m (Text replacement - "\{\{(FHL)" to "{{FSC") |
m (Text replacement - "=FS Library book" to "=FS Catalog book") |
||
| (4 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
}} | }} | ||
==Introduction == | |||
You will need some understanding of the historical events that affected your family and the records about them. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends may help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns. Records of these events, such as land and military documents, may mention your family. | You will need some understanding of the historical events that affected your family and the records about them. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends may help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns. Records of these events, such as land and military documents, may mention your family. | ||
Your ancestors’ lives will be more interesting if you learn about the history they may have been part of. For example, in a history you might learn about the events that occurred the year your great-grandparents were married. | Your ancestors’ lives will be more interesting if you learn about the history they may have been part of. For example, in a history you might learn about the events that occurred the year your great-grandparents were married. | ||
==Brief History== | |||
*The area now known as British Columbia is home to First Nations groups that have a deep history with a significant number of indigenous languages. There are more than '''200 First Nations''' in BC. Contact with Europeans brought a series of devastating epidemics of diseases from Europe the people had no immunity to.[38] The result was a dramatic population collapse, culminating in the 1862 Smallpox outbreak in Victoria that spread throughout the coast. First Nations were forcibly relocated onto reserves. By the 1930s, British Columbia had over 1500 reserves. | |||
*The arrival of Europeans began around the mid-18th century, as '''fur traders''' entered the area to harvest sea otters. The explorations of James Cook in 1778 and George Vancouver in 1792–93 established British jurisdiction over the coastal area north and west of the Columbia River. Because of the Napoleonic Wars, there was little British action on its claims in the region until later. The establishment of trading posts under the auspices of the '''North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)''', effectively established a permanent British presence in the region. | |||
*The westward extension of American exploration claimed the southern Columbia Basin (within present day Washington and Oregon). In 1846, the '''Oregon Treaty''' divided the territory with the area south of the 49th parallel transferred to sole American sovereignty. | |||
*The Colony of Vancouver Island was created in 1849, with Victoria designated as the capital. With the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, the colonial office to designate the mainland as the Colony of British Columbia (1858-1866). | |||
*A series of '''gold rushes''' in various parts of the province followed, the largest being the Cariboo Gold Rush in 1862. | |||
*In 1866, the colony of British Columbia was amalgamated with the Colony of Vancouver Island to form the '''Colony of British Columbia (1866–71)''', which was, in turn, succeeded by the present day province of British Columbia following the '''Canadian Confederation of 1871'''. | |||
*Population in British Columbia continued to expand as the province's mining, forestry, agriculture, and fishing sectors were developed. '''Mining activity''' was particularly notable throughout the Mainland, particularly in the Boundary Country, in the Slocan, in the West Kootenay around Trail, the East Kootenay (the southeast corner of the province), the Fraser Canyon, the Cariboo, the Omineca and the Cassiar, so much so a common epithet for the Mainland, even after provincehood, was "the Gold Colony". '''Agriculture''' attracted settlers to the fertile '''Fraser Valley''', and '''cattle ranchers and later fruit growers''' came to the drier grasslands of the '''Thompson River area, the Cariboo, the Chilcotin, and the Okanagan'''. Forestry drew workers to the lush temperate rainforests of the coast, which was also the locus of a growing fishery. | |||
== Timeline == | == Timeline == | ||
| Line 58: | Line 67: | ||
== Historical Sources == | == Historical Sources == | ||
The [https://www.familysearch.org/ | The [https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/ FamilySearch Library] has some published national, provincial, and local histories. See the Locality Search of the [[FamilySearch Catalog Surname Search|FamilySearch Catalog Surname Search]] under: | ||
::CANADA - HISTORY [PROVINCE] - HISTORY | ::CANADA - HISTORY [PROVINCE] - HISTORY | ||
| Line 65: | Line 74: | ||
::[PROVINCE], [CITY] - HISTORY | ::[PROVINCE], [CITY] - HISTORY | ||
*''A Short History of Canada'' <ref>Morton, Desmond. ''A Short History of Canada''. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1983. {{FSC|614713|title-id|disp=FS | *''A Short History of Canada'' <ref>Morton, Desmond. ''A Short History of Canada''. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1983. {{FSC|614713|title-id|disp=FS Catalog book 971 H2md}}.)</ref> | ||
*''The Atlantic Provinces: The Emergence of Colonial Society, 1712–1857'' <ref>MacNutt, W. S. ''The Atlantic Provinces: The Emergence of Colonial Society, 1712–1857''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1965. ({{FSC|382319|title-id|disp=FS | *''The Atlantic Provinces: The Emergence of Colonial Society, 1712–1857'' <ref>MacNutt, W. S. ''The Atlantic Provinces: The Emergence of Colonial Society, 1712–1857''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1965. ({{FSC|382319|title-id|disp=FS Catalog book 971.5 H2mws}}.)</ref> | ||
== Canadian Sources == | == Canadian Sources == | ||
| Line 73: | Line 82: | ||
Encyclopedias also include excellent articles on the history of Canada. Many books and articles on Canadian history are listed in these annotated bibliographies: | Encyclopedias also include excellent articles on the history of Canada. Many books and articles on Canadian history are listed in these annotated bibliographies: | ||
*''A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. I. Beginnings to Confederation.'' <ref>Muise, D. A., ed. ''A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. I. Beginnings to Confederation.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982. ({{FSC|364825|title-id|disp=FS | *''A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. I. Beginnings to Confederation.'' <ref>Muise, D. A., ed. ''A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. I. Beginnings to Confederation.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982. ({{FSC|364825|title-id|disp=FS Catalog book 971 H23r v. 1}})</ref> | ||
*''A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. II. Confederation to the Present.'' <ref>Granatstein, J. L., and Paul Stevens, eds. ''A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. II. Confederation to the Present.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982. (FS Library book {{FSC|364825|title-id|disp=971 H23r v. 2}})</ref> | *''A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. II. Confederation to the Present.'' <ref>Granatstein, J. L., and Paul Stevens, eds. ''A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. II. Confederation to the Present.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982. (FS Library book {{FSC|364825|title-id|disp=971 H23r v. 2}})</ref> | ||
| Line 83: | Line 92: | ||
Published histories of towns, counties, districts or other municipalities, and provinces often contain accounts of families. Many district, county, and town histories include sections or volumes of biographical information. These may give information on as many as half of the families in the area. A county history is also the best source of information about a county’s origin. | Published histories of towns, counties, districts or other municipalities, and provinces often contain accounts of families. Many district, county, and town histories include sections or volumes of biographical information. These may give information on as many as half of the families in the area. A county history is also the best source of information about a county’s origin. | ||
The [https://www.familysearch.org/ | The [https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/ FamilySearch Library] has about 300 district histories from the Prairie Provinces and fewer township and county histories from the rest of Canada. Similar histories are often at major Canadian public and university libraries and archives. | ||
Bibliographies that list histories for some provinces are in the Locality Search of the [[Introduction to the FamilySearch Catalog|FamilySearch Catalog]] under: | Bibliographies that list histories for some provinces are in the Locality Search of the [[Introduction to the FamilySearch Catalog|FamilySearch Catalog]] under: | ||
edits