Heritage Day 2012

This year's theme of Heritage Day in Petrolia, Ontario is 'History of ENERGY’. It will take place on Saturday, March 3rd from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Victoria Hall, Petrolia.

There will be at the display the Union Gas, the Oil Museum of Canada, Van Tuyl and Fairbank Solarware, Waste Management, Wind Power, the Lambton Room, and the Lambton Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society!

Oil was discovered in Petolia, and in the Oil Springs area in the 1850s, and the Petrolia Heritage Committee has amassed a huge amount of material you can go through at http://www.petroliaheritage.com.

Rama-Mara History Website

On February the 16th, Rama-Mara History Society of Orillia, Ontario will meet at 7 o'clock at the Rama-Mara History Website

On February the 16th, Rama-Mara History Society of Orillia, Ontario will meet at 7 o'clock at the
Udney Community Centre at 2347 Concession Road 10, Rama Township at which Mike Crosby will conduct a "Genealogy 101 Workshop."

Recent acquisitions of the society are Fires of 1881, McKinnon Family Tree, Murphy-Heiztener Tree/genealogy site, Sebright United Cemetery, and St. John's Anglican Cemetery Atherly/Ramara Cemeteries.

They have records of 26620 individuals, 8694 families, 3759 Surnames, Photo of the Day, and 2136, Photos, and 126 Photo Albums online at www.ramarahistoricalsociety.net/index.php?module=pnTNG&func=main.

Books

I have just published two booklets: The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and
Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com, and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at www.genealogicalstudies.com

For more on the booklets, please visit these links -

War of 1812 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html,

and

Migration - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763-1865)

The Library and Archives Canada has put the Upper Canada Land Petitions.

They say that “Before the arrival of the Loyalists and British military settlers, the present-day Province of Ontario was an extension of the Province of Quebec. Following the Constitutional Act of 1791, the colony of Quebec was divided to create Upper Canada (today Ontario) and Lower Canada (today Quebec). Many early settlers, both military and civilian, submitted petitions to the Governor to obtain Crown land. Sons and daughters of Loyalists were also entitled to free lands.

The Upper Canada Land Petitions contain petitions for grants or leases of land and other administrative records. This research tool provides access to more than 82,000 references to individuals who lived in present-day Ontario between 1783 and 1865”.

For example, there is a Thomas Barclay in the database. 

The information an him was that he was from New York, the year was 1819, Volume 43, Bundle B 12, Petition 273, Microfilm C-1625, Reference RG 1 L3.

To check out the database, go to www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/upper-canada-land/index-e.html?PHPSESSID=9ukhscr15duaokeg7j3vk5qtf6

Books 

I have just published two booklets - The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com, and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at www.genealogicalstudies.com.

 For more on the booklets, go to http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html and http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

French-Canadian Societies

Marc-Amable Girard (1822–1892) was the second Premier of the Western Canadian province of Manitoba, and the first Franco-Manitoban to hold that post.

There are lots of French-Canadian societies in Quebec, but did you know that there are French-Canadian societies in other parts of Canada? French-Canadians—as they expanded westward across Canada—settled in villages, towns, and cities in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

Ontario

In the 2006 Canadian census, there were 488,815 French-Canadians in Ontario. They make up 4.1 per cent of the province's total population.

They are mainly concentrated in Eastern Ontario (in the cities of Ottawa, Cornwall, and towns in-between), Northeastern Ontario (in the cities of Sudbury, North Bay, and Timmins), and in Toronto, Windsor, Penetanguishene, and Welland.

There is Le Réseau du patrimoine franco-ontarien (RPFO) at http://rpfo.ca. This is a collection of over 30 French-Canadian societies in Ontario. Some sites are bilingual(F/E), while others are strictly in French, but they all have good information.

Manotiba

The majority of Franco-Manitobans (about 90%) live in the Greater Winnipeg area. There are Franco-Manitoban centres in Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, St. Claude, St. Pierre-Jolys, Ste. Anne, Ste. Rose du Lac, La Broquerie, Lorette, St. Laurent, Somerset, and St-Lazare.

The Manitoba Genealogical Society www.mbgenealogy.com covers all linguist groups in the province.

There is also The Manitoba Historical Society at www.mhs.mb.ca, and the Centre du patrimoine, Société historique de Saint-Boniface at http://shsb.mb.ca in which you can access the library database (in French), and the Voyageur contracts database (in French).

Saskatchewan

French-Canadians make up about 2 per cent of the population of Saskatchewan, and live in the cities of Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Moose Jaw. They also live in small towns such as Gravelbourg, Albertville, Duck Lake, Ponteix, Zenon Park, and Bellegarde.

Saskatchewan Genealogical Society www.saskgenealogy.com This society has 20 branches throughout the province, and covers the many peoples (including the French-Canadians) who settled there. Also, check La Société historique de la Saskatchewan at www.societehisto.com They have many published books such as La trace des pionniers, and offer a quarterly journal.

Alberta

The French-Canadians are centered in the Bonnie Doon area of Edmonton, in the towns of Bonnyville, Plamondon, and St. Paul in the northeast, and in the settlements of St. Isidore and the Municipal District of Smoky River No. 130, including the towns of Falher, Donnelly, McLennan, and Girouxville, as well as in north-central Alberta.

La Société généalogique du Nord-Ouest www.sgno.ca is located in Edmonton, and they have been a society since 1991. They have a very inclusive research library.

Tomorrow Post: Canadian Archival Societies

Holiday Season 2011

(Ottawa, December 25, 2011) Elizabeth Lapointe, editor of GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com, is publishing significants posts on Canada's genealogy, history, and heritage during the holiday season, from Boxing Day, December 26, until January 2, 2012.

Lapointe says, "Since the Holidays are festive in Canada, GenealogyCanada wants to share with all of its readers special postings highlighting some of the country's best genealogical resources, and at the same time, celebrating the blog's 4^th blogiversary on January 2.

The Holiday postings will feature the following topics -

Dec 26 – List of Books for the Holidays
Dec 27 – African-Canadian Societies
Dec 28 – French-Canadian Societies
Dec 29 – Canadian Archival Societies
Dec 30 – Ontario Genealogical Groups
Dec 31 – Most Popular Pages of 2011
Jan 1 – Happy New Year!
Jan 2 – Our 4^th Blogiversary!

It is hoped that you will enjoy all of the Holiday postings, and if you see something you like, be sure to pass the word of the blog and tell your friends that GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com welcomes everyone to drop by to say 'Hello!' My email is genealogycanada@aol.com.

Happy Holidays to you and yours, and all of the very best for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!"

About GenealogyCanada

GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com is a Canadian blog covering genealogy, heritage, and history. Over 600 posts have been published since January 2008.

At its sister website, www.genealogycanada.com one will find are numerous newsletters, columns, and other articles of interest, dating from 2002 to 2007, covering genealogy, heritage, and history, including the popular webpage, "Website Pick of the Month".

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The Ontario Name Index (TONI)

As part of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the OGS, The Ontario Name Index (TONI) has been growing steadily ever since, having posted close to 250,000 single names in the index.

They hope to eventually have tens of millions of entries in the database.

TONI includes -

• converting and importing the existing electronic indices at both the Branch and Society level, i.e. Ontario Cemetery Ancestor Index or the Ottawa Branch Name Index;
• 
  
• digitizing and importing existing hard copy indices;
• 
  
• indexing existing electronic and hard-copy documents and importing them, including family histories, Tweedsmuir histories, items in the e-library, etc. Branch publications such as cemeteries, census, newspapers, and other transcriptions that they have done; and

• indices to digitized documents produced for other organizations as part of the scanning project could be included, with permission of the owner.

Presently, they are putting in names in cemetery transcriptions of Northumberland and Carleton Counties of Ontario. They have already put in cemeteries of Wellington, Peterborough, and Hastings Counties.

TONI is available to everyone. You do not need to be an OGS member to use the index.

Go to www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_database1.php.

If any of the members of the OGS would like to help enter material into TONI, contact your Branch TONI Co-ordinator or the Provincial TONI Co-ordinator, Mike More, at Director08@ogs.on.ca.

Researching Canadian WWI Records

On Saturday the 19th of November at 1:00 p.m. at Quinte West City Hall Library, 7 Creswell Drive in Trenton, Ontario, the Quinte Branch of the OGS will host their monthly meeting & AGM.

Rick Roberts from Global Genealogy http://globalgenealogy.com will talk on "Researching Canadian WWI Records Using Online and Traditional Resources".

Discover which Canadian military records are available to help you reveal the roles that individual enlisted Canadians played in World War One, where those records are, how to access them, plus tips and hints for interpreting Canadian military documents. To be discussed are those who served at home and/or overseas, those who applied for service and were rejected, those who returned from war, and those who didn't. A case study, compiled by using Internet-based and physical records, will illustrate effective strategies, research processes, and results.

For more information, visit their website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs

Tomorrow's Post: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Obituary Files

Oxford County Library Databases & Indexes

I came across a webpage in the Oxford County Library, Ontario the other day, and there is a huge amount of genealogy for those who have ancestor's in the county.

For example, they have -

Newspaper Indexes of the Ingersoll Chronicle (birth, death and marriage index), and also of the Ingersoll Tribune.

Oxford County Genealogy Records (1793 - 1858)

Cemetery Records of the Index of Ingersoll and Area Cemeteries, and some headstone photos

Land Records of Oxford County Land Patents (1798-1852)

Local History Books & Indexes including -

Index to History of North Oxford Township 1867-1967
Index to Ingersoll: Our Heritage by Henry W. Whitwell
Index to The Axe and the Wheel: a history of West Oxford Township, 1790-1974
Index to With Mortar and Pine: a collection of the architectural heritage in the Township of Norwich
Autobiography of Thomas Brush Brown, 1804-1893 : a pioneer of East Nissouri Township
From the Roaring 20s to Y2K by Elsie McSpadden
Zorra Boys at Home and Abroad or How to Succeed by William Alexander McKay
Pioneer Life in Zorra by William Alexander McKay
Musings on the Banks of Canadian Thames by James McIntyre
Zorra by William M. Campbell
Souvenir Manual of the Embro Congregational Church

Directories, Gazetteers & Voters' Lists -

1852 Oxford Gazetteer by Thomas S. Shenston
1857-58 Directory of Oxford
1871 Gazetteer of Oxford County : Ingersoll (11 MB)
1877 Town of Ingersoll Voters' List NEW
1883 Town of Ingersoll Voters' List NEW
1894-95 Town of Ingersoll Directory
1908 Union Publishing Company's Directory of the Town of Ingersoll(12 MB)
1911 Town of Ingersoll Directory NEW
1927 Town of Ingersoll Telephone Directory NEW

History of the Town of Ingersoll including -

Town of Ingersoll Historical Photo Gallery
Industrial Ingersoll Illustrated, February 1907
Industries of Canada : Ingersoll, 1887
Ingersoll in the Eighteen Seventies : excerpts from the Ingersoll Tribune
Index to Ingersoll: Our Heritage by Henry W. Whitwell
The Ingersolls of Hampshire in the line of John Ingersoll of Westfield, Massachusetts by Charles Stedman Ripley
History of the Town of Ingersoll by James Sinclair, 1924
1947 Ingersoll Fall Fair Souvenir Program

The amount of information here is astounding!

If you wish to read some of these histories, directories, newspapers go to http://www.ocl.net/genealogy/.

VanKleek Hill Family History Day

Family History Day will be held at the Musée Vankleek Hill Museum, 95 Main Street East, and at VanKleek Hill Community Centre, VanKleek, Ontario.

The museum has invited four guest speakers – Harold MacMillan will introduce the local Galic language history, and teach you some words in Galic; David Abderson, a local book collector will tell you what to do with the collections that you have been left; Doroth Smith will talk about her research into the early history of the Van Kleek Hill Agricltural Aociety; Denis Sequin who is president of the VanKleek Hill & District Historical Society will explain the importance of the unique Victorian built-heritage as a tourist attraction.

Ottawa genealogists Glenn Wright, President of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa at http://www.bifhsgo.ca/ who will be there to answer your questions on immigration, the Anglo-Saxon family roots, and military history, and genealogy.

If you wish to go to the Family History Day at Vankleek Hill on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. , please follow Highway 417 to Exit 17. It is located at the crossroads at Highways 10 and 34. It is free!

The website is http://www.vankleek.ca/index.php you can email them at info@vankleek.ca, or phone them at 613-678-2323.

Last year we went to the Family History Day, and completely enjoyed it, so much so, that we will go again this year. See you there!

The Archives of Ontario Releases BMDs

Back in May, 2011, The Archives of Ontario released the Ontario Vital Statistics records (the BMDs) - the 1914 births, the 1929 marriages, and the 1939 deaths..

This release involves the following records:

Indexes to Births and Stillbirths, 1914 (Archives of Ontario Series RG 80-4, MS 931, Reels 28)

Indexes to Marriages, 1929 (Archives of Ontario Series RG 80-7, MS 934, Reel 27)

Indexes to Deaths, 1939 (Archives of Ontario Series RG 80-10, MS 937, Reel 28)

Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1914 (Archives of Ontario Series RG 80-2, MS 929, Reels 246-255)

Delayed Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, "50" Series, 1914 (Archives of Ontario Series RG 80-3-1, MS 930, Reels 75-76)

Delayed Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, "90" Series, 1914 (Archives of Ontario Series RG 80-3-2, MS 933, Reels 69-70)

Registrations of Marriages, 1929 (Archives of Ontario Series RG 80-5, MS 932, Reels 881-908)

Registrations of Deaths, 1939 (Archives of Ontario Series RG 80-8, MS 935, Reels 616-635)

They say that "This most recent release is all on 16mm microfilm stock, resulting in a total issue of 74 reels. These records are available for consultation in the Archives Reading Room at 134 Ian Macdonald Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario. They may also be borrowed through the Archives of Ontario's Microfilm Interloan Service".

For more information see their website at http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/archival-records/interloan/vsmain.aspx