Though this fascinating book states it was written as a guide for the family historian working in Canada, I believe the book would help any family historian find valuable insights into the lives of their ancestors. I found Chapters 9, 14, and the Historical Dates in the Appendix to be most helpful in my personal genealogy research.

This book is well documented with end notes and also provides suggestions for additional reading about the various subjects it discusses.

Here is a Chapter by Chapter Review:

Chapter 1 - A Time Traveller's Frame of Reference

After I had read more of the book I realized that Chapter 1 was the author's attempt to summarize how changes in technology dramatically influenced our ancestors' lives. For instance, in 1829 the steam engine and railroads made traveling safer and faster. Knowing this helps us understand that in the years following 1829, our ancestors may not have remained close to their birth place but may have moved to distant places to gain employment, to purchase land, or even to visit relat ives.

Chapter 2 - Dealing With Documents

Ms Douglas makes some very important observations in this chapter. Listed below are some of the sub-sections and a few very helpful suggestions from each:

• What Survives Where? - "Most official records have been created because they involve the ownership of property..."

• Writing - "Old fashioned writing habits persisted in North America long after they disappeared in Britain and France." For instance, "When a letter or two are written as superscript at the end of a word it usually signified a contraction or abbreviation."

• Spelling - "Spelling in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was, for the most part, phonetic and highly variable."

• Lost in Translation - "In English-speaking areas, French names are often anglicized."

Chapter 3 - Dealing with Family Tradition

This chapter helps family historians investigate how much truth there might be in the stories we have been told about our ancestors.

Chapter 4 - What Every Schoolchild Used to Know

A helpful reference for understanding Roman numerals and measuring using the metric system is found in this chapter.

Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 - Money and the Value of Money

Though the information about money was interesting, the most insightful genealogical comments were on page 102 "... things changed whenever and wherever trains began to run." And further down the page: "... you cannot escape the after-effects of ... wars as you travel back in time searching for your ancestors." All genealogists can benefit from knowing how a railroad or a war might have changed your ancestor's life.

Chapter 7 - Travel in the Past

This chapter contains a chronological timeline of the technological changes in transportation and how it influenced where our ancestors lived and worked.

Chapter 8 - Trades and Their Tools

Much of the information in this interesting chapter came from the 1865 edition of "The Boy's Book of Trades and the Tools Used in Them" which was reprinted in 1999 by Leonard G. Lee of Lee Valley Tools. The book's original purpose was to tell boys about the many trades they could enter as an apprentice.

Chapter 9 -Work Away From Home

I learned so much from this chapter. Though I knew that miners often moved in order to obtain work, I had not realized that blacksmiths, masons, shipwrights, and carpenters often traveled to distant areas where work in their trade was plentiful. Ms Douglas mentions several other male occupations that caused our ancestors to move from place to place.

For single women some of the trades that often caused a move from the family homestead included nursing, teaching, dressmaking, hat making, and serving as a maid. By 1883 the typewriter had improved and provided careers away from home for many a young lady.

There was one particularly surprising observation in this chapter of which I had not been aware. Before World War II employers had a rule that stated that women would have to give up their jobs when they got married. Widows, however, could work. Wars certainly have changed many cultural traditions.

Chapter 10 - Family and Connections

This chapter covers the genealogical aspects of following the Mother's line, divorce, birth control, death, and mourning - a unique combination of topics full of helpful details.

Chapter 11 - Home Sweet Home

A short chapter about the various places our ancestors might have lived other than the traditional family farm.

Chapter 12 - How We Lived Then

A brief description and timeline about photographs is given in this Chapter. There is also information about how our ancestors got running water, ice, matches, fuel for cooking, lighting, appliances, and many other tidbits about the conveniences or inconveniences of our ancestors' everyday lives.

Chapter 13 - Health in the Past

This chapter has a short dictionary of common ailments our ancestors might have experienced. Ms. Douglas also includes a Chronology of Health quoted from Elizabeth Brigg's book "A Family Historian's Guide to Illness, Disease and Death Certificates"

Chapter 14 - Our Heritage

I have read several books on doing Canadian research. I feel this book has given me a better understanding of how to do research in Canada. I think it is because Ms. Douglas has given me the reasons why Canadian genealogy research differs from area to area and from year to year. This chapter gives some exceptional insights into what resources to use to find a particular Canadian record. For instance, she points out that, "In Quebec, everyone had a family notary, and notarial records exist from the beginnings of the colony. If you have family documents, a lease, marriage contract, or estate papers, one of these should give the notary's name..." (237). Therefore, finding the family's Notary would be crucial to your search.

This chapter also addresses the topic of religion and how knowing your ancestor's religion can help you locate vital information about their lives.

Chapter 15 - Our VIP Heritage

This chapter addresses such topics as printing in Canada, listing various gazettes and other magazines. This also includes their dates of first publication.

Chapter 16 - Our Seafaring and Military Heritage
Though Canada did not have a navy until 1906 they do have a long history of seafaring activity involving the British or French navies who always had "keen eyes for a good harbor." Both Quebec City and Halifax were colonized because they had a good harbor and land high enough to build a fort for defense. The only thing missing from this chapter is information about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The definitions of the military vocabulary were helpful though. I was surprised and excited to find out that the rank of "Sapper" meant "engineers who built forts, bridges, canals, and railways."