One-Place Studies to expand world-wide

News come to us that the One-Place Studies, a charitable organisation founded in 2013 by dedicated family and local historians, is looking for members world-wide.

Members will have an interest in one particular place, whether it is a street, village, hamlet or town.

Is anyone in Canada is involved with One-Place Studies? If you are, can you let us know of the place that you are studying?

To go to their site, please click http://one-place-studies.org/studies

To go to this site, please click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-place_study

Nuit Blanche Ottawa-Gatineau

The Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa has announced its first-time partnership with Nuit Blanche Ottawa-Gatineau.

It will be held this weekend on September 21, from 6:21 p.m. to 4:22 a.m., and it is Free!

Come enjoy the pop-up lounge, a temporary art installation and special exhibitions.

Too see what available, go to http://www.civilization.ca/event/nuit-blanche

OGS Webinars for Members Only

American genealogist blogger and speaker Judy G. Russell, the Legal Genealogist, will give the first OGS Webinar - Genealogy in Your Genes on Saturday October 5, 2013 at 4:00 pm EDT via Adobe Connect. This Webinar is for Members Only.

They say that “The key to so many genealogical secrets may be locked inside your genes -- but today those secrets can be unlocked through DNA testing. Learn about the three major test types -- YDNA, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the new autosomal DNA testing -- and what each offers to the genealogist.

The Legal Genealogist Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL, is a lecturer, educator and writer who enjoys helping others understand a wide variety of genealogical issues, ranging from the interplay between genealogy and the law to the way DNA tests can be used in genealogy.

She is a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Association of Professional Genealogists and numerous state societies, and on the faculty of the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University, and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh.

OGS Webinars allow you to expand your genealogy knowledge from the comfort of your own home.

This event is open to OGS members only and is free as a benefit of your membership. For more information about Webinars, visit the Webinars link in the OGS Members Only area.

The OGS website is www.ogs.on.ca

Canadian Week in Review 16 September 2013

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

Websites
No new websites this week.

Blogs
It has been since 1775 that the ship, the Hector arrived at Brown's Point, near Pictou, N.S. carrying 178 Scottish immigrants to Canada.

The first large wave of immigration that made Scots the predominant ethnic group in Nova Scotia. A replica ship was later built to commemorate the voyage and is on display in Pictou harbour.

You can read about the trip that Phil Neville took to The Hector Exhibit Centre & Archives in Pictou at http://www.novascotiablogs.com/2011/11/the-hector-exhibit-centre-archives-in-pictou.html.

Facebook, Videos, You Tube
Terry Copp Presents “Italy: Normandy’s Long Left Flank” A Video Lecture http://www.canadianmilitaryhistory.ca/terry-copp-presents-italy-normandys-long-left-flank-a-video-lecture If you are interested in Canadian military history, this video will interest you.

Newspapers Articles of the Week
Historical Nameshttp://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Historical+Names/8912481/story.html The Star Phoenix of Saskatoon has a Op-Ed piece in which are discussed the new names that the city council has for streets in the city. The writer wonders if they are dismissing the city’s past?

Banff pavilion highlights WWI internment camps http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/banff-pavilion-highlights-wwi-internment-camps-1.1829468 Did you know the Canada had internment camps during the First World War? Parks Canada unveiled a new pavilion Friday in Banff that hopes to shed light on internment camps built across Canada during the First World War.

New Initiative to Document History of Canada’s Greek Immigrants http://canada.greekreporter.com/2013/09/13/new-initiative-to-document-history-of-canadas-greek-immigrants The Greek Reporter has an article in which they report that the Canadian Greek community will be setting up the Greek Canadian History Project (GCHP). It will be “an initiative designed and committed to identifying, acquiring, digitizing, preserving, and providing access to primary source materials which reflect the experiences of Canada’s Greek immigrants and their descendants. The collected sources, currently in the hands of private individuals and organizations in the Greek-Canadian community, will be placed in the care of the Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections of York University Libraries in Toronto.”

Sarnia man searches for roots – in his genes http://www.sarniathisweek.com/2013/07/25/sarnia-man-searches-for-roots--in-his-genes Thanks to Gail Dever in bringing this newspaper article to my attention. It is the story about Alan Campbell, of the Lambton County Branch of the OGS, and the many hours he has spent in tracing his own family.

Canadian Army Commemorates the 20th Anniversary of the Battle of Medak Pockethttp://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1466825#ixzz2eyFx88TTIt has been 20 years since Canada sent peacekeepers over the Bosnia. The Battle of Medak Pocket, which occurred in September 1993, which Canadian and French peacekeepers defended their position against Croatian forces, making it possible to stop the escalation of violence in the region.

Story of the Week
More Powerful Free Genealogy Search
Word has been received from GenealogyInTime Magazine, an Ottawa business, that they have enhanced their search engine.

The press release reads that “the world’s most popular online genealogy magazine, and one of the world’s largest free genealogy websites, is announcing a very significant upgrade to our free Genealogy Search Engine. It continues to become even more powerful:

• An additional 532 million free genealogy records from around the world are now searchable. In total, the Genealogy Search Engine indexes 2.7 billion records from over 1,000 websites.

• In a first for a genealogy website, the entire Google Newspaper Archive can now be searched by the Genealogy Search Engine. This extremely valuable archive covers over 2,000 historic newspapers going back as far as the 1700s.

• The massive Australian Trove archive can now be completely searched with the Genealogy Search Engine.
To learn more about the latest upgrades to the free Genealogy Search Engine, read http://www.genealogyintime.com
I use their news service at the end of every day, just to see what has happened during the day. It is at http://www.genealogyintime.com/genealogy-news.html
Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be on 23 September, 2013

Common Mistakes Often Made With Family Tree Data

Do you use the Family Tree option of FamilySearch?

If you do, you may be interested in this blog post by Kristi Etherington.

It answers some of the questions that have been asked over the past couple of months about Family Tree. Is it helpful?

Te post is at http://www.sarniathisweek.com/2013/07/25/sarnia-man-searches-for-roots--in-his-genes

The Future of Canada's Libraries and Archives

The Royal Society of Canada has establishing an Expert Panel on “The Status and Future of Canada’s Libraries and Archives" to help Canadian institutions find their way through the 21st century.

These are the founding principles of the Expert Panel of the Royal Society of Canada, which has as its mandate

1. To investigate what services Canadians, including Aboriginal Canadians and new Canadians, are currently receiving from libraries and archives.

2. To explore what Canadian society expects of libraries and archives in the 21st century.

3. To identify the necessary changes in resources, structures, and competencies to ensure libraries and archives serve the Canadian public good in the 21st century.

4. To listen to and consult the multiple voices that contribute to community building and memory building.

5. To demonstrate how deeply the knowledge universe has been and will continue to be revolutionized by digital technology.

6. To conceptualize the integration of the physical and the digital in library and archive spaces.
Public consultations are being planned to take place in: Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary/Edmonton, Vancouver, and Yellowknife in the coming months.

To read more about the The Status and Future of Canada's Libraries and Archives go to http://rsc-src.ca/en/expert-panels/rsc-reports/status-and-future-canadas-libraries-and-archives

Join Italians and Italian Fans for a Record-Setting Weekend!

We have received this exciting news from FamilySearch

“FamilySearch International, Salt Lake City Italian natives and those with Italian language skills, Italian ancestors, or a love of all things Italian are invited to help index (transcribe) historic Italian records this weekend (Sept. 13-15) to make them freely searchable on FamilySearch.org.

The event, part of the ongoing Italian Ancestors Project sponsored by the National Archives of Italy and FamilySearch, will unite participants from around the world in an attempt to set a new two-day volunteer mark of 35,000 records (approximately 100,000 ancestor names) indexed.

The event will start Friday, September 13 at 6:00 p.m. (MDT) and end Sunday, September 15, at 6:00 p.m. (MDT). To volunteer, or for details and status updates throughout the event, visit the Italian Ancestors Facebook event page.

About the Italian Ancestors Project

The Italian Ancestors Project, jointly sponsored by the National Archives of Italy and FamilySearch, is the largest historic Italian records preservation and access initiative ever.

Through this unprecedented effort, more than 115 million historic birth, marriage, and death records from Italy’s civil registration (1802 to 1942) containing some 500 million names of Italian ancestors, will be digitized, indexed (transcribed) and made freely searchable online.
Indexing of these valuable records is being provided by thousands of volunteers worldwide. Working from their homes at their own pace, volunteers have already made more than two million records available. Thousands more volunteers are needed”.

For more information or to volunteer, visit www.familysearch.org/italian-ancestors.

The BCGS Bring-A-Friend Membership Contest

I read about the Bring-A-Friend Membership Contest this morning, and think it’s a really good idea. What do you think?

The notice says that “All current BCGS members are eligible for one entry for each full membership (not associate memberships) they sign up from August 2013 to January 9, 2014.

Three Prize Baskets will be awarded at the June 2014 meeting by draw.

New memberships taken out now will run from September 2013 to December 2014 so this is a nice bonus for the new members too!”

Go to http://www.bcgs.ca/?page_id=1885 for the Contest Membership Application Form.

Call for speakers

The Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has issued a Call for Speakers for a spring 2014 workshop titled Scotland and its People.

This full-day workshop for family historians, to be held on Saturday 12 April 2014, will explore the social, economic and cultural history of Scotland.

We are seeking proposals for presentations at this workshop from professional genealogists, historians, family historians, librarians and archivists.

The deadline for proposals is Monday 18 November 2013.

You can contact Gwyneth Pearce, Secretary, Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society at
publicity@toronto familyhistory.org or contact them at www.torontofamilyhistory.org.

Recent changes at the FHL, Salt Lake City

Have you heard about the recent changes made to the FHL library in Salt Lake City?

Apparently, the research consultants have been moved from behind their walls and desks, and now they will be on the floors to be more accessible to the library patrons.

In the FamilySearch blog it says that “We have moved our consultants out from behind staff doors to assist at research counters and out on the patron floor.”

At the time of writing, the change had only been made, so they are asking “for patience and understanding as we implement and refine the new patron service model.”

They say that “The Family History Library is open more hours, provides more computers, printing options, and professional help than any other genealogical library, society, or archive in the world. We remain committed to providing all of these services free of charge to patrons from all over the world.”

So, do you think that these changes will be beneficial to the patrons? If anyone is going there this fall, on your return,tell us how you found it.

TONI database tops 2,400,000

The Ontario Name Index (TONI) has just recorded its 2,401,406 name, and it keeps on growing.

When I am asked to research a name in Ontario, one of the first places I check is TONI, to see if the name is there. One aspect of TONI which I find is really helpful is that often TONI also gives the county in which the name is found.

So what does TONI do?

• TONI is an indexing program and NOT a digitization program. Unlike some of our commercial and non-commercial colleagues, we are not limiting TONI to digitized sources and indexing them

• The Ontario Name Index (TONI) is a mega-index of names with the goal of including every name found in any publication relating to Ontario

• Indexes, particularly name indexes. These are the most valuable thing a genealogical society can produce

• The index will point people to the location of the information about that name. The location may be a Branch document, a web site, a microfilm, a family history, an archive, etc

• TONI will be on the public part of the OGS website so that anyone can access it

TONI is all of these things.

Go to TONI at http://www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_database1.php

LAC UPDATE: Access to 15 databases in one stop

Some positive news from Library and Archives Canada, in that you can now search the nominal indexes of the censuses from 1825 to 1916 online. That is a total of more than 32 million documents, and they are FREE!

I have used them, and they are very helpful. Especially, when it comes to finding people of the same names in a particular county.

In the press release, the LAC says “This massive undertaking required continuous cooperation from members of a number of LAC teams, as well as highly organized operations, over a number of months.

What is the final result?

• A clear presentation that is consistent with the Government of Canada’s Internet accessibility standards.

• The ability to perform a search using nominal or geographical criteria.

• Standardized geographic metadata that is now available in both official languages.

• The ability to choose between images in JPG or PDF formats.

• Weekly automatic updates.

And, ultimately, for you, valued users, a much simpler and easier way to trace your ancestors”!

To go to the website, click on to http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/census.aspx

Toronto school memorials database

Gwyneth Pearce, Secretary,Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, sent us this notice –

More than 32,000 names now in Toronto school memorials database

It’s that time again… when children, parents and teachers launch into a new school year!

And to mark the start of classes for 2013, the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has added more than 2,700 new names and eight 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 include Essex Street, John English, Rose Avenue, Lambton Mills, Lansdowne, Humewood Public and Runnymede Collegiate Institute.

We’ve also added our first independent school – St. Michael’s College School – a Catholic middle and high school with a rich history dating back to 1852. The database now contains more than 32,000 names and 88 schools, with transcriptions and photographs of school war memorials, historical background and links to other useful school and community websites.

Explore this growing collection now 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.

And if you happen to be one of the many heading back to school this month, take a moment to remember the past generations of students and staff who went to war.

Canadian Week in Review 09 September 2013

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

Websites

Biggar Branch, Saskatoon Genealogical Society http://biggargenealogy.wikifoundry.com The website says that the “Society members have recorded and indexed cemeteries in the R.M.'s of Biggar and Glenside, and the cemeteries at Landis, Cando and Lett (Rosemount). The Biggar Branch has published a list of births, deaths and marriages from The Independent Biggar, SK for the period 1913 to 1950 and they are available for purchase. Other indexing projects have included: obituaries from The Independent -1984 to 2006, undertaker records, census records, Canadian National Railway seniority lists and early school registers”. Note: These indexes are not online.

Barnardo’s Homes http://www.barnardos.org.uk/what_we_do/who_we_are/history/barnardos_homes.htm The website says “Barnardo’s ran hundreds of children’s homes across the UK from Thomas Barnardo’s day until the 1970’s. We don’t run orphanages and children’s homes anymore. However, this is a complete directory of all the homes and what has happened to them”. Note: I have used this list while doing research, and have found it to be a good list to locate Barnardo’s homes in the UK.

Blogs

Genealogy Home Children in Canada http://coolenconnections.hubpages.com/hub/Genealogy-Home-Children-in-Canada This is a new site, provides an excellent list of Home Children websites in Canada.

Gone Researching: Genealogy experiences, thoughts, ... and we'll see where we go with this http://goneresearching.blogspot.com This new blogger is following family line in Ontario, among others.

Facebook, Videos, You Tube

Photos: New Brunswick’s Internment Camp B70 http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Brunswick+Internment+Camp+photos/8746644/story.htmlThis is a photo archives of Internment Camp B70, located in  Ripples, N.B. It housed more than 700 Jews in the early months of the Second World War.

Newspapers Articles of the Week

Ottawa is a work in progress http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/op-ed/Ottawa+work+progress/8842977/story.html Ottawa’s Carleton University professor Andrew Cohen write about the choice of Ottawa as the capital of Canada, and how so many people disagreed with Queen Victoria’s choice in 1857.

To learn more about Maine, make the pilgrimage to Quebec

http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/to-learn-more-about-maine-make-the-pilgrimage-to-quebec_2013-08-29.html The Maine Sunday Telegram suggests a trip to Quebec should be on every Mainer's must-do list.

Blackberry tea honours group's wartime heritage http://www.canada.com/Blackberry+honours+group+wartime+heritage/8883306/story.html Read about how the British Columbia Women's Institute helped the Second World War effort by canning fruit and vegetables and sending them to Britain.

British Home Children enhanced Canada’s mosaic http://www.sackvilletribunepost.com/Opinion/Columnists/2011-12-07/article-2827996/----British-Home-Children-enhanced-Canada%26rsquo%3Bs-mosaic/1Read about how a British Home Child stayed in the grandparents home of writer Bill Hamilton, and how he was able to trace her voyage back to Liverpool, England.

Doors Open in Ontario this fall http://www.canoe.ca/Travel/Canada/Ontario/2013/09/04/21096946.html See the lineup of  the Doors Open in Ontario this fall.

Story of the Week

Some land records have been digitized

(Based on a bi-weekly column I write for the Vankleek Hill’s The Review. Parts of the column appeared on August 28, 2013)

Canadiana.org is a Canadian company in Ottawa which is preserving Canada's published history and some of these non-indexed records will be – free! Over the next ten years, it will work with 40 institutions, such as libraries, the Library and Archives Canada, and archives, to “identify, catalogue, digitize and store documentary heritage—books, newspapers, periodicals, images and nationally-significant archival materials—in specialized research databases”.

The part of Canadiana.org which interests me is the Heritage Project at http://heritage.canadiana.ca.

The Heritage Project is going to take some of Canada’s most popular archival collections, such as 60-million pages of FREE primary-source microfilm images from the 1600s to the mid-1900s.

I have read the list and I am impressed! What would have taken me years to find these documents in the different institution across the country, will be appearing online right in my own computer.One of the first projects that they have done is the Heir and Devisee Commission of the Upper Canada (Ontario) Land Records. 

Records can include (although not always) affidavits, bonds, location certificates, powers of attorney, orders-in-council, copies of wills, mortgages, deeds of sale, and testimonial letters.

The digitized copies of the microfilm reels onsite appear in the same order as on the microfilm reels themselves. Remember, unfortunately, there is NO index by name.

Alternatively, the records are arranged by district, then by type of document, then in chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.

The list of microfilm rolls are on http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_205142, just click on the reel you want to view, and it is there for you to research.

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be on 16 September, 2013

Reminder: Canadian Week in Review posted tomorrow Sept 9th

Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in the country! 

Fall Seminar in Manitoba

The Southeast and Winnipeg Branch of the Manitoba Genealogical Society will be putting on their fall seminar New Directions on Saturday October 189, 2013 at the Silver Heights United Church in Winnipeg.

The speakers will be Roblin Shimpa, and she will talk on Crossing the Border –Minnesota and North Dakota to Manitoba –and back, and Louis Kessler, who will talk about Ideas and More Ideas for Your Genealogy Society.

The registration fee is $65.00 which includes a hot turkey dinner which is included with your fee.

To download the registration form, go to http://www.mbgenealogy.com/news/58/51/NEW-DIRECTIONS-Southeast-and-Winnipeg-Branch-Fall-Seminar

Closed for Maintenance

The OGS e-Store site will be closed for maintenance on Tuesday September 10^th from 7 to 9 pm, so the site will not be available during that time.

The Ontario Genealogical Society website is at http://www.ogs.on.ca/index.php 

One billion global records will be available online

This notice was received yesterday, and it says that Ancestry.com and FamilySearch is going to make a billion records available online over the next five years! 

Ancestry.com and FamilySearch International (FamilySearch.org), the two largest providers of family history resources, announced today an agreement that is expected to make approximately 1 billion global historical records available online and more easily accessible to the public for the first time. With this long-term strategic agreement, the two services will work together with the archive community over the next five years to digitize, index and publish these records from the FamilySearch vault.

The access to the global collection of records marks a major investment in international content as Ancestry.com continues to invest in expanding family history interest in its current markets and worldwide. Ancestry.com expects to invest more than $60 million over the next five years in the project alongside thousands of hours of volunteer efforts facilitated by FamilySearch.

“This agreement sets a path for the future for Ancestry.com and FamilySearch to increasingly share international sets of records more collaboratively,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com. “A significant part of our vision for family history is helping provide a rich, engaging experience on a global scale. We are excited about the opportunities it will bring to help benefit the family history community and look forward to collaborating with FamilySearch to identify other opportunities to help people discover and share their family history.”

The organizations will also be looking at other ways to share content across the two organizations. Both organizations expect to add to the already digitized records shared across the two websites in addition to new record projects to be completed over the next five years.

“We are excited to work with Ancestry.com on a vision we both share,” said Dennis Brimhall, President of FamilySearch. “Expanding online access to historical records through this type of collaboration can help millions more people discover and share their family’s history.”