Active VGS Projects

Digitization and Indexing of VicPD Early Charge Books

Project Coordinator: Sheila Watts

Sheila and her team are implementing a duly signed agreement with the Victoria Police Department's Museum and Historical Society that authorizes the VGS to digitize five early Charge Books, transcribe the entries and develop an on-line index. VGS has an agreement with the University of Victoria for the scanning of the Charge Books.

Completed VGS Projects

BC Coroner’s Inquests and Registers Indexing 

Project Coordinator: Evert Moes

Evert and his team indexed over 38,000 entries covering the period from 1848 up to 1937 when the Coroner’s reporting system changed. This was a joint project with the BC Archives.

Veterans Cemetery, Esquimalt book, 2014 Edition

Project Coordinator: Harvey Buckmaster
Launched November 1, 2014

The Veterans Cemetery, Esquimalt, British Columbia, God's Acre book - revised 2014 edition by Harvey A. Buckmaster, Compiler and Editor - was published by the Victoria Genealogical Society. It replaces the original edition published in 2000.

This book is available for sale at the VGS Genealogy Learning and Research Centre, and can be purchased on-line on our VGS Store.

Research In Victoria, 2nd Edition

Project Coordinator: Merv Scott
Launched 26 Oct 2013 at the VGS Genealogy Seminar, Victoria BC

Volunteers did a major rewrite of this 1996 VGS book with the goal of producing a 2nd edition, titled Research in Victoria - A Catalogue of Genealogical Resource and published October, 2013. 

This book is now out of print.
 

Burial Listings and On-line Index

Project Coordinator: Merv Scott
Launched 26 Oct 2013 at the VGS Genealogy Seminar, Victoria BC

The goal of this Victoria Genealogical Society project is to provide genealogy researchers an avenue to search cemeteries located primarily on Southern Vancouver Island for burial information and photographs of tombstones. Led by the work of volunteer Judy Wasylenko, we have developed separate VGS Burial files encompassing a total of 46 cemeteries on Southern Vancouver and the Gulf Islands. Webmaster Claudia Boorman converted these files into master files and on-line name indexes that will be made available to genealogy researchers.

Visit our Burial Index page to access our online burial and cemetery lists.

"Voices of the Past" Memory Project

Project Coordinator: Merv Scott
Approved by the VGS Executive in September 2012, and launched 26 October 2013.

Audio recordings of early personal memories were collected locally and saved digitally on our VGS Website along with any accompanying photographs. Topics and themes covered in these audio recordings include family traditions, community living celebrations, occupations, school days, military, arts and entertainment, and more.

This section of the website is currently offline, but will be reposted.

VGS Ambassador Program  

Project Coordinator: Joanne Barnard

The Executive Committee endorsed this project to develop a program aimed at increasing the public’s awareness of genealogy and the VGS. Operating Guidelines were developed and approved by the VGS Executive and the first Ambassador, Joanne Barnard, was appointed. VGS Ambassadors have the authority, materials and training to contact other agencies and provide them with information about the VGS. This community outreach service is ongoing.

Contact Us to book a speaker for your group event.

VGS Journals Digitization Project

The project to scan all past VGS Journals in order to preserve them in a digital formal has been successfully completed.

Greater Victoria Pioneers Indexing

Project Coordinator: Diana Gaiger

Volunteers indexed a back log of newspaper clippings that had accumulated since the Index was last updated in 2007. This project expanded the Greater Victoria Pioneer Index by 25% and it now includes over 5,500 names of early residents mentioned in almost 800 clippings.

This index will be posted to this website at a later date.

VGS Genealogy in the Classroom

Project Coordinator: Merv Scott

 
In November 2010, the VGS Executive Committee endorsed a project to design a genealogy/family history program for school aged children. The volunteers recruited to the program’s Design Committee were: Christina Thomas; Lori Prophet; Margaret Kirkpatrick; Merv Scott; Penny Holt, and Rosemary Smith. They recommended 3 primary projects:

“Genealogy in the Classroom”: a web-based resource for teachers, parents and students, was launched Sep 2011 by the Web Development Team of Christina Thomas, Margaret Kirkpatrick, Maureen Helmersen, Claudia Boorman (web developer) and Merv Scott. An on-line video introduction to the website was added in August 2012. This section of the website will be added at a future date.

“Who’s in Your Family Tree? A step-by-step guide for the Detective in your family”: a hard copy Youth Activity Book, was written by Merv Scott and completed in Sep 211. This book is now out of print.

“Star in your own Detective Story!”: a Summer Youth Program was designed and developed by Wanda Crawford, Diana Gaiger and Merv Scott. The program was offered during July and August 2011 but unfortunately there weren't enough students enrolled to stage the program so it was cancelled.

'Ask Granny' Seminar Program Development

Project Coordinator: Merv Scott

On November 4, 2010, the VGS Executive Committee endorsed a project to develop and deliver a pilot 'Ask Granny' Seminar to residents of a local retirement home. Each seminar uses the ‘Ask Granny’ materials to guide attendees in constructing a simple ancestral chart. Heather Shave, Lynn Davies and Layne Mikoda volunteered to help Merv put together the pilot. Diana Gaiger, Jo Little and Sarah Hamster also volunteered to help in the presentation of the Seminar.

In April 2011, two pilot Ask Granny Seminars were conducted, one at the Victorian and another at the Shannon Oaks residence. The program was formally adopted by VGS in May 2011, and operated successfully for several years as a VGS community outreach service.

This program is not active at present.