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Bureau of Mines photograph albums

  • GR-3264
  • Series
  • [188-?]-1936, 1966

The series consists of photographs taken by or collected by the Bureau of Mines, where they were compiled into 30 photograph albums. Some of the albums, or parts of the albums, were compiled at the end of the year's work and were intended by the Provincial Mineralogist to document his annual summer field work throughout the province.

Many of the photographs were published each year in Department bulletins and in the Annual Report of the Minister of Mines. There is a coding in the albums which indicates that a photograph was used in the Annual Report. For example, “R1925 - A182” signifies that the photograph was used in the 1925 Annual Report of the Minister of Mines on page A182. Each Annual Report of the Minister contains narrative descriptions of the field trips taken by the Provincial Mineralogist and other Bureau of Mines staff, so it is possible to trace the relationship each year between these field trip narratives and the photographs.

W. Fleet Robertson (Provincial Mineralogist from 1898 to 1925) took some of the photographs. Beginning ca. 1906, Harold T. Nation was an assistant to the Provincial Mineralogist, and travelled with him on his summer field trips, taking photographs, compiling many of the photo albums and indexing them. Exceptions were the years 1914-1917, when Nation served in the military in Europe, after which he returned to his former position. Others from the Bureau of Mines who contributed to the creation of the albums include: W.A. Carlyle, (W. Fleet Robertson's predecessor as Provincial Mineralogist); J.D. Galloway (Robertson's successor); Herbert Carmichael (an Assistant Mineralogist); and Newton W. Emmens. They took photographs or directed that photos be taken to document their work in the field. Many photographs are labeled “B.C. Bureau of Mines” but the photographer is not identified.

Some of the albums, or parts of albums, appear to have been compiled, not an annual basis, but at a later date, and were labeled “miscellaneous.” They relate to the mining industry, geology, mineralogy, and local culture, but are not related to the annual field trips. The Provincial Mineralogist's office collected some of these from private sources including mining companies and miners. Professional photographers whose work is found in the albums include: R.J. Hughes (Trail, BC), Hughes Bros. (Trail, BC), Joseph F. Spalding (Fernie, BC), Carpenter & Co. (Rossland, BC), Carpenter & Millar (Rossland, BC), The Dominion Photo Company (Vancouver), Richard H. Trueman (R.H. Trueman & Co., Vancouver), E.F. Tucker, and Leonard Frank. There are a small number of photos taken by Charles Camsell of the Geological Survey of Canada, 1911, so it is possible others were taken by federal government employees.

Subjects include a very wide range of industrial and cultural activities and geographic features. These include: mines and mining operations and equipment; mining camps, prospectors, miners' houses, powder magazines, first aid teams, fire brigades, mine rescue squads and stations; immigrant workers; refineries, smelters, coke ovens, concentrators, brickyards, slag dumps and tailings; railways and rail trestles; boats, scows, ships, and dredging; landscape and terrain features including rivers and mountain ranges; mining industry towns, schools, hospitals, hotels, churches, government offices and wireless offices; First Nations activities and culture, including totem poles, grave sites, and villages; whaling and whaling stations; horse pack trains, Hudson's Bay Company posts; and conferences and congresses attended by Bureau of Mines staff.

Many of the photos are annotated with directions for the printing/publication process. Many are pieced together to create panoramas. Some albums have accompanying individual indexes and some have been indexed in the master alphabetical index.

Container No. Photograph Album
001302-0001 -- Bureau of Mines photographs miscellaneous album, H.T. Nation [album misc. B] ca. 188-?-1919
001302-0002 -- Bureau of Mines D : photographs ca. 189-?-1917
001302-0003 -- B.C. Bureau of Mines [E] miscellaneous photographs compiled from October 1927
001302-0004 -- 1895 Bureau of Mines
001302-0005 -- 1896 Bureau of Mines
001302-0006 -- Bureau of Mines, 1897-1898
001302-0007 -- Bureau of Mines photos 1898, 1899, 1900
001302-0008 -- Dept. of Mines, 1901, 1899-1901
001302-0009 -- Bureau of Mines 1902
001302-0010 -- Bureau of Mines, 1903, Victoria, B.C., 1903-1904
001302-0011 -- Photographs : 1905
001302-0012 -- Peace River and other trips in 1906 by W.F. Robertson and H. Carmichael, 1906
001302-0013 -- 1907 Bureau of Mines, Victoria B.C., 1906-1907
001302-0014 -- 1908 photos by Bureau of Mines, Victoria B.C., 1908-1909
001205-0001 -- Bureau of Mines photos collected during 1909
001302-0015 -- Odd photos collected in the Provincial Mineralogist's office, entered Nov. 1910
001302-0016 -- Summer trip of the Provincial Mineralogist to the Bulkley and Telkwa Rivers and the Slocan Mining Division, 1911; 1934
001302-0017 -- Provincial Mineralogist trip to Cassiar, 1912, 1911-1912
001302-0018 -- Photos for 1913 report, taken by W.F. Robertson, B.G. Forbes, W.M. Brewer, J.D. Galloway
001302-0019 -- Photographs taken in 1914
001302-0020 -- Dept. of Mines album 1915
001302-0021 -- Photographs : Dept. of Mines album 1916
001302-0022 -- Photographs : Bureau of Mines 1917-1918-1919
001302-0023 -- Photographs : Bureau of Mines 1920-21
001302-0024 -- Photos received at the Bureau of Mines during 1921 & 1922, compiled by Harold T. Nation
001302-0025 -- 1923 current photos, Bureau of Mines, 1920-1925
001302-0026 -- Dept. of Mines album : photos 1925 continued, 1926, 1925-1926
001302-0027 -- Bureau of Mines photographs 1926 (continued), 1927, 1922-1928
001302-0028 -- Bureau of Mines, Victoria, B.C. misc. photos, compiled by Harold T. Nation, 1927 [misc. album C], 1895-1927
001302-0029 -- Bureau of Mines photographs, 1926-1930, 1966
001302-0030 -- Dept. of Mines album 1930, [ca. 1930-1936]

British Columbia. Dept. of Mines

Bureau of Mines negatives and lantern slides

  • GR-4099
  • Series
  • [ca. 190-] - 1953

The series consists of photographs (lantern slides and a few glass or flexible negatives) created by the offices of the Bureau of Mines and the Dept. of Mines between ca. 1900 and 1953. The photographs depict all aspects of Bureau activities including surveys and inspections. Many of the glass negatives were taken by W.F. Robertson and H.T. Nation of the Bureau of Mines and were often used for annual reports and other publications. The bulk of the photographs are glass lantern slides, either made from Bureau of Mines photographs or copied from other sources. Photographer Edgar Fleming took or copied many of the photographs for the Department. These slides show mines and mining operations and equipment; mining camps, first aid teams, refineries, smelters, coke ovens, concentrators, railways and rail trestles; boats, landscape and terrain features including coast, rivers and mountain ranges and aerial views. There are also a significant number of maps and technical drawings.

Occasionally other photographer initials M.S.H., S.S.H. and W.H.M. are noted on the slides. There are 63 slides of South African mines and general views, 23 slides of the Alcan Kemano project from 1953 and various portraits scattered throughout the series, as well as ca. 115 aerial views from the 1930s, many with their own numbering scheme.

The series also includes an additional 38 glass lantern slides from the 1920s, alienated from the main run of lantern slides and transferred separately. Most of these slides were made of photographs taken by Edgar Fleming for the Bureau of Mines but also include some slides of maps and technical drawings.

British Columbia. Bureau of Mines

Records of the Government Agent, Clinton

  • GR-3762
  • Series
  • [192-?] – 1927

The series consists of assorted forms and records that may have been used by the Government Agent in Clinton in the 1920s. The series includes a formulaic Grand Jury statement signed by C A Semlin, as well as forms and instructions for opening court, a memorandum on the fees and expensees allowed to witnesses attending speedy trials and assizes, and several blank forms for County Court matters. Several of the records bear the letterhead or stamp of the Clinton Government Agent.

British Columbia. Government Agent (Clinton)

Indigent Fund administration files

  • GR-0289
  • Series
  • 1914-1933 [predominant 192-]

The series consists of records created by the Deputy Provincial Secretary between 1914 and 1933 pertaining to the administration of funds for the "aid of the destitute, poor, and sick."

Between 1872 and 1942, an annual vote of funds was included in the estimates of the B.C. legislature. The fund, which was administered by the Office of the Provincial Secretary, originally contained $500. By 1935, this figure had risen to $110,000; but in the fund's final year of existence, 1943, the vote of funds had declined to $40,000.

The Indigent Fund, unlike the Mother's Pension, the Old Age Pension (1927), or the Veterans Assistance plans was not tied to an Act of Parliament, and thus relief was provided to people under a wide range of circumstances, and included many who failed to qualify for assistance under specific federal or provincial schemes. The fund was designed to meet the immediate and shortterm needs of rural B.C. residents (municipalities had their own funds) who through misfortune or bad planning had found themselves without "the necessities of life." The key to the fund, until the early 1930s, when the position of Superintendent of Welfare was created, was the Deputy Provincial Secretary, for it was often at his discretion that assistance was provided. He was aided in his duties by the various Government Agents, who were responsible for handling vouchers, disbursing cheques, and reporting to Victoria any new developments in individual cases. They, in turn, were assisted by Provincial Police constables who usually investigated each case and submitted a report.

The records consist of correspondence inward and outward from the Deputy Provincial Secretary's office; correspondence from Government Agents to the Deputy Provincial Secretary; Provincial Police reports on the condition of Indigents; correspondence from indigents or persons representing them to the Premier, Ministers, and the Deputy Provincial Secretary; and miscellaneous correspondence to and from various government departments and agencies such as Workman's Compensation Board, Department of Immigration, public hospitals, police departments etc.

The files are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the indigent. They are not, however, arranged alphabetically within each folder. There are two alphabetical series, as well as two sets of files titled "miscellaneous". All files have been preserved in their original order.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Forest Service photograph indexes

  • GR-4186
  • Series
  • [195?]-1983

The series consists of various indexes and inventories created by the Forest Service to manage their photograph files along with some miscellaneous material, such as their copies of the Oxford classification system used to classify forest photographs. There are also several inventories of Forest Service photographs created by the BC Archives and print copies of some photographs including botanical renderings.

British Columbia. Forest Service

Vernon County Court process books

  • GR-3507
  • Series
  • 1913-[195-?]

The series consists of one unindexed process book dating from 1913 to 1916 and two process index books. The indexes appear to be for much later records and likely date to the 1950s. A typical entry shows the date received, plaint number, plaintiff, defendant, nature of process, amount, court issued from, name of solicitor, date of return, nature of return and remarks.

British Columbia. County Court (Vernon)

Records pertaining to Indian lands

  • GR-0200
  • Series
  • 1763; 1859-1870 [photocopied 1976]

The series consists of certified copies of records pertaining to Indian lands obtained by the Dept. of the Attorney-General in 1976 from the Public Record Office, London.

It includes selected page copies of proclamations (PC 2/110), correspondence, and despatches (C.O.5/65, C.O.42/24 and C.O.398) from successive Secretaries of State to the Governor of British Columbia pertaining to Indian lands and Crown lands in North America as well as British Columbia.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Attorney-General

Agassiz Police Court Magistrate's record book

  • GR-2114
  • Series
  • 1839-1951

Magistrate's record book showing name of accused, act contravened, plea and sentence. Pages 382-400 contain Magistrate's records from the Small Debts Court.

British Columbia. Police Court (Agassiz)

Baptismal, marriage and burial church registers

  • GR-3258
  • Series
  • Microfilmed 1946 (originally created 1849-1903)

The series consists of copies of British Columbia baptism, marriage and death registers created by churches that conducted the ceremonies. Currently only records (baptisms 1849-1899; marriages 1864-1903) of St. Andrews Cathedral, Victoria , are available.

Churches were required to submit their baptismal registers to the Vital Statistics Division in the 1940s so the registers could be microfilmed. Vital Statistics subsequently created an alphabetical index to the microfilmed registers, and a database was created from the index volumes with supplementary information from the microfilmed registers added to the entries. This information is searchable via the BC Archives Genealogy database. The microfilm copies of the original registers may include some additional information or context that was not included in the database.

Each bound volume was created by one church. Each entry corresponds with one ceremony, but may involve multiple individuals. The entries within each volume are ordered chronologically and may be numbered. Every volume varies in the type and presentation of information included and may not be consistent throughout one volume. All entries include the date of the ceremony, name of individual(s) involved in the ceremony, and the name of the priest who conducted the ceremony.

Baptism register entries may also include name of child, date of birth, place of birth, sex of child, name and surname of father, name and maiden name of mother, residence of parents, profession of parents, religion of parents, name and surname of grandparents, religion of grandparents, and name and surname of godparents.

Marriage register entries may also include name and surname of groom, name and maiden name of bride, age of bride, age of groom, name and surname of their parents, name and surname of witnesses present, religion of named individuals, place of birth, and signatures of parties involved.

Death register entries may also include: death dates, cause of death, age at death, location of internment and information about the funeral ceremony.

Indigenous people are included in the registers (as Indians or Sauvages). Some Indigenous names are included. Many baptisms of Indigenous people were in groups and may only consist of a list of the Christian names the priest gave to the baptized individuals. Tribal or community affiliations may be included.

Some entries include the geographical location that the ceremony took place. This location may vary from the location of the church, as some priests travelled quite widely to conduct ceremonies.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Act regulating importation of spirituous liquors

  • GR-0771
  • Series
  • 1850

Colony of Vancouver Island Act regulating importation of spirituous liquors, dated 13 May 1850.

Vancouver Island (Colony). Governor (1849-1851 : Blanshard)

Minutes of the Council of Vancouver Island

  • GR-0819
  • Series
  • 1851-1861

This series consists of a minute book of the Council of Vancouver Island from 30 August 1851 to the prorogation of the House of Assembly on the 6 February 1861.

The series also consists of several extracts of council minutes on various topics from 1853 and 1856, and what appears to be 2 drafts - one consisting of Council minutes and the other of an ordinance. The drafts are dated 14 February 1857 and 2 August 1856, respectively, and deal with the granting of money for the use of the Vancouver Island House of Assembly, and for the arrangement of the affairs of the Colonial Church at Victoria. These additional records may be copied in the minute book.

Vancouver Island (Colony). Council

Instrument establishing Executive Council of Vancouver Island

  • GR-0820
  • Series
  • 1851

This series consists of an original and transcript of the instrument establishing Executive Council of Vancouver Island, 27 August 1851 signed by Governor Richard Blanshard naming James Cooper, James Douglas and John Todd as councilors of Government for Vancouver Island and its dependencies.

Vancouver Island (Colony). Executive Council

Crown land grants

  • GR-3139
  • Series
  • 1851-1878

The Crown land grants in this series have been recorded in registers covering particular districts or towns. Those registered after 1869 overlap with a centrally registered series of Crown land grants (GR-3097,1869-1930). Included in this series is an indexed volume of Hudson's Bay Company deeds to lands on southern Vancouver Island granted between 1851 and 1858.

Records from 1860-1878 have been indexed in the Historic Crown Grants database (http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/gator/crowngrantsearchrequest.do). Unlike the records in GR-3097, no volume or grant number is provided, only a reel number.

Crown land grants in this series are documented with a land grant registration form and, in many cases, related records. Most of the forms originally consisted of "a" and "b" parts; the latter was given to the grantee, and the former (a long, narrow "counterfoil" ) was kept by the government. These counterfoil records describe the sale or transfer of specific parcels of Crown land; some also describe the terms and conditions governing these transactions. Some counterfoils contain very little information. Registration forms generally document the following: registration number; grantee name; location, acreage, and lot number of the land; and the amount paid. Registration dates are in most cases distinguished on the forms from the dates land was initially acquired; this reflects the fact that purchase of land may not have been finalized until months or years afterwards, when all required improvements had been made. In rare cases, no registration or acquisition date is recorded. Attachments (usually glued to the relevant counterfoil) include sketches of land, applications for Crown grants, receipts, certificates of purchase and title, conveyances recording sale of granted land to other persons, state of title forms, court documents, and related correspondence and other documentation.

British Columbia. Dept. of Lands and Works

Colonial correspondence : correspondence of the Government of the Colony of Vancouver Island, 1849-1866 and of the Government of the Colony of British Columbia, 1858-1871

  • GR-1372
  • Series
  • 1852-1872

GR-1372 is an artificial series, created by the Provincial Archives of British Columbia in the 1920s and 1930s from records of the governments of the Colony of Vancouver Island (1849-1866), the Colony of British Columbia (1858-1866) and the United Colony of British Columbia (1866-1871). The records, consisting of correspondence inward to and among officials and departments, were originally organized more or less chronologically as records of the department or agency to which they were sent, e.g. Colonial Secretary, Attorney-General, Commissioner of Land and Works, etc. Letters when received were logged into a register and assigned sequential numbers with the last two numbers of the year appended, creating the file number, e.g. 105/62. Some of these registers still exist, e.g. GR-0625. The correspondence was often accompanied by enclosures such as reports, sketches and maps which were considered part of the file.

Sometime during the 1920s and 1930s, Archives staff undertook to re-organize these records into a single alphabetical series organized primarily by the name of the originating office or sender (road tolls and petitions are notable exceptions). Formerly separate records were intermingled and the original order was lost. The records were indexed using new file numbers assigned for that purpose. These are the F numbers written in red crayon on the records. Starting with the number 1, each folder of records in the new alphabetical sequence was assigned a number as well as the individual files (items) within that folder, e.g. F33/1.

It appears that later insertions into the alpha sequence, after the initial assignment of numbers, were dealt with by using letters (e.g. F85a, F85b), or a number in parentheses (e.g. F79(1), F80a(1)). When an F file required more than one folder, either letters were added to subsequent folders, (e.g. F102, F102a, F102b) or numbers in parentheses were used (e.g. F142b(1), F142b(2)). The F numbers on the documents, however, were not affected by the change in numbering as they formed one continuous sequence (e.g. F102, files 1-9; F102a, files 10-22; F102b, files 23-30b).

Some of the correspondence was transcribed by Archives staff. These typed transcripts are either in the file folders together with the originals or in a separate file folder following the file folder with the originals. Most of the transcripts were not microfilmed and consequently do not appear on the microfilm reels. The records were microfilmed 1978-1980.

See attached finding aid for more information about the history, contents, and indexing of this collection.

Provincial Archives of British Columbia

Surveyor General correspondence

  • C/AA/30.71K/1
  • Series
  • 1852-1866

The series is a correspondence record book originally kept by the Surveyor General of the Colony of Vancouver Island, J.D. Pemberton, from 1852 to 1864. The record book was then kept by Acting Surveyor General B.W. Pearse, from 1864 to 1868 both for the Colony of Vancouver Island and the United Colony of

The volume contains copies of correspondence from Hudson's Bay Company House in London to Colonial Surveyor J.D. Pemberton and Governor James Douglas, as well as individual letters from Douglas and other Colonial officials to Pemberton and Pearse bound into the book. There are also lists of reports issued by Pemberton and extracts from minutes of council regarding regulations for the sale of land, letters and papers regarding the Race Rocks lighthouse, and correspondence relating to the Union of the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia.

Vancouver Island (Colony). Office of the Surveyor General

Correspondence relating to Craigflower School

  • GR-2054
  • Series
  • 1852-1865

McKenzie advertising for a "Teacher for the Settlement of Vancouver's Island" (1852); letter from the Rev. Edward Cridge, recommending the appointment of Henry Claypole as teacher (1859); and letter from the Duke of Newcastle, recommending Claypole's services (1860). Also includes correspondence from Claypole, requesting increase in salary (1861), criticizing Common Schools Act and tendering his resignation (1865). Some records were removed from GR-1372 (Colonial Correspondence), files F330 and F395.

For related correspondence (Claypole's initial letter of resignation and appended report of attendance at Craigflower School for year ending July 1864) see GR-1372,F396/5.

Previously catalogued as K/H/C84.

Vancouver Island (Colony). Colonial Secretary

Letterbook copies of despatches from Governor Douglas to Colonial Office

  • GR-1447
  • Series
  • 1853-1854

This series contains a letterbook copy of despatches from Governor Douglas to Colonial Secretary, Duke of Newcastle, 8 June 1853, concerning expedition of HM Steam Sloop Virago to Queen Charlotte Islands. There is also a draft despatch, 26 July 1853, concerning the capture of vessel Susan Sturgis by Indians of Queen Charlotte Islands and Fort Simpson.

Vancouver Island (Colony). Governor (1851-1864 : Douglas)

Vancouver Island Supreme Court of Civil Justice bench book

  • GR-2032
  • Series
  • 1853-1856

Series consists of one bench book for Colony of Vancouver Island Supreme Court of Civil Justice civil and criminal cases heard by Judge David Cameron at Fort Victoria from November 1853 to January 1856 and one criminal case at Nanaimo in May 1854. It also includes civil cases heard at Victoria in the Inferior Court of Civil Justice in 1856. The volume additionally served as a criminal record book for 1853, a cause book for 1856, and a Registrar's record book for 1853. It opens with a notation that Judge Cameron's commission was read and that he took his seat on 6 October 1853. The Registrar also notes that he received the court seal from Judge Cameron.

Vancouver Island. Supreme Court of Civil Justice

General correspondence

  • GR-3352
  • Series
  • 1854-1930

Series consists of correspondence of the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works. Correspondence includes copies of letters inward and outward, copies of reports and maps. Correspondence deals with land issues including pre-emption claims, land-use, Indian lands and land disputes. Correspondence also deals with public works issues such as the Esquimalt Graving Dock or with the administration of the department. Many of the documents are stamped with a Lands and Works number indicating the year the document was received and the document number in the office (i.e. "423/78 refers to the 423rd document registered in 1878). The Dept. of Lands and Works then grouped together related documents by subject with the subject written on a blue piece of paper that also served as the file folder.

Birth registrations

  • GR-2965
  • Series
  • 1854-1903

The series consists of copies of British Columbia birth registrations created by the Vital Statistics Agency. The records are on microfilm and cover the period 1854 to 1903. An index is available online on the BC Archives web site and on microfiche (GR-3103). In many cases, a digitized copy of the registration record is attached to the online index record.

Birth registrations consist of completed statements regarding births in British Columbia submitted to District Registrars and registered by the Director of Vital Statistics. The statements contain: date of birth, place of birth, sex of child, name of child, name and surname of father, name and maiden name of mother, residence and rank or profession of father, name of person who delivered the child (accoucheur), reason father did not report the birth if the report was made by another person, date of registration and registration number. If the child was originally registered without a name, or if the name was changed, the registration form is accompanied by a certificate, submitted by the person who baptized the infant and signed by the parents or guardian, or by some other document verifying the name. The only persons excluded from registration under the 1872 Act were Chinese and Aboriginals (referred to in the legislation and registered as Indians). This was changed by an amendment in 1897 (SBC 1897, c. 33, s. 3) which stated that the Act would apply to all races including all Aboriginals, Chinese and Japanese. However, the Act was amended in 1899 (SBC 1899, c. 8, s. 3) to once again exclude Aboriginals from provincial registration. This continued until the Act was amended again in 1916 (SBC 1916, c. 73, s. 3.2) to authorize the registration of Aboriginals, which began in 1917 with Indian Agents submitting registrations monthly.

There are usually two numbers stamped on the registration form. In the upper right-hand corner is a red sequential number which is the record number of the registration. At the centre top is the official registration number in black that looks like this (for example) 64-09-016729. The first part is the year of birth; the second part is the code for British Columbia; the third part is the finding number consisting of six digits. The first three digits of the six-digit finding number show the original volume which the registration was in; the last three are the last three digits of the record number. Since there are always fewer than 1000 registrations in a volume, users should look for the last three digits in the official registration number within the correct volume. Although the registrations have been resorted for microfilming, they are still in a numerical sequence by year, volume and number.

In the early years, birth registrations were gathered and bound in volumes by geographic location for one or more birth registration years. The registrations within each volume were sorted alphabetically by surname, sometimes grouped by smaller localities within the geographic location. Volumes were numbered sequentially and later yet sequential registration numbers were assigned to each registration within a volume. For large municipalities, birth registrations were bound in volumes by registration year. Often, there were multiple volumes for each year, organized and bound through a combination of chronology and alphabetization by surname. In these years, it was not unusual for births to be registered some time, even many years, after the event. These "delayed" registrations were either recorded in the same volume as births of that year, or kept in separate "delayed" registration series. The registration of stillbirths also varied over these years, and were either registered as a birth or a death, or sometimes both. Due to the complex way that birth registrations were gathered and bound historically and the way that delayed registrations have been processed, it was necessary to sort them for microfilming in order of birth year instead of registration year. This has been done to enable the release of open birth registrations. BCVSA has sorted pre-1919 births by year of birth, and volume number and registration number within each birth year. As a result, when viewed in microfilmed sequence, there appear to be gaps in volume and registration numbers within each year. The "missing" volumes and registration numbers are for births that occurred in years earlier than the registration year. Although the sorted birth registrations have been microfilmed in several different sequences, the task of finding a specific registration on the microfilm is very simple since the birth index points to the correct microfilm reel and registration number.

Indian registrations were filmed separately from non-Indian registrations to facilitate distribution of those reels to interested groups. Non-Indian birth registrations: Birth events from 1854 have been filmed sequentially in order of year, and volume number and registration number within the year. Birth events from 1854 to 1897 have been filmed together as a group for release in 1998. Events from 1898 have been filmed so as to allow for annual release in 1999 and beyond. Delayed registrations of non-Indian births: Birth events from 1869 have been filmed sequentially in order of year, and volume number and registration number within the year. Birth events from 1869 to 1897 have been filmed together as a group for release in 1998. Events from 1898 have been filmed at the end of the non-Indian birth registrations for those years so as to allow for annual release in 1999 and beyond. Indian birth registrations: Birth events from 1868 have been filmed sequentially in order of year, and volume number and registration number within the year.

If a birth registration is found in the index but is shown as "not filmed" on the reel, or the reel number given has not yet been released, the registration is probably a delayed registration, i.e. it was filed in a volume with later registrations which are less than 100 years old. Copies of these registrations can be obtained from the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Legislative Council records

  • GR-1529
  • Series
  • 1854, 1864

This series contains messages to the Governor from the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly, with draft replies, 1864. It includes a draft of an Act to Prohibit Sale of Alcohol to Indians, 1854.

Vancouver Island (Colony). Governor (1851-1864 : Douglas)

Birth registration index

  • GR-3103
  • Series
  • 1854-1903

The series consists of a single alphabetical index created by the Vital Statistics Agency, for British Columbia birth registration records, 1854 to 1903. The index is computer output microfiche from the original electronic index that appeared on the BC Archives web site in 1999. It contains information that can be used to find individual registrations on the microfilm of the birth registrations.

This information consists of one complete alphabetical listing by surname of births registered within the Province of British Columbia. Each entry contains: name of the person; registration number (the format is year-province code-finding number, e.g., 1879-09-006017); the event date (the format is year/month/day, e.g., 1879/05/29); gender; event place (e.g., Victoria); microfilm reel number assigned by the BC Archives (the B number) and number given to the microfilm reel by the Genealogical Society of Utah (referred to as the "GSU microfilm number" ). The information in the online and microfiche indexes is provided only for the purpose of locating registrations and should not be taken as authoritative. The final authority for all registration information is the registration document itself.

To find an individual registration, first look up a person's name in the alphabetical listing. When you have found the right name and event, make note of the registration number, the event date, and the BCA or GSU microfilm reel number. Instructions for locating the actual registration can be found in the finding aid for GR-2965.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Vancouver Island land registers

  • GR-2623
  • Series
  • 1855-1942

Bright, Cedar, Cranberry, Mountain, Nanoose, Nanaimo, and Wellington Land Districts, all on Vancouver Island, land registers, superceded 1928 (i.e. no further entries were made after 1928). The registers list the land in numerical order, usually by Range and Section, but occasionally by lot. There can be up to three methods of land description within one Land District. Information may include the name of purchaser, dates and number of certificate issued (including Crown Grants), dates and amounts of payments, and reference numbers to correspondence files and field books. The volume contains an index to districts by page number, and an alphabetical index to grantees.

British Columbia. Dept. of Lands

Election writs and other material

  • GR-1714
  • Series
  • 1856-1866

This series contains election writs, voters' lists, poll books and related correspondence dating from 1856-1866. Poll books give electors' names and indicate the candidates for whom each elector voted. This unit should be used in conjunction with GR-0484 [Voters' Lists, 1865-1866] and GR-1666 [Voters' Lists and Poll Books, 1862-1866].

Vancouver Island (Colony). Sheriff

Provincial Archives records

  • GR-0975
  • Series
  • 1856-1970

This series consists of Provincial Archives records. Records include 3 visitors books, 1918-1944; miscellaneous correspondence, reports, memoranda and accounts removed from central filing system; and drafts of pioneers' stories, 1954. Contains some records and accounts of the Provincial Library.

Provincial Archives of British Columbia

Yale District water rights records

  • GR-0845
  • Series
  • 1857-1906

This series consists of three volumes of records of the Assistant Commissioner of Lands and Works, Yale District, relating to water rights. Volume 1 contains Irrigation Water Records for Yale and Ashcroft Water Districts, 1873-1885, Book No. 4. Volume 2 is an index to Water Records, 1859 to 1900, Books 1, 2, 3, 4. Volume 3 is a list of Water Records, Yale District, 1857-1906.

British Columbia. Dept. of Lands and Works

Colonial Correspondence Index

  • GR-1920
  • Series
  • ca. 1930

This index covers most - but not all - files from 1 to 1212a (A - Na) in GR-1372 - correspondence inward to Vancouver Island and British Columbia colonial government officials. The indexing was done on cards, by name of sender, recipient and subject. It was never completed. Files 1212b - 1939 (Na-Z), and some correspondence in files 1-1212a have not been indexed.

Each index card provides the file number, and often a secondary number to indicate the specific item within that file e.g. F123 6 The numbers were written in red crayon on the first page of each document. The index also includes cards for records initially meant to be part of a Hudson's Bay Company correspondence collection and are designated as H.B.Co. files. This collection was abandoned and the records made part of separately catalogued records such as the Donald Ross papers.

The original card catalogue is available in the Reference Room.

Schedule of Forms

  • GR-2717
  • Series
  • 1857

Schedule of Forms to the Rules of Practice in the Inferior or Summary Court of Civil Justice under the Order of the Supreme Court of Civil Justice. 64 forms.

Vancouver Island. Supreme Court of Civil Justice

Plaint and procedure books

  • GR-2716
  • Series
  • 1857-1867

Plaint and procedure books. Volume 1 contains a guide for several court orders.

Vancouver Island (Colony). Inferior Court of Civil Justice

Attorney General document series

  • GR-0419
  • Series
  • 1857-1966

The Attorney-General Document series consists mainly of transcripts of depositions and preliminary hearings and trials, forwarded to the Attorney-General and numbered consecutively by year they were filed. Registers and indexes (volumes 879 to 885) are available on microfilm reel B00395.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Attorney-General

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