Getting Started With Genealogical Research

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Government House on March 8 for Family Tree 101! Following the event, we’ve compiled a list of the genealogical resources and tips that our partner organizations showcased at the event. These are great places to help you get started with your genealogical research, or to help you figure out once your next steps are once you’ve compiled the information you’re looking for.

Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (Regina Chapter)

Their biggest piece of advice the SGS has if you’re looking into your family history? Talk to your relatives as soon as possible, if that’s an option that’s available to you. This is particularly true as some of your family members, like grandparents, grow older; they’re likely the best people to tell you about your family’s heritage.

Other websites that the SGS suggests for family history research are FamilySearch, Cyndi’s List, and Find A Grave. They also have a library and research room, located at Room 110 – 1514 11th Avenue in Regina, that is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10:00 am – 4:30 pm. The library collections include obituary, cemetery and Saskatchewan Resident Index program.

SGS also has a selection of resources available on their website, and offers research services for a fee. You can find information about this service here.

Regina Public Library

The Prairie History Room of the Library’s Central (downtown) branch contains documents about the history and peoples of what are now the three prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) from pre-European contact to present day. The History Room has census records, maps, newspapers, immigration records, Indigenous and Metis genealogical records, and more. They accept yearbook donations if you’re looking to de-clutter around home without losing that part of your personal history! Central Branch staff are always happy to help with your inquiries at the Prairie History Room.

You can also access the Ancestry Library, which includes census data as well as military, immigration, and court records. This digital resource can only be accessed from library computers, at any branch. Heritage Quest is another resource with city directories, military records and more, and that can be accessed from home. Finally, MemorySask is a more recent, ongoing project that can be accessed from the library as well.

With your library card, you can access several additional resources on their website here.

Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan

The Provincial Archives has thousands of textual, photographic, and other records – so many that if stacked end-to-end, their records would stretch 3 1/2 times taller than Mount Everest!

The Archives have records like homestead records, local and family histories, pioneer questionnaires from the early 1950s, school district and teacher files, court records and more. You can also make donations of records that you may have.

They also have a webpage dedicated to family history research here. You can search their archival records online, or visit them in-person during the week and have one of their friendly archival specialists help you get started!