History of the GRL
Our library was incorporated in 1981, although indexing and the collection of details about ancestors had been underway by our founder in the 1970's.
We published a Family Tree Kit in a limited edition in 1977. Over 250,000 copies have been sold since then, in the USA and Canada, until it was withdrawn from the marketplace in 1999. It was followed recently by a new book - Finding Anyone Anywhere Anywhen - which continues to inspire and inform researchers today. This book is available - globally - on all major online bookstores.
In 1984 a 3-volume set of books was released, called The People of Ontario 1600 – 1900. This set of books was warmly received by libraries, archives, genealogical societies and researchers throughout Canada and the United States. It was the first province-wide directory of its kind ever published.
…meanwhile, the indexing was continuing throughout all of Canada…
Throughout the 1990's the GRL library's indexing methods attracted the attention of giants in the research field, who engaged our library to index millions of records for them in various U.S. States, including New York City (3 centuries), New York State (3 centuries), some New England States, and Missouri.
…meanwhile, however, the indexing was continuing throughout all of Canada…
In 1991, the GRL released a monumental 3-volume set of books called The French Canadians 1600-1900, followed shortly thereafter with a French-language edition, Les canadiens français 1600-1900. These books listed hundreds of thousands of French and Acadian ancestors, together with a bibliography of source documents and an index to places that existed in the past and present, with name changes.
…meanwhile, the indexing was continuing throughout all of Canada…
In rapid succession over the next three years the GRL published 3 more sets of books covering the rest of Canada. Each title consisted of 3 volumes: The Atlantic Canadians 1600-1900, The Central Canadians 1600-1900 and The Western Canadians 1600-1900.
These reference books enabled researchers to find ancestors who could previously only be found by looking through hundreds of different books and documents. Libraries, universities, societies and genealogists throughout North America quickly absorbed all the inventory.
…meanwhile, the indexing was continuing throughout all of Canada…
The GRL library was constantly inundated with requests for resrarch help, and so for a period of 7 years, the library opened its doors to the public so that the original documents could be viewed firsthand. By 1999 it became obvious that other methods would have to be found to handle the public’s appetite for genealogical research and information.
By 2000, the GRL library’s work was becoming recognized on a much wider scale. More and more people came to view the GRL as a primary source of Canadian genealogical data.
…meanwhile, the indexing was continuing throughout all of Canada…
By this time, it became obvious that the world-wide web or internet would allow the continuous publishing of the GRL’s databank in a digital format. This drew to a close the expensive publishing of hard-cover books, making everything available instantly and globally at a fraction of the cost. In recent years an enormous effort was undertaken to bring this vision into a reality. Millions of additional ancestors were indexed, and we are constantly adding more each month.
…meanwhile, the indexing was continuing throughout all of Canada, and into other countries such as Poland and Hungary…
The result is this website. A $10 membership in our library gives you access to information about millions of ancestors. One million of those ancestors have images of the original Source Docments attached for viewing online. Many of these images were previously impossible to find for such a low cost. Membership fees help our indexers and image-scanners to add more information with each passing month. Our internet website helps to conserves paper and trees, and reduces the consumption of energy and our natural resources. See "Contact Us" for more information.
Perhaps the single greatest advantage of the website over the publishing of books is this: we have been able to create greatly-enlarged and enhanced images – “pictures” - of rare Source Documents. This means documents are far easier to read when compared to the original. It is as if you are looking at each document under a giant microscope. As well, we are currently carrying out Phase 2 of our antique map collection from around the world. These maps are also available to members, and are greatly-enlarged as well.
…meanwhile, the indexing continues....