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...helping
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THE
SASKATCHEWAN HOMESTEAD
INDEX PROJECT (SHIP)
A partnership project spearheaded by
The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society
and
The Saskatchewan Archives Board
Saskatchewan
Archives R-B9968
Homestead
Records are the KEY to
Saskatchewan’s Settlement History
FACT:
Saskatchewan is the only province where the original homestead records are still
available for public research.
FACT:
Saskatchewan is also the only province where there is a comprehensive card index
to the homestead files.
FACT: With
more than 65% of homes in the province subscribing to internet services –
added to millions across the country and around the world – there is
increasing pressure to put these resources on line so people can research them
from wherever they may live or work.
Why are homestead records important to understanding the settlement history of
Saskatchewan?
The Homestead
records contain a wealth of information about the settlement of Crown Lands in
Saskatchewan from 1870 to 1930.
Created by
the Dominion Department of the Interior, the records document the history of the
earliest agricultural settlement of Saskatchewan and how the pioneers fared in
their first years on the land. The files usually contain some or all of the
following:
There
is already an avid interest in these records on the part of local and family
historians, genealogists, educators and others with a taste for history and
adventure. Last year, members of the public used more than 9,000 homestead files
at the Saskatchewan Archives in Regina and Saskatoon. An overwhelming number of
Saskatchewan farm families access the records to document their land ownership
to qualify for the Century Family Farm Award of Saskatchewan Agriculture and
Food. In addition, hundreds of patrons regularly use microfilm copies of the
records at the Family History Library at Salt Lake City, Utah, and its Centers
across the continent and around the world.
A digital on-line index would make research much easier and would
streamline the process of requesting copies of the documents from the
Saskatchewan Archives. It would also complement the land grants information
already available on the website of the Information Services Corporation of
Saskatchewan
THE
PROJECT
This project takes on added
importance as 2005, Saskatchewan’s centennial year, approaches. There is
heightened interest in and awareness of the province’s history, the history of
the pioneer experience and the family connections of those who settled here.
In 2003, the Saskatchewan
Genealogical Society (SGS), a volunteer organization, took on the challenge of
heading The Saskatchewan Homestead
Index Project (SHIP). With the encouragement and co-operation of the
Saskatchewan Archives Board, the SGS is overseeing the administration of the
project while assembling the resources to complete a three-stage program to make
the Homestead records available in digital format.
Phase 1
The entire homestead index of some
330,000 card entries will be entered into a fully searchable database. When
complete, this will be launched on a web site, and CD-ROM copies of the index
will be made available for sale. With information from the on-line, digital
index, researchers could contact the SGS or the Saskatchewan Archives Board to
obtain copies of the contents of the original file.
Approximately 60% of these entries have been completed.
Launched October 21, 2005
Phase 2
The plan is to incorporate the
homestead index into a more extensive, web-based virtual exhibit showing the
settlement experience in Saskatchewan. This would include copies of typical
homestead documents, photographs, diaries and letters, interactive maps and
other archival sources pertaining to pioneer days. The exhibit would be designed
as an interactive study tool for high school students, but would also be of
great interest to the general public.
Launched September 14, 2006
Phase 3
When resources become available,
it is planned that the entire contents of the homestead files will be digitized
and made available on the internet where other, similar products are now
available.
Anticipated launch date: To
be determined
PARTNERSHIPS
To date, the Saskatchewan
Genealogical Society has established financial and/or working partnerships with
the following to finance one-third of the project:
Exciting partnership opportunities still exist
Join our team today. Be a part of this partnership project
to make Saskatchewan’s pioneer history come alive while establishing your
place in the development of tools to tell the province’s history to the world.
Builder:
$20,000-$25,000
Logo on website, CD-ROM and all
literature and advertising regarding the program; certificate of participation;
six VIP invitations to celebratory windup of each phase of the program; 12
complimentary CD-ROMS of the completed homestead index.
Homesteader: $10,000-$19,999
Logo on website and CD-ROM;
certificate of participation; four VIP invitations to celebratory windup of each
phase of the program; six complimentary CD-ROMS of the completed homestead
index.
Pioneer: $5,000-$9,999
Certificate of participation; two
VIP invitations to celebratory windup of each phase of the program; four
complimentary CD-ROMS of the completed homestead index.
Leading Settler: $1,000-$4,999
Certificate of participation; two
VIP invitations to celebratory windup of each phase of the program; two
complimentary CD-ROMS of the completed homestead index.
Settler: $500-$999
Certificate of participation; VIP
invitation to celebratory windup of each phase of the program; complimentary
CD-ROM of the completed homestead index.
Note: The Saskatchewan
Genealogical Society is a registered charity. Receipts for tax purposes will be
issued to all project donors.
Contact Saskatchewan Genealogical Society at PO
Box 1894, Regina SK
S4P 3E1; telephone: (306) 780-9207; e-mail: margethomas.sgs@accesscomm.ca
