Genealogy & Local History Research
Thanks to the efforts of many dedicated volunteers, the Kings Historical Society can aid you in your genealogy and local history research. Our Community & Family History Department includes extensive archives about Kings County, Nova Scotia and its families. You can visit our department on the lower level of the Kings County Museum or contact our research assistants to help you. You can contact us via email at research@kingscountymuseum.ca.
Fees
Please note our fees to access information and assistance in our Community & Family History Department:
- Accessing Our Archive
- Non-Members: $5.00 per visit
- Members: Free
- Photocopying & Printing Services
- Non-members: $0.40 per page
- Members: $0.25 per page
- Simple Genealogical Search by Assistant
- $5.00
- Intensive Genealogical or Research Search by Assistant
- $20.00 per hour
Routes to Your Roots
This video was produced by the Council of Nova Scotia Archives and highlights some of our museum’s resources.
Community History
Anyone looking for information or photographs on nearly any community in Kings Co., Nova Scotia will almost certainly find something of interest in our archives. We have books, newspaper articles, photographs, personal reminiscences etc. etc. all of which can be viewed in the Community and Family History area on the lower level of the museum in Kentville. One of our volunteers is digitizing the photo collection and some of these images can be viewed on the Gallery page.
Family History
For the genealogist or family history researcher, we have a wealth of information including:
- Large collection of published works on various families and related subjects.
- Approximately 900 file folders on individual families and many family binders.
- Over 180 rolls of microfilm containing: births, marriages, deaths, census records, township books, and other statistics relating to Kings County and Nova Scotia.
- Gravestone inscriptions for the 100 cemeteries in Kings County in four binders including a master index.
- Many indexes and information assembled by members of the Family History Committee to help you find your family roots.
Tombstone Photographs
The Community and Family History Department is now accepting requests to photograph tombstones anywhere in Kings County. Our service can provide digital photographs sent via email of:
- All sides of the stone
- Close ups of any print or symbols on the stone
- Additional stones in the same cemetery (extra fee).
This service is $20.00. Additional stones in the same cemetery can be photographed for an additional $3.00 per stone. To request this service, contact research@kingscountymuseum.ca.
Property Online Search Requests
Property Online (POL) provides online access to land ownership and related information collected through the province’s Land Registration Offices and other sources. The Property Online database contains ownership information, including property maps for the entire province. Our research assistants can search Property Online for the purposes of historical research and genealogy research in Kings County only. If your request does not meet this criteria, it will not be fulfilled.
Please submit your request via our Google Form. Our research assistants will assess whether your request is a simple search or an intensive search. Based on their assessment, you will be prompted to pay a research fee:
- Simple search fee for single property searches —$5.00
- Intensive search fee for complex, multi-property searches — $20.00 per hour
This fee can be paid via e-transfer, mailed cheque, or in-person. Your request cannot be processed until the fee has been paid. More information on the fee will become available to you when your request has been assessed by our research assistants.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us at info@kingscountymuseum.ca, call us at 902-678-6237, or visit us in-person. Find our address and our hours on our homepage.
