FREE Public Lecture - Institut généalogique Drouin

On Saturday, December 8th, there will be a FREE public lecture on “An Insider's View of the Institut généalogique Drouin” which will be given by Sébastien Robert, vice-president at the Institut généalogique Drouin.

He will provide a unique opportunity to learn from an insider what the Drouin records offer family historians.

The lecture will be from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm at the Briarwood Presbyterian Church Hall, 70 Beaconsfield Blvd., Beaconsfield, QC H9W 3Z3, and is sponsored by the Quebec Family History Society.

Members and non-members are invited to attend and stay afterward for refreshments and conversation

You can visit the website by going to www.qfhs.ca

You can also visit the Institut généalogique Drouin at www.drouininstitute.com It is both in French and English.

And, of course, www.Ancestry.ca has the complete Drouin Collection on their searchable database.

New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Articles – 19 November 2012

Here are some websites, blogs, and articles that I have come across the past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too –

Cemeteries webproxy.edmonton.ca/external/cemeteries/default.aspx There are over 60,000 people interred in Edmonton Municipal Cemeteries which can be searched online. It has the name of the cemetery, the burial date and the lot, plot and block of the plot.

Rice Genealogy www.ricegenealogy.com This appears to be a new site, but it does give the names of some of the churches in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.

This old house www.theguardian.pe.ca/Arts/Entertainment/2012-11-17/article-3122265This-old-house/1 The Guardian, a newspaper in Price Edward Island, has a story about Tony Gallant, a photographer from Brockton in West Prince, Prince Edward Island, who is taking pictures of abandoned houses, outbuildings and other structures on the Island. He is putting them on his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Abandoned-Properties-on-PEI/351704324856663

Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame http://motorcyclehalloffame.ca If you know that your relative is/was involved with motorcycles, here is a site which you can check through the Hall of Fame for the years 2006 up to 2010 to see a picture of each member of the Hall of Fame, and a biography.

Jordan tree on its way to Boston for Christmas www.thecoastguard.ca/News/2012-11-13/article-3119643/Cutting-of-the-Boston-Christmas-tree-in-Jordon/1 This year , Nova Scotia has chosen a tree from a village close to Shelburne (my home town) to send to Boston as the provinces Christmas Tree reports the local newspaper - The Shelburne County Coast Guard.

Vandalizing war memorials won’t be tolerated: Feds www.ottawasun.com/2012/11/13/vandalizing-war-memorials-wont-be-tolerated-feds-2 The Ottawa Sun is reporting that the government is about to toughen the laws which guards against defacing war memorials and cenotaphs in Canada.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Call for Presentations for the BIFHSGO Conference 2013

Ken McKinlay of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) has just sent me this call for proposals -

"The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) is seeking proposals for presentations at its 19th annual conference, September 20-22, 2013 to be held in Ottawa at Library and Archives Canada.

The focus this year will be on Ireland.

Proposals for other presentations besides those on Ireland are also invited as well as proposals for workshops or seminars on the Friday (September 20, 2013).

Details on writing the proposals can be found at www.bifhsgo.ca under the Conference heading. Please send your proposals to
conference@bifhsgo.ca before January 31, 2013."

Carleton Place, Ontario

Carleton Place, incorporated as a town since 1890, has a population of about 9,800 inhabitants, and is located about 30 minutes west of Ottawa. The town contains three museums, and they are -

Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum www.cpbheritagemuseum.com This museum's collection includes archival papers of all kinds - land deeds, directories, maps, newspaper clippings, and genealogical materials. 

Please contact Jennifer at 613.253.7013 to arrange a research visit.

They also have a very active Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Carleton-Place-and-Beckwith-Heritage-Museum/173158069407762 

Canadian Veteran’s Hall of Valour www.canadaveteranshallofvalour.com Check out the portraits and mini-biographies of over 1,140 Canadian veterans.

The Moore House – Roy Brown Museum They have formed the Roy Brown Society and are establishing an avionics museum in Carleton Place. The facility will honour Capt Brown and 14 other Great War airmen from Carleton Place, showcasing the town’s considerable involvement in the history of Canadian flight.

World War I flying ace Roy Brown to be honoured in his hometown of Carleton Place http://millstonenews.com/2012/11/world-war-i-flying-ace-roy-brown-to-be-honoured-in-his-hometown-of-carleton-place.html Read about how Roy Brown shot down the infamous “Red Baron” (Manfred von Richthofen), and how a mural has been painted in his honour.

Roy Brown Mural in Carleton Place http://www.cbc.ca/intownandout/2012/11/10/roy-brown-mural-in-carleton-place See the photos of the mural and hear an interview on the CBC website.

For more on Carleton Place, visit Mayor Wendy LeBlanc's website, http://wendyleblanc.ca.

PEI Genealogical Society Meeting

The PEI Genealogical Society will hold its next general meeting on Saturday November 17 at 2:00 pm at Beaconsfield's Carriage House, located at the corner of Kent and West Streets in Charlottetown. The general public is invited and admission is free.

Guest speakers Mary Jeanette Gallant and Aggi-Rose Reddin of the PEI Scottish Settlers Historical Society Inc. will present an overview of the importance of the Glenaladale Estate to the history and heritage of PEI. Through the use of visuals and artifacts they will provide insights into the lives and activities of Captain John MacDonald and his family. The presentation will also provide a background to the current campaign to preserve the estate for the people of Prince Edward Island.

For anyone wishing to renew or signup for the first time, memberships for 2013 will be available. There will be a brief business meeting as well as featured guest speakers. Please email PEIGS president at fredchorne@gmail.com if you have any questions.

PEI Genealogical Society http://www.peigs.ca

Scottish www.edu.pe.ca/eastwiltshire/grass01/phys10d.htm Read a short history of the Scottish people in PEI

Island Magazine Digitized

In partnership with the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation, the Robertson Library has digitized the complete Island Magazine collection.

The Island Magazine is being made available on-line for the sole purpose of private research and study. Questions regarding rights and permissions for any other re-use or re-production of magazine content should be directed to the editorial offices of The Island Magazine.

For more information, please go to http://vre2.upei.ca/islandmagazine

Celebrating Our Military Roots Day

Gail from Montreal has just sent me this news about a meeting to be held at the Quebec Family History Society, and the McGill University in Montreal digitization project of the Second World War Records.

Quebec Family History Society

Join us at the QFHS Heritage Centre and Library for “Celebrating Our Military Roots Day”, the first in a series of monthly “Celebrating Our Roots Days”.

On Wednesday, December 5th, drop by between 1:00 and 4:30 pm and/or between 6:30 and 9:30 pm for coffee, tea and informal conversation. Share your research and learn from others how they learned about their ancestors who served in the military. Bring your favourite military books to show others. On display we will feature our members' memorabilia and books from the QFHS military collection.

Joining us in the afternoon will be Earl John Chapman, author of several military history books, including Canada's Black Watch: Legacies of Gallantry and Service.

So, bring along a friend, coffee mug, copies of your military letters, photos, service records, and medals, or just bring yourself.

Open to our members and the public.

For more information, please go to http://www.qfhs.ca

McGill University War Records Digitized

Family historians can now search the McGill University War Records www.archives.mcgill.ca/public/exhibits/mcgillremembers/warrecords.htm by name or browse the alphabetical list. The collection contains 6,617 index cards and more than 3,000 files containing newspaper clippings, correspondence and about 700 photos, documenting the involvement of McGill faculty, students, alumni, and staff during WWII.

British Columbia Voter’s List

The voter’s lists of 1875 and 1898 were taken from the Sessional Papers of the British Columbia Government, and they were extracted by Hugh Armstrong.

Voter’s lists are known as “census substitutes”, because they can be used to locate a person in a non-census year.

British Columbia only has census in the years 1881, 1891, 1901, and 1911 which is a nominal list, and the 1891 Victoria City Census which is a head of household list, so the voter’s list can help in this instance.

The 1875 list has the person’s name, their residence, and profession or trade.

For example, there is Bagnalle, John from Fort St, a music seller, and his residence was VicC (Victoria City).

And the 1898 voter’s list has the same information as the 1875 voter’s list. An example is Sabald, John, 208 Yates St, Plumber, VicC (Victoris City).

There are also directories, newspapers, strays, government sources (including public schools reports, unclaimed letters), petitions, stories and pictures on this site.

You can see all these records online (FREE) at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canbc/bc.htm
© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Winners Are Announced

The following are people who won the booklet The War of 1812: Canada and the United States by answering The Questionth of the Day during Veteran’s Week Nov 5th to 11th on my blog -

Nov 5th - Lisa M. Layton, U.S.

Nov 6th – Phyllis M. Vancouver, CAN

Nov 7th and Nov 8th – Brooke S. Waterloo, CAN

Nov 9th – Gail D. Montreal, CDN

Nov 10th – Jackie C. Winnipeg, CDN

Congratulate to everyone who entered, and to each of the winners.

The next contest will he held on Jan 2 2013 when my blog GenealogyCanada will be five years old! On that date, five booklets Migration: Between Canada and the United States will be given away by answering a question about my blog.

Good Luck!

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Anishinaabe First Nations in the War of 1812

Alan Ojiig Corbiere, former Executive Director of the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation in M’Chigeng, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, comes to Toronto to detail his research, including interviews with elders, to uncover the names and experiences of Anishinaabe combatants in the War of 1812 – often left nameless in historical records.

The date of the talk will be Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

And the location is Native Canadian Centre, 16 Spadina Road (west side, north of Bloor), Toronto.

To learn more about the Anishinaabe people , you can go to

Anishinaabe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anishinaabe The meaning of Anishnaabeg is 'First' or 'Original Peoples' or good people - those people who are on the right road/path given to them by the Creator or Gichi-Manidoo (Great Spirit).

Anishinaabe outfit collected by Andrew Foster http://nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/infinityofnations/woodlands/242000.html There is a photo of the clothing that was worn about 1790 by the Anishinaabe.

New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Articles – 12 November 2012

Here are some websites, blogs and articles that I have come across this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too –

Latest news about the Library and Archives Canada The LAC is going ahead with the cancellation of the inter-librarian program next month, not in February 2013, as was reported earlier this year. Budget cuts has forced the change, and what used to be borrowed by inter-library loans (microfilm/books, for example) will now be digitized. There is no word on the indexing of the material, although.

Read about the change in the inter-library loan system at
Library and archives interlibrary loans soon eliminated: Loan requests dropped 75 per cent in last 12 years, according to library officials www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/11/06/ottawa-library-and-archives-canada-interlibrary-loans-cancelled.html

Federal government to honour workers who died building Rideau Canal
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/11/02/federal-government-to-honour-workers-who-died-building-rideau-canal Jessica Beddaoui of the Ottawa Sun writes that the federal government will commemorate the construction workers (primarily Irish immigrants and French-Canadians), who built the Rideau Canal between 1826 and 1832 by putting a plaque beside the canal.

Your thoughts needed on Canadian History Museum: Staffers are in Vancouver for your suggestions www.news1130.com/news/local/article/420874--your-thoughts-needed-on-new-canadian-history-museum They are starting to travel across the country to hear what Canadians want to see in the Canadian History Museum (it will replace the Museum of Civilization) when it debuts in 2017.

Acadianeire's Heritage: Discovering my Cape Breton and County Down ancestors through sepia photographs, anecdotes and poetry http://acadianeire.blogspot.com Kat Mortensen has a really nice blog, showing pictures of her family, and putting comments on the website about the photos.

Conference Keeper http://conferencekeeper.weebly.com Jen Baldwin, genealogist and family historian, and owner of Ancestral Journeys in Breckenridge, Colorado, will post your conference - free of charge. Quite an interesting site!

Historic Lectures Given in PEI www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/activ/activ10/activ10i.aspx Prince Edward Island is celebrating 75 years of its national park, and they are having free lectures.

On November 20th, there will be a lecture by Dr. Claire Campbell, and she will talk on the subject “From Sea to Sea to Sea: National Parks and the Story of Canada” , and another lecture on the 27th which will feature Barbara MacDonald, and she will talk on “The Colorful History of Green Gables”.

For more information, visit www.upei.ca/history. For more information about this lecture series or Parks Canada on PEI, call us at 902.566.7050 or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PEInationalpark.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Remembrance Day: Who are you remembering?

Your Community Blog, found on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) website, www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity, is asking you to send in a remembrance of a person and a photo to the  blog on this Remembrance Day.

The blog asks - "Is it a grandparent who served in World War I? Or a brother or cousin who served in Afghanistan? Share your memories in three to four lines, if possible - along with a picture of the person you'll be thinking of”.

CBC Remembrance Day Program Guide - Tune to CBC for full television, radio, and online coverage of Remembrance Day services in Canada www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/11/07/f-remembrance-day-program-guide.html

Question of the Day: The series of Question of the Day for Remembrance Week has ended for this year. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to send in their answers, and I hope that you have enjoyed the posts. The list of the winners will be posted on Monday.

Please take the time to thank a veteran for his or her service, even if they are not yet familiar. You never know - they may be someone who can illuminate a part of your family history research, or they may even be one of my own relatives (both blood and in-laws) who—along with countless other Canadian military members and their families—had, or have, spread themselves across the country and overseas in their dedicated and selfless service to Canada and her allies.

Lest We Forget ...

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

"For King and Country" Project in Toronto

Gwyneth Pearce, of the Toronto Family History Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, has just sent me the following press release -

“I am writing to share some news from the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society that I hope will be of interest…

The Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has added 3,000 more names and ten more schools to its on-line database of school memorials commemorating Toronto students and staff who volunteered for active service in the two World Wars and other military conflicts.

The newest schools in the For King and Country database are Brock Avenue, Hodgson, Jesse Ketchum, King George, Lambton Park, Long Branch Continuation, Oriole Park, Plains Road, R.H. McGregor and Sackville Street. The latest additions bring the total number of names in the database to just under 30,000. But that’s not all – the database also includes transcriptions and photographs of school war memorials, as well as information about the history of the schools themselves and links to other useful school and community websites.

As we all pause to mark Remembrance Day, take a few moments to explore this growing collection at www.torontofamilyhistory.org/kingandcountry

To find out more about the For King and Country project, and how you can help, contact co-ordinator Martha Jackson at kingandcountry@torontofamilyhistory.org”

I first heard about this site at the OGS Conference in Toronto in 2010, and it was just starting, and they encouraged every one to go and take a look. You may discover your ancestor there.