29 January 2009

The Canadian Necrology database

The University of Toronto Libraries are in the forefront when it comes to full-text digitization initiatives. Many are unlikely to be of interest, but the Canadian Necrology database is pertinent for Canadian genealogy.

It describes itself as "a unique source of obituary and death information for both prominent and lesser-known Canadians, covering a time span from the late 18th century to 1977. It contains over 20,000 records; the majority come from newspapers such as the Globe and Mail, Toronto Daily Star, Gazette, and Mail and Empire; an additional 4,000 records were compiled by William Henry Pearson (1831-1920), a Toronto resident with a lifetime passion for necrology."

The entries provide sources for further research, like this:

Stupart, Sir Frederic

Sex M
Age at Death 82
Date of Death 1940
Citation(s) Canadian Obituaries, volume 2, page 110.
Source(s) Globe and Mail, September 28, 1940.
Record Group Canadian Obituaries. With Source.
Record ID 18692

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