Canada 150 - Illustrated Journal

During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...

Canada: Illustrated Weekly Journal 

This weekly journal was "for all those interested in the Dominion". It contained business news and personal notices from all across Canada.

Relevant Links

Canada: An Illustrated Weekly Journal (Internet Archive)

Canada: An Illustrated Weekly Journal (HathiTrust)

The Electrical Trade

According to his obituary my great uncle Wilfred Tait was well known throughout Eastern Canada in the electrical engineering and supply trade. He was an electrical draughtsman when he joined the Navy in WWI. He later worked for the electrical engineering department of the Steel Company of Canada, then went on to work for Square D Electric.

This photo was taken at the 32nd Canadian Electrical Association Conference in Ottawa at the Chateau Laurier in June 1922. I think my great uncle was too new to the trade to be in this photo.

The Electrical News

Electrical trade periodicals usually have a personal section (appointments, retirees, obituaries, etc) and a section on new patents. May be called news or notices (contracts, bankruptcies, new companies, etc). Check the contents at the beginning of each number. There could be more than one number in a book.

Relevant Links

Canadian Electrical News and Engineering

The Electrician NY 1882-1883

The Electrician UK, Vol 57 1906

The Western Electrician, Chicago

The Southern Electrician NC 1911

Great Electricians 1909

Electrical World 

The Electrical Review, UK 

Journal of Electricity, Power and Gas (Pacific Coast Electric Transmission Assn)

IEEE membership directory (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1914

The Post Office elecrical engineers' journal (many names in back- Britain, India, Africa, Uganda) 1908-1922

J A Berly's British, American and continental electrical directory and advertiser

The Universal electrical directory

McGraw electrical trade directory

Tait's electrical directory of Australia and New Zealand (in library only)

American electrical directory 1888

The Electrician, electrical trades directory and handbook 1889-1917

The Electrical Trade Chicago 1895-1918

Proceedings, annual meeting - Canadian Electrical Association

Proceedings, annual meeting - Minnesota Electrical Association 1909

Proceedings of the Electrical Institute of Engineers

What You May Find in Government Papers and Journals

Government publications are a vastly underused resource to find our ancestors. We have visited the Sessional Papers a few times in this blog, and today we will explore some other types of publications. Most of my examples are from Canadian works, but you may find the same types of records in your country of research. Below I have links for the UK, New Zealand and Australia.

In the journals, as in the sessional papers, some years you will find lists of names and other years just statistical numbers by county. There is an index in the front to guide you to possibilities.

This page from the Public Accounts for the Province of Canada¹, 1851 shows an example of both... numbers of licenses issued to Auctioneers by district or port, and a nominal return of ferry operators.

Looking further, in 1880 there was a case in the Court of Chancery involving the ferry at Ameliasburgh, though by then there was a different ferryman... (looking to see where Ameliasburgh is I got curious and distracted haha).

The Dominion Annual Register and Review is a political paper, but don't let that fool you! In the 1879 issue there is a Militia section with names of men who joined Cadets, and those who won matches at Wimbleton! A rifle match that is. Team Canada sailed to Liverpool to compete against the British.

1897 Dominion of Canada Register and Review

According to the website of the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association...

"Canadian Teams had been attending the Annual Matches in England since 1870, the first Team being sent by the Ontario Rifle Association. The first DCRA Team went to Wimbledon in 1873 and continued to do so each year until the matches moved to Bisley in 1889."

In 1986 my husband was a member of the DCRA and the vice president of the Alberta Rifle Association. He was invited to Ottawa to try out for the Commonwealth Games, but sadly he didn't make it.

In these papers you will also find appointments and promotions of public servants, obituaries of notable (not necessarily well known) people, and some newsworthy trials. In the section titled Remarkable Occurrences you will find suicides and accidental deaths. This section was included from the years 1878 to 1886. In the back of the publication there is an index of all names mentioned in the paper.

Speaking of Militia, if you have a military ancestor you will want to take a look at the Reports of the Department of Militia and Defense (made for the Sessional Papers). Here you will find names of those who passed exams or were awarded prizes at the Military College as well as general workings of the military.

In the Journal of the House of Assembly, Lower Canada 1793 you will find names of those chosen to serve in the House of Assembly, and other names throughout.  This publication is in English and French.

I had one ancestor who passed the Preliminary Exam for entering Civil Service, but he did not pass the Qualifying Exam.  I found that out, plus more about the exams and the examiners by looking at the Report of the Board of Civil Service Examiners.

The Proceedings of the Parliament publications are another to check out for ancestors. This one for South Australia has  list of fire calls in Adelaide in 1886.

Fire calls Adelaide 1886

At British History Online  there is an excellent online searchable collection of parliamentary papers, including the Journals of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Put keywords of names and places in the search box and pick your filters on the main search page. I typed in Loddiswell (where my ancestors lived in Devon) and I got 60 results. Then I typed in the name Tait and since this is a family of Scottish Border reivers it did not surprise me to find five instances where my Middle March Tait's were trespassing at the Borders in 1523.

To find out more about the provinces of Canada you can also do a search at Internet Archive for "Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of..."

Note:
¹Province of Canada was formed by the Act of Union of 1840, merging Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Province of Canada ceased to exist with Confederation in 1867.  




Relevant Links

Public Accounts for the Province of Canada

Cases adjudged in the Court of Chancery of Upper Canada Vol 27 (Ameliasburgh) 1880

Dominion Annual Register and Review

Report of the Department of Militia and Defense

Journal of the House of Assembly, Lower Canada 1793

Proceedings of Parliament South Australia

Report of the Board of Civil Service Examiners

British History Online Search

Journals of the House of Commons, UK

Journals of the House of Lords, UK

Journals of the Senate, Australia, 1901 to present

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, New Zealand

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, New Zealand, nominal returns

American State Papers

Related posts:  Sessional Papers

Trade Journals

Trade journals or magazines are another place to look for your ancestors. You get a good sense of what is going on in the industry and any new developments made. They often give names of those who received promotions, employees hired or retired, married or deceased.

Relevant Links


American soap journal and manufacturing 1900

The foundry trade journal, 1902

Stone Cutters Journal

The Mine, Quarry and Metallurgical Record of the United States, Canada and Mexico

The Merchant's Magazine and Commercial Review

Anglo-Swedish trade journal, 1908

Automobile trade journal, 1896

The Referee & Cycle trade journal 1895

The American Florist: a weekly journal for the trade (various 1887-1922)

The Canadian Druggist monthly journal

Iron.  An illustrated weekly journal for iron and steel manufacturers, metallurgists, mine proprietors, engineers, shipbuilders, scientists, capitalists

The Chemical Trade Journal, UK

Machinists Monthly Journal

List of Canadian Trade Journals (hardware, grocery, etc Eng and Fr)

Frisco Employees Magazine, 1925