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Saskatchewan Archives Online Homestead Database
Media Backgrounder
Saskatchewan is the only province where the original homestead records are still available for public research. It is also the only province where there is a comprehensive card index to the homestead files. (The Provincial Archives of Alberta and the Alberta Genealogical Society are in the process of creating an index to the Alberta homestead records.)
The homestead records contain a wealth of information about the settlement of Crown lands in Saskatchewan from 1872 to 1930. Created by the former federal Department of the Interior, the records document the history of the earliest agricultural settlement of Saskatchewan and how the pioneers fared in their first years on the land.
The homestead card index and records are held by the Saskatchewan Archives Board. Until the launch of the new database, it has been necessary for researchers interested in using the resource to travel to Saskatoon or Regina to view the index and the files, or engage someone to do so on their behalf.
The homestead files are one of the most used record groups held by the Saskatchewan Archives Board; getting the index online has been the result of work coordinated by a joint committee from the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society and the Saskatchewan Archives.
The homestead card index and records are held by the Saskatchewan Archives Board. Members of the public use thousands of homestead files every year for family history and other research. An overwhelming number of Saskatchewan farm families access the records to document their land ownership to qualify for the Century Farm Award.
With the use of home computers and the internet growing in Saskatchewan and around the world, there has been increasing pressure to make these resources available in digital format so people can research them from wherever they live or work.
Accordingly, early in 2003, the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (SGS) and the Saskatchewan Archives Board (SAB) formed a partnership to get the homestead index on line and on CD-ROM. The result was the Saskatchewan Homestead Index Project, or SHIP, with an advisory committee, made up of six representatives from the two bodies:
* Marge Thomas, former Executive Director, SGS
* D Arcy Hande, Director, Historical Records Branch, SAB
* Linda Dunsmore-Porter, current Executive Director, SGS
* Chris Gebhard, Chief Archivist, Reference and Special Media, SAB
* Laura Hanowski, former Librarian, SGS; Researcher and Author
* Verna Thompson, Consultant and Independent Genealogical Researcher and Record
Searcher.
Having the homestead index on line completes Phase I of a three-phase program to make the homestead index and records available online and on CD-ROM.
In Phase II, the homestead index will be incorporated into a more expansive, web based virtual exhibit to show the settlement experience in Saskatchewan. This will include copies of typical homestead documents, photographs, diaries and letters, interactive maps and other archival sources pertaining to pioneer days.
Phase III, to be undertaken when resources are available, will see the entire contents of the homestead files digitized and made available on the internet.
Using the database
The database may be searched by name, by land location or by the type of the special land grants.
Index entries contain the name of the applicant, the legal land description, if applicable the type of land grant and the number of the homestead file number.
There may be additional notations, for example about name changes (official or unofficial) or the name of the legal representative in cases where the applicant has died before receiving a land grant.
Using the file number found in the index, the researcher can access the original homestead file which may contain general information such as nationality, place of origin and family makeup as well as various sworn statements and information about the homestead including required agricultural improvements to the land. In some cases, correspondence about matters concerning the homestead may also be in the file.
These homestead files are part of the holdings of the Saskatchewan Archives Board in Regina and Saskatoon. While the index to the homestead records will be on line and on CD-ROM, it will still be necessary for researchers to visit the Archives in person to view the original files, or to engage someone to do so on their behalf.
In addition to being on-line, the Homestead Index will be available on a searchable CD-ROM. Those interested in purchasing a copy of the CD-ROM should contact the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society, Box 1894, Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3E1, phone (306) 780-9207 or e-mail sgs@accesscomm.ca
Related Link:Saskatchewan Homestead Index
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