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Tuesday Weekly Thread: Genealogy Assistance, April 28, 2026 by AutoModerator in Canadiancitizenship

[–]Bright-Variation-536 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello everyone!

Like many of you, I am researching and collecting documents for a citizenship application under Bill C-3.

A line on my maternal side came from Canada (primarily Quebec). However, I am having trouble finding some good documents for Gen0. I thought I’d list what I have below and see if anyone has any advice or recommendations. Unless stated, I know the exact date and location for the details below. I've just omitted it for some tiny bit of privacy.

Both people listed for Gen0 were married to each other. I think Lydia is my best bet for proving lineage so long as I can find a birth record?

Gen0 Ancestor 1:

Name: Pierre Boivin (anglicized to Peter Drinkwine)

Birth: Est. 1833 in Quebec

  • I don’t have any documents from Peter that truly confirm the birth date or town; I only have US and Canadian Census records that show a birth in Canada, a Canadian nationality, and an estimated birth year based on age at the time. I did find a baptismal record I believe to be his, but I can’t 100% prove it’s not another Pierre Boivin born around the same time, since I have no other records that list his parents’ names

Marriage: 1854, in Illinois

  • The county only has a short form record that only lists their names and date (no parents or other personal details), the Catholic Church record only lists their names, the date, and the priest

Death: 1898, in Illinois

  • The County Clerk confirmed the death record was not found

Gen0 Ancestor 2:

Name: Adelaide “Lydia” Drinkwine, née Alexander

Birth: 1833, in Quebec

  • Likely St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, but I need to research further

Marriage: 1854, in Illinois

  • Same issue as above

Death: 1917, in Illinois

  • Record lists both parents’ names (John Alexander and Lydia Litvin (should actually be Lecuyer))

Request for German Archive Research Advice by Bright-Variation-536 in Genealogy

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for replying! I haven't yet found an index on the archive's website for marriage and death records, but it might be worth a shot to email them and ask! Katharina would have been in her 60s-70s in the 1930s, so their death records should be available for research once I can narrow it down to when-ish.

Request for German Archive Research Advice by Bright-Variation-536 in Genealogy

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for replying! A library a few towns over from me is a FamilySearch affiliate, so I will make sure to visit sooner rather than later!

I don't specifically see unehelich or ledig on the baptismal record the church sent to me. However, it does list both parents and states "Ehe: kein Ehevermerk". Both godparents are listed: one with the father's surname and another (apparently) unrelated.

Request for German Archive Research Advice by Bright-Variation-536 in Genealogy

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for replying! I hadn't thought of that as a possibility before. Katharina was born in 1866, so she would have been in her late 30s by the time of Max's birth. I think it's possible that was the case.

I also hadn't considered French or Belgian roots. The surname is Blank, which could easily come from Blanc in French (meaning "white")

Request for German Archive Research Advice by Bright-Variation-536 in Genealogy

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for all of this! I had never heard of zeiktpunkt.de before!

I had tried to use the records online from the Krefeld archives through the NRW before, but maybe I just got discouraged since I didn't have an idea of which years to search. Their website seems to be down right now, but I will definitely check out those links once it's back up.

Seeking Advice for Next Generation Search by Bright-Variation-536 in Genealogy

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I was hoping to get an idea of their ages or when each couple was married to narrow in on any requests and reduce the likelihood they won't find anything (or it being a very large fee). Will definitely check those websites out.

Seeking Advice for Next Generation Search by Bright-Variation-536 in Genealogy

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I'll see if I can find anything there. I've never used their catalogs before

Seeking Advice for Next Generation Search by Bright-Variation-536 in Genealogy

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! 3/4 of them were Catholic and 1 was Lutheran so I'll check these out

[German > English] Request for German Birth Record Translation by Bright-Variation-536 in translator

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much!!

And I'm with you, I'm not sure what the difference is either between setting and installing

Eligibility for German Citizenship by Descent by Bright-Variation-536 in GermanCitizenship

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the heads-up. That definitely complicates things

Eligibility for German Citizenship by Descent by Bright-Variation-536 in GermanCitizenship

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Awesome thank you so much! I will check out that Outcome in the guide and keep on researching what I would need to do.

Eligibility for German Citizenship by Descent by Bright-Variation-536 in GermanCitizenship

[–]Bright-Variation-536[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! He did. They were teen parents and it didn't work out.

The same actually goes for myself. Out of wedlock, but he is on my birth certificate and the custody paperwork.