WWI Memorial Wall at OGS

Have you checked the WWI War Memorial Wall at OGS lately? It is starting to get populated with photos from the First World War, but the Ontario Genealogical Society is looking for more photos.

So they are asking “Do you have family members who served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during WWI? As we approach the 100th Anniversary of the Great War, the Ontario Genealogical Society invites you to share their stories and photos on our newly created WWI Memorial Wall on the OGS Soldphotos flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogsphotos/sets/

If you would like to share your scanned photos, letters, diaries, or require more information, please contact our Digitization Manager at scanning@ogs.on.ca

We also welcome photos and stories from all of our Canadian War Veterans, and as always, those popular Mystery Photos”.

The Chinese Labourers

There is an article on the Manitoba CBC site this morning that a Winnipeg student - Kelsey Omaga has received a Governor General's History Award.

She is a Grade 7 student at Holy Ghost School, and she wrote and illustrated The Chinese Labourers, a story told through the eyes of a Chinese worker in the 1880s.

You can read about her and the book at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-student-wins-governor-general-s-history-award-1.2431554

One Day Symposium on Scottish Genealogy Research

Plans are starting to come together for a one day symposium on Scottish Genealogy Research to be held Friday August 22, 2014 at the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott in Vaughn, Toronto. They have four speakers confirmed, and each one will speak on a different aspect of Scottish Genealogy Research.

In addition, plans are being made to have a marketplace with a combination of genealogy vendors, clan representatives and hopefully a couple of Scottish vendors. More on this as this part of the day gets confirmed.

The topics will be Basic Scottish Research by John Thomson, DNA by Linda Reid, Scot Irish by Ruth Blair, and Tracking our Scots Emigrant Ancestors by Christine Woodcock.

Registration will open in February for the Scottish SIG Symposium. Hotel reservations are on a first come, first serve basis and are open now. More information will be sent to the SIG members on the market place and pricing details have been confirmed. The Symposium will be open to the public, with a reduced registration fee for OGS members.

For more information, please contact Christine Woodcock at genealogytoursofscotland@gmail.com

Canadian Week in Review 18 November 2013

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

Websites

Social Media

Writing Up the Ancestors http://www.writinguptheancestors.blogspot.ca/

Genealogist and Montreal writer Janice Hamilton recently started a genealogy blog about her family who lived in Canada, the US, England, Scotland, and Ireland. What sets this blog apart from many are the research remarks Janice adds at the end of each story. Not only can blog followers learn about Janice’s ancestors, they learn how she pieced together their story.

The Most Controversial Figure In Canadian History Is… http://rickpaulettervjournal.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-most-controversial-figure-in.html Rick Doyle is an RVer, but this time he writes about Louis Riel who was hanged on November 16, 1885 at the Northwest Mounted Police(RCMP) barracks in Regina, SK.for treason.

6th Annual Canadian History Forum http://canadashistory.ca/HistoryForum On Monday, November 18th at the Canadian War Museum (1 Vimy Place) in Ottawa from 1 pm - 5:30 pm, Canada's History will present the sixth annual Canada's History Forum. This year's topic is - Is Technology Altering Our History?

There are still a few seats remaining to attend the event on site but Canadians can also watch a live broadcast of the presentations.

News Articles

Nova Scotia's tree for Boston begins journey http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2013-11-12/article-3478263/Nova-Scotias-tree-for-Boston-begins-journey/1 Mary Lou Milligan donated this year's tree from her property in Mill Cove to Boston. For forty-two years Halifax has been sending a Christmas Tree to Boston, Mass in appreciation for the medical personnel and supplies Bostonians provided after the explosion of Dec. 6, 1917.

Piece of Saskatoon history becoming target for vandals http://metronews.ca/news/saskatoon/852333/piece-of-saskatoon-history-becoming-target-for-vandals/ The Farnam Block, former home of Lydia’s Pub, was constructed in 1912 and has seen two World Wars alongside its share of interesting and unusual tenants.

Yarmouth council defers decision on Zion de-registration http://www.novanewsnow.com/News/2013-11-14/article-3481869/Yarmouth-council-defers-decision-on-Zion-de-registration/1 The council defers the decision on the Zion Baptist Church in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to remove the church from its municipal heritage registry to give the province's Heritage Trust time to decide whether to make a formal offer of assistance to the church's trustees, and it is considered to be a last ditch effort to save the church from demolition.

Story of the Week

Father of Confederation (c) Collections Canada  

PEI gets ready for 2014

Over the past year, I have been reading about how the Prince Edward Island government has been getting ready for the 2014 events as PEI celebrates 150 years since the Fathers of Confederation meeting in Charlottetown.

Canada's smallest province on the east coast of the county, wants everyone to know that's where the idea of forming a country began 150 years ago.

The premiers of P.E.I., New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and what are now Ontario and Quebec all sat down at a table in the government house in Charlottetown and held talks for eight days in September of 1864. And they eventually came up with the idea of a confederation of provinces which would lead to the country of Canada.

Present-day premier Robert Ghiz says there will be 150 events that will take place all across the province. There will be concerts, theatre festivals, ecotours, culinary events, sailing regattas, to the Celebration Zone in Charlottetown where there will be free entertainment for the whole family every day over the summer.

If you want to see what PEI has planned, go to http://pei2014.ca/

Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next 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 24 November 2013.

Alight at Night Festival

Upper Canada Village will hold its 13th annual Alight at Night Festival from December 6th to January 4th at the Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario.

You will see close to one million lights adorn the heritage buildings, trees and fences of Upper Canada Village creating a one-of-a-kind magical backdrop for its annual Alight at Night Festival…a true winter wonderland!

You will experience the enchantment of horse-drawn wagons and romantic carriage rides for two, or enjoy a festive dining, shopping and other seasonal surprises all add to the event.

It sounds like lots of fun.

You can go to http://www.uppercanadavillage.com/index.cfm/en/activities/alight-at-night/ to find out all the details.

The passing of Bob Crawford of the OGS

Late yesterday, I received the sad news of the passing of Bob Crawford of the OGS on November the 13th.

Bob was the Past-President of OGS, having served in that role from 2006-2008, as well as Past-President of the Halton-Peel Branch. He was also the Corporate Secretary since 2010.

Services will be held at the Jones Funeral Home in Georgetown, Ontario, 11582 Trafalgar Road, Georgetown, ON L7G 4Y5 Phone: 905-877-3631

Viewings are scheduled for Friday November 15, 2013, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.

Funeral Services will be held Saturday November 16, 2013 at 2:30 pm.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the OGS Provincial Office to be forwarded to Bob's family.

I have known and worked with Bob since 2005 in my capacity as editor of Newsleaf, and Families. He was always most helpful, and he had a vast knowledge of the daily workings of the OGS. We are all appreciative his service in the work that he did in the preservation of cemeteries in the province.

He will be missed.

Another Free Service at FHL

The Family History Library of FamilySearch recently announced a FREE SERVICE where you can send a limited preview of Google Books page and get them to scan the entire page and email it to you for free.

All you have to do is to fill out their Online Photoduplication Request Form, and send it to Salt Lake City by email, and you will get the full page back as soon as possible.

This is a great idea!

They walk you through the process on their blog at https://familysearch.org/blog/en/google-books-free-copies-pages-family-history-library-books/

Two workshops at the Windsor Public Library

The Central Branch of the Windsor Public Library in Windsor, Ontario invite people who have an interest in family history at two workshops presented by Tom Vajdik, WPL Genealogy and Local History Librarian.

The two workshops are –

Introduction to Genealogy will take place at 7:00 pm on Monday, October 28 in WPL’s Fred Israel Auditorium (lower level of Central Branch, 850 Ouellette Avenue) This workshop will be an introduction to the methodology and cover the basics of genealogy as well as offer resources that assist in learning to trace your family history.

Genealogy on the Internet will be offered at 7:00 pm on Monday, November 18, in WPL’s Computer Lab (main floor near Dufferin Entrance at Central Branch, 850 Ouellette Avenue). This workshop will examine the many free web sites devoted to genealogy.

“At Windsor Public Library, we have noticed there’s been a resurgence in people’s desire to know their ancestors as people and learn more about their roots,” says Vajdik. “People visit us from far and wide to avail themselves of our resources. Solving puzzles and being the Sherlock Holmes of their own family stories satisfies a desire to tie their past to their present. Windsor Public Library is pleased to offer these genealogy workshops. All are welcome to attend and there is no fee to register.”

For more information and to register for either of these free workshops, please call 519-255-6770, ext. 4434 or email tvajdik@windsorpubliclibrary.com.  

Please register early for the November 18 workshop to ensure you get a seat!

Canadian Week in Review 11 November 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

This is an abbreviated edition of the Canadian Week in Review.

Newspapers Articles of the Week

UPDATED: Huge exhibition of Greek artifacts coming to Gatineau http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2013/11/01/huge-exhibition-of-greek-artifacts-coming-to-gatineau/ The exhibit - The Greeks — From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great - will be at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (by then it will be known as the Canadian Museum of History) from June 5th to October 15th. It will be the largest exhibit of ancient Greece that has ever visited North America.

Plans to mark 250th anniversary of Samuel Holland’s survey of P.E.I. http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Living/2013-10-31/article-3456631/Plans-to-mark-250th-anniversary-of-Samuel-Holland%26rsquo%3Bs-survey-of-P.E.I./1 This year marks the 250th year that Samuel Holland surveyed Prince Edward Island as the first surveyor general of British North America.

New Canada Post stamp series will feature Africville http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1164190-new-canada-post-stamp-series-will-feature-africville Africville, a former community in the north end Halifax, and Hogan’s Alley in Vancouver will be featured on Canada Post’s 2014 Black History Series.

Bill to create new Canadian Museum of History passes http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Conservative+government+used+closure+Wednesday+push+through/9134544/story.html The government has passed the bill that will change the name of the Museum of Civilization to the Canadian Museum of History. Now it has to go to the Senate, and receive royal assent (sometime in 2014, it is believed), and there will be a new museum in the country!

Historical society fights to save remaining Alberta Provincial Gaol building http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Historical+society+fights+save+remaining+Alberta/9133505/story.html The Fort Saskatchewan Historical Society is seeking signatures on an online petition to convince Fort Saskatchewan city councillors to preserve and restore the 99-year-old jail’s facility shop.

Story of the Week

Here are three more articles about the Canadian military -

Ottawa casualties from the First World War: CBC Ottawa has mapped the local addresses of soldiers who died overseas http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-casualties-from-the-first-world-war-1.2418617 Read how the original Ottawa Senators Hockey team was impacted by the First World War.

Caribou war memorial returns to Bowring Park
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/caribou-war-memorial-returns-to-bowring-park-1.2421664 The famous Caribou monument was returned home to Bowring Park on Saturday, after undergoing repairs for damages caused by vandals.

How to Find the Military Heroes in Your Family http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/iman-sheikh/military-ancestry_b_4242270.html Do you know that almost one-third of Canadians do not know if any of their ancestors fought in either the First or Second World Wars. There is lot of work for genealogists to do!

Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next 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 18 November 2013.

Remembering the Fallen in Canada

A new app for the iPad has been created for Remembrance Day as an interactive experience, giving Canadians a way to remember those who have given their lives in service to our country.

Click on the red poppy (I clicked on the poppy on Halifax, and discovered the story of The Sisters of Mercy – the Canadian Nursing Sisters, part of the Canadian Army Medical Corps of the First World War), but they have graves from the Boer War, through the World Wars, Korean War, our Peacekeeping Missions and Afghanistan.

The website is http://www.thefallen.org/

Canada Remembers – 30 Ways to Remember

A fellow Canadian blogger has started a new blog called The Rising Village and it’s about her family – John and Lizzie McCluskey who settled in the St. Andrews East area of Quebec in the 1800s. Today the area is known as Saint-André-d'Argenteuil - just south of Lachute.

And she has started a new project to coincide with Canada Remembers – 30 Ways to Remember, and she is taking one person per day who is listed on the Honour Roll at Veterans Affairs Canada and is telling their story.

She is asking anyone who has more information on the people she has put on the blog to write her, and if you have information on her family to do the same – she would like to hear from you.

The address is http://therisingvillage.blogspot.ca/

Contribution of Aboriginal Peoples in the First World War (1914-1918)

Above is the Attestation Paper of Private Henry Norwest, a Métis from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, was one of the most famous snipers.

The Library and Archives Canada has sent this email to me so that I could alert my readers that they have a new post called the Contribution of Aboriginal Peoples in the First World War (1914-1918).

In part, the post says that “Aboriginal peoples have a long tradition of military service in Canada dating back several centuries. Although not legally required to participate in the war, an estimated 4,000 Status Indians, and an unrecorded number of Métis and Inuit enlisted voluntarily and served with the Canadian Corps in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).

Almost all of the young men on many reserves enlisted for service. For example, approximately half of the eligible Mi’kmaq and Maliseet from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia volunteered for overseas duty. In other provinces, the number was even higher. In the small Saskatchewan community of File Hills, nearly all of the eligible men signed up to fight.

The exact number of Aboriginal soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War is not known. It is estimated that at least 300 men were killed during battles or died from illness, such as tuberculosis”.

Read the full blog post at http://thediscoverblog.com/tag/aboriginal/

Postscript: Am I correct in thinking that the LAC is changing the design of its website again? I am starting to get frustrated as I flip back and forth between the old-old site and the new site. Some records are still at the old-old site, and then some are on the new site, and …

Military Great Moments in Genealogy

The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) is having a special monthly meeting in honour of Remembrance Day on Saturday November 9th, when they will feature seven 15-minute talks.

The meeting will take place at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa.

Come early and browse the Discovery Tables, and meet with family history experts.

9:00 to 9:15 am
Over the Top: Researching our First War Ancestors in Fifteen Minutes Glenn Wright

9:15 to 9:30 am
Finding a Family Member on the Western Front Jane Down

9:30 to 10:00 am
Discovery Tables — Military Memorabilia Helen Garson

10:00 to 10:15 am
BIFHSGO Monthly Business Meeting Glenn Wright

10:15 to 10:30 am
Sam Cromie: Canadian Private to British Officer Wendy Croome

10:30 to 10:45 am
A Family in Service Mark Lloyd

10:45 to 11:00 am
Slipping Backward: A Canadian Prisoner of War, 1915-18 Brian Watson

11:00 to 11:15 am
William Sterling Lamb (1894-1918): A Promising Life Cut Short Anne Sterling

11:15 to 11:30 am
What Did He Do for Armistice? By Brian Glenn

If you want to hear speakers Glenn Wright, and Anne Sterling as they are interviewed by Dave Cross about the subjects of their talks, go to http://www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=106


The BIFHSGO website is http://www.bifhsgo.ca

Discover your family’s hero this Remembrance Day,

Ancestry.ca is offering free access to their Canadian military records in honour of Remembrance Day.

They say that “In honour of Remembrance Day, Ancestry.ca, Canada’s leading family history website, is giving Canadians the chance to discover the military hero in their family by providing free access from November 7 to 12 to more than 4.4 million online military records from some of its most popular collections, some of which are available free for the first time.

Our Canadian Military records include details such as rank, home address, salary and more, and can connect your family to the front lines of Canada’s most historic wartime battles. With these records that date back to as early as 1710, you may follow an ancestor’s journey from enlistment, to their post overseas, to awards received and, in some cases, to their final resting place".

The records are

Canada, Military Honours and Award Citation Cards, 1900-1961, containing almost 70,000 records

Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922, contains more than 1.6 million records

Canada, War Graves Registers: Circumstances of Casualty, 1914-1948, contains almost 30,000 records

Canada, CEF Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1919, contains over 56,000 records.

Canadians looking for information about their ancestors, or for those who want to start their family tree for free can visit www.ancestry.ca.

Those who want to explore the military heroes in their family tree can do so by visiting www.ancestry.ca/honouryourheros.

Veterans Week - Cape Bretoners in World War Two

Wayne Macvicar, from Cape Breton (Nova Scotia), has emailed that
his site - Cape Bretoners in World War Two has just gone through an update.

The site contains an additional 16 individuals for a total of 16, 077 and 261 new pages for fatal casualties in the period Jan-Jul 1944, with photos for 19 individuals that are not on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial site.

He says that “Although I feel I'm getting close to completing the number of individuals that served I only have the bare information for many of them, including those that died in service. I invite everyone to have a look at my site and if they have any information they would like to share to fill out the form I have provided on my general Cape Bretoners at War https://sites.google.com/site/cbatwar/ site”.

To visit his sites, go to Cape Bretoners at War: https://sites.google.com/site/cbatwar/ and

Cape Bretoners in World War Two: https://sites.google.com/site/cbinww2/

Wayne thanks you for your input. It is very much appreciated.

(C) Veterans Affairs Canada

Postscript: This year during Veterans Week (November 5 – 11th), we remember Canada's Veterans - Brave and Proud.

Thank a Veteran by sending a Postcard for Peace at http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/veterans-week/postpeace

Canadian Week in Review 05 November 2013

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Veterans Affairs, 2013

Veterans Week November 5 - 11

Today is the beginning of Veterans Week in Canada. This year’s theme is I Remember – Canada's Veterans, Brave and Proud.

They have an Honour Roll at their page at
http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/collections/virtualmem/honour-roll

Yesterday, they honoured 281 people who died in war on that date, and each person has burial information, a photo of the soldier if it is available, and a summary of their military service.

Some of the stories that have caught my eye this week were –

‘Give a Vimy for Vimy:’ Fundraising campaign highlights battlefield image on $20 bill http://www.canada.com/Give+Vimy+Vimy+Fundraising+campaign+highlights+battlefield+image+bill/9119175/story.html Montreal-based Vimy Foundation is launching “a centennial campaign to convince the country to adopt the nickname “Vimy” for the new polymer $20 bills, which feature an image of the towering Vimy Ridge battlefield memorial in France”.

Libraries and Legion work together for literacy this Remembrance Day http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2013-10-01/article-3413507/Libraries-and-Legion-work-together-for-literacy-this-Remembrance-Day/1In order to promote Remembrance Day this year, the Legion and the libraries in Nova Scotia are giving away 6,000 copies of Norman Leach’s award winning book Passchendaele,an illustrated history.

`Victory in Europe's 70th anniversary and the liberation of the Netherlands http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadian-students-and-teachers-to-join-dutch-citizens-in-celebrating-victory-in-europes-70th-anniversary-and-the-liberation-of-the-netherlands-229744371.html Students from Canada will go to the Netherlands May 2015 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and the liberation of the Netherlands.

New Updates to the Family History Library Catalogue

FamilySearch has made long awaited changes, here and there, to the Family History Library Catalogue, and has incorporated the “old” and “new” catalogue into one entity.

For example, the catalogue does a title search that includes subtitles and inclusive dates, the main author in bold type, and it displays additional places.

And the names of the catalogue searches are now the same as they were in the old catalogue, which s good to hear.

As someone who uses FamilySearch on a regular basis to search for those books and periodicals (some of which can be found in no other place on the Internet), I depend on their being a good useable catalogue at my disposal.

Postscript: The Canadian Week in Review will be published tomorrow as a special military issue as Canada begins its Veterans Week from November 5th to the 11th.

Ontario GenWeb's Q&A!

Did you know that the Ontario GenWeb offers questions and answers on genealogy research in Ontario, Upper Canada and Canada West – free of charge!

This has been going on since 1998!

Go to http://ontariogenwebqa.blogspot.com/