The Heritage Centre
The Heritage Centre
Genealogy at the Société historique de Saint-Boniface Are you looking for you Manitoban roots? Don't be surprised if you come across the name Father Picton - the guardian angel, if there is one, of Franco-Manitoban genealogists.
Having passed on in 1963, Father Pierre Picton gave, to the Société historique de Saint-Boniface, his significant and imposing research notes on Canadian and Métis families in Manitoba.
The collection compiles years of research from Church records as well as oral history from conversations with elders. It consists of several thousand documents all written by the hand of this tireless researcher.
Of Savoyard origin, with a temper which made even those closest to him feel uncomfortable at times, Father Pierre Picton assisted the members of the Société by providing the answers to all kinds of historical questions. Besides his genealogical documents, he also left several manuscripts on Manitoba's past.
Father Picton's collection is still one of the primary sources on Métis families in the West. As the Société acquires new sources, it`s amazing how Father Picton, with only his superb memory and several scattered documents, was so accurate.
Today computers are very important in the field of genealogical research. Databases compiled by Alfred Fortier, executive director of the SHSB , from Metis Script applications in Manitoba and the North-West Territories, 19th Century Census, and Manitoban parish records, allow genealogists to better document the past.
From left to right: Father Elzéar de L'Étoile, Francis Falcon nicknamed "Poule d'eau" - grand-son of the Métis singer Pierre Falcon, and Father Pierre Picton. (ASHSB-635)
When the Saint-Boniface Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1860, baptismal, marriage and death records were almost entirely lost. Father Antoine Champagne, specialist on the history of La Vérendrye and distinguished genealogist, calculated that 80% of data pertaining to the first Métis families in the West and Pembina were destroyed in the fire.
Today by using Métis Script applications(1875) and other sources like census records, the SHSB has been able to reconstruct 1200 to 1300 births of the first inhabitants of Saint-Boniface and Saint-Vital during the period of 1818 to 1860
« By comparing the information in the Script applications with the records of Saint-François Xavier, we've discovered that there is often one to two years difference in the actual age of the person.», explains Alfred Fortier. « These documents don't give us the marriage date, but we can estimate it by using the date of birth of the first child.»
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