Genealogical Resources

• Searching for your roots?
• Don’t know where to turn next?
• Looking for a long lost someone?
• Know something we don’t?

We can help each other!
If you have any updates to add to our information, or if you would like to request information on your family history, click here. If requesting information, please note the fees below.

Sources of Information

Church Registers (from the late 18th to early 19th Centuries)

• Trinity Anglican Church, Digby
• St. Patrick’s Anglican Church, Weymouth

Government Documents

• Township books
• County Municipal Records
• Land grants
• Deeds
• Probate records
• Digby County School Registers
• 1784 Botsford & 1801 Hatfield Land Grant maps
• Nova Scotia Vital Statistics from Newspapers: 1769-1856
• Deaths, Burial and Probate of Nova Scotians: 1800-1850
• Sir Guy Carelton’s Book of Negros
• Carleton’s Loyalist Index: A Select Index to the names of Loyalists and their associates contained in the British Headquarters Papers, New York City 1774-1783 (CD)
• The Presbyterian Times (and Evangelical Advocate) 1848-1908 (8 volume set) Compiled by J & S. McCormick, Middleton, NS
• Early Vital Records of the Township of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia 1762-1811 (transcription of records)

Media Sources

• Some indices to Vital Statistics, Christian Messenger, etc. (compiled & donated by Wayne Walker)
• The Digby Mirror (hardbound)
• The Digby Courier: 1877-1978 (microfilm)
• Weymouth Free Press: 1901-1904 (microfilm)
• Bear River News: 1897-1909 (microfilm)

Marshalltown Alms Home   (AKA Poor House)

Prior to building the Marshalltown Alms Home in 1891, many of the local people took less fortunate adults and children into their homes. These caretakers were paid a small monthly amount of money by the Municipality of Digby to house the homeless or poor, with some of the residents being their own family members.

Not all the caretakers offered safe or reliable accommodations and some even took advantage of the situation. In 1885, a court trail revealed several of the homes were unsavoury and it was finally determined that building one home and putting all the people under one roof would be a more efficient, safer alternative.

When the Alms Home was opened in 1891, the residents were recorded in the Alms Record Book according to the intake date. We do not have records from 1891-1896, although, in the 1897 records, some of residents were listed as being admitted in November 1891.

Each person’s name was recorded with their age, place of original community residence, marital status, and they were listed as male or female. Each consecutive year, after the initial intake date, the person’s name and, at times, other information was listed in the next year’s record. This was repeated each year until the resident left the Alms Home to work, left to live with someone in the community, or died.

If a person left the Alms Home, or died, a note was placed in the comment section. Some of the residents were listed as buried on the farm or their remains were picked up by family. Sometimes, the location of their burial elsewhere may have been listed. The medical condition, cause of the resident’s death, or reason for being in the Alms Home was not recorded in these records.

Old terminology, offensive by today’s standards were used in the records when, today, we would use more appropriate terms.

Being designated the current custodian of the Alms Records (1897-1962) by the Municipality of Digby, the Admiral Digby Museum is willing to share, with direct family members, what was recorded in the Alms Records. Due to the sensitive nature of this information, the Admiral Digby Museum will not be displaying the record books for the public to examine. The information pertaining an individual’s direct family, only, will be copied as it is seen in the Alms Record Books.

The Genealogy Department has a set fee for researching the records and will provide direct family members with a print-out of the information contained within the records upon request.

Personal Information

• Genealogies and charts
• Journals and Diaries
• Family files and publications
• Scrapbooks
• Major family collections for approximately 4000 Digby County families
• Thomas Lynch Papers (microfilm)
• Michael Lynch Papers (microfilm)

Other

• Cemetery inscriptions
• Funeral home records
• Census records: 1838, 1861, 1871-1891 (indexed), 1901
• 1864 Digby County ‘A. F. Church’ Map

Popular Sources

Family History Binders – are continuously compiled and organized by a very dedicated group of genealogy volunteers. Hilma Woods, a long-time volunteer researcher, initiated this project. These binders have been over two decades in the making and they continue to grow. We welcome any family newspaper clippings, names, stories, etc., which would ‘round out’ your family’s binder. The binders are organized in alphabetical order. They are a wonderful resource if you already know some of your past family names and want to find more.

*Our genealogy resource room has over 4,000 surnames in it’s family binders.

Printed Pedigrees – are books that have either been donated to, or purchased by, the Genealogy Department.

Census Records – This information is available on microfilm, with some transcribed in book format.

Genealogy and History Books and CDs – Books and CDs are available for purchase in our museum Gift Shop and on our Gift Shop page located here.

Cemetery Records – offer invaluable information regarding burial sites in the Digby County area and the people interred therein.

A number of our cemeteries have been catalogued, including photos of monuments and inscriptions. This is an on-going project that requires a number of volunteers and time. If you are interested in cataloguing a cemetery within Digby County please contact us.

Fees and Services (Effective July 1, 2023)
E-transfer is accepted to email:  admuseum@ns.sympatico.ca

We can also send you an invoice through SQUARE to pay with Credit Card or Debit Card.

Book Library & Family Name Binders:

• Access to the library of books for self-study is free of charge but donations are appreciated for upkeep of this library.

Assisted Research:

• $50/hour – for rush requests (required in less than 5 business days) Rush request may not always be possible.
• $40/hour – for a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 3 hours, in person or electronically for non members.

Benefits of Admiral Digby Museum Membership:

• All assisted research & photocopy fees are reduced for members.

Photocopies:

• $0.25 Non-member $0.15 Member
• Double sided copies will be charged per copied side.

Fees are subject to change. Check this site for current rates.
Special rates are available to members of the Admiral Digby Library & Historical Society.

Patrons are not permitted to take photographs or use portable scanners, unless otherwise approved by staff if warranted by the situation.

The Museum has the right to deny or withhold access to materials from its collection that may be damaged in the research process.

We do not hold copyright for all records in our collection. The user is responsible for securing all copyright permissions prior to use of materials beyond private research and study.

For more information on memberships click here.

The Admiral Digby Library & Historical Society is a non-profit organization. As such, we rely heavily on donations from people like you! Receipts are issued for amounts of $10 or more upon request.

Send your cheque or money order to:

Admiral Digby Library & Historical Society
P.O. Box 1644
95 Montague Row
Digby, NS, Canada
B0V 1A0

We can also send you an invoice through SQUARE to pay with Credit Card or Debit Card.