A New Chinese Canadian Website

A new website has been launched which is dedicated to the oral histories of Chinese Canadian women during the exclusion period (1921-1967)*.

Launched March 31st, the website explores the impact of discriminatory immigration legislation with 33 new interviews conducted across Canada. You can see the interviews by going to www.mhso.ca.

As the website says, "The MHSO started work on a two-year project, "Chinese Canadian Women 1923-1967: Inspiration-Innovation-Ingenuity". This project will bring together a variety of sources, including new oral history interviews that will be conducted across the country. It will culminate in an online portal that will make exhibitions, digital resources, learning materials and interactive activities available to the public. Online users will also be invited to contribute to this commemoration of the experiences of Chinese Canadian women".

Also online is the launch of "The Ties that Bind Online Exhibit" which was put on in Toronto, August 28, 2010.

There are more interviews with Chinese Canadians online. It tells how they made a contribution to Canadian history by helping to build the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Twelve descendants of the Chinese railroad workers are now sharing their family stories. You can see these stories on "The Ties That Bind: Building the CPR, Building a Place in Canada" online at www.mhso.ca/tiesthatbind.

The project is sponsored by the Foundation to Commemorate the Chinese Railroad Workers in Canada, in partnership with the Multicultural History Society of Ontario, with funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canada under the Community Historical Recognition Program.

* For information on this period in Canadian history, you can go to www.mhso.ca/chinesecanadianwomen/en/timeline.php?e=9 to read about the Exclusion Period.

Dutch Heritage Month

May is Dutch Heritage Month in Ontario.

Last month, Ontario's PC MPP, Elizabeth Witmer, introduced a private member's bill into the Ontario Legislature which would designate May as Dutch Heritage Month in Ontario.

Bill 166, Dutch Heritage Month Act, was unanimously given both second and third reading March 24th.

More than 500,000 citizens of Ontario are of Dutch extraction, and about a million people in Canada are of Dutch ancestry.

"This bill recognizes the many contributions of the Dutch community to the province of Ontario," said Ernie Hardeman, Oxford MPP. "As a Dutch Ontarian, I am especially proud to see the strong relationship between the Netherlands and Canada recognized by the Ontario Legislature."

May is a historically significant month. Canadian soldiers were instrumental in the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945. As a result, the Netherlands celebrates its liberation and independence along with the heroic actions of the Canadian forces with a national holiday on May 5, known as Liberation Day.

Ottawa has its annual Tulip Festival celebration in May. This year's theme is "Kaleidoscope – a celebration of spring awakening through colour, culture and community". You can go to www.tulipfestival.ca to see the list of events.

For more information on the Dutch in Canada, you can go to the LAC's website www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-905.013-e.html, and research the "Immigration Branch", "Central Registry Files (RG 76)", the "Other Series of Records, the "Research in Other Institutions", "Research in Published Sources", and the "Research Online" pages.

Tartan Day

Here is my clan's dress tartan, that being the Barclay Clan.

(yellow and black with white overcheck)

Back on October 22, 2010, the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, announced that the Government of Canada made the official announcement that the country would recognize April 6 as Tartan Day.

"A tartan represents a clan, a family, and a community, and is an enduring symbol of Scotland that is cherished by Canadians of Scottish ancestry," said Minister Moore. "Many Canadian provinces and other countries already celebrate Tartan Day. As well, through Tartan Day, Canadians will have an opportunity to learn more about the various cultures that comprise Canadian society."

Tartan Day originated in the late 1980s in Nova Scotia, where it was declared an official day by the provincial government. It then spread across the country, with many provinces joining in. This marks the first time the Day has been recognized by the federal government.

"By officially recognizing this Day, we encourage Canadians all across the country to celebrate the contributions that over four million Canadians of Scottish heritage continue to make to the foundation of our country," said Senator John Wallace, who recently introduced a bill in the Senate in support of nationally declaring Tartan Day.

In Canada, Tartan Day is celebrated on April 6, the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence. Tartan Day celebrations typically include parades of pipe bands, Highland dancing and sports, and other Scottish-themed events.

For an online copy of the Declaration, please visit http://ucsac.blogspot.com/2011/02/tartan-day-just-around-table.html.

As well, check out the Tartans of Canada website for the official and non-official tartans of Canada, the provinces, and the territories www.craigmarlatt.com/canada/symbols_facts&lists/tartans.html

From Scotland On Line, check out the thousands of tartans for your own clan or related septs at www.tartans.scotland.net/find_tartan.cfm.htm. The site shows samples of the tartan, and offers a history of it. Truly, an awesome resource.

And for a history of the tartan, check out Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan

Here is Clan Barclay's hunting tartan
(blue and green with red overcheck)

Genealogy One-to-One Consultation

Are you looking to solve a curious family mystery? Need guidance and advice on where to go next?

Book a free 30 minute one-to-one appointment with Local History and Genealogy Librarian, Joanne McCarthy, at the Spring Garden Road Memorial Public Library on Saturday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. Registration is required.

You will learn how to research and organize your family tree; discover important local and online genealogy records; and learn how to search for your ancestors using Ancestry.ca.

You can reach the Library online at www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca, follow them on Twitter http://twitter.com/hfxpublib and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hfxpublib, and you can call them at 902.490.5813.

NewsLeaf Editor Announced

Joyce Fingland has been appointed the new NewsLeaf and e-NewsLeaf editor. She has already assumed the editorship of e-NewsLeaf (the first issue will be out in April), and she will produce the first issue of NewsLeaf in August.

I have been the editor of NewsLeaf since 1996, and editor of e-NewsLeaf since 1998, and now I am the editor of Families - the journal of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

It will seem strange not to have the editorship of NewsLeaf in which I worked directly with the Regional Directors and Chairs of the Branches of the OGS, but am pleased to know that it will be in good hands with Joyce.

From e-Announce of March 4th, 2011 -

The Ontario Genealogical Society is pleased to announce the appointment of Joyce Fingland as Editor of NewsLeaf and e-NewsLeaf.

Currently the Editor of Kingston Relations, Joyce is an active OGS member who belongs to the Kingston, Quinte, and Ottawa branches. She has worked on the Kingston Branch Publications Committee and has authored several books about the history of her family as well as an article about British Home Children. Joyce also brings extensive technical and layout experience from her work with the Limestone District School Board.

Joyce will be taking over the position previously held by Elizabeth Lapointe, who was recently appointed Editor of Families, and who can now direct all of her energies to that endeavour.

We are happy to have Joyce with us, and look forward to her work on NewsLeaf.

OGS 50th Anniversary Events

With the 50th Anniversary of the Ontario Genealogical Society to be celebrated from the 13th to the 15th of May in beautiful downtown Hamilton, there are five areas of interest which you can read about, and in some cases, take a part of - Golden Anniversaries, Top 50 in 50, the Conference itself, the OGS Cruise, and TONI.

Links to the above can be found at www.ogs.on.ca/home/news.php, from which the following are found -

"Ontario Genealogical Society’s 50th Anniversary
In 2011, the OGS will be 50 years old. The OGS Board has approved the following celebrations and projects to commemorate the occasion.

Conference 2011
To be held in Hamilton on May 13 to 15, this will be our birthday party. Details can be found on the OGS website and through our blog. Don Hinchley, Past President pastpresident@ogs.on.ca, is Conference Chair.

Cruise
We will hold a genealogical cruise of the east coast of North America in September 2011. This is a continuation of our birthday party. For information on the ‘ports of call’ and the dates and costs, please see the website. Mary Rossiter, Director of Region 10 director10@ogs.on.ca, and Cathy Blackburn, Director of Region 9 director09@ogs.on.ca, are leaders of this project.

Golden Anniversary Family Histories
For the 25th anniversary, OGS requested family histories and received 620 of them. We are seeking more family histories for our 50th, with a particular request for updates to the histories produced for the 25th. These family histories will join the 3 500 family histories now in our library and will go into our e-Library, ensuring that the histories are never lost and making them available worldwide. Paul McAlister, Director of Region 11 director11@ogs.on.ca, is leader of this project.

Top 50 in 50
We are asking the OGS Branches and Regions to name three or four OGS Members (current or past, including Family and Associate) who have made a significant contribution to Branch/Region/OGS, with a description of their accomplishments. From these proposals we will select the Top 50 as a way to honour those who have worked mostly in the Branches. Don Hinchley, pastpresident@ogs.on.ca is leader of this project.

TONI (The Ontario Name Index)
Indexes, particularly name indexes, are the most valuable thing a genealogical society can produce. We are going to create a single index of Ontario names, indicating where information about that person can be found. The index will go on the public part of the OGS website so that anyone can access it. TONI will show:
First name
Last name
Record type (birth, marriage, death, obit, tombstone, newspaper article, etc, etc)
Date of event, at least to the decade
Location of event, at least the county
Where the full information may be found

OGS currently has over two million names indexed online but not in one index. It will be straightforward to bring TONI to ten million entries and it has the potential to reach fifty million entries. Mike More, Director of Region 8 director08@ogs.on.ca, is leader of this project."

Just to take one feature (Golden Anniversary Family Histories), it is remembered that for their 25th anniversary, OGS requested family histories, and received 620 of them. This number of family histories has since increased to over 3,500 in number. These family histories are in the OGS Library located at the North York Library's Canadiana Section. located on the sixth floor. To celebrate our 50th Anniversary as a Society, we would like to have these histories updated, as well as seek more family histories to add to our library collection.

A number of the current family histories have already been digitized and will be added to our e-Library. This will ensure that the histories are never lost and to make them more accessible to researchers, both locally and worldwide.

In addition, there are a number of family histories located in the libraries of the OGS Branches across the Province that may not be part of the OGS's main library holdings. Where possible, the Branch should be contacted to have these histories updated, as well. It is hoped that a link can be established through their websites.

So as you can see, their is much activity being planned for the OGS' 50th anniversary celebrations. I hope you can join us and partake of these activities.

In case you were not aware, you do not have to be an OGS member to attend the conference. Go to their website for further details.

But if you do wish to join (and we would love to have you), please visit our membership page for membership details (and member advantages).

See you there!

Book Review in Jan/Feb 2011 Family Chronicle Magazine

How delighted I was to open the latest issue of Moorshead Magazine's Family Chronicle and see the book review I did on Janice Nickerson's book, Crime and Punishment in Upper Canada, on page 29.


As I say at the end of the review, "One comes away with the impression that the author has thought long and hard about the importance of research, and has put together a first-rate research guide."

Janice can be reached at janice@uppercanadagenealogy.com

In the May issue of Families, the journal of the Ontario Genealogical Society, and of which I am the editor, there will be an article by Janice on an aspect of crime, plus another review of her book.

Halton Digital Newspaper Archive

L-R: Walter Lewis, Halton Hills Public Library; Bob Crawford, Halton-Peel Branch OGS; Jane Watt, Halton-Peel Branch OGS; Bernie Bradner, Halton-Peel Branch OGS; Mike Payne, Halton-Peel Branch OGS

From Mr. Bob Crawford, Chair of the Halton-Peel Branch OGS www.halinet.on.ca/sigs/ogshp, comes this big news -

"On Wednesday, January 19, 2011, the Halton Hills Library held the official launch of their segment of the Halton Digital Newspaper Archive. This project was completed using software technologies and hosting by Our Ontario as a service of Knowledge Ontario and the financial support of the Halton-Peel Branch OGS.

A number of years ago, Halton-Peel Branch received a financial bequest from a member with the condition that it be used to provide genealogical resources for people to use in their research. After searching for the best places to use this gift, we decided to support the digitization of the newspapers from the area that is now Halton Hills. This includes newspapers like the Acton Free Press, the Georgetown Herald, the Acton Tanner, the Georgetown Independent, and many others.

The collection is on-line now at http://news.halinet.on.ca/search. There are a few areas that need fixing but it is essentially complete from ca. 1867 to 1967. You can now search this collection of newspapers by word or browse by year or day. Often there are images of the actual page from the newspaper so you can read the full text. The OCR software fails occasionally, but is very good, so there are not many search errors."

Congratulations to Bob, the Branch, and the Halton Hills Library for both the launch and for making this tool available to researchers everywhere. Thanks, also, to Our Ontario and to Knowledge Ontario for their assistance in the fruition of this project, and to the anonymous member, whose financial bequest made it possible.

Mi'kmaq Ancestry

A notice was received from the Halifax Public Library which may be of interest to people with Mi'kmaq (Micmac, formerly) ancestry.

============

Hi everyone,

Have a look at our new resource page on the Mi'kmaq, including images, a beginner guide to genealogy research, resources from our catalogue, digital collections, and a selection of articles from magazines and journals.

http://www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/research/topics/mikmaqresources.html

All the best,

Joanne

Joanne McCarthy
Librarian
Tantallon and JD Shatford Public Libraries
(902) 826-3333 (phone)
(902) 826-3328 (fax)

http://www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/hfxpublib

Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hfxpublib

Clarification of OGS Fee Increase

January 13, 2011

Erroneous Publication of an OGS Fee Increase

Just after the holidays, there was an erroneous statement published on a private blog that is causing concern. It was claimed that there is discussion within the Society of a further fee increase and that there was a notion to require OGS members to also be a member of their local branch.

On behalf of the Board and the Executive, I would like to inform our members that neither of these ideas has been discussed at this time.

As one of the Board's responsibilities, fees are discussed at least once a year. Any fee increase recommended must then be approved by the membership. The Board is not recommending a change to the fee structure for 2011. The fee will remain the same as in 2010.

As to requiring members to be a member of their local branch, this has not been recommended nor discussed.

I hope that this explanation clarifies all concerns. If there are any further questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me (president@ogs.on.ca) or the Executive Director (ed@ogs.on.ca).

Sincerely,

Nancy Trimble,
President, Ontario Genealogical Society

Crouse-Wanamaker Lecture

For more, please visit the Quinte Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs

Update – The Canada Gazette (1841-1997)

On Monday, the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) commemorated the 170th anniversary of The Canada Gazette by making accessible the digitized back issues on its website dedicated to this official publication. The website is
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/canada-gazette/index-e.html.

A Nation's Chronicle: The Canada Gazette is also available at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/canada-gazette/index.

The press release says that it is often referred to as “the official newspaper of the Government of Canada.”

It goes on to say that "It has informed Canadians of the operations of government and encouraged them to participate in the legislative process".

The database is searched by keywords (for example – keywords such as divorce, immigration and naturalization), and not by a person's name.

For example, from 1867 to 1968, the website says that "a person wishing to obtain a divorce was first required to place a notice of intent to petition the government for an Act of Divorce in the Canada Gazette and in two newspapers in the district or county where the petitioner resided. It was to appear for a six-month period".

An explanation of the Divorce Laws in Canada is given at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-906.008-e.html.

Here is a sample of the divorce records found in the Canada Gazette - -

NOTICE is hereby given that Dame Beatrice Evelyn Tutill, housewife, of the City and District of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, wife of Walter Joseph Bobineky, taxi driver, of the City of Montreal and District of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, will' apply to the Parliament of Canada, at the next or following session thereof, for a bill of divorce from her husband, the said
Walter Joseph Bobinsky, on the ground of adultery.
Dated at Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, this 9th day of July, 1947 .
N. W. JACOBS,
Solicitor for the Applicant
Source: DA Nation's Chronicle: The Canada Gazette, Library and Archives Canada. APPLICATIONS FOR DIVORCE Part I (1947-1997), volume 81, number 30, 26 July 1947, p. 7

A website about Citizenship and Naturalization at the Library and Archives Canada is at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-908.011-e.html.

An example from The Canada Gazette on naturalization is -
Vmldcroecn, Clarence-certification of naturalization No.72000, seriee A, granted at Ottawa, Ontario, on July 28, 1930.

Source: A Nation's Chronicle: The Canada Gazette, Library and Archives. Canada DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE OF CANADA,THE CANADIAN Citizenship ACT Part I (1947-1997), volume 83, number 29, 16 July 1949, p. 4

Lambton Lifeline - December 2010

Lambton Lifeline is the newsletter of the Lambton Branch of the OGS, is published four times a year (March, June, Sept and Dec). The editor, Alan Campbell, can be reached at campbeal@sympatico.ca.

In the issue (December 2010), the members of the Sycamore Lodge No. 151 (IOOF), instituted at Arkona on 24 November, 1874, has been transcribed by Linda Koolen.

It gives their name, their occupation, where they worked, how old they were, and when they were born. It even has a column for comments, of which there are some.

A letter from Melissa Gadsgy to Alfred Zavitz talking about their wedding to take place soon, sent the Lambton Branch on a hunt to find out who these people were, and the results are quite interesting.

The Petrolia Topic (the local newsletter) provides two articles - the first one about the First World War, and the second article is about Petrolia and Area Events.

The remainder of the newsletter concerns a new website, notices, and letters to the editor.

If you wish more information, please visit their website at www.lambton.ogs.on.ca.

BRANTches - November 2010

BRANTches is the publication of the Brant County Ontario Genealogy Society, and its editor is Christine Woodcock.

In the latest edition (November 2010) of the newsletter, it was noted that the September meeting saw Misty DeMeo of the County of Brant Library System give a talk on the digitization project. The first part of the project involved scanning documents and photographs of all kinds, and the second part will involve personal memories and family history.

The October meeting was a 2-day affair which saw the Branch host the British Home Child Memorial Quit Display and the British Home Child Descendants Reunion. By all accounts, it was a great success.

There are many photos of the day in the newsletter, and there were display tables showing the homes were the Home Children in the put when they first came to Canada - Fegan Homes, Barnardo Homes, Miss Marie Rye, Middlemore Homes, MacPherson Homes, National Children's Homes, St. George's Homes, and Quarrier Homes.

There is also an articles on "How to Create a GEDCOM File", "New Books in Our Library", "From the Library Shelf", and "The Adventures of a Ten Dollar Bill: How I Tore Down My Brickwall" in which the editor tells how she found her great-grandfather and great-uncle.

To find out more about the Brant Branch, please visit www.brantcountybranchogs.ca.

The Ottawa Genealogist - Nov/Dec 2010

The Ottawa Genealogist is is now published four times a year by the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society www.ogsottawa.on.ca. The editor is Edward Kipp, and he can be reached at editor@ogsottawa.on.ca. The Branch recently switched to an electronic version, with the paper-bound edition now an option.

In the November/December 2010 edition is an article by Elizabeth Kipp about blogging called, "Blogging - sharing genealogy in a different way".

In the article, Elizabeth tells how and why she set up a blog to describe her research trip to Salt Lake City, and posted to it on quite a regular basis while she was there.

Her blog address is kippeeb.blogspot.com.

Meanwhile, her husband and fellow genealogist, Edward Kipp, tells us about "Jones Falls and Col. By".

He gives a history of the Falls, and on page 157 and 158 are pictures of the dam at Jones Locks, and on page 160, there are sources as well as pictures of the Locks, painted in the middle 1800s.

There are two articles from The Ottawa Citizen called the "Old-Time Stuff" (the first article is called "Col. By instituted Toll Gates Here; in '28 Put Tax on the First Bridge" October 18, 1824, and the second article "Where the Soldiers Lived on Barrack Hill" published March 23, 1924).

Other articles and features include the "Electronic Notebook" by Mike More, "Gleanings from Newsletters in the Ottawa Branch library" by Heather Oakley, and "John Thorton, Charles Waterston, and William Wilson" by Robert Serre.

All-in-all, an interesting read, as usual.