Day 2 - RootsTech 2014

Yesterday, I only had time to view only one session, and it was entitled “Tweets, Links, Pins, and Posts: Break Down Genealogical Brick Walls with Social Media” by Lisa Alzo.

Lisa was her usual friendly self as she led us through the world of social media, and told us of her life as a writer of genealogy.

I got the impression that sometimes she was harried by all of the things that are out there these days as far as social media is concerned, but she said that if we pick two or three platforms to work with, we will become more comfortable to work with them.

For myself, the three platforms that I use are blogs, Goggle+ Hangouts On Air, and Facebook.

So what do you use?  

Today, I will watch two sessions, and they are -

At 3:00 p.m. EST, “Information Overload: Managing Online Searches and Their Results” by Josh Taylor.

At 8:00 p.m. EST, “Five Ways to Do Genealogy in Your Sleep” by Deborah Gamble.

Remember, you can always watch these at a later date because they will be posted on the RootsTech website after the conference ends today at https://rootstech.org.

If you would like to read about the talks given yesterday, there are handouts available online at https://rootstech.org/about/syllabus-materials

And even though I’m not there in person, it’s still great to be able to participate from afar!

So, Happy Viewing to all, and thank you, RootsTech, for making this possible!

Elizabeth Lapointe

genealogycanada@aol.com

Day 1 – RootsTech 2014

Thursday, I listened to two live-streaming sessions from RootsTech, and one Google+ Hand Out on Air on YouTube.

The first thing I watched at 12:30 p.m. EST was “Top 10 Things I Learned About My Family From My Couch” by Tammy Hepps.

What a delightful story she had to tell of doing research from her couch. She was entertaining, energetic, and full of enthusiasm as she told us about the ancestry trip she took from her couch via the research facilities she visited online.

Then, 3:00 p.m. EST, I watched Rob Tanner’s “FamilySearch Family Tree: What’s New and What’s Next”.

I never miss his talks because they are about FamilySearch, and I am always interested to hear what he has to say. And, they are humourous.

One interesting thing he mentioned was that 80% of the information that a person submits to family trees is already there. There is duplication! It is getting better, but it is still problem.

The last thing I watched at 4:30 p.m. EST was Dear Myrt’s “Google Hangouts 101a: The Panelist's View”, where she took a computer class through the “how-tos” on producing a video on-air. She had helpers - Cousin Russ was there, along with her friends, Barry Kline and Jenny Lanctot.

If you would like to read about the talks given yesterday, there are handouts available online at https://rootstech.org/about/syllabus-materials.

Today, I won’t have as much time to watch as many sessions, but one session I will be watching will be at 3:00 p.m. EST, when I will watch “Tweets, Links, Pins, and Posts: Break Down Genealogical Brick Walls with Social Media”, given by my friend, Lisa Alzo.

 

One thing I did notice was that the keynote speakers are not being live-streamed this year. So we won’t be hearing first-hand (except through bloggers and interviews) what to expect insofar as the latest developments in family history.

One blogger you may want to follow is M. Diane Rogers. She writes the popular CanadaGenealogy blog, and she is at RootsTech.

The blog is at http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/02/rootstech-2014-first-day.html

Elizabeth Lapointe

genealogycanada@aol.com

Site Launch: new version of the IslandNewspapers.ca

A message from Mark Leggott, University Librarian/Privacy and Copyright Officer, University of Prince Edward Island, will launch a new version of the IslandNewspapers.ca site, which features a new interface and all of The Charlottetown Guardian issues from 1892-1957.

The launch will take place on Tuesday February 11th in the Art Gallery at the Confederation Centre Art Galley and Museum (Grafton Street Entrance) in downtown Charlottetown, with a start time of 2:00 PM.

You can get a sneak peek at http://islandnewspapers.ca/

15 sessions will be live streamed from RootsTech 2014

The conference starts today, and here are the sessions (All the times are MST)

Thursday, Feb. 6 

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. “Top 10 Things I Learned About My Family from My Couch,” by Tammy Hepps

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. “FamilySearch Family Tree: What’s New and What’s Next,” by Ron Tanner; 

2:30 to 3:30 p.m. “Intro to DNA for Genealogists,” by James Rader

 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. “Genealogy in the Cloud,” by Randy Hoffman 

5 p.m. to 6 p.m. “Sharing Your Family with Multimedia,” by Michael LeClerc. 

Friday, Feb. 7

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. “Storytelling Super Powers: How to Come Off as Your Family’s Genealogy Hero,” by David Adelman

1 p.m.to 2 p.m. “Tweets, Links, Pins, and Posts: Break Down Genealogical Brick Walls with Social Media,” by Lisa Alzo

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. “Getting the Most Out of Ancestry.com,” by Crista Cowen

4 to 5 p.m. “Finding Family and Ancestors Outside the USA with New Technologies” by Daniel Horowitz

5 p.m. to 6 p.m. “Do It Yourself Photo Restoration,” by Ancestry Insider.

Saturday, Feb. 8

10:30 to 11:30 a.m., “Become an iPad Power User,” by Lisa Louise Cooke

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. “Information Overload: Managing Online Searches and Their Results,” by Josh Taylor

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. “A Beginner’s Guide to Going Paperless,” by Randy Whited

4 p.m. to 5 p.m. “How to Interview Yourself for a Personal History,” by Tom Taylor

5 p.m. to 6 p.m. “Five Ways to Do Genealogy in Your Sleep,” by Deborah Gamble.

And while watching Mondays With Myrt on her Google+ Hangout this past Monday, I saw Diane Rogers from the British Columbia Genealogical Society in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City with Dear Myrt and Diane was taking about one of her research passions – women in genealogy.

You can go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCeEfWeUWPc to see Diane with Dear Myrt.

So it looks like we are getting off to a fantastic start!

Valentine’s Day Special!!!

GlobalGenealogy in Toronto has just announced that from now until February 14, 2014, they will remove shipping charges from all orders of $35.00 or more ($35.00 or more in product, not including taxes, etc).

Includes shipments to Canada & USA (excluding Hawaii and Alaska).

Free Shipping is via Expedited Parcel Service!

The website is www.GlobalGenealogy.com

Travels with My Aunt: Adventures in Europe 1914

The British Isles Family history Society of Great Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario will hold its monthly meeting on Saturday February the 8th.

The following is the schedule of the meeting -

9:00 a.m. — Before BIFHSGO Education Talk — Bob McDonald will discuss Gaelic naming customs and their relation to the Gaelic language, the oldest literary language in Northern Europe and once widely spoken in Canada.

9:30 a.m. — Browse our Discovery Tables for WWI and Merchant Marine items, hosted by Barbara Tose.

10:00 a.m. — Travels with My Aunt: Adventures in Europe 1914 —Barbara Tose marks the 100th anniversary of her great-grand aunt Nellie Miller's 30-page letter to her brother that is a fascinating tale of events, society, and adventure in 1914. Nellie was a nurse superintendent at the Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Ontario, who joined the J.L. Hughes party for a tour of Britain and Europe.

I have heard Barbara talk before, and she is an engaging speaker.

If you would like to listen to an interview with her about her talk, go to http://www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=106

The meeting takes place at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa. Free parking is available in the lots east of the building only on Saturday and Sunday. Do not use the lot west of the building.

Open to members and visitors. Free admission.

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

Canadian Week in Review 03 February 2014

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

Up To Rawdon http://uptorawdon.com/ Daniel Parkinson has updated his two book set. To see the 29 pages of updates, please go to http://www.uptorawdon.com/0-addendum.pdf

Social Media

No new blogs this week.

News Articles

Funding to help save community's http://www.highrivertimes.com/2014/01/27/provincial-funding-to-help-save-communitys-heritage-sites Heather Klimchuk, Alberta Minister of Culture announced $12-million in funding on Jan. 27 at the Museum of the Highwood. She said that these funds will be used ”to protect historical buildings, museums and archives and archeological and palaeontological sites”

War memorial to be added to Saskatoon’s River Landing  http://metronews.ca/news/saskatoon/924502/war-memorial-to-be-added-to-river-landing/ River Landing could soon be home to a new war memorial honouring the contributions of First Nations and ally soldiers in the War of 1812.

Neanderthal DNA hides in genes dictating our hair, skin
Researcher 'quite proud' of his above-average 2.9% Neanderthal genome http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/neanderthal-dna-hides-in-genes-dictating-our-hair-skin-1.2515871 Scientists say that skin and hair of modern man could be as much as 70 per cent Neanderthal

Story of the Week



In a message from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, on the Occasion of Black History Month, he remind us “Black History Month serves a two-fold purpose: to look back on the achievements and contributions of Black Canadians; and to acknowledge that Black history is Canadian history-inextricably linked to every citizen across the land and essential to Canada's future”.

In December 1995, the Canadian House of Commons officially recognized February as Black History Month. The motion introduced by the first black Canadian woman elected to Parliament, the Honourable Jean Augustine. The motion was carried unanimously by the House of Commons, and the Senate ratified a similar motion by Senator Donald Oliver in 2008

To this end, Canada Post had issued two stamps – one to Africville, a black community in north-end of Halifax and Hogan’s Alley was the unofficial name of a four-block-long dirt lane that formed the nucleus of Vancouver’s – first concentrated African-Canadian community in British Columbia.

To read more about Canadian Back Heritage month, go to http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/index.asp

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 10 February 2014.

FootsSteps of the Past

Kim Mills, a fellow blogger and writer—she also wrote Organizing Digital Files, a how-to article for the latest edition of Chinook (the journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society)—has a blog called FootsSteps of the Past at http://footstepspast.blogspot.com

In her blog, she mentions researching the following surnames –

• Anderson & Andersson
• Badgerow
• Churchyard
• Colgan
• Ferrier
• Gallant
• Gardiner
• Gibson
• Grummett
• Hazard
• Hazlett & Haslett
• Kane
• Kuhn
• Laws & Lawes
• Mills
• Mört
• Puddington
• Robichaud
• Robinson
• Schuler
• Smith (Irish from County Tyrone)
• Spitz
• Stinson

Her main areas of research are –

Canada

• New Brunswick
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island 

US

• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island

Countries

• Germany (Baden)
• Ireland
• Scotland
• Sweden

She also has a blog called Homestead Acres at www.homestead-acres.com, and she has vlogs and videos at www.youtube.com/homesteadacres where she talks about the “homesteading lifestyle”.

Chinook - Winter, January 2014

The Winter, January 2014 (Volume 34, Number 2) issue of Chinook —the journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society—is out, and I am in it!

Last fall, I had asked its Editor, Wayne Shepheard, about doing a possible article on citing sources. I submitted Sources and Citations in Genealogy: What Are They? in November, and it appears on pages 8 to 11 of this issue.

In another article, entitled Starting Over, Michele Simmons Lewis gives very good advice on keeping one’s genealogy current.

Lois Sparling, in Organizing Family History Research, explores different ways to keep it all organized. She also reviews a book on the subject by A. C. Fleming called The Organized Family Historian.

And following in her footsteps is an article by Marion Peterson called Organizing My Genealogy Files in which she tells us how she has organized her work. Next, Kim Mills, in her article, Organizing Digital Files, lets us see how she does it.

    

And there are three other articles – Caring for Family Keepsakes: Ten Tips to Help You Preserve the Past by Denise May Levenick; Personal Digital Archiving for Individuals, Families and Information Professionals: Issues to Consider by Donald T. Hawkins; and Succession-Proofing Your Family History by Jim Benedict.

This a very complete journal, with lots of articles, columns, tips, events, and book reviews of interest to genealogists. The journal is not necessarily Alberta-centric, and it certainly appeals to everyone.

For further information, visit the AFHS online at www.afhs.ab.ca.

Gwyneth Pearce, Secretary of the Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society tells us that they will be holding an all-day workshop Scotland and its People, at the North York Central Library on Saturday 12 April 2014. .

There will be 11 sessions, and they will be on Scottish history, patterns of migration, records and repositories, planning your research both here and in Scotland, and adding “flesh to the bones” of your Scottish ancestors.

The workshop will be led by two principal speakers: UK-based genealogist Sheena Tait, who specializes in Scottish research, and historian Kevin James, a faculty member in the Scottish Studies Program at the University of Guelph. Krista Barclay, Christine Woodcock, and three of our own Toronto Branch experts – Marian Press, Linda Reid and James F.S. Thomson – will also bring their knowledge and enthusiasm to the day’s program..Whether you’re a seasoned researcher or just beginning your family history journey, this is a day you won’t want to miss!

Full program details and speaker biographies can be found on the Branch website at http://torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/workshops/scottish-workshop-2014/

The early-bird registration deadline for this event is 15 March. OGS members enjoy additional discounts.

Library and Archives Canada and Canadiana.org partnership starting to appear online

This notice came from the LAC this morning - "The partnership between Library and Archives Canada and Canadiana.org over the next ten years involves the digitization, indexing and description of millions of personal, administrative and government documents. It will triple the LAC's digital content on the Web, and allow Canadians to access tens of millions of additional images regardless of where they live, at no charge". They have divided the holdings into Genealogy, Aboriginal History, Military History, and Landmark Papers. Be forewarned before you start working with these fonds though, I have found with the ones that I have worked with, they ARE NOT INDEXED. And it has can cause headaches to me – a researcher. So has anyone used these online digitization fonds yet? How have you found them? And some of them are dark - almost too dark to read. `1q So if you can deal with that all that, they are great research material to have online, and combined with the report s

NEWS FLASH!!Global RootsTech Conference Announces Free Online Broadcast Schedule

Paul Nauta from RootsTech Media Relations, has just sent us this notice -

SALT LAKE CITY-RootsTech, the world's largest family history and technology conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 6-8, 2014, announced today that 15 of its popular sessions will be broadcast live and complimentary over the Internet. The live broadcasts will give those unable to attend in-person worldwide a sample of this year's conference content. Interested viewers can watch the live presentations at RootsTech.org. The fourth-year conference has attracted over 10,000 registered attendees in-person, and leaders expect over 20,000 additional viewers online.

The streamed sessions include a sampling of technology and family history presentations. Following are the broadcasted sessions and speakers. All times are in mountain standard time (MST):

Thursday, February 6

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Top 10 Things I Learned About My Family from My Couch by Tammy Hepps

1 p.m. to 2 p.m., FamilySearch Family Tree: What's New and What's Next by Ron Tanner

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Intro to DNA for Genealogists by James Rader

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Genealogy in the Cloud by Randy Hoffman

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Sharing Your Family with Multimedia by Michael LeClerc

Friday, February 7

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Storytelling Super Powers: How to Come Off as Your Family's Genealogy Hero by David Adelman

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Tweets, Links, Pins, and Posts: Break Down Genealogical Brick Walls with Social Media by Lisa Alzo

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Getting the Most Out of Ancestry.com by Crista Cowen

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Finding Family and Ancestors Outside the USA with New Technologies by Daniel Horowitz

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Do It Yourself Photo Restoration by Ancestry Insider

Saturday, February 8

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Become an iPad Power User by Lisa Louise Cooke

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Information Overload: Managing Online Searches and Their Resultsby Josh Taylor

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., A Beginner's Guide to Going Paperless by Randy Whited

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., How to Interview Yourself for a Personal History by Tom Taylor

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Five Ways to Do Genealogy in Your Sleep by Deborah Gamble

About RootsTech

RootsTech is a global family history event where people of all ages learn to discover and share their family stories and connections through technology. The first annual conference was held in 2011, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hosted by FamilySearch and sponsored by leading genealogical organizations, the conference includes hands-on demonstrations and forums to provide a highly interactive environment and accelerate learning. Content is geared to young and old, beginner to advanced levels.

To visit their website, go to https://rootstech.org/

The National Gallery of Canada

There will be a summer exhibit called The Great War: The Persuasive Power of Photography, and it will begin June 27, coinciding with Canada History Week, which starts July the 1st, and will run until the 17th of November. 

This exhibit brings together a diverse and remarkable selection of photographs drawn from national and international collections in an effort to illustrate the many important roles that photography played in the First World War.

The website for that National Gallery of Canada is http://www.gallery.ca/en/

NEWS FLASH! Library and Archives Canada to Digitize 640,000 First World War Service Files

As part of the commemoration of the centennial of the First World War, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) announced in its News section that it is undertaking the digitization of 640,000 personnel service files of the First World War’s Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) members with a view to ensuring the long-term preservation of these frail paper documents.

The first quarter, beginning with the letter A through D, will be closed as of March 2014 and will be available on-line as of Summer 2014.

At the end of the project, expected in 2015, Canadians will be able to research high-quality digital copies of the 640,000 newly digitized service files from the comfort of their own home.

To read more about the project, go to http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/Pages/digitization-cef-service-files.aspx

Old Family Photo Workshop

On Saturday March 22, 2014, the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia will present a Photo Workshop as part of the monthly meeting to be held from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm at the Akins A/V Room, Nova Scotia Archives, 6016 University Ave, Halifax.

The workshop will be lead by Jenny Milligan, MEd, Socio-Costumologist, and will cover -

• Learn to date old photo
• Place people in your family tree
• Help identify faces from your past
• Browse & study a collection of historic photo & costume reference books

Bring your old photos!

Cost: $25 ($20 for GANS Members)

Register by email to info@NovaScotiaAncestors.ca

You may email 1-2 photos with your registration.

Please note that only 20 places are available for this workshop.

The website of GANS is http://www.novascotiaancestors.ca/

Canadian Week in Review 27 January 2014

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

The Eastern Townships of Quebec http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~qceastwn/ Its is almost 20 years since this site has been on the Internet. This area was a place where many Loyalists settlers, and immigrants from the British Isles settled.

Immigrants to Canada 1930-1950 $  http://www.orderincouncillists.com/205496156 This site has the surnames of immigrants online who came to Canada between 1930 and 1950, listed on the Orders in Council of the Privy Council of Canada. If you wish to receive the record, a fee will be charged.

Social Media

From Mowat and Beyond http://beyondmowat.wordpress.com/ This blogger researches in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is researching the surnames such as Allary, Basham, Ellis, Galbraith, Goodson, Holt, Johnston, Kotlarchuk, Masiowski, Moxam, Munro, Pascal, Pelletier, Reader, Ritchie, Storrar, and White.

News Articles 

Rideau Canal faces $104M maintenance and repair backlog http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Rideau+Canal+faces+104M+maintenance+repair+backlog/9414058/story.html The Ottawa Citizen newspaper has calculated that Rideau Canal faces a huge amount of repairs that is not being done. This includes repairs to the canal locks, canal walls, dams, weirs, dams and so on. 

Canadian school official pushes for new history curriculum http://www.ecns.cn/2014/01-22/98125.shtml A Vancouver School Board trustee has a motion to be voted on that British Columbia change the high school curriculum to include content on the contributions and discrimination experienced by early Chinese settlers.

Exhibit brings to light Italian Canadian strife during WWII
http://www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=57317 'Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times: Italian Canadian Experiences During World War II', is the title of a new touring exhibit by the Columbus Centre of Toronto.

Right now, it’s in North Bay where people can see about the time when Italian Canadians were put in internment camps during the 2nd World War. The exhibit will be open to the public from January 15th to April 18th of 2014, and there is a Video onsite. 

Acadian Museum marks 50th anniversary Sunday http://www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2014-01-24/article-3590011/Acadian-Museum-marks-50th-anniversary-Sunday/1 Visit the Acadian Museum and see how it evolved into what it is today – a world class museum on Prince Edward Island. This exhibit will be open until May 2014. 

Sikh museum in Canada to mark Komagata Maru centennial http://www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=57317 The Abbotsford’s Sikh Heritage Museum will host a special year long exhibit which will commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident, during which 352 Punjabi immigrants on a ship from India were denied entry into Canada.

Story of the Week

City of Toronto Archives

The City of Toronto Archives has a new site, and true to its word, it is better organized than the previous site.

The first thing you see when you go to the City of Toronto Archives is the Search the Archives window, and if you press on that site, you will be taken to a search box where you can enter your search term. You can find out where it is located in the archives, and then you can locate it easily when you visit the archives in the future.

You can also see what’s available at the archives for example - city directories, assessment rolls, court proceedings, fire insurance maps, and you can go online and look at their maps, view web exhibits, and photos.

You can look at This month in Toronto’s history, and Find out the history of your house, and Canada’s First Subway.

Plus, you can supplement your research at the Archives of Ontario and the Toronto family History Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society with the City of Toronto Archives.

The site is at http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=7cb4ba2ae8b1e310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextfmt=defaultt

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 03 February 2014.

Anglo-Celtic Roots - Winter 2013

The Winter 2013 issue of Anglo-Celtic Roots continue to live up to its mandate in bringing family history to the British Isles Family History Society of Ottawa (BIFHSGO) members.

In this issue, there are articles by –

Eleanor Eagar’s Descendents by Carolyn Emblem, in which she tells us about her great-grand-Aunt Eleanor’s travels across three countries – England, Australia, and New Zealand, and her various marriages.

Little by Little from County Mayo to Fitzroy and Beyond  by Brenda Krauter, in which she writes about the Little family who came to the Ottawa Valley during the Great Potato Famine, and the brick wall that they presented to a genealogical researcher.

These Old Walls of Ireland – Recording of Memories by Philip Donnelly is a summarized version of the Don Whiteside Memorial Lecture at the BIFHSGO conference last fall, in which Donnelly give an overview of the projects that are preserving memories of Ireland’s past, and they are -

•         The Gathering Ireland 2013
•          These Old Walls – the Homes of our Great-Grandparents
•          Ireland Reaching Out (Irelandxo.com)
•          The Hercules Project in County Waterford

The Anglo-Celtic Roots also has regular columns by members John D. Reid called The Cream of the Crop, and by Betty Warburton called The Bookworm, as well as a report on the Conference of  2013.

The BIFHSGO website is at www.bifhsgo.com

Their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/pages/British-Isles-Family-History-Society-of-Greater-Ottawa/149788348437126