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

Ancestry.ca Update: Canada and United States Border Crossings

Ancestry.ca has updated its border crossing records from Canada to U.S., and the records are from 1895 to 1954.

There are records from Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New York, North Dakota, Vermont, and Washington

Some of the records contain the information on the name, age, birth date, birthplace, gender, ethnicity/nationality, names of individuals accompanied by, name of nearest relative or friend in former country, and name of nearest relative or friend at destination.

So far, there are 4,859, 493 border crossing records etween Canada and the United States so far on www.ancestry.ca.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Waterloo Region Branch Will Hold Annual Meeting

The Region III Annual Meeting will be hosted by the Waterloo Region Branch on April 20, 2013, at the Preston Legion, 334 Westminster Drive North, Cambridge, Ontario.

Registration will start at 8:45 on Saturday, and at 9:30, there will be a talk by Darryl Bonk, founder “Waterloo Region Generations,” former Director London and Kitchener Family History Centres, member of Waterloo Region al Heritage Foundation, and Waterloo Region Branch Executive member, and his topic will be “What IS on the Internet”

Before the afternoon session starts at 2:00 pm, there will be vendors onsite to visit, the Waterloo Region Branch will have its AGM, and you will be able to find out what is going on at the OGS head office in Toronto.

The afternoon talk starts at 2:00 pm will feature Ruth Blair of Blair Archival Research, and she will talk on ”What is NOT on the Internet”.

To download a Registration form visit www.WaterlooOGS.ca

For further information contact the Branch at watogs@yahoo.com

New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Newspaper Articles - 21 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 –

Alberta Family History Blog http://afhs.ab.ca/blog/remembering/missing-joan-miller Here is another blog that mentions the passing of Canadian genealogist in a blog called Missing Joan Miller.

Saskatchewan Gen Web Project - Homestead Records
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/Saskatchewan/homesteadlocation.html
How to read homestead records. Included are How to find Saskatchewan Townships & Ranges in a tutorial quiz.

Manitoba, native groups prepare bid to have forest called world heritage site www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1314715--manitoba-native-groups-prepare-bid-to-have-forest-called-world-heritage-site The area, called Pimachiowin Aki, covers 43,000-square kilometres and is the largest tract of boreal forest in North America.

Save Canada's Ski History Finds a New Home: Board Votes for Mont Tremblant www.newswire.ca/en/story/1100153/canada-s-ski-history-finds-a-new-home-board-votes-for-mont-tremblant A press release says that “The Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum has found a new home after a winning bid of the St Jovite Mont Tremblant Region, Quebec. The decision will see more than 15,000 artifacts from Canada's ski history once again on display for all Canadians to share”.

Genetic privacy can be compromised online www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1316391--genetic-privacy-can-be-compromised-online-study The risk that sensitive information about individual DNA information for scientific genomes could be publicly exposed has made millions afraid to release their own DNA.

Rich history part of heritage DNA information for scientific studies.
www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Rich+history+part+heritage/7836115/story.html Alida Visbach has more than her share of memories. It’s partly because of her personal history — Canadian of Dutch heritage who speaks Dutch, English and French, she is a born, raised and schooled New Brunswicker.

Canada's fur trading history explored with new exhibit www.medicinehatnews.com/local-news/canadas-fur-trading-history-explored-with-new-exhibit-01142013.html A new exhibit at the Esplanade will gives Hatters a closer glimpse at an important section of Canadian history.

In an exhibit called "Profit and Ambition: The Canadian Fur Trade," the exhibit which opens today, showcases hundreds of items, paintings and artifacts from North West Company, a fur trading company which competed with the Hudson’s Bay Company.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

IRISH HERITAGE QUEBEC

There will be a talk by Clive Kiley, the Mayor of Shannon, Quebec, who will speak on about the history of Shannon, its present and its future.

Clive Kiley has been Mayor of Shannon for 16 years and is a well known figure in local municipal affairs.

All are welcome, admission is free. Refreshments will be served and parking stubs for the parking lot at St. Patrick will be validated.

The talk will take place on Monday January 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the McMahon Hall, 1145 De Salaberry, Quebec City.

For more information, contact Irish Heritage Quebec at 418-527-2238 or 418-704-3404. Or visit the website at www.irishheritagequebec.net

Rare War Medal Find Coming Home to Chilliwack, BC

There is an article this morning in the Chilliwack Progress newspaper about how the Chilliwack Museum and Historical Society were able to bring the medals awarded to members of the Coots family back home to British Columbia.

The medals were from the First World War, and acquired at an auction at Norfolk, England in late December.

The article says that “The collection consists of 12 medals awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Leslie Coote and his son Captain Ian Vernon Coote of Chilliwack for their military service. It also includes a written account from Lieutenant Russel “Ginger” Leslie Coote — Andrew Coote’s second son — documenting his remarkable wartime experiences”.

Read the article at www.theprogress.com/news/187313381.html

If you want to learn more about the medals given to Canadians who  fought in the wars and conflicts that the country has been involved in, go to Medals, Honours and Awards at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/medals/index-e.html

Barkerville National Historic Site of Canada

The federal and British Columbia governments have announced that they will fund the conservation of two heritage buildings at Barkerville National Historic Site of Canada in British Columbia.

The press release says that “Barkerville is a provincially, nationally and internationally recognized historic site located 80 kilometres east of Quesnel. This year Barkerville is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Cariboo Gold Rush. Barkerville was the terminus of the great wagon road from Yale in 1865 and the centre of the Cariboo gold fields which were the catalyst for economic and political development in British Columbia.”

If you go on to the site, you will find that among other things, that Barkerville’s Chinatown is the largest collection of pre-railway Chinese buildings in North America and Barkerville has one of the largest Chinese archival collections in Canada.

They do have a search feature of their collection, where you can search the archives, artifacts, library, maps, and photographs.

The website is at www.barkerville.ca

Crouse-Wanamaker Lecture

Lynn Heale, Membership Co-ordinator of the Quinte Branch OGS tells us of a meeting which will take place (today) on Saturday January 19th at 1 p.m. It will be the Crouse-Wanamaker Lecture, honouring the founders of Quinte Branch.

This year, they will proudly present Historian & Author Gerry Boyce.

Mr. Boyce will speak on his project to update his book Historic Hastings published in 1967. "A lot has happened in the 45 years since Historic Hastings was published." This new book will highlight events of the past four decades and will be a companion volume to the original publication. Historic Hastings is scheduled to be reprinted with an updated index.

Mr. Boyce, who lives in Belleville and spent more than three decades in the education field, was instrumental in establishing several local museums and the Hastings County Historical Society.

The meeting will take place at the Quinte West City Hall Library, 7 Creswell Drive, Trenton, Ontario.

For more information, go to www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs

What Do I Do with All My Stuff?

There will be a meeting of the Quebec Family History Society from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the QFHS Heritage Centre and Library, 173 Cartier Avenue, Pointe-Claire. The topic What Do I Do with All My Stuff? and will be presented by Cecilia Karwowski and Gary Schroder.

The problem the modern genealogist often faces is finding so much information, documents, and photos that we drown under a sea of records. If we do not organize our records, important clues leading to other ancestors will be lost in a mountain of material poorly or not organized at all.

During this seminar, you will learn how to preserve the documents and photographs that you already possess and how to organize and arrange the material that you have accumulated, as well as new material that you plan or hope to obtain. The seminar will also examine the dangers inherent in simply keeping all your material on your computer, or as archivists would say "not having it at all."

The fee is $30 members, and $40 for non-members.

Reservations are required. Call 514.695.1502 or contact Jackie qfhs.communications@bellnet.ca

To go to the website, go to www.qfhs.ca

Some Acadians Exiled to Philadelphia in 1755

In her blog yesterday, Lucie LeBlanc Consentino writes about the establisment of the oldest Catholic Church in Philadelphia. The church was a place for the Acadians to gather after they were exiled from Nova Scotia in 1755.

Not all of the Acadians went to Philadilphia. The majority of them went to Louisiana, but of the group that went to the former British colony, they were treated rather well by the people, and the priest of that city.

The place where the church was located is known today as Old St. Joseph National Shrine. It as founded in 1733 by the Jesuits.

Read about the story at http://acadian-ancestral-home.blogspot.ca/2013/01/acadians-exiled-to-philadelphia-in-1755.html

London & Middlesex County Branch of the OGS Holds Meeting

On the 5 February 2013, David R. Elliott will speak on "New Strategies in Irish Parish Register Indexing". 

David is a professional genealogical researcher, historian, author, has spent several summers recording church records in Ireland.

The Annual Meeting of the London & Middlesex County Branch, OGS, will also be conducted.

The website is http://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca

PostScript: David ‘s latest book Researching Your Irish Ancestors at Home and Abroad has just been released, and it will be excerpted and a book review will be in the May2013 issue of Families.

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

2013 Anniversaries of OGS Branches

The following Branches of the OGS are celebrating anniversaries this year -

London-Middlesex Branch OGS is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, and they are going to have a new website. They are located at http://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca

Kingston Brach OGS is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and its website is at www.ogs.on.ca/kingston

Kent County OGS is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, and it is located at http://ogs.on.ca/kent

Leeds & Grenville Branch OGS is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, and its website is located at www.leedsandgrenvillegenealogy.com

Perth County Branch OGS is celebrating its 30th anniversity this year, and its website is located at www.ogs.on.ca/perth

Sault Ste. Marie & District of Algoma Branch OGS is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and its website is located at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onogsssm/index.html

I wrote about the 30th Anniversary Celebration to be held at the Simcoe County Branch on the 14th of January in a blog entitled 30th Anniversary Celebration at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.ca/2013/01/30th-anniversary-celebration.html

Genealogy All-day Seminar

The Comox Valley Family History Research Group in British Columbia is pleased to announce that the next CVFHRG all-day seminar will be held onSaturday April 20th, 2013 at the Florence Filberg Centre Conference Hall in Courtenay, Vancouver Island, BC

The speakers will be Glenn Wright and Lesley Anderson, both from Ottawa.

Schedule of Events

8:00 to 8:30 Registration

8:35 to 8:45 Welcome and Introductions

8:45 to 9:35 Seminar #1: Treasures in the Parish Chest

9:45 to 10:35 Seminar #2: They Came by Ship ... Finding Immigrant Ancestors Before 1865

10:55 to 11:45 Seminar #3: Archives Revealed… Using Archival Resources, Online and On Site

11:45 to 12:45 Lunch

12:45 to 1:35 Seminar #4: Online Books ... Where to Find Them, How to Use Them

1:45 to 2:35 Seminar #5: Wills and Probate

2:55 to 3:45 Seminar #6: Getting Here From There – Immigration Records on Ancestry and Elsewhere 1865 - 1965

3:45 to ---- Open Q&A

The BC Genealogy Society will have a display table with genealogy books and supplies for sale – payment by cash, cheque, and VISA only.

Registration fee for the seminar, lunch, beverages, welcome package, and many door prizes:

CVFHRG members $65.00; non-members $75.00

Go to http://cvfhrgapr20seminar.eventbrite.ca

Star Spangled Genealogy

Drayton Valley Branch of the Alberta Genealogical Society Presents Star Spangled Genealogy on March 9th, 2013 from 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM. It will take place at the Campus Alberta Drayton Valley Norquest College, 5056 – 50th Avenue, Drayton Valley, Alberta

The presenters will be John Althouse, President Edmonton Branch AGS, and Les Campbell, President AGS.

Les Campbell will present two talks - U.S Vital Records, and US Land Records, while John Althouse will present two talks - US Census Records “Did the Ingalls family always live in Walnut Grove”, US Military Records, and if time permits - US Local Sources.

For more information, go to www.abgensoc.ca

Ancestry Update: Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928

Ancestry.ca has updated some of the images on their database - Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928.

Images are important because they are copies of original record and additional information may be found on them. So be sure to view the corresponding image, if there is one available.

If the ancestor you are researching does not have an original record yet, keep going back to the records to see if an image has been added. If the image has been added, more information is usually available in the images themselves than is found in an index.

For those who have yet to search these records, the database is a collection of approximately 3.2 million marriages recorded in Ontario, Canada between 1801 and 1928.

The records include -

•Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928 (MS 932, Archives of Ontario)

•Division Registrar Vital Statistics Records, 1858-1918 (MS 940, Archives of  Ontario) [However, there are very few marriages in this record set.]

•Marriage License Books, 1907-1910 (MS 945, Archives of Ontario)

•Delayed Registrations of Marriages, 1892-1919 (MS 948, Archives of Ontario)

•District Marriage Registers, 1801-1858 (MS 248, Archives of Ontario)

•Roman Catholic Marriage Registers, 1828-1870 (MS 248, Archives of Ontario) Indexed by Genealogical Research Library (no images available)

•Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1919 (MS 932, Archives of Ontario), and County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869 (microfilm, Family History Library) (the FHL microfilm is of Archives of Ontario microfilm series MS 248, reels 5-18)

The records are at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=7921