BC Research Committee
The BC Research Committee of the British Columbia Genealogical Society will search the Society’s unique BCGS Walter Draycott Library resources, as well as records at Greater Vancouver area research facilities for British Columbia, Canada genealogical research queries. See below for fees. Payment may be made by PayPal or by mail. See below.
The BCGS’s own unique sources include, as applicable, for the surname(s) you submit:
1. BC Master Card File – over 200,000 B.C. surname citations.
2. Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver burials.
3. Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions currently published – from all around British Columbia.
4. Members Interests/Surname Directories and pedigree charts, etc.
5.1874 Householders Index for British Columbia.
6.1881 Census Index for BC
7.1891 Census Index for BC
8. Vancouver Voters, 1886, a biographical dictionary of all individuals (and their families and descendants) listed on the 1886 (first) Vancouver city voters list.
9. B.C. Vital Stats from Newspapers 1858-1872.
10. Pioneer Register (pre-1900) for British Columbia.
11. Previous Mail and E-mail Queries.
12. BC Cemetery Finding Aid, an index to burials around British Columbia.
13. BC Vital Statistics Indices, 1872-, as released (records are released: 20 years after Death; 75 years after Marriage; 120 years after Birth.)
14. Other BCGS databases of on-going BCGS projects, including the BC Books index and articles published in The British Columbia Genealogist, the Society’s quarterly journal, and its newsletters.
15. British Columbia Telephone books and directories from the BCGS Library’s extensive collections.
As well as,
16. Records at other local libraries – Vital Statistics Records, Public Directories, historical newspapers or census records may be searched, at the discretion of the BC Research Committee. Extra fees may apply.
Mailing Research Requests
All mailed requests must go to the Society’s mailing address: Attn BC Research, BCGS, P.O. Box 88054, Lansdowne Mall, Richmond, BC, CANADA, V6X 3T6
Questions? Contact the BC Research Committee by mail or e-mail: queryrequest@bcgs.ca
Please provide sufficient details relating to your research queries to enable our researchers to fully assist you. And please provide your personal contact details, including your e-mail address, if applicable.
BC Research Fees
*All fees are to be paid in Canadian $.
Searches of the sources in our Library (see above) are *$15 for the first name; and *$10 for each additional name, if submitted at the time of the first request, even if the same last name, for example, husband and wife.
Birth, marriage, death and obituary copies – photocopies can be obtained of birth, marriage and death registration (BMD) certificates found in the BC Vital Statistics Indices and newspaper obituaries. The fee is *$10 for the first, and *$5 for each additional certificate or obituary, if submitted at the time of the first request, as above.
Headstone transcriptions are $2 each.
Note:
All copies are subject to the quality of the original document. Forward your research queries together with applicable fees to the B.C. Research Committee, c/o the Society’s postal address or e-mail address: queryrequest@bcgs.ca
BC Research Fee Payment
All fees should be paid by PayPal, cheque or money order, made payable to the “BC Genealogical Society”. We regret that we cannot undertake descendancy research. Please see below for private researchers.
When paying with PayPal, please ensure you send an e-mail to: queryrequest@bcgs.ca with all the relevant details for the genealogy search(es) you’re requesting.
Submitting Research Queries for Publication
Our quarterly Journal is circulated world-wide. If you desire the publication of a query in the Society’s quarterly journal, it can be inserted without charge for members, or for a fee of $5 per query for non-members. Please print or type clearly. Be brief but include some identifying first names, dates, and places, approximate if necessary. Write out all words in full and be sure to state exactly what information you are seeking. Address queries to the Editor c/o the Society’s P.O. mailing address in Richmond, BC or e-mail these to editor@bcgs.ca
Other Genealogy Records
Military records are available from the Personnel Records Unit, Library and Archives Canada (LAC), 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N3. Fax: (613) 947-8456. Personnel records are available 20 years after demise, if proof of death is provided. For information about available indexes and requesting any military records, see the LAC website: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-909-e.html
1901 Federal Census for British Columbia
Searchable Index for BC: http://www.bcgsoc.ca/1901/1901bc.aspx
1901 Census abbreviations: http://www.bcgsoc.ca/Abbreviations1901.asp
BCGS Publications
The BCGS. has many publications, such as Cemetery Transcripts, Surname Indexes, Research Forms, back issues of BCGS Journals and others. Price Lists for these are available by mail or on this website.
Please send a stamped self-addressed envelope with requests by mail or e-mail: cemeteries@bcgs.ca
1886 Voters List of Vancouver, BCGS Book, Extractions. The fees are as follows.
Full Names of any one surname (members) $2.00, (non-members) $3.00, (UK & Overseas) £ 2.00 first name.
Additional surnames (members) $1.00, (non-members) $1.00, (UK & Overseas) £ 1.00 per additional name.
Copy of Page Details (members)$ 0.20, (non-members) $ 0.25, (UK & Overseas £ 0.25 per page.
Postage where applicable (members) $ 0.50, (non-members) $ 0.50, (UK & Overseas) £ 0.50 up to 4 pages. Cheques or money orders in Canadian, US or Sterling Funds are acceptable. Mail to the Society address at bottom of page and mark your request ” Vancouver Voters, 1886″. Copies of the book are still available at $65.00 (£ 40.00 ) plus postage (Canada: $10.00 others $15.00 or £ 8.00 ).
The British Columbia Cemetery Finding Aid (BCCFA) Extractions
**The BCGS has participated in supplying information to the BCCFA . This database, available for viewing at http://www.islandnet.com/bccfa , is intended *only* as a “pointer” database. It consists of the surnames, cemetery name and location of more than 100,000 entries collected from records and headstone inscriptions associated with 141 cemeteries situated in the province of British Columbia, Canada and one from the state of Washington, USA. Please note that in some cases, the listed individuals may *not* be interred in these cemeteries but were mentioned in the source records or on the headstone. For REFERENCE FIELD numbers beginning with “BCGS-”, write to the British Columbia Genealogical Society with your request and include the following fees:- $ 2.00 for the first name and $ 1.00 per additional name.
Cheques or money orders in Canadian, US or Sterling Funds are acceptable. Mail to the Society address at bottom of page and mark your request ” BCCFA extraction’s”.
British Columbia Archives Extractions
The BCGS can extract a copy of the BC Archives Death & Marriage Registrations from Microfilm kept at the Vancouver Public Library for a Fee of $10.00 each for the first extraction & $5.00 each for additional extractions to cover our costs to travel to downtown Vancouver, photocopy, etc. Please supply the Reg. Number, the B.C. Archives Microfilm Number or the GSU Microfilm Number. Available at the BC Archives Website at:- http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca
You will receive the best copy of the Registration form we can produce from the Vancouver Public Library Microfilm Reader/Printers. Please note, the quality of the copy is usually quite readable, however, as the microfilm quality and handwriting/typing quality on the actual document can vary; copies received could be of poor quality,
Cheques or money orders in Canadian, US or Sterling Funds are acceptable. Mail to the Society address at bottom of page and mark your request ” BC Archives extractions”.
Private Researchers
If you require additional or more detailed searches, such as locating descendants, the following members of the BCGS have indicated that they will undertake for a fee, on terms and conditions to be individually arranged. Please note that any arrangements you make with them are entirely your responsibility and the BCGS. does not in any way warrant the quality or correctness of their work.
Alice Marwood
211 – 14981 – 101A Avenue
Surrey, B C
V3R 0T1
Phone: 604.582.1548
E-mail: amarwood@shaw.ca
British Columbia Sources, Indians, Ship’s Lists
David Jackson
306-225 E. 13th Street
North Vancouver, B.C. V7L 2L6
E-mail: wittedj@hotmail.com
Research in Greater Vancouver area.
Betty Allen
E-mail: allenbb@shaw.ca
Research in Langley and Chilliwack area.
J. Amy Newman
PO Box 54604,
7155 Kingsway,
Burnaby, BC Canada V5E 4J6
Phone: 604.521.3463 (604.521.FIND)
fax: 604.521.3460
toll free: 1.877.521.3463 for callers outside the Vancouver area
E-mail: info@nrsfind.com
Research in Vancouver area; professional heir-tracer. Locate heirs all over North America.
Barbara Jones
2929 West 6th Avenue,
Vancouver, BC V6K 1X4
604. 731.4975
E-mail: barbcjones@gmail.com
15 Years experience in Genealogy; Researching for probate and family
history in BC, Great Britain.
Celia A. Lewis
2075 W. 48th Avenue,
Vancouver BC V6M 2P4
Phone: 604.996.7335
Email: calewis@telus.net
Research interests: England, Scotland
OTHER BC RESEARCH SOURCES