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About the Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Personal Names
Persons have been entered under family name rather than title, married name, pseudonym, stage name, popular name, nickname, or name in religion: Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal; Florence Daly Lucas (Thompson); Louis Gonnet, named Brother Réticius; Marie-Françoise Huot, named Sainte Gertrude. Where possible the form of the surname is based on the signature, although contemporary usage is taken into account. Common variant spellings are included in parenthesis.
Where a signature was not available for a subject whose name begins with Mc or Mac, the form Mac, followed by a capital letter, has been used. Scottish-born immigrants who were entitled under Scottish law to a territorial designation as part of their names appear with that designation included, such as Angus Mackintosh of Mackintosh, 26th Chief of Clan Chattan and 25th Chief of Clan Mackintosh. Scots for whom the designation was used merely as a convenient way of distinguishing one individual from another have the designation in parenthesis: Alexander McDonell (Collachie). Individuals are entered under their Gaelic names only when it is clear that they spoke Gaelic and moved in a Gaelic environment: Iain MacGhillEathain (John MacLean).
In the case of French names, La, Le, Du, Des, and sometimes De are considered part of the name and are capitalized. When both parts of the name are capitalized in the signature, French style treats the family name as two words; however, with individuals who were integrated into an anglophone milieu, this rule of style has been applied only when it was confirmed by a signature.
In the case of Spanish names, la, like de, is not considered part of the family name: Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. Early Norse name-entries are under the given name, since the surname changed from generation to generation.
Punjabi, Chinese Canadian, Indo-Canadian and Japanese Canadian names have been entered under the romanized forms used in Canada. Persons from countries using the Cyrillic alphabet have been presented according to their signatures in the Roman alphabet when available, or according to the romanized form of their names most commonly used in Canada. In some cases, a transliteration based on the Library of Congress system as modified by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies has been substituted or included.
Names of aboriginal people have presented a particular problem, since a person might be known by his/her own name (written in a variety of ways by people unfamiliar with aboriginal languages) and by a nickname or baptismal name. Moreover, some aboriginal families, such as the Copes [see John Noel Cope], adopted family surnames. Aboriginal names have been used when they could be found, and, because it is impossible to establish original spellings, the form generally chosen is the one found in standard sources at the time of original publication; variants are included in parenthesis: Ahchuchwahauhhatohapit (Ahchacoosacootacoopits, Star Blanket). Métis, unless they remained wholly within aboriginal cultures, are entered under their "European" name: Louis Guiboche. To assist readers who go back to contemporary documents, the names of aboriginal bands have been given in a form likely to be found in those documents.
Within the Text of the Biographies
Cross-references
Large and small capitals and asterisks were adopted for the print volumes in order to indicate those individuals who had a biography in the same volume (Sir Wilfrid LAURIER) or those who had biographies in other published volumes or who were expected to receive a biography in an upcoming volume (William Lyon Mackenzie King*). These conventions have been retained in the online version.
Place-names
Place-names are generally given in the form used at the time of reference, and the spelling most often encountered in the documents and maps of the period has been employed. Where necessary, the modern name has been included in parenthesis: Prince Arthur's Landing (Thunder Bay, Ont.), Prince Albert (Sask.), Biebrusk (Babruysk, Belarus).
Places are identified by the present-day name of the province, territory, state, or country in which they are located. Cities considered to be easily recognizable, such as Paris, Dublin, and Boston, have not been identified by country, however, London, England, has been specified to prevent confusion with London, Ontario. Within Canada, provincial capitals and several well-known cities such as Montreal and Vancouver are not identified by province. The English edition cites well-known place names in their present-day English forms: St Lawrence River, Montreal, Quebec, Geneva, Rome.
Names of Institutions
Care has been taken to reproduce institutional names accurately. The titles of educational establishments, businesses, hospitals, philanthropical organizations, and government bodies have in many instances been confirmed in the statutes and other official records. In cases where institutions located in Quebec were incorporated under English names in the English-language statutes, the English form has been used. The names of institutions outside Canada that are in languages other than French or English have been translated into English.
Quotations
Quotations have been translated when the language of the original passage is different from that of the text of the biography. Researchers may wish to consult the French language version of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online for the original French of quotations that have been translated into English. When a passage is quoted from a work that has appeared in both languages, the published English version is generally used. The wording, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization of original quotations are not usually altered, nor is [sic] employed; adjustments are made only when it is necessary to do so for meaning, in which case the changes are placed within square brackets. A name appearing within square brackets has been substituted for the original in order to identify the person more precisely or to indicate that he/she has a biography within the same volume or in another volume.
Direct quotations correspond to the originals, except in one particular. The "expanded method" has been used in the transcriptions of quotations from early documents and printed works; i is changed to j and v to u (ivin becomes juin); and some u's are changed to v's (liue becomes live). The original accents have been retained.
Dates
The discrepancy between Old Style and New Style dates affects some biographies. The Julian calendar was 11 days behind the Gregorian one in the 18th century, and its new year began on 25 March. France and Spain had adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582. Scotland had moved the date of its new year in 1600. England and its American colonies used the Julian calendar until 1752. In the earlier biographies an individual who was, for example, born in England or the Thirteen Colonies on 16 Feb. 1739, Old Style, has his/her birth date presented as 16 Feb. 1739/40. Except for such indications of the difference in year for the period between 1 January and 25 March, no attempt has been made to adjust Old Style dates.
If it is impossible to uncover a subject's birth and death dates, only the dates of his/her active career are documented. In the introductory paragraphs and in the various indexes the outside dates of activity are presented as floruit (fl.) dates.
Titles of Newspapers
Newspaper titles appearing in biographies are generally cited under the title in effect at the time of reference. Wherever possible, titles are determined from the issues themselves, but secondary reference works are also frequently used for this purpose. Because their titles frequently vary,
newspapers cited in individual bibliographies are placed under standardized uniform titles.
Bibliographies
Each biography is followed by a bibliography. The individual bibliographies are generally arranged alphabetically within sections, such as archival sources, newspapers, and printed works. These are preceded by details concerning the publications authored by the individual or any other annotation that may be applicable. Any special bibliographical comments by contributors appear within square brackets.
Wherever possible, archival material is cited under the location of the original documents; the location of copies used by contributors or editors is included in the citation. In general, the items in individual bibliographies are the sources listed by the contributors, but these items have often been supplemented by bibliographic investigation in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada offices.
Care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of bibliographic citations. Original documents and title pages of printed works have been examined where possible, or confirmed through enquiries to the archives or libraries in which they are held. Numerous secondary reference works have also been used for bibliographic verification; those most frequently used appear in the general bibliographies. Additional information concerning Canadian reference sources is available in Guide to reference materials for Canadian libraries, ed. Kirsti Nilsen et al. (8th ed., [Toronto], 1992) and Guide du chercheur en histoire canadienne, sous la direction de Jean Hamelin (Québec, 1986).
The Search Screens and Syntax
Two different search types are provided for research: a providing a keyword search and an using keywords combined with indexes based on Geography, Identification, Date Range of Death (Volume) and Gender information.
The Quick Biography Search
The Quick Biography Search provides two methods of searching. You can browse by last name or do a free text search of the entire text of the biographies.
- Browse by name
Simply click on the first letter of the last name that you are interested in. The search tool will return all biographies that start with that letter.
- Free text search
By default your search will always return pages that match ALL your search terms. The search engine also supports Boolean operators and exact phrase searching.
Boolean Operators: The Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online supports the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT. For example:
- Boolean search operator AND: A search for Wilfrid AND Zoé will return all biographies that contain both search terms. If no Boolean operator is used, the search tool inserts an AND between each pair of words. A search for Wilfrid Zoé would return the same result as Wilfrid AND Zoé.
- Boolean search operator OR: A search for Cook OR Franklin would return all biographies that contain either search term.
- Boolean search operator NOT: A search for Berlin NOT Kitchener would return all biographies that contain the term Berlin, but do not contain the word Kitchener.
- Using brackets to prioritize searching: If you are setting up a complex search that combines more than one boolean operator, the search engine analyzes your search query from left to right. You may wish to use brackets to help clarify how you want your search to be carried out. For example, if you wish to search for all biographies referencing Philemon Wright or Alonzo Wright, a search for Wright AND Philemon OR Alonzo will find biographies that contain the words Wright and Philemon, and also all biographies that contain the word Alonzo. By adding brackets - Wright AND (Philemon OR Alonzo) you will receive the results you intended.
Phrase Searching: The Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online supports searching for exact phrases by using quotation marks. This can be combined with Boolean searching. For example:
- Exact Phrase Search: A search for "Lower Canada" will return all biographies that contain that exact phrase.
- Exact Phrase Search with Boolean Operators: Phrases and Boolean operators may be combined to create more complex searches. For example: "Susanna Moodie" OR "Catharine Parr" will return all biographies that contain either phrase.
The Advanced Search
The Advanced Search provides the same Boolean and Phrase free text search capability as the quick biography search, but also has the ability to restrict a search by Geography, Identification, Date Range of Death (Volume) and Gender. Only one choice from each category is possible. Please note that the indexing terms have not been applied across all volumes. For maximum results, it is recommended that the user choose only top-level identification terms and geographic locations.
Boolean Operators: see above.
Phrase Searching: see above.
Date Range of Death (Volume): This database is based on the CD-ROM version of a series of 14 volumes, originally printed between 1966 to 1998 and newly added biographies from unprinted volumes. Each volume corresponds with a particular date range and features biographies of individuals whose date of death or last activity occurred within this range. You may restrict your search to any one date range (volume). The date ranges covered in the volumes are:
1000-1700: Volume I
1701-1740: Volume II
1741-1770: Volume III
1771-1800: Volume IV
1801-1820: Volume V
1821-1835: Volume VI
1836-1850: Volume VII
1851-1860: Volume VIII
1861-1870: Volume IX
1871-1880: Volume X
1881-1890: Volume XI
1891-1900: Volume XII
1901-1910: Volume XIII
1911-1920: Volume XIV
1921-1930: Volume XV
Geographical Index:
The Geographical Index provides a regional breakdown of biographies according to place of birth and career. Places of education, retirement, and death have not been considered. Persons whose functions gave them jurisdiction over several regions are listed according to their seat of office, but their activities as described in the biographies have also been taken into consideration.
For the purposes of this index, Canada is subdivided according to contemporary provincial and territorial names. International geographic names are based as far as possible on modern political divisions. The geographic names used in the index reflect the usage at the time of original publication.
You can limit your search to any one geographic area by selecting it by name. These geographic areas are organized by continent, country, region and sub-region.
Not all biographies have been indexed by geographic region. Biographies found in the following volumes have not yet been indexed:
1000-1700 (Volume I)
1741-1770 (Volume III)
1771-1800 Volume IV)
1861-1870 (Volume IX)
1871-1880 (Volume X)
Gender Index:
All of the biographies in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online have been indexed by gender, allowing you to restrict your search to males or females.
Identification Index:
The Identification Index is designed to assist researchers in following their interests through the volumes. Most of the groupings are by occupation carried on by persons within Canada, but some non-occupational categories have been added to help researchers who approach the past from particular perspectives.
You can limit your search to any one Identification value by selecting it by name. These Identifications are broken down into sub-categories where relevant.
Not all biographies have been indexed by profession or other identifiers. Biographies found in the following volumes have not yet been indexed:
1000-1700 (Volume I)
1741-1770 (Volume III)
1861-1870 (Volume IX)
1871-1880 (Volume X)
The Results Screen
This screen shows all matching results for your search.
If your search included a free text term, your results will be sorted from most relevant to least. For all other searches, results are sorted alphabetically.
You may re-sort the results list alphabetically by last name or by the volume by clicking on the arrows at the top of the result list column.
To view a biography, click on the biography name.
The Biography Display Screen
When viewing a biography, you can:
Click on the "Search Results" link to return to your list of matching results;
Click on the "Show Printable Page" link to open a new page formatted for printing on your printer.
You can also search for specific text within a biography. The steps outlined below relate to the most common browsers, Internet Explorer and Netscape:
- With your mouse, click once in the content area of the page you wish to search.
- From the menu, choose Edit and select Find (on This Page) or Edit and select Find in Page.
- A text box will open. Type into the text box the term(s) you are searching.
- Click Find Next or Find to find the first occurrence of the word.
- Continue clicking Find Next or Find to find additional occurrences of the word.
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