Canada and U.S.

In Finding Your Canadian Ancestors, authors Sherry Irvine and Dave Obee guide you through Canadian genealogical records, first by record type and then according to province. The authors detail both government and ecclesiastical records, as well as records related to special groups such as Aboriginals, Acadians, and Loyalists. They give special attention to online resources, including the extensive holdings of Library and Archives of Canada.

The discovery that an ancestor served during one of the major conflicts in our history is exciting. There are ways to trace their journeys and thus flesh out a more complete story of the history of your family. A Call to the Colours provides the archival, library, and computer resources that can be employed to explore your familys military history, using items such as old photographs, documents, uniforms, medals, and other militaria to guide the search.

As a nation of immigrants, the American experience is vibrantly defined by the diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious heritage of its people. Perhaps because so many of their ancestors migrated to this country relatively recently, Americans are especially concerned with their family trees, carving out personal histories by combing through documents such as wills and estate records, federal and state censuses, and private family papers, and mining the stories and tales handed down to them by their forebears.

Unlike most white Americans who, if they are so inclined, can search their ancestral records, identifying who among their forebears was the first to set foot on this country’s shores, most African Americans, in tracing their family’s past, encounter a series of daunting obstacles. For too long, African Americans’ family trees have been barren of branches, but, very recently, advanced genetic testing techniques, combined with archival research, have begun to fill in the gaps.

Addressing the explosive growth in ancestral travel, this compelling narrative combines intriguing tales of discovery with tips on how to begin your own explorations. Actor and award-winning travel writer Andrew McCarthy's featured story recounts his recent quest to uncover his family's Irish history, while twenty-five other prominent writers tell their own heartfelt stories of connection. Sidebars and a hefty resource section provide tips and recommendations on how to go about your own research, and a foreword by the Genographic Project's Spencer Wells sets the scene.