So you have conducted on-line searches for your Celtic connections in Cape Breton and found lots of interesting things. So why not include some on-site genealogical research while visiting the island. While there is a wealth of information available on the Internet, many treasures and research gems are off-line and can be found in Cape Breton libraries, municipal archives and historic society minutes.
In Cape Breton, visiting the communities where your ancestors once lived can mean discovering people whose family narrative includes your family. I once witnessed the meeting of two women – one from California, the other from Baddeck – who had never met. In fact, the Californian had never been to Cape Breton. After some small talk, both discovered their grandfathers both worked at Alexander Graham Bell’s scientific laboratory at Beinn Bhreagh near Baddeck a century ago. That common thread meant an instant connection between them and an opportunity to share information about past generations.
There are many places to conduct on-site research and each one has someone who can link you to the places and people you need to know to find your long lost ancestors.
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Highland Village has a staff person who can help navigate published and unpublished genealogies and community profiles. More information on their onsite research services can be found here.
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The Beaton Institute at Cape Breton University is a repository of Cape Breton history. It holds Celtic-Cape Breton material that includes personal letters, newspaper clippings and passenger lists, among many other items.
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Have a musician in your tree? You can search Celtic music and those that played it at the Celtic Music Interpretation Centre in Judique. Their onsite research services information is found here.
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Victoria County has an archive office in Baddeck with loads of information on the county, businesses and citizens of the past. More information can be found here.
- Both Victoria and Inverness County have searchable land records from the past. For more info on Inverness County, visit www.inverness-ns.ca
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