Pages vii-xxi - Introduction, Note On Computers, Acknowledgements - Abbreviations
With the exception of the Abbreviations chapter, all of these chapters should be read by everyone as they help to explain why certain informational topics are treated only briefly in the text. Baxter has done a credible job in covering such a broad topic as Canadian research in a book of this size. It is my opinion that, in order to do a complete job of describing the resources and methods of doing Canadian research it would take a book of this size for each province. Hopefully you will find at least a starting point for your research in the pages of "In Search of Your Canadian Roots".

Pages 1-13 Chapter 1 - Starting Off on the Right Foot
This chapter is meant to help motivate the Beginner. With cute stories and anecdotes Baxter encourages the beginner to start with their own family. He illustrates the importance of interviewing older relative in order to uncover and record what they know about the family, including those unproven family stories.

Pages 14-26 Chapter 2 - How to Start the Family Tree
Once again a chapter for the Beginner, it encourages the Beginner to record the information he has gathered in a chart. The pedigree chart he suggests the reader to develop is nonconforming with the charts traditionally used by most genealogy instructional media and software. I believe the most helpful statement in this chapter was, " Your main sources of information in Canada....are civil registrations, census returns, church registers, tombstones and land records."

Pages 27-47 Chapter 3 - The Great Migrations
Though this was an interesting and informative chapter and necessary to the genealogy process at a later time, I don't think it comes next in the steps for a beginner to take for tracing their genealogy. In every Beginners Guide that I have read the third step is always, "Check compiled records FIRST to see if the research you are planning to do has already been done" Compiled records are pedigrees that have already been researched. Many Professional genealogists use MyTrees.com to help them locate genealogy work that has already been done. The MyTrees.com Archive is currently 203 million names and is growing at the rate of 2 million names a month. I would label this chapter more for the experienced genealogist. It gives important historical clues for finding where a lost ancestor may be hiding.

Pages 48-53 Chapter 4 - The LDS Church
Once again a chapter for Beginners. Most experienced genealogists know about and have already used the resources of the LDS Church, including their website which features an every name index to the 1881 Canadian Census.

Pages 54-64 Chapter 5 -The National Archives
The National Archives has important resources for the genealogist. I did not expect that Chapter 5 would be so out-dated in its information. I am guessing that the inaccuracies are due to the fact that the book was published in 2000. An explanation for the inaccuracies could be that in the last 4 years The National Archives has made significant changes. Here are a couple of examples of resources that are available from the National Archives website that the book says in the either must be requested by mail or in the second case cannot be accessed:
1. Their free publication "Tracing Your Ancestors in Canada" which the book says must be requested by mail is actually available online at this link, http://www.genealogy.gc.ca/pdf/07/genengbro.pdf
2. The series of old nominal immigration indexes for the period 1925 to 1935 which the book says, "are closed because of the Privacy Act", are available online at this link. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/020118_e.html
Since this Chapter is so out-dated I am hesitant to say more about it. Perhaps it would be better for the reader to go to the National Archives site at http://www.collectionscanada.ca/index-e.html and read their current list of online and offline holdings and the availability of these resources to the public.

Pages 65-68 Chapter 6 -Censuses
The brevity and the content of this Chapter 6 made me believe that Baxter does not think that the Censuses were that important to Canadian research. He seems to think that the censuses could not be relied upon to give accurate information, and were quite difficult to read and research. Yet The National Archives Publication "Tracing Your Ancestors in Canada" states in their section on Census Records that, "Census records, which contain the official enumeration of our population, are one of the most valuable sources of genealogical information."

Pages 69-89 Chapter 7 - Church Records and Registers
This Chapter lists many religious organizations with the addresses to their main offices. Unfortunately there is no explanation for the Beginner as to why it would be necessary to search Church Records and Registers. Baxter assumes the reader already knows that it is necessary to research Church records and Registers because Government registrations of births, marriages and deaths didn't start until July 1, 1869 or later. Even then the law was slow to be enforced and in many cases it wasn't until 1895 o r later that complete records were kept. Consequently in order to find births, marriages or deaths dating before 1895 it will be necessary to know the religion of your ancestor and find their birth, death, or marriage record in the Church Records. At this point an experienced genealogist will remember that the Census lists the religion of each individual enumerated. Thus far in the book Baxter has not explained this and has only made a couple of brief references to the fact that the Census lists religi on. He doesn't mention why it is important to know the ancestor's religion or how it will help the reader in their research until page 146.

Pages 90-94 Chapter 8 - Coats of Arms
There are many fine books on Coats of Arms. I feel this subject is out of place in a genealogy book about "Tracing Your Family Tree in Canada". It added nothing to the skill set of a person attempting to research records in Canada.

The remainder of the book gives you a province-by-province listing of sources. It should be noted that Baxter describes many kinds of records in these chapters but doesn't necessarily provide the location of the resource or what you might find in the record. There were very few internet sites referenced. Also because of the way internet addresses have changed over time many of the web addresses mentioned in this book are invalid.
Pages 95-113 Chapter 9 - Alberta 1887
Pages 114-129 Chapter 10 - British Columbia 1872
Pages 130-144 Chapter 11 - Manitoba
Pages 145-171 Chapter 12 - New Brunswick
Pages 172-180 Chapter 13 - Newfoundland and Labrador
Pages 181-190 Chapter 14 - Acadians
Pages 191-212 Chapter 15 - Nova Scotia
Pages 213-295 Chapter 16 - Ontario
Pages 296-307 Chapter 17 - Prince Edward Island
Pages 308-334 Chapter 18 - Quebec
Pages 335-349 Chapter 19 - Saskatchewan
Pages 350-355 Chapter 20 - The Yukon and Northwest Territories
Pages 356-364 Chapter 21 - Writing a Family History

Overall I feel as if this book might benefit an experienced researcher, living in Canada, who desires to do onsite research. It needs serious updating to be of any help to today's internet genealogy researcher. And most of all Baxter needs to decide which audience he is addressing. Is the book supposed to be for the Beginner or the Experienced Genealogist? What do you think? Click here to get this book used for as little as 45 cents. In Search of Your Canadian Roots- Tracing Your Family Tree in Canada" by Angus Baxter.

Review written by Cindy Carman