Thunder Bay District 20th Century Obituary Indexing Project

- AKA The Directory of the Dearly Departed -

Last updated: 26 Jan 2012

For questions, comments or to volunteer. If you would like a copy there is a small fee. The project co-ordinator is David Nicholson.

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INTRO/OVERVIEW:

This volunteer project began in April 2007. The objective is to index the death notices, obituaries and estate notices (notice to creditors) from the Fort William, Port Arthur and Thunder Bay newspapers for the time period 1900 - 1999. The In Memoriams were only compiled for the pre-1950 newspapers. The focus is on the death information as the notices can provide clues to more family information such as occupation, birth date, marriage date and living descendants. These indexes are valuable time-saving tools for genealogists and historians.

INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING?

We would appreciate more assistance with this project. If you enjoy reading old newspapers on microfilm and want to help other researchers, use the contact link at the top of the page.
Indexing the historical newspapers can be compared to cleaning out a closet. It can take a while because you might get distracted with all of the wonderful things you are finding there, but you realize it should be organized to make the things easier to find in the future.

COMPLETED INDEXES:

The Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay, Ontario):

Introduction & credits >>>> The Chronicle-Journal July 1972-1979 (online January 26, 2012)

The online date for The Chronicle-Journal index 1980 - 1989 is later in 2012.

The online date for The Chronicle-Journal index 1990 - 1999 is TBA.

Fort William Daily Times-Journal:

Introduction & credits >>>> Daily Times-Journal 1900-1919

Introduction & credits >>>> Daily Times-Journal 1920-1929

Introduction & credits >>>> Daily Times-Journal 1930-1939

Introduction & credits >>>> Daily Times-Journal 1940-1949 (online October 6, 2009)

Introduction & credits >>>> Daily Times-Journal 1950-1959 (online May 6, 2010)

Introduction & credits >>>> Daily Times-Journal 1960-June 1972 (online June 6, 2011)

The indexing of the Fort William Daily Times-Journal is completed.

Port Arthur News-Chronicle:

Introduction & credits >>>> Daily News 1906-1916/News-Chronicle 1916-1919

Introduction & credits >>>> News-Chronicle 1920-1929

Introduction & credits >>>> News-Chronicle 1930-1939

Introduction & credits >>>> News-Chronicle 1940-1949

The online date for the News-Chronicle 1950-1959 and 1960-June 1972 index is TBA. We will be working on these after we finish the 1980s.

SCHEDULE:

We are working on completing a decade every year. Keeping on schedule depends on the availability of volunteers.

WHERE TO FIND COPIES OF THESE NOTICES:

In Thunder Bay, the newspapers are on microfilm at the following locations:

Brodie Library
Northern Studies Resource Centre (fifth floor of the Lakehead University library)
Confederation College library
Across Canada, these newspapers on microfilm can be inter-loaned from the National Library and Archives in Ottawa to your local library. The catch is your local library has to have a microfilm reader. If the reader does not print you can use a digital camera to take a picture of the projected display (just don't use a flash). Check with your local library about their photography policies.

You can use the contact link at the top of the page for more information.

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