Showing posts with label Nova Scotia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nova Scotia. Show all posts

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia Meeting

Pam Wile the Editor of the Nova Scotia Genealogist newsletter from the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia tells us that they will be open today Sunday, January 13, 2013 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm. EST

They are located at 3258 Isleville Street, Halifax, and you can have a comfortable research space that includes a patrons' computer with internet access and a library. If you can't make it to their place, you can view their library holdings at www.novascotiaancestors.ca/libraryRecords.php


And she tells us that there will be a meeting on Saturday, January 26, and they will be having special speaker Nancy Wilson, and her topic will be Genealogy and Youth.

Nancy Wilson was the Coordinator for the intergenerational genealogy project: Genealogical Sleuths: Youth and Seniors Partnering to Discover their History developed by the South Shore Genealogical Society.

The meeting will be from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm in the Akins A/V Room, Nova Scotia Archives, University Ave, Halifax, NS.

Attendees are encouraged to bring along a young person - child, grandchild, neighbour, friend - to introduce them to ways to research their family history. Nancy will talk about ways to get youth involved that will inspire you to share your stories with the younger generation.

There will be door prizes and light refreshments will be served.

A selection of our publications will be on display and for sale at the
lecture.

To find out more about the meetings, go to www.NovaScotiaAncestors.ca

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Halifax Explosion, 1917

To add to my post I did yesterday morning on the Haliax Explosion, the Library and Archives Canada Flickr website now has put photos on the Internet.

The LAC says that the explosion was a “tragedy on a massive scale (which) happened on Canadian shores on December 6, 1917 when the French cargo ship, the SS Mont Blanc, and the Norwegian SS Imo, collided in the harbour at Halifax, Nova Scotia.’

The photos are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/sets/72157627774733594

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Keeping History Alive

The Herald News has an interesting story this morning in the online paper that could be of interest to genealogical societies across the country..

John Ashton, a historian, has helped to design a number of kiosks in Pictou County (Nova Scotia). They have been placed in the rural parts of the county, and they tell the stories of the communities from the time they were founded to times that are more recent.

To read more about keeping their history alive at http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/193540-kiosks-help-keep-past-alive

Friday, September 21, 2012

Lest We Forget: Researching Your World War Ancestors

The Keshen Goodman Branch of the Halifax Public Library is hosting a talk this Saturday at 2:390 pm on learning how to build your military ancestors' stories using the most common resources available online and at the library.

The talk will be given by Joanne McCarthy, Reference Librarian, and she will use actual examples of Nova Scotia service files from the Lest We Forget workshops for those of you in the area,

Visit the Keshen Goodman Public Library at
www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/branches/locations/keshen-goodman.html

Visit them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hfxpublib

Monday, July 30, 2012

New Canadian Blog

We congratulate Betty on staring a new blog that is going to contain Canadian content, and it is called The Pye Plate at http://thepyeplate.blogspot.com.
Since she is a Mayflower Descendent, she will discuss ancestors who travelled from England to New England, and from there to the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and to New Brunswick.  
She promises that the blog will be mostly about her family, but she will post for anyone who is seeking assistance in researching their family.
Welcome aboard Betty!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Stone Family Gathering 2012

The descendants of George Stone & Mary Doody will meet for a family reunion July 19th to the July 22, 2012 at Bras D'or Lakes Inn, Cape Breton in Nova Scotia.
They have a full days planned with a Ceilidh on Thursday, a “Meet and Greet” on Friday evening, a full day of activities on Saturday, including a church service at 11:00 AM at the Ecumenical Church Service at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Barra Head,  and they will have a  Family Gathering Meal at St Peter's Lions' Hall on Sunday
 It is believed that George & Mary Stone and their one year old son Jonas arrived at Sydney CB, aboard a vessel from Trepassey NL, named "the Elizabeth" on the 21st of July, 1800
 If you can’t go to the Gathering, they have various articles on their website, with photos, and a Guest Book on their website  at http://stonefamilygathering2012.webs.com/weekendschedule.htm

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Canadians Who Fought in the Boer War

Forces War Records (a British website) has just added an additional 250,000 searchable military records.

Boer War records have been added to the Forces War Records database, and these records contain data about members of the British and Commonwealth Forces who were issued campaign or gallantry medals during the second Anglo Boer War 1899-1902.

The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging, signed on 31 May 1902.

The website is at http://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/default.asp

Canada sent 7,368 soldiers and 12 Nursing Sisters to the Boer War.

The personnel records include medal registers, land grant applications, and correspondence relating to those who served.

One interesting thing I found was that L. Beverly Webster from Kentville, Nova Scotia (a distant relative of mine), served with the British Army, and he is recorded in the Forces War Records as having died in England.

But a legal reprensentative made an application for land grantis on his behalf, but he didn't live long enough to enjoy the benefit of being awarded the grant of land. His body was sent back to Nova Scotia, and he is buried in Kentville.

The website at the Library and Archives Canada is www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/south-african-war/index-e.html

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Colchester Historical Museum Honours Local People

During their annua Heritage Night Celebration on Thursday, February 23rd, the museum honoured the following people or groups -
  • Truro's Carol Campbell and James Smith received an award in the written history category for their writings about the Planters.
  • Lisa Davies of Onslow will take home an award in the genealogy category for three extensive family genealogy projects.
  • Tatamagouche's Dale Swan is being honoured with the Iindividual Heitage Award for volunteering with the Anna Swan Museum, North Shore Archives, and Creamery Square.
  • The Planter 250 Committee will be given the Promotion of Heritage Award for its organization and implementation of events celebrating planters.
  • The Town of Truro Award will go to the owners of 23 Inglis Place (Temptations) for its façade upgrades. The owners are Vineberg and Fulton.
The museum itself has—in its archives—vital statistics, newspaper articles, census reports, school registers, photos, and family genealogies. The museums has exhibits on lighthouses, "Colchester Today", "Unearthing Colchester", and past exhibits include "New Beginners: Planters in Cobequid 1761-1780"; “A Favourable Opportunity: The Planters Choose Cobequid"; and "Victoria Park: A Cultural Landscape"
.
The museum/s website is http://colchesterhistoreum.ca/. They have a newsletter, and are on Facebook and Twitter.

Congratulations to all - well done!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Genealogy Show and Tell (GANS)


From Pamela Wile, the Programme Convener for GANS (Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia), comes this press release -

"Our society encourages those interested in their family history to participate in the social aspect of genealogy. This is our 2nd event of this type. The Show and Tell last year was fabulous and brought together people with many different research interests. As well, we heard some great stories and saw some interesting family heirlooms.

Please join us on February 25, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. for our 2nd Annual Genealogy Show and Tell.

Come and meet other folks who may share your genealogy interests.

Members have been invited to take ten minutes to tell us about their research, show us an heirloom or talk about a book they've written. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions or make suggestions on how they can further their research. As well, members that aren't in the area have been invited to email in their research interests so you'll have an opportunity to look through those and possibly "meet" a cousin or two!

Are you new to genealogy? Browse our publications, pick up some handouts and research tips and get to know some fellow genealogists.

Don't forget to wear your family t-shirts, hats or buttons!

There will be a door prize and light refreshments will be served.

All lectures are open to the public and will be held unless otherwise noted in the Akins A/V Room, Nova Scotia Archives, Public Archives Site, 6016 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Many of our publications are normally on display and available for purchase at our regular monthly meetings.

Hope to see you there.

Regards,

Pamela Wile
Programme Convener
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Recreation/GANS/
https://www.facebook.com/NovaScotiaAncestors
___________________________________________
nsroots mailing list
nsroots@ednet.ns.ca
http://mailman.ednet.ns.ca/cgi-bin/listinfo/nsroots"

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Christmas Wishes


Diane Lynn Tibert, a genealogy writer from Nova Scotia, has made a number of wishes in her regular column, and some of them are -
  • I wish for you to find a wrecking ball in 2012 that knocks down a major brick wall blocking your path to unearthing a piece of information that exposes a branch of your tree that has been kept buried for years. May the opening be large enough to see into several generations.
  • I wish for you to take a trip to a place you've never gone and discover a long lost headstone you've been seeking for years. May it still stand with a flawless inscription that provides all the vital information, including the deceased's country of origin and a wee tale of why they came to Canada. I wish you clear passage to it and an insect bite-free visit.
  • I wish for you to come into possession of a stack of letters. The yellowing envelopes contain love letters between your great-grandparents when during the First World War he was a soldier serving overseas and she was living at home with her parents.
Read the rest of her Christmas wishes in the Times & Transcript newspaper at  

And submit a query to her column. It's free! Her email address is tibert@ns.sympatico.ca.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Holy Cross Roman Catholic, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The ChronicleHerald.ca, an online newspaper http://thechronicleherald.ca/HCW/1265125.html, has a story in the paper about Halifax’s oldest Roman Catholic cemetery.

The story says “Five years ago, Holy Cross, which is a final resting place for 25,000 people, had reached a state of disrepair. Many of the 2,500 tombstones near the corner of South and South Parks streets had been toppled and broken as a result of vandalism, weathering and neglect. In addition, the cemetery’s 150-year-old chapel was crumbling”.

The cemetery had been established in 1843.

The project was helped by the Charitable Irish Society of Halifax and An Cumann, a non-profit Irish association.

Holy Cross Cemetery Trust http://www.holycrosscemeteryhalifax.ca/history/index.html A volunteer organization which has worked over the past years to restore Holy Cross Cemetery and its historical Chapel, started and completed on the 31st of August, 1843 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Find a Grave http://www.findagrave.com/php/famous.php?page=cem&FScemeteryid=639382 There are two records on this site – the burial of Charles Robertson, and Sir John Sparrow David Thompson.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

FREE Genealogy Workshop in Windsor, Nova Scotia

Members of the West Hants Historical Society are holding a FREE Genealogy Workshop on Saturday, 20 August, 2011 from 10 a.m. until everybody gives up!

The workstations will be -

- Locating and using on-line sources

- Demonstration of a 'typical' genealogy package (Legacy)

- Thinking of writing a book?

- Hants County Cemeteries

- WHHS Library resources (try them)

- Care and storage of photos and documents.

- Lots of handouts.

They ask that you join them at the West Hants Historical Society, 281 King St., Windsor, NS

Their website is at http://www.westhantshistoricalsociety.ca/

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Scottish Immigrants to Canada

I have just received permission to repost this notice by Caitlin McNally of PBS in New York -

"My name is Caitlin McNally, and I'm doing research for an American public
television genealogical program. I'm trying to learn about Scottish
immigrants to Canada, particularly the McLauchlen and Murray families. I
have a few names and dates, and was wondering if someone could help me fill
out these family trees a bit. Most importantly, I'm trying to discover if
and when these families came to Canada from Scotland, what their livelihoods
were in Canada, and why they left Scotland.

Also, any larger context about Scottish immigration to Canada during the
generations when these families immigrated would be much appreciated!

Here are the individuals and the little information I have:

John Robert McLauchlen
born 1851 (?) in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick
married June 18 1875 in Boston, MA

and
James McLauchlen
born in Scotland??
and Sarah McLauchlen
born in New Brunswick?

wife of John Robert McLauchlen: Jesse Murray
born January 1854 in Pictou (?), Nova Scotia
--daughter of--
John and Mary Murray
born in Nova Scotia?

If you know of anyone I could speak with about these families as well as
Scottish immigration to Nova Scotia, I'd appreciate it greatly. Many thanks
in advance and I look forward to hearing from you -- I can be reached at
this email caitlinarkmedia@gmail.com, or at my office in New York: (718) 935-9745".

All the best,

Caitlin
--
Caitlin McNally | Producer/Director | Ark Media for PBS-WNET
office 718.935.9745 | mobile 917.981.5541

Sunday, February 1, 2009

LAC Launches Black History Month

The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) launched Black History Month today (Sunday, February 1st), and they are calling it "The Courage to Make a Difference."

As Ian E. Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada says, "I invite researchers, historians, educators, genealogists and students to delve into our vast array of material and resources to learn more about the rich heritage of Black Canadians."

This year, the LAC is paying special notice to Abraham Doras Shadd, who played a major role in the Underground Railroad, and to Rosemary Brown, the first Black woman to be elected as a member of a Provincial Legislative Assembly in Canada. The website is www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/black-history.

You can go online to to read about the Anti-Slavery Movement in Canada at
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/anti-slavery/index-e.html. An article about this will be in the February issue of the Ontario Genealogical Society's newsletter, NewsLeaf.

The Port Roseway Associates Database at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/port-roseway/index-e.html gives access to a listing of 1,498 Black Loyalists Refugees who settled in Shelburne, Nova Scotia.

As stated on the website at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/northern-star/index-e.html, "Under a Northern Star presents seven unique collections held at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) that document the diverse historical experience of African Canadians."

There are other resources to check, including Achievements and Contributions, Literature, Music, and Sports.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Where is Home?

The province on New Brunswick has been a place that I have travelled through on my many trips between Nova Scotia and Ontario, so it was with great interest that I turned to the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick and their website, "Where is Home? New Brunswick Communities Past and Present" archives.gnb.ca/Exhibits/Communities/Home.aspx?culture=en-CA

The study of placenames is called toponomy, and there are more than 4,600 placenames of settlements, cities, and communities throughout the province. They are described completely, including why and how they received the name - by the post office, railways, and settlers for example.

Links are provided to 4784 land grants and other maps, and there is a total of 960 photographs and 600 documents about the founding, incorporation, and development of 144 of the communities.

If you go on the site, you will also find the latitude and longitude of the settlement, the county it is in, the parish it is in, and a map giving its location.

On the "Alphabetical Listing" page is the community of placenames, a county listing, an index, and a number of definitions on keywords in their description of the place.

The "Exhibit/Home" page brings an excellent history of placenames to the researcher, and at the end, it lists the books from which this information was taken.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

PaperofRecord.com sold to Google

This fall, a Canadian company named PaperofRecord <www.paperofrecord.com> was sold to Google.

The original owner of the site, R.J. Huggins, started the business in 1999 (it as known then as Cold North Wind) and started with the Toronto Star. He scanned the whole paper from 1892 to present, so if you want to read this particular newspaper, be sure to register (it's free), and go to the page that the company digitized. PaperofRecord has also digitized other papers.

When I heard the news, I went on the site to search the papers in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and I found the papers and the name that I was looking for - but the name was a name used for a particular wool in advertisements - so it was for naught. But I searched each and every page - so make sure you do the same or else you may have missed the name.

On most pages, the name you are looking for is highlighted in yellow, so it is easy to find.

The collection is made up of over 50 Canadian newspapers and 21-million images.

This is Google's first adventure into Canadian genealogy.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Have you "Google Booked" lately?

Are you like me, "I will Google Book when I have time!"?

So, the other day when I wrote a blog about the Manitoba Genealogical Society <http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2008/11/manitoba-genealogical-society-website.html>, I took the time to explore Google Book, as it has been a while since I had done so.

I went to Google Book <www.google.ca/books> and in the Search Box I put the title of the book I wanted to read as "History of Kings County, Nova Scotia" and pressed the button, and there it was - completely scanned!

The first thing I noticed was the number (variety) of books that Google now has for genealogists and family historians to read at their leisure.

They say that they now have 7-million books in which they put the fullview - the full text of the book - every page, including Table of Contents and Indexes - online. And this list included the book that I looked at, much to my pleasant surprise.

They also have a limited preview of the books, which means that the line in which the name you want to research is highlighted, but you can get them at the library or at bookstores which are mentioned on the side of the page by Google.

Google Book started in 2004, but last fall they really put a push on to have as many books as possibly scanned and put on the Internet - and I am glad they did!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

So, please let me offer a "Happy Thanksgiving!" to our American Cousins! (I have first cousins in Maine, first cousins once removed in Texas, and first cousins three times removed in California).

Canada, in 2005, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Society of Mayflower Descendants, and is still going strong <www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canms/canada.html>.

There are four "colonies" in the country (in Toronto, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Alberta), with the Canadian society being the first formed outside of the United States.

They published a book for their 25th anniversary detailing their history, and it has many pictures which cover the events and meeting of their four colonies.

The site, which has had over 20,000 visitors since the website first started eight years ago, has an index on Mayflower Research Articles, Mayflower Families Corrections and Additions, and Upcoming Events & Society Meetings.

There is a List of Mayflower Passengers Who Left Descendants, Society Dues & Fees, and Application Procedure & Documentation Requirements.

They have also put online Reports of our Past Guest Speakers, Mayflower Research Articles (Index), and Mayflower DNA Projects.

For a change of pace, please read this interesting article entitled, "Were Cats and Dogs on the Mayflower?", at <http://www.petplace.com/cats/were-cats-and-dogs-on-the-mayflower/page1.aspx?utm_source=catcrazynews001et&utm_medium=email&utm_content=petplace_article&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter>.

And finally, for a bit of fun, knowing that watching football is paramount in any household this weekend (we watch it, too!), visit our Canadian Thanksgiving page at <http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2008/10/happy-thanksgiving.html> and check the graphic at the bottom.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Manitoba Genealogical Society Website

The Manitoba Genealogical Society has a new website and a new url <www.mbgenealogy.com>.

In fact, it has had a website since March of this year, but I didn't use it until this past week when I was looking around for a Webster relative from Kentville, Nova Scotia who married a Rev. Joseph Hogg and moved to Winnipeg in c1901.

The design is quite nice and the colours are true to Manitoba - a brown as a base and a yellow to tell us that the province is at the beginning of the prairies.

They have three branches—which are also online—and MGS Cemetery Transcripts. and they have an Online Library Catalogue which is very useful in finding secondary sources.

They have the location of 1,400 cemeteries online and they are inexpensive to order one - and I will be doing that in order to see the record of Rev. and Mrs. Hogg.

They, at present, do not have any records online, which is a shame, but there is always hope for the future. Until then, we will have to do research the old way -

But they have a page on the FaceBook.com website at <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manitoba-Genealogical-Society-Inc/7054423205>!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Canada's Parliament Opens

Canada's Parliament opened today, and in the Honour Guard was my husband (he has gone on lots of parades this year) as part of the Air Force Guard, amidst the Army Guard, the Naval Flag Party, the Canadian Forces Band, the Artillery (as it performed a 21 gun salute) and a small but brave and hearty contingent of civilian onlookers.

(He found it a "bit chilly"—there was snow on our lawn this morning with a temperature of -10 Celsius or so—as they stood at attention waiting for Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, to inspect them. But other than that, he said the parade was a big success, topped off by a delicious lunch at the West Memorial Block.)

The Library and Archives Canada has put on the Canada Gazette - "the official newspaper of the Government of Canada" - all of the issues since 1998. However, all of the issues since 1841 will be made available soon on the same website <http://canadagazette.gc.ca/index-e.html>.

The digitization project—which began in 2007—is still underway, and by the end of this year, full access to all issues of the Canada Gazetter (1841-1998) will be available to the researcher.

I will be excited to see if Barclay WEBSTER—a first cousin 4 times removed by marraige of Edwardina Mary (Ina Mary) BARCLAY, daughter of James of Shelburne, Nova Scotia to Dr. Henry Bently WEBSTER of Kentville, Nova Scotia—who had a very succesful law practice in Kentville, Nova Scotia, and was the Conservative member of Parliament in November 1900, is mentioned.