Voices of the Past

Merv Scott, Project Director of the Victoria Genealogical Society has sent this notice to me. It sounds like a good idea. Are there any other societies doing a program like this?

“Our not for profit and volunteer run society is proud to announce the
launch of a new and free community service called "Voices of the Past"
and we hope that you will help us to get the word out to seniors in
our community.

The website is http://www.victoriags.org/voices

These recordings are then published/posted on our new website for
Voices of the Past at www.victoriags.org/voices where family members,friends and others can enjoy them now and in the future, and from
anywhere in the world.

The first few stories have been recorded by our volunteers and are now available on the Voices of the Past webpages. Other upcoming recording sessions are scheduled at the Greater Victoria Public Library on November 15 and December 10 (see GVPL programs website) and at the Victoria Genealogical Society Resource Centre on November 21. Recordings are free but advance registrations is required by email to projects@victoriags.org

We hope seniors don't miss this limited time opportunity to have their story, or their loved one's story, recorded for posterity.

For more info check out our fhs website at http://www.victoriags.org
and if any fhs out there wants to know how we did this please email
direct”.

1921 Canadian Census

The every name index to the 1921 Canadian Census is now on Ancestry.ca at http://www.ancestry.ca/census

Global Genealogy – Used Book Sale

Global Genealogy tells us that they are having a 50% off sale until Oct 31st at midnight on all Used Book and Book-on-CD sale.

Rick Roberts says that “we acquired several collections of USED and antiquarian genealogy and history books that we are selling off at a deep discount”.

Include the following coupon code used-books-only when you order.

Their site is www.globalgenealogy.com  

Canadian Week in Review 28 October 2013

I have come across the following Canadian websites, blogs, Facebook, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too

Websites

Find a Family History Center

https://familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator?s=Alberta There are over 4,500 centres throughout the world, and everyone of them are on a map showing their location. This is a good thing to know because when RootsTech 2014 is held in February, it will be live streamed videos in various centers worldwide from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Blogs

Call for Bloggers: Canadianmilitaryhistory.ca Wants Contributions from YOU http://www.canadianmilitaryhistory.ca/call-for-bloggers-canadianmilitaryhistory-ca-wants-contributions-from-you/ Here is your chance to blog about Canadian military history.

Facebook, Videos, You Tube 

How did your street get its name? http://www.yorktonnews.com/article/20131024/YORKTONNEWS0101/310249996/-1/YORKTONNEWS01/how-did-your-street-get-its-name This is not only a column, but also a podcast which appears weekly with interesting stories about Canada.

Newspapers Articles of the Week

Heritage trades celebrated in Hamilton http://dcnonl.com/article/id57550/--heritage-trades-celebrated-in-hamilton The exhibit is entitled Building Our Futures, Preserving Our Pasts: A Celebration of Southern Ontario’s Heritage Building Trades and it is opening in Hamilton. 

History of slavery at Windsor heritage home being examined http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/history-of-slavery-at-windsor-heritage-home-being-examined-1.2224245 Camille Turner, a researcher from Toronto, is in Windsor, Ontario researching the role that slaves played in the life of Francois Baby and the Baby House, which was used as headquarters in the War of 1812.

Historical ghost walk in Windsor an enlightening good time http://www.novanewsnow.com/Community/2013-10-22/article-3435796/Historical-ghost-walk-in-Windsor-an-enlightening-good-time/1Windsor, Nova Scotia use to be called the Athens of Nova Scotia, and now is the home of ghost stories and walks. The events are put on by the West Hants Historical Society Museum and Quick As A  Wink Theatre Society. The next event will be November the 9^th at 7:30.

Governor General's Awards Recognize Five Canadian Women Marking the 84th Anniversary of the Persons Case http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/21/5839187/governor-generals-awards-recognize.html#storylink=cpy Persons Day is celebrated annually during Women's History Month in Canada, and this year marks the 34th year of the awards.

The five women are

Constance Backhouse - Ottawa, Ontario

Nahanni Fontaine - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Susan Shiner - St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Julie Lalonde - Ottawa, Ontario (Youth Recipient)

Cherry Smiley - Vancouver, British Columbia (Youth Recipient)

Story of the Week

Glenbow Archives has Métis genealogy

Glenbow Library & Archives in Calgary has a wide variety of Métis genealogy on hand to research. The sources cover Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and some parts of the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and British Columbia.

They say that some of the genealogical sources unique to Glenbow are

§  Charles Denney Métis Genealogical Collection. Files on over 1,200 families with roots in the Canadian fur trade and the Red River Settlement.

§  Gail Morin Métis Database. A database consisting of pedigree charts of over 40,000 Métis individuals.

§  T. R. "Pat" McCloy Genealogical Collection. Includes a card file on Métis families.

§  Warren Sinclair's Metis Genealogy Collection. Well-documented files on over 900 Canadian Metis families.

§  Geoff Burtonshaw's Metis Genealogy Research Collection. Files created by well-known Metis researcher, who also published "The Metis Newsletter".

§  Métis Scrip applications. Records of the three Canadian Métis Scrip commissions, 1870-1902, and these original records are held at the National Archives of Canada.

The website is http://ww.glenbow.org

Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be on 04 November 2013.

Take a survey!

The OGS Conference committee wants to hear from you!

They have put a survey on their conference page at OGS, so that you can help them to decide.  

There are five tours for you to choose from, and they all look good.

The five tours are -

Half Day visit to Niagara Falls

Afternoon Historic Wine Tour

A visit to Fort George - Optional Visit to McFarland House & Tea Room

Old Fort Erie Battlefield Tour

A Historic Journey though Niagara on the Lake

To take the survey, go to http://www.ogs.on.ca/conference2014/tours_survey/tours.php

Great Expectations: Canadians and the 1921 Census

Glenn Wright will be at Kingston Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society to give a talk on the 1921 Census on Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.

The location is at the Wilson Room, Kingston Frontenac Public Library, 130 Johnson St., Kingston.

Glenn is a retired archivist and historian with Library and Archives Canada and president of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO)


You can contact Kingston at  http://ogs.on.ca/kingston/ for more information.

Postscript: Remember that Ancestry.ca will have the every name index of the 1921 census on their site on October the 29th.

Crowd-Sourcing Genealogy

Have you heard of Eric Proffitt and his idea about receiving a photo of your ancestor’s home or a photo of the original birth certificate, or of the town’s main street for $5.00?

Eric is using Crowd Sourcing to raise the money to hire a firm to develop the software to make it happen. Sounds like a great idea.


Read about his proposal in a http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/crowd-sourcing-genealogy

Top Canadian History Teacher is from Winnipeg

Matt Henderson, a history teacher from St. John's Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg has won the 2013 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Awards are administered by Canada’s History Society, and are awarded "to the best Canadian achievements in the field of history and heritage".

Last year, Henderson and his grade eleven history class went to the provincial archives (Archives of Manitoba Family History Research

http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/family_history/index.html) “to help them gain a better understanding of the experience of indigenous persons in Manitoba”.

“They learned about conducting research in archives, they wrote historical fiction based on what they discovered - they even published their own Idle No More textbook called Because of a Hat - Stories of Red River”.

Congratulations Matt, and the Grade 11 history class!

Go to Winnipeg teacher wins GG Award at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/scene/winnipeg-teacher-wins-gg-award-1.2159524

Did you see Terry Fox run?

Here is a notice that has been sent out by the Museum of Civilization -  

Did you see Terry on his run between St. John’s and Thunder Bay? Did you take a photo of him — or do you know someone who did? The Museum is looking for digital copies of these images. They could be featured in an upcoming exhibition developed in collaboration with the Terry Fox Center to mark the 35th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope.

For more details, and to submit images, go to www.civilization.ca/terryfox 

Only 6 days left until …

Guess what? It is 6 days away from being debuted on Ancestry.ca, and it is the  every name index to the 1921 Canada census!

Ancestry.ca will hold an official launch party in Toronto on the 29^th. Glen Wright, Dr. Kevin James, and Mark McGowan will be there to give brief comments about the census.  

So keep the 29^th open as it will be the day that the every name index to the 1921 Canada census will become available to the world!  

Does blended families mean blended surnames

A blended family in Yellowknife has chosen something different – they have used a hybrid surname

They have put together the first four letters of his surname (Van Overbeek) and the last three letters of her last name (Harilyw - they changed the letter ‘y’ to the letter ‘i’ in her name), and came up with  Van Overliw

So what does this do to genealogy? We are now creating special last names that didn’t exist before, it will be a hybrid last name.

If you want to read the full article, it is on http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/blended-families-blended-names-1.2127504

Canadian Week in Review 21 October 2013

I have come across the following Canadian websites, blogs, Facebook, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.

Websites

The Petworth Emigration Project www.petworthemigrations.com/‎ This is a case study of assisted emigration from the south of England to Ontario in the 1830s.

Blogs

As Canadian As Can Be http://hoguegirardin.wordpress.com/ As the blog says, “I remember the day I was standing in the gift shop at the Museum of Man and Nature here in Winnipeg, and stumbled upon my great-great grandmother’s name in a history book.  The book was Sylvia Van Kirk’s Many Tender Ties and the name was Margaret Taylor”.

Facebook, Videos, You Tube

OGS Facebook page reaches a 1,000 ‘likes’ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ontario-Genealogical-Society/259163438258

The Petworth Emigration Project also has two Facebook pages, and they are - https://www.facebook.com/PetworthEmigrationProject This Facebook page concentrates on the emigration project, and the second Facebook page concerns the people who emigrated to Canada. The address is https://www.facebook.com/groups/49248715727/

Newspapers Articles of the Week

Minister Fantino Challenges Canadians to Remember: 30 Days, 30 Reasons http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1241531/minister-fantino-challenges-canadians-to-remember-30-days-30-reasons A press release was issued by Veterans Affairs in which it said that "The Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of Veterans Affairs, today launched 30 Days, 30 Reasons - a social media campaign leading up to Remembrance Day on November 11, 2013. As part of the annual Remembrance Campaign, Veterans Affairs Canada will use social media to engage Canadians in remembering the sacrifices and achievements of Canada's Veterans”.

State of the Arts: Production celebrates 85-year history of Ukrainian Hall http://www.vancourier.com/state-of-the-arts-production-celebrates-85-year-history-of-ukrainian-hall-1.660332 Beverly Dobrinsky, who directs the Barvinok Choir at the hall and researched special anniversary shows Nov. 8 and 10, the building’s history for a new production, Bread & Salt, that celebrates its 85th anniversary.

Less is more for 150th bash http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/less-is-more-for-150th-bash-227773561.html The fields of science, literature, technology, political controversies, aboriginal history and other stories that make up the country's past are not to be included in the 150^th birthday bash.

Canada plans to mark 100th anniversary of First World War http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2013/10/19/21207096.html  Canada met with other European leaders last week to discuss the ceremonies that will take place next year. Canada will be part of an international effort planning the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

Story of the Week

Speech From the Throne

Last week was the Speech From the Throne. I went to the site to read it for myself, and I found a few things of interest to genealogists, such as -

2017: Anniversary of Confederation

As we approach our historic 150th anniversary in 2017, our Government will join with Canadians in honouring this momentous milestone by:

Marking the 150th anniversaries of the Charlottetown and Québec Conferences;

 Celebrating the 200th birthdays of two of our greatest Fathers of Confederation, Sir George-Étienne Cartier and Sir John A. Macdonald

Commemorating the centennial of the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the Second World War, and the enormous sacrifices made by Canadians and our Allies in both

Re-dedicating the National War Memorial to the memory of all men and women who fought for our country

Building a Memorial to the Victims of Communism, to remember the millions who suffered under tyranny

Marking the end of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan by honouring the service of our men and women in uniform, including those who made the ultimate sacrifice combating the spread of terrorism

Establishing the Canadian Museum of History to share the story of Canada with pride

Quite an ambitious schedule we have over the next four years.

There is one thing missing though – where are the programs that would help Canadians save their family stories? Genealogy has grown into a large industry in the world, and there hasn’t been a nod to that part of our society.

We, as genealogists, would ask for such an acknowledgement. Maybe the Library and Archives Canada could be a leader in this field.   

The whole Speech is at http://www.speech.gc.ca/sites/sft/files/SFT-EN_2013_c.pdf

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be on 28 October, 2013.

Lecture Series: Grub and Grog: Food and Drink in History

The Shannon lecture series at Carleton University, Ottawa called Grub and Grog: Food and Drink in History will bring in speakers from as far away as San Francisco, Minnesota, and Victoria BC to speak on the history of food and drink.

There are three lectures left, and they are -

October 25, 2013
 Adventures in Cooking from the Past. 
Ken Albala, Department of History, University of the Pacific.

November 8, 2013
 The Tavern Company: Food, Drink, and the Bonds of Sociability in a Colonial Society. 
Julia Roberts, Department of History, University of Waterloo.

November 15, 2013
 Only in Canada: History, Ecology and Culture of Edible Wild Plants of First Peoples in Western Canada. 
Nancy Turner, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria.

For further information please contact the Department of History at (613) 520-2828, by email to history@carleton.ca or visit our website at www.carleton.ca/history.

All lectures will take place in the Humanities Lecture Theatre, 303 Paterson Hall, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. followed by a reception in the Department of History Lobby, fourth floor Paterson Hall.

And while we are talking about the food industry, here is an entertaining article I found in the Timmins Press about war rationing in the Second World War.  HISTORY: War rationing inspired recipes http://www.timminspress.com/2013/10/18/history-war-rationing-inspired-recipes      

The OGS Facebook page reaches 1000 'likes'

The OGS Genealogy eNews! notice received every Saturday morning, they have said that they have reached the 1000 mark in ‘likes’ on their Facebook page!  

They do have a very informative Facebook page, and if you are not a member, but would still like to keep up on the news, then click on the “Like”.

They say that “New information is shared several times a day and the page has grown into a family history discussion forum for members and non members alike. Come join us!”

The Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ontario-Genealogical-Society/259163438258

They also have a blog at http://www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog/  

UPDATE: Nova Scotia 1921 Census

Here is the latest update from Dwayne Meisner -

Hi All, just wanted to let you know that many more sub-districts for the

Province of Nova Scotia have been transcribed. Halifax County is nearing

completion, with only a few more areas to finish,  and of course, the Town

of Dartmouth and the City of Halifax. Annapolis County has had more areas

finished, and I am expecting some more areas from some of our busy volunteer

transcribers, including parts of Lunenburg and Cape Breton Counties, and

others.

There is still a long way to go to finish the whole province. You

can view the completed areas by visiting

http://dwaynemeisner.com/census/novascotia/index.php

If you would like to help by contributing a transcription, see

http://dwaynemeisner.com/census/volunteer.php for information on how to do

it.

Or, if you have a Facebook account, you can follow the progress

here at

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nova-Scotia-Census-Records/211456578879930

FamilySearch does it again!

FamilySearch has done it again! In addition to being partners now with Ancestry.com, and MyHeritage, they have become partners with the new DC Thomson Family History, formerly known as findmypast. 

LONDON, England and SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--Annelies van den Belt, the new CEO of DC Thomson Family History, the British-based leader in online family history and owner of findmypast and Genes Reunited, has announced a major new partnership with US-based FamilySearch.org that will give family history enthusiasts access to billions of records online and new technology to collaboratively research their family roots.

DC Thomson Family History, formerly known as brightsolid online publishing, is collaborating with FamilySearch, which has the largest collections of genealogical and historical records in the world, to deliver a wide range of projects including digital preservation, records search, technological development and the means to allow family historians to share their discoveries.

More than 13 million records from FamilySearch.org launched today on findmypast.com, including major collections of births, marriages and deaths covering America, Australia, and Ireland. Around 600 additional collections, containing millions of records, will follow.

The two organisations have a long history of working together on historical projects, including indexing 132 million records of the 1940 US census and two hundred years of British Army Service Records (Chelsea Pensioners) in a joint digitisation project with The National Archives.

Van den Belt said: “This is fantastic news for our customers all over the world. As a leader in online family history we will be able to offer access to a much wider variety of records dating back hundreds of years and the first batch are ready to search on findmypast. The convenience of searching many treasures from FamilySearch.org along with our own extensive collections will provide rich new insights for our customers.

“This partnership with FamilySearch will accelerate the momentum of our next phase of global growth into new non-English-speaking markets and give more people more access to more records to uncover their family history. This really cements our position as a market leader.”

“We are excited to work with DC Thompson Family History on a vision we both share,” said Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch. “Expanding online access to historical records through this type of collaboration can help millions more people discover and share their family’s history.”

DC Thomson Family History is the British-based leader in online family history, which operates major online sites including findmypast, Genes Reunited and the British Newspaper Archive. It launched in America last year with its findmypast brand.

DC Thomson Family History has a strong record of partnerships with non-profit and public sector organisations such as the British Library and The National Archives among many other major archives and organisations around the world.

October is Canadian Islamic History Month

Islamic History Month Canada (IHMC) was launched on October 25, 2007, and October was proclaimed as the Islamic History month in Canada.

The press release says that “The Objective of IHMC is to celebrate, inform, educate and share with fellow Canadians the Muslim cultural heritage and Canadian Muslim contributions to Canada and the contributions made by the Islamic civilization throughout its history; to sciences, humanities, medicines, astronomy, and other disciplines that have contributed positively to human progress. IHMC believes that it is through education and sharing positive stories that we can build a more inclusive and gentle multicultural Canada.”

A few facts about Canadian –

- The census of 1871 reports 13 Muslims in the country

- Edmonton has the oldest mosque in North America, built in 1938

- There are 1 million Muslims in the country.

Their website is at http://www.islamichistorymonth.com/ihmc2010/

They also have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Islamic-History-Month-Canada/322440464106?ref=stream&hc_location=stream

Top LAC job up for grabs

It appears that the government is starting to look for a person to assume the LAC top archivist and librarian job in the near future. Who will they pick, and more important, what will be the qualifications for the job?

If one looks at the requirements for the job, as people from the archivist and librarian community has done already, the news is not good for the Canadian genealogical community.

It says that it will be an “asset” and not a “requirement” for the successful person to have experience in the library and archivist field.

So, does this leave us with another person like the former LAC head Daniel Caron who was a career bureaucrat and not an archivist or librarian?

To read the story, here is a newspaper article, and a statement by The Canadian Association of Law Libraries -

Joint Statement on Qualities of a Successful Librarian and Archivist of Canada
http://www.callacbd.ca/en/content/joint-statement-qualities-successful-librarian-and-archivist-canada

Top librarian job up for grabs; head of Library and Archives Canada could bag a $226,500 salary http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/national/librarian+grabs+head+Library+Archives+Canada+could/9034221/story.html

Postscript: I would like to thank two of my readers for sending me the news story and the job description.

This is an interesting press release because it shows an alliance has been struck between MyHeritage and FamilySearch. They say it will benefit all family historians. What do you think?

TEL AVIV, Israel & SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – October 9, 2013 – MyHeritage, the popular online family history network, and FamilySearch.org announced today the signing and commencement of a strategic partnership that forges a new path for the family history industry. Under this multi-year partnership, MyHeritage will provide FamilySearch with access to its powerful technologies and FamilySearch will share billions of global historical records and family tree profiles spanning hundreds of years with MyHeritage. This will help millions of MyHeritage and FamilySearch users discover even more about their family history.

FamilySearch will provide MyHeritage with more than 2 billion records from its global historic record collections and its online Family Tree. These records will be added to SuperSearch , MyHeritage’s search engine for historical records, and will be matched with family trees on MyHeritage using its matching technologies. MyHeritage users will gain access to an unprecedented boost of historical records and family tree profiles, which are key to researching and reconstructing their family histories. This reinforces MyHeritage's position as an international market leader, with gigantic assets of family trees and records, which are the most globally diverse in the industry.

FamilySearch members will benefit from MyHeritage's unique technologies which automate family history discoveries. Smart Matching™ automatically finds connections between user-contributed family trees and Record Matching automatically locates historical records relevant to any person in the family tree. By receiving accurate matches between FamilySearch’s Family Tree profiles and historical record collections, such as birth, death, census, and immigration documents, FamilySearch members will be able to more effectively grow their family trees in size and in depth and add conclusions supported by historical records.

“For more than a hundred years, FamilySearch has been dedicated to working with the world’s archives to preserve their records for future generations” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “Their massive undertaking has made family history more accessible to everyone. This partnership highlights MyHeritage’s technology leadership and our firm commitment to adding historical records on a massive global scale, accelerating our vision of helping families everywhere explore and share their legacy online. We look forward to a fruitful future working hand in hand with our friends at FamilySearch.”

“FamilySearch values collaborative partnerships that enable more people, in more places, to discover their family history” said Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch. “MyHeritage is an innovative company that has a fast growing, global online audience. We are excited to commence this partnership which enables FamilySearch to better serve the global family history community.”

Postscript: I would like to say thank you to the reader who sent me notice of this press release.

Chatham-Kent library week

There are many events planned for Chatham-Kent Library Week from October 20 to the 26th.

Ontario Public Library Week began in 1985 and has become the annual focus for promoting and recognizing public library service in the province. This year's theme is "libraries connect,"

One event which caught my eye, are the talks given by Jerry Hind at the different branches of the library. Jerry and the local International Order Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E) “have been working on an ambitious project to compile all the information they can find on Chatham-Kent’s World War I and World War II veterans. Some of this information has been found in the library materials!”

Their research has culminated in a federally sponsored website Gathering Our Heroes and it’s at http://www.gatheringourheroes.ca/

Tillbury Branch Tuesday, October 15 at 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Ridgetown Branch Tuesday, October 22 at 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Dresden Branch Tuesday, October 29 at 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Wallaceburg Branch Tuesday, November 5 at 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Blenheim Branch Wednesday, November 13 at 1:00 - 2:00 PM

One thing to note in the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) is that an article which will appear in the November issue of the journal Families. The article is called Blacks in the Great War (First World War) is written by Jerry Hind where he writes about the Blacks in Chatham-Kent.

While you are at the library site, they have a Genealogy Room where you can spend time Tracing Your Roots in Chatham-Kent.

It is at http://www.chatham-kent.ca/PublicLibraries/Genealogy/Pages/Tracing%20Your%20Roots%20in%20Chatham-Kent.aspx

Canadian Week in Review 14 October 2013

I have come across the following Canadian websites, blogs, Facebook, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too

Websites

The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. http://archives.gnb.ca/archives/default.aspx?culture=en-CA In addition to the vast databases that they have put on during the previous years, they have added 1918 births to their online places to check.

Blogs

Understanding Your DNA Results: Comparison Charts
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/10/understanding-your-dna-results.html Lorine, on her blog, Olive Tree Genealogy, discusses the role that DNA plays in genealogy.

Facebook, Videos, You Tube

No new websites this week

Newspapers Articles of the Week

David Chuenyan Lai: He has visited more than 40 Chinatowns and mapped their history http://www.theprovince.com/life/David+Chuenyan+visited+more+than+Chinatowns+mapped+their+history/8998098/story.html Imagine that when David Chuenyan Lai came to the University of Victoria in 1968, he couldn’t find a single book in Chinese in its library.
Today, the retired geography professor has written nearly a dozen books on Chinese-Canadian history, and has visited nearly 40 Chinese communities in Canada.

Finding family roots may mean finding yourself - Metis genealogists search through family myths http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20131006/SAG0801/310069999/finding-family-roots-may-mean-finding-yourself Read how a person is finding her roots, and herself through her ancestors.

Greber family donates records to South Peace Archives http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/2013/10/08/greber-family-donates-records-to-south-peace-archives The Hodgson family from Hythe have donated family archives to the South Peace Archives, Alberta. Also watch for a blog about Edna Greber’s scrapbook by her daughter-in-law, Patricia Greber.

Designs Unveiled of the Sir John A. MacDonald Heritage Building http://dcnonl.com/nw/34709/gc The former Bank of Montreal building, at 144 Wellington Street, in Ottawa, is being redesigned to permanently house the Confederation Room (Room 200), formerly in the West Block, across the street, on Parliament Hill.

BRIDPORT: Memory walk will rediscover forgotten West Bay heritage http://www.viewfrompublishing.co.uk/news_view/28571/7/1/bridport-memory-walk-will-rediscover-forgotten A ‘memory walk’ around West Bay hopes to rediscover some of the heritage of Bridport’s harbour in Newfoundland.

Story of the Week

Call for presenters at 2014 Webinars

The Ontario Genealogical society is joining other societies in presenting Webinars so that it’s members can be better educated and knowledgeable in the business of the society.

In 2014, the Webinars will be presented on a monthly basis, and they are looking for new and experienced speakers with topics about Canada, in particular Ontario, as well as ethnic groups such as Irish, Scottish, English, French, German. Presentations about DNA, methodology, and technology/social media in family history will also be considered

Please send individually up to four topics including your most requested, and new presentations.

What to include:
• Your name
• Mailing address
• Telephone number
• Email address and website
• Audience Level
• Name of Presentation
• Summary of your presentation (250 characters maximum)
• Short Bio (50 words maximum)
• Speaking experience within the last 18 months

Each submission should have a unique subject heading (i.e. kathrynlakehogan1)
Email your submissions no later than 11:59 pm ET, October 31, 2013 to:
Kathryn Lake Hogan, Ontario Genealogical Society Webinar Coordinator at webinar@ogs.on.ca

The next Webinar will be in November, and All OGS members are invited to sign to hear Thomas MacEntee.

Title: You Use WHAT for Genealogy? Wonderful Uses for Unusual Tools

Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Time: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM EST

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/706504023.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be on 21 October, 2013

York Region Ancestors Fall Issue

The fall newsletter of the York Region of the OGS has two articles about the Upper Canada Sundries, New Research opportunities from the Library and Archives Canada, Aliens in the Township of Markham, and the Vaughn Memorial Project.

The first two articles involve land records in Upper Canada, and gives very good advice in finding people within the microfilm.

We are reminded that there are two places to check (FREE) and they are Janice Nickerson’s website at http://www.uppercanadagenealogy.com and Michael Stephenson’s website http://www.ontariogenealogy.com/uppercanadasundries.html for sundries files.

If you have had difficulty finding aliens in the 19th century in the Township of Markham, maybe you should look at the list in this newsletter. There are fifteen names on the list for the year 1815, and they were taken from the sundries list.

The City of Vaughan Archives are putting together a Memory Project and Exhibit, and are asking people who use to live, or are living in the area to collect oral histories, and send them to the archives once finished.

The person in charge of this project is Brenda Hicock and she can be reached by Brenda.hicock@vaughan.ca

If you would like to receive this newsletter four times a year, you can join the York Region by going to the http://www.rootsweb.com/~onyrbogs

Fall 2013 Anglo-Celtic Roots

The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO)has issued the fall edition of its journal the Anglo-Celtic Roots.

There are a number of articles in this issue, and they are –

The Cowley Family Saga: From Sherwood Forest to the NHL – Part I by Christine Jackson which talks about the role that the Crowley family (they arrived in the Ottawa area from England in the 1830s) played in the development of the Ottawa Valley, and of Champlain Park, a housing development in the west end of Ottawa in the 1950s.

Found in a Monastery? by Brian D. Cook is a summary of what happened to tracing his maternal great-grandfather – Cuthbert Baker – from help by the BIFHSGO society, and genetic genealogy. .. and the records of the Benedictine Monastery in Europe.

The Cutler Genealogical Odyssey by Gillian Leitch tells of she successfully traced John Cutler from Eton, England who was employed as a clerk at the Tower of London. It is a fascinating story!

In the From the President message, Glenn Wright, says that they have imitated two projects that will result in two databases – the pre-Confederate immigrants from the British Isles (which will hold important names for researchers), and the second one will concern the First World War. So stayed tuned for developments on that front.

Betty Warburton keeps us up-to-date on the happenings at the library at the Archive of Ottawa, this month she tells us of the books on Ireland; John D. Reid talks about Canadiana.org, and the 1921 Census in The Cream of the Crop, and Ian White writes about The Ottawa City Archives: a Treasure Chest for Genealogists.

The Anglo-Celtic Roots (ACR) is available as a member benefit of BIFHSGO when you join the organization.

To join as a member, go to http://www.bifhsgo.ca

Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922

They have added new index records and digital images to the ships' passenger lists (also known as ships' manifests or seaport records of entry) at FamilySearch.

It contains records for the ports of Quebec City, 1900-1921; Halifax, 1881-1922; Saint John, 1900-1912; North Sydney, 1906-1912; Vancouver, 1905-1912; Victoria, 1905-1912; New York, 1906-1912; and Eastern US Ports, 1905-1912.

The lists for United States ports include only those names of passengers with intentions of proceeding directly to Canada

Hint: If you have a surname that you suspect was spelled differently in the immigrant records, this record at FamilySearch is a good way to catch those surnames...

Go to the website at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1823240?ET_CID=45596243&ET_RID=genealogycanada@aol.com

FGS Announces Three-part Webinar Series on Genealogy Society Membership and Communication

Very seldom does this blog mention American genealogy societies, but I must make an exception in this case. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) is giving a great Webinar series which is of particular interest to those involved in society membership and communication.

The FGS welcomes George G. Morgan, President of Aha! Seminars, Inc. and VP of Membership for FGS, as he presents a three-part webinar series on genealogy society membership and communication.

• Tuesday, October 22, 2013, 8:00-9:00 pm EDT
The Shape of the 21st Century Genealogical Society
We've come a long way as genealogical and historical societies. New technologies such as blogs, print-on-demand publishing, Facebook, Twitter, mobile phone apps, podcasts, webinars, and others have drastically changed what we can do for our societies. This session discusses how the modern society can provide a rich experience for its members and get its message out to the world. Click on the link to register for the webinar: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/409683718


• Monday, November 4, 2013, 8:00-9:00 pm EST
Harness the Power of Email in Your Society
Email is a powerful tool that, within your society, can build excitement and encourage member participation. Learn the types of email communications that capture attention. Create a professional presence for your organization. Discover strategies for effectively using and managing email. Uncover ways to publicize who you are and what you offer. Attract and keep members! Click on the link to register for the webinar: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/421955302


• Monday, November 18, 2013, 8:00-9:00 pm EST
How to Develop and Implement Affordable Membership Benefits
Genealogical and historical societies are struggling to attract and retain members while striving to stay solvent. It is essential to offer tangible benefits year-round. This session discusses best practices that can be put in place to provide affordable benefits to members. Click on the link to register for the webinar: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/111785582

I have known George personally for the past ten years, and consider him to be one of the top genealogy teachers in North America. He is president of Aha! Seminars, Inc., and an internationally recognized genealogy expert who presents at conferences and on genealogical cruises around the world.