Research: Information needed on abandoned or deserted buildings

Esther Pilon, a journalist and researcher from Quebec, is working on a documentary series produced by Baroque (a production company in Quebec), and she wants information on abandoned or deserted buildings in the province. The series will be broadcasted on the Historia channel in 2015.

She is looking for abandoned or deserted buildings that have either been closed recently or for some time some examples are: farms, houses, factories, country homes, chapels or churches, stores etc…

Her goals is to hopefully be able to show these places in their historic and anthropological perspective. The documentary series will present these places with the input of antique specialists and historians. Also, she would like to meet and talk with people who have worked as employees in the factories or lived in the houses and or country homes, or know the places as past clients, student or attended the churches. 

For every abandoned place there are human stories.

This documentary series is a project of Baroque, a documentary producer from Montreal. Their recent projects include a history of taverns that will be broadcasted on Historia in 2014.

To send your information or to contact Esther, please either write to her at  6255 St-Vallier, Montréal, H2S 2P6, or at estherpilonrecherchiste@gmail.com . Her  . telephone number: 514-967-9541.

Historia TV Channel is at www.historiatv.com

UPDATE: TONI (The Ontario Name Index)

Since last reporting on TONI (The Ontario Name Index) earlier this spring, nearly 2 ½ million entries have been added.

TONI, as an index, is FREE for everyone the world over. In order to access information found in the databases you must pay a small fee. All proceeds from those fees support Ontario's heritage community.

Go to www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_database1.php to read more about TONI, and to see if the name who are researching, is there.

IRISH COMMUNITY SUMMER PARTY

The Federation of Irish Societies invites you to a Cross Community Get Together and the Special Guest will be Dr. Ray Bassett, Ambassador of Ireland to Canada

Bring your friends and meet new ones. There will be traditional Irish music and it will be provided by SIAMSA. Happy hour prices and complimentary finger food.

It will take place on Tuesday, June 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the The Irish Embassy Pub & Grill, 1234 Bishop Street, Montreal (on the back patio).

The website of the United Irish Societies of Montreal is www.montrealirishparade.com/gallery/index.php

Their Facebook page is www.facebook.com/pages/United-Irish-Societies-of-Montreal/102884813130606

Ancestry.ca - Life Before Canada

Ancestry.ca has just released Life Before Canada, in which their “collection of Canadian Pre–Confederation Records can help paint a picture of life in the years leading to the birth of our nation. Remarkable in their detail, you may even find out what your ancestor looked like! Learn about officers and soldiers in the British Army and Navy, early emigrants from Ireland, Scotland and England, Rideau Canal workers in the first years of Bytown (Ottawa) and prisoners of the War of 1812”.

Get to know the history of Canada through Canadian Pre–Confederation Records and discover even more about the country you call “home”.

Go to www.ancestry.ca/150years?o_xid=55887&o_lid=55887&o_sch=Email

to start searching.

Contest - Your Canadian Brick Walls

To celebrate Canada Day on July 1^st — the 146^th anniversary of Canada as a country — I am running a contest to do a free research consultation for each of the winners.

All you have to do it to submit one of your Canadian brick wall questions to me at genealogyresearch@aol.com

I will choose four lucky winners to help breakdown that brick wall. It must concern your Canadian genealogy, from anywhere in Canada, and at any time, and, of course, contain a Canadian ancestor.

Please note that having an ancestor land and/or pass through Canada also counts, as my research speciality is inter-migration between Canada and the United States, and also immigration to Canada from “across the Pond”.

For more information on my research business, please visit www.elrs.biz  

So, why am I picking four winners?

Well, because you must first answer this skill-testing question – name the four provinces that made up the country of Canada on July 1^st, 1867, the date of Canada’s Confederation.

So send me your Canadian brick walls now, and on July 1^st, I’ll choose four of them to work on.

Good luck!

Elizabeth

Update on the 1921 Canadian Census

It is being reported that the Canadian House Of Commons has adjourned for the summer as of this morning.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/18/house-of-commons-adjourns_n_3462799.html?ref=topbar

Also, word has been received that Heritage Minister James Moore has gone on leave until June 24th.

Do not despair, and keep writing those letters and making those phone calls to Minister Moore over the summer, to see if we can get this census released as soon as possible.

His contact information is available here - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2013/06/breaking-news-1921-census-of-canada.html

Meanwhile, I would like to thank all my readers who have written, called, and sent emails to his office so far. The response has been outstanding.

And my thanks, as well, to all those who have shared, or will share, this valuable information.

Please keep posted for further updates as I receive them.

Summer schedule at QFHS

Susan writes to tell us about the summer hours at the QFHS -

The Quebec Family History Society in Montreal is gradually assuming our summer

schedule, please note the following open and closure dates.

The library and office will now be closed on Sundays until after Labour Day - Sept 2nd.

The library and office will be closed Monday, June 24 for the St. Jean Baptist holiday, and Monday, July 1 for Canada Day holiday.

Our complete summer schedule will start Tuesday, June 25,(with the exception of the above mentioned holidays) the Quebec Family History Society will be open weekdays, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:00 am to 3:00 p.m.

For full details of our fall schedule of events please refer to our Fall issue of our journal, Connections, or refer to the Events page at QFHS website.

Have a safe and happy summer.

The website is at www.qfhs.ca

Breaking News - 1921 Census of Canada

A reliable source from the LAC has just phoned me to ask that I inform my readers, genealogists, and others interested in their Canadian families, that the 1921 Canadian Census has already been digitized, and has been ready for release since last Wednesday, 12 June, but it is being held back by the federal government before it is released.

So if you want the census released NOW, it has been suggested that you write the Heritage Minister, The Honourable James Moore, and ask that the 1921 Canadian Census be released now.

Minister Moore’s mailing address is: The Hon. James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage & Official Languages, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6.

His telephone number is 613-992-9650, and his fax number is 613-992-9868.

He can also be reached online at www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/minstr/moore/cntct/index-eng.cfm, or by direct email at james.moore@parl.gc.ca

Remember, there is no postage required for sending snail-mail to Members of Parliament in Canada from within Canada.

Canadian Week in Review for 17 June 2013

17 June 2013

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

Websites

There has been an update forwarded to me by Glenn Wright about last week’s story re the archival facility at Conrad Grebel University College. The Waterloo Region Record is reporting that the federal government has announced that they are providing “the college with $150,000 through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund. The funding will support new specialized equipment used in preserving and exhibiting archival materials. The Mennonite Archives collects, preserves and exhibits historical records about the lives and experiences of Mennonites”.

Thank you, Glenn.

The story is in the Waterloo Region Record and is entitled Mennonite Archives receives $150,000 funding; Federal investment for new equipment and is at www.therecord.com/news-story/3832396-mennonite-archives-receives-150-000-in-federal-funding

Blogs

One Gnarled Tree http://siemsgenealogy.blogspot.com This is a new blog where the blogger is researching family members in Ontario through the Random Person of the Day.

Trials and Travails of My Forebears  www.andrewdaft.com This is also a new blog, and the blogger is trying to connect his family from Pacific Northwest back to Canada, and back to Germany.

Facebook- YouTube – Video

Eva Brook Donly Museum & Archives www.facebook.com/evabrookdonly Lynn Palermo

sent me a notice about this Facebook page, and if you are from this area, or have ancestors who were from this area, this is a very informative page. Thank you, Lynn.

The Ireland Special Interest Group  www.facebook.com/groups/535155983215111 John Noble writes that “This group provides another means for those interested in Irish Research to share their stories and challenges, and at the same time seek out those who may have the same interests as they do”.

Newspapers

Cemetery discovery brings history to life

www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa/Cemetery+discovery+brings+history+life/8501835/story.html

A Pembroke, Ontario man uncovered the graves of three brothers, all veterans of the War of 1812.

Underwear exhibit stripped from the schedule of Canadian Museum of Civilization

www.vancouversun.com/travel/Underwear+exhibit+stripped+from+schedule+Canadian+Museum/8523198/story.html "Undressed," the title of an exhibition which goes through the 350 years in the history of underwear, has been taken off of the museum's schedule as it shifts its focus to Canadian history.

Manitoba Museum to begin sharing artifacts www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/06/14/mb-manitoba-museum-sharing-artifacts.html

The Manitoba Museum and the museum in Hull, Quebec, signed a partnership agreement in Winnipeg. There is an expectation that there will be hundreds of similar agreements signed with museums across Canada.

Story of the Week

Celebrate Canada

Celebrate Canada is a ten day celebration that takes place from June 21 to July 1.

There are a number of holidays which takes place within this 10 day period, and they are -

National  Aboriginal Day on June 21

Celebrated on the date of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, it is the National Aboriginal Day.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on June 24

This is a French-Canadian holiday, where they express their cultural pride and rich heritage through colourful parades and lively parties.

Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27

Canadian Multiculturalism Day is a day on which Canadians celebrate our diversity and our commitment to democracy, equality, and mutual respect.

Canada Day

On October 27, 1982, through an act of Parliament, July 1st—which was known as "Dominion Day"—would now become known as "Canada Day".

Every year, we celebrate Canada Day, and for us in Ottawa, that usually means that we go to Parliament Hill to enjoy a day of music (and speeches), and we usually stay for the fireworks at night. It’s a fun day!

The next Canadian Week in Review will be issued Monday June 24, 2013.

GenealogyCanada named as one of the Top 90 Blogs

As you will see if you look to the right side of my blog, you will see that my blog has been chosen as one of THE TOP 90 GENEALOGY BLOGS of 2013 by FreePeopleSearch.org.

They say that “Fortunately, there are a great number of talented and experienced genealogists willing to share their information, advice, and expertise through their blogs. Some of these are simply records of personal family searches while others are treasure troves of research methodology, resources, technological aids, and genealogical news and events”.

My blog is number 8 in the Ethnic & Regional Orientation.

Thank you, FreePeopleSearch.org, for listing GenealogyCanada as one of blogs to follow!

To read the full article, go to http://freepeoplesearch.org/blog/the-top-90-genealogy-blogs.html

Quebec Heritage News

If you have never been to the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network (QAHN) website, it is worth the visit.

It was founded in 2000, and it mission states that it is “to promote a greater understanding of the history of Quebec’s English-speaking communities by informing, inspiring and connecting people through its activities”.

They have a Facebook page where they have the latest Quebec Heritage News on sale, and they have the latest news on the Hometown Heritage Essay & Heritage Photo Contests on their website at http://qahn.org 

Summer issue of QFHS Connections

The summer issue of the journal of the Quebec Family History Society called Connections have just been released, and it’s full of articles, and other newsy bits of information.

In this issue, there is an article by Mark W. Gallop entitled Downton Abbey and Its Predecessors in which Mark discusses the role that the Whiteoaks of Jalna and Downton Abbey has played in convincing him to follow the life of a genealogist.

Henry’s Story by Peter Sampson tells of how he found Henry Sampson from Quebec City who has died in a shipping accident along the coast of Portugal in 1913.

The news in this issue is that the QFHS can now announce that they have signed an agreement with FamilySearch to become an affiliate with the library. You can now order microfilm and microfiche from the LDS library in Salt Lake City, and can read them at the QFHS library.

They have the latest books that have been received at the library, genealogical software, and the latest events in their public lecture series.

To go to their website, go to http://www.qfhs.ca

Q&A: What does an archive have for me?

Tony Spears, a writer with the Ottawa Citizen, asked Dr. Ian Wilson, the former Head of the Library and Archives Canada, (he retired in 2009), and University of Toronto’s Wendy Duff - what do people want from an archives.

It seems that Wilson said it was genealogy related materials (for instance, like census, immigrant records), and Duff said local history is popular with people.

Dr. Wilson, who gave the 2012 Houston Memorial Lecture at the OGS Conference in Kingston last year, entitled In Reflections on Archivists and Genealogists, in which he took us “through his early years at Queen’s University, his career as the Provincial Archivist of Saskatchewan and Ontario, and describing his tenure as the National Archivist of Canada at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa ..." is a good read. Families Vol 52 No 1

If you would like to read the Q & A, go to  www.ottawacitizen.com/What+does+archive+have/8522832/story.html#ixzz2WBy6jLYA 

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

Automotive Heritage Month in Nova Scotia

Did you know Nova Scotia manufactured its own car, the MacKay Touring Car, in   Kentville and later in Amherst, in 1911?

Or that the first Toyotas assembled in Canada was at Point Edward, Cape Breton?

It’s easy to see that “the automobile has had a significant impact on the Province of Nova Scotia over the last century”.

To celebrate this impact, the Provincial Government of Nova Scotia has proclaimed July as Automotive Heritage Month.

Hobby car clubs across the province will be celebrating during the month at show and shines across the area.

To see what the National Association of Automobile Clubs of Canada does, go to their website www.naacc.ca/home.html

To see a picture and short history of the McKay 7-seat touring car, go to

http://ns1758.ca/auto/automobiles.html

History of Automobiles: The Early Days in Nova Scotia: 1899-1949

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/moi/en/home/collectionresearch/automobiles/mckay.aspx

UPDATE: Census of Lower Canada (Quebec), 1825 now available online at LAC

Just received this notice from the LAC - 

"Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce that Canadians can now access the Census of Lower Canada, 1825 online. The Census of Lower Canada, 1825 is partly nominal and therefore only contains the names of heads of family, their occupation, and the number of residents for each family.

Users can search this new database by the names of heads of family, as well as by geographical information such as district and sub-district names".

They are available in JPG, and PDF, and there are 74,322 records.

The surname, given name(s), occupation, number of residents (classed by age – not name or relationship to head of the household), district name, sub-district name, volume number, page number, microfilm, and reference are listed in the census.

To suggest a correction, click on the Suggest a Correction link to access an electronic form

To search the census, go to www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1825/Pages/1825.aspx

UPDATE: LAC Paywall??

According to a “leaked” document which suggests that there may be a “10-year plan to digitize documents” and we may have to pay to get access to them. Up until now, document that have been digitized have been free e.g. the land petitions of Upper and Lower Canada are free. Will we now have to pay a fee this fall to gain access to them? 

Read about the CBC report at http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/06/11/ottawa-library-archives-canada-paywall.html 

New Heritage Minute

Remember the Heritage Minutes that we use to see on TV back in the 1990s? They were sixty second shots about important moments in Canadian history.

  

Heritage Minutes have returned to our televisions this year, and for the month of June, "First Nations warriors who were instrumental in the Battle of Queenston Heights, a crucial fight in the War of 1812, has been released to mark National Aboriginal History Month".

To view the Heritage Minute, go to Your Community Blog at the CBC

www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2013/06/new-heritage-minute-spotlights-queenston-heights-six-nations-warriors.html and read the story.

If you want to read about the history of Heritage Minutes, go to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Minute

Canadian postal system celebrates 250 years of service

The following is an explanation which accompanies the Benjamin Franklin anniversary stamp - 

“In 1753, Philadelphia Postmaster Benjamin Franklin was promoted to joint deputy postmaster general for the British colonies and opened the first Canadian post office in Halifax to link the Atlantic colonies with Britain. But eventually, Franklin’s involvement with the growing revolt against the British Empire made it necessary for him to leave his post.

Hugh Finlay was confirmed as postmaster general at Québec on June 10, 1763. The ambitious Finlay arranged for a courier from Montréal to New York to reach the monthly packet sailing to Britain. By 1771, weekly service was available year round. His innovations earned a profit for the British Post Office Department, which paid Finlay a fifth of gross receipts.

In 1833, the Quebec-built Royal William was the first steamer to carry mail across the Atlantic. Canada’s first railway line was established in 1836, and became quickly recognized as a way to carry mail faster and farther. In 1840, Samuel Cunard’s new steamer Britannia transported mail between Liverpool and Halifax. Following Confederation on July 1, 1867, postal systems from Halifax to Fort William, on Lake Superior, amalgamated. And on April 1, 1868, An Act for the Regulation of the Postal Service officially created Canada’s uniform postal system”.

To read more about Canada Post, there is an article about it on the O Canada site -

Benjamin Franklin featured on Canada Post’s 250th anniversary stamp  http://o.canada.com/2013/06/07/benjamin-franklin-featured-on-canada-posts-250th-anniversary-stamp

and  

The Library and Archives Canada has a database of Post Offices and Postmasters at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/post-offices/index-e.html