Genetic Genealogy

The Lambton County Archives recently held a presentation on genetic genealogy where presenter Carolyn Abraham explained the science behind using DNA testing to reveal secrets in your family ancestry. Carolyn is a former medical science reporter for the Globe and Mail and author whose recent non-fiction book The Juggler's Children: A Journey into Family, Legend and the Genes that Bind Us has been shortlisted for the Governor General's award for 2013. (If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please contact The Book Keeper.)

 

Presenter Carolyn Abraham.

Carolyn explained during her presentation that this book chronicles her personal experience with genetic genealogy as well as the how-to's and potential issues involved in this avenue of genealogy. There were always family mysteries surrounding both of Carolyn's great-grandfathers and the birth of her daughter around the time of the human genome project spurred her to research her ancestry.

 

Types of DNA Tests

As Carolyn explained, the "genome is a portal to the past" in that it can reveal where in the world our ancestors came from and how we are related to others. There are three basic DNA tests which all require a cheek swab:

1) Mitochondrial DNA Test: since mtDNA is passed from mother to children, this form of testing is limited by the fact that only women pass this DNA on. mtDNA does not change quickly from one generation to the next, so it is a powerful tool to reveal if people had a common female ancestor. This is limited since it can only reveal the commonality, and not when that commonality occurred (i.e. could be five years ago or 500 years ago.)

2) Genome Scan Test:  scans chromosomes from mother and father to provide a breakdown of ethnic percentages and ability to connect with relatives within approximately the last 5 generations.

3) Y-DNA Test: available for males only since the Y chromosome passes from father to son, this test can reveal ancestral paternal lines and allow you to connect with genetic cousins and also reveal your haplogroup (which area of the world your ancestors came from.) 

For all of these tests, after you send a cheek swab to the company, they analyze the DNA and compare it against other samples in their database. They will then contact you with the results (which vary depending on which test you pay for) but generally, they can tell you if you have genetic relatives (those whose DNA is close to yours meaning you share a common ancestor) and your ethnic background.
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Possible Ethical Issues 

When you are testing something as personal as DNA, it is important to be aware of possible ethical concerns right from the beginning. There is always the potential to find that a relative you may be testing is not genetically related (i.e. father is not the biological father.) This issue is so common that software has been designed to catch these "false paternities" which has been estimated to account for about 10% of tests. 

DNA testing can reveal results which affect the entire family.

It’s your obligation to give people the full information and potential results before they agree to contribute to your research. This not only impacts them, but their children and the wider family. DNA testing always has the potential to open up closed doors, so you should establish who you will be sharing information with at the beginning of your research.

Recommendations for Further Information

Carolyn recommends the company Family Tree DNA and suggests that those seeking more genetic genealogy information check the website of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy. This non-profit group promotes the use of genetic testing in genealogy, and has many free resources and links on their website.

Conclusion

Testing for DNA can help reveal secrets in family trees and fill in the blanks where paper records do not exist. It is a powerful tool to supplement traditional archival research. As always, the staff at the Lambton County Archives are here to help you with this research and we are also interested to hear your stories of genetic genealogy usage.

The above blog post was written by guest blogger Archivist Heather Lavallee. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Researching the Land: Online and In-Person Resources for Land Records

Land records are a resource that sometimes get overlooked by researchers. Land settlement in Ontario has a complex history that can sometimes be cumbersome to research. This blog post seeks to address the history and dispel the confusion surrounding this informative resource. Land records can fill in the blanks between census records and flesh out how your ancestors lived between birth, marriage, and death registrations.

History of the Land

It is important to understand the history of the land you are researching so that you can put the information you find into its proper context. Land changes by geographical boundaries for administrative purposes over time. Thus, a piece of land may have been part of a different township, county, or district at different periods in time. As a result, you may have to look for land records in different administrative institutions. For example, concessions 1-4 of the former Sombra Township in Lambton County passed into the control of Gore Township in Kent County during the mid-19th century.

Over time, the land which is now our community was in the District of Hesse, the Western District, and after redistricting finally became Lambton County. Knowing at which point in time and which administrative institution  will allow you to be a more effective researcher into land records. See the Archives of Ontario webpage on Early Districts and Counties for more information.

The land which is now Lambton County was part of Kent County in the Western District of Upper Canada in 1792. (From the Economic Atlas of Canada from the Archives of Ontario website.)

Early Land Settlement

All land in Ontario was considered Crown Land (as in belonging to the government) from the time it had been surrendered to the Crown by a First Nation, up until ownership was transferred to the first private owner. The land was initially surveyed into townships consisting of concessions and lots. Concessions were strips of land about 1 1/4 mile wide and are often separated by road allowances of 66 feet wide. Concessions were then divided into lots, which were typically 200 acres, and individuals seeking land had to apply to the Crown to be granted one of these lots.

Typical division of a township into concessions (roman numerals) and lots (Arabic numerals.) Letters were used to denote "broken" concessions divided up by rivers or lakes. (From Ontario Land Registry Office Records: A Guide by Fawne Stratford-Devai and Ruth Burkholder)

Crown Land Granting Process

The process to obtain a piece of land was a lengthy and complicated one. It changed over time with different jurisdictions and administrative institutions responsible for the process, but it was generally as follows:

1. Petition: an individual submitted a petition (application) to the Crown
2. Grant: if the petition was successful, the Crown would issue a land grant to the petitioner who then became a settler on a 200 acre lot
3. Settle Land: certain settlement duties were required to be met (such as clearing so much of the land, building a residence, etc.)
4. Patent: once the settlement duties were complete, the Crown would issue a patent which officially transferred ownership to the private individual

Resources for Crown Land Records

The Upper Canada Land Board (1765-1804) database from Library and Archives Canada is an online index to individuals mentioned in the Land Board records. Most records are between 1789-1794 (when Land Boards existed to facilitate settlement in the districts) and contain many references to Loyalists in the minutes, reports, and correspondence. This index points you to a microfilm reel containing the full document which can be ordered through the Lambton County Archives and consulted in our facility.

The Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763-1865) is an online index from Library and Archives Canada of the petitions to obtain land in Upper Canada. Petitions are very useful since the applicant was required to prove their identity and may contain items such as letters of support from a magistrate or commanding officer. The petitioner was also required to explain why they deserved a grant and may contain the individual's life story or service in the American Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. This index points you to a microfilm reel which can be ordered through the Lambton County Archives or your local library. Also, the reels have been digitized and the records are available online. Note the microfilm number from the online index and consult the pdf of the digitized record. A note of caution however, the records are not searchable so you should consult the "Help" page to decipher how to navigate the records using the reference information from the index.

The best resource for Crown land records is the Ontario Land Records Index (OLRI.) This resource, created by the Archives of Ontario, is an index of many records from various institutions involved in the granting process. It is only available on microfiche (at the Archives of Ontario, ordered through your local library, and at institutions who own a copy.) At the Lambton County Archives, we have a copy of the index, which has been indexed by surname and by township. Thus you can search it by ancestor or by land.

When you find an individual (or piece of land) the information is all in code. You can decipher the code through the Using the Ontario Land Records Index research guide created by the Archives of Ontario. For example, from the OLRI for John Wetheral, I was able to use the research guide to tell me that he received the South half of lot 10 in the 10th concession in Brock Township. The land was issued on 25 Sept 1834 as a sale involving the Canada Company (a settlement agency) and was a Clergy Land sale. By noting the Archival Reference number and the information on the webpage Understanding the Reference Code in the Ontario Land Record Index, I would be able to order the microfilm reel containing the documents (Microfilm MS 693 Reel 190.)

Ontario Land Records Index for John Wetheral.

Local Land Transfer Process

After the land was surveyed and granted to the first private owner, subsequent transactions for a piece of property were registered through the local Land Registry Office. Thus land transfers between private individuals are registered at the local level. Although these transactions started in Ontario in 1793, it is important to note that registration was not mandatory until 1846, so many transactions were not registered or were registered many years after the event had occurred.

To research local land records, you will need to know the legal description of the property: the lot and concession numbers for a specific township. These records are available at the Land Registry Office (LRO) where the land was registered or at a local repository. For instance, pre-1955 land registry records for Lambton County are at the Lambton County Archives.

Resources for Land Registry Records

Once land registration was legislated in 1865 to local LRO, Abstract Indexes were created to record transactions registered to a certain lot. In these ledgers, separate pages were kept for each individual lot as it was patented by the Crown. So while these indexes contain information such as name of buyer/seller (grantee/grantor), type of transaction (bargain and sale, deed, will, etc.), date, size of property, amount of money, and the corresponding instrument number, these indexes are for the entire lot. Many lots have been subdivided numerous times over the years into smaller parcels of land (i.e. north half of lot 1 concession 1, the southwest corner of lot 1 concession 1), but the transactions are all registered to lot 1 concession 1. This can make it difficult (but not impossible!) to see the ownership history of a particular property.

An example of subdivision of a 200 acre lot of land. All land transactions on this property are recorded in the Abstract Index ledger to Lot 1 Concession 1. (From Ontario Land Registry Office Records: A Guide by Fawne Stratford-Devai and Ruth Burkholder.)

After consulting the Abstract Index for the land you are researching, you need to note the instrument number in order to locate the corresponding Land Instrument. These are the original documents for the sale, deed, mortgage, will, etc. registered in the Abstract Index. It is important to note that many of these instruments have not survived, for example, pre-1846 transactions when land registration was not mandatory, or mortgages which were given to the owner when fully paid. However, many land instruments have been preserved and we have them for all townships in Lambton County.

Land Abstract Index ledger and instruments at the Lambton County Archives.

Conclusion

The above was merely an overview of the land records system in Ontario. There are many other online and in-person resources available at archives and libraries across the province. The information in this blog post is intended to aid you in your research by providing important information in land record research and by identifying key resources. Hopefully, land records are no longer an imposing obstacle to your family tree or local history research! As always, please contact us if you have any questions. We have many reference books in our collection which can further aid your research into land records in Ontario.

The above blog post was written by guest blogger Archivist Heather Lavallee.

Remembering the Women of Lambton

The Lambton Heritage Museum's current feature exhibit Shine: Spotlight on Women of Lambton offers insight into the history of women in Lambton County and the contributions they have made to our community. I'm using this blog post as an opportunity to explore some wider themes of women's history, including how women's history became an area of study, how the roles of women have changed, and the impact of using a new concept for "work".

Two women fishing near Grand Bend. Image courtesy of
the Archival Collection of the Lambton Heritage Museum.

Many history books describe the achievements of men and remain silent about women, and the roles of women are often forgotten. This slowly started changing in the 1960s and 1970s when a new way of thinking about history developed. Social historians began looking beyond the upper classes, politicians, and heroes to study how so-called "ordinary people" lived. This contrasts sharply with historians who focused on royalty without looking at peasants, and generals without looking at soldiers. Since many women did not have opportunities to establish themselves as power politicians or businesspeople, this new perspective that looked beyond the "big names" of history began to include women.

Sports Team at the Boys Brigade Hall in Sarnia. From the
Photograph Collection of the Lambton County Archives.

The roles, responsibilities and opportunities for women in 2013 are very different than they were in the past. It's important to remember that women in Lambton County in the 1800s lived in a society that had very different perspectives on the opportunities available for omen. These roles of women should be considered in the wider context of what society expected from women, and what women were taught they could give back to society. Expectations have changed drastically since Lambton County's population began growing more quickly in the mid-1800s. Changes in the roles of women will continue, and in 2113 historians may look back over the last hundred years and marvel at the lives of women in 2013!

This discussion also applies to the concept of work. Women have traditionally been left out of discussions about work because the concept of work ignores a lot of the unpaid work that women do (housework, childcare, care of the elderly or sick, community service). If we think more broadly about the concept of work we can better understand the contributions women in the past made to society. Women in rural settings contributed to their households not only through tending children, cooking and cleaning, but also by managing the household budget and often assisting in physical tasks around the farm.

To learn more about the Women of Lambton and hear their stories, visit the Lambton Heritage Museum's exhibit Shine: Spotlight on Women of Lambton, featured until November 8, 2013.

Staff at Imperial Oil in 1919. From the Holland Paisley Photographic Collection,
Lambton County Library, Sarnia Branch. H102-39.

A Gem From Paris at the Lambton Heritage Museum

This blog post is in recognition of the opening of a new exhibit at the Lambton Heritage Museum, Shine: Spotlight on Women of Lambton. This exhibit carries a special significance because the history of women is often forgotten or ignored. It's a rare chance to celebrate the women who have shaped Lambton County.

Lambton Heritage Museums staff were able to pull some treasures from their collection to display in the new exhibit. One example is a dress from Helen Corey that tells a special story. Mrs. Corey lived in Petrolia and her husband worked in the oil industry. On display is a black dress that she purchased in Paris in 1926, along with the original receipt from the transaction.

Receipt from Corey's dress purchase at Haton Soeurs in Paris, April 20, 1926.  The receipt says "Robe tulle et paillettes noir" or "Black tulle and sequin dress."

This dress was made for a night of dancing. The skirt is composed in several layers with a light top layer that floated while Helen danced and a stiffer layer underneath that swayed back and forth. The delicate beads along the neck are glass-blown beads.

This delicate dress had deteriorated badly over time. Fortunately, part of the role of the Lambton Heritage Museum is to restore and bring back to life artifacts that would otherwise waste away.

The dress was restored by a conservator in London who painstakingly sewed back on hundreds of the sequins that had fallen off over time. The conservator discovered that the sequins are made from a gelatinous or vegetable-based material and dissolve in hot water. If you look carefully at the underarms of this dress, you can see many of the sequins are partially dissolved or missing - Helen Corey must have enjoyed many nights of dancing and it cost her a few sequins! Through her restoration work on the dress, the conservator was able to uncover new and interesting information about Helen Corey and her dress.

Visit the exhibit Shine: Spotlight on Women of Lambton at the Lambton Heritage Museum (10035 Museum Road - eight kilometers south of Grand Bend off Lakeshore Road) between May 12 and November of 2013 to see this and other interesting artifacts!