Canadian Week in Review (CWR) - 08 June 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.

This Week in Canadian History

 1817 - Launching of first steamship Frontenac in Kingston, Ontario in 1817. It plied the Great Lakes and made its inaugural trip west to the town of York.

Frontenac was sold for ₤1550 to John Hamilton in 1824, who sold the Frontenac after for scrap at Niagara in 1827. Before she could be scrapped, she burned to the waterline due to arson.

1798 - The second session of second Parliament of Upper Canada was held on Niagara-on-the-Lake until July 5, and it set up the county system, it marked valid marriages performed by non-Anglicans.






 1613 - Samuel de Champlain (c1570-1635) loses his astrolabe near Lac des Chats on the Ottawa River. One such instrument, supposedly found on June 7, 1867, is not old enough to be Champlain's.




Social Media

(Photos) Telling the history of the Fraser Valley with LEGO
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/telling-the-history-of-the-fraser-valley-with-lego-1.3098458
Artists have spent hundreds of hours creating a display out of LEGO that illustrates the history and future of the Fraser Valley.
   Their work is being featured in a new exhibit at the Surrey Museum entitled LEGO - A Fraser Valley. 

(Drone Video (Watch this: Unbelievable drone footage of Halifax

http://www.thecoast.ca/RealityBites/archives/2015/06/03/watch-this-unbelievable-drone-footage-of-halifax
It's a different perspective on some everyday Halifax sights. The dropping costs and improved quality of HD cameras and aerial drones increasingly offer a new way to view some common landmarks.

(Blog (First World War Veterans of Guysborough County

http://guysboroughgreatwarveterans.blogspot.com/
131 Guysborough County veterans who died while serving.

Nova Scotia

Tourists and local economy to benefit from Yarmouth's Heritage in Your Hand app
http://www.thevanguard.ca/Business/2015-06-02/article-4167576/Tourists-and-local-economy-to-benefit-from-Yarmouths-Heritage-in-Your-Hand-app/1
Esther Dares, a member of the group working on the project, came up with the idea of developing an app that would give people a new way to experience Yarmouth’s Sea Captains’ Homes and Mercantile Heritage Walk.

The big hole where a house once stood
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1290201-demont-the-big-hole-where-a-house-once-stood
I may not be the most observant reporter in the world, but I was pretty sure that the last time I drove down Armview Avenue there wasn’t a big hole on the Northwest Arm side of the street where it meets Tupper Grove, as there was late last week.
   When I finally found somebody to ask, it turned out I was right.

Prince Edward Island

Old Prince Edward Home land could become green space
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/old-prince-edward-home-land-could-become-green-space-1.3096113
Once a hospital, then a nursing home and palliative care centre, the 80-year-old building is situated on a prime piece of land next to Victoria Park.

Sea level surge changing coastal P.E.I.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-07-25/article-3812542/Sea-level-surge-changing-coastal-P.E.I./1
Prince Edward Island is slowly disappearing, parts of it anyway, and the UPEI Climate Research Lab demonstrated at a recent public meeting here just how climate change and rising sea levels are affecting the Garden of the Gulf.

New Brunswick

Sackville United Church building listed among Canada’s top ‘endangered places
http://www.cumberlandnewsnow.com/News/Local/2015-06-03/article-4169172/Sackville-United-Church-building-listed-among-Canada%26rsquo%3Bs-top-%26lsquo%3Bendangered-places%26rsquo%3B/1
With the former Sackville United Church building up on the chopping block, the site has been named as one of the top ‘endangered places’ in the country by Heritage Canada’s National Trust.

Ontario

Upper Canada Lands Records help trace a Butler Ranger from the American Revolutionary War
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5656365-lee-dickson-genealogy-upper-canada-lands-records-help-trace-a-butler-ranger-from-the-american-revol/
In the late 1980s, with skillful guidance from Archives of Ontario archivists and coupled with beginner’s luck, I managed to trace a line back to my United Empire Loyalist ancestors.

Manitoba

History, architecture well preserved in Winnipeg Exchange district
http://o.canada.com/travel/history-architecture-well-preserved-in-winnipeg-exchange-district
It’s not hard to picture Winnipeg's wild-west past as you walk through its historic Exchange District. The jails, saloons and brothels may be gone, but more than 100 buildings in the compact 20-block area have been preserved, along with rail tracks, ornate interior decor and old-fashioned advertisements painted on brick walls.

Saskatchewan

Saskatoon's Montgomery Place neighbourhood inches closer to heritage status
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/travel/Saskatoon+Montgomery+Place+neighbourhood+inches+closer+heritage+status/11100235/story.html#ixzz3c01lqBTN
A city committee has unanimously given its support for the Montgomery Place Community Association to seek national heritage designation for the neighbourhood.

WDM exhibit looks at history of funeral homes
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/exhibit+looks+history+funeral+homes/11098414/story.html
Death is a tricky topic for a family attraction. On Saturday, the Western Development Museum launched a new exhibit tackling just that.

Alberta

History: The Houcher Story
http://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/2015/06/01/history-the-houcher-story/
The man who grew the first carload of wheat in the Wetaskiwin district!! There’s a pioneering story there. Yet this is a mere sidelight of the thrilling saga of a courageous young couple who built up a prosperous ranch in a country that was a nemesis to some of the most powerful cattle syndicates in North America.

British Columbia

Shaughnessy to become Heritage Conservation District
http://www.vancouversun.com/Shaughnessy+become+Heritage+Conservation+District/11110014/story.html
A report going to council June 9 calls for First Shaughnessy to be named the city’s first Heritage Conservation District, which could dramatically change development in the historic neighbourhood.

Stories in the News

Residents of an Indian School, Regina, Saskatchewan, 1908. Original photograph by John Woodruff 

News that is trending in Canada this past week has revolved around the Aboriginal Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report on Residential Schools.

What does this mean to genealogists?

For years, we have been asked to prove that an ancestor is Aboriginal, and sometimes this has been a complicated thing to prove because many times the people just did not say self identify as Aboriginal or Métis in their census and vital records.

And now, just this past weekend, I have heard that the site in front of the Supreme Court of Canada is to be dedicated to the Residential School so that a monument can be built there. This will be interesting as time goes on because the planned Memorial to Victims of Communism will have to be moved across the street to the Garden of the Provinces and Territories, where it was planned to be in the first place.

From Manitoba comes the news that the people there want to transform one of its residential schools into museum. The Long Plain First Nation -- in Central Manitoba -- is seeking to reclaim the nearly 100-year-old Portage la Prairie Indian Residential School

To read more about it, go to http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/manitoba-reserve-hopes-to-transform-residential-school-into-museum-1.2403709

So keep your eyes on the news in the coming weeks, because I am sure this this is the first salvo fired in the round of discussions that will take place

If you are looking for Aboriginal records in Canada, here are some places they are kept -

Aboriginal Heritage - https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/aboriginal-heritage/Pages/introduction.aspx There is a section on Residential Schools within the sources in the Library and Archives Canada.

MemoryBC - http://guides.library.ubc.ca/content.php?pid=478071&sid=3920235 They have the name of the archives of the attendance records at Residentail Schools

Vancouver Public Library - http://guides.vpl.ca/genealogy/aboriginal They have excellent genealogical information on the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people.

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

Need help finding your "ELUSIVE" Canadian ancestors???

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, we are offering a 15% discount on our research and consultation services (ends 11 June at midnight).

Go to the Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services website www.ELRS.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor!

Research Tip! To research Ontario's early census records, you can go to Ontario's GenWeb site at http://ontariocensus.rootsweb.ancestry.com

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/2015/06/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-01-june-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.

The next issue will be 15 June 2015.

Breaking the Ice 2015: HMS Erebus Revealed

You can now see and experience what the divers saw and experienced last spring when they found the Erebus, one of the ships in Franklin's Expeditions of the North West Passage. There is now an exhibit called  HMS Erebus Revealed and it is on the http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/culture/franklin/franklin2015.aspx website.

These artifacts have been lost to the Arctic Sea for nearly 160 years, and now they are available to us online to see.

Here is a photo album on the site, a dive diary, and little bits on information, like the Franklin Expedition carried 4,000 kilos of chocolate which could be put into water for as a drink of hot or cold chocolate!

Enjoy the time that you spend at the exhibit. I read all of it. and found it so interesting! 

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/2015/06/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-01-june-2015.html 

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

Is the Never Forgotten National Momument going to be built?

 

I had heard of this before, and I am wondering if you have heard of the statue and park that is to be built on Green Cove in Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.

The statue – Never Forgotten National Monument – will be an eight foot statue in memory of the 114,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who gave their lives overseas in war and they never returned home.

Friends of Green Cove Cape Breton Highlands National Park says the park needs to be protected. They say is was never meant to house a statue such as this, and it should be moved somewhere else.

So what do you think? The project is going ahead, and it will be built on the land where it is intended to be built. It has already been approved by Parks Canada.

If you oppose the building if the park and statue, there is an online petition for you to sign at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/in-opposition-to-the-nfnmf-monument

The website of the Never Forgotten National Monument is http://www.nfnm.ca/

The Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/NeverForgottenNationalMemorial/posts/894974587208603

=======================================================================

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/2015/06/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-01-june-2015.html 

 

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

Did your Canadian ancestors originally come from Denmark?

Do you want to know who your first Danish ancestor was and when he or she left Denmark and arrived in Canada?

If so, the Library and Archives Canada can fill you in on the history and reason why the Danish people came to this country.

You can go to http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/history-ethnic-cultural/Pages/danish.aspx to get the historical information, archival documents and published material to help you.

If your ancestor came to Canada between 1865 and 1935, you might find his or her name on the passenger lists at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/passenger-lists/Pages/introduction.aspx

By the way, the oldest Danish community in Canada is New Denmark, New Brunswick, first inhabited by Danish immigrants in 1872.

=======================================================================

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/2015/06/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-01-june-2015.html 

 

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

Keffer Writing Contest Winners

At the Ontario Genealogical Society Conference (OGS) held in Barrie this year, the winners were annouced for the Keffer Writing Contest this year, and they are -

First prize - Joyce H. Munro for her essay How Ker-Burns-Weld- Thompson Got His Name.

Second prize - Stephen Young for his essay The Disguised Origin of George R. Young Jr.

Third prize - D. Russell Morton for his essay Fill in the Blank.

Fourth prize - James Bangtson for his essay The Loyalist Connection Revised.

These essays will be published in Families, the journal of the OGS.

The website of the OGS is https://www.ogs.on.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/2015/06/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-01-june-2015.html 

 

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

Another online resource in Canada

The McCulloch Heritage Centre in Pictou, Nova Scotia is starting to put their photographs and collections of historical significance to family history, with emphasis on the arrival of the Scots in 1773, online. The page is titled Find Your Scottish Roots. 

If you go to their site at http://www.mccullochcentre.ca/, and log in, you will see where they have started already to put on wills, photos, and there is lots more to come. Census records, diaries, photographs, wills, deeds and newspapers will be added in the future.

To go to the McCulloch Heritage Centre itself, their website is at https://mccullochhouse.novascotia.ca/about-mcculloch-house/mcculloch-heritage-centre

Happy Researching!

 

Canada Day lineup of performers

With the theme Strong. Proud. Free. Canadian Heritage will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Sir John A. Macdonald and the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag on Canada Day – July 1st.

There will also be nods to the "Year of Sport" in Canada and the Franklin expedition, which uncovered in the Arctic one of Sir John Franklin's lost ships from 1846.

Here is the Canada Day lineup so far-

• Reggae-inspired band -- Magic!
• Quebec pop singer and songwriter -- Marc Dupré
• Country singer -- Gord Bamford
• Rockers -- Jonas and the Massive Attraction
• Pop up-and-comer -- Francesco Yates
• Pop singer and Star Académie finalist -- Andee
• Iqaluit alt-band -- The Jerry Cans
• Elite high school marching band from Calgary -- The Bishop Grandin Marching Ghosts
• Winnipeg singer/songwriter -- Cassidy Mann
• Pop and hip-hop artist -- Karim Ouellet

There will also be programming at Major's Hill Park in Ottawa and Jacques-Cartier Park in gatineau right across the river.

The day ends with the traditional fireworks around 10 p.m. on Parliament Hill.

They say that 350,000 people take in the festivities on Canada Day and one third are tourists.

=========================================================================

Need help finding your ELUSIVE Canadian ancestors???

 

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, may we offer a month-long discount on our research and consultation services of 15% (ends 11 June at midnight).

 

Just go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services website at www.elrs.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor!

 

Research Tip! While you are in Ottawa, if you have ancestors who lived here, a good place to check is the Ottawa Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society at http://ogsottawa.on.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/2015/06/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-01-june-2015.html

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

 

Ancestry.com redesigns its site

Although they say in their opening letter, which explains the changes that they have made to their site, it is supposed to be only open to American subscribers, but I found it was open to me – a Canadian.

 

So I went to take a look.

 

And I really like it.

 

They have adjusted the color on the search page, made it more appealing, and it seems to be cleaner than the previous search landing page.

 

I would give them a passing grade on this.

Go to www.ancestry.com 

Apparently they will redesign the Canadian site at www.ancestry.ca in the near future. 

Women of Digby County, 1950

 

Nova Scotia is a province of many different faces, and the Women of Digby County, 1950 is a virtual exhibit presented by the Nova Scotis Archives. 

 

It was first developed as a traditional exhibit entitled Women: Their Lives in Rural Nova Scotia, 1950. Launched in Digby in October 2011, it travelled to various locations throughout southwestern Nova Scotia over the following year, including a month's detour to the Nova Scotia Archives in April 2012. 

 

The exhibit celebrated the work of John Collier Jr., an eminent American photographer who spent time in Digby County during 1950 and 1951, and whose photographic record of those years is now among the collections held by the Nova Scotia Archives. 

 

The exhibit is at http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/digbywomen/

 

=========================================================================

Need help finding your ELUSIVE Canadian ancestors???

 

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, may we offer a month-long discount on our research and consultation services of 15% (ends 11 June at midnight).

 

Just go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services website at www.elrs.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor!

 

Research Tip! The Nova Scotia Archives is a wonderful place to research your ancestors in person. Their latest fonds is the Annapolis Royal Registry of Deeds (1763-1980). It includes 185 land transaction registers (‘deed books’), 1763-1954; deed registry will books, 1878-1867 (kept at the registry); and land grant registration books, 1854-1963. Contct the Nova Scotia Archives at http://novascotia.ca/archives/newholdings.asp
=======================================================================

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/2015/06/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-01-june-2015.html

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

 

British Home Children and Descendants Association Family Picnic

There will be a picnic on July 11^th starting at 1:00 pm at Victoria Park, Truro, NS in honor of the British Home Children.

 

This will be an opportunity to meet other Home Child descendants in an informal setting. Maybe you will meet others who came over on the same ship or even long lost relatives. Bring your children and grandchildren, your parents and grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins for a fun afternoon.

 

Take a walk along some of the trails, admire Joseph Howe Falls and the Gorge, climb the 175-step Jacob's Ladder, see the Bur Oak that was planted in memory of our BHC and have your picture taken sitting on the BHC memorial bench.

 

If you have questions, you can reach Catherine West at catherinebhcd@gmail.com or catherine.west@ns.sympatico.ca or 1-902-384-2097

 

The association will also be holding its 13th Annual Reunion on Saturday October 17th, 2015 at the Bible Hill Junior High School located at 741 Collage Road, Truru, Nova Scotia.

 

It will be an all-day affair from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and to pre-register or for information, please contact Catherine West at catherinebhcd@gmail.com or catherinewest@ns.sympatico.ca or 1-902-384-2097.

 

=========================================================================

Need help finding your ELUSIVE Canadian ancestors???

 

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, may we offer a month-long discount on our research and consultation services of 15% (ends 11 June at midnight).

 

Just go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services website at www.elrs.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor!

 

Research Tip! If you researching Home Children, you can check the database at http://www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=4
=======================================================================

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

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

Canadian Week in Review (CWR) - 01 June 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 1887, the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was opened for public traffic. Trains had been running from Montreal to Vancouver for a year, but passengers now could ride all the way on 4,700 kilometres of CPR track.

To read more about the CPR, go to http://www.cpr.ca/en/about-cp/our-history







In 1906, the city of Saskatoon was incorporated.

The city was started in 1882, when the Toronto-based Temperance Colonization Society was granted 21 sections of land on both sides of the South Saskatchewan River, between what is now Warman and Dundurn.

The people wanted to set up a "dry" community in the Prairies.

To read more about Saskatoon, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatoon


In 1919, actor Jay Silverheels was born Harold J. Smith on the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario. Silverheels, who was also a star boxer and lacrosse player, is best known as The Lone Ranger's sidekick, "Tonto," on television and in movies during the 1950s.

He died on March 5, 1980.

To read more about Jay Silverheels, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Silverheels

"Lone Ranger and Tonto 1956" by ABC Television. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Social Media

(Video) Old ambulances roll back into action for salute to Alberta paramedics
http://globalnews.ca/news/2016877/old-ambulances-roll-back-into-action-for-salute-to-alberta-paramedics/
A Calgary collector is showing off his old ambulances as part of National Paramedic Services Week, which was held May 24 to May 30.
   Dr. Tim Prieur has six of the vintage vehicles dating back to 1952 — all still in working order.

(Video) Assumption Church named a Top 10 endangered place in Canada
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/assumption-church-named-top-10-endangered-place-in-Canada
It is the most recent structural incarnation of what started as a Jesuit mission on the southern shores of the Detroit River in 1747, on land donated by the Hurons. It is the oldest parish in Canada west of Montreal — and the forerunner of Assumption College, which became the University of Windsor.

(Video ) Singer Ian Tyson gets personal in Heritage Canada project on WW1 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/singer-ian-tyson-gets-personal-in-heritage-canada-project-on-ww1-1.3088933
Ian Tyson was the perfect candidate for a Heritage Canada project to pair iconic songs and military bands to honour Canada's First World War history.

(Video)Perkins House in Liverpool closed indefinitely after 249 years http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/perkins-house-in-liverpool-closed-indefinitely-after-249-years-1.3088577
Nova Scotia has closed the province's oldest museum indefinitely because of structural problems and museum officials are worried about its fate because a cash-strapped government has yet to commit to fix it.

Articles

Nova Scotia

Courcelette sacrifice: Nova Scotia’s first unit in action http://thechronicleherald.ca/thegreatwar/1288573-courcelette-sacrifice-nova-scotia%E2%80%99s-first-unit-in-action#.VWR6F3nD-aU 25th Battalion played significant role in this key Allied operation during the First World War.

Prince Edward Island

Churches not eligible for community infrastructure fund
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/churches-not-eligible-for-community-infrastructure-fund-1.3085997
A national heritage group is disappointed some churches are not eligible for money under the new Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, which is designed to help fix up community facilities across the country.

Rustico's Belcourt Centre makes top 10 endangered list
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/rustico-s-belcourt-centre-makes-top-10-endangered-list-1.3089243
The Belcourt Centre in Rustico on P.E.I.'s North Shore has been listed by the National Trust as one of the top 10 endangered heritage buildings in Canada.

Quebec

Quebec premier invites Pope Francis to Montreal for city's 375th birthday http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/quebec-premier-invites-pope-francis-to-montreal-for-city-s-375th-birthday-1.2393353
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard met briefly with Pope Francis on Wednesday and invited the pontiff to Montreal to attend the city's 375th-anniversary celebrations in 2017.

Ontario

The Amateur Genealogist: The importance of searching original records
http://www.mykawartha.com/opinion-story/5643169-the-amateur-genealogist-the-importance-of-searching-original-records/
One of the remarkable features of beginning genealogists is their startling reliance on data on the web.

Researchers hope public can shed light on Franklin Expedition http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/researchers-hope-public-can-shed-light-on-franklin-expedition/article24608579/
The discovery of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition has left much unanswered, researchers say, and they’re hoping the public and students can help solve the mystery.

70 years of tulips: Netherlands' King, Queen make first state visit to Canada http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/70-years-of-tulips-netherlands-king-queen-make-first-state-visit-to-canada-1.2393621
The Netherlands' King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima arrived in Ottawa Wednesday to kick off a three-day state visit to Canada. The trip is another gesture of goodwill between the two countries that have been close friends since the Second World War.

Manitoba

Manitoba Day was heartily celebrated
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/herald/correspondent/Manitoba-Day-was-heartily-celebrated-304910121.html
The Province of Manitoba was created on May 12, 1870, when the Manitoba Act was passed by the Parliament of Canada and received royal assent. The act was subsequently proclaimed on July 15, 1870 when Manitoba entered into Confederation and became Canada’s fifth province.

Alberta

Alberta bridge among endangered historic sites
East Coulee resident's in Alberta don’t want to see their bridge disappear.
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/alberta-bridge-among-endangered-historic-site

British Columbia

Victoria Police bobbies put the ‘British’ in British Columbia
http://www.cheknews.ca/victoria-police-bobbies-99341
The Victoria Police Department is the oldest police force west of the Great Lakes, and these civilian volunteers, dressed in historically-inspired bobby uniforms, are another sign that Victoria is the capital of “British” Columbia.

Stories in the News

Aboriginal Awareness Week (AAW)

This past week was Aboriginal Awareness Week.

It was started in1992 with the purpose of increasing awareness of Aboriginal peoples within the federal public service.

But since then, it has evolved and grown into a government-wide celebration that gives federal public servants from across Canada the opportunity to participate in a week of interactive activities that honour the cultures and traditions of the Métis, Inuit, and First Nation peoples.

To go along with the idea on Aboriginal Awareness Week, the government has released a few statistics.

According to Statistic Canada there are a total of 1,172,790 people who identify as Aboriginal.

Making up this 1,172,790 are 53% registered Indians and 11% non-status Indians (698,025), 30% Métis (389,780), and 4% Inuit (50,480).

Throughout Canada, the people who self-identify as Aboriginal make up 4% of the Canadian population. There are approximately 370 million indigenous people internationally. Canada's Aboriginal population is growing faster than the general population, increasing by 20.1% from 2001 to 2006.

It is estimated that Aboriginal people could account for 4.1% of Canada's population by 2017, but this proportion would be significantly larger in Saskatchewan (20.8%) and Manitoba (18.4%).

You can view videos at http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/media/video/galerie-gallery.aspx?def=avideoType=45A3CBC1-4612-46FC-913B-CB09B1987316. These videos cover History and Culture, Travel and Recreation, and Nature and Science.

And Aboriginal Awareness Week morphs right into the Aboriginal Awareness Month, taking place this month all across the country.

The Canadian Museum of History has put together an virtual exhibit entitled First Peoples of Canada at http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/fp/fpint01e.shtml, which holds profiles some of the Aboriginals people in Canada.

An e-book is also available at http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710/1307460872523, which gives a brief history of Aboriginal peoples in Canada.

So even if you cannot go to the different events which will be held this summer in communities across the country, there are plenty of activities online which may interest you.

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

SPECIAL OFFER!!

Need help in finding your ELUSIVE Canadian ancestors?

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, may we take this opportunity to offer a month-long discount on our research and consultation services of 15% (ends 11 June at midnight).

Just go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services website at www.elrs.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor!

Research Tip! Are you looking for maps? How about going to the Archives of Ontario and looking at the maps they have of Ontario at http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/gallery/on_the_map.aspx?

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/2015/05/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-25-may-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.

The next issue will be 08 June 2015.

 

In what city will the 2016 OGS Conference be held?

The answer is Toronto!

And the theme will be GENEALOGY on the CUTTING EDGE which promises to be very interesting.

It will be held June 3, 2016 – June 5, 2016 at the International Plaza Hotel, 655 Dixon Road in Toronto which is close to Pearson International Airport, Highway 401, and with good connections by local and regional public transit.

You are advised to watch for announcements coming summer 2015.

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

FamilySearch.org announcement at OGS Conference

Stephen Young, of FamilySearch.org in Salt Lake City, Utah, made a big announcement at Saturday evening's banquet at the OGS Conference in Barrie (Ontario).

FamilySearch has published the images linked to the already published civil registration indexes of Ontario. The announcement was being coordinated with the Archives of Ontario.

Stephen also tells me that he will be reviewing all the Canadian publications put online by FamilySearch since January 1st.

I have looked at the images, and they are VERY clear, and THEY ARE SOURCED!!!

You can go to the following sites to view the records -

Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927 https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1784216

Ontario Births, 1869-1912 https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1784212

Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947 https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1307826

Happy researching!!!

Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy - Session 15

As I promised my blog on 06 January 2015 at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/beginning-genealogy-study-group.html, I watched Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy Session 15 this week. I will continue to watch the rest of the study group as it proceeds.

It has started to get confusing, but maybe it will clear itself up next week when we get back to the regular program.

The confusion comes because I didn’t report on Session 13 in which Dear Myrt talked about using maps to find your descendants, but I have posted it now.

For Session 14, Dear Myrt was away to the National Genealogical Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, and then on this past Wednesday, she held a two-hour discussion to cover both Sessions 14 and 15. Are you still with me?

So, on to Session 13 about maps. I thought it was very good.

There are tons of places to look at maps on the Internet for every country in the world.

One of the best places to look for Canada is at website http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canmaps/

The session this Wednesday didn’t cover as much as I would have liked, although she did spend time on the Research Log that Cousin Russ has taken the time to produce. All of the links are in the community comments right below the day’s broadcast.

And they did explore church records in the States and in the UK, and spent some time talking about the research process.

The website for Session 13, and15 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.html

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

Session 11 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/04/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_9.html

Session 12 -http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/04/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_23.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

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Need help finding your ELUSIVE Canadian ancestors???

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, may we offer a month-long discount on our research and consultation services of 15% (ends 11 June at midnight).

Just go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services website at www.elrs.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor!

Research Tip! If you have an ancestor who died in the Second World War, you can check "Service Files of the Second World War - War Dead, 1939-1947" at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/second-world-war/second-world-war-dead-1939-1947/Pages/files-second-war-dead.aspx

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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/2015/05/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-25-may-2015.html

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

Is there another Canadian genealogy society in financial trouble?

 On my trip around the web this morning checking on different genealogical societies, I came across a Demolish the Deficit Fund on the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society site at http://www.saskgenealogy.com/

There is a thermometer on site showing $ O to $40,000 and the goal is to raise $12,000 in 2015.

Has it come to this in Canada? That a genealogical society has to appeal for donations in order to Demolish the Deficit??? If this is it, be forward that we may be in for some rough times in the future.

I’ll be keeping my eye on their efforts to raise the money, and report back if there are any changes.

To see their membership rates http://www.saskgenealogy.com/index.php/about-us/membership/

=========================================================================
SPECIAL OFFER!!!!!!!!!

 Need help in finding your ELUSIVE Canadian ancestors?

As a nod of the hat to the Ontario Genealogical Conference being held in Barrie, Ontario from May 29 to May 31, may we take this opportunity to offer a month-long discount on our research and consultation services of 15% (ends 11 June at midnight).

Just go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services at www.elrs.biz, or send an email with the subject "special" to genealogyresearch@aol.com to see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor! 

 

Research Tip! Looking for your ancestor in Saskatchewan, and can’t find him? Maybe he changed his name. The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society has a 54-page book that list name changes on the site http://saskgenealogy.com/databases/public_databases/Changes_of_Name.pdf  ========================================================================

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/2015/05/canadian-week-in-review-cwr-25-may-2015.html

 

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

Research Tip! Looking for your ancestor in Saskatchewan, and can’t find him? Maybe he changed his name. The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society has a 54-page book that list name changes on the site http://saskgenealogy.com/databases/public_databases/Changes_of_Name.pdf