It difficult to believe but fall is here already, and so is the "Genealogist". It arrived the other day from the British Columbia Genealogy Society <www.bcgs.ca>.
At 148 pages, it is a hefty publication with all sorts of topics covered - some of them being the Diary of Rev. Edward White (1822-1872); Cemeteries of Hope, BC; and the biography of Robert Grenville/Granville McKamey (1836-1896).
Intersersped with these articles are one such as British Columbia Mining Accidents (1878-1889 & 1896-1942); Daniel Stanley Masset; Queen Charlotte Islands, 1911; and the Vancouver Business Woman (1929, 1930).
There are BC's 150th Birthday Crossword; the Most Improved Contest; Book Reviews; BC Genealogical Events; and Activities and Queries.
Be sure to check the Images of Army Life; World War I - Baxter; Plumper Bay Petition, 1890; and Meet the Pioneers - Grenelle and Goupill.
And all of this celebrating "BC 150 Years - The Best Place on Earth".
Even though I do not now have any relatives living in BC right now (my aunt and uncle — Fred and Annie LEE — used to live in Golden and Kamloops), I found the journal to be a good read.
I especially liked the book reviews (they are always good) and this time they review three - The Family History Toolkit by Michael Hait; You Can Write Your Family History by Sharon DeBartolo; and In Search of Your German Roots by Angus Baxter.
A daily blog about Canadian genealogy, heritage, and history
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
This weekend, Canada celebrates Thanksgiving!
A holiday in which we give thanks for the year we have had, and in traditional terms - for the harvest of the field.
It is always on the second Monday of the month of October - having been decided in 1931. Before that, it had been observed on the same day as Armistice Day - both being on November 11th.
This weekend has been nice, sunny and warm. A lot different from that Thanksgiving in 1993 when it snowed and snowed, followed by the coldest winter that had been seen in these parts in years. I remember it well because it was the first year in our new house, and to see the grounds covered in snow was more like Christmas than Thanksgiving.
It has always been a family holiday with turkey, dressing, and all of those roots vegetables - potatoes, carrots, turnips, and a pumpkin or apple pie.
The dinner was usually eaten on Sunday or Monday (it was always on Sunday in my house), and the drive on Monday to my maternal grandparents (Blades) house, and to see my maternal aunts and uncles and cousins who all lived in the town of Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia.
Today, I am staying home to proof an article I have coming out on Chinese-Canadian Immigration in the early 1880s to 1900s, and then tomorrow I will go for a drive to the beautiful Gatineau Hills - which are so colourful this time of year.
So whichever way you celebrate your Thanksgiving weekend, may it be a pleasant one!
And to our American cousins, we wish you the same, just a bit earlier. Enjoy the playoffs!
A holiday in which we give thanks for the year we have had, and in traditional terms - for the harvest of the field.
It is always on the second Monday of the month of October - having been decided in 1931. Before that, it had been observed on the same day as Armistice Day - both being on November 11th.This weekend has been nice, sunny and warm. A lot different from that Thanksgiving in 1993 when it snowed and snowed, followed by the coldest winter that had been seen in these parts in years. I remember it well because it was the first year in our new house, and to see the grounds covered in snow was more like Christmas than Thanksgiving.
It has always been a family holiday with turkey, dressing, and all of those roots vegetables - potatoes, carrots, turnips, and a pumpkin or apple pie.
The dinner was usually eaten on Sunday or Monday (it was always on Sunday in my house), and the drive on Monday to my maternal grandparents (Blades) house, and to see my maternal aunts and uncles and cousins who all lived in the town of Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia.
Today, I am staying home to proof an article I have coming out on Chinese-Canadian Immigration in the early 1880s to 1900s, and then tomorrow I will go for a drive to the beautiful Gatineau Hills - which are so colourful this time of year.
So whichever way you celebrate your Thanksgiving weekend, may it be a pleasant one!
And to our American cousins, we wish you the same, just a bit earlier. Enjoy the playoffs!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Voter's List at LAC
I can remember when I was but a youngster of voting age in the early '70s living on Olivet Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, stopping on my way to work to read the Voter's List (a separate list was posted for each of the elections - municipal, provincial, and federal) stapled on the local telephone pole outside of the apartment.
I had to stop and check the list to see if I was there, and that they had spelled everyting correctly, and I was always there - and, yes, the information about me was true!
You will find information on the Voter's List held be the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) under <www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-911.006-e.html>.
You will find that the LAC holds the Federal General Elections Lists for the years 1935, 1940, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1979 and 1980 - only they are only available by microfilm.
You may want to check the Provincial and Territoral Archives who hold Voter's List for provincial elections, and there are many municipal archives who also hold voter's lists.
I had to stop and check the list to see if I was there, and that they had spelled everyting correctly, and I was always there - and, yes, the information about me was true!
You will find information on the Voter's List held be the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) under <www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-911.006-e.html>.
You will find that the LAC holds the Federal General Elections Lists for the years 1935, 1940, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1979 and 1980 - only they are only available by microfilm.
You may want to check the Provincial and Territoral Archives who hold Voter's List for provincial elections, and there are many municipal archives who also hold voter's lists.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Canadian Census of Industrial Establishments - 1871
After 25 years of studying and working with the 1871 Canada Census, Elizabeth and Gerald Bloomfield of Guelph, Ontario have released the Canadian Census of Industrial Establishments.
They have digitized the industrial census from the 1871 Census of Canada - the only detailed industrial census returns to survive so completely from the nineteenth century. More than 45, 000 industrial establishments are put into databases on the website <http://www.canind71.uoguelph.ca>.
The website provides information for the four provinces - New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario - covered in the 1871 Canadian Census.
I have checked the website and thre are the divisions which cover the businesses themselves, the people who were involved with the business, power (whether it be water, etc.), and the places where the businesses were located.
I discovered that a number of business in Shelburne and Kentville, Nova Scotia where my ancestors are from are mentioned, and I doubt that I would have ever taken the time to look them up on my own - now they are indexed by the Bloomfields!
There are barrel makers and shipbuilding companies that one would expect to find in a seaside town like Shelburne and businesses like agriculture in Kentville, a farming town in 1871. What this census does is that it presents a picture of the town that can help you place your relatives within the industrial mieu of the time.
And it can also provide material for the study of the technology, business and work organization of industrial activity, and the history of families, businesses and communities in 19th century Canada.
Well worth the visit, since it is the first time it has been done on such a large scale, and it does give a snapshot of industrial development in Canada in 1871.
They have digitized the industrial census from the 1871 Census of Canada - the only detailed industrial census returns to survive so completely from the nineteenth century. More than 45, 000 industrial establishments are put into databases on the website <http://www.canind71.uoguelph.ca>.
The website provides information for the four provinces - New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario - covered in the 1871 Canadian Census.
I have checked the website and thre are the divisions which cover the businesses themselves, the people who were involved with the business, power (whether it be water, etc.), and the places where the businesses were located.
I discovered that a number of business in Shelburne and Kentville, Nova Scotia where my ancestors are from are mentioned, and I doubt that I would have ever taken the time to look them up on my own - now they are indexed by the Bloomfields!
There are barrel makers and shipbuilding companies that one would expect to find in a seaside town like Shelburne and businesses like agriculture in Kentville, a farming town in 1871. What this census does is that it presents a picture of the town that can help you place your relatives within the industrial mieu of the time.
And it can also provide material for the study of the technology, business and work organization of industrial activity, and the history of families, businesses and communities in 19th century Canada.
Well worth the visit, since it is the first time it has been done on such a large scale, and it does give a snapshot of industrial development in Canada in 1871.
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Island Register
I first came across "The Island Register" when I originally started to research the United Empire Loyalists, and had found a number going from Nova Scotia over to Prince Edward Island to settle in 1783 onward.
It is an email newsletter sent out every Friday by Dave Hunter from Prince Edward Island, and he started it in 2001 when he found that so many people could trace their ancestry back to the island.
About a couple of years ago he added the "Death Notices From Local Newspapers and Other Source" ending for the week, and he gives the link to them onsite.
He also gives the weather for the week just ending, and the "News on the Island Register" which is always an interesting read, and letters from his readers.
I was particularly interested in the article on "Michael Ambrose McInnis and 'The Maple Leaf'" because I have relatives in California, and I am sure that they are in the publication. Now all I have to do is find the "Maple Leaf" which has just become easier because the article was written by his granddaughter - so there is my first lead in a long and anxious trail looking for 'The Maple Leaf'.
He also has the "Phone Report" in his newsletter and a weekly report on the phone museum on his property and "Laptops for Kids" where he pick up laptops on the Island for less than fortunate children. He has fixed and given away 20 laptops so far.
If you want to sign up for this particular newsletter, the address is <dhunter@islandregister.com>.
It is an email newsletter sent out every Friday by Dave Hunter from Prince Edward Island, and he started it in 2001 when he found that so many people could trace their ancestry back to the island.
About a couple of years ago he added the "Death Notices From Local Newspapers and Other Source" ending for the week, and he gives the link to them onsite.
He also gives the weather for the week just ending, and the "News on the Island Register" which is always an interesting read, and letters from his readers.
I was particularly interested in the article on "Michael Ambrose McInnis and 'The Maple Leaf'" because I have relatives in California, and I am sure that they are in the publication. Now all I have to do is find the "Maple Leaf" which has just become easier because the article was written by his granddaughter - so there is my first lead in a long and anxious trail looking for 'The Maple Leaf'.
He also has the "Phone Report" in his newsletter and a weekly report on the phone museum on his property and "Laptops for Kids" where he pick up laptops on the Island for less than fortunate children. He has fixed and given away 20 laptops so far.
If you want to sign up for this particular newsletter, the address is <dhunter@islandregister.com>.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Quebec Family History Society "Connections" Arrive
The Quebec Family History Society has issued its Autumn 2008 issue of "Connections" today, and it is very interesting, as usual.
In this issue, they have articles on David THOMPSON and his last years in Quebec; the history of John METAGE, a Huguenot settler in Quebec; and the Artists Rifle Association and its 100th anniversary.
There is also the second report on "The Land Register of Quebec" written by Sharon Callaghan, and she points out that it pays to search the land register to see if your ancestor is there because you might think they did own land and it turns out they did - so check the records.
There is also "Seminar and Excursions"; "Seminars"; "Library Acquitions"; and many short articles and pieces of research.
At the September conference of BIFHSGO in Ottawa, I met up again with Derek Hopkins—Vice President of the organization, and whom I have known since 1996—and he gave me a demonstration of the society's new database where he and Bob Dunn are adding birth, marriage, and death records in Quebec.
This is definitely a database you should check if your have ancestors that have come from Quebec. You must be a member of the society for you to check the database, but at $60.00 a year, it is a price well worth the investment.
The website is <www.qfhs.ca> and the address is: P.O. Box 1026, Pte. Claire, Quebec H9S 4H9.
In this issue, they have articles on David THOMPSON and his last years in Quebec; the history of John METAGE, a Huguenot settler in Quebec; and the Artists Rifle Association and its 100th anniversary.
There is also the second report on "The Land Register of Quebec" written by Sharon Callaghan, and she points out that it pays to search the land register to see if your ancestor is there because you might think they did own land and it turns out they did - so check the records.
There is also "Seminar and Excursions"; "Seminars"; "Library Acquitions"; and many short articles and pieces of research.
At the September conference of BIFHSGO in Ottawa, I met up again with Derek Hopkins—Vice President of the organization, and whom I have known since 1996—and he gave me a demonstration of the society's new database where he and Bob Dunn are adding birth, marriage, and death records in Quebec.
This is definitely a database you should check if your have ancestors that have come from Quebec. You must be a member of the society for you to check the database, but at $60.00 a year, it is a price well worth the investment.
The website is <www.qfhs.ca> and the address is: P.O. Box 1026, Pte. Claire, Quebec H9S 4H9.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
New Website
Every American blog you see today has news from Illya d'Addezio <www.GenealogyToday.com> saying that he will have a new webpage on the free Live Roots website which will be launched October 10th. The site will list the various genealogy databases and publishers' catalogs.
But we already have a free website which highlights some Canadian sites, and it is the Canadian Genealogy Projects Registry!
It was started in the late 1990s and is a part of the Alberta Family Histories Society <www.afhs.ab.ca/registry/index.html>.
There is births, marriages and deaths already online from church records, civil records, newspaper announcements, bibliographies, and directories - to name but a few resources from all over the country.
Immigration, passenger lists, land-related records, and lineages are some other records that are included.
I have used the registry in looking for my Webster ancestry in Kentville, Nova Scotia (and I found their deaths in newspaper listings) and one branch of the family that went to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and I also found them there.
Also check the Brian W. Hutchinson Scholarship while you are there!
It is a scholarship open to all genealogists to Canadians and is worth $500.00 annually to the person to use for book(s) and the cost of tuition in a recognized educational or accrediation/certification program.
The deadline to submit is 31 December, 2008.
But we already have a free website which highlights some Canadian sites, and it is the Canadian Genealogy Projects Registry!
It was started in the late 1990s and is a part of the Alberta Family Histories Society <www.afhs.ab.ca/registry/index.html>.
There is births, marriages and deaths already online from church records, civil records, newspaper announcements, bibliographies, and directories - to name but a few resources from all over the country.
Immigration, passenger lists, land-related records, and lineages are some other records that are included.
I have used the registry in looking for my Webster ancestry in Kentville, Nova Scotia (and I found their deaths in newspaper listings) and one branch of the family that went to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and I also found them there.
Also check the Brian W. Hutchinson Scholarship while you are there!
It is a scholarship open to all genealogists to Canadians and is worth $500.00 annually to the person to use for book(s) and the cost of tuition in a recognized educational or accrediation/certification program.
The deadline to submit is 31 December, 2008.
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