A friend of mine asked me if I had an ancestor that really stood out for me? One that I wanted to get to know better. I said yes. For me, it is a several great aunt. For my friend Tracey, it is her twice great grandmother. She wanted to learn more about her. She gave me her name and mentioned she was Metis. I then went to the Red River Ancestry webpage where we found her ancestors. This search process is found on another blog post.
On George Atkinson’s page on the Red River Ancestry page, it states the following.
In 1875 Nancy claimed her Half-breed Scrip as the widow of George Atkinson.
We, of course, then had to go find the scrips of Tracey’s family. This post will illustrate the search steps to find her families scrip and the information on these documents .
Before searching it is good to understand what these documents are. Library and Archives Canada states, “Metis scrip was administered in Western Canada from 1870 until 1924 as a means of extinguishing the Aboriginal title of mixed-ancestry Aboriginal peoples. This policy was implemented in three basic phases: in Manitoba from 1870 to 1886; in the North West from 1885 to 1887; and in conjunction with First Nation treaties from 1887 to 1924.” [1]
The Canadian Encyclopedia states "Scrip is any document used in place of legal tender, for example a certificate or voucher, where the bearer is entitled to certain rights. In 1870, the Canadian government devised a system of scrip -referred to as Metis scrip - that issued documents redeemable for land or money." They continue explaining it was give to Metis people living in the West in exchange for their land rights.[2]
To search for scrip records, we went to the Library and Archives Canada website.
1.
Go to Collection Search webpage at
https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Search
2. Click on Advanced
search
, located
on the right side, above the search boxes.
The following screen appears.
3.
In the All these words search field, enter
"RG15, scrip", plus the name of the Metis applicant.
Hit the Tab key. For example: "RG15 scrip Nancy
Atkinson"
4. In the next section of options, click All for the Database option.
The following menu appears.
5.
Select Collections and Fonds.
More options appear below.
6. Click the All box for Hierarchical level. (Indicated by arrow).
The following menu appears.
7.
Select File.
8.
Leave the other fields blank.
Click the green button at the
bottom Search.
A new screen appears with the search results.
Not all the results were Nancy’s.
Two were not the right family.
Three were scrips for George and Nancy’s daughters: Mary, Sarah, and Jane.
Two documents were Nancy Atkinson’s script, widow of George Atkinson.
The following appeared.
Full title of above
Scrip affidavit for Atkinson, Nancy; widow of George Atkinson; born: 1815;
father: George Kippling (Métis); mother: (Indian); claim no: 8; date of issue:
May 1, 1876; amount: $160 = Demande de certificat pour Atkinson, Nancy; veuve
de George Atkinson; né(e): en 1815; père: George Kippling (Métis(se)); mère:
(Indien(ne)); no de réclamation: 8; date d'émission: le 1er mai, 1876; au
montant de: 160$
The following information was given on the scrip.
1.
“I, Nancy Atkinson (born Kippling) of the Parish of St. Andrews
in the County of Lisgar in said Province, widow of George Atkinson make oath
and say as follows:
I am a Half-breed head of a
family resident in the Parish of St. Andrew in the said Province, on the 15th
day of July, A.D. 1870, and consisting of myself and children – and I claim to
be entitled as such head of family to receive a grant of one hundred and sixty
acres of land, or to receive Scrip for one hundred and sixty dollars pursuant
to the Statue in that behalf.
2.
I was born on or about the –– day of –– A.D. 1815 in the North
West Territory
3.
George Kippling a Half Breed was my father;
and ––– an Indian was my mother.
4. I have not made or caused to be made any claim of land or Scrip other than the above in this or any other Priah in said Province, nor have I claimed or received, as an Indian, any annuity moneys, from the Government of said Dominion.
10.
The other item was a digitized copy of the actual scrip. There
are 8 pages showing each of the $20 scrips amounting to $160.00.
There was another scrip, of Tracey’s direct line, daughter of George and Nancy was Eleanor Fleet, wife of John Flett.
Full title of above
“Scrip affidavit for Flett, Eleanor, wife of John Flett; born: 1837; father: George Atkinson (Métis); mother: Nancy (Métis); claim no.: 93; date of issue: May 1, 1876 = Demande de certificat pour Flett, Eleanor, épouse de John Flett; né(e): en 1837; père: George Atkinson (Métis(se)); mère: Nancy (Métis(se)); no de réclamation: 93; date d'émission: le 1er mai, 1876”
This is a 2-page document which be downloaded by individual pages or both at the same time. The following information is given.
“I, Eleanor Flett (born Atkinson) of the Parish of St. Andrew in the County of Lisgar, wife of John Flett, in said Province, farmer make oath and say as follows:
1.
I am a Half-breed head of a family resident in the Parish of St. Andrew in the Province on the 15th day of July, A.D. 1870, and consisting of myself and husband and children and I claim to be entitled as such head of family to receive a grant of one hundred and sixty acres of land, or to receive Scrip for one hundred and sixty dollars pursuant to the Statue in that behalf.
2.
I was born on or about the
day of A.D. 1837.
3.
Eleanor indicates that George Atkinson, a half breed, is her father.
Eleanor indicates that his wife Nancy, a half breed, is her mother. “
·
Eleanor gives her mark of an x for her signature.
Print, Download, and Fullscreen
Immediately below the document screen, on the left side, are three icons.
Print
The first is to print the document directly from the web browser.
Download
The middle icon is to download the document to your computer.
When you click on the download icon, the following little window appears.
11. Click in the check box so the check mark appears.
12.
Click Download file or Download all images (PDF).
13.
The file(s) will download to your Downloads folder on your computer.
14.
The document will open in Adobe Reader, or your default PDF program.
The first page is a terms of use and Copyright page in French and English.
Fullscreen Mode
The last is to Enter Fullscreen mode. This removes the web browser from the top and the document is bigger and easier to read.
To get out of Fullscreen mode, Click on the same icon in the bottom left corner.
Information on other records
The above was good information and proof for her family, but other records have more information such as the following.
__________
EndNotes
[1] Library and Archives Canada, Aurora, The scrip solution: the North West Metis scrip policy, 1885-1887, https://bac-lac.on.worldcat.org/oclc/77378472?lang=en
[2] The Canadian Encyclopedia, Métis Scrip in Canada, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/metis-scrip-in-canada, accessed Oct 2023.
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