Ontario Jewish Archives

What a complete, and useful archives this is – full of records, and you can research the following topics at the archives -

marriage records

family histories

newspapers and periodicals

cemetery records

synagogue and Jewish fraternal society records

immigration case files created by the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS) and the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC)

ledgers from Jewish shipping agents

military records

Who's Who of Toronto Jewry

Go to their wesite at http://www.ontariojewisharchives.org/

Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioJewishArchives

They have put on another Talbot Times!

The Elgin County Genealogical Society has put another article from the Talbot Times, the society newsletter, on it’s blog at http://elgincountyogs.blogspot.com/. 

The first article is Scots Coming to Canada, and it can be found at http://www.elginogs.ca/Home/talbot-times-newsletters/talbot-times-1987-september

The second article is Travels of Moses Bevans in the Talbot Times 1988 March and can be found at
http://www.elginogs.ca/Home/talbot-times-newsletters/talbot-times-1988-march

The third article is from the 1988 June of the Talbot Times, and it is entitled A Tragic Accident: The Blacks of Sparta – Buried Alive and tells us about the Black family and a well in a nearby quick sand pit that was on the property, three miles east of Port Stanley.

There are also two articles entitled St. Thomas - The Railway City, and Hodgkinson's Corners to Troy to Aylmer in the newsletter.

As I have written before, this is an excellent idea to get people interested in your society.Treat it as a “lost leader’, like milk in a grocery store. Think of your webpage as a store, and put these articles your front page, so that people can see what you can offer them.

And don’t leave the same articles there, change them around to make it interesting to people.

The website for the June 1988 article is http://www.elginogs.ca/Home/talbot-times-newsletters/talbot-times-1988-june

April 9 - Vimy Ridge Day in Canada

Vimy Ridge was a battle in which Canadians fought in the First World War. It was part of a larger battle of Arras in northern France. It began on Easter Monday, and about 30,000 Canadians fought at Vimy Ridge and claimed victory. 3,600 Canadians were killed, with many wounded.

There is a special exhibit in London right now until September 2015, and then will travel across the country, and it is called the Souterraine Impression.

This exhibition illuminates the lives of Canadian veterans through the deeply personal carvings and drawings made by soldiers concealed in the allied caves and trenches near Vimy Ridge, France.

Organized by Zenon Andrusyszyn, Souterraine Impressions “will bring reproductions of site-specific artifacts to Canada through contemporary 3-dimensional printing, allowing audiences a rare glimpse at these personal documents created while Canadian soldiers awaited orders to join the now legendary Battle for Vimy Ridge. While not a great military success, the battle has subsequently become for Canada a symbol of national unity, achievement and tremendous sacrifice”.

Visitors will see “a series of "tableaus” containing one of the reproduced carvings, a photograph of the soldier who created it and a short biography. While many of the carvings feature regimental or battalion badges, there are also carvings of hearts, animals and names’.

You can go to the museum in London at http://www.museumlondon.ca/exhibitions:115 to get particulars on the exhibit.

Meanwhile, there are news articles today in the papers, and some of them are -

Honouring the memory of Vimy Ridge
http://www.melfortjournal.com/2015/04/07/honouring-the-memory-of-vimy-ridge

New Vimy Foundation poll reveals majority of Canadians believe 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge in 2017 should be focus of Canada's Sesquicentennial
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1514029/new-vimy-foundation-poll-reveals-majority-of-canadians-believe-100th-anniversary-of-vimy-ridge-in-2017-should-be-focus-of-canada-s-sesquicentennial

Three Quarters of Canadians (74%) Believe 100th Anniversary of Vimy Ridge in 2017 Should Be One of Canada’s Most Important Celebrations During Sesquicentennial 
http://www.northumberlandview.ca/index.php?module=news&type=user&func=display&sid=33787

Ninety-eight years later, historian finds ‘missing’ soldiers from the Battle of Vimy Ridge 
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/ninety-eight-years-later-historian-finds-missing-soldiers-from-the-battle-of-vimy-ridge

Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy - Sessions 11

As I promised my blog on 06 January 2014 at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/beginning-genealogy-study-group.html, I watched Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy Session 11 on Wednesday. I will continue to watch the rest of the study group as it proceeds.

The major topic which was discussed in Sessions 11 was a subject which was easy to discuss because Dear Myrt has researched in these records before – American Military Records – Revolutionary and Civil War Military Records.

I, of course, research in both Canadian and American records, and I notice there is a difference. The Canadian records are based on the British system (ranks, for example), and the American are strictly American (my grandfather Lester John BLADES enlisted in the American Army in the First World War although he was from Barrington, Nova Scotia, but was living in Boston, Massachusetts at the time).

If you wish to refresh yourself on American Military Records, you can go to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States_Military_Records

If you wish to refresh yourself on Canadian Military Records, you can go to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Canada_Military_Records

If you want to refresh yourself on British Military Records, you can go to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/England_Military_Records 

The website for Session 11 is at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232

Session 1 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-1.html

Session 2 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-2.html

Session 3 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-3.html

Session 4 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-4.html

Session 5 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/02/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-5.htm 

Session 6 & 7 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_5.html

Sessioin 8 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_13.html

Session 9 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_20.html

Session 10 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session.html

Remember to make yourself a member of Dear Myrt’s Genealogy Community before watching the YouTube Google+ Hangout on Air at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232

Its time for the 4th Annual Genealogy Fair!!!

The 4th Annual Genealogy Fair will be held at the Kitchener Public Library, 85 Queen St N on Saturday, April 25, 2015 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm.

It will be an all-day affair, beginners and experts alike are invited to Kitchener Public Library’s 4th Annual Genealogy Fair. Attend workshops and lectures, speak with experts, browse exhibits, and connect with vendors.

The keynote speaker will be Lynn Palermo of the blog The Armchair Genealogist at http://www.thearmchairgenealogist.com/, and she will offer attendees down-to-earth advice on researching and writing their family history.

For a full-day of speaker, go to http://www.kpl.org/ref/gsr/genealogyfair.html

FREE ADMISSION! Just simply drop by. There is no registration required.

Brant County Branch of OGS will hold a Spring Workshop

On Saturday April 18, 2015, the Brant County Branch of OGS will hold a SPRING WORKSHOP from 9:30 am to 4 pm at the site at 14-118 Powerline Road in Brantford, Ontario. There is a map on the homepage at http://www.ogs.on.ca/brant/index.html

The morning Guest Speaker will be Geoffrey Moyer, a librarian and local historian who has long held a passionate interest in the World Wars and their impact on his hometown. His topic will be the First World War World.

The afternoon speaker will be Terri Hunter, who is an expert on how the Facebook works , and she can tell you how to use it for personal and genealogy research.

The cost to hear these two speakers is $30.00 with lunch, or $35.00 at the door plus $5.00 for lunch.

Please pre-register for the workshop by April 11, 2015.

For your convenience you can pay through Paypal. 

Do you know that its National Archives Week in Canada?

Although it is National Archives Week in Canada, there some archives which celebrate it at other times during the year.

But one archives which celebrates it is the Grimsby Historical Society Archives in Grimbsy, Ontario.

This little archives has as its logo “We preserve Grimsby’s past for the future”.

Yet the little archives which is acting way beyond its weight, has inputted 525 entries onto www.OurOntario.ca, a huge province-wide database. They have also researched and added more than 1,500 pieces of information to the archives’ First World War file. And they have added more than 2,000 newspaper clippings to the collection, as well as scanning thousands of photos and documents for the collection. The database of obituaries – very important especially for family history researchers – now has 7,800 entries. And all of this work has been done by volunteers!

So if you are in the area, drop in and say ‘Hello’.

The website is at http://www.grimsbyhistoricalsociety.com/

What is Canada's largest non-governmental archives?

The Glenbow Archives in Calgary, Alberta is Canada's largest non-governmental archival repository. It has extensive holdings of unpublished documents and photographs related to the history of Western Canada.

The website says that it “houses a wide-ranging collection of unpublished archival records (such as diaries, letters, minute books, photographs, scrapbooks, speeches, membership lists, films, and sound recordings) for over 3,000 individuals, families, clubs, businesses, schools, and organizations in Calgary, southern Alberta and Western Canada.

The records, date from the 1860s to the 1990s, and the areas of specialty include First Nations (especially Blackfoot), Mounted Police, pioneer life, ranching and agriculture, the petroleum industry, politics (especially the farmers' movement), labour and unions, women, the arts (especially theatre), and businesses”.

To visit the Glenbow Museum, go to http://www.glenbow.org/collections/archives/highlights.cfm

The Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/glenbowmuseum

There’s a new look to an older website

 

The Sudbury Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has a new look to its website!

I knew that they were working on one, and today I took a visit.

It is a very clear design, an inviting way to present genealogy, in a non-glitzy
(is that a word?) manner. I am very impressed.

Under Reference Information drop down menu, they have put their library holdings that you can download onto your site; Our Projects – where you can download cemetery updates, and the 1921 census data; Maps - which show the District and the Townships in 1841 – Baldwin, Chapleau, Killarney, Nairn and Hyman, Sables-Spanish Rivers, and Surnames List from various publications - cemeteries, registers, funeral home data, wills, land registry documents and miscellaneous books.

So if you have ancestors in the Sudbury area, this is a place that you should check at http://www.sudburyogs.com/

They also have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/sudburyogs/

Toronto Branch of the OGS releases its summer programe

We have just received the summer program of the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. The program is as follows -

Registration is now open for Genetic Genealogy, a full-day workshop to be held on Saturday 6 June 2015 at North York Central Library, co-sponsored by Toronto Branch and the Library’s Canadiana Department.

This workshop will cover the main types of DNA testing available to genealogists, different analytical techniques and how the results from genetic testing are used in conducting or supporting family history research. Our keynote speaker will be Irish genetic genealogy expert Dr. Maurice Gleeson.

Early-bird rates apply until 9 May and OGS members enjoy additional discounts.

For full program and speaker details and to register online, visit http://torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/workshops/genetic-genealogy/

Toronto Branch and the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library will also be co-sponsoring a one-day workshop on Atlantic Canada Genealogy on 17 October 2015.

The keynote speaker for this event will be Dr. Terrence M. Punch of Halifax, Nova Scotia. We are now looking for other speakers who would like to be part of this workshop.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 16 May 2015.

The full Call for Speakers can be found at http://torontofamilyhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Call-for-Speakers-Atlantic-Canada-Genealogy.pdf.

The website is at http://torontofamilyhistory.org/

Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/TOFamilyHistory

Is your surname Easter or Bunny?

 

Every holiday, like at Christams, ancestry.ca sends out a press release where they usually talk about surnames that have some relation to the holiday at hand.

This time its names associated with Easter – like Easter, or Bunny, for example.

The press release says that Ancestry.ca 'has gone on the hunt through its collection of millions of historical Canadian records and discovered some seasonal and festive Canadians from history who may have been popular at this time of year. One name that stands out is Miss Esther Agg, from Ontario, who is just one of the historical Canadians with Easter names'.

 

They say that from their database, more than 17,000 birth, marriage and death records for Bunnys, including Mr. James W. Bunny who was born in 1877 in Bowmanville, Ontario, but his records show that he lived in Winnipeg later in life, and more than 32,000 records for those with the surname Easter, such as Mr. Samuel Easter, born in 1841. He is seen in the 1911 Census of Canada, living in Grenville, Ontario.

     You can find these name at www.ancestry.ca/

Ever been to Genealogy Summer Camp?

One of the highlights of the summer was going Summer Camp, wasn't it?

Well, did you know that Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has had a Genealogy Summer Camp for almost twenty years?

If you didn't know, but would like to find out more about the summer camp, you can contact Jane MacNamara at her blog http://wherethestorytakesme.ca/genealogy-summer-camp/ for details.

Toronto Branch has been running this innovative program for almost two decades now - they invite out-of-town researchers to Toronto for a full week of concentrated family history research at our wonderful libraries and archives, under the guidance of local experts. More than 140 participants from England, right across Canada and many US states have attended over the years.

Local residents are welcome too, and may choose to stay with the group or attend as “day-campers”.

This year’s Genealogy Summer Camp will run from Sunday 7 June to Friday 12 June 2015.



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-2015.html

 It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

April is Sikh Heritage Month in Ontario

Sikh Heritage Month is celebrating in Ontario because in 2013 Bill 52 An Act to proclaim the month of April as Sikh Heritage passed by the Ontario government.

“Sikh Canadians have lived in Ontario since the middle of the 20th century,” said Singh. “They represent a growing and dynamic population. Sikh Canadians have made significant contributions to the growth and prosperity of Ontario and that’s what we’re celebrating this month.” said Jagmeet Singh, NDP MPP. 

Their website says that "April was specifically chosen given its importance for Sikhs, as it is in April that Sikh Canadians celebrate Vaisakhi, which marks the formalization of the Khalsa and the Sikh articles of faith. Sikh Heritage Month is an opportunity to remember, celebrate and educate our future generations and society at large about Sikh Canadians and the important role that they play in communities across Ontario".

To see their website, go to http://ontariosikhheritagemonth.ca/

To read their Facebook page, go to https://www.facebook.com/sikhheritagemonth



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-2015.html

 It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

SEEKING "ASK AN EXPERT VOLUNTEERS" FOR OGS CONFERENCE 2015

 

Shirley Sturdevant, Program Chair of the Ontario Genealogical Society’s Conference this year in Barrie, Ontario has put out a special call for "ASK AN EXPERT VOLUNTEERS".

Many of the OGS Conference 2015 Speakers have offered their service for the "Ask an Expert" program being offered at the OGS Conference in Barrie this year from May 29-31 at Georgian College, Barrie, Ontario. Conference organizers are seeking other experienced OGS members or other APG/OCAPG experts in the field who wish to offer their services and promote their skills.

This is an excellent opportunity for experts in Canadian genealogy to share their knowledge and help people with their genealogy.

Interested volunteers should contact Shirley Sturdevant, Program Chair at program.conference@ogs.on.ca

You can go to the Conference site at http://www.ogs.on.ca/conference/



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-2015.html

 It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

New idea at the Kensington Market Historical Society

Since the Kensington Market Historical Society came into being in 2012, they have put on many events, and walking tours around the market in Toronto.

And they are about to put on a new exhibit with a interesting way of experiencing it!

On April the 19th at the Lillian H. Smith Library, the Kensington Market Historical Society, and Marianne Williams, and Rachel Leaton will present General Eclectic: Oral Histories of Kensington Market, an online exhibition of the stories from current and former residents of the beloved Toronto neighbourhood.

To launch the exhibit a free' human library' is being co-sponsored by the Toronto Public Library on April 19, 2015 from 2pm to 4:30pm. The Human Library event allows you to "borrow" a member of the Kensington Market community for a brief conversation about their experiences and memories. You are also welcome to share your memories of Kensington Market.

The exhibition will be launched at 2:15pm with the Human Library starting at 2:30pm. Light refreshments from the market will be served.

Do you see your genealogical society doing something like this? You could highlight something in your society, for example. You could have an online exhibit, plus a ‘human library’ of speakers available to talk about the archives one-on-one at your Speakers Series with people who come to the event. Wouldn't  this be a great idea? Some thinking 'outside of the box', right? Let me know if your society intends to do something like this.  You can read my post on the Speaker Series at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/monthly-meeting-or-speaker-series.html

Visit the exhibition online at www.kmhs.ca/general-eclectic after April 19th. (Check back at this time)

Go their website at the http://www.kmhs.ca/



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-2015.html

 It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy - Sessions 11

As I promised my blog on 06 January 2014 at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/beginning-genealogy-study-group.html, I watched Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy Session 11 on Wednesday. I will continue to watch the rest of the study group as it proceeds.

The major topic which was discussed in Sessions 11 was a subject which was a good teaching lesson – How do you introduce family history to a new person who has never done research before?

Dear Myrt told us how she did it yesterday with a new person, and the first document that she introduce her to was census returns at FamilySearch. The second thing she did was to introduce her to the FAN principle – family, acquaintances, and neighbours.

The census and the FAN principal go hand-in-hand.

You can look at a census and you can see who are their neighbours, other family members who may live nearby, and acquaintances who may have worked or gone to church with them, or maybe have married into their family.

So the census is the first place to look.

The website for Session 10 is at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232

Session 1 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-1.html

Session 2 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-2.html

Session 3 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-3.html

Session 4 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-4.html

Session 5 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/02/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-5.htm 

Session 6 & 7 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_5.html

Sessioin 8 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_13.html

Session 9 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_20.html

Session 10 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session.html

Remember to make yourself a member of Dear Myrt’s Genealogy Community before watching the YouTube Google+ Hangout on Air at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-2015.html

 It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Ready to go to SLC on a research trip?

 

Well, they are getting ready at the Medicine Hat Genealogical Society, but they still have room for more members!

They will travel by motor coach, and it will depart from Medicine Hat on May 3rd, with pickup in Lethbridge. They will overnight in Butte, Montana, arriving in Salt Lake City on May 4th. The group departs Salt Lake City on May 9th overnighting in Butte, Montana and arriving in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat on May 10th.

It includes motor coach, accommodations, two breakfasts, taxes and gratuities. Partners are welcome to come, but if they are not researching, they must arrange their own entertainment.

For more information, contact: Janis, Travel Agent Next Door at 403.529.7415 or Debbie, MHDGS Coordinator at 403.526.1865

The website for the research trip is at http://www.abgenealogy.ca/medicine-hat-trip-to-slc-is-an-official-go?id=778

Plus, I notice that there is a short survey about Relatively Speaking, their journal on the website
http://www.abgenealogy.ca/survey-for-relatively-speaking.



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-2015.html

 It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Prince Edward Island Archives has online exhibit

 

The Prince Edward Island Archives has an online exhibit called

Preserved by Letters - Fifty Years of the Public Archives and Records Office which shows how the archives was conceived, and brought into being.    Trace the history of the archives at http://www.gov.pe.ca/archives/onlineexhibits/display.php3?ipn=1&cat=35

Ottawa Museums & Archives Collections

We have been informed that Ottawa has put their museums and archives collections online at http://felix.minisisinc.com/ottawa/scripts/mwimain.dll?get&file=%5Bottawa_web%5Dindex.html

You can search the entire collection, browse the items, or click on one of the community museum links to browse only that museum's collection.

So I took a look at the full collection, and visited each of the museum ‘virtually’ and I liked my visit. I got to see each item at my leisure and I subscribed to the e-newsletter so that I will get the upgrades to the museums, and the archives.

You can search their collections of the community museums in Ottawa – the Bytown Museum, the Diefenbunker, the Goulbourne Museum, the Osgoode Township Museum, and the Museoparc Vanier Museapark, and the City of Ottawa museums at Billings Estate National Museum Site, the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum, and the Gloucester Collection, and of course, the City of Ottawa Archives.



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-2015.html

 It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

UPDATE: OGS Conference – Interview No 6

Shirley Sturdevant, former president of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) interviews Kathryn Lake Hogan, an Ontario professional genealogist, author, educator and speaker specializing in helping family history researchers find their ancestors in Canada.

She annually attends genealogy research institutes and conferences, and this year she will be speaking at the Conference on Saturday with the topic Loyalist or Patriot: Whose Side was He On? , and on Sunday she will speak on two topics - Canadian Copyright for Family History and Free at Last! Researching African Americans in Canada During Slavery.

To view the YouTube interview, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-hOd9DcLL0&feature=youtu.be

And to review the other interviews on this blog, you can go to the following websites -

Interview No 1 with Thomas MacEntee and Dr.Janet Few at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/02/update-ogs-conference-interviews.html

Interview No 2 with Dr. Maurice Gleeson at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/02/another-ogs-interview.html

Interview No 3 with Kirsty Gray http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/02/update-ogs-conference-interview-no-3.html

Interview No 4 with Dave Obee http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/update-ogs-conference-interview-no-4.html

Interview No 5 with Richard M. Doherty http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/update-ogs-conference-interview-no-5.html

The OGS website is at http://www.ogs.on.ca/

The Conference Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioGenealogicalSocietyConference?ref=hl



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-2015.html

 It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012. 

Canadian Week in Review - 30 March 2015

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.

This Week in Canadian History

In 1821, a medical school was incorporated in Montreal. It later became part of McGill University.
To read more, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGill_University

In 1865, Prince Edward Island voted against Confederation.
To read more, go to http://www.revparl.ca/english/issue.asp?param=125&art=765

In 1885, troops were mobilized across Canada because of the Northwest Rebellion
To read more, go to http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/north-west-rebellion/

Social Media

TO Blog
What hapening with Toronto's waterfront silos?
http://www.blogto.com/city/2015/03/whats_happening_with_torontos_waterfront_silos/
   The Canada Malting and Victory Mills silos are like two great concrete bookends on the downtown waterfront. Located at the bottoms of Bathurst and Parliament streets, the former soya and grain storage facilities are relics of a time when the port of Toronto was a place of heavy industry, not entertainment.

(Photos) See what gems are hidden outside the walls of Her Majesty's Penitentiary
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/see-what-gems-are-hidden-outside-the-walls-of-her-majesty-s-penitentiary-1.2984978
   There's a museum of crime and punishment, containing documents from the 1800s and pieces of history from sordid jailhouse antics, just outside of Newfoundland and Labrador's largest —and Canada's oldest —jail.
   In fact, very few know it exists, and it's not open to the public.

(Photos) HANTS HISTORY, Nova Scotia
http://www.hantsjournal.ca/Opinion/Columnists/2015-03-26/article-4084294/HANTS-HISTORY-(March-26,-2015-edition)/1
   A look at what was making the news 25 and 50 years ago in the Hants Journal.

Articles

Nova Scotia

Whiley sawmill roof collapse 'end of an era'
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/whiley-sawmill-roof-collapse-end-of-an-era-1.3006294
   Due to the snow and ice storms that Nova Scotia has had this winter, an original mill built by freed slaves in the 1800s just outside of Halifax in Upper Hammonds Plains, has had its roof collapse.
   It was the first mill built in Upper Hammonds Plains, and was still a thriving business until just a few years ago.

New Brunswick

Rare artifact at Sisson mine site dates back 8,500 years
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/rare-artifact-at-sisson-mine-site-dates-back-8-500-years-1.3006681
   Archaeologists have recovered hundreds of artifacts at the site of the proposed Sisson mine north of Fredericton, including a rare find that could be up to 8,500 years old.
   However, two other artifacts recovered from the site have been lost, and Aboriginal leaders are concerned the "precious items" recovered aren't being handled with enough care.

Ontario

One step closer to a new heritage centre for Niagara
http://www.niagarathisweek.com/news-story/5527240-one-step-closer-to-a-new-heritage-centre-for-niagara/
   The Lincoln and Welland Regiment is one step closer to finding a new home for its collection of artifacts.

Devitt family played major role in Waterloo history
http://www.therecord.com/living-story/5514123-devitt-family-played-major-role-in-waterloo-history/
   One doesn't read very far into the history of Waterloo before coming across the name Devitt.
   Barnabus Devitt, orphaned and just one generation removed from Ireland, was adopted by Abraham and Magdalena Erb. He grew up in their 1812 home which is still standing and now designated as the city's oldest house.

VIMY RIDGE: Soldiers’ last messages go on tour
http://www.lfpress.com/2015/03/20/soldiers-last-messages-go-on-tour
   A London team’s capture of the messages and images carved by soldiers in a Vimy Ridge cave will be shared across Canada, thanks to $250,000 grant from the federal government.
    The Souterrain Impressions Exhibit will be launched at Museum London in April and tour the country until June 2018, the Department of Canadian Heritage has announced.

Reflecting on 2015 Black History Month celebration in Guelph
http://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion-story/5515067-reflecting-on-2015-black-history-month-celebration-in-guelph/
   Since 2013, during the month of February, the Guelph Black Heritage Society has organized several activities to celebrate Black History Month.
   Most of these activities took place at Heritage Hall, 83 Essex Street, the former British Methodist Episcopal (BME) church built by ex-slaves in 1880.

Saskatchewan

Saskatoon Morning looks at wartime home history in the city
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-morning-looks-at-wartime-home-history-in-the-city-1.3000390
   Small homes built after the Second World War are still a major feature of Saskatoon neighbourhoods – and across the country.

Royal Heights Park will become a celebration of veterans
http://www.sasklifestyles.com/news/local-news/royal-heights-park-will-become-a-celebration-of-veterans-1.1805865\
   Royal Heights Park in Estevan is going to be getting a new name, and some new additions, thanks to the Royal Canadian Legion's Estevan branch. It will be renamed the Royal Heights Veteran's Memorial Park

Grain elevator pictures seek passage to India
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/grain-elevator-pictures-seek-passage-to-india-1.2988012
   Jayaram Varada has taken a series of photographs of Saskatchewan grain elevators and hopes to exhibit his work in Kerala, India. He had moved to Saskatchewan in 2009.
   "Iconic Grain Elevators and Life in Western Canada" will be it’s title, and it will portray 60 of his photographs from Saskatchewan.

British Columbia

Mass support in pioneer times began with a signature
http://www.vicnews.com/opinion/296802811.html
   On Nov. 22, 1858, more than 400 residents of Yale, B.C., signed a petition asking their new governor, James Douglas, to provide an armed escort for their shipments of “treasure” (gold) that were being sent down the river.

Coquitlam students honour D-Day war efforts by cleaning up Juno Beach
http://www.tricitynews.com/news/297300661.html
   A group of Dr. Charles Best secondary students learned a history lesson about Canada's participation in World War II and did some service work of their own during a spring break tour of France.

 News Stories of the Week

We have just come through Museum Week in Canada, a part of a world-wide museum week, and now comes the news that Brant County Museum, among other museums in Ontario*, were meeting this week to learn how to reorganizing their history collection – called the Re-Org Program.

Simon Lambert, preservation development adviser with the Canadian Conservation Institute—which provides advice to about 2,000 small- and medium-sized Canadian museums—led the three-day learning process.

He said that most museums have 90-95% of their collections in storage. He said a survey of 1,500 museums in 136 countries revealed that 60% of them had major storage issues.

The Brant County Museum and Archives is reorganizing about 30,000 pieces of archival material, including books, photographs, slides, letters written by First World War soldiers, pamphlets, manuals, and advertisements were being sorted, boxed and placed into the new compact shelving.

To visit Brant County Museum and archives, go to http://brantmuseum.ca/

Meanwhile, a Comox man is keeping HMCS Alberni's maritime history alive. The Alberni was a Canadian Corvette that sank after a German U-boat attack in 1944, and after Lewis Bartholomew of Courtenay saw a photo of it, he created a mobile display of the ship, along with corresponding information about its occupants.

And the Alberni Project Society was formed. Its goal is to collect, interpret, display, and preserve the history of Canada’s role in the Second World War, and to convey the personal stories and events of a global war.

You can visit the website at www.alberniproject.org, or you can visit the museum in Comox from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

And finally, Historica Canada recently announced that Rebecca Xie of Brandon has been named one of the grand prize winners in the 2014 Citizenship Challenge.

Over 60,000 young Canadians participated in the national contest!

Rebecca won an all-expenses paid trip to Ottawa. She was joined by fellow winner, Samantha Quinto of Scarborough, and they travelled to Ottawa where they explored Canada’s history and culture with personal tours of Parliament Hill, the Canadian Museum of History, and the Canadian War Museum

The Citizenship Challenge asks Canadians to put their national knowledge to the test, by studying for, and writing, a mock citizenship exam. Xie received 100 per cent on the mock citizenship exam.

You can see more about the Citizenship Challenge at http://www.citizenshipchallenge.ca/

That was the Canadian genealogy, history, and heritage news in Canada this past week!

* The six museums were - The Museum in Tower Hill in Parry Sound; the NEC in Timmins; Norfolk Arts Cetre in Simcoe; Clarington Museums in Bowmanville; Lambton Heritage Museum in Grand Bend; and the Collingwood Museum.

And that was the Canadian genealogy, history and heritage news in Canada this past week!

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.


If you missed last week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-23-march-2015_23.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Need help in finding your Canadian ancestors?

Susan I. of Toronto, Ontario says –

"With her wonderful suggestions, including provincial and local archival holdings, books, and local church records, I was delighted to uncover a marriage certificate naming my paternal great, great grandparents and their original county in Ireland.

Elizabeth also mentored me regarding further educational opportunities. I was delighted with her services."

If you do, go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services and see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor. 

The next Canadian Week in Review will be posted 06 April, 2015. 

Have you seen the latest survey?

The Weekly Genealogical Survey has been published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (Vol. 18, No. 12, Whole #732, March 25, 2015), and it asked the question - if you use an online or desktop software program to compile your family history research, which one do you use? 

The top five responses were -

50% use Ancestry.com

47% use Family Tree Maker

13% use RootsMagic

11% use Legacy Family Tree

7% use Reunion + 7% stated that ‘I use a software program not listed above’

Do you think these number are farily accurate, as far as you can tell. I think that Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker are the two most popular desktop ptogrames, followed closely by RootsMagic from people that I talk to in Ottawa.



Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-23-march-2015_23.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.