I have come across the following Canadian genealogy, history and heritage websites, social media, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.
This Week in Canadian History
Wilfrid Laurier
1896 – Wilfrid Laurier was sworn in as Canada’s seventh Prime Minister, succeeding Charles Tupper. He died in 1919 in Ottawa. He entered the House of Commons on 26 March 1874, and became the had of the Liberal party in 1887.
Lord’s Day Act
1906 – Senate passes the Lord’s Day Act, restricting trade, labour and recreation on Sundays; struck down by Supreme Court of Canada in 1985, Coincidentally, it was Wilfrid Laurier who introduced the Lord’s Day Act in 1906 to the House of Commons.
For further reading, go to http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lords-day-alliance-of-canada/
Social Media
(Photos) Still hope for mill
Stanley MacDonald, who purchased the mill from its last miller, Warren Leard, and donated it to the museum, said it is still his wish to save the building. He admitted, though, the board has been unsuccessful convincing funding partners to jump onboard.
(Photos) Bringing history to life at Upper Canada Village
If you had a chance to stop by Upper Canada Village over the weekend, you may have thought you stepped into another world.
Villagers dressed in traditional 1800s garb and soldiers in British and American uniforms had set up camp in tiny white tents, along with a stable of horses and a military surgeon, for the re-enactment of a battle that some say saved Canada during the War of 1812 -- the Battle of Crysler's Farm.
(Photos) This Week in Hants History
Here's a look at what was making the news 35 and 50 years ago in the Hants Journal.
(Photos) McNabs Island's crumbling historic houses deserve to be saved, guide says
A private shuttle operator in Eastern Passage, N.S., is calling on the province to repair three historic houses which sit within the boundaries of McNabs Island Provincial Park before they are completely ruined and devoid of historic value.
‘Postcards From the Train’ debuts at Corner Brook's historic train site Tuesday
Set at the Railway Society of Newfoundland Historic Train Site on Riverside Drive, the play, which opens Tuesday, will weave through the site as the audience hops on and off the two trains at the site.
Newspaper Articles
Newfoundland
Behind barbed wire
The Spirit of Red River exhibit holds photographs, documents, postcards, letters and maps that tell the story of the people and places who contributed to the fabric of the community in the early 1880s.
Some cut 12 tons of stone a day at quarries, while others toiled from 4 a.m. until 11 p.m. on farms.
One soldier describes being locked in a dark room with a window covered in bricks and a barrel by the door to use as a latrine.
Prince Edward Island
P.E.I. National Park getting $23M in upgrades
The federal government announced $23-million in upgrades for P.E.I. National Park Thursday. The improvement include seven different projects
Beaches rehabilitation: $4.3 million.
Rehabilitation of park entrances: $5.3 million.
Trails rehabilitation: $2 million.
Water and wastewater system improvements: $1.6 million.
Green Gables rehabilitation: $9.5 million.
Operational and directional signage: $427,000.
Ardgowan landscape conservation maintenance: $304,000.
Charlottetown aims to have Victoria Park bandstand ready for 2017
Charlottetown wants to start construction on a new bandstand in Victoria Park this fall, so it will be ready for celebrations of Canada's 150th birthday next year.
Nova Scotia
Sydney neighbourhood boundaries, history captured in new map
A Cape Breton-centric website has posted a map that attempts to get a handle on the various historic, if unofficial, neighbourhoods in Sydney, N.S.
Canada’s one and only ‘Black Battalion’ celebrated in parade
The premier of Nova Scotia and high-ranking military officials gathered in Pictou, N.S. to mark the 100th anniversary of the first and only segregated black military unit in the Canadian history.
Reminiscing on the Past and Preserving History
A new project by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador will help preserve provincial history by recording stories from seniors across the island.
Ontario
Historicist: Wicket Little Town
Due to the limited source material available, it is unclear when the game (cricket) was first played in York.
Historic PoW site in Ontario to get new lease on life
The derelict buildings of historic Camp 30, believed to be Canada’s only remaining prisoner of war camp from the Second World War, which were once feared unsalvageable, have emerged victorious against the test of time.
Manitoba
Capturing the spirit of early Winnipeg
The Spirit of Red River exhibit holds photographs, documents, postcards, letters and maps that tell the story of the people and places who contributed to the fabric of the community in the early 1880s.
Alberta
Documenting Alberta's quilts
Become a part of Alberta's quilt history by bringing in your pre-1970s quilts for documentation at the Grande Prairie Museum this weekend.
The Western Canadian History Program at the Royal Alberta Museum has been working on a research initiative to document the material culture of craft production within Alberta.
Special day celebrates unique history
Trick shooting and storytelling are among the day’s events as a Foothills national historic site celebrates its existence this weekend.
The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site is joining the Canada-wide Parks Day on July 16 to showcase what makes the park unique.
The ranch, established in 1882, was among a small group of large corporate ranches that operated during the early pioneer days in western Canada.
British Columbia
Plaque pays honour to internees
http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/community/386473051.html?mobile=true
Motorists travelling along a section of Highway 6 will be reminded of a dark chapter in Canadian history.
http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/community/386473051.html?mobile=true
Motorists travelling along a section of Highway 6 will be reminded of a dark chapter in Canadian history.
Heritage site signage becomes bilingual in Kelowna
https://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/news/news/Kelowna/16/07/15/Heritage_site_signage_becomes_bilingual_in_Kelowna/
https://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/news/news/Kelowna/16/07/15/Heritage_site_signage_becomes_bilingual_in_Kelowna/
The Father Pandosy Mission Society received funding under the 2013-18 Canada-British Columbia Official Language Agreement on French Language Services. This money will be used to translate promotional material for the Father Pandosy mission heritage site.
The North
In June, a group of ambassadors and high commissioners packed their bags and flew north for a nine-day tour of northern Canada. They came from all over the globe – the U.S., the E.U., Africa and Asia – to learn more about the Canadian Arctic, its environment, peoples and cultures.
Canadian Stories this Week
Arcadian Tour 2016
Have you seen the picture that Lucie LeBlanc Consentino from Massachusetts has been putting on her Facebook page about the Arcadian Tour 2016? They are terrific!
The picture are of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and for the past week, she has been leading a bus tour of the different Acadia communities.
Her Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/luciemc?pnref=lhc.unseen, and her wensitem the Acadian & French-Canadian Ancestral Home is at http://www.acadian-home.org/frames.html
Quinte Branch (Ontario Genealogical Society)
Did you know that the Quinte Branch has a new and unproved Names Index Database and the new Quinte Branch Surname Interest List (SIL), both of them downlaodable lists?
The older Names Index Database now has 1.35 Million Names, I have had the occasion to use the first database, and have found it very useful for clues in my research. Do not use them as records, but only as clues.
The website for this database is https://snap360.ca/quinteogs/
They sat that “The SIL is comprised of family surnames of interest to our members, past members and library contacts (AKA the providers), based on their research focus in Hastings, Prince Edward, and neighboring Counties.”
You can look forward it to be updated twice a year - June and December.
The Surname List is at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs/pdf_files/QB_SIL_Surnames_2016-07.pdf
The address for the website is http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs/index.htm
Digitizing of First World War files
The Library and Archives Canada keeps “rolling on” , as it were, with the digitizing project, Soldiers of the first World War: 1914 - 1918 because of July the 15th they have 307,588 of 640,000 files are now available online.
The latest box which has been digitized is Box 5218 and Knaggs.
I used a file just this past week, and found the digitizing progress very good. The file is right there, it is free (because it is housed at the Library and Archives Canada), and easy to use.
The files are available at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/canadian-expeditionary-force.aspx
And that was the week in Canadian news!
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