Ruthenians/Ukrainians to Canada

[Hannia]

The first leg of their journey was usually by train to Hamburg. Hamburg required all visitors staying more than 3 days to register with the police so the Hamburg records can be a source of direct or indirect information. Conditions on the ships or cattle boats were crowded and unpleasant. Genealogical information can be found in the shipping list, land locations and naturalization. Naturalization papers are especially valuable as they have full name, address, trade or occupation, place and date of birth, citizenship, marital status, parents, age, height and complexion. Attractive and colorful Homestead Records in Manitoba were recalled as official documents but not all of them were returned.

The immigrant then most likely moved to the west to take advantage of free land in Vegreville, Battleford, Prince Albert, Fish Creek, Yorkton, Dauphin, Shoal Lake, Interlake, Whitemouth or Stuartburn. Under the Sifton government, $10 saw good land with chernozemec, Ukranian for "black soil■. Ukrainians homesteaded between 1891 and 1917 along the Yellowhead highway-- from south-east Manitoba through Saskatchewan to north-west Alberta.

The first housing was a hole in the ground with a slanted popular lean-to with the next step being a log cabin with a straw thatched roof. They did not attach an animal shelter to the house. It would have a stove (pich) for baking delicious bread and a holy wall facing east.

excerpt
PA Branch Saskatchewan Genealogy Society Archives
http://www.sasktelwebsite.net/carsn/GENE/e20103.htm

[Czubak]

Great post Hannia, and Vitalij says hello!

Our family began researching our family lines back in the 1970's and 1980's. Not long after we began we discovered that the Rural Municipal offices originally gathered all the Birth Death and Marriage records. Occasionally we would go into an office and find records on our family for simply a photocopy fee. Things changed and many offices discarded their records, which was a shame.

Years ago we decided to ask if we could get copies of the records. Our focus was Ukrainian block settlements. Mainly from Saskatoon to Prince Albert, a bit east and then a bit west. We ended up with almost a hundred thousand documents. The documents have long been extracted as well as many local histories. We connected them, mostly all of them, into our family tree.

What we now have is an incredible family record, but also an incredible resource. A few years ago I thought of compiling them into a book. If you were to have just four lines dedicated to each person (which is not enough considering the extensive note file and sourses) we would be looking about about 12 volumes at 400 pages per volume. With the note files and sources, it is really unprintable.

The reason for this post is to open the door for people that are interested. The file extends obviously into other Provinces and I have learned that a large portion of the Ukrainians we found go back to Borszczow raion in Ternopil oblast. I too have numerous records connected into our file from that area as well.

Our original goal was to put together a CD with the files on them, we had the blessings of the Provincal Premier and other officials but in the end we were forced to stop.

A Czubak

[XeniaUkraina]

I can envision my ancestors doing all of that-they got as far as Yorkton and decided to put down roots.

thanks Hannia.