Family Heritage Day

There will be an open house at the Brant Branch OGS, 118 Powerline Rd in Brantford on February the 18th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

All our facilities will be available for examination and research.

No admission charge.

There is adequate parking.

For details and directions please call 519-753-4140 or e-mail brantogs@bellnet.ca

To go to the website, click on to www.ogs.on.ca/brant

Turner Valley Oilfields Death Index

The Alberta Family History Society announces that their Our Projects Committee has been at it again!

This time, they have created a NEW searchable database of over 2,500 records, called the Turner Valley Oilfields Death Index, 1998..

You just put in the surname in the search box, and if your ancestor is there, it will return the surname, given name, date of death, date of burial, the place where the person died, the cemetery where he/she is buried, and the source for the information eg obituary, newspaper article

A big “Thank You” goes out to Florence Denning, and the Our Project Committee for the amount of work in this project, and bringing it to its completion.

To go to the database, click on http://afhs.ab.ca/data/announcements/turner/search.php

Library and Archives Canada Update: Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1916 Database

The Library and Archives Canada has just released this piece of news –

“In 1916, the Canadian government enumerated, for the second time, the Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta) in order to track the high rates of population growth in western Canada.

Previously, users could search only by geographical information such as province, district and sub-district. It is now possible to also search by nominal information such as name, given name(s) and age for an individual.

Previously, users could search only by geographical information such as province, district and sub-district. It is now possible to also search by nominal information such as name, given name(s) and age for an individual”.

Go to www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1916/Pages/1916.aspx

Panel Discussion and Roundtable About the New Canadian Museum of History Will Be Held in Gatineau, Quebec

The Museum of Civilization has issued a press release about a meeting to be held at the museum in Gatineau, Quebec Thursday evening January the 31st. I will be listening in on the webcasts to see what is being said -

“After visiting nine cities, the Canadian Museum of Civilization will hold the last panel discussion and roundtable of its cross-country tour back on home soil at the Museum on Thursday, January 31 to invite the public to participate in the creation of the new Canadian Museum of History.

The new exhibition gallery, which will be inaugurated in 2017, will present the national history of Canada and its people. Representatives from the Museum are travelling the country asking Canadians what they would like to see in this new exhibition.

And now, people in the Ottawa/Gatineau area will be able to give their opinions on the themes, personalities, events and milestones that tell the Canadian story, and choose the objects that they would include in the new Canadian Museum of History.

The public is invited to attend panel and roundtable discussions on Thursday, January 31, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, at 100 Laurier Street in Gatineau, Quebec.

The evening will kick off with a dynamic panel discussion—My History Museum: A to Zed —where special guests will be asked what they would put in a Canadian history museum of their making. It will be followed by a roundtable discussion where the public will be asked how they would like to engage with their national history museum. How can the Museum meet their needs and interests, and what would they like to see included in it?

For those who cannot attend the evening event in person, a virtual roundtable discussion will take place simultaneously. The panel discussions will also be webcast live. To participate in the virtual roundtable and watch the panel discussions, the public will be able to log on during the event through the Museum's website at www.civilization.ca.

Visit the "My History Museum" website to confirm your attendance at the panel and roundtable discussions. If you cannot attend the session in person or virtually, you can also share your ideas with us on the website by participating in a range of activities and by completing the online survey”.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

A New Genealogical Society is Born

The Western Genealogical and Historical Association of Newfoundland and Labrador held its first meeting this Saturday at the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University in Corner Brook.

They elected their executive, launched their website (which is very good, and I believe will get better once they put more material on, such as the history of St. Barbe, Ship Registers etc), and it looks like they are off to a fantastic start.

For the news report on the society, go to the website of The Western Star at http://www.thewesternstar.com/News/Local/2013-01-25/article-3163603/First-meeting-of-genealogy-group-set-for-Saturday/1

And to go to their brand new website, it is at www.boigenealogy.com

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Newspaper Articles - 28 January 2013

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 –

Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group http://cefresearch.ca Dedicated to the Study of the Canadian Expeditionary Force of The Great War of 1914 – 1919. If you are looking for an ancestor who fought in the First Would War, this may be the place you have been searching for to place your query.

Grimsby’s pioneer history attracts a wide audience www.niagarathisweek.com/opinion/columns/article/1569117--grimsby-s-pioneer-history-attracts-a-wide-audience Grimsby’s Annals of the Forty, a 10-volume book set written in the 1950s by Ruby Janet Powell, a local descendant of the Pettit family, is being updated by the Grimsby Historical Society.

Five free things to do in Salt Lake City: Take a break from the ski hills and discover museums, Mormon temple www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Five+free+things+Salt+Lake+City/7802881/story.html  A fun piece to read before you go to Salt Lake City.

Tasha Kheiriddin: The problems with the Daniels decision http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/01/10/tasha-kheiriddin-the-problems-with-the-daniels-decision The National Post newspaper reports that even though the judgment may be appealed to the Supreme Court, it is likely to have an immediate effects on genealogy websites, as Canadians track down potential native ancestors.

York group helps you learn about your past www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1570197--york-group-helps-you-learn-about-your-past The York Region newspaper repots that Ken Ackles has just been elected as president of the York Region Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

To go to the York Region Branch of the OGS, go to www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onyrbogs

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

They Have Sold Canada Post Building in Vancouver

The CBC reports that Canada Post has sold its building in Vancouver to a developer, and there one person who is not pleased with this news, and it  is Donald Luxton, president of the local heritage group.

He is afraid the building will be lost forever because it is not officially designated as a heritage building.

Next year, Canada Post will start moving into a new facility being built at Vancouver International Airport

Read about the concern the Luxton has about the building in the CBC story at www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/01/26/bc-heritage-concerns-canada-post.html

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Westmount Historical Association

The Westmount Historical Association of Montreal has set a plaque in the GLEN to explain the centuries of use by humans.

In the 1800s, Scottish immigrants who built large homes on the sunny slopes of Westmount walked beside the streams to reach the church and the railway station in St. Henri. In the early 1700s, the French farming families who were deeded land along Côte St. Antoine Road transported their farm produce to market in Ville-Marie through the GLEN.

Before that, the Native People of the area walked to the petite St. Pierre River.

You are urged to bring your children and your visitors to Montreal to view this important transportation link running between Westmount and St. Henri as it takes you under the magnificent CPR Railway Arch.

To read more about the Westmount Historical Association, go to www.westmounthistorical.org

They have extensive archives located at the Westmount Public Library, and they have 1800 photographs, along with smaller collections of ephemera, pamphlets and personal papers. They also have extensive subject files relating to the history of Westmount.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Leeds and Grenville OGS Involved with Marking Lost Cemetery

A long-neglected cemetery connected to the House of Industry that is now Maple View Lodge near Athens, Ontario will be cordoned off this spring with a fence surrounding approximately 150 gravesites.

The facility was built in 1895, it was the first house for the poor east of Toronto, and it could hold 90 'inmates'. Among the first inmates were 38 Canadians, 15 Irish, nine English, two French and two Americans.

Leeds and Grenville Branch of the OGS has been busy with the project, and if you want to know more about it, you can go to the Brockville Recorder newspaper site at http://www.recorder.ca/2013/01/15/project-marks-lost-cemetery
The Leeds and Grenville ranch of the OGS websuite is at www.leedsandgrenvillegenealogy.com

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

REQUEST FOR OLD PHOTOS OF WOMEN’S (ICE) HOCKEY PLAYERS

Lynda Baril is preparing a “coffee table book” on ladies’ ice hockey history in Quebec.

Since the 1890s, women have been playing, among other places, in Montreal, Sherbrooke, Quebec City, Three-Rivers and Lachute. And Anglo-Quebecers (English) have been the real pioneers of the game in the province.

So, if you have stories to share or old pictures (1890-1940) of Quebec women’s teams or action shots of women playing hockey, she be very grateful if you could contact her at lyndabaril@yahoo.ca

To read more about the subject, go to the following sites -

The 10 Best Quebec Women's Hockey Players of All Time
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1302677-the-ten-best-quebec-womens-hockey-players-of-all-time

List of ice hockey teams in Quebec http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ice_hockey_teams_in_Quebec

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

A Graphic History of Canada at War

Remember when graphic books were only for the younger set?

Well, writers and graphic artists wondered if adults would be interested in graphic books. Could they become involved with subjects that would interest them – for example, the Second World War.

So a new graphic book called Canada at War, reviewed by Ottawa’s Tim Cook, takes us into the Second World War where Canada sent 1.1 million soldiers in uniform from 1939 to 1945, and they fought on land, at sea, and in the air around the world.

Read the review as Tim explores the strengths and weaknesses of this book.

Read the review at Canada’s Historic Magazine at www.canadashistory.ca/Books/Lire-sur-l%E2%80%99histoire/Reviews/Canada-at-War--A-Graphic-History-of-World-War-Two.aspx

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

The PEIGS Plans “A Paternal Party”

The PEI Guardian reports that the Prince Edward Island Genealogical Society is getting ready for the 150th anniversary of the Prince Edward Island Fathers of Confederation who met for the Charlottetown Conference in 1864

The research that they are doing now will mean that they will have a variety of custom-made activities over a three-day period in September 2014. Those activities will include celebrations and tours of the places where the fathers would have lived, their burial spaces and more.

People who have done genealogical work on George Coles, John Hamilton Gray, Andrew Archibald MacDonald, Thomas Heath Havilland, Edward Palmer and William Henry Pope are encouraged to contact peigs_queries@yahoo.ca.

Read the story in the newspaper at www.theguardian.pe.ca/Arts/Entertainment/2013-01-24/article-3163156/A-paternal-party/1

The website of the PEIGS is www.peigs.ca

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Family Day

The Bruce & Grey Branch of the OGS will be participating in Family Day at the LDS Family History Centre.

They will hold a meeting where you can exchange your ideas, and ask questions about genealogy. Some of the questions are “Just Starting? Have a pile of info you don’t know what to do with? Need help? Just need to organize?” Come and let us point you in the right direction.

The date of the meeting will be Monday, February 18, 2013, and it will be held at the LDS Family History Centre, 490 2nd Ave., South East, Owen Sound, Ontario. The time of the meeting will be 10:00 pm. and it will end at 3:00 pm.
The website is www.bruceandgreygenealogy.com

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

City of Saskatoon North Downtown Master Plan Open House

On January 26th 2013, the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada will hold a meeting at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market where the City of Saskatoon will start a master plan for the North Downtown area, and they want to hear what your thoughts and comments are.

The session runs from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. The City wants to design a new neighbourhood that is: environmentally friendly, well-connected to the things you need to meet your daily needs, easy to walk around in, celebrates the city’s heritage, built around amenities like green public spaces, and a vibrant and great place to live.

Additional information is available at www.saskatoon.ca

The Wikipedia page is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatoon

The Saskatoon Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society is at
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sksgs

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Duncan Family History Centre

There will be Free genealogy class at the Duncan Family History Centre at Duncan Library, Duncan, British Columbia, on Saturday, January the 26th, and February the 9th.

On the 26th, they will give the course "Beyond the Basics (or Discovering the Dash), and on Saturday, the 9th of February, there will give another free class on "Searching for Your Eastern European Roots."

To read about the family history center, go to
https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Duncan_British_Columbia_Family_History_Centre#Upcoming_Events

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Collected Photos Goes Digital

CTV Saskatoon is reporting that Adrian Paton has assembled over 8,000 photos showcasing the early years of the province’s history. And they are being scanned and are going online at Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society.

He says it started out as a genealogical project, but it didn’t take long for him to branch out to local history, and then instead of searching for photos, people started bringing them directly to him.

To read more about the story, go to http://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/collection-of-8-000-photos-of-early-sask-goes-digital-1.1119222#ixzz2Ijtc1kep

The website of the Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society is http://shfs.ca

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

East Nissouri History Book – Sold Out

We get this news from The Tracer, the newsletter the Oxford Genealogical Society that “The East Nissouri History Book was published late last year and we hear that it is now sold out. However, it is not too late to submit your family story or something about the East Nissouri community. The History committee will be publishing an annual supplement that they hope will be a repository of bits and pieces of history that might otherwise be lost.

If you didn’t get your family story into the History Book and you run across old photos in the attic or if you want to share your knowledge of the history of a business, an organization or a person in your community. Please contact Patti at eastnissouri@gmail.com or call 519-539-2013.

If you didn’t get a copy of the East Nissouri History book, a copy is available for research at our Resource Centre, 82 Light Street, Woodstock.

The website of the Oxford Genealogical Society is www.oxford.ogs.on.ca

Gold: A Nova Scotia Treasure

From Saturday January 19 to Sunday March 31, 2013 there will be an exhibit at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia where the History of Bling Told in Gold: A Nova Scotia Treasure will be open to visitors. It is the little known 150 year old story of Nova Scotia and its relationship with gold.

The press release says that “Co-curated by Shannon Parker, Curator of Collections at the AGNS and Debra McNabb, Director at the Museum of Industry, this multifaceted exhibition was inspired by the discovery and identification of 15 watercolours by Frederick B. Nichols, rare paintings that document the first of Nova Scotia’s three gold rushes, as well as other industrial landscapes around Halifax. An American engraver and mining engineer, Nichols moved to Nova Scotia in 1865 because of his interest in our gold fields, and worked here as a chemist, mining engineer and professor of geology.

Sponsored by Kinross Gold Corporation the exhibition also features an extensive series of oil sketches by the Group of Seven and all manner of gold items including a Nobel Prize, Anne Murray’s gold record for Snowbird, gold jewellery crafted by Nova Scotian artisans and a stunning collection of gold medals from Nova Scotian athletes”.

To read about gold in Nova Scotia, go to -

Finding Gold in Nova Scotia
http://gemology.knoji.com/finding-gold-in-nova-scotia/

Church's mineral map of Nova Scotia. Church, A. F. (Ambrose F.), 1889
www.davidrumsey.com/maps2867.html

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved