Ancestry.ca update: Canada Quaker Yearly Meeting Minutes, 1836-1988

This message has come in from Ancestry -

'Today, Ancestry has launched a fascinating new collection of Canadian Quaker records, the Canada Quaker Yearly Meeting Minutes, 1836-1988, VI collection, a database containing records form Quaker meetings in Canada.

The Quakers, a longstanding religious society of friends that believed in a strong, personal experience with God, would hold yearly meetings with the top members of the society. This database is made up of more than 184,000 records from several Quaker meetings that took place in Canada. The records come from the Canadian Yearly Meeting Archives in Newmarket, Ontario.

The collection contains a large assortment of records including membership registers, marriage records, meeting minutes, removal certificates, death records and disciplinary records. Details within the records include name, date of birth, date of death, names of parents and spouses, event dates, witnesses and more. A large majority of these records come from Ontario, however there are records from other provinces and even a few from areas in the United States as some of these areas fell under Canada’s jurisdiction at the time.

I spent sometime today going through the records, and I agree, they do appear to be very inclusive and detailed. Even if you don’t know if your ancestor was a Quaker, you should check the records to see if he/she is there – because he/she might be, or he/she may have had ties to the Quaker community'.

 The website is at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=60521&geo_a=r&geo_s=us&geo_t=ca&o_iid=41015&o_lid=41015&o_sch=Web+Property

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/02/canadian-week-in-review-23-february-2013.html

 

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

 

Canadian Week in Review - 09 February 2015

I have come across the following Canadian websites, social media websites, 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

In 1858, gold was discovered along British Columbia's Fraser River, attracting 30,000 people to Canada's West Coast.
   Read about the Fraser River Gold Rush at http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fraser-river-gold-rush

In 1873, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city.
   Read about the history of Winnipeg at http://www.winnipeg.ca/services/CityLife/HistoryOfWinnipeg/HistoricalProfile.stm

In 1880, a party of armed men murdered James Donnelly―as well as his wife, Johannah; his sons, Thomas and John; and his niece, Bridget Donnelly―in their farmhouse near the southwestern Ontario village of Lucan, near London, Ontario. Some say that the killings in Ontario were the result of a factional feud originating in County Tipperary, Ireland.
   To read further about the Donnelly murders, read http://www.donnellys.com

And while we've had our share of cold temperatures in Ottawa this winter, the lowest recorded temperature in Canadian history occurred on 3 February, 1947 at Snag, Yukon, when it went down to -62.8º Celsius (-81.04º Farenheit).
   See 10 Coldest Places In Canada at http://www.readersdigest.ca/holiday/christmas/travel/10-coldest-places-canada

Social Media

The Olive Tree Genealogy
Congralutions to Lorine McGinnis Schulze on the 12th blogiversary of her The Olive Tree Genealogy blog at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/02/happy-12th-birthday-to-olive-tree.html.
   I think she was the first Canadian to start a blog, and has kept at it now for the past 12 years.
Good job, Lorine! And now it’s on to your 13th birthday!

(Video) The Massey Murder: 100 years later, the tabloid tale still fascinates
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-massey-murder-100-years-later-the-tabloid-tale-still-fascinates-1.2944925
   It was the trail of the century, and it took place in Toronto. It involved the shooting of Charles Bert Massey (of the Massey Ferguson farm equipment family) by Carrie Davies, the family maid.

Articles

Nova Scotia

African Heritage Month steeped in history – our history
http://www.cumberlandnewsnow.com/News/Local/2015-02-02/article-4029166/African-Heritage-Month-steeped-in-history-%26ndash%3B-our-history/1
   African Heritage Month this year is themed “Social Justice, Roots of Progress,” and with it the province will turn to its own history, to the 1700s during an era of slavery within the province, as well as the Black Loyalists.

Halifax’s unsung wartime heroes: the Home Guard
http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1266783-halifax%E2%80%99s-unsung-wartime-heroes-the-home-guard
  They are the dozens of black men and women responsible for protecting a big chunk of Halifax’s core during the Second World War, when attacks from Canada’s enemies were not only feared but expected – it was called the Home Guard.

Prince Edward Island

Big rock with 1880s etchings made official heritage
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/big-rock-with-1880s-etchings-made-official-heritage-site-1.2940969
   Sandstone petroglyphs hidden in woods of Bonshaw, Prince Edward Island.

New Brunswick

UNB's Toll of War project is 'propaganda,' historian says
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/unb-s-toll-of-war-project-is-propaganda-historian-says-1.2940076
   The Milton F. Gregg Centre received $488,155 in federal funding for a project to promote Victoria Cross recipients. Some say that the project, Toll of War, has a propaganda tone to it.

Moncton firefighters seek space to display memorabilia
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/moncton-firefighters-seek-space-to-display-memorabilia-1.2946025
   Moncton firefighters are looking for a place to display some artifacts from the department's 140-year history. One of the items is a 1926 fire truck, complete with wooden spokes in its wheels.

Ontario

Getting to the 'root' of family history
http://www.mykawartha.com/opinion-story/5320277-getting-to-the-root-of-family-history
   This is the first of a monthly series of articles on genealogy, written by members of the Kawartha Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. And the first columnist is the former Executive Director of the OGS – Dr. Fraser Dunford.

John Boyko: The best faces for Canadian banknotes
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/john-boyko-the-best-faces-for-canadian-banknotes
   In support of an effort begun a year ago by Victoria’s Merna Forster to have more women, such as the Famous Five, on Canadian money, another person gives his opinion.

City of Toronto to proclaim February as Black History Month
http://voiceoftoronto.com/wp/2015/02/city-of-toronto-to-proclaim-february-as-black-history-month
   The Toronto Public Library will recognize Black History Month with song, film, and literature that celebrate African-Canadian culture.
   On Friday, February 20, from 2 to 4 p.m., the Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, will host Toronto’s Poet Laureate, George Elliott Clarke―along with Toronto poets Lillian Allen, Clifton Joseph, and Andrea Thompson―in a discussion called Malcolm X: 50 Years After – Pertinent or Passé?

Black History Month celebrates local talent
http://www.lfpress.com/2015/02/01/black-history-month-celebrates-local-talent
   Shaun Boothe―London native, renowned hip-hop artist, and motivational speaker―often stops by to see his mom, Dorothy Bingham, who still lives in London.

Alberta

Quick lesson in Canadian black history
http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/News/Local/2015-02-02/article-4029022/A-quick-lesson-in-Canadian-black-history/1
   Black history in Canada dates back to 1605, when the first black person set foot on Canadian soil. His name was Mathiew Da Costa, a free man who was hired as a translator.

90-year-old Lake Louise photo explores Canadian history
http://ottawacitizen.com/life/homes/antiques-90-year-old-lake-louise-photo-explores-canadian-history
   There is a photograph from 1924, taken at Lake Louise, Alberta, which shows Thomas Edmonds Wilson, right, and Walter Dwight Wilcox, and man in traditional garb - Stoney Nation chief, John Hunter.

Stories of the Week

Ottawa is about to alter the physical and cultural landscape of the city by erecting two new moments within the downtown area this year.

One of them, the Memorial to Victims of Communism, has raised concern about the design of the memorial, which is to be placed between the Supreme Court of Canada building and the Library and Archives Canada.

There is an editorial entitled, Move the memorial, which has appeared in the Ottawa Citizen this week at http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/editorial-move-the-memorial. It says, “Some quibble with the design, suggesting it’s little more than a boring, aesthetically displeasing pile of concrete flaps”.

Supporters say that Canada is a Land of Refuge, and that the monument will stand as a landmark in recognizing the role Canada has played in offering refuge to the millions that left behind torment and oppression for a new beginning in a free and democratic country.

So what do you think? This site was chosen because of its close proximity to the Supreme Court of Canada, the Peace Tower, Parliament Hill, and Library and Archives Canada.

The other monument is the National Holocaust Monument, called Landscape of Loss, Memory and Survival, to be built across from the Canadian War Museum, down the hill from the Library and Archives Canada.

Roughly 40,000 Holocaust survivors came to Canada from war-torn Europe during the late 1940s and early 1950s. That is a significant number of people, and Canada, it has been noted, is the last of the developed countries to put a such a monument in its capital city.

The website, http://holocaustmonument.ca, notes that the official inauguration of the main elements of the monument is scheduled for the fall of 2015.

To break up the winter in Canada, various committees are hard at work year-round to make sure that we have festivals to attend in February.

So, in addition to the renowned Carnaval de Québec in Quebec City http://carnaval.qc.ca (home of the famous toque- and sash-clad mascot, Bonhomme Carnaval), there is Ottawa's very own Winterlude http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/events/winterlude-2, another world-class winter festival, this one centered around the Rideau Canal, and taking place in both cities of Ottawa and Gatineau (across the Ottawa River, in the border province of Quebec, where it is known as Bal de Neige http://www.canada.pch.gc.ca/fra/1416239267950/1416239373076), which is quite fitting for one of the world's coldest capital cities.

Winterlude is known for its own mascots, the Ice Hog Family (for the Bal de Neige, it's « Les Glamottes », in French)

In St-Isidore, Alberta, their Comité culturel de St-Isidore will present the 33rd Carnaval St-Isidore, which is modeled after Québec City's own famous Carnaval. This year, it will take place from February 13 to 15, 2015. Their mascot is an owl.

For more, visit http://www.carnavaldestisidore.ab.ca/home.php?en

And to wrap it all up this week, the Royal Canada Mounted Police is looking for Canadian young people to name 10 puppies in their Name the Puppy 2015 Contest, To read the rules, visit http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/name-the-puppy-2015-contest-launched-by-rcmp-1.294460

Contestants can enter online or send a letter—with the child’s name, age, address, telephone number, and suggested name—to:

Attn: “Name the Puppy Contest”
Police Dog Service Training Centre
Box 6120
Innisfail, AB T4G 1S8

The 10 children whose names are chosen by the centre’s staff will each receive an 8×10-inch photo of the pup they named, a plush dog named Justice, and an RCMP cap.

The contest is open until March 3rd, and winners will be announced on April 8th.

And that was the week that was in Canadian genealogy, history, and heritage news!

Need help in finding your Canadian ancestors?

Michael D. from Florida says “Ms. Elizabeth Lapointe is an experienced professional with a broad-based detailed knowledge of the available genealogical documentary resources, together with an understanding of the colonial and modern history, economy, and sociology of the French and English aspects of Canada. For a client, she is both a teacher and a guide into the field of genealogy."

If you do need assistance, visit my website, Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services, and see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor.

Great service. Reasonably priced.

Website: www.ELRS.biz

Email: genealogyresearch@aol.com

And that was the week that was in Canadian genealogy, history, and heritage news!

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!

If you missed last week's post on 02 February 2015, visit http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/02/canadian-week-in-review-02-february-2015.html

The next Canadian Week in Review will be posted 16 February 2015.

FamilySearch.org offers FREE classes

The classes are -

07 February 2015 Registros civiles y censos. This class provides instructions on how to use Spanish civil registers and census records. It is for Spanish-speaking guests and is taught in Spanish. Class starts at 1:00 p.m.

21 February 2015 * Boy Scout Genealogy Merit Badge Workshop. This workshop begins at 10:00 a.m. Register for this 90-minute class at least one week prior to the workshop to find out which requirements should be completed before attending. For registration information, call 1-801-240-4673.

21 February 2015 Qué dice? Cόmo leer la escritura antigua. This class provides tips and guidelines for reading old Spanish handwriting. It is for Spanish-speaking guests and is taught in Spanish. Class starts at 1:00 p.m.

26 February 2015 FamilySearch Historical Records Collection Webinar. This class begins at 6:00 p.m. It provides an overview of what the FamilySearch Historical Records Collection has to offer researchers and some tips on how to get the most from your searches.

28 February 2015 * British Research Series. These classes include “British Resources on FamilySearch.org,” and “British Resources on Ancestry.com.” Classes run from 9:15 a.m. to noon.

28 February 2015 * German Research Series. These classes include “Learning to Read Old German Script” (2 hours) and “Extracting Information from German Church and Civil Records.” Classes run from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

28 February 2015 African-American Research Series. The topics include “Keynote Speaker,” “Beginning African-American Research: Post 1865,” and “Southern Plantation Records.” Classes run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

These classes and workshops are designed to help individuals and families find their ancestors and teach others family history techniques. I have already put into my calendar FamilySearch Historical Records Collection Webinar.

How about you?

* Registration is required for classes with an asterisk. Register by 9:00 p.m. the Thursday before the class date by sending an email to FHLClassReg@familysearch.org or calling 1-801-240-4950. Go to https://familysearch.org/locations/saltlakecity-library for additional information.

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If you haven’t done so already, remember to check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-26-january-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

LAC updates city directories online

Montreal Directories 1842-1843 page 213

WOW! I went to genealogy heaven this morning with news from Library and Archives Canada (LAC)!

The LAC now has the digitized directories for the following Ontario cities and counties in PDF format -

• City of Hamilton 1853-1895
• City of Kingston 1865-1906
• City of London 1875-1899
• Southwestern Ontario counties (the counties of Haldimand, Lincoln, Welland, Wentworth, Huron, Middlesex, Perth, and so forth) for various years from 1864 to 1899.

They are listed on this webpage http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/directories-collection/Pages/directories-collection-available-editions.aspx#a

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Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-26-january-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

More microfilm put online

Canadiana.org has put on more microfilm online at the Héritage website.

I have picked out some of the microfilm that you may find interesting, Please be advised that none of these records have been indexed, although some of them may have internal indexes.

Canadian Army Courts Martial documents 

Census of the township of Augusta

Census of the City of Montreal, 1831

Census returns 1842: Canada West

Central registry files created by the Northwest Territories and Yukon Branch

Department of Militia and Defence: Yukon Garrison, nominal rolls and paylists

Department of Militia and Defence: 1903 Army Central Registry, subject files

Department of Militia and Defence: Contracts Branch letterbooks, 1895-1912

Department of Militia and Defence: Correspondence of the Deputy Minister’s office

Department of Militia and Defence: Register of correspondence of the Deputy Minister’s office, 1867-1903

Department of Militia and Defence: Special Forces nominal rolls and paylists

Department of Militia and Defence: Yukon Mortar Machine Gun Batteries

Department of Railways and Canals: Records related to Welland Canal

Department of Railways and Canals: Records related to the St. Lawrence Canals

Department of the Interior: Dominion Lands Branch: North-West Territories, Metis scrip applications

Department of the Interior: Dominion Lands Branch: North-West Territories, Index to Metis scrip applications

Parish archives for Richelieu County

Parish archives for Saint-Pierre de Sorel: baptisms, marriages and burials

Perth [Ontario] Military Settlement fonds

Peter Hunter collection and papers

Peter Robinson Collection

Port of Saint-Servan Archives 

The Héritage Portal is at http://heritage.canadiana.ca/ 

The Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canadiana/115437585187018 

Ancestry.ca - Campbell River, British Columbia newspaper database

Ancestry.ca has put on another database and this one concerns the index of birth, marriage, and death information from three newspapers serving the Campbell River, British Columbia, area in central Vancouver Island, and they are -

Campbell River Courier, 1947–1974

Comox Argus, 1917–1945

Campbell River Upper Islander, 1964–1990

Details vary depending on the paper and type of event, but you may find the following:

· name

· birth date and place

· christening date and place

· father’s name

· mother’s name

· spouse’s name

· marriage date and place

· death date and place

· age at death

· burial date and place

Information for this index was extracted by members of the Campbell River Genealogy Society.

The website is at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=2492

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Ancestry.ca

British Columbia, Canada, Estate Files, 1859-1949

 Another case of the partnership between Ancestry and FamilySearch. 

Ancestry has the browsable images on their site, and you can browse by Judicial District/Locality, whereas FamilySearch has the background information that could help you to search estate files in British Columbia. plus browsable images.

So how is this system working? It brings the holdings of the FamilySearch site to a different audience, but Ancestry isn’t adding any new records by doing this. Are you satisfied with this change?

At one time apparently, Ancestry would only put on indexed records, now it appears that they have moved to include browsable images.

You can search the site at Ancestry http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=9806

You can read the information at FamilySearch at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/British_Columbia_Estate_Files_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)

The images are at FamilySearch at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2014768

Free Access to Ancestry.ca

This just came across my desk this afternoon from Ancestry.ca –

TORONTO (June 25, 2013) – Ancestry.ca, Canada’s largest family history resource, is celebrating Canada Day with the launch of a collection of historical records that pre-date Confederation. Dating back to 1743, these are some of the oldest records ever to become available and be fully searchable online. In addition, Ancestry.ca is offering free access, from June 27 through July 2, to more than 40 million Canadian historical records from some of its most popular collections

Among the records being made available for free from June 27 through July 2 are some of the most popular collections on Ancestry.ca, including:

·         Canadian Passenger Lists and Ocean Arrivals – These collections consist of all records of immigration to Canada by ship or overland from the United States between 1865 and 1935, a period of 70 years that saw the largest influx of immigration into Canada ever, from all parts of the world.

·         The 1871 Census of Canada – the first census Canada conducted as a nation, which gives a snapshot of the lives of the people living at the time, including their ages, their jobs, the birthplaces of their parents, their neighbours and more.

·         Soldiers of the First World War – This collection contains the Attestation papers of all 600,000+ men enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and includes information about the soldier’s birthplace, next of kin, regiment number and more.

To check out the new Pre-Confederation records please visit www.ancestry.ca/150years and to search the records being made accessible for free in time for Canada Day, visit www.ancestry.ca/canadaday.

Happy Canada Day!

FREE access to immigrant roots to end soon

Free access to select immigration records ends at midnight Eastern Daylight Time, today, Sunday, March 17th. 

So come to Ancestry.com right now to learn about an ancestor's voyage to America in passenger lists. Or find out if they traveled by land in border crossings records.

Go to http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/18142230/family

Ancestry.ca Update: Free Indexes

Ancestry.ca has the following FREE indexes online –

Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=1263

Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924
http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=1588

Irish Canadian Emigration Records, 1823-1849 http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=1553

Dick Eastman and Tourtière Genealogy

Dick Eastman wrote in his newsletter this morning about his French-Canadian ancestry, and the making of the Christmas meat pie in an article called “Tourtière Genealogy”. 

He talks about how he has it every Christmas, but he didn’t realize that people from different parts of Quebec have different views on meat pies – and it is tied in with their ancestry.

The article came about because of a story in The Montreal Gazette by Susan Semenak in which she talks about the beloved French-Canadian food tourtière called “The genealogy of your tourtière: The Quebec Christmas feast staple, the tourtière, can reveal where a person’s family comes from”.

To read about it, go to www.montrealgazette.com/genealogy+your+tourti%C3%A8re/7683786/story.html

To read Dick's article, go to http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/12/tourti%C3%A8re-genealogy.html


© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Genealogical Day in England and Wales (Seminar)

Gary Schroder, QFHS President, will give a talk on Sa turday, March 31st 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Quebec Family History Society Llibrary, 173 Cartier Avenue in Pointe-Claire.

The purpose of this seminar will be to A) examine the basic structures of family history research in England, Civil Registration of BMD's 1837-2005, Censuses 1841-1911, Wills 1858-2011, etc., and B) examine how to find your ancestors for the period prior to 1837 and how to make the best use of the English databases to found to be found on Ancestry and other commercial websites.

Reservations are necessary: call 514.695.1502, or you can visit the society online at http://www.qfhs.ca/. The fee $30.00.

Scottish Ancestry Research Workshop

A press release was received from Christine Woodcock the other day, and it says -

"Christine Woodcock will be giving a talk at the Kitchener Public Library (Country Hills Branch) on Monday, March 19th at 6:30 pm.

Her talk will center around the Statutory Records, Old Parish Registers, The Scottish Naming Pattern, Irregular Marriages, Making Use of the Census Records, and other useful resources including online resources, local resources, and more.

Admission is free (being Scottish, this is always my favourite price!) but you are asked to call the library ahead of time to register (519-743-3558). This will also help us to ensure we have enough hand-outs for everyone.

You can also contact Christine at cdwoodcock56@sympatico.ca”

QFHS - Seminars and Public Lecture Series

News has been received from the Quebec Family History Society (QFHS) in Montreal that they will host two events in March, and they are -

The War of 1812 (Free Lecture)

It will take place on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. at the Briarwood Presbyterian Church Hall, 70 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, QC, H9W 3Z3.

The talk, given by Luc Lépine, will be a lecture about the War of 1812 and will focus on events that took place in Lower Canada (now Quebec) and the Battle of Châteauguay. Luc Lépine is one of the leading experts on the War of 1812 and author of the book, Lower Canada's Militia Officers, 1812 - 1815.
_________________________________________________________________

A Genealogical Day in England and Wales (Seminar)

It will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Quebec Family History Society Library, 173 Cartier Ave., Pointe-Claire, QC H9S 4H9, and will be presented by Gary Schroder.

The purpose of this seminar will be to a) examine the basic structures of family history research in England, Civil Registration of BMDs, 1837-2005; Censuses, 1841-1911; Wills 1858-2011, etc.; and b) examine how to find your ancestors for the period prior to 1837 and how to make the best use of the English databases to be found on Ancestry and other commercial websites.

Reservations are necessary. Please call 514.695.1502

For details, visit them online at http://www.qfhs.ca/

Métis Nation Seeks Genealogist

I recently received (indirectly) an email from Karole Dumont-Beckett, Registrar of the Métis Nation of Ontario's head office in Ottawa, looking for a full-time genealogist/historian.

The link for the job description is located at <www.metisnation.org/voyageur/articles/job_postings/08oc_genealogist.pdf>.

Deadline for application for this interesting position is November 10, 2008.

There are other opportunities across Canada, so if Ottawa is out of your area, perhaps something a little closer to (your) home might be available.

In any event, this is an interesting site, and offers a lot of information for those looking for their Métis ancestry, and the latest in news and events. Check out their magazine, Métis Voyageur, at <www.metisnation.org/voyageur/in_print/home.html>.

As well, this big news item from a recent press release on their site -

"MNO, Ontario Government and Council of Ontario Universities announce University of Ottawa selected to host first Ontario Research Chair in Métis Studies (Often unknown history of Ontario Métis will start to be told)". The link is <www.metisnation.org/voyageur/articles/national/08_sep_Chair_Annouce.html>.

For more information, please contact Karole at:

Karole Dumont-Beckett
Registrar / Director of Registry
Métis Nation of Ontario
500 Old St-Patrick St. Unit D, Ottawa, ON, KIN 9G4
Ph: 613-798-1488 Ph: 800-263-4889
Fx: 613-722-4225
Email: karoled@metisnation.org
Website: www.metisnation.org

Ancestry.ca Launches Online the "Canadian Passenger Lists 1865-1935"

At 10 o'clock this morning (on Tuesday, September 16, 2008), Josh Hanna — Ancestry.com's Senior Vice-President — announced in Toronto that it has put the Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 online at <http://landing.ancestry.ca/intl/canada/passenger/lists.aspx> in both French and English (simply click the language link at the top of the page).

I have been on the site (even though all of my ancestors came to Canada pre-1865) to see what it is all about, and there is 1,441 BARCLAYs who came to Canada and 178 BLADES. (To those who don't know - my father's line is through the surname of BARCLAY, and my mother's name was BLADES - both of them descendent from United Empire Loyalists who came to Canada in 1783 and 1784, respectivly, from the United States.)

The passenger lists covers the provinces and cities of Quebec (Quebec Ports, May 1865-June 1908, June 1919-July 1921, April 1925-November 1935); Montreal (April 1925-November 1935); Halifax, Nova Scotia (1881-October 1922, 1925-1935); North Sydney, Nova Scotia (November 1906, August 1908-August 1922, 1925-1935); Saint John, New Brunswick ( 1900-September 1922, 1925-1935); Vancouver, British Columbia (1905-September 1922, 1925-1935); Victoria, British Columbia and Pacific Ports (April 1905-September 1922, 1925-1935) and some eastern U.S. Ports (July 1905-1919, 1925-1928) and New York City, which covers 1906 to 1921.

When you put the name into the search engine you may get their estimated year of birth, their birth country (although many of the immigrants did not mention their country of birth), date of arrival, name of the vessel, and port of departure. You can then view the image from which the information was taken.

It appears that the partnership that was forged between Ancestry.com and the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) in May, 2007 was not adhered to in this instance because nowhere is the LAC mentioned in the Ancestry.com press release.*

But it may be worth checking the LAC site <www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/immigrants> because they have some of the passenger lists onsite, too. They also have the Moving Here, Staying Here. The Canadian Immigrant Experience online, and it's worth looking at it because it can give you the background behind immigration.

This past August, Sylvie Tremblay, Chief Project Manager of the Canada Genealogy Centre, said that the LAC has embarked on a three to five year project where they hope to develop a family history site where you will go to get the "story behind the headlines". They will make the connections for you between the databases, and the history in family history, and they are looking towards wikis to do this - so watch for that.

In the meantime, you can look up your ancestor on Ancestry.ca, and decide if you want to spend the money to do a deeper search. Remember, you can also get a 14-day trial at <www.ancestry.ca>.

*The LAC is mentioned in the CNW News Release. It refers to the LAC in that the LAC holds the official records on microfilm.