyffe MS Rait, deceased. (The informant was his son in law, James Anderson, so I am a little suspect about the mother's maiden surname.) Evidently Helen was still living at this time, but I don't have any death information for her. David and Helen's daughter Susan Anderson died 22 August 1864, and their daughter Margery married Robert Mitchell on 9 December 1864. Irene Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: class54450 Surnames: Fyffe, Stewart, Dalgety, Raitt Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5509/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Does anyone have the death information for the above couple? John b. Feb 1814 to David and Helen Raitt Fyffe Elizabeth b. May 1814 to William and Agnes Dalgety Stewart If anyone can go back to information on William and Agnes Dalgety Stewart that would also be appreciated. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: class54450 Surnames: sandeman millar Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5327.1.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Irene, do you have any information on a William Sandeman who married Margaret Millar (I don't know when). I know of one child, James Millar Sandeman b. 13 Jul 1847 in Kirriemuir. Thank you. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

I would like to look up records of my great-grandfather's relatives in Canada and their decendants which means finding BMD records outside the period covered by, say, Ancestry on-line. I need to get as far as the late 1950s at least. Other than going to a public record office or library with microfilm copies in Canada there seems to be no other way of getting this information. A Google search brings up several US based organisations that claim to be able to access public records, legally and confidentially, for a remarkably low fee. I tried the "sampler" on one such web-site (OnlinePublicRecordsSearch.com) and the search engine produced a report saying that some considerable amount of records information was available ... but naturally I would have to pay the subscription to see it. Actually I would have been happy to know his address at the time of his death and where he was buried but anything else, such as the date of his divorce, would have been interesting. Has anyone on the list ever used such a service? If so were the results worth having and were there any unforseen problems? Cheers, Bruce D

Does anyone have in their family lines anyone who migrated from Forfarshire/Kincardineshire/Aberdeenshire to Ulster before 1730? Some contemporaries estimated that a 100,000 Scots migrated to Ulster 1690-1730. Does anyone know of any books that look at where all these migrants came from within Scotland and how it was organised? So far the only books I have found focus on what happened to the Scots when they arrived in Ulster and the subsequent emigtaion of many to what is now the USA. The reason for asking is that I am trying to prove that the James OFFICER who appears in Carnmoney in County Antrim in 1710/1720, and then emigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1740s/50s, is related to the Kincardineshire OFFICERs. It is possible that his father Alexander migrated to Ulster with some of his sons in the previous 20 years. I am assuming that he must have had some contacts with people with knowledge of Antrim e.g. neighbours, relatives, landlord's contacts, minister, etc, rather than just going off on his own. If there is a cluster of folk from a couple of adjacent parishes it might point me in the direction of estate papers in the National Archives, Aberdeen University Archives, etc., that could help. I have the excellent book 'Researching Scots-Ulster Ancestors' that helps in identifying some sources in PRONI, Belfast, if I get a chance to go there. Thanks John

>From my experience with trying to get records from Canada that are not online. This site has the best info http://genealogy.about.Com/library/blvitalca.htm The only ones that I have needed and received so far are from Alberta and I had to go through a registry contact and Alberta is very safety conscious about releasing BMD. Unless you are a very close relative records will not be sent unless it has been more than 100 years since birth, 50 years since death and 75 years for a marriage. They cost $20 USD. I personally would stay away from those places that say they can get any record. You will find that you will pay for the subscription then you pay more (usually about double) to get the same records you could have got through a registry contact. Save the subscription fee and deal directly with the provincial government contacts. You could also try RAOGK link listed below. They have volunteers world wide. Kathie In Montana    Cascade County Volunteer for: Random Acts Of Genealogical Kindness http://WWW.raogk.org/

Lorna said, inter alia: > I know that their surname was spelt HAGGIE and not >> HEGGIE early in the 18th Century *** This is a wrong understanding both of Scottish surnames and the matter of "correct" spelling. There are two distinct surnames, Haggie and Heggie (SEE Black's "Surnames of Scotland"); and the question of spelling is a perception of modern practice. In the past, spelling was written according to how a name sounded, and so you could get a number of different spellings for the same surname at the same time, sometimes within the same document! For Heggie you can get : Hegy, Heagie, Hegie, Heagy, Heegie, and Higgie. Regards, Gordon Johnson.

Hi Listers, I am trying to help a Family member find a relative by the name of Gwen LaBorde. Would anyone on the list have this name in their Tree. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Wilma - Canada

http://www.old-maps.co.uk/ . ----- Original Message ----- From: <gc-gateway@rootsweb.com> To: <ANGUS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 1:26 PM Subject: [ANGUS] Map of Forfarshire > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > > Author: class54450 > Surnames: > Classification: queries > > Message Board URL: > > http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5507/mb.ashx > > Message Board Post: > > Several years ago a kind person provided me with a website for an outline > map of the Forfarshire area of Scotland. It listed the parishes and was > somewhat interactive. Unfortunately I have since had a computer crash and > cannot remember the website. Does anyone have this information? > > TU > > Important Note: > The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you > would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link > above and respond on the board. > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ANGUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: allanjp Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5508.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I must have missed the free searches as this looks like the same commercial site that you've previously spammed rootsweb with. I sincerely hope no-one is taken in by this. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: class54450 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5507.2.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately that's not the one. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.