Two workshops at the Windsor Public Library

The Central Branch of the Windsor Public Library in Windsor, Ontario invite people who have an interest in family history at two workshops presented by Tom Vajdik, WPL Genealogy and Local History Librarian.

The two workshops are –

Introduction to Genealogy will take place at 7:00 pm on Monday, October 28 in WPL’s Fred Israel Auditorium (lower level of Central Branch, 850 Ouellette Avenue) This workshop will be an introduction to the methodology and cover the basics of genealogy as well as offer resources that assist in learning to trace your family history.

Genealogy on the Internet will be offered at 7:00 pm on Monday, November 18, in WPL’s Computer Lab (main floor near Dufferin Entrance at Central Branch, 850 Ouellette Avenue). This workshop will examine the many free web sites devoted to genealogy.

“At Windsor Public Library, we have noticed there’s been a resurgence in people’s desire to know their ancestors as people and learn more about their roots,” says Vajdik. “People visit us from far and wide to avail themselves of our resources. Solving puzzles and being the Sherlock Holmes of their own family stories satisfies a desire to tie their past to their present. Windsor Public Library is pleased to offer these genealogy workshops. All are welcome to attend and there is no fee to register.”

For more information and to register for either of these free workshops, please call 519-255-6770, ext. 4434 or email tvajdik@windsorpubliclibrary.com.  

Please register early for the November 18 workshop to ensure you get a seat!

Ontario GenWeb's Q&A!

Did you know that the Ontario GenWeb offers questions and answers on genealogy research in Ontario, Upper Canada and Canada West – free of charge!

This has been going on since 1998!

Go to http://ontariogenwebqa.blogspot.com/

Mini-biographies of the pioneers of York County, Ontario

York County GenWeb, under the leadership of Sherri Pettit and Fred Appleton, started a place last year to put mini-biographies of early settlers in York County on the website at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onyork/early-residents.html

So far, the settlers who have been placed there are

Pioneer Residents of Georgina Township

EZRA SHERWOOD

ROBERT RIDDELL

ARCHIBALD RIDDELL

Pioneer Residents of Markham Township

William Robson

Pioneer Residents of Whitchurch-Stouffville Township

In the Whitchurch Township, there is a list of records of the land patents issued in the earlier years of the settlement, and there are mini-biographies of

CHRISTOPHER SMITH

CHARLES APPLETON

Although these are not in-depth biographical studies, there may be information there that could be treated as a clue, and it could lead to a new discovery in your family history.

OGS is seeking an individual for Publishing Committee

For many years, the OGS has had a publishing committee, and part of its mandate has been publishing genealogy resource books.

The Publishing Committee is now looking for “an energetic individual interested in the world of Canadian genealogy to chair the OGS Publishing Committee. We are looking for someone with an understanding of the publication process, and a vision for the future of OGS publishing”.

The volunteer would help to

- determine current needs with regards to genealogical publications and work to develop publications to fulfill these needs,

- receive and develop publication proposals with possible authors,

- establish and follow budgets for the titles being published,

- develop marketing plans for titles

If you are interested, please contact the OGS Executive Director at ed@ogs.on.ca to discuss your skills and ideas.

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

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

The Niagara Peninsula OGS Branch announces new publication

The Niagara Peninsula OGS Branch is starting to take orders of their new book - More Than A Mere Matter Of Marching on October the 1st.

This will be a limited-edition book to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

The press release says that “When Thomas Jefferson made his infamous prediction that "the acquisition of Canada this year... will be a mere matter of marching," he underestimated the courage and determination of the men and women of Upper Canada, including their First Nations allies.

Our book, More Than A Mere Matter of Marching contains the fascinating stories of over 60 families whose experiences during the War of 1812 may never have been in print before. The book is 323 pages, contains both colour and black-and-white images, and an index of over 1700 names.

PRE-PUBLICATION PRICE (available Oct. 1 - Oct. 31, 2013): $25.00 shipping and handling
PUBLICATION PRICE: $30.00 shipping and handling”.

For further information, please visit the Niagara Peninsula OGS Branch website: http://www.ogs.on.ca/niagara/. Just click on to the button which says War of 1812.

Gene-O-Rama returns to Ottawa

After a year’s absence, the Ottawa Branch of the OGS, will be having a Gene-O-Rama 2014 at the Confederation Education Centre, 1645 Woodroffe Av., Ottawa.

It will be held on the 21 and the 22 March, 2014, and the featured speaker will be Toronto genealogist Jane E. MacNamara.

So mark your calendar.

For more information, go http://ogsottawa/geneorama/

Sudbury District (OGS) Branch Meeting

On Monday, October 21, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. there will be a meeting at the Parkside Ctr, 140 Durham Street in Sudbury of the Sudbury District (OGS) Branch.

The topic will be The Shouldering of Arms by Gary Peck. He will discuss what led to the First World War, with the intent to help better appreciate ancestors in the context of the times.

For more info, go to http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onogs/ogs.htm

Kent County Branch Meeting

On Friday, October 11, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the St. Andrews Residence, 99 Park St., Chatham, ON, the Kent County Branch of the OGS will hold their monthly meeting at which Reg Johnston will speak on 150 YEARS! THE CHATHAM GRANITE CLUB.

Mr. Johnston with share the history and the people involved with building the curling club.
Contact http://ogs.on.ca/kent

If you can’t make it to the meeting, there is a short history of the Chatham Granite Club on their website at http://chathamgraniteclub.com/club

Region One Annual Meeting

The Region One Annual Meeting of the Ontario Genealogical Society hosted by Lambton County Branch OGS will be held on October 19th, 2013 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the John Knox Christian School at 4738 Confederation Road, Wyoming, Ontario.

The title of the one-day conference will be On and Off the Internet Strategies for Effective Genealogical Research.

Steve Fulton, Technical Support and Innovations Committee Chair, OGS/Chair, Niagara Peninsula Branch OGS will talk on Searching the Past with the help of the .com

Alan Campbell, Newsletter Editor and Past Chair, Lambton County Branch OGS will talk about Going Totally Off-line-Almost/On-Site Researching in Libraries and Archives

Heather Lavallee, Archivist -Lambton County Archives, Wyoming, Ontario will talk about Finding the Secrets of the Archives

Advance Registration [Includes Lunch] OGS Members $30.00 CDN Non Members $35.00 CDN Registration at the Door $35.00

Register on-line at http://www.lambton.ogs.on.ca/Bulletinboard.html

Nuit Blanche Ottawa-Gatineau

The Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa has announced its first-time partnership with Nuit Blanche Ottawa-Gatineau.

It will be held this weekend on September 21, from 6:21 p.m. to 4:22 a.m., and it is Free!

Come enjoy the pop-up lounge, a temporary art installation and special exhibitions.

Too see what available, go to http://www.civilization.ca/event/nuit-blanche

Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Records

Starting in 1843, Wesleyan Methodist ministers kept a book of entries for births and baptisms. Each year, they submitted their book to the Conference Office.

Entries were then copied into the General Register, arranged by township, town, village and circuit. The records of the Wesleyan Methodist Church are from 1826 to 1910.

The United Church of Canada Archives who hold copyright on these records, but they have allowed the OGS to transcribe and sell these records through its thirty Branches located throughout Ontario.

To obtain copies of these baptismal record indexes, contact the Branch in the area in which you are doing your family research.

You can go to the list of Branches within the OGS at http://www.ogs.on.ca/branches.php


Postscript: Remember that these are copies of the original baptismal record. It is best if you can get the original record so that you can be sure that there are not any mistakes in transcribing the copies. 

UPDATE: Prince Edward Island/Ontario Cemeteries

The following cemeteries have been upgraded on the GenWeb site as of July 22, 2013 – 

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Queen's County:

- Hyde & Crosby Pioneer Cemetery

ONTARIO

Brant County:

- Bethany Mission Cemetery

- Hatchley Cemetery

Bruce County:

- Chesley Cemetery

Carleton County:

- Beechwood Cemetery

Essex County:

- Annunciation Roman Catholic / L'Annonciation Cemetery

- Irwin Cemetery

- St William's RC Church Cemetery

- Tecumseh Historical Museum Cemetery

Frontenac County:

- Christ Church Anglican Cemetery

- Point Alexandria United / Horne Cemetery

- St Lawrence United / Foot Cemetery

- Trinity Anglican Cemetery

Grey County:

- Boyd Cemetery

- Mount Pleasant Cemetery

Halton County:

- Colling Cemetery

Hastings County:

- Abandoned (Purchase Farm) Cemetery

Huron County:

- Maitland Bank Cemetery

Kent County:

- Christ Church Anglican Cemetery

- Duart Cemetery

- Hyatt Cemetery

- Ridgetown (Old) Cemetery

- Smith & Hopper Burying Ground

- St Thomas Anglican Cemetery

Lambton County:

- Alvinston Cemetery

- St Matthew's Cemetery

- Thedford Baptist Cemetery

Lennox & Addington County:

- Glenwood Cemetery

- Pentland Cemetery

Middlesex County:

- Dorchester Union Cemetery

- Woodland Cemetery

Norfolk County:

- McQueen Cemetery

Oxford County:

- Tillsonburg Cemetery

Perth County:

- South Easthope / Shakespeare Cemetery

Waterloo County:

- Oswald / Hoffer / St Paul's Lutheran Cemetery

- Pioneer Tower / Doon Pioneer Cemetery

- Zion United Cemetery

Wellington County:

- St Martin's Roman Catholic Cemetery

Wentworth County:

- Christ's Church Cathedral Columbarium

These updates were not be possible if not for the volunteers, such as Alison Mitchell-Reid, Elizabeth Warwick, Kate Ford, Lorna Eggert, Marilyn Whiting, Robert Gevaert, Sharon Mattiuz, and William Cooke for indexing.

Thanks to Michael Stephens, Robert Gevaert & Ed McKeon, Doug Smith, Ron Spurr, Angela M. Clatworthy, Corinna Rumble, Alison Mitchell-Reid, Sharon Mattiuz, William Cooke, Carolyn Nordin, Lanny Robinson, Lorna Eggert, Beverly Fern McKenzie, Bonnie Philbin & Patt Preston, Bruce Nuckowski, Elizabeth Warwick, Ken Monk, and Doug & Donna Gammon for photos of the cemeteries.

Go to http://canadacems.blogspot.com/2013/07/prince-edward-island-ontario-update.html

Muskoka Parry Sound Genealogy Group

On Thursday August the 15, 2013, there will be a meeting held by the Muskoka Parry Sound Genealogy Group from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Huntsville Public Library, Huntsville, Ontario.

The topic will be British Home Children, and the speakers will be Bernardo Homes by Carol Black and Quarrier Homes by Dona Crawford.

The Muskoka Parry Sound Genealogy Group was formed in 1985, and it covers  both the Muskoka and Parry Sound Districts of Ontario, Canada .

On their site they have maps of Muskoka Townships, and Parry Sound Townships,

Cemetery Databases online.

Their website is www.mpsgg.com

Censuses of Canada West and Canada East, 1842

In this notice received yesterday, here are the 1842 Canadian Census for Canada West and Canada West -

“Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce that Canadians can now access the Census of Canada West, 1842 as well as the Census of Canada East, 1842 online. In 1841, Upper Canada was renamed Canada West, whereas Lower Canada became Canada East. These two jurisdictions are now known as the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Each census is partly nominal and contains the names of heads of family, their occupation and the number of residents for each family.

For the Canada West (Ontario) Census, go to

www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1842-canada-west/Pages/1842-canada-west.aspx

For the Canada East (Quebec) census, go to www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1842-Canada-East/Pages/about-census.aspx

Special Interest Groups

The Ontario Genealogical Society has, at present, four Special Interest Groups (SIGs).

A SIG is a permanent group of OGS Members with an interest in some other topic, such as a geographic location outside Ontario (e.g. immigrants from a particular country), an ethnic or cultural group (e.g. natives or a particular fraternal organization), or an event (e.g. a particular emigration scheme).

Currently, the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are

Irish Palatines - http://www.ogs.on.ca/ip-sig

Ireland - www.ireland.ogs.on.ca

Scottish  - Currently, there isn’t a website for the Scottish SIG, but you can contact scottishsig@ogs.on.ca

British Home Child - www.ogs.on.ca/SIG-BHC/index.htm

If you are interested in joining this SIG or taking on a role of responsibility, please contact OGS President, Shirley Sturdevant president@ogs.on.ca.

There is an interest in establishing a Huguenot SIG and a Métis SIG; both are currently seeking the necessary 25 Members.

E-mail the Provincial Office http://provoffice@ogs.on.ca if you would like to see one of these formed.

The website is www.ogs.on.ca/branches/sig.php

Toronto Star Obituaries 1999 - April 2000, February 2001

The obituaries from the Toronto Star have recently been updated on Ancestry.ca.

Over 17,000 images have been added to the database, and the database contains more than 98,500 names

Go to http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=3888

OGS Conference 2014

The OGS Conference 2014 will be held at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario (near Niagara Falls) May 1^st to May 4^th. It will be sponsored by the Niagara  Peninsula Branch OGS.

And already there is a video on the site www.ogs.on.ca/conference2014/index.php, and you can see what is available in the immediate area.

Watch for more news on the conference. It sounds as if it is going to be exciting!