LAC has updated the 1861 Census

Library and Archives Canada has upgraded the 1861 Census because there were apparently a “number of missing records and misplaced images were reported by Library and Archives Canada clients and staff". 

They have corrected over 133,000 entries! 

According to their blog, there were definite issues with the Canada West and Canada East.  

“In Canada West, the records for the cities of Hamilton, Kingston, London, Ottawa and Toronto were previously reported missing but the records did exist. The five cities, although enumerated separately in 1861, were tucked away amongst their neighbouring rural districts. For example, the city of Ottawa was listed under the district of Carleton and the city of Kingston was listed under Frontenac. The five cities are now correctly identified as districts and their respective wards are identified as sub-districts. 

Additionally in Canada West, the rural districts of Renfrew and Russell were also reported as missing. The records for those two districts and their sub-districts can now be searched. In the rural district of Kent, the sub-districts of Camden and Gore, the town of Chatham, and the district of Chatham have been correctly identified. The images in the districts of Brant and Dundas are now correctly linked.

In Canada East, several image linking errors were corrected, particularly in the districts of Argenteuil, Montcalm and St-Jean”.

It is good to see that the LAC is listening to our comments, complaints and they are correcting their databases. 

To go to the 1861 census, you can go to 

http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1861/Pages/about-census.aspx 

The Ottawa Genealogist July-September 2014 issue

The July-September 2014 issue of The Ottawa Genealogist is here, and the main article is Harry Waite Survivor of Vimy Ridge by John Patton.

Patton gives a very personal recounting of the life of Harry Waite, a veteran of the First World War originally from Hastings, halfway between Peterborough and Belleville. 

There is a write-up of Gene-O-Rama 2014 and a full page picture, plus a page of Ottawa people the Ontario Genealogical Society conference in Niagara this past spring, and Early Bytown Settlers Index for the letters ‘R’ and ‘S’, as put together by Jim Stanzell. 

The first meeting of the new season will be held on Saturday, 13th of September , at the City of Ottawa Archives, 100 Tallwood Drive in Ottawa.

Patti Mordasewicz, vice-president of the Ontario Genealogical Society, will be there to talk about the resources available at the Leeds & Grenville Archives in Brockville.

If you want to see more about the Ottawa Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, you can go to their web page at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/

They have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/237267743111732/?fref=ts 

They have a blog at http://ogsottawa.blogspot.com/

Nova Scotia Paving Programme

Starting in 1934 and completed in 1938, the Nova Scotia Department of Highways undertook a major highway reconstruction project known as the Paving Programme. And I know this for a fact, that my father and his brothers* worked on this project as it made its way through the Shelburne-Jordan Falls, Shelburne County area, on the southwestern shore of Nova Scotia. 

When I took a look at the photos at the Nova Scotia Archives site, I even recognized some of the areas that they worked on, and where the paving plant was located in Jordan Falls. 

As you leaf through the scrapbook, do you also recognize the places today? Nothing has changed too much. The highways are wider than they used to be, and there are more houses. From what I understood, it was messy, hot work during that that summer of 1938, but they were happy to get the work. 

Now, nearly eighty years later, those albums have been digitized and are displayed here for Internet visitors to explore. There are 350 black-and-white images to be seen. 

The website is at http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/highways/


*My father was Harold Arthur Barclay, and his brothers were Perley and John Barclay of Jordan Falls, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia.

Historical officer rank insignia reinstated

During a reception at the Canadian War Museum on August 4th, which marked the 100th anniversary of Canada’s entry into the First World War, the unveiling of the historical officer rank insignia took place. 

“The restoration of the Canadian Army’s historical identity reinforces the ties between present-day soldiers and previous generations of warriors, while celebrating our proud Army heritage. Canadian Army officers will wear these insignia knowing that they carry on a strong legacy of service, while standing strong, proud and ready for the future,” said Lieutenant-General Marquis Hainse, Commander of the Canadian Army. 

You can read about the Canadian Army at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Army

Community. Education. Advocacy.

The Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) recently adopted these three core beliefs – Community. Education. Advocacy. 

The organization is a community of over 3,000 like-minded genealogists who believe in helping people who want assistance in finding their Ontario ancestors. 

They have 33 branches and SIGs throughout the province, and they have a top-notch website, with The Ontario Name Index (TONI), which is free to everyone to use at http://www.ogs.on.ca/toni.php.

The organization believes in education. Each branch holds free meetings you are encouraged to attend. The OGS hold an annual spring conference at various points in the province at a very reasonable price, and they offer courses through the National Institute for Genealogical Studies at a reduced rate if you are a member of the OGS. 

Over the past, the OGS has advocated the Library and Archives Canada on our behalf for the release of the 1921 Census, and the Ontario government for the restoration and registering of cemeteries within the province. Without this action, neither one would have received as much support as they did from members of the public. 

Every day, members are busy gathering information, indexing records, and planning the next conference. Editors are reading another paper to be placed in Families, keeping track of noteworthy news from all over the province to be placed in the various publications, and using these resources, another genealogical puzzle has been solved by a person who just wanted to find their Ontario ancestor. The OGS can help. 

If you have a chance, go to the OGS blog, and take a minute to view two videos that were recently taped. 

The first one is by Alan Campbell, the president of the OGS, and the second one was recorded at this year’s conference in Niagara. 

The website is http://www.ogs.on.ca/ogs_blog.php

New Acadian research guide

Got this email from Janice Hamilton yesterday, the blogger who does the Genealogy Ensemble blog, and she told us the following -

“If you are researching Acadian heritage, you might find the recent research guide, Acadians of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, compiled by Jacques Gagné, of interest. It will help you find Acadian Parish Registers under the French and British regimes, as well as links to websites that shed light on various other aspects of Acadian history. 

The link can be found on the Genealogy Ensemble blog, at http://genealogyensemble.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/the-acadian-congress/

This is the latest of Jacques’ contributions to the genealogy community. He has put together similar research guides on Genealogy Ensemble, including the Catholic Churches of Quebec http://genealogyensemble.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/irish-catholic-churches-of-quebec/ and an online guide to researching your ancestors in archives in France, http://genealogyensemble.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/learn-how-to-research-french-archives/ ”

Janice

The OGS picks their theme for the 2017 conference!

Our Canada-Your Family: Building A Nation is the theme which has been chosen for the 2017 Ontario Genealogical Society's conference, and what a fantastic title!

And the reason that the title of the conference was chosen is that 2017 will be the 150th birthday of the founding of Canada. It will be a super busy time in Ottawa, so why not plan at attend the conference and do some sightseeing along with your stay? 

This will be the sixth time (plus they co-hosted the 2012 conference in Kingston) that Ottawa (the nation’s capital) will have hosted the conference.

They already have a small group of volunteers, but they can always have more people join them in this effort. 

You can contact them at conference2017@ogsottawa.on.ca 

Watch for news in this blog and at the Ottawa blog at http://ogsottawa.blogspot.com/ and their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/237267743111732/?fref=ts 

The webpage is http://ogsottawa.on.ca/

Will Héritage index their records? Maybe.

Ever since Héritage, a division of Canadiana, put on all of those records from the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) over a year ago, I was asking “Where are the indexes that go with the digitization of these records?”

Héritage has the objective of digitizing 40,000 reels of microfilm from “Canada’s most important archival collections”. 

They hope to comprise 60 million page images when the project is completed next year. 

But not one of these records has been indexed! Not one! So what good are they to me? -

They say that they “would like to enhance access to this content by partially transcribing select collections. Once transcribed, researchers can conduct key-word searches on a collection, allowing them to find specific personal names, geographical locations, events, etc. within a document. We need your help in choosing which collections to transcribe first”. 

So, they have put together a short survey to ask our opinion. I clicked every one of the records that they have included in the survey. 

They say that “By participating in this short survey, you can have a voice in telling Canadiana which collections are important to you. If interested, please share this widely with your members, branches, and other contacts to help us get the most feedback”. 

Please take a minute to go through the records, and click the ones you would like to see indexed.

The website for the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=DGkADDA1hN%2fpX6Ab5IKFgw%3d%3d

The website for Canadiana is http://www.canadiana.ca/

Family associations

One way to discover your French-Canadian roots is to join a family association. It all has to do with collaboration, doesn't it? 

The Library and Archives Canada says that “The main goal of a family association is to perpetuate the memory of these ancestors and preserve the cultural heritage associated with them, such as the land that was granted to them in New France, or the ancestral house, if it still exists”. 

The association members organize meetings and reunions, small or large, and publish newsletters, and of course, many have a website and a Facebook page.  

On a personal note, I see where my husband's paternal surname (Lapointe dit Audet) and his maternal surname (Jobin) are there. 

The website is at http://www.genealogie.org/associations.asp 

If you have Acadian roots, go to http://www.fafa-acadie.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=40 for a list of Acadian surnames. 

60th annual Manitoba Threshermen's Reunion & Stampede

This year, an unique show will be held at the 60th annual Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion & Stampede from today until the 27th of July at Austin, Manitoba.

They will be commemorating the First and Second World Wars in displays, exhibits, and musical performances in the “Manitoba’s Military Heritage”. It will commemorate the impact of the 100th Anniversary of the First World War and the 75th Anniversary of the Second World War on Manitoba farms, families and communities.

The feature attraction will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that includes many unique features such as

•Manitoba’s largest assembly of operating vintage military vehicles, including 1 of 2 operating First World War era Sherman tanks in Canada and a motorized First World War field ambulance

• Live daily presentations of Life in the Trenches for a First World War soldier at 11 am and 3:30 pm

• Displays of the current and heritage capabilities of Canada’s Armed Forces from 1 RCHA and 2 PPCLI from CFB Shilo.

• Exhibits on important Manitoba military sites, people and units stationed in Manitoba

• Daily fashion show of military uniforms and civilian dress from the war years at 4 pm

• Musical performances from the RCAF Air Command Band (Friday and Saturday) and the PPCLI Regimental Drum Line (Saturday only)

Go to their website at http://ag-museum.com/

You can go to the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/mbagmuseum

Ancestry Update: South African War Land Grants, 1908-1910

Ancestry.ca has added a new historical record -

“During the South African War (or Boer War) of 1899–1902, for the first time, Canada sent troops to fight in a war overseas. About 7,300 Canadian troops and 12 nurses served in South Africa. Veterans of the war were became eligible for 320 acres of Dominion Land (or a payment of $160 in scrip) under the 1908 Volunteer Bounty Act.

This database contains applications for these bounty land grants. Applications typically include the following details:

· name

· gender

· service start date, location

· residence

· death date

· place of death

· age at death

· birth date

· birth place

· regiment

The applications are two pages long, so be sure to page forward to see the entire record.” 

One thing I did notice is that in some applicant’s forms, there are notes that you may finding helpful, and the date range of service is there also. 

You can go to the website at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=9150 

The records are in the Library and Archives Canada, under the citation of Department of Veterans Affairs. Soldiers of the South African War, Land Grant Applications. Record Group 38 (vols. 117-136). Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

Did you index yesterday?

The FamilySearch Indexing project yesterday had over 66,000 individuals who indexed at least one batch, and many did more than one batch of documents. Over 3 million records were indexed, and over 500,000 were arbitrated! That is a fantastic number.

And did you watch some or all of DearMYRTLE’s GeneaSleepOver Hangouts On Air on Google+ and archived at YouTube?

If you didn't watch, you can view the 24-hour session (divided into segments) at https://www.youtube.com/user/DearMYRTLE

So congratulation to everyone who indexed. It is not too late to start indexing today. Go to https://familysearch.org/indexing/.

There are plenty of Canadian records waiting to be indexed.

FamilySearch Indexing Project is waiting for you!

Are you ready? 

FamilySearch would like to have 50,000 indexers and arbitrators to submit at least one batch in a 24-hour period! Do more if you would like, but one batch is all that is required to be counted in the record!

The record-setting begins at 00:00 coordinated universal time (UTC) on July 21, which is 6:00 p.m. mountain daylight time (MDT or Utah time) on Sunday, July 20. It ends 24 hours later, at 23:59 UTC (or 5:59 p.m. MDT) on Monday, July 21. 

Check the FamilySearch Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/722157871184202/ for your local start time and status updates.

Here are the statistics on indexing Canadian projects - 

• There are 67,802 current volunteers 
• There are 15 current projects
• There are 7,832 Images awaiting arbitration 
•  There have been 787,408 Canada records contributed 

Some of the project that still need indexing are –

• British Columbia Marriages 1937
• Newfoundland Vital Records 1840-1949
• Prince Edward Island 1721-1905

Plan now to get involved and add your name to the record-setting event!

The Canadian projects are at https://familysearch.org/indexing/projects/country/ca  

Archives is asking for your help

The Flamborough Heritage Society & Archives, is one of the largest and most active, local heritage groups and archives in Ontario. It is located in the former Wentworth County which was in the city of Hamilton in southwestern Ontario.  

And they are working on three projects -

• The first project is a planned book on the history behind the names of communities that exist, or did exist at one time, in Flamborough
• The second project is a compilation of the businesses in Flamborough, with an emphasis on Waterdown, from around 1850 onwards 
• The third project is an inventory of street names in Waterdown, and the history behind the name

They would like to receive any material which would help with this research - photos, stories, advertisements or flyers etc. They can scan the original photos, or you can send in scanned photos, or documents to flamarch@hpl.ca, or you can phone them for details at 905. 540.5161.

The website is at http://www.wefhs.myhamilton.ca/

Drouin Collection – Quebec Records

The people at the Drouin Collection have put together a 16-page user guide and it’s free to everyone. 

It is divided according to the time periods - 17th century to the 21st century, as well as baptisms/births, marriages, deaths. There is even a 250,000 postcard collection from the personal collection of Jean-Pierre Pepin that covers the years from 1980 and 2002! 

There are also collections from the United States and Canada (outside of Quebec), and they have hundreds of genealogies, and it includes Protestant baptisms/births, marriages, deaths, as well.

The finding aid is here https://www.genealogiequebec.com/documents/keywords.pdf

This is a subscription site, and it is bilingual – French/English. 

Go to https://www.genealogiequebec.com

Call for Presenters: OGS Conference 2015 – “Tracks Through Time”

The Ontario Genealogical Society will host the Society’s annual conference on 29-31 May 2015 at Georgian College Campus, Barrie, ON, Canada. The conference theme — Tracks through Time – originates from the 130th Anniversary of the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway across Canada.

Many family historians have their roots in the immigrant laborers who built this railway across our vast country. Other ancestors were tempted by the transportation routes and migration opportunities allowed by its completion. Still others worked for the railway company itself over the years to follow. As researchers, we track our family history through time in many ways, always attempting to ensure we are tracking the right people from the right line. The variations on Tracks through Time are endless. 

The subject of presentations should preferably fall within one of the following categories:

1.Impact of the development of the railway in Canada
2. Tracking various cultural and ethnic ancestor groups to and within Canada (e.g., Aboriginal, African American, Chinese, Scandinavian, Quaker, Polish, Jewish, etc.)
3. Tracking ancestors through various record groups (land, company, religious, civil, etc.)
4. Tracking the right people (sorting out same-name research, One-Name Studies, etc.)
5. Technological advancements in tracking our ancestors

Saturday and Sunday lectures will be one hour long, including time for questions. Friday workshops offering a more in-depth exploration should be 2.5 to 3 hours in length, including time for questions. Consideration will also be given to distance presentations – “streamed in” from a presenter’s location and/or “streamed out” to a distance audience.

Each one-page proposal should include:

Presentation Title

Abstract – no more than 200 words

Presentation Description – one or two sentences for program brochure• Full Contact Information – name, postal address, telephone number, e-mail address, and website (if applicable)

Brief Biography

Target Audience – beginner, intermediate or advanced level family historians; general or specialist audience.

If your proposal is accepted, you will be requested to provide a 2- to 4-page summary of your lecture or workshop for our Conference Syllabus. This may include a brief overview, references and web addresses mentioned, sample screen shots, etc. It will be submitted electronically no later than 1 March 2015 as a word processing file or in rich text for ease of formatting our Program Syllabus. Speakers should also bear in mind that PowerPoint presentations must be clearly readable from a minimum distance of 20 metres/65 feet and should employ fonts no smaller than 32 points.

Please include your approximate travel costs, economy class, to Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Remuneration will normally include reimbursement of transportation expenses, free conference registration, free accommodation, meals on the day(s) of your talk(s), free social activities, plus honorarium. Workshop fees may be negotiated.

Contact Info: Conference 2015 website: http://www.ogs.on.ca/conference/

Email address: program.conference@ogs.on.ca

The deadline is 12 September 2014 

LAC: Soundex - How to find spelling variations of a surname

The Library and Archives Canada explains how to use the JOS Soundex code to find information on names that are difficult to find because of the way that they are spelled. 

They say that “Many American archival records have been indexed using this system. It’s a way to search surnames while ignoring minor differences in spelling. The code uses the first letter of the surname, followed by three numbers associated with the sound of the name. 

Letters of the alphabet are assigned a number (0 to 9). Vowels (A, E, I, O, U and Y) and the letters H and W are not considered. Also, if the same letter occurs twice in a row in the name, it is counted only once (e.g., Lloyd becomes Loyd). If there are fewer than 3 letters in the name, 0 is used for the last digit.” 

To help you identify different spellings of surnames, we suggest that you use the following Soundex indexing site: Avotaynu Consolidated Jewish Surname Index at http://www.avotaynu.com/csi/csi-home.htm. It can also be used for non-Jewish surnames. To help you identify the Soundex code, you can use the JOS Soundex calculator found at http://www.jewishgen.org/JOS/jossound.htm.

So, speaking of ways to make genealogy research easier for you, have you entered the Canada Day Brick Wall Contest? This is the second year that I have had the contest and it closes at 6:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, July 15th.

You can go to the website and get the details http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/07/happy-canada-day.html and get the details.

GOOD LUCK!  

Archives of Ontario - First World War Exhibit

The Archives of Ontario (AO), in Toronto, has put on an exhibit of a First World War family where six brothers enlisted. The exhibit is called The McLean Brothers of Sunderland,Ontario Real Genealogy Stories WWI Exhibit in the Archives Reading Room on the main floor, just to the left of the reception desk.

This is the story about of six brothers of the same family who enlisted together to take part in the Canadian war efforts. In partnership with guest curator Paul Hector this exhibit uses AO genealogical records to bring a very unique First World War family story to life.

I made my yearly trek to the AO in April of this year, and spent two days there, and accomplished a lot of client research. It is a fantastic facility, with a friendly, helpful staff. And it has a manuscript holdings that you can loose yourself in – I was impressed!

At that time they were busy gathering material for the exhibit, and I am glad that they were able to put it together. So if you are in Toronto, you should plan to visit.

The website is http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/index.aspx 

They also have another exhibit online that you can visit - Dear Sadie – Loves, Lives, and Remembrance from Ontario’s First World War.

In this exhibit, you can read about four different families and what happened to them during the First World War. This exhibit “highlights the impact that the war had on individual lives”. 

The website is http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/ww1/index.aspx

I plan to return next June to do more research.

Ireland Canada Monument Project

Every so often, I hear from the Ireland Canada Monument Project in Vancouver, British Columbia by receiving their newsletter.

The Monument project is an historic endeavour to give recognition to those of Irish birth or descent who have given or continue to give to Canada, its provinces and the City of Vancouver.

They say that “The core work for the project is basically complete and general agreement has been reached between the Monument Society and Vancouver Parks Board on site details. Once a new site is agreed upon, the Monument Society looks forward to finalizing the site layout with Parks Board staff.”

They have a blog at http://irelandmonumentvancouver.com and you can be placed on the newsletter distribution list by writing to irelandmonumentcanada@gmail.com 

Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ireland-Canada-Monument/103460626418488

I Love London, Ontario

London, Ontario has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vintage-London-Ontario/256233541169617

It covers many local towns in the area from their beginnings to the 1990s. Old pictures, memories, adverts....anything you might consider Vintage London or surrounding villages. You can also follow Vintage London on Twitter - https://twitter.com/VintageLondonOn 

While there you can go to the London-Middlesex Genealogical Society, and check out two websites – 

Early Settlers Project 

They have 184 pages of settlers listed who settled in Middlesex County prior to 1900. This collection, begun over 30 years ago, includes family information submitted by branch members. This list is FREE!

Family History Index

They also have a 33 page Family History Index to the family history books they have in their Resource Centre. The index covers only the most frequent surnames found in each book This list is FREE!

You can check their homepage at http://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca