A Toronto Genealogy Hero

A genealogy hero, Henry Wellisch, Past President Jewish Genealogical Society of Canada (JGS Canada), turned 90 years old on Sept. 22, 2012, and he will be honoured at the meeting tonigh at the Temple Sinai in Toronto at 8 pm (doors open 7:30 pm).

All members and friends are encouraged to attend this event as well as the presentation that follows called “Travelling Over the Pond” with Harvey Glasner and Les Kelman.

To read about this event, go to www.jgstoronto.ca

Breaking Down the Barriers – Hands-On Genealogy Workshop

Heritage Mississauga and the Halton Peel Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society are pleased to present Breaking Down the Barriers, on Saturday November 3rd, 10 am-4 pm, the fourth in their series of Genealogy Days.

This session is a hands-on workshop for those who have hit brick walls in their research. An esteemed panel of three professional workshop facilitators with over 80 years combined experience in genealogy research will provide personal consultations to participants.

Fawne Stratford-Devai, Dorothy Kew, and Jane Watt will be the special speakers.

This is the exciting part of the announcement - For just $10 per ½ hour session participants will meet personally with a consultant who will help them break down barriers to finding their ancestor. Call to reserve your seat today, space is limited. Reservations must be prepaid

The workshop will be held at Historic Robinson Adamson House, located at 1921 Dundas St. W., Mississauga, ON L5K 1R2. You must call 905.828.8411 ext. "0" to reserve your seat. Space is limited.

For more information, please go to www.heritagemississauga.com for Heritage Mississauga, or the Halton-Peel Branch of the OGS at www.halinet.on.ca/sigs/ogshp

Brant County Branch Fall Workshop

On Saturday, October 27, 2012 there will be a fall workshop from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm at the Brant County Branch Library of the OGS at 114-118 Powerline Road, Brantford.

Morning session speaker will be Zig Misiak, and he will talk about “ Six Nations in the War of 1812” from 1- 4 pm, and John Sietsma will talk about “ Using Computers in Your Research”.

It will be $25.00 with lunch if registered by October 24th, and $30.00 at the door + $5.00 for lunch.

To find out more about the workshop, go to the Brant County Branch www.ogs.on.ca/brant/index.html

Perth County Branch Holds October Meeting

Perth County Branch of the OGS in Stratford, Ontario is having their annual meeting on Saturday, 27 October 2012 from 1-4 pm.

The meeting will take place on the Upper Level at the Stratford Public Library, 19 St. Andrew Street, Stratford, and the speaker will be Lynn Matthison. She will talk about family members who fought in the Boer War, India, WWI, WWII and Bosnia, including a picture board and artifacts.

If you have war stories and memorabilia, bring them along as well.

The website is at www.ogs.on.ca/perth

New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Newspaper Articles - 22 October 2012

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

Welland Public Library www.welland.library.on.ca/e-services/local-history-genealogy They have a Genealogy Database (which has family names in Welland , and you can search this database), as well as the Welland Canal History in the Local History Section of the library.

Ancient village along B.C. river reveals 1,300 years of First Nations history www.globalsaskatoon.com/canada/ancient+village+along+bc+river+reveals+1300+years+of+first+nations+history/6442736678/story.html
The Canadian Press has reported that “While the Babine Lake First Nation knew their ancestors' village was there, it's untilled ground for archeologists” until they discover how large, and important the village was in First Nations history. ..

Trans Canada Trail to be completed by 2017
www.sackvilletribunepost.com/Provincial/2012-10-19/article-3103334/Trans-Canada-Trail-to-be-completed-by-2017/1 The Sackville Tribune reports that the people of the Trans Canada Trail that the goal is to have the remaining 6,200 kilometres open in time for Canada's 150th birthday on July 1, 2017.

You can go to the website of the Trans Canada Trail at http://tctrail.ca

Harvesting local history at the library
www.frontenacthisweek.com/2012/10/05/harvesting-local-history-at-the-library Canada is starting to collect stories for the 150th birthday of Canada in 2017, as they are doing in Kingston, Ontario. Read about the story in the Local News Section in the online newspaper.

Tracing women's history www.royalcityrecord.com/technology/Tracing+women+history/7415110/story.html An article by Archie & Dale Miller in The Record, an online newspaper in New Westminster, B.C., shows that genealogy of women is in local groups such as churches, hospitals, and women’s auxiliary history.

History on rails: Royal Canadian Pacific stops in Minot www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/569895/History-on-rails--Royal-Canadian---.html Read about the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Minot, North Dakota.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Family History Weekend 2012 at Vankleek Hill, Ontario

Two years ago, some friends from Ottawa and I went to Vankleek Hill to take in a Genealogy Fair!

First, we attended pretentions at the Champlain Township Public Library that morning, and later in the afternoon, we went over to the Vankleek Hill Arena/Community Centre to see the such displays as the Tweedsmuir Histories. We also went to the newspaper office of The Review to look at their online digital archives webpage of their website http://thereview.ca/Archive_Landingpage.html, and to talk and be interviewed by the newspaper’s editor, Louise Sproule!

This year, they are doing something a bit different – it will be a two-day affair.

Various venues around town will host the event, which is planned for the weekend of October 27-28.

On Saturday, they plan to have antiques appraisals given by Janet Carlile, who is best known for her work on CBC Television’s "Antiques Roadshow", and Harold MacMillan will give a talk on the Gaelic language at the Vankleek Hill Museum.

On Sunday, Kyla Ubbink, a well-known conservator, will be at the Community Centre to offer a 90-minute workshop, and there will be Walking Tours on Sunday afternoon with Denis Seguin, an architect, who will act as the tour leader and point out the various houses and businesses in the “Gingerbread Capital of Ontario”.

A weekend like this is a great opportunity the share your family history with others. Bring your photos and genealogies, and you can research and talk to others – for FREE! You might even break down a brick wall while you are there!

To contact the Family History Weekend, email the organizers at family@vankleek.ca or call them at 613.678.2323.

The event is hosted by the Vankleek Hill & District Historical Society as a fundraiser for the Vankleek Hill Museum. Visit their website for details www.vankleek.ca.

Canada's Person’s Day 2012

The Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case was created in 1979 to mark the 50th anniversary of this groundbreaking case, which changed the course of history for women in Canada. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/dates/gg/index-eng.html

Every year, on Person’s Day, October the 18th, people gather at the statue erected to these five Alberta women known as the "Famous Five"—Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy, and Irene Parlby—who had taken the case to the courts in 1927 to protest the fact that before their time, women were not considered as people when it came to Senate appointments.

These women saw this case to the Court of Privy Council, when on October 18, 1929, it declared that both men and women could be considered as “people” when it came to their appointment to the Senate Court of Appeal – the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain.

On a warm and sunny day, people gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for tea and cookies at the statue to the five women who fought the case to have women recognized as “persons” in Canadian political life.

On hand to partake in the event was Corinne Gallant of Moncton, New Brunswick, one of the five recipients of this year's awards. The other recipients are Caroline Andrew, Régine Alende Tshombokongo, and two Youth Recipients, Saara Bhanji and Joanne Cave. Their biographies are listed at www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/dates/gg/index-eng.html#tab2

June Coxon (L), President of the Media Club of Ottawa, with Maria Neil, President of the Ottawa Council of Women, next to the statues of Nellie McClung and Irene Parlby (R)

For more information, go to the following websites –

The Famous Five (Canada) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_(Canada)

Are Women Persons? The “Persons” Case www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/015/002/015002-2100-e.html

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved.

Sisters Of Saint Anne Historic Centre

The Old Convent of the Sisters of Saint Anne in Montreal is offering an unique way of exploring the presence of the Sisters of Saint Anne in Lachine from 1860 to 2010, and that unique way is through podcasts!.

They say that "You can now take a guided tour at your own pace that focuses on the history of the buildings that now comprise Collège Sainte-Anne and the Sisters of Saint Anne Historic Centre. Located near the Lachine Canal, the Convent Complex is a major point of interest in the borough of Lachine that attests to the important religious, educational and cultural heritage left by the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne".

Visitors can also download the podcast on their own MP3 player from the Conseil’s website at www.patrimoine-religieux.qc.ca/en/activites/eglises/cssa.php or from the Historic Centre’s website at www.ssacong.org/musee

The Historic Centre is open from Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. until October 31, and Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from November 1 to June 1.

Free admission. Reservations required for groups of 8 or more.

For more information, please call us at 51.637.4616, ext. 212 or e-mail us at chssa@bellnet.ca.

The “Discovering the Convent Complex of the Sisters of Saint Anne” podcast is a production of the Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec. It is available in English and French. 

Manitoba Heritage Tattoo Cancelled

On Friday, October the 12th, I wrote about the Manitoba Heritage Tattoo to be held on the 27th of October, and now it has been cancelled due to lack of tickets sales.

Read the full story at the Brandon Sun
www.brandonsun.com/breaking-news/Manitoba-Heritage-Tattoo-cancelled-174609701.html?thx=y

Kitchener Public Library Genealogy Fair

The Kitchener Public Library is holding their second annual Genealogy Fair on Saturday, November 3 from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. There is no registration, simply drop by. FREE admission!

The Keynote Speaker will be Kevin James, Professor of History, Centre for Scottish Studies, University of Guelph, and he will speak at 10:00 am in the Kitchener City Hall Rotunda. The subject will be "Connecting Family and Public Histories"

The press release says that “Drawing on novel examples of partnerships using sources from census returns to cookbooks, Kevin explores recent efforts to connect family history and genealogy to 'public' history, and talks about exciting new directions for collaborations between historians (amateur and professional), of the family, of the state and of society. Kevin’s research focuses on comparative Scottish and Irish social history.”

To find more information about the Fair, go to www.kpl.org/programs/program_listings/all.html#genealogy

There will be more than 25 exhibits and vendors!

The Canadian Museum of History

Monday I wrote about the pending announcement about the renaming and rebranding of the Museum of Civilization, and as luck would have it – the announcement was made yesterday!

The Museum of Civilization will be renamed The Canadian Museum of History, and Toronto Star reporter, Susan Delacourt of the Ottawa Bureau, among others, covered the story in the
www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1272496--civilization-ends-history-begins-at-canada-s-biggest-museum

The Museum of Civilization has background on the story, The Canadian Museum of History at a Glance, at their website at
www.civilization.ca/about-us/canada-history-museum

The Ontario Name Index TONI

The goal of TONI is to include EVERY name found in any publication relating to Ontario. The index will go over a million entries in October.

The members of the Ontario Genealogical Society is indexing this list. It is free, and open to everyone at www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_database1.php

New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Newspaper Articles - 15 October 2012

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

Wanuskewin Heritage Park wanuskewin.yastechserver.com Wanuskewin Heritage Park is a national historic site on the Great Plains of North America. Before European settlement in the area, Crow, Blackfoot, Cree, Nakota, Dakota, Salteaux, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Shoshoni, Kiowa, Comanche and other First Nations people lived there.

Mennonite Historical Society of Saskatchewan (MHSS) http://mhss.sk.ca/index.shtml There are many records onsite, for example, family histories, obituaries, church history, and death notices.

News Flash! Museum of Civilization to get new focus www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/museum-of-civilization-to-get-new-focus/article4611129/?cmpid=rss1 Daniel Leblans from The Globe and Mail reports that the Museum of Civilization will be re-named this week to either the Canadian Museum of History or the Museum of Canadian History.

Column: Mysteries in the family history www.saanichnews.com/opinion/173595151.html Don Denton is looking into his family history, and has concluded “ Families are odd things and family history is often odder.”

Fairview celebrates Alberta Culture Days www.fairviewpost.com/2012/10/02/fairview-celebrates-alberta-culture-days Fairview Fine Arts Centre in Alberta celebrated Alberta Culture Days with an open house Sept. 28 and 29. They observed Culture Days in order to celebrate “our artistic sector, heritage, cultural diversity and provincial pride.”

Autumn 2012 Issue of QFHS “Connections”

Roots and Branches of My Maternal Family Tree is an article by Dawn Miller Ouellette in which she tells of the years of researching to try and find who David McConaghie (her maternal grandfather) was, and why no one wanted to talk about him!

Although she never really discovered what happened to David, she does point out the importance of using LDS records, and of belonging to the Quebec Family History Society in order to research correctly.

In his article, Sex in the City and Edwardian Mores, Robert N. Wilkins tells of stories run by the Montreal Star in which early 19^th Century people were gossiping of “salacious stories” that were heard in court on a fairly regular basis.

The remainder of Connections has a list of their events, library news, Computree, queries, and other news and notes that will help you become more knowledgeable about Quebec genealogy.

Their website is www.qfhs.ca

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved.

Perth & District, Ontario

A 64-page booklet about the town of Perth, located 60 minutes southwest of Ottawa, has been put together by the Perth & District Chamber of Commerce. Among the topics listed within the booklet is “Museum and Libraries”.

The eight are –

Matheson House – Perth Museum

Visit the 19th-century home at the museum, and beside the home, see exhibits on the Last Fatal Duel, and the Mammoth Cheese.

Outdoors is a Scottish garden containing flowering plants and shrubs true to the era (that I would like to see), and an outdoor bake oven and kitchen herb garden.

The website is at www.town.perth.on.ca/siteengine/activepage.asp?pageid=97

Hall of Remembrance Museum

This museum is on the second floor of the Royal Canadian Legion, and has artifacts of the Boer War, World War One and Two, Korea, and  Afghanistan.

The website is at www.lanarkcountymuseums.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=20

Lanark and District Museum

There are genealogical books in their library, as well as exhibits of early pioneers life in Lanark County. They have the archives of William Caldwell, one of the earliest lumber barons of the area.

Go to their website at www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/GetMuseumProfile.do?lang=en&chinCode=guadsp

Middleville and District Museum

Housed in a 1861 two-storey stone house, the exhibits includes a horse-drawn hearse!

There are original genealogy and family history records onsite, and a 1830s log cabin.

The website is www.middlevillemuseum.blogspot.com

Dalhousie Historic Library and Museum

This is the oldest rural library in Ontario, and it includes books donated by Lord Dalhousie in 1828, plus genealogical records.

There isn’t a website.

Archives Lanark

This archives is operated by the Lanark County Genealogical Society, and it contains deeds from 1868 to 1958, land records, newspaper clippings, and photos.

Their website is www.globalgenealogy.com/archiveslanark

Perth and District Union Public Library

This library serves the Town of Perth and Drummond/North Elmsley and Tay Valley Townships. They have genealogy books, and book clubs.

The website is at www.perthunionlibrary.ca

Lanark Highlands Public Library

This library has been in operation since 1824, and they have many books on the social and historical aspect of the Lanark Highlands.

The website is www.lanarklibrary.ca

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved.

Manitoba Heritage Tattoo & Festival

On Saturday, October 27, 2012, at 1:30 PM, there will be over 250 participants from across Manitoba who will be at Westman Place, Keystone Centre, in Brandon to perform at the Manitoba Heritage Tattoo & Festival.

The tattoo will feature the Winnipeg Police Pipes, Drums and Dancers, Rusalka Dance Ensemble, RCMP Drill Squad, Sagkeeng's Finest, Brandon University Symphonic Band, and Brandon University Massed Choristers.

There is also an exciting evening featuring the musicians of the RCAF Band's Celtic, Dixieland, and Jazz Ensembles, on Friday October 26th 7:30 pm at Knox United Church. Tickets are $12, and available at the door.

For more information, go to www.mbhtattoo.ca