Search Help
Tax Assessment Roll Search
The tax assessment database consists of several thousand property assessment records for Nanaimo and Victoria for 1881, 1891 and 1901. These records can be searched in various ways.
You can also use syntax tools called "wildcards" and "query operators" to carry out more complicated and/or nuanced searches. For more information about these tools, please read the notes under Search Syntax on the Search Tips page.
The Census Search uses many of the features available on all of the searches on the viHistory site. Help is available on using these common search features.
How to Use the Basic Search
This feature allows you to search for properties by owner name, legal description (block, lot and sublot), street address and city, for any or all of the available years. Simply enter the search terms you want to look for and click the "Search" button. The Search Results page will display the property data. All of the search tools can be used in a Basic search.
How to Use the Advanced Search
Use this Search form to query the database using all of the fields found on the Basic form plus additional fields such as property value, lot size, etc. All of the search tools can be used in an Advanced search.
How to Use the "Fuzzy" Search
Not sure on how to spell a name? You can use the Fuzzy Search feature, which searches the database phonetically and finds those names which sound like the one you're looking for. Enter a name in the name (or family name or given name) fields, and click the Search button. You cannot use wild cards or search operators in a fuzzy search, so just enter the name. The results will include names that sound approximately like the name you entered. For example, if you search for "Smith" the results will include not only "Smith", but also "Smithe", "Smyth", "Schmidt" and other variations, some of which may seem a bit odd.
There are various methods available to be used in the fuzzy search; see the Fuzzy Search Methods page for more information on how this kind of search works.
The Search Results List
Any results from your search are displayed in the form of a table. Basic information
(Block/Lot/Sublot, Owner Name, Location, City, Value and Area) is displayed initially.
To view more information on the subject click on the
symbol beside the subject’s name. This will display a drop-down window containing
all available information.
The data in the table columns can be sorted by clicking
one of the arrows in the
symbol found in each
column title. The column that the data is currently sorted on will have one
of the arrows in red.
To see all available information on a property on a single page, click the block/lot/sublot item in the list.
If you have additional information about a property, click on the
symbol at the right of each line. A page will appear where you can submit your
information; the information will appear on this site. If the line also has a
symbol, that record already has annotations; click the symbol to view them.
If a 
symbol appears at the right of the line, the record has links to other records. Click the
symbol to see a list of these links.