We’re happy to help those researching their Canadian ancestor and here are some tips about using our resources that may help.
First of all, we are experiencing a high volume of requests and research visits. Please be patient as our facility is only open two days/week and our volunteers do their best to reply in a timely manner. If you are corresponding by email, please check your spam or junk folder – sometimes our emails land there (look for emails from seventhtownresearch.com).
We generally only search our in-house collections. We assume that you have already searched websites like Ancestry and FamilySearch and are looking for additional supporting evidence that is not online. If you need assistance using online genealogy sites, we recommend you come in person or visit a local library or genealogy centre.
There are two ways to access our resources:
In person visits – everyone is welcome, but sometimes unexpected arrivals limit how much attention we can give you.
- Please book ahead of time – at least a week or two before your visit preferably via our online booking form.
- Provide a detailed description of your research objective, with as much supporting information as possible to help us locate materials that can be set aside in advance of your visit.
- Do a preliminary search using our online databases (Names and Land Records) and send us the search results. Again, this lets us prepare for your visit.
- We don’t charge for assistance for on-site visits except for photocopies, scans or other purchases. As we are a non-profit charity, donations are always appreciated and go towards our operating expenses.
Research requests by email:
- A research volunteer will be assigned to your request once we receive a $30 deposit. The deposit includes the first hour of research and if we think more time is needed (at $20/hour), we’ll let you know before proceeding.
- Be as specific as possible describing who you are looking for and provide anything you know that will help us narrow down the results. Only providing a name without dates, locations or names of close relatives greatly reduces the accuracy of the results we send you.
- As suggested above, do a preliminary search using our online databases (Names and Land Records) and send us the search results. Again, this helps us find and evaluate matches that best meet your objective.
- Search results and documents will be sent to you via an online link that we provide via email.
Please note that we hold very few original documents. Our research is intended to help you collect corroborating information and identify the primary source for documents you may be seeking.
All the best to all ‘lost Canadians’ who are preparing their application for a citizenship certificate.