Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police obituary card index and Notices - FamilySearch Historical Records: Difference between revisions

This collection is a memorial to those Royal Canadian Mounted Police who died while in service. Secondly, it is a collection of publications sent to living officers to inform them of the deaths of fellow officers. The index was created by a retired officer, Norman G. Wilson, who wished to make the obituaries more accessible to family members and researchers. These publications and the accompanying index only include the records of those officers whose deaths were reported to the publications.  

Among records of Canadian governmental officials are the personnel files of more than 40,000 former members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Structured along military lines, this organization was established as the North West Mounted Police in 1873 to bring law and order to the region between the Red River Valley of the North and the Rocky Mountains. Although they have sometimes been involved in military actions, such as helping to suppress the North West Rebellion of 1885, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police members now comprise the national police force of Canada. They also contract with provinces other than Quebec and Ontario to provide police protection on a provincial level.  

'''''Scarlet and Gold''''' and the '''''Pictoral History of of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police''''' are lists of officers killed while in the line of duty. These lists are in chronological order. Some obituaries are included in these records. The obituary card index is arranged alphabetically by surname. This index covers the '''''Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly''''' beginning with Volume 1, July 1933. Not all deaths are covered by this publication. If the ''Quarterly'' was not advised of a death, no obituary was printed. Surnames in the index are followed by given name or initials and possibly nicknames. The second column holds the regimental number for the individual. Regimental numbers may be preceded by the following letters:  

The third column lists the rank of the officer when he or she took their discharge, or when then died in service. The final two columns indicate the Volume and Issue number of the <u>Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly</u> where an obituary was printed. Use these numbers to access the digital images found within this collection. The following abbreviations may be found on an index card:  

==How Do I Search the Collection?==

You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search it is helpful to know:

# Select '''Publication, Years and Volume'''

=== How Do I Analyze the Results? ===

Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article [[FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks]].

:{{Tip|More images are available in the FamilySearch Catalog at [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1425003 Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police obituary card index and notices, 1876-2007]. Click on camera icon to see images.}}

*Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and marriage records.  

*Use the information to find additional family members.

*Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.

 

*Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc.  Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.

*Collect entries for every person who has the same surname.  This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.

*If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search. 

*Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name, especially French versions.

*Remember that sometimes individuals went by [http://usgenweb.org/research/nicknames.html nicknames] or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for [http://genealogy.about.com/od/first_names/fl/nickname-given-name-equivalents.htm these names] as well. 

*Search the indexes and records of [[Canada Genealogy]].

*Search in the [[Canada Archives and Libraries]].

*Search in the [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=304&query=%2Bplace%3A%22Canada%2C%20Ontario%22%20%2Bkeywords%3Amarriage FamilySearch Library Catalog]