Ancestry Canada releases new records that reveal Camilla is related to Madonna and Celine Dion

16 April 2008

Canadian records show that the Duchess of Cornwall, formerly Camilla Parker-Bowles until she married Prince Charles on April 9 2005, is related distantly to both Madonna and Celine Dion.

Ancestry Canada (and other international sections of Ancestry.com) has just published records on its growing online collection that shows all three women share a common descent from a French-Canadian, who emigrated from France to Quebec in the 17th century. The carpenter, named Zacharie Cloutier came to the appropriately named New France in 1634 to form a settlement.

Cloutiers founded an important family in Canada who gave rise to over ten thousand descendants, among them the Duchess of Cornwall, Madonna, and the Canadian singer Dion.

Such associations will probably not surprise experienced family historians – even ordinary people come across links and coincidences in their genealogy from time to time, and perhaps we are all related in some way.

More significant is the release by Ancestry of the Canadian records, which include the names of 37 million individuals and incorporate burials, marriages and baptisms.

The records, which will include 37 million names, are drawn from baptism, marriage and burial data. It covers a total of 346 years from 1621 to 1967 of Canadian vital records. This adds to the extensive collection of Canadian records already available at Ancestry.ca, which contains data on 400 people, including the 1851, 1901, 1906 and 1911 census returns of Ontario, Canada, and British Columbia. Those who had ancestors who crossed the border from the USA to Canada will be interested in the records of border crossings that took place between 1895 and1956.

Ancestry Canada giving 3 days free access this month

Source: Ancestry Canada Press Release

15 February 2007

In recognition of Heritage Day, Ancestry.ca, the largest Canadian family history website, is offering three days of free access to its World Deluxe collection through the end of the month. 

Established in 1973 by the Heritage Canada Foundation, the holiday is observed on the third Monday of February, commemorating Canada's nationally significant historic, architectural, natural and scenic heritage. This year, Ancestry.ca is encouraging Canadians to celebrate the day by reconnecting with their past and discovering their own personal family history. 

Full access to the entire World Deluxe collection will be provided on Heritage Day, 19th February for 3 days.

Ancestry.ca is the largest Canadian family history website, offering 352 million names and fully indexed 1851, 1901, 1906 and 1911 Censuses of Canada. Since its launch in January 2006, the site has experienced a steady surge of new users with more than 16,000 Canadian subscribers joining the Ancestry network of sites, which collectively host more than 5 billion records from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. 

A cross-section of Ancestry.ca's record collections illustrates the multicultural heritage and history of Canadian ethnic groups, including English, French, Scottish, Irish and Black Canadian 

• The 1851 Census of Canada showed a rise in Black Canadians as a result of the United States Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which spurred the migration of many fugitive slaves and free blacks to Canada. Ancestry.ca has the largest collection of African-American family history records available and searchable online. 
• The Scotland Census collection, which includes the complete 1851 and 1861 Scotland Census records and records from the 1841 Census, is a pivotal source of information for Canadians who can trace their ancestry to Scotland. Nearly 9 million names from this Victorian period are available and fully searchable online in this collection.
• For Canadians of Irish ancestry, the 1851 Census of Canada is a significant resource, capturing a range of rich data missing from Irish archives. Only partial records exist for the 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 censuses in Ireland. Ireland is the second most common place of birth in the 1851 census.
• After the War of 1812, more than 50,000 British Loyalists were sent to Canada from central United States. The 1851 Census of Canada shows evidence that these loyalists largely resided in Niagara, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. 
• French and English are the most common ethnicities stated in the 1911 and 1901 Censuses of Canada. (*) The 1906 Census of Canada lists the United States and England among the top four birth locations. 

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2007/15/c8597.html