06 April 2011

Alberta Homestead Records microfilm images

Eleven reels of microfilm from the Alberta Homestead Records 1870-1930 series are now on the Internet Archive. That's less than 2% of the 686 microfilm reels in the series, but you may be lucky.

According to the Alberta Genealogical Society, Homestead files normally contain:

  • An application for homestead, containing the applicant's name, age, birthplace, last residence, prior occupation, number of adults and children in household.
  • An application for patent, containing name, age, occupation, post office, nationality, residency information, wife/children (no names), breaking/cropping, livestock, buildings, fencing.
  • A notice that patent (title) has been issued.
The AGS have an index to the files freely available to search by name at http://abgensoc.ca/homestead/search.php

All reels are in the series 70.313; those on the Internet Archive are #: 2083, 2084, and 2087-2095.


1 comment:

GW said...

Very interesting ... homestead records can be very informative. I have a copy of my grandfather's file obtained from the Alberta Provincial Archives some years ago and it contains a great deal of information on his efforts to settle in as a farmer on the prairies.

An excellent resource to have online. I am puzzled, however, that the files would be posted to the Internet Archive. Surely the provincial archives would want such treasures on their own site where the index resides. Have these records been placed on the Internet Archives officially by the provincial archives or by someone else, a well-meaning researcher perhaps?