All Surrey Libraries branches will be closed Friday, April 18 for Good Friday and Monday, April 21 for Easter Monday. All branches are open Saturday, April 19, and all branches, except Port Kells, are open on Sunday, April 20.
Métis Land Records - Manitoba
For Métis or Half–Breed Scrip: Land Records, the main collection of records is titled "Half-breeds & Original White Settlers 1870-1920". “Scrip” refers to a system used by the Canadian government beginning in 1870, of issuing certificates for land claims made by mixed-race people and original white settlers, for property released from the Hudson’s Bay Company’s jurisdiction in the West.
A key record set within this collection is the Department of the Interior records (RG-15), which offers considerable family history information. Notably women can be searched by maiden name as extensive cross-referencing is provided. The RG-15 records are available in our department's microfilm collection. See the Métis Land Claims in section 7 of the library’s guide: Canadian Family History Resources.
Online
- Detailed information about Métis people and the records, as well as access to an online database with over 15,000 digitized images.
Listed below are a few of the books you can find by doing a subject search of the library’s catalogue using the terms: METIS – GENEALOGY:
Roberts, John. Discover your Métis Ancestry: a beginner’s guide. Library call number: 929.108997071 ROB 2008
Morin, Gail. Northwest Half-Breed Script- 1885. Library call number: 929.37127 MOR 1997
Morin, Gail. Métis Families: A Genealogical Compendium. (6 vols) Library call number: 929.37127 MOR 2001
Gagne, Peter. French-Canadians of the West: A Biographical Dictionary of French Canadians and French Métis of the Western United States and Canada Library call number: 929.37127 GAG 2000
Sprague, D.N. & R.P. Frye (eds). The Genealogy of the first Métis nation: The Development and Dispersal of the Red River settlement 1820-1900. Library call number: 929.37127 SPR 1983
Morin, Gail. Company Men. [A series of over 30 volumes of genealogies of men who worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company, many of whom married indigenous women.] Library call number: 929.37127 MOR 2017
Microfilm
Section 7 of the library’s Canadian Family History Resources: A Guide to the Materials Held at Cloverdale Library describes the microfilms that we have at Cloverdale for Métis scrip records. Ask the information staff for assistance.