29 March 2016

NWMP connections?

The following is a note from Wayne Shepheard, editor of Relatively Speaking, the quarterly journal of the Alberta Genealogical Society.

Relatively Speaking is involved in a new joint project with the Bulletin, the journal of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society, and Generations, the journal of the Manitoba Genealogical Society. In each of our summer issues (August for AGS and SGS and September for MGS) we will feature a theme of Families of the North-West Mounted Police.

We picked the summer issues in 2016 to dedicate to the subject of Families of the NWMP as that gave us the time to solicit papers and work together to put it all together. The various issues will be published closely in time to each other. Invitations have been sent out to our respective members and others, for articles concerning this subject.  As submissions, or expressions of interest come in, we will look at how we might distribute the articles between our respective journals. We will make the three respective issues available to every member of each society by sending them electronic copies.

Our three societies all share the same objectives with respect to family history research and the same general geography of the plains, so it made sense to do such a project together. This project will give each of us an expanded readership for this, and possibly, future issues and also a greater author pool from which we might source future articles.

We have already had indications from a number of people from across Western Canada who want to contribute a paper, some of whom have themselves been associated with the RCMP. Interested family researchers from across Canada are, of course, welcome to send us their stories if they had a NWMP member in their past. We are excited by the opportunity to share stories of these early pioneers. Perhaps the stories may even make it into a book for wider distribution although we have not yet discussed that aspect.

Contact the Editor for more information on how to get your story published.

2 comments:

Gail B said...

I have a huge NWMP connection, but not family-linked. I have been amassing information on one of the leaders of the NWMP for years, everything I could find, and there was lots. My family bought the cottage from this major fellow's widow in Gull Lake Alberta. Left were NWMP plates, capes, uniform belts, etc. My family has donated some artifacts to the RCMP museum.

But I am not actually related, so will contact the editor to see if there is interest in an un-familial article.

Thanks for this John.

Gilleh said...

For those who may not already know, Library and Archives Canada has NWMP Personnel records on their site:
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/nwmp-personnel-records/Pages/north-west-mounted-police.aspx

Plus other sources (at the bottom of the above link): an obit index from 1933-1989, site of NMWP/RCMP graves, plus their now archived - but accessible web project.

Good to know that folks are interested in more than their foibles.....