Lesley Anderson from Ancestry.ca and Brian Glenn from BIFHSGO rounded out this special evening with a very informative talk on where to search for an immigrant ancestor.
Lesley stressed that you should start your search in the land that they migrated to - in this case, Canada.
She had listed 19 records she would check, but the two most important are BMDs (birth, marriage & death certificates) and census. One can use both of these records to cross-check against each other to verify birthdays, where the person was living, whether the person was married or not, his occupation, etc.
She explained that Ancestry.ca was launched in January 2006, and to date, close to 410-million records have been put on the site.
The Vital Statistics of Ontario can be checked on Ancestry.ca. This summer, two more years will be added to the end date of each one - births will go from 1909 to 1911, marriages will go from 1924 to 1926, and deaths will go from 1934 to 1936.
The most impressive non-pay site that she has encountered is the one by the Library and Archives Canada, which has very good Irish-Canadian databases and information.
Brain Glenn told us that the LAC and the National Archives of Ireland is in the process of digitizing the census of 1901 and 1911, and they will be made free on the National Archives of Ireland website.
Lesley ended the session by talking about the Boston Pilot, a newspaper which had a section on looking for missing Irish people in the U.S. and Canada (from 1831-1921).
Ruby Cusack has mentioned her experience with this database on her website.
A daily blog about Canadian genealogy, heritage, and history
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Irish Genealogy Night - Part II
Mike More, Chairman of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society, told us about the society, the area it covers, and its projects. He then gave a talk on what he perceives are the Eight Golden Rules of Genealogy.
1. Work Backwards
I think we all know this by now, but there are still some who try to circumvent the process and try to work from the past to the present.
People have been researching genealogy since the 1800s, and over 200 years of research has told us something - that if we want success - we have to start with ourselves.
2. Never Assume
Always check for facts. If it is down on a piece of paper that your great-grandmother was born on a certain date, you can never assume it is the right date - you must check the birth or baptismal certificates to see if it is correct.
3. Spelling of Names
Never completely trust the spelling of first and last names.
There have all been variants in the spelling, and if your ancestor spelled the surname SMITH one way and the Canadian census taker spelling it SMYTH - then you have a problem, unless you know that the names can be spelled differently.
Fortunately these days, there are programs with SOUNDEX capabilities to help you with surnames.
4. Search for Information to Confirm a Fact
Always try to find three pieces of information that confirm the fact that you have in front of you.
Everything is only speculation until it is confirmed.
5. Write Everything Down
Cite your sources!
Information closer to the date the event happened is usually more correct than information that is later recorded.
For example, birth information would be more correct close to the birth than information recorded 20 years after the birth.
6. Join a Genealogical Organization
When you join a group, it gives you a sense of belonging. You will be with people who have the same interest as yourself, and you can ask them questions about their experiences with genealogical problems.
7. Do Your Homework for a Trip
Remember to put down the five questions to be answered - why, where, when, who, and what. Once done, go to the local library, archives, or churches, for instance, to look for the answers.
8. Share Your Information
Publish your family history either on the Internet, e-books, GEDCOM, scrapbooks, or photo albums, for example. Just publish it.
And if I can add my own piece of advice - do not forget to put a copy in the local archives so that when it comes time for someone else to add to your genealogy, a copy of your work will be waiting for them.
1. Work Backwards
I think we all know this by now, but there are still some who try to circumvent the process and try to work from the past to the present.
People have been researching genealogy since the 1800s, and over 200 years of research has told us something - that if we want success - we have to start with ourselves.
2. Never Assume
Always check for facts. If it is down on a piece of paper that your great-grandmother was born on a certain date, you can never assume it is the right date - you must check the birth or baptismal certificates to see if it is correct.
3. Spelling of Names
Never completely trust the spelling of first and last names.
There have all been variants in the spelling, and if your ancestor spelled the surname SMITH one way and the Canadian census taker spelling it SMYTH - then you have a problem, unless you know that the names can be spelled differently.
Fortunately these days, there are programs with SOUNDEX capabilities to help you with surnames.
4. Search for Information to Confirm a Fact
Always try to find three pieces of information that confirm the fact that you have in front of you.
Everything is only speculation until it is confirmed.
5. Write Everything Down
Cite your sources!
Information closer to the date the event happened is usually more correct than information that is later recorded.
For example, birth information would be more correct close to the birth than information recorded 20 years after the birth.
6. Join a Genealogical Organization
When you join a group, it gives you a sense of belonging. You will be with people who have the same interest as yourself, and you can ask them questions about their experiences with genealogical problems.
7. Do Your Homework for a Trip
Remember to put down the five questions to be answered - why, where, when, who, and what. Once done, go to the local library, archives, or churches, for instance, to look for the answers.
8. Share Your Information
Publish your family history either on the Internet, e-books, GEDCOM, scrapbooks, or photo albums, for example. Just publish it.
And if I can add my own piece of advice - do not forget to put a copy in the local archives so that when it comes time for someone else to add to your genealogy, a copy of your work will be waiting for them.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Irish Genealogy Night
I went with my husband and a friend to the first-ever "Genealogy Night" sponsored together by the city's genealogical societies and the Irish Society of the National Capital Region. Unfortunately, our camera was not working last night, so there aren't any pictures.
We were a bit late but arrived in time to join several dozen interested people hear the last of the talk given by Kyle Browness of the Library and Archives Canada. He talked about how the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has taken the initiative by putting on the Irish Studies Symposia of 2006 and 2008 at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/irish-history and also by visiting The Shamrock and the Maple Leaf, which contains photos, letters, books, and music on the website at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ireland.
He talked about how they have put the full symposia onsite. You can go to the website and choose over 40 or so presentations to read, to listen to, or watch them on video.
Kyle said that the music content in The Shamrock and the Maple Leaf will triple over the summer, and that the photos on Flickr.com have doubled since they were first put on in November, 2008.
He also noted that the response to all of these resources that the LAC has put on the Internet has been good, and they are very hopeful that this reaction will continue in the future.
He said they did this because the presenters want everyone to share in the knowledge that was extended during the two days of each of the symposiums about Irish-Canada, which covered a wide range of topics. They are important to family history researchers because they give a historical context to Ireland and to the Irish-Canadian immigration.
Tomorrow, I will cover the first of the talks given by Mike More, the Chairman of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. And the day after, I will cover the presentations given by Brian Glenn of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa and Lesley Anderson of Ancestry.ca.
We were a bit late but arrived in time to join several dozen interested people hear the last of the talk given by Kyle Browness of the Library and Archives Canada. He talked about how the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has taken the initiative by putting on the Irish Studies Symposia of 2006 and 2008 at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/irish-history and also by visiting The Shamrock and the Maple Leaf, which contains photos, letters, books, and music on the website at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ireland.
He talked about how they have put the full symposia onsite. You can go to the website and choose over 40 or so presentations to read, to listen to, or watch them on video.
Kyle said that the music content in The Shamrock and the Maple Leaf will triple over the summer, and that the photos on Flickr.com have doubled since they were first put on in November, 2008.
He also noted that the response to all of these resources that the LAC has put on the Internet has been good, and they are very hopeful that this reaction will continue in the future.
He said they did this because the presenters want everyone to share in the knowledge that was extended during the two days of each of the symposiums about Irish-Canada, which covered a wide range of topics. They are important to family history researchers because they give a historical context to Ireland and to the Irish-Canadian immigration.
Tomorrow, I will cover the first of the talks given by Mike More, the Chairman of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. And the day after, I will cover the presentations given by Brian Glenn of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa and Lesley Anderson of Ancestry.ca.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Genealogy Night
Genealogy Night, the first of its kind, will be held at the Library and Archives Canada this coming Thursday night, 12 March, starting at 7 p.m..
It will feature talks on Irish genealogy by Mike More, who is the chairman of the Ottawa Genealogical Society www.ogsottawa.on.ca; Brian Glenn, who is a member of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa www.bifhsgo.ca; and Lesley Anderson of Ancestry.ca.
It is being organized by Bill Tobin, Past-President of the Irish Society of the National Capital Region as part of the activities of the Ottawa Irish Festival, to be held from March 10th to the 17th www.irishsocietyncr.com.
He said last week that there were a few dozen people already pre-registerd for the event. so it should be a good group for the evening.
Starting at 5:30, there will be two presentations given by Kyle Browness and Jean-Sebastin Potvin of the Library and Archives Canada.
The first presentation will be In Quarantine: Life and Death on Grosse Île, 1832-1937 (in French), and the second one will be the Irish-Canadian Project on social networking websites, Flickr.com and YouTube.com.
These two presentations were given at the Irish Studies Symposium in November last year which I attended, and found very useful in my work. They are worth seeing if you are interested in the Irish Diaspora.
It will feature talks on Irish genealogy by Mike More, who is the chairman of the Ottawa Genealogical Society www.ogsottawa.on.ca; Brian Glenn, who is a member of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa www.bifhsgo.ca; and Lesley Anderson of Ancestry.ca.
It is being organized by Bill Tobin, Past-President of the Irish Society of the National Capital Region as part of the activities of the Ottawa Irish Festival, to be held from March 10th to the 17th www.irishsocietyncr.com.
He said last week that there were a few dozen people already pre-registerd for the event. so it should be a good group for the evening.
Starting at 5:30, there will be two presentations given by Kyle Browness and Jean-Sebastin Potvin of the Library and Archives Canada.
The first presentation will be In Quarantine: Life and Death on Grosse Île, 1832-1937 (in French), and the second one will be the Irish-Canadian Project on social networking websites, Flickr.com and YouTube.com.
These two presentations were given at the Irish Studies Symposium in November last year which I attended, and found very useful in my work. They are worth seeing if you are interested in the Irish Diaspora.
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